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Simple Bible overview of1 Kings 11-14 - The first two "kings of the hill"
What we are about to study in 1 Kings reminds me of an Elementary School playground, and especially of playing “king of the hill” on a large pile of snow or dirt. That is what we see in a series of men and one woman who claw their way to the top of the hill in leadership, and what they do to stay there.
We learned in the life of Solomon, a prophet declares 10 pieces (tribes) of Israel are going to get ripped from Solomon’s son who succeeds him. Now that happens. The 12 tribes assemble at Shechem to coronate him king.
The 10 northern tribes tell him he needs to back off on the taxation, drafting of laborers for his projects, etc. The old men advise him they are right, but Rehoboam’s young friends thought this was an opportunity to make a man for himself. He clamps down. The ten northern tribes tell him to drop dead.
Rehoboam assembles a large army from the two tribes he has left (Judah and Benjamin) to go get his 10 other pieces back, but God tell him to forget it and go home – he can’t beat the 10 tribes with God on their side.
This is a split that will never be mended – a north/south Civil War like split. The 10 northern tribes keep the name, ISRAEL. The two southern tribes are named after the largest of the two tribes, JUDAH (remember, Benjamin was almost wiped out in the book of Judges)
About Solomon’s son, Rehoboam. He was no bargain. He had 18 wives and 60 concubines (wonder where he learned that sin?). And 78 kids. We are told, “He abandoned the Lord.” He built altars and shrines on every hill, and brought in temple prostitution (no kidding – the “-ites” did that. Egypt begins to attack and weaken Judah. Almost playing with them like a cat with a mouse. But God had made a promise to David that one of his sons would stay on the throne until the ONE who would come from David’s line would arrive to rule forever. Rehoboam reigned 17 years.
About the other king, the northern king, Jeroboam. He had been one of Solomon’s building superintendents before he was handed the 10 northern tribes. As soon as he was made king, he went off the rails. He gets political. Realizing that the 12 tribes could come back together, he does some despicable things – forging two golden calves (yes, like at Mt. Sinai), creating new festivals, hiring non-Levites as priests, and fashioning a new altar and sacrificing on it.
Compared to what Jeroboam did, what King Saul, the first king, did to disobey, is child’s play. God sends a prophet to declare that one day a person would arrive, Josiah by name, and he would defile the altar by burning the bones of Jeroboam’s priests on that altar.
Strange story – on the way home, that prophet falls for a lie, disobeys God by turning aside rather than go home, and his is killed by a lion as punishment. Obedience to God is essential for both kings and prophets.
The Northern kingdom (ISRAEL) will only last about 200 years before being destroyed by Assyria. The Southern kingdom (JUDAH) will last about 100 years longer before being taken into captivity by the Babylonians for 70 years.
The experiment in a monarchy (ruled by human kings) is just over 120 years in. And it is not going real well.
EPISDOE 62 The simple Bible overview of…REHOBOAM AND JEROGOAM -THE NATION OF ISRAEL DIVIDES
Growing up, if my elementary school playground...
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...had a pile of snow, it was almost certain what we were going to play at recess. At least for us guys who is King of the Hill. If you haven't played it, it's pretty self-explanatory you claw your way up the Hill and try and get on top to be the King. Pretty much anything goes. It was normally a big sixth grade boy who spent most of his time on top. Occasionally some stealthy underclassmen would get 'em off the Hill or people would gang up King of the Hill is the best way to describe what we're going to study over the next few episodes, men and one woman climbing their way to the top and staying there using any means possible. When we left Solomon in first Kings chapter 11, God had just told him he was going to rip the kingdom from him.
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Actually his son, the prophet Abijah. It comes to one of the Solomon's project superintendents. Jeroboam rips his cloak in 12 pieces in hands, 10 of them to Jeroboam dude, those 10 pieces are the 10 tribes God's handing you. He's ripping them from Solomon and handing them to you. He'll keep two pieces in Solomon's line because of his promise to David we're then told Solomon dies. And one of his sons Rehoboam gets two of the pieces. He assembles all of the people at check them. They're ready to make him King over all 12 tribes, but they have a request, more likely a directive chill out on us, back off your old man, taxed us and worked us to death.
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If you ease up, we're all yours. Of course, Solomon had worked them and text them to death. Remember all those labor's going to cut and haul Cedar to quarry stones and haul them to the temple. That's not even touching on his horse stables bought and the project's fortifications, et cetera. Solomon lived out exactly what Samuel warned the people back before they chose their first King. He'll take the best of all you have. He'll take a lot. Anyway, the people said chill on us and we're all yours. The old men advised them. They're straight up right on. Listen to them, Sonny boy. But Rehoboam his young friends saw an opening to do it.
