https://esv.literalword.com/?q=2+Chronicles+10
Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Tuesday, 2 December 2025:
2 Chronicles 10:1-5 — 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 (for he was in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), then Jeroboam returned from Egypt. And they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all Israel came and said to Rehoboam, “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.” He said to them, “Come to me again in three days.” So the people went away.
The scene shifts sharply from Solomon’s prestige to Rehoboam’s instability. Israel gathers at Shechem, a historically loaded location where covenants were ratified (Joshua 24). This isn’t just a political gathering; it is a moment of covenant identity being renegotiated. The people’s request is reasonable: Solomon’s later years imposed heavy levies (1 Kings 4:7-28), and they are asking for servant leadership, not authoritarian rule. Their promise, “we will serve you,” is directly tied to the kind of leader he will be. This anticipates Jesus’ model of kingship: “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve” (Mark 10:45). Rehoboam is being offered a covenantal opportunity: lead with humility and win their hearts. Leadership always begins with listening.
2 Chronicles 10:6-7 — 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?” And they said to him, “If you will be good to this people and please them and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.”
The elders point him toward servant leadership. Their advice aligns with biblical wisdom: gentle words turn away wrath (Proverbs 15:1), humility establishes credibility (Proverbs 11:2), and care for the people creates lasting loyalty. “Speak good words to them” is not flattery; it is the language of a shepherd-king. Their counsel reflects Solomon’s early humility before God (1 Kings 3:7-9), but Rehoboam’s heart is not operating in the fear of the Lord. This moment mirrors the fork in the road described in Proverbs 1: the path of wisdom or the path of destruction. One word could cement unity, but character, not strategy, determines the choice.
2 Chronicles 10:8-11 — 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. 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’?” And the young men who had grown up with him said to him, “Thus shall you speak to the 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. 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.’”
Rehoboam doesn’t just ignore wisdom, he abandons it. The verb signals intentional rejection. The younger men feed his ego, not his responsibility. Their advice is fueled by bravado, insecurity, and a lust for power. Their boast, “my little finger is thicker than my father’s thighs,” reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of leadership. They view authority as domination, not stewardship. This is the exact inversion of Christlikeness: Jesus uses power to lift burdens, not increase them (Matthew 11:28-30). When leaders surround themselves only with voices that reinforce their preferences, they seal their own downfall. Rehoboam substitutes wisdom with peer affirmation, and the cost will be catastrophic.
2 Chronicles 10:12-15 — So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king said, “Come to me again the third day.” And the king answered them harshly; and forsaking the counsel of the old men, King Rehoboam spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.” So, the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turn of affairs brought about by God that the LORD might fulfill his word, which he spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
Rehoboam’s harsh answer becomes the accelerant for division. His failure to listen is both moral and spiritual deafness. Yet Scripture introduces a deeper layer: his stubbornness serves God’s larger sovereign plan. The fracture of the kingdom fulfills the prophetic word given through Ahijah (1 Kings 11:29-39). God is not the author of Rehoboam’s folly — Rehoboam owns that. But God weaves human sin into His redemptive tapestry. The split becomes part of the long arc pointing toward David’s greater Son, whose kingdom will never divide (Isaiah 9:6-7). Leaders may make destructive decisions, but God’s covenant purposes advance despite human failure.
How important is it to listen to wise counsel who will not just tell you what you want to hear or attempt to appeal to your ego and pride? At a critical time for the kingdom of Israel, King Rehoboam chose poor counsel, thereby decimating the kingdom. Where do you seek advice for tough decisions? Psalm 1:1, 2 says, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” Your primary counsel should be from the Holy Spirit through God’s word. Will you delight in God’s word and meditate upon it all day and night?
2 Chronicles 10:15 — So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turn of affairs brought about by God that the Lord might fulfill his word, which he spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
The Bible assumes the reader knows what happened in 1 Kings 11. Bible study requires a careful study of the whole Bible. None of it stands alone. Many ere in Bible interpretation because they only lightly study and take verses out of the context of the entirety of God’s word. Hence, the importance of systematic Bible reading programs such as this.
