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Chronicles 10 reminds of the importance of discernment. People love
to give us their opinions. Even news stories now come pre-packaged
with opinion polls to tell us what we should think about events.
Many times people give advice, based on their own self interest.
What filter do we use to sort out answers? The chapter begins with
Solomon’s son, “Rehab” taking over the “family business”,
blissfully unaware that God was in control. “Rehoboam
went to Shechem, for all the Israelites had gone there to make him
king“.
“Rehab” had little regard for his responsibility to the people,
or the authority of God. We also read, “When
Jeroboam… heard this (he was in Egypt, where he had fled from King
Solomon), he returned from Egypt“.
Jeroboam
had been in charge of the laborers under Solomon, but when he pointed
out Solomon’s hypocrisy, he was forced to flee.
The people sent Jeroboam to “negotiate” with the new king. “Your
father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and
the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you“.
Rehab wisely took time to consider the idea “Come
back to me in three days“.
The new king had his first big decision to make. Where would he
turn for advice?
“King
Rehoboam consulted the elders who had served his father Solomon
during his lifetime“.
Wise people do not surround themselves with “yes-men”. I have
to believe these men had been battle tested through the years with
Solomon. They advised the king, “If
you will be kind to these people and please them and give them a
favorable answer, they will always be your servants“.
Rehab did what many of us do; he kept asking until he got the answer
HE wanted. “Rehoboam
rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men
who had grown up with him and were serving him“.
His entourage did not want to upset their “meal-ticket”.
Rehab’s buddies advised him to be even harder on the laborers.
“The
king answered them harshly. Rejecting the advice of the elders, he
followed the advice of the young men“.
He told Jeroboam, “My
father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier“.
Note there is
no
indication Rehab read the Holy Book of scriptures, prayed, or
consulted God himself in any way. Are you in need of answers? While
God has never spoken to me audibly, I believe that God can and will
give us answers. I have found that God will speak to me specifically
through the reading of His Word when we both pray and read.
The
chapter concludes, “So
the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was
from God, to fulfill the word the Lord had spoken to Jeroboam“.
God had warned that the descendants of David would rule as long as
they honored God. That did not last long. “When
all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered
the king…all the Israelites went home“.
So much for the big coronation party! God, in His Mercy allowed
Rehab to remain responsible for a portion of the divided nation “the
Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah, Rehoboam still
ruled over them“.
It seems that many of us learn who we can trust through life
experience and trial and error. That ERROR part is not much fun. If
you are tired of making bad decisions, listen to the words of the
apostle Paul on where to go first. “All
Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking,
correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may
be thoroughly equipped for every good work”
(2 Timothy 3:16).