The Kingdom of Israel sat on the edge of a knife. Solomon "the Wise" had built his wealth and fame on the backs of the people. His oppression was not only in violation of the Law of God it was not a long term practical political strategy. The people of the north had spent too many generations as tribal units to allow any king to dominate them for an extended period of time. They were restless even before Solomon's death and a variety of opponents had arisen (I Kings 11). With Solomon's death however the opportunity arose to solidify Israel as a nation and not merely as a loose tribal confederation held together by intimidation and power. Whether or not this would happen was up to Solomon's son and heir Rehoboam.
Rehoboam began his reign with promise. He went to Shechem in order to be crowned king. Gathered at Shechem were the leaders of the Northern tribes. They were ready for change…for a king who would treat all people fairly and disband the hated forced labor which Solomon had created. They told the king-to-be that if he would release them from this service they would serve him willingly. Rehoboam was not sure what to do. Therefore he consulted his advisors. First he began by seeking the advice of the older more mature members of Solomon's household. Their counsel was to agree to the dismantling of the forced labor system. Rehoboam did not like their advice so he consulted his friends.
What we have to understand about Rehoboam's friends is that they all grew up in the palace in positions of wealth and power. They were the privileged elite of the land. Their advice was different from that of the older men. They advised Rehoboam to threaten the Northern tribes with harsher work than Solomon had ever laid on them. After all, he was going to be king. Who would dare to confront the king? Rehoboam took their advice and said to the Northern tribes, "My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, I will chastise you with scorpions." (I Kings 12:11)
Chances are the response Rehoboam thought he would get, was not what he received. The Northern tribes left prior to his being made king and publically stated that they were no long under his authority. Ignoring such talk Rehoboam sent his forced labor czar to conscript more people. The Northern tribes killed the labor czar and came after the newly crowned king. Rehoboam barely escaped with his life. (I Kings 12:18-20) The Northern tribes then crowned their own king, a man named Jeroboam, who had led an earlier revolt against Solomon. Thus the nation was divided…forever. The Promise would be imperiled then by almost continual war between these two nations (Judah in the South and Israel in the North), as well as the fact that a divided nation was easier prey to outside kingdoms than a united one.
Jesus understood quite clearly that a house divided against itself cannot stand (Matthew 12:25…later quoted by Abraham Lincoln). Any organization, church or otherwise, needs to be united if it is to accomplish the tasks for which it was created. While unity should never be the primary value that trumps all others, it is a necessary ingredient to success. This does not mean we all have to agree on everything. The issue is being able to create an environment in which there is diversity within our unity. In other words while we may not agree on everything, we are united in the essentials which define our life together (our Core Values). As we move forward in seeking our vision let's be sure to leave room for a variety of voices and views so that we insure that the one voice we may really need to hear is not silenced but is given room to speak.
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