Pathways

Bonking's 11 verse 41, it says As for the other events of Solomon's reign, all he did and the wisdom he displayed, are they not written in the book as the annals of Solomon? Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel for 40 years, then he rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David, his father. And Raya Boam, his son, succeeded him as king. Rrayaboham went to Shaqam, for all Israel had gone there to make him king. When Jaraboham, son of Nebap, heard this, He was still in Egypt where he had fled from King Solomon.

He returned from Egypt, so they sent for Jerabome, and he, in the whole assembly of Israel, went to Rehoboam, and said to him, your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he has put on us, and we will serve you. Rearaburm answered go away for 3 days and then come back to me. So the people went away. Then King Robum consulted the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. How would you advise me to answer these people he asked?

They replied, if today you will be a servant to these people, and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants. But Raabam rejected the advice the elders gave him. And consulted the young men who were grown up with him and were serving him. He asked them, what is your advice? How should we answer the people who say to us lighten the yoke your father put on us?

The young men who were grown up with him replied, These people have said to you, your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter. Now tell them my little finger is thicker than my father's waist. My father laid on you a heavy yoke. I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips I will scourge you with scorpions.

3 days later, Geraburm, and all the people returned to Raaburm, as the king had said. Come back to me in 3 days, and the king answered the people harshly rejecting the advice given him by the elders. He followed the advice of the young men and said my father made your yoke heavy, I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whip I will scare you with scorpions, so the king did not listen to the people for this turn of events was from the lord. To fulfill the word of the lord, the word of the lord had spoken to Geraburm, son of Nabbat, through a hyder, the Charlotte Knight.

When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king what share do we have in David? What part in Jesse's son? To your tenth, Israel? Look after your own house. David, so the Israelites went home.

But as for the Israelites who were living in the town of Judah, Reurbum still ruled over them. King Reurbum sent out Adan Iron who was in charge of forced labor but all Israel stoned him to death. King Roeburn, however, managed to get into his chariot and escaped to Jerusalem. So Israel has been in rebellion against the House of David to this day. And all the Israelites heard that Gerabome had returned they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel.

Only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the house of David. When Raaburm arrived in Jerusalem, he mustered all judah and the tribe of Benjamin, a hundred and 80000 Abel young men to go to war against Israel and to regain the kingdom for Raabome, the son of Solomon. But this word of god came to, Shamayah, the man of god, Satoroboam, son of Solomon, king of Judah, to all Judah and Benjamin until the rest of the people, this is what the lord says. Do not go up to fight against your brothers, the Israelite. Go home.

Every 1 of you for this is my doing, so they obeyed the word of the lord and went home again as the lord had ordered. Thank you very much, James. And, a good morning from me. My name's Tom Sweitman. I'm the assistant minister here, and, it's very good to have you and a warm welcome to you if visiting for the first time, it's great to see you.

Just to say again, we've got this Camry pie book, as Phil said, we really would encourage you to take this home and to take a stack of them to give out, their really quality well put together little magazines as great illustrations. And as Phil said, they outline most of the activities, that we have going on as a church, and so would be great to invite people along to something. There's there's something for everyone in there. So do please take take a few of those. We are starting a new mini series today, and we have called it pathways.

And the plan is to explore some characters in the bible and to find out who they were and, what opportunities they had and the decisions that they made and where they ended up, and most of all to see how they related to the lord and what the lord wants to teach us as we look at their lives. So this is not gonna be a mini series which says, he was good, be like him. He was bad. Don't be like him. She was wise, you do that too.

This is not just moral lessons. They are examples for us, but ultimately this is about the lord, his plans, his purposes, and his pathways. And today, we're going to begin with Rehoboam, the son of Solomon. So do please keep that word open in front of you, and let's bow our heads and pray together. The unfolding of your word gives light.

It gives understanding to the simple. I open my mouth and pant longing for your commands. Father, we do praise you for your word, and we thank you that as it is read and unfolded and explained and preached, you give light. And we pray that you might do that for us this morning. We pray that like this Psalmist, we might pant and long for your commands.

We might long to hear you speak to us. We thank you father for these stories that, are so instructive in many ways and yet are not just recorded to teach us how to be good people. But rather to show us the greatness of you, the covenant god, our god. And so please show us more of yourself this morning. Show us Christ, we pray by the power of the spirit, and we ask that in his name.

