1 Kings 12
Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. 2 And as soon as Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it (for he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), then Jeroboam returned from Egypt. 3 And they sent and called him, and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and said to Rehoboam, 4 “Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke on us, and we will serve you.” 5 He said to them, “Go away for three days, then come again to me.” So the people went away.
6 Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he was yet alive, saying, “How do you advise me to answer this people?” 7 And they said to him, “If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants forever.”
But he abandoned the counsel that the old men gave him and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him. 9 And he said to them, “What do you advise that we answer this people who have said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke that your father put on us’?” 10 And the young men who had grown up with him said to him, “Thus shall you speak to this people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you lighten it for us,’ thus shall you say to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father's thighs. 11 And now, whereas my father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.’”
12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king said, “Come to me again the third day.” 13 And the king answered the people harshly, and forsaking the counsel that the old men had given him, 14 he spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.” 15 So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turn of affairs brought about by the Lord that he might fulfill his word, which the Lord spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
The Kingdom Divided
16 And when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, “What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David.” So Israel went to their tents. 17 But Rehoboam reigned over the people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah. 18 Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was taskmaster over the forced labor, and all Israel stoned him to death with stones. And King Rehoboam hurried to mount his chariot to flee to Jerusalem. 19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day. 20 And when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. There was none that followed the house of David but the tribe of Judah only.
21 When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, 180,000 chosen warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. 22 But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God: 23 “Say to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, 24 ‘Thus says the Lord, You shall not go up or fight against your relatives the people of Israel. Every man return to his home, for this thing is from me.’” So they listened to the word of the Lord and went home again, according to the word of the Lord.
25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. And he went out from there and built Penuel. 26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will turn back to the house of David. 27 If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.” 28 So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, “You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” 29 And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. 30 Then this thing became a sin, for the people went as far as Dan to be before one. 31 He also made temples on high places and appointed priests from among all the people, who were not of the Levites. 32 And Jeroboam appointed a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he made. And he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places that he had made. 33 He went up to the altar that he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, in the month that he had devised from his own heart. And he instituted a feast for the people of Israel and went up to the altar to make offerings.
Altar at Shechem, this altar remains after 2,000 years. The foundation holds.
Steppenwolf Magic Carpet Ride
Well, you don't know what
We can find
Why don't you come with me little girl
On a magic carpet ride
Well, you don't know what
We can see
Why don't you tell your dreams to me
Circles. Repeat Patterns. Repeating Scripture.
For
Dreams and aspirations - a Davidic Kingdom?
Rehoboam was given the Children of Israel. Rehoboam was the anointed grandson of David and the Heir of Solomon. Amazing. The Promises of God fell into his anointed hand.
Commandment # 1 -
Solomon broke his house. His legacy was tattered. Rehoboam was 1 of the only 3 children Solomon recognized. The rest were swept from history as concubines delivered his other children from his 700 wives and 300 concubines.
Solomon, in his young years, put his flesh before His God.
Again, Commandment # 1 -
When asked for mercy - Rehoboam, went for show and not substance - abandoned the Covenant to be merciless. Treating God's children with Mercy - God said - is tandem with Commandment #1 - Loving Others.
The repeat circle of Shechem - for many ages - the place of blessings from Abraham, Jacob and others, fell from his anointed hand. Abraham blessed others by talking to God about Mercy.
The anointed of God forsook Wisdom.
Generational cycles.
Ever heard ignorance of the law is no excuse? Dragnet? Law and Order? Apply named...
What was used against the people who would leave the anointed of God? The same temptations their fathers faced for generations.
The purpose of life - is to test our metal. God asks us what are our priorities when the waters of Life get very white water. Our Priorities are set forth to learn when the waters have gentle eddies of calm. We learn what is important from our parents teaching us the 10 Commandments. Commandment #1 Again.
God is orderly. He sets up the 10 Commandments in an orderly fashion teaching us our priorities.
Exodus 20
The Ten Commandments
20 And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
1 “You shall have no other gods before me.
2 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
3 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
4“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
5 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
6 “You shall not murder.
7 “You shall not commit adultery.
8“You shall not steal.
9 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10 “You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.”
Pharaoh's Chair in the 1956 Movie of "Moses"
Our priorities are to God. We listen to Him. We worship Him. Jesus is our Center. We do what God tells us to do.
Not our images. Commandment # 2 -
Rehoboam, biblically not so famous, the anointed grandson of David, the Heir of Solomon - fell like Pharaoh - Pharaoh was a biblical Giant - and fell to his royal image. The Children of Israel fled. They just didn't have the anointed when they left.
Commandment # 2- Again
Jeroboam used the tools he could find - he used what caused their forefathers to fall. Jeroboam used apparent goodness, at hand, to offer comfort. I bet Jeroboam hoped the people would not stop to ponder their histories of these images.
Commandment # 3
God's Word was seen as mere vanity. Not substantial to honor Him. Only words. Jesus said we err when we do not know Scripture and the Power of God. In His Word.
Commandment # 4
Teaching our kids their histories and the applications.
Using the Sabbath to speak to our children about Father God and the promises in Jesus.
Father God, be our center in Jesus. Our first priority is to You. Help us, Guide us, Lead us in our life applications. In Jesus the Lord. Amen.
♔ Lord Jesus Saves †
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