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Listen to Lead: Rehoboam's Folly and the Price of Unwise Counsel
October 9, 2026 · 14 min
A pastoral reflection on Rehoboam's refusal to heed elders, the nation's division, and the call to seek the Lord with a hearing heart.
Series Stand on the Word - Video On Demand
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October 9, 2026 · 14 min · Stand on the Word - Video On Demand
A pastoral reflection on Rehoboam's refusal to heed elders, the nation's division, and the call to seek the Lord with a hearing heart. ...more Show the full description Show less A pastoral reflection on Rehoboam's refusal to heed elders, the nation's division, and the call to seek the Lord with a hearing heart.
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In this video 0:00 Rehoboam Rejects Wise Counsel and Divides the Kingdom6:30 God's Command Prevents Civil War and the Tale of Two Kingdoms10:00 Rehoboam's Sin Brings Invasion Followed by Repentance and Mercy
Rehoboam Rejects Wise Counsel and Divides the Kingdom 0:10 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word. Now for those of you who may have just joined us in this journey through the Bible, it is a chronological reading through the Bible, so you're gonna need the Bible reading0:20 plan. And you can find it at f r c dot o r g slash bible. Alright. Today, 2nd Chronicles chapters 10 through 12, verse 14 of chapter0:32 12. And he did evil because he did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord. Rehoboam, who was the son of Solomon, takes the reigns of the kingdom, and it's evident right away that wisdom was not conveyed through0:44 the bloodline. Rehoboam does not have the wisdom that Solomon had. Rehoboam's actions led to the irreparable division of the nation, which in all fairness, as0:56 we will read, fulfilled the prophecy and the design by god. That said, I don't believe that it had to happen under Rehoboam's watch. Verse 1, chapter 10.1:07 And Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone to Shechem to make him king. Now Shechem was a place of covenantal renewal. Alright? It was... It would be like us going to Plymouth Rock or to1:19 Philadelphia. Verse 2. So what happened when Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, heard it? He was in Egypt, for he had fled from the presence of King Solomon,1:32 that Jeroboam returned from Egypt. Now you recall from our previous readings that he he had gotten the prophetic word that god would make him king of Israel if he1:44 would follow him. Let's go to verse 3. Then they sent for him and called him, and Jeroboam and all Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam. Alright. So you got Jeroboam
1:56 and Rehoboam. I gotta keep the 2 straight. Rehoboam, son of Solomon. Your father made our yoke heavy. Now, therefore, lighten the burdensome service of your father and his heavy yoke which he put on us,
2:08 and we will serve you. Reasonable? And it looked like maybe Jeroboam was genuine, that, hey. Look. Just leave us alone, and we'll we'll be
2:19 fine. But what Rehoboam does next is I I would say, maybe you would describe it as taking a poll of his inner circle. Verse 5, chapter 10. So he said to them, come back to
2:31 me after 3 days, and the people departed. Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who stood before his father, Solomon, while he still lived, saying, how do you advise me to answer these people? And they spoke to him
2:42 saying, if you are kind to these people and please them and speak good words to them, they will be your servants forever. Good advice. But he rejected the advice which the elders had given him
2:54 and consulted the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him. And he said to them, what advice do you give? How should we answer? It's interesting. He says, how should we
3:06 answer these people? So they're already kind of in cahoots. Who have spoken to us saying, lighten the yoke which your father put on us. Then the young men who had grown up with him spoke to him
3:18 saying, thus you shall... Thus you should speak to the people who have spoken to you saying, your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter on us. Thus you shall say to them, my little
3:29 finger shall be thicker than my father's waist. And now whereas my father put a heavy yoke on you, I will add to your yoke. My father chastened you with whips, but I will chastise you with
3:41 scourges. Now I imagine these, quote, unquote, friends were benefiting from this administration. Maybe they were government contractors. I don't know. But they had no frame of reference for the burden that
3:53 the people were carrying. And in their youth, they lacked both perspective and wisdom. Alright? I think that's important. People... You know... Age doesn't necessarily mean
4:05 wisdom, but it does give you greater perspective. Verse 12. So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the 3rd day as the king had directed saying, come back to me
4:17 the 3rd day. And the king answered them roughly. King Rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders and spoke to them according to the advice of the young men. So the king... Look at verse... Drop to
4:29 verse 15. So the king did not listen to the people. Remember that. For the turn of events was from God, that the Lord might fulfill his word, which he had spoken by the hand of
4:40 Ahijah, the Shilonite, to Jeroboam, the son of Nebad. Right? I mentioned that a moment ago. Now I wanna pause here for a moment because this is significant. He did not listen.
4:53 Right? In 1st Kings chapter 3 verse 9, when Solomon was invited by god to ask whatever he wanted, he asked for an understanding or a hearing heart. Now this is the same
5:04 Hebrew word here, Shemiah. What Solomon asked for was to to to hear and to understand
5:16 so that he can have the wisdom to govern the people justly. Rehoboam did not want to hear. He did not listen. Again, the same Hebrew word there. So look what happens. Verse
5:28 16. Now when all Israel saw that the king did not listen, did not hear, did not have that understanding, the people answered the king saying, what share have we in David? We have no inheritance
5:40 in the son of Jesse. Every man to your tents, oh Israel. Now see to your own house, oh David. So all Israel departed to their tents. Every man for himself,
5:52 disunity and anarchy. Verse 17, that Rehoboam reigned over the children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah. Then King Rehoboam sent
6:04 Haderam, who was the... In charge of revenue, 1st IRS agent, but the children of Israel stoned him with stones, and he died. Therefore, King Rehoboam mounted his chariot in
6:16 haste to flee to Jerusalem. Alright. Let's go to chapter 11 verse 1. Now when Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled from the house of Judah and
6:28 Benjamin 180000 chosen men who were warriors to fight against Israel that he might restore the kingdom to Rehoboam. Alright? He didn't have wisdom to keep it together, so now he was gonna use...
