Today I read 1 Kings 12 where Solomon's son, Rehoboam is crowned and takes over being king. The people come to Rehoboam and ask him to relieve the burdens that Solomon his father placed upon them. Rehoboam then does one of the dumbest things I've ever read about in scriptures, he not only denies their request, he flings it back in their faces and mocks them saying that not only is he not going to lessen their burdens, he is going to add to them. It's one of the most bone headed moves I have ever heard of.
Now, the scriptures state that it was according to the word of God, and I believe it, but I do not think that God influenced Rehoboam to do this. I think he did it all on his own. I honestly think the man was an idiot at this point and had no idea what power was and what it meant. He learned really quickly however. He sent a tax collector to the tribes of Israel after this and they killed him. The only tribe that stayed around Rehoboam was Judah, and personally I think the only reason they stayed is because they didn't want to leave their homes in Jerusalem. Just my thought but I can't think of another reason why they would have stayed with such a tyrant.
The rest of the chapter is about Jeroboam, who was crowned king over the 10 tribes that left Rehoboam. In an effort to hold onto power, he urged his people to not go up to Jerusalem to worship in the temple, but rather built 2 golden calves and offered them to the people for their worship. The worst part is that the people do it. It seems that these people never learn their lessons. They just keep making the same ridiculous mistakes over and over again. I don't think I could have been around such people, they would have driven me crazy. I'm glad that I didn't live in those days, I couldn't have handled it. Until tomorrow.
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