Oh, man. Oh, man. Which politician do you think this is? There's no need to shout out, but, see if you can work it out as I read a list of their accomplishments. He was the youngest ever elected president of the US.

He took the economy out of recession through his reforms. He initiated the alliance for progress in Latin America. He was responsible for the Equal Pay Act. He was assassinated as he was driving through Texas with his wife. It's JFK.

Or how about this 1? In his campaign, he called for more empathy towards young criminals. He led Britain to join the NATO Coalition against Libya. He helped to revive the economy. He wanted to renegotiate our position in Europe with an in out referendum.

Mister Cameron, Now, of course, I've been selective there with what I've chosen and in some cases unfair to these politicians, particularly JFK who accomplished a lot more than that. But it is interesting, isn't it how a career can be defined by 1 moment? How politicians can go down in history for 1 decision, 1 choice, 1 action, something that defines their legacy, forevermore. And that is true not only of ain't of modern leaders, rather, but of ancient ones. Today, we are in the book of 1 kings in the Old Testament This reading is set about 930 BC, and the reign of King Solomon has now come to an end.

And from 1 angle, he was 1 of, if not the greatest king of the Old Testament, wasn't he? He was wise, and he was rich. He was powerful in a in a military sense. He finished, completed the temple of the lord. His kingdom was enormous He had an impressive record, lots to be remembered for.

But unfortunately, that's not all he's famous for, is it? And most of us who know the story when we reflect on Solomon's life, remember a great king but 1 who fell into disgrace. Have a look on the screen. This is 1 King's chapter 11. Hopefully, this reading will come up If not, perhaps Colin, you could put it onto 1 king's chapter 11.

King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Ferro's daughter. As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods. And his heart was not fully devoted to the lord his god, as the heart of David, his father had been. And with that fall into disgrace, came the promise of judgment. The lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the lord, the god of Israel.

And so the Lord said to Solomon, since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to 1 of your subordinates. Nevertheless, for the sake of David, your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son. And apparently, That is the last word that he hears from the mouth of the lord. And so here is Solomon, he is rich, He is wise, he is powerful, he has the opportunity to leave this world crowned with honor.

But a foolish decision, a foolish choice, a foolish series of choices cost him that reputation. And brought judgment upon his house. And so today, we pick up the story as Rehoboam, the son of Solomon comes to the throne, And the question is, what about him? What will be his defining moments? How will his reputation be corded for us in scripture, what choices will he make, what paths will he take?

Now in 1 sense, we already know, don't we? We've just had the word of the lord read, we know what is going to happen to him. The kingdom is going to be torn from his hands. But does that mean he is not responsible for his actions. Does that mean he is not held accountable for his choices?

Is he just a pre programmed robot? Filling up time until the lord fulfills his words. That is the question that we're gonna deal with. How will God's sovereign promise and his real choices weave together in this in this text. And the first point that I want us to see this morning as we begin on the pathway of Rehoboam is this.

Rehoboam is faced with a critical decision Will he lighten the lows? Have a look back with me at verse 1 of our reading. Rehoboam went to shechem, for all Israel had gone there to make him king. When Jaraboa, the son of Nabat, heard this, He was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon, he returned from Egypt. So they sent for Geroboam, and he and the whole assembly of Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him, 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.

Now, before we dig into that situation that he was faced with, who is this jeroboam, the son of Nabats? Cause he is obviously important to this story, but who is he? Well, we don't have to guess. We're actually told who he is in chapter 11 verse 26, He was 1 of Solomon's officials, he was a senior man in Solomon's government, and later on we're told he was in charge of the forced labor. But not only was he an official who was responsible for forced labor, he was told by the prophet aha that when Solomon and his house faced the judgment of the lord when the kingdom was torn into, he would become the ruler of 10 tribes.

He would become a leader of god's people. And the lord was very clear with Gerabouam. If Gerabohan was faithful, if he loved and obeyed the lords, then his kingdom would be built up His dynasty would be built up. He would be faithful and therefore be a long, lovely, long lasting prosperous king. In Israel.

