Rehoboam (Pride)

Internal Struggle

Pride

Rehoboam inherited the most powerful kingdom in Israel’s history. On his first day as king, the people came to him with one request: lighten the heavy burden his father Solomon had placed on them. He asked the older advisors who had served his father. They told him to serve the people and they would serve him forever. He asked his peers instead. They told him to make the burden heavier. He listened to his peers and lost ten tribes before his first week as king was over.

What Happened?

Rehoboam became king after Solomon’s death. The people came to him led by Jeroboam and asked him to reduce the heavy workload and taxes Solomon had imposed. Rehoboam asked for three days to consider it. He consulted the older advisors who told him to speak kindly to the people and they would serve him. He then consulted the young men he had grown up with, who told him to tell the people his little finger was thicker than his father’s waist and that he would add to their burden, not reduce it. He followed the advice of his peers. When he delivered the answer, ten tribes immediately revolted and made Jeroboam king over them. Only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin remained with Rehoboam. The united kingdom of Israel was never restored (1 Kings 12).

How Did Pride Affect Rehoboam?

Rehoboam chose the advice that required no humility and offered maximum display of strength over the advice that required him to serve
He asked the wrong advisors after hearing the right ones, which shows the choice was not ignorance but preference
The words he delivered were chosen specifically to demonstrate dominance rather than to address the people’s genuine need
His response to a reasonable request was escalation, which produced the exact outcome the wiser advisors had told him to avoid
He lost the majority of a kingdom that had been handed to him intact because he could not bring himself to speak kindly to the people who were asking him to
His later reign was marked by additional compromise and eventual military defeat that stripped the temple of its treasures

The Tragedy

The older advisors’ counsel was not complicated: serve the people and they will serve you. It required no military strategy, no financial investment, and no sacrifice of actual authority. It required Rehoboam to speak to his people with kindness. He could not do it. He asked people who would tell him what he wanted to hear instead and delivered the harshest possible version of the alternative. The kingdom split immediately and permanently. He went to war to take it back and God told him through a prophet to go home, that what had happened was from Him. Rehoboam went home. He spent the rest of his reign managing what was left of a kingdom that had been whole when he received it.

The Pattern That Led to Destruction

Received wise counsel that required him to serve rather than dominate
Sought out advisors who would confirm what he already wanted to do
Chose the response that maximized the display of strength over the one that addressed the actual need
Lost the majority of the kingdom in the immediate aftermath of that choice
Spent the rest of his reign managing a diminished inheritance that had been complete when it arrived

Practical Steps for Facing Pride

Seek out advisors who will tell you what is true rather than what you want to hear
Notice when the advice you are rejecting requires you to serve and the advice you are accepting allows you to dominate
Ask what the people in your care actually need rather than how your response can project your strength
Serve the people who depend on you first, authority that is worth having is usually built on trust rather than fear
Be suspicious of advice that escalates the display of power in response to a reasonable request
Consider what you stand to lose permanently before you deliver a response designed to prove a point
Ask whether you are consulting the people who know the most or the people who will agree with you the fastest