The Story of How the Kingdom of Israel Was Divided into Two – Biblical Story

Today we are going to witness one of the most dramatic moments in all of Biblical history. The moment when the mighty kingdom of Israel, the kingdom that had reached its peak of glory under Solomon, was torn in two. We will walk through the golden age of Solomon, when peace covered the land and the glory of God filled the temple. We will see how wealth and foreign wives slowly led the wisest man on earth into darkness. We will stand on the road outside Jerusalem, when the prophet Ahijah delivered God's message to Jeroboam. And we will be there at Shechem, when a young king's foolish words shattered a nation forever. So settle in, pay close attention, and let us begin this incredible journey through the word of God. There was a time when the kingdom of Israel shone brighter than any nation on earth. It was the time of Solomon, son of David, a king whose reign began with a promise from God himself. When Solomon became king, he went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices, for that was the most important high place at the time, and there, during the night, the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream. First Kings chapter 3, verses 5 through 9, tells us that God said, Ask for whatever you want me to give you. Solomon could have asked for anything, riches, long life, the death of his enemies. But Solomon said, I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. God was pleased with this request. First Kings chapter 3, verses 10 through 13, records his response. Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies, but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. And I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for, both wealth and honor, so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. Solomon's wisdom became legendary throughout all the earth. First Kings chapter 4, verses 29 through 31, tells us that God gave Solomon wisdom and a very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore. Solomon's wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the east, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. He was wiser than anyone else, wiser than Ethan the Ezraite, wiser than Heman, Chalcol and Dada, the sons of Mehol, and his fame spread to all the surrounding nations. But wisdom was not the only blessing upon Israel in those days. There was also peace. First Kings chapter 4, verse 24, declares that he ruled over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River from Tifsa to Gaza, and had peace on all sides. Verse 25 adds, During Solomon's lifetime, Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, lived in safety, everyone under their own vine and under their own fig tree. The greatest achievement of Solomon's reign was the construction of the temple. It was the dream that his father David had carried in his heart, but was not permitted to fulfill. First Kings chapter 6, verse 1, marks this historic moment. In the 480th year after the Israelites came out of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, the second month, he began to build the temple of the Lord. For seven years the work continued. The walls were lined with cedar, carved with gourds and open flowers. The inner sanctuary was overlaid with pure gold. Two cherubim of olive wood stood in the most holy place, each ten cubits high, their wings stretching from wall to wall. When the temple was finally complete, the priests brought the Ark of the Covenant into the inner sanctuary and placed it beneath the wings of the cherubim. First Kings chapter 8, verses 10 and 11 describes what happened next. When the priests withdrew from the holy place, the cloud filled the temple of the Lord, and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud. For the glory of the Lord filled his temple. The glory of God filled that house so completely that the priests could not even stand to minister. This was the high point of Israel's history. With peace secured on every side, Solomon turned his attention to trade and international commerce. One of his most important relationships was with Hiram, king of Tyre. First Kings chapter 5, verses 8 and 9 records Hiram's message to Solomon. I have received the message you sent me and will do all you want in providing the cedar and juniper logs. My men will haul them down from Lebanon to the Mediterranean Sea, and I will float them as rafts by sea to the place you specify. In exchange, First Kings chapter 5, verse 11 tells us that Solomon gave Hiram 20,000 cores of wheat as food for his household, in addition to 20,000 baths of pressed olive oil. Solomon continued to do this for Hiram year after year. Solomon built a fleet of ships at Etzion Geber, on the shore of the Red Sea. First Kings chapter 9, verses 27 and 28 reveals what came next. And Hiram sent his men, sailors who knew the sea, to serve in the fleet with Solomon's men. They sailed to Ophir and brought back 420 talents of gold, of which they delivered to King Solomon. First Kings chapter 10, verse 14 gives us Solomon's annual income. The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents, and that was not counting the revenue from merchants and traders. News of Solomon's wisdom and wealth spread across the ancient world. First Kings chapter 10, verse 1 introduces the Queen of Sheba. When the Queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and his relationship to the Lord, she came to test Solomon with hard questions. She arrived with a great caravan, camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones. First Kings chapter 10, verse 3 tells us that Solomon answered all her questions. Nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her. First Kings chapter 10, verses 6 and 7 records her words. The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true, but I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me. In wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the report I heard. First Kings chapter 10, verse 23 summarizes this era. King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth, but all this splendor came at a cost, a cost that the people of Israel felt every single day. To maintain his vast kingdom, Solomon needed a constant supply of food and resources. To meet this need, he reorganized the entire nation. First Kings chapter 4, verse 7 explains the system. Solomon had 12 district governors over all Israel, who supplied provisions for the king and the royal household. Each one had to provide supplies for one month in the year. First Kings chapter 4, verses 22 and 23 lists the daily provisions required. Solomon's daily provisions were 30 coir of the finest flour and 60 coirs of meal, 10 head of stall-fed cattle, 20 of pasture-fed cattle and 100 sheep and goats, as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks and choice fowl. Every single day 30 coirs of fine flour, 60 coirs of meal, 10 stall-fed cattle, 20 pasture-fed cattle, 100 sheep and goats, plus deer, gazelles, roebucks and choice birds. This was the daily requirement day after day, month after month, year after year. First Kings chapter 4, verse 27 confirms the district governors each in his month supplied provisions for King Solomon and all who came to the king's table. They saw to it that nothing was lacking. First Kings chapter 4, verse 28 adds another requirement. They also brought to the proper place their quotas of barley and straw for the chariot, horses and the other horses. First Kings chapter 4, verse 26 tells us Solomon had 4,000 stalls for chariot horses and 12,000 horses. All of this had to be fed, all of this had to be maintained. The farmers and shepherds of each region had to produce enough to feed the royal court for an entire month. While Solomon lived in luxury, the people of Israel worked to provide it, but taxation was not the only burden. There was something else that cut even deeper, forced labor. First Kings chapter 5, verses 13 and 14 reveals the scale. King Solomon conscripted laborers from all Israel, 30,000 men. He sent them off to Lebanon in shifts of 10,000 a month so that they spent one month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of the forced labor, 30,000 men taken from their homes, taken from their families. For one month out of every three, these men had to leave everything behind and travel to Lebanon to cut timber. But the 30,000 who went to Lebanon were not the only ones. First Kings chapter 5, verse 15 adds, Solomon had 70,000 carriers and 80,000 stonecutters in the hills. 30,000 in Lebanon, 70,000 carriers, 80,000 stonecutters, 180,000 men conscripted for Solomon's building projects. First Kings chapter 5, verse 16 mentions as well as 3,300 foremen who supervised the project and directed the workers. The work was not limited to the temple. After completing the temple in seven years, Solomon spent 13 years building his palace. First Kings chapter 9, verses 15 and 17 through 19 lists his projects. Here is the account of the forced labor King Solomon conscripted to build the Lord's temple, his own palace, the terraces, the wall of Jerusalem and Hazor, Megiddo and Giza. He built up lower Beth Horon, Balath and Tadmor in the desert within his land, as well as all his store cities and the towns for his chariots and for his horses. All of this required labor. Year after year, the people worked, and Adoniram son of Abder was in charge of it all. Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived, but wisdom in the mind does not always protect the heart. First Kings chapter 11, verse 1 reveals, King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh's daughter, Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. These were the very peoples God had specifically warned Israel about. First Kings chapter 11, verse 2 recalls God's command. They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, you must not intermarry with them because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods. Deuteronomy chapter 7, verses 3 and 4 had stated this warning long before. Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, for they will turn your children away from following me to serve other gods. And the Lord's anger will burn against you. But what did Solomon do? First Kings chapter 11, verse 2 continues. Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. First Kings chapter 11, verse 3 gives us the number. He had 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines and his wives led him astray. 700 wives, 300 concubines, 1,000 women in total, each one from a foreign nation, each one bringing her own gods into the palace of the king of Israel. And they led him astray. The change did not happen overnight. It was gradual. As the years passed, as Solomon grew older, his heart began to shift. First Kings chapter 11, verse 4 describes this transformation. As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God as the heart of David his father had been. There was a time when Solomon's heart belonged entirely to the Lord, when he built the temple, when he prayed that prayer of dedication, when the glory of God filled the sanctuary. But now in his old age, his heart was divided. First Kings chapter 11, verse 5 names these gods. He followed Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites, Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites, whose worship involved the sacrifice of children. First Kings chapter 11, verse 6 delivers the verdict. So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord. He did not follow the Lord completely as David his father had done. Solomon did not just worship these gods privately. He built places for them. First Kings chapter 11, verse 7 tells us, On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, the detestable god of Moab, and for Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites. A hill east of Jerusalem, the Mount of Olives, the very hills that overlooked the temple of the Lord. First Kings chapter 11, verse 8 adds, He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods. The hills around Jerusalem became filled with high places and altars to every idol imaginable. The city that housed the temple of the living God was now surrounded by the worship of false gods. God had been patient. God had been gracious. But Solomon had crossed the line. First Kings chapter 11, verse 9 reveals God's response. The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel who had appeared to him twice. God had appeared to Solomon twice. Once at Gibeon. Once after the temple was completed. First Kings chapter 9, verses 4 and 5 records what God said on that second occasion. As for you, if you walk before me faithfully with integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws, I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever. But God also gave a warning. First Kings chapter 9, verses 6 and 7. But if you or your descendants turn away from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you, and go off to serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my name. First Kings chapter 11, verse 10 confirms. Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the Lord's command. First Kings chapter 11, verses 11 through 13 records God's pronouncement. So the Lord said to Solomon, since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates. Nevertheless, for the sake of David, your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son, yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but will give him one tribe for the sake of David, my servant, and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen. The kingdom would be torn away. For David's sake, it would not happen during Solomon's lifetime and the kingdom would not be entirely taken. One tribe would remain, but the judgment was certain. God's judgment did not wait until after Solomon's death to begin. Even during his reign, the Lord began to raise up adversaries. First Kings chapter 11, verse 14 introduces the first, then the Lord raised up against Solomon an adversary, Hadad the Edomite from the royal line of Edom. First Kings chapter 11, verses 15 through 17 tells us earlier when David was fighting with Edom, Joab the commander of the army, who had gone up to bury the dead had struck down all the men in Edom. Joab and all the Israelites stayed there for six months until they had destroyed all the men in Edom. But Hadad still only a boy fled to Egypt with some Edomite officials who had served his father. First Kings chapter 11, verse 18 continues. They set out from Midian and went to Paran. Then taking men from Paran with them, they went to Egypt to Pharaoh king of Egypt who gave Hadad a house and land and provided him with food. First Kings chapter 11, verse 19 reveals. Pharaoh was so pleased with Hadad that he gave him a sister of his own wife, Queen Tepenes in marriage. First Kings chapter 11, verse 21 tells us while he was in Egypt, Hadad heard that David rested with his ancestors and that Joab the commander of the army was also dead. Then Hadad said to Pharaoh, let me go that I may return to my own country. And so Hadad returned to Edom and he became a thorn in Solomon's side. First Kings chapter 11, verse 23 introduces another adversary and God raised up against Solomon another adversary, Rezon son of Eliada who had fled from his master. Hadad is a king of Zobah. First Kings