Now unfortunately, at the end of chapter 11, it seems that Gerabome couldn't wait, and he kind of decided we think to rebel against solomon and to kind of bring the promises to pass sooner than they ought to have done because we're told at the end of chapter 11 that Solomon is trying to kill him. So obviously, either Solomon has got wind of this promise or Gerabome is already starting to rebel. We're not sure about the details, but something has happened And so Geraburm has fled to Egypt in order to escape Solomon. But now, at this point, in chapter 12, Solomon is dead, And so we have Rehoboam, the rightful king here, but we also have Gerhoboam, who has come back from Egypt because he's heard the news. And it seems that Gerabome is now acting as some kind of leader because he comes with the people to make this request as their spokesman.

Have a look at verse 4 again. Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put us, and we will serve you. So this is a critical moment. Right at the beginning, of his reign. In the last years of Solomon's reign, it seems that he had grown hearts and he had started to oppress the people in some way.

And now the people are thinking, okay, great. Solomon's out of the scene. We've got an opportunity to have this labor relaxed a little. We can ask Rehoboam to reduce the load, and if he does that, Well, then we'll be happy to honor him. In their mind, they're thinking if he will serve us, we will serve him.

It is a big, big moment. And of course, it's not just about the people, is it? This is about Rehoboam, this is about his legacy. What kind of leader does he wanna be? Will he be a politician who listens to the people?

Will he be a minister, on a servant, or will he just push ahead with his own agenda not giving a rap about what they say. They will serve him. If he will lighten the load, His kingdom depends on this. So will he do it? At the beginning of his reign, he's faced But this critical decision, that's the first thing.

But secondly, the second point gives us his response. The second point is this. Rehoboam reject the wisdom of the elders. I don't know if you've ever seen the apprentice. It's a popular show on BBC.

I don't know how many seasons it's run into now, but people seem to love it. And, basically, the idea is very simple. You've got these 2 teams of business people and entrepreneurs, at least they tend to think of themselves as those things, and they are set to compete for a grant, to win a grant from Lord Sugar, Alan Sugar in order to get their business proposal off the ground. And throughout the show, the candidates have to complete different challenges. They're split into 2 different teams.

And they have to work together for the good of the team, but also have to make sure that they shine as individuals. Which makes great, great television because they're basically trying to make it all about them whilst also ensuring that their team win. And in 1 episode from 1 of the series, they had a task, which was to choose several antiques to sell at auction. And the team which selected the best antiques and made the most money at auction would win that particular task. But it turned out that none of them were antique experts.

None of them knew anything at all about antiques and so graciously Alan Sugar provided each team with an art critic. Who would help them, who would advise them, an expert to tell them what they should choose, and where they should sell it. And there was 1 incredible moment in this particular episode where a seasoned experienced art critic looked at some of their silverware, I think it was, and said, you you need to take that to Christie's or something. I can't remember the auction house, but you need to take that to Christie's because that's where silverware ought to go. That's where it sells best.

And 1 of the young leaders of that team with no experience in silverware, with 0 understanding of auction houses, listened to that advice, and rejected it to his face in order to do his own thing, what he thought would be best. It was a stat. It was a staggering moment. Here was this art expert publicly shunned by this leader who knew nothing about art to do his own thing. Now I'll come back to why I think he did that in a moment.

But in verse 5 to 8, we find a similar sort of thing. Have a look at verse 5. Rehoboam answered go away for 3 days and then come back to me, so the people went away. Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had served his father's solomon during his lifetime. How would you advise me to answer this people?

He asked? They replied if today you will be a servant to these people, and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants. But Rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders, gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him. So here we have these elders, They like the art critics. They are experienced wise men who have been serving it in the royal house for a long term time.

And they suggest to Rehoboam, and it is a suggestion notice. They don't command him to do it. They don't demand that he does it. They suggest to him, that servant leadership is the way forward. Servent leadership is the way forward.

They say, if, if, if, you will be a servant to these people, they will be your servants, and not just for 1 day for all days. That is literally how it's written. If this day you will be a servant, they will be your servants all the days. If this day you will choose servant leadership all the days. They will be your servants.

So there's his dilemma. If he listens to the people and trusts the elders, his kingdom will prosper. They will be glad to serve a servant king. But verse 8, he rejected, or more literally he forsook the advice of the elders. He forsook them and their advice.

In other words, he would not take the path of servanthood. So secondly, Rehoboam rejects the wisdom of the elders After being faced with this critical decision. And thirdly, Rehoboam embraces the council of the young men. So here's a question. Why would that leader on the apprentice reject the art critic?

