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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Friday, 19 September 2025:
1 Kings 12:1-5 — Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. And as soon as Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it … they sent and called him…. And they said to Rehoboam, “Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father… and we will serve you.” He said to them, “Go away for three days; then come again to me.”
Rehoboam begins his reign at a crossroads. The people ask for relief from the heavy burden Solomon had placed on them through forced labor and taxation. Their request is reasonable: if the king rules with gentleness, they will gladly serve him. Rehoboam does a wise thing initially: he asks for time before deciding. Seeking counsel and not rushing is a good start, but what he does with that time reveals his heart.
1 Kings 12:6-11 — Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, who had stood before Solomon… and they said to him, “If you will be a servant to this people today… 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…. They said, “Thus shall you speak to this people… ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s thighs. … My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.’”
Rehoboam rejects wise, seasoned counsel and chooses the prideful advice of his peers. Instead of leading with humility, he chooses to rule with harshness and arrogance. Leadership is tested in whether you serve or dominate. Jesus later redefines leadership: “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant” (Mark 10:43). Rehoboam’s pride blinds him to servant leadership, and the consequences are catastrophic.
Rehoboam refused to accept sound, godly counsel, and as a result, he ruined his hope for success. Rehoboam had an opportunity to reconcile with his opponents and to restore unity, but instead, ignoring wise counsel, he chose to respond to his opponents pridefully and harshly. In so doing, he lost all hope for peace and prosperity for generations. As Christians, as we read yesterday, we have been given the mission of reconciliation. We must seek reconciliation in all of our relationships.
1 Kings 12:12-15 — So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day… and the king answered the people harshly…. 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.
Rehoboam’s decision is both his responsibility and God’s sovereignty at work. His prideful choice fulfills God’s earlier word of judgment against Solomon. Scripture often shows us this tension: human sin and divine sovereignty work in tandem, yet God is never the author of sin. Rehoboam’s folly becomes the instrument of God’s plan to divide the kingdom.
1 Kings 12:16-20 — And when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered…. “What portion do we have in David? … To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David.” So Israel went to their tents…. So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day. And when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel.
The kingdom is torn in two. Ten tribes follow Jeroboam in the north, while Judah (with Benjamin) remains loyal to Rehoboam in the south. The cry “What portion do we have in David?” shows the people’s disillusionment with the house of David. Yet God had promised David an everlasting throne — this division does not annul God’s covenant, but it does mark Israel’s decline because of disobedience.
1 Kings 12:21-24 — 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… But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God: “Say to Rehoboam… You shall not go up or fight against your relatives… 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.
Rehoboam plans civil war to regain control, but God stops him through the prophet Shemaiah. Remarkably, Rehoboam obeys this word — a rare moment of restraint. God makes it clear: the division is His doing, a direct consequence of covenant unfaithfulness. Sometimes God calls us to lay down our plans and ambitions because His larger purpose is at work, even if it looks like defeat to us.
1 Kings 12:25-30 — Then Jeroboam built Shechem… and Penuel. And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will turn back to the house of David if this people go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the LORD at Jerusalem…. 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.’ And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. Then this thing became a sin, for the people went as far as Dan to be before one.”
Jeroboam fears losing power if the people continue to worship at the temple in Jerusalem, so he creates an alternative religion — golden calves in Bethel and Dan. He even echoes Aaron’s idolatrous words from Exodus 32: “Behold your gods, O Israel.” What began as political insecurity becomes national idolatry. Fear of losing control often drives us to sin. Instead of trusting God’s promise to give him the kingdom, Jeroboam takes matters into his own hands and leads Israel into ruin.
1 Kings 12:27, 28 — “’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.” So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold.
Fear drove Jeroboam to turn to idols, and others followed Jeroboam’s lead. Fear and pride are always the primary motivators for sin. Fear, pride, and rebellion are at the root of church splits and false doctrines.
1 Kings 12:31-33 — He also made temples on high places and appointed priests from among all the people, who were not of the Levites. And Jeroboam appointed a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month like the feast that was in Judah…. So he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he made.
Jeroboam creates a counterfeit religion: false gods, false priests, false altars, and false feasts. It looks similar to the worship of Yahweh but is rooted in idolatry. Satan often works not by erasing religion, but by counterfeiting it. False worship still uses the language of truth but redirects it to idols. Jeroboam sets a pattern of sin that will plague Israel for centuries.
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) — 19 September 2025: This chapter warns us of two dangers: pride and fear. Rehoboam’s pride destroyed unity; Jeroboam’s fear created idolatry. Pride refuses to serve, fear refuses to trust — and both lead to destruction. True leadership is servanthood, and true security is trusting God’s promises. Where is pride keeping you from serving others? Where is fear driving you to take control instead of resting in God’s Word?
Pray: “Lord, thank You for these sobering lessons. Protect me from the pride of Rehoboam that resists humble service, and from the fear of Jeroboam that clings to control. Teach me to trust Your promises and to walk in obedience, even when it costs me. Keep me faithful to You alone, and guard my worship from compromise. May my heart be wholly Yours. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”
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