1 Kings 12
Bible Passage: 1 Kings 12
You know.. I always find this part kinda funny..
Two main characters in focus, both with very similar sounding names, Rehoboam and Jeroboam. I’ll just call them the “Oboams”… Please do not get them mixed up with “Obamas”..
Anyway I digress…
Seeking… The Wrong Advice
In this chapter, the “Oboams” both made similar boo-boos.
In the first part of today’s chapter, we see Jeroboam and the people of Israel requesting to Rehoboam, who had taken up the throne in place of his father, Solomon, to lessen their yoke, their burden that had been brought upon them by Solomon.
Unfortunately, Rehoboam apparently didn’t inherit the wisdom that his father possessed (so much for “like father, like son”). So he told them return after three days, while he sought some advice from two groups of people, which are the elders who had served his father, and the friends with whom he had grown up with.
In the end, Rehoboam rejected the seemingly wiser and more logical advice given by the elders (verse 8), and instead followed his friends more rash and aggressive suggestion to further increase their yoke (verses 10-11). What happened next… Well, you can read on…
In the second part, after Jeroboam took over the kingship over Israel, he grew concern about people going to Jerusalem to worship, where they might turn their hearts back to the house of David (verses 26-27). So what did he do? He “took counsel and made two calves of gold” (verse 28) and claimed to the people that they could just worship them, being easier than going all the way to Jerusalem. This would cause the people to sin…
Furthermore, probably stemming further from the counsel he took, he selected people from all walks of life to become priests, whether they were Levites or not, which was also against God’s commandments..
Horrible… Isn’t it?
What can we learn from these?
Quite simply put, both of the “Oboams” chose to listen to the wrong advice.
Rehoboam chose close friendships/relations and perhaps like-mindedness (with his friends) over experience and wisdom (of the elders). Whether it was because of this, he was rash or he lacked the wisdom, he chose the wrong option and suffered for it.
Jeroboam was overly concerned about losing his reign, forgetting the promise that God made to him, as spoken through Ahijah (1 Kings 11: 38-39). Thus, he too probably rashly took the counsel to do the things he committed in order to put his worries to apparent rest.
Discernment & Non-Compromise
Like us, we have to be able to discern between whose or which advice to listen to. Let’s ask ourselves, do we find ourselves being like the “Oboams”?
When young and when we had a problem, who do we tend to turn to? Our peers, or our parents/elders? Our outside friends, or our church friends?
Many a times, I believe we tend to choose the first options of each case. Not that they would always give wrong advice.. But seriously, thinking logically and from a biblical perspective, who would more likely give sounder advice?
When we have a troubling matter in our lives, do we seek an immediate solution that could compromise our beliefs and the teachings of God?
We should not commit the same mistakes as Rehoboam and Jeroboam did by just making a decision based on relations with people or because we want an immediate solution to curb our concerns, but rather we have to be discerning when we receive the different advices. And most importantly, we must compare them with what God tells us through the Bible, and then further discern if what they are saying is going against the teachings of God, for His words are the best advice.
The Counsel… Of God
In fact, come to think of it.. Do we think of seeking God when we have a problem? When we have trials and tribulations, do we first quieten ourselves down to pray? I think I have a lot to work on that… And maybe so do many of us…
Teach me Your way, O Lord, and lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies.. – Psalms 27: 11
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction… – Proverbs 1: 7