2 Chronicles 10:16-19 — And when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, “What portion have we in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. Every man to your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David.” So all Israel went to their tents. But Rehoboam reigned over the people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah. Then King Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was taskmaster over the forced labor, and the people of Israel stoned him to death with stones. And King Rehoboam quickly mounted his chariot to flee to Jerusalem. So, Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.
Israel’s protest, “What portion have we in David?”, is tragic because the Davidic covenant was meant to unify God’s people under a righteous king. But a leader who refuses to serve forfeits the loyalty of those he leads. Rehoboam escalates the crisis by sending the wrong representative: Hadoram, the labor overseer. Instead of reconciliation, he delivers a symbol of oppression. The people’s violent response shows how fragile the social fabric had become. Leadership missteps now spin into open revolt.
2 Chronicles 10:19 — So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.
Solomon’s sin, Rehoboam’s folly, and God’s plan. 2 Chronicles 9 concludes the story of Solomon’s life by telling of his wisdom, and his wealth. Ecclesiastes gives us perspective on all that – “Vanity of vanities! Ironically, in his pursuit for wisdom and wealth, Solomon departed from the source of all wisdom and riches, God. Consequently, he failed to fulfill his primary duty: love, obey, and serve God wholeheartedly. Solomon’s story is sobering because it reveals how even the wisest man on earth can drift away from what was once a life of commitment to the Lord due to the influences of the world, the flesh and the devil.
- Matthew 16:26 — For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?
Again, what was God’s law concerning the kings of Israel? “Only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall never return that way again.’ And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold. And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel.” (Deuteronomy 17:16-20) Despite his great wisdom, Solomon chose to disobey God’s instructions, and his heart turned away from God. Subsequently, Solomon set the conditions for Rehoboam’s folly and the permanent dividing of the kingdom.
“But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.” (James 3:17) “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” (James 1:5) “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1)
Despite Solomon’s sin, Rehoboam conceivably had a chance to rule well, but he took bad advice from his hot-headed buddies, rejecting the godly advice of the older wisemen who counselled Solomon. This is an obvious mistake from the reader’s perspective. However, and more importantly, it would appear that he never went to the Lord in prayer for wisdom, and he didn’t test the advice he had received from God’s word. Rehoboam’s big mistake was that he chose the wisdom of men over the wisdom of God.
“So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turn of affairs brought about by God that the Lord might fulfill his word, which he spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.” 1 Kings 11 explains that God had intended to tear the kingdom away from Solomon – “the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods. But he did not keep what the Lord commanded. Therefore, the Lord said to Solomon, ‘Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant.’” (1 Kings 11:9-11) God didn’t cause Rehoboam to sin, rather God allowed him to experience the consequences of his worldly decisions.
- Proverbs 19:21 — Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.
- Isaiah 14:24 — The Lord of hosts has sworn: “As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand….
Despite our sinfulness and foolishness, the Lord’s plans prevail. Seek God’s plan in your life, not your own. Trust in Him and His word and not your own understanding. Wait upon the Lord. And never lose sight that God’s goal for you is Himself – unity with Him and with others in Him. It’s not what you do that matters most but rather who you are doing it with. Walk with Jesus.
The narrator closes the chapter with the long shadow of division, “to this day.” What began with one foolish decision cascades into centuries of fragmentation. This moment shows why Jesus is the only true King who can heal division: He is the One who gathers the scattered people of God (John 11:52), breaks down dividing walls (Ephesians 2:14), and shepherds His flock with justice and compassion (Ezekiel 34:23). The contrast between Rehoboam and Christ could not be sharper: one fractures the kingdom; the other unites it forever.
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 2 December 2025: Choose one place today where you lead, your home, workplace, ministry, or community, and practice servant leadership expressed through listening. Before speaking, pause long enough to truly hear the concerns of others. Humble, attentive leadership is kingdom leadership, and it is the path Christ Himself walked.
Pray: “Father, anchor my heart in Your wisdom so I never lead from pride or insecurity. Teach me to listen, to serve, and to steward influence with humility. Guard me from alliances, impulses, or decisions that elevate self over obedience. Form in me the heart of Christ, the King who lifts burdens, not adds to them. Strengthen me to lead with compassion, clarity, and faithfulness, and let every action reflect Your goodness and glory. Amen.”
Defenders Bible Reading Plan 