“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 spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.”
~ 1 Kings 12:15
Hi James and Ellen,
Have you gotten angry? If you have gotten angry, what have you gotten angry about? If you have gotten angry, was it because a kid – or a guy or gal, told you to do something – especially when it was something that you did not want to do? If you have gotten angry, was it because you heard of a guy or gal who was in an authority position who took advantage of his or her position to do things that would benefit himself or herself while at the same time he or she was using his or her position to abuse guys and gals who are poor? If you have gotten angry, how has being angry affected you? Do you feel better after you have blown your cool? Do you think that it is okay for guy, gal or kid to get angry for one reason or another? Have you had your dad and/or ma get angry at you because of something that you said or did? Do you know if God has ever gotten angry for one reason or another? How do you think God felt about 3000 years ago when His specially chosen guys and gals – the Israelite people group’s guys and gals, stopped obeying Him? How do you think that God feels today when His specially elected guys, gals and kids disobey Him? God gets angry. The teacher for a class that your grandpaa was taking said one day that there would never be changes made about an unfairness or an inequity or an immorality unless a guy or gal becomes angry about the unfairness or the inequity or the immorality that he or she is seeing. Would you like to live in a country where you have to pay atrociously high taxes – even though the guy who is the head of or who is the ruler of the country where you are living has all the money that he needs, where you are forced to work hard for the guy who is the head of or who is the ruler of the country where you are living even though the guy can hire and pay any guy at any time to do anything that he needs to have or wants to have done and where you are made to fight with a military force for the guy who is the head of or who is the ruler of the country where you are living even though the guy has become the dominant international leader or ruler in the known world on planet Earth? Even though nearly 3000 years ago Solomon became the wealthiest guy in the known world on planet Earth and even though he may have become the wealthiest guy to ever live on planet Earth, Solomon still made God’s specially chosen guys and gals who lived in the land area of Israel pay him exorbitantly high taxes. Even though nearly 3000 years ago Solomon was the head of and the most influential ruler over all the countries of the known world on planet Earth where he could have easily conscripted any kind of work force that he would want to have, Solomon forced God’s specially chosen guys and gals to work for him. Even though nearly 3000 years ago Solomon was the head of and the most powerful ruler of any country in the known world on planet Earth where he never had to worry about an invasion of an enemy people group’s army, Solomon still required God’s specially chosen guys to fight for him whether they wanted to or not.
By the time that Solomon’s life on planet Earth came to an end, God’s specially chosen guys and gals who were living in the land area of Israel – which God had told His specially chosen guys and gals that they would always have to live in as their very own land if . . . had become very angry about their poor quality of life. When Solomon’s life on planet Earth came to an end, God’s specially chosen guys and gals wanted a change to happen to where they would have a better quality of life. God’s specially chosen guys and gals wanted their next king – which was Rehoboam, to lighten up on them. The Kings Books historian and author recounts in 1 Kings 12 what happened when Rehoboam got his opportunity to rule over God’s specially chosen guys and gals as their next king. Rehoboam first asked some old dudes who lived during Solomon’s forty year tenure as king how he should rule as a king. After the old dudes told Rehoboam that he should rule as a nice guy as king over God’s specially chosen guys and gals who were living in the land area of Israel, Rehoboam asked some young bucks how he should rule as a king. When the young bucks told Rehoboam that he should be even tougher as king over God’s specially chosen guys and gals who were living in the land area of Israel than what his dad had been, Rehoboam opted to do what the young bucks told him what he should be like as king instead of what the old dudes told him what he should be like as king.
While Solomon was the king over God’s specially chosen guys and gals who were living in the land area of Israel, a young guy by the name of Jeroboam got crosswise with Solomon. When Jeroboam realized that Solomon was about to kill him because he was so angry with him, Jeroboam took off for Egypt where he hid until Solomon died. When Solomon died, Jeroboam returned to the land area of Israel where he discovered that he had a following. Jeroboam became the spokesman for the guys and gals who did not like Rehoboam’s governance style as their king. Jeroboam ended up splitting the land area of Israel as most of God’s specially chosen guys and gals wanted him for their ruler or king instead of Rehoboam. Why do you think that God let this happen – letting the land area where He wanted His specially chosen guys and gals to always to have to live in be split into two land areas? Verse 15 says, “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 spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.” Even though Solomon was David’s kid – and even though David became known as a man after God’s own heart, Solomon lived his life to please himself. Solomon pleasing himself began a downward spiral of evil that split the family who God chose to be His specially chosen guys and gals. If you get angry, make sure that you have gotten angry at something that is clearly corrupt and evil.
1 Kings 12 (396)