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Solomon did in more to make a name for themselves. They suggest he applied the whip a little harder. Rehoboam listens to the young bucks and tells the people that very thing they basically say Rehoboam dropped dead. Rehoboam said, I'll get an army. And that's exactly what he does. He assembles 180,000 troops out of his two pieces left Judah and Benjamin. He's going to go get his 10 pieces back, but God has other ideas. He says, Rehoboam go home. You're not just fighting them. Now you're going against me. And you're way out of your league right now. We need to make something really clear in Israel's history. They split North and South much like we did in the U S in 1860, the North 10 pieces or 10 tribes keeps the name.
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Israel the South two tribes, Judah and Benjamin is now going to be named Judah as we go forward in their history. So in scripture refers to Israel. It's talking about the 10 Northern tribes taken by. Jeroboam. When the text talks about Judah, it's talking about Judah and Benjamin the two Southern tribes. Now on God's promised land playground, there are two Hills. And guess what? The boys do claw their way to the top. I want to talk about the first two. Kings a little more Rehoboam and Jeroboam first Rehoboam though. God allowed him to be the King of the Southern Hill Judah. He was no bargain.
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Second Chronicles adds details to first Kings. He had 18 wives and 60 concubines who gave him 28 sons and 60 daughters spiritually. We're told quote, he abandoned the Lord unquote, back to the first Kings we're told he builds shrines and Ash Tara poles on every Hill. He implemented trying prostitutes. Yes, this is the same practice. The EITs did the very practices, which drove guide to drive them from the land to begin with Judah Rehoboam Southern kingdom starts to decay, shy shack. The leader of Egypt attacks all the way to Jerusalem's walls.
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Imagine knowing what God had done to the nation of Israel during the time of Moses in the Exodus. Now the descendants of these same Egyptians are clawing at the walls of their Capitol. Surprisingly Rehoboam repents. I mean, it's still not good. Shasha comes in to the city and hauls the way the treasures of the palace and the temple were told. Rehoboam replace some of those items with cheap replicas, kind of a facade. The things were still great when they weren't. We're also told God pulled the merciful lever because there were some good people in the land of Judah. We'll find out in a moment why some of those good people were in the land of Judah.
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And of course there was that matter of a promise to David, the one of his sons would stay on the throne until a real King came Rehoboam was the King of the Southern Hill for 17 years until he died. And his son became King of the Hill. Then there's the North Hill Israel and their King Jeroboam Jeroboam is a poster boy for power corrupts. You'll never forget his name. Having been handed 10 pieces of God's people. He immediately gets political. He starts thinking, you know, if my 10 tribes go back to Jerusalem for those three times a year festivals, they're going to start wondering why we're split North and South.
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The ladies will say that the boys are fighting about something we need to get back together and they'll get back together. So for entirely political power reasons, Jeroboam the King of the Northern Hill. Israel does some despicable things. He has two golden calves fashioned. Yeah, like at Mount Sinai, he puts one in the Northern most place and one in the Southern most place. Now they've got to God and image to worship. He implements new festivals. So they won't go to Jerusalem three times a year. He installs his own priests, not Levi's sites, the ones who can buy their way in or shmooze their way in the Levis to escape to Judah.
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Thus, some of the good people in Judah. Then of course, he builds a new altar. And when the altar is built, he burns his own sacrifice. Just like Saul. The first King did way back when it's during Jeroboam sacrifice, a prophet shows up, he lets God's prophecy against the alter fly. He says, one day in the future, someone's going to arrive from Judah, desecrate this altar with the bones of Jeroboam priests, and then destroy the altar, God, even names this person, Josiah. And just so Jeroboam knows that long-term prophecy will happen. God gives a short term sign. He says, he's going to split the altar and two.
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And sure enough. That's what happens to Jeroboam the altar Jeroboam wheels around and points to the prophet. Only his arm won't move. It seized up paralyzed. Of course in trouble. He asked the prophet to pray that his God will bail him out. And God graciously does. Once again, we're reminded obedience is the key for politicians and we'll discover for profits. Jeroboam invites this prophet home. The prophet says not on your life. I was told by God to head straight back to Judah, to not even turn aside to eat, but on the profits way home he's intercepted by the servants of an older prophet.
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The quick story is the older profit lies to him that God has told him to come to his house. The young profit falls for it goes to the man's house and eats. Then this older lying prophet gives the young prophet a prophecy of his own. He'll die on the way home for disobeying God's direct order not to turn aside. I know, right? It makes you want to ring the older guy's neck. Obedience is the key for both politician and God's prophet. What a mess. Remember in Genesis, Jacob was renamed Israel. He had 12 sons. They became the 12 tribes of Israel.
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Eventually, as he promised God gave them the land. Now they were divided into two North and South permanently, the 10 Northern tribes. Israel the two Southern tribes. Judah will discover the North will last 200 years before utterly disappearing. And during these 200 years, you won't believe what these Kings do to claw their way to the top of the Hill and what abominable things they do on that Hill. As Israel's leader, we'll discover some of those things in our next word picture.
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