Solomon dies, and with him dies all the promise of a great kingdom of Israel. Because of Solomon's sins, God promised to tear the kingdom from Solomon's descendants but leave the tribe of Judah to his heirs, and that is exactly what happened. Rehoboam, Solomon's son succeeds him to the throne, but he did not possess Solomon's wisdom. When the Solomon's advisers advised him to go easy on the Israelites because Solomon had extracted a heavy price from them, Rehoboam rejected their advice and instead relied on the advice of his peers to make the people bear an even heavier load. Israel's response to the new king was:
"What share do we have in David, what part in Jesse's son?
To your tents, O Israel! Look after your own house, O David!"
So the Israelites went home. - 1 Kings 12:16 NIV
In the meantime, Jeroboam, returns from Egypt where he had escaped to avoid Solomon's wrath and is quickly made king over Israel. When Rehoboam starts to go against Israel to regain the kingdom, he is told by God: 'This is what the LORD says: "Do not go up to fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.' " So they obeyed the word of the LORD and went home again, as the LORD had ordered. - 1 Kings 12:24 NIV
With all of this going on, you would think that both kings would fall prostrate before God and ask for his forgiveness and help. But instead, Jeroboam had two golden calves created, built shrines on high places, installed priests who were not Levites, and held festivals to offer sacrifices to the idols. And in Judah, Rehoboam set up high places, sacred stones, and Asherah poles on every high hill. You can see where it is going. Both kings have turned to their own way. The story of each side, from this day forward, will mimic the other. Their abandonment of God means the abandonment of their kingdoms by God as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment