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Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends, welcome to the weekend!
Have you ever waited with great anticipation, for something significant to happen? Listen to this: “I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits…more than the watchmen wait for the morning…” (Psalm 130:3,4) Have you ever worked as a night security guard, or some other job during what many call the ‘graveyard shift’? Remember your longing for daylight? I don’t know who wrote Psalm 130, or what they were so desperately waiting for, but for millions of people around the world, the election day that is fast approaching in America will be significant. No one can be sure what will happen that day or in the weeks which follow. But I suspect we all know it will be traumatic.
Crown prince Rehoboam had been waiting his whole life for his chance to be the leader, the king of Israel. We find his story in 2 Chronicles 10-12. He was, apparently, the firstborn son of king Solomon, born the year before Solomon inherited the throne of Israel from his father king David. (2 Chron. 12:13) Lately we’ve been following the story of Israel in this early era of the kings to see what we can learn about leadership, as America and many other countries are in leadership struggles right now.
So let’s put ourselves into the life story of Rehoboam. He probably had no recollection of his grandfather king David, since David died when Rehoboam was a baby. But young Rehoboam would have grown up as a boy watching two of the greatest construction projects of all time… the great Temple of God and the great Palace of king Solomon, both in Jerusalem. (1 Kings 6&7) If he was like most little boys, prince Rehoboam was probably at these construction sites everyday, fascinated by thousands of people working on such remarkable projects with no shortage of silver, gold, imported timbers and craftsmanship beyond anything ever seen in Jerusalem.
Rehoboam likely spent a great deal of time in king Solomon’s new palace, after it was completed, surrounded by opulence and the finest of everything. I suspect he might have grown up spoiled as a privileged prince, and from his early years, found people catering to his every wish. That’s the world of royalty, after all, both then and now.
Sadly, I imagine there was not much of a relationship between Solomon and his son Rehoboam. How could there be when Solomon ended up having 700 wives and 300 concubines and probably hundreds of children with them? Doubly sadly, Rehoboam watched as his father king Solomon slowly drifted from being a passionate worshiper of Almighty God, a God anointed king of unparalleled wisdom, to a self-indulgent, self-pampering, hedonistic king who pursued pleasure above all else. Solomon wrote three books of our Bible, did you know that? Proverbs, or at least most of the book of Proverbs, which is filled with wisdom and you’ll note in the first 7 chapters, Solomon frequently challenges his sons to pay attention and pursue wisdom and learn from his mistakes.
King Solomon also wrote the book of Ecclesiastes which begins “Meaningless! Meaningless! says the Teacher. Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless. What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun? Generations come and go, but the earth remains forever…no one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them…” I imagine prince Rehoboam would have likely been in his 30’s when his father king Solomon was writing such empty, hopeless things. How would that have affected Rehoboam’s view of leadership and life?
And king Solomon also wrote the Bible book called the ‘Song of Solomon’ or ‘Song of Songs’ as an expression of his romantic reflections. I wonder how Solomon’s addiction to women and we presume his unquenchable sexual appetite affected Rehoboam’s respect and admiration for his father, and his view of women and marriage and family?
Parenting matters doesn’t it my friends? The culture of your family, the values and priorities of your family, the experiences your children and grandchildren have growing up under your influence all matter very, very much! I believe the leadership traits and failures that we see in Rehoboam were shaped in his formative years, in what many call the ‘golden years’ of peace and prosperity in Israel, and especially his hometown Jerusalem, during the 40 year reign of his father king Solomon.
Yesterday we read 2 Chronicles 10. Today I invite you to read 2 Chronicles 11 & 12. Less than 40 verses tell us the story of how things unraveled so quickly in Israel and Jerusalem under king Rehoboam who failed so badly as king, even though he’d grown up in Solomon’s grand palace, not far from the great Temple of Jehovah God, watching his father king Solomon, whom many believe to be the wisest and wealthiest king in the world at that time.
I notice these significant things which I believe define Rehoboam and explain his leadership failure:
1. He rejected the wise counsel of older advisors who had witnessed the demise of his father king Solomon, and instead he followed the arrogant, harsh advice of young radicals like himself. (2 Chron. 10) This split the nation of Israel into two nations, who even though cousins, turned antagonistic toward each other for the next several centuries.
2. He rallied all the fighting men he could find to retaliate against his own people Israel, when they turned away from his leadership. (2 Chron. 11:1-4) Fortunately God intervened and prevented a bloodbath.
3. Like his father, king Rehoboam passionately pursued many women and had 88 children, a huge family that I see no evidence he tried to lead with God honoring integrity! (2 Chron. 11:18-21)
4. Listen to this: “After Rehoboam’s position as king was established and he had become strong, he and all Israel with him abandoned the law of the LORD.” (2 Chron. 12:1)
And if you keep reading in chapter 12, you’ll see Rehoboam had only been king 5 short years when a very powerful invading army came up from Egypt. 1200 chariots, 60,000 soldiers on horseback, and soldiers on foot more than could be counted! While Rehoboam had a small army ready to fight, what he did not have was the help of God, for he had abandoned the God of his grandfather king David, following in the spiritual drift of his father Solomon. God sent a prophet to king Rehoboam to explain his reality: “This is what the LORD says: ‘You have abandoned Me, therefore I now abandon you to Shishak and his army.” (2 Chron. 12:5) Do you remember my friends, Samuel had warned David about this. David had warned Solomon, but there is no evidence Solomon had warned his son Rehoboam about the price of abandoning their God.
Do you remember the grandeur and opulence of the Temple and Solomon’s palace? Look at vs. 9 “When Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem, he carried off the treasures of the temple of the LORD and the treasures of the royal palace. He took everything, including the gold shields Solomon had made…” Now to get a picture of what this massive rampage of wealth would have been like you might need to re-read chapter 9. I can’t even imagine the scores of cartloads of gold and silver objects which were hauled out of Jerusalem and taken to Egypt, only 5 years after king Rehoboam had become king.
Sometimes it doesn’t take very long for disaster to strike and undo years, even decades of hard work, accomplishment and even the blessing of God. Now think about that carefully friends, as you think about leadership transition… whether leadership in government, or business or even the church! What do you see all around you, wherever you live in our world, and what is God saying to you, especially if you either are a key leader or you have the opportunity to influence a key leader? These are vitally important days for God’s people all around the world, to be people of strategic, God honoring influence in times of great change!
Oh Lord Jesus, I’m asking that You will guide us by the power of Your Holy Spirit. Help us to be wise influencers in the leaders that we can touch, in Jesus name!
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Click to read today’s chapter: 2 Chronicles 11; 2 Chronicles 12. (At the top you can choose a different translation.)
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Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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