chapter 11, verses 24 and 25 describe when David destroyed Zobah's army, Rezon gathered a band of men around him and became their leader. They went to Damascus where they settled and took control. Rezon was Israel's adversary as long as Solomon lived, adding to the trouble caused by Hadad. So Rezon ruled in Aram and was hostile toward Israel. In the south Hadad the Edomite, in the north Rezon in Damascus, the peace that had defined Solomon's early reign was breaking down. And it was the Lord himself who had raised up these adversaries against the king who had turned away from him. Among the many men who served under Solomon, there was one who stood out from all the rest. His name was Jeroboam son of Nebat. He was an Ephraimite, a man from the northern tribes, born in a town called Zerida. His mother was a widow named Zerua. First Kings chapter 11, verse 28 tells us about this man. Now Jeroboam was a man of standing. And when Solomon saw how well the young man did his work, he put him in charge of the whole labor force of the tribes of Joseph. Jeroboam was not born into royalty. He was not from the tribe of Judah. He had no claim to the throne of David, but he was a man of great ability. He worked hard, he got things done, and Solomon noticed. Of all the positions Solomon could have given him, he chose one of the most important and most difficult, the labor force of the tribes of Joseph. This meant the forced labor of Ephraim and Manasseh, two of the largest and most influential tribes in the north. These were the tribes that had carried the heaviest burden under Solomon's building projects. These were the people who had been sent to Lebanon in shifts, who had worked as carriers and stonecutters, who had felt the weight of the king's demands more than anyone else. And now Jeroboam was in charge of them all. It was a position of great power, but it was also a position that put Jeroboam in direct contact with the suffering of his own people. Every day he saw the men taken from their homes. Every day he heard their complaints. Every day he felt the tension growing between the northern tribes and the house of David in Jerusalem. Jeroboam did his work well. He was efficient. He was capable. Solomon trusted him. But something was about to happen that would change everything. Something that neither Solomon nor Jeroboam could have predicted. God was about to intervene. One day Jeroboam left Jerusalem and went out into the open country. He was alone on the road walking outside the city when he met a man he had never seen before. First Kings chapter 11 verses 29 and 30 describes this encounter. About that time, Jeroboam was going out of Jerusalem and Ahijah, the prophet of Shiloh, met him on the way, wearing a new cloak. The two of them were alone out in the country. Ahijah was a prophet. He came from Shiloh, the place where the tabernacle had once stood. The place where Samuel had served as a boy. The place that held deep significance in Israel's history. And on this day, Ahijah was wearing a new cloak, a new garment. It was not worn or old. It was fresh and whole. What happened next was dramatic and unforgettable. First Kings chapter 11 verse 30 continues. And Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into 12 pieces. Ahijah grabbed his own new cloak and ripped it apart, not into two pieces, not into a few pieces, into 12 pieces, one for each tribe of Israel. Then came the command. First Kings chapter 11 verse 31 records. Then he said to Jeroboam, take 10 pieces for yourself. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says. See, I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon's hand and give you 10 tribes. Take 10 pieces, 10 tribes. God was going to tear the kingdom away from Solomon and give the majority of it to Jeroboam, this servant, this overseer of forced labor, this man from Ephraim. First Kings chapter 11 verse 32 explains why not all 12. But for the sake of my servant David and the city of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, he will have one tribe. One tribe would remain with Solomon's family for David's sake, for Jerusalem's sake, but only one. First Kings chapter 11 verses 33 and 34 gives the reason for this judgment. I will do this because they have forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth, goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh, the God of the Moabites, and Molech, the God of the Ammonites, and have not walked in obedience to me, nor done what is right in my eyes, nor kept my decrees and laws as David, Solomon's father did. But I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon's hand. I have made him ruler all the ye days of his life for the sake of David, my servant, whom I chose and who obeyed my commands and decrees. Solomon had turned away from God. He had worshipped foreign gods. He had not walked in God's ways like his father David. And now the kingdom would be torn from his family. First Kings chapter 11 verse 35 confirms, I will take the kingdom from his son's hands and give you 10 tribes, not from Solomon directly, from his son. The judgment would fall on the next generation. First Kings chapter 11 verse 36 adds, I will give one tribe to his son so that David, my servant, may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put my name. One tribe, a lamp for David, a remnant in Jerusalem, but the rest would belong to Jeroboam. But God did not simply hand Jeroboam a kingdom without conditions. There was a promise, yes, but there was also a requirement. First Kings chapter 11 verse 37 records God's word to Jeroboam through Ahijah. However, as for you, I will take you and you will rule over all that your heart desires. You will be king over Israel, all that your heart desires, king over Israel. This was an incredible promise. Jeroboam, the servant would become a king, but then came the condition. First Kings chapter 11 verse 38 continues, If you do whatever I command you and walk in obedience to me and do what is right in my eyes by obeying my decrees and commands as David, my servant did, I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty as enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you. If that small word carried enormous weight, if Jeroboam would obey God, if he would walk in God's ways, if he would do what was right, if he would keep the commandments, then God would be with him. Then God would build him a lasting dynasty. Then God would establish his throne. The example was clear. David, not Solomon, David, the man after God's own heart, the king who, despite his failures, always returned to the Lord, the king whose heart remained devoted to God. That was the standard. That was what Jeroboam needed to follow. First Kings chapter 11 verse 39 concludes God's message. I will humble David's descendants because of this, but not forever. David's line would be humbled. They would lose 10 tribes. They would be reduced to a small kingdom, but not forever. God's covenant with David would not be completely broken. The lamp would continue to burn in Jerusalem. This was God's covenant with Jeroboam. A kingdom offered, a dynasty promised, but all of it conditional on obedience. All of it depending on whether Jeroboam would follow God or follow his own path. The torn cloak lay in pieces on the ground, 10 pieces in Jeroboam's hands. The future of Israel had been revealed. Now everything depended on what would happen next. Word travels fast in a royal court. Secrets are hard to keep when prophets speak in the open country and servants talk among themselves. Somehow Solomon found out what Ahijah had said to Jeroboam. First Kings chapter 11 verse 40 tells us Solomon's response. Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam fled to Egypt to Shishak the king and stayed there until Solomon's death. Solomon tried to kill him, the king who had been given wisdom from God, the king who had built the temple, the king who had judged between two mothers with such insight. That same king now sought to murder his own servant to prevent God's word from coming true. But Jeroboam escaped. He fled south out of Israel, out of Solomon's reach all the way to Egypt. There he found refuge with Pharaoh Shishak. Shishak was a new dynasty in Egypt. He was not the same Pharaoh whose daughter Solomon had married. He was a Libyan who had risen to power and established his own rule. And he was willing to shelter this fugitive from Israel. So Jeroboam waited day after day, month after month, year after year. He lived in Egypt as an exile, watching from a distance, waiting for the news that would change everything. Meanwhile, Solomon continued to reign in Jerusalem. First Kings chapter 11 verse 42 tells us Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel 40 years, 40 years, four decades on the throne. From the young king who asked for wisdom to the old king who worshipped foreign gods, from the builder of the temple to the builder of high places for idols, 40 years of glory and 40 years of decline. First Kings chapter 11 verse 43 records the end. Then he rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David, his father. And Rehoboam, his son, succeeded him as king. Solomon was dead. Rehoboam, his son, took the throne. And somewhere in Egypt, Jeroboam heard the news. The time had come. When Solomon died, something unusual happened. The people did not simply accept Rehoboam as king in Jerusalem. Instead, all Israel gathered at a place called Shechem. First Kings chapter 12 verse 1 tells us Rehoboam went to Shechem for all Israel had gone there to make him king. Shechem, this was not a random choice. This was an ancient city with deep meaning for Israel. It was at Shechem that God first appeared to Abraham when he entered the promised land. Genesis chapter 12 verse 6 tells us that Abraham traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moriah at Shechem. And verse 7 adds, the Lord appeared to Abraham and said, to your offspring, I will give this land. It was at Shechem that Jacob bought a piece of land and set up an helter. It was at Shechem that Joseph's bones were eventually buried after the Israelites left Egypt. And it was at Shechem that Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel for the renewal of the covenant. Joshua chapter 