What would lead someone who knows nothing about silverware to reject the advice of somebody who knows everything about silverware. What why would you do that? Because he wants to establish himself as a leader. I guess in his mind he was thinking How can I prove to lord sugar that I'm a really good leader? How can I make him see that I am worth investing in?

I know by standing on my own 2 feet, by making my own decisions, not being ruled by experts. I'll listen but I'm gonna make the call and lord sugar will see me as somebody who makes the decisive call. But how does it look on telly? Artily ridiculous. A wise leader understands that he doesn't know everything.

He knows that in order to lead well for the good of the team, he must listen to expertise that he himself does not have, to turn away from the experts in order to prove yourself in some fake show of strength is counterproductive foolish, embarrassing, and above all it is harmful to the people you're trying to lead. And so verse 8, Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him. He asked them, what is your advice? How should we answer these people who say to me? Lighten the yoke your father has put on us.

The young men who had grown up with him replied, these people have said to you, your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter. Now tell them my little finger is thicker than my father's waist. My father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will make it heavier. My father scourged you with whips, and I will scourge you with scorpions. 3 days later, Gerrah Boam, and all the people returned to Rehoboam, as the king had said, come back to me in 3 days, and the king answered the people harshly.

Instead of listening to the elders, he listens to the young men. Instead of listening to a wise suggestion, he listens to a foolish command. Do you notice how their language is different? The elders suggest if if today you become a servant, The young men say, this is what you will say to them. Notice the difference in tone.

Instead of compassion, he chooses punishment Instead of being like David, he becomes like pharaoh, harsh, increased labor. On the people of god. And notice by the time we get to verse 8, Gerrah Buhm had actually already Brehebuhm rather had already made his decision. In verse 6, he says, how would you advise me? That's what he says to the elders.

How would you advise me In verse 9, he says, what? How should we answer the people? How will you advise me becomes how should we answer? In other words, he's already picked his side. He's made his choice.

He knows who he's with. He will be a slave master. And not a servant leader. And for that reason, fourthly, Rehoboam faces the promised judgment. That's the fourth point.

Rehoboam faces the promised judgment. Have a look at verse 15. So the king did not listen to the people for this turn of events was from the lord to fulfill the word the lord had spoken to Geroboam, son of Neabat, through Ahaysia, the shiloh When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king. What share do we have in David? What part in Jesse's son?

To your tenth's Israel? Look off to your own house, David. So the Israelites went home, but as for the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah, Rahaburam still ruled over them. King Rahabome sent out Adanarum, who was in charge of forced labor, but all Israel stoned him to death. King Rahboam, however, managed to get into his chariot and escaped to Jerusalem.

So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David. To this day. What a quick decline. A mighty king whose little finger is thicker than his father's loins. A king who will scourge his people with scorpions is now scuttling away like a scorpion.

Fleeing from them. Judge has come. And why? What is the ultimate reason for this turn of events? Why has this judgment come?

Well, verse 15 says that this turn of events was from the lord. All of what has taken place happened because the lord ordained it to happen to fulfill his word. It was from the lord. Now in response to that, people will say, well, then Brehoboam had no choice, did he? Not really.

It's unfair. His fate was sealed. His future was decided. He, after all, was a pre programmed robot, just waiting to be taken at the proper time. He was a puppet being controlled from on high But notice that is not how the Bible teaches us, is it?

Throughout this passage, Rehoboam is held accountable. Nobody surely could read chapter 12 and come away thinking, well, that was undeserved. That was unfair. He didn't have that coming. No.

No. He refuses to listen. He rejects the elders. He threatens the people. He embraces the young man.

He is responsible. The lord is sovereign. He promised judgment and judgment came, but he does not bypass people. He worked through in situations to fulfill his word. And therefore, in terms of application, verse 15 has gotta be the key for us.

This turn of events was from the lord to fulfill what the lord had spoken. 1 commentator imagines this strange scenario, which you'll just have to go with, Imagine you go home to your kitchen this afternoon and you see 1 of the local foxes standing at the sink washing your dishes. It's a very odd thing to imagine, but this is the illustration he gives. You see 1 of the garden foxes washing your dishes at the sink. Now if you were to tell that story to a friend, where would you put the emphasis as you retold it?

Would you put it on the word sink? Do you know, I came home today and there was a fox washing dishes at the sink. He was washing them at the sink. Do you believe it? Never seen that, or would you put it on the dishes?

As a fox went home today, there was a fox at the sink washing dishes He believed it wasn't washing the carpet. He was washing he was washing the dishes. Is that where you would put the emphasis or would you put it on the fox? I went home, and there was a fox washing dishes at the sink. And that is the case here.

When a writer says to us, here's what you need to understand, these were events were from the lord If he puts the emphasis there, then that must be our application. It is always tempting, isn't it? When we come stories like this to just moralize them. Was Rehoboam a foolish king? Yeah.

Don't be like him. Don't be a fool like him. Should we listen to older people instead of younger people? Yeah. We should do that.

We should make sure we all do that. Should we be the aware, the advice of our mates, Yeah. Yeah. Definitely, we should be wary the advice of our mates. And and there there is truth in those kinds of things.

That's like the sink and the dishes if you like in the story. Those things are important, worth stressing, but verse 15 is the fox. These events were from the lord. And how does it apply? Well, I think for us today, living these thousands of years later, it is really really good news that our god is like this.

This same god in 20 19 is the same sovereign god of 930 BC. Thousands of years have elapsed, but he is still committed to his word, still working out his plan, fulfilling every detail. According to his good purpose. And what is so special about this chapter is that includes even the moments which look pretty terrible. Even when kings fall, or when great sin happens in the church, when when leaders of the church trusted leaders reject the living god.

And if you've been following any of the news in Christian circles recently, you may have heard that all over the place, Christian leaders trusted leaders are giving up. But even then, the lord is in control. Now, again, does that mean the sin doesn't matter? Of course not. Rehoboam demeaned god's kingdom.

He bought shame on god's kingdom. He fell into sin. The kingdom was torn, but god was sovereign. And he still is And so when you step back from a story like this and take the whole bible story into account, you then realize that even this kind of judgment was part of a greater sovereign plan. To 1 day reunite god's people under a new king.

That promise was always humming along in the background. A greater David is still to come. Could it be rehoboam? No, but a greater king is therefore still to come. A righteous king is gonna come and he's gonna take his seat forever.

1 greater than Solomon will be here. A true son of David will arrive, and that king was Jesus Christ. God in his sovereign stunning sovereignty was working even in the sin of his kings. Even in the judgment, even in the tearing of his kingdom, to 1 day bring his kingdom back together and praise the lord, that king who has come is so unlike Rehoboam. How was his leadership characterized by service.

He is the servant king who laid his life down. To save his own people. He is the risen lord who sits on the throne of heaven and god is sovereignly bringing all things together under him. Nothing could stop him. Good it.

Nothing, not sin, not rulers, not judas, not pilate, not caiaphas, nothing could stop him coming to the throne. And now he's on the throne. Nothing, not sin, not division in the church, nothing will stop or frustrate his sovereign work. His word is coming to pass. We can trust him forever.

And 1 king's 12 is saying people of god, even when this kind of sin happens, Even when you see leaders fall, even when kingdoms get torn and divisions happen, your god is still sovereign. Christ is still on the throne. And his word is sure. Praise, praise the lord for his amazing sovereignty. Let's bow our heads together.

Maybe you'd like just to take a moment to quietly pray or to read over the passage again and to thank god for his in credible, sovereign plans and purposes. Let's pray. Father, we praise you for this story. And, we thank you for how it is so helpful and instructive for us. And, we do ask that as we reflect on the life of Rehoboam, that you would help us by your spirit to avoid the sins that he committed that we would not be slow to listen to wiser people that we would not be obsessed with our own reputation, that we would not wanna give off the impression that we are competent and strong when actually we are weak.

That we would not reject wisdom, that we would be servant hearted, all of these good lessons. But father we pray that above and in all of it, we would see your sovereign purposes. Your commitment to bring your word to pass. We thank you that you are an amazing god that even when your very kingdom was torn in pieces and when you brought judgment upon your rulers, that even that was part of your sovereign plan, to bring the Great Christ to the throne, your king. And we thank you that he is our king who serves us who did so at the cross most wonderfully, but who is still our servant to this day.

And father, we pray that you would help us to trust you and to trust your son and to come away this morning just with a happy confidence that you are on the throne and your good word will come to pass. And we ask these things in Jesus' name. Oh, man.