God's Command Prevents Civil War and the Tale of Two Kingdoms
6:40 Try to use the military might. But the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, the man of God, saying, speak to Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all
6:51 Israel, and Judah, and Benjamin. Now it's interesting here. Just just a moment. Let me point this out. Remember when Solomon Solomon heard from the lord? He prayed. The lord spoke to him. Here we
7:03 have Rehoboam, and and the lord now is transitioning speaking through the prophets. The kings are not listening. Speak to Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel and Judah and
7:15 Benjamin saying, thus says the lord, you shall not go up or fight against your brother, and let every man return to his house, for this thing is from me. Therefore, they obeyed the words of the lord and turned back from
7:26 attacking Jeroboam. So he he did have some sense. The account of Rehoboam's 17 year reign provides, I think, a pattern that will be repeated
7:38 over and over as we go through, the kings. Now the punishment that follows the rejection of god's word, we see that. We're gonna see that pattern. Then we're gonna see god's blessing and restoration that
7:50 comes from, when there's repentance and there's obedience to his word. And then we're gonna see the preserving and the strengthening effect of the faithful priest and the Levites. We see this here in Rehoboam. We're
8:01 gonna see it throughout the history of of, Judah, you know, primarily. In verses 13 to 17, it is the... Really the tale of 2 kingdoms. The southern kingdom chose to
8:13 serve God. The northern kingdom chose to chose to serve demons. Verse 13, and from all their territories, the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel took their stand with him. For the
8:25 Levites left their common land and their possessions and came to Judah and Jerusalem for Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them from serving as priests to the Lord. So all of the priests, the
8:37 Levites left the northern kingdom and came to Rehoboam in the south because Jeroboam, contrary to what god had promised him or
8:49 told him to do, he chose to worship idols. Now this vacuum created by the departure of the priest because the government's hostility and indifference was quickly filled.
9:01 And and this is what happens to a society when the church withdraws or is suppressed. Verse 15. Then he appointed... This is, this is, Jeroboam. Then he appointed for
9:13 himself priest for the high places, for the demons and the calf idols which he had made. And after the Levites left, those from all the tribes of Israel, such as set their heart to seek the lord god
9:25 of Israel, came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the lord god of their fathers. So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah and made Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, strong for 3 years because they walked in the way of David
9:37 and Solomon for 3 years. Interesting. The the the influence here of the priest of the Levites as they came, those who sought god came to Jerusalem,
9:48 and that strengthened Rehoboam and his reign. Unfortunately, Rehoboam's obedience was short lived, and so was God's hand of provision and blessing. Verse 12,
Rehoboam's Sin Brings Invasion Followed by Repentance and Mercy
10:00 chapter 12, verse 1. Now it came to pass when Rehoboam had established the kingdom and had strengthened himself. See, oftentimes, difficulty is is easier to deal with in success. Just
10:12 look what it says, that he forsook the law of the Lord and all Israel along with him. Peace and prosperity often lead to spiritual and moral complacency,
10:25 which leads to destruction. Verse 2, and it happened in the 5th year of Rehoboam that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem because they had transgressed
10:36 against the Lord. Notice that? God's hand of protection removed because they had transgressed. And so we have Egypt making a move on them with 1200 chariots,
10:48 60000 horsemen, and people without number who came with him from Egypt and the Ethiopians. The the outside opposition came
11:00 because of their internal sin as a nation. Something to take note of. Verse 4, and he took the fortified cities of Judah and came to Jerusalem. Then Shemaiah and the prophet came to Rehoboam
11:12 and the leaders of Judah who were gathered together in Jerusalem because of Shishak and said to them, thus says the Lord, you have forsaken me, and therefore, I also have left you in
11:24 the hand of Shishak. So the leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves, and they said, the lord is righteous. Now when the lord saw that they had humbled themselves...
11:36 This is the grace of god, god's mercy. Here, they had rejected god, walked away from his word, and his ways, trouble came upon them, but they repented.
11:47 They humbled themselves. And now when the lord saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the lord came to Shemaiah saying, they have humbled themselves. Therefore, I will not destroy them. It's never too late.
12:00 But I will grant them some deliverance. My wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. You know, god is is faithful to his promise. If his people will return to him, he
12:12 will return to them. But it was never the same. Their spiritual compromise cost them economically, and it cost them politically. As a daily reminder of the compromise, the king had
12:24 to to look at the shields that, went from gold to bronze all because of what we read, what we read in verse 15, 14 rather, and he did
12:36 evil because he did not prepare his heart to seek the lord. You see, his heart was not prepared to follow the lord, a very important note. Probably a contributing factor was his
12:47 mother, an Ammonites, a foreigner that Solomon should not have married, but his heart was not to seek the Lord. Our heart needs to be to seek the Lord with our whole heart.
12:59 Father, we thank you for your word, and we thank you, lord, for, once again, the... This... The the the clarity of the scripture that, lord, it is
13:11 not glossed over the the the the the foolishness of man so that we might learn from the mistakes of of those who have gone before us. And so, father, I pray that we would have a
13:23 hearing heart. As Solomon prayed, a a heart to hear and to understand that we might do what is right. So I pray father that we would hear. Give
13:35 us the ability to understand as we listen to your word and apply it to our lives. For we pray and ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright. Thanks for joining me this morning. And until next time,
13:47 keep standing on the word.
13:51 Today's study comes from the Stand on the Word Bible Reading Plan available for free at f r c dot o r g slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you
14:03 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.
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