2 Chronicles 10
Israel fires the king
Israel splits into two nations
1 Kings 12:1-20 1Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, went to the town of Shechem in the northland so people in the northern tribes of Israel could meet him there to crown him king.
2Jeroboam son of Nebat, in hiding from the king, heard about the coming ceremony. But he decided to stay in Egypt. He fled there earlier, while Solomon was alive and trying to kill him. 3Some of Israel’s leaders asked him to come, so he did. The group confronted Rehoboam with a demand: 4“Your father Solomon overworked and exploited us. Lighten up on us and we’ll do what you say.” King’s tough-guy answer
5Rehoboam said, “Let me think about that. Give me three days, then come back and I’ll give you my answer.” So they left.
6Rehoboam met with older advisors who had worked for his father, Solomon. He asked them, “What should I tell these people?” 7They said, “Be gentle. Tell them what they need to hear. If you let them know you care about them, they’ll stay devoted to you for the rest of their lives.”
8Rehoboam didn’t like that advice, so he ignored it. He met with some of the young men he grew up with. They were part of his entourage of closer friends. 9He asked them, “What do you think I should tell these people who said my father overworked and exploited them?” Fist in the face
10The young advisors said, “Here’s what you should say: ‘Work? You call that work? You think my father was heavy-handed. Compared to my heavy hand, my father was a pinky finger. [1] 11He gave you a lot of work. But I’ll give you more than ever. He beat you with ropes. Well, I’ll thread those ropes with chunks of sharp metal.’”
12As instructed, Jeroboam and the crowd of people went back to meet with Rehoboam on the third day. 13The king ignored advice from his older officials. He got harsh with the crowd. 14He took the advice of men his own age. He said what they told him to say: “Work? You call that work? My father gave you a lot of work. But I’ll give you more than ever. He beat you with ropes. Well, I’ll thread those ropes with chunks of metal.’”
15The LORD made sure the king talked sharply to the people. The LORD did this so Ahijah’s prediction [2] to Jeroboam several years earlier would come true. Israel tells the king to get lost
16When the people of Israel heard that, they were prepared with a response:
“What’s David to us?
Jesse’s son is nothing to us.
Israel, let’s go home.
David, mind your own business.” [3]
So, the people left for home. 17That left Rehoboam as king over the towns in only Judah. [4]
18King Rehoboam tried to conduct business as usual. He sent Adoniram, his official in charge of forced labor, to the north. He was supposed to bring back men he drafted for royal work projects. People up there stoned him to death. 19Ever since, Israel has been in a state of rebellion against David, serving other kings. 
Footnotes
110:10This “pinky,” some scholars say, was not a finger. Instead, it was a reference to something a little lower on the male anatomy. If that was the case, then the king’s answer to the people would have been all the more abrasive and disrespectful.
210:151 Kings 11:31.
310:16The 10 northern tribes quoted an old saying that expressed their seething anger with Judah, the dominate tribe—the chosen tribe. A rebel in northern tribes had quoted these lines to King David, in hopes of convincing the northerners to separate from the union (2 Samuel 20:1). Instead, a northern woman arranged to separate the man from his head (2 Samuel 20:14-22). Their quote is the opposite of what the crowd said about David when Jesus, a descendant of David, rode a donkey into Jerusalem on what became Palm Sunday: “Save us, Son of David! Here comes the one God approved. Hallelujah to high heaven!” (Matthew 21:9).
410:17Rehoboam’s kingdom of useable land shrunk to roughly a 40-mile square (65 km) plug of ground. He lost double that when the north walked away. And the northern tribes took the fertile Jezreel Valley and the Galilee fields with them.
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Two nations: Judah and IsraelVideos
2Jeroboam son of Nebat, in hiding from the king, heard about the coming ceremony. But he decided to stay in Egypt. He fled there earlier, while Solomon was alive and trying to kill him. 3Some of Israel’s leaders asked him to come, so he did. The group confronted Rehoboam with a demand: 4“Your father Solomon overworked and exploited us. Lighten up on us and we’ll do what you say.”
King’s tough-guy answer
5Rehoboam said, “Let me think about that. Give me three days, then come back and I’ll give you my answer.” So they left.6Rehoboam met with older advisors who had worked for his father, Solomon. He asked them, “What should I tell these people?” 7They said, “Be gentle. Tell them what they need to hear. If you let them know you care about them, they’ll stay devoted to you for the rest of their lives.”
8Rehoboam didn’t like that advice, so he ignored it. He met with some of the young men he grew up with. They were part of his entourage of closer friends. 9He asked them, “What do you think I should tell these people who said my father overworked and exploited them?”
Fist in the face
10The young advisors said, “Here’s what you should say: ‘Work? You call that work? You think my father was heavy-handed. Compared to my heavy hand, my father was a pinky finger. [1] 11He gave you a lot of work. But I’ll give you more than ever. He beat you with ropes. Well, I’ll thread those ropes with chunks of sharp metal.’”12As instructed, Jeroboam and the crowd of people went back to meet with Rehoboam on the third day. 13The king ignored advice from his older officials. He got harsh with the crowd. 14He took the advice of men his own age. He said what they told him to say: “Work? You call that work? My father gave you a lot of work. But I’ll give you more than ever. He beat you with ropes. Well, I’ll thread those ropes with chunks of metal.’”
15The LORD made sure the king talked sharply to the people. The LORD did this so Ahijah’s prediction [2] to Jeroboam several years earlier would come true.
Israel tells the king to get lost
16When the people of Israel heard that, they were prepared with a response: “What’s David to us?
Jesse’s son is nothing to us.
Israel, let’s go home.
David, mind your own business.” [3]
18King Rehoboam tried to conduct business as usual. He sent Adoniram, his official in charge of forced labor, to the north. He was supposed to bring back men he drafted for royal work projects. People up there stoned him to death. 19Ever since, Israel has been in a state of rebellion against David, serving other kings.
Footnotes
This “pinky,” some scholars say, was not a finger. Instead, it was a reference to something a little lower on the male anatomy. If that was the case, then the king’s answer to the people would have been all the more abrasive and disrespectful.
1 Kings 11:31.
The 10 northern tribes quoted an old saying that expressed their seething anger with Judah, the dominate tribe—the chosen tribe. A rebel in northern tribes had quoted these lines to King David, in hopes of convincing the northerners to separate from the union (2 Samuel 20:1). Instead, a northern woman arranged to separate the man from his head (2 Samuel 20:14-22). Their quote is the opposite of what the crowd said about David when Jesus, a descendant of David, rode a donkey into Jerusalem on what became Palm Sunday: “Save us, Son of David! Here comes the one God approved. Hallelujah to high heaven!” (Matthew 21:9).
Rehoboam’s kingdom of useable land shrunk to roughly a 40-mile square (65 km) plug of ground. He lost double that when the north walked away. And the northern tribes took the fertile Jezreel Valley and the Galilee fields with them.
Discussion Questions
- Sorry, there are currently no questions for this chapter.
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