24 verse 1 records, then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. Shechem was a place of covenant, a place of decision, a place where the tribes came together to make commitments before God. And now all Israel had gathered there again, not in Jerusalem, not in the city of David, in Shechem, in the heart of the northern territory. First Kings chapter 12 verse 2 and 3 continues, when Jeroboam's son of Nebat heard this, he was still in Egypt where he had fled from King Solomon. He returned from Egypt. So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly of Israel went to Rehoboam. Jeroboam came back. After all those years in exile, he returned to his homeland and he did not come alone. The whole assembly of Israel stood with him. He became their spokesman, their representative, the one who would speak on their behalf. First Kings chapter 12 verse 4 records what they said to Rehoboam, Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you. This was their request, simple and direct. Your father made our lives hard. The labor was harsh. The taxation was heavy. Lighten the load and we will serve you. We will be loyal. We will accept you as king. Just give us relief. The people had not come to rebel. They had not come to reject the house of David. They had come with a petition, a reasonable request, a plea for mercy from the new king. Everything depended on how Rehoboam would answer. Rehoboam did not answer immediately. First Kings chapter 12 verse 5 tells us, Rehoboam answered, Go away for three days and then come back to me. So the people went away. Three days. He asked for time to think, time to consider, time to seek counsel. This was wise. A decision of this magnitude should not be made hastily. First Kings chapter 12 verses 6 and 7 describes his first consultation. Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. How would you advise me to answer these people? He asked. They replied, If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants. The elders, the old men, the ones who had served Solomon and watched the kingdom grow. The ones who had seen both the glory and the cost. They gave Rehoboam clear advice. Be a servant. Serve the people. Give them a favorable answer. Speak kindly to them and they will serve you forever. This was wisdom. True leadership is not about domination. It is about service. A king who serves his people earns their loyalty. A king who listens to their concerns wins their hearts. The elders understood this. They had learned it through years of experience. But Rehoboam was not satisfied with their advice. First Kings chapter 12 verses 8 through 11 tells us what happened next. But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him. He asked them, What is your advice? How should we answer these people who say to me, Lighten the yoke your father put on us? The young men who had grown up with him replied, These people have said to you, Your father put a heavy yoke on us, make our yoke lighter. Now tell them, My little finger is thicker than my father's waist. My father laid on you a heavy yoke. I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips. I will scourge you with scorpions. The young men, his friends, the ones who had grown up with him in the palace. They had never worked a day in the labor gangs. They had never felt the weight of taxation. They had never known anything but privilege and comfort. And their advice was brutal. My little finger is thicker than my father's waist. In other words, even the smallest part of me is more powerful than all of my father. My father was nothing compared to what I will be. My father scourged you with whips. I will scourge you with scorpions. Scorpions were whips with sharp barbed ends that tore the flesh. The young men were telling Rehoboam to threaten the people with even greater cruelty than they had already endured. This was not wisdom. This was arrogance. This was pride. This was the foolishness of men who had never suffered and could not understand those who had. And Rehoboam listened to them. The three days passed. The people returned and Rehoboam gave his answer. First Kings chapter 12 verses 13 and 14 records that terrible moment. The king answered the people harshly. Rejecting the advice given him by the elders, he followed the advice of the young men and said, My father made your yoke heavy. I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips. I will scourge you with scorpions. He chose harshness. He chose cruelty. He chose the words of the young men over the wisdom of the elders. He threatened the people instead of serving them. He promised more pain instead of relief. First Kings chapter 12 verse 15 reveals the deeper truth behind this decision. So the king did not listen to the people for this turn of events was from the Lord. To fulfill the word, the Lord had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shillonite. This turn of events was from the Lord. Rehoboam made his choice freely. He chose pride over humility. He chose the young men over the elders, but God was working through it all. The prophecy given to Jeroboam was being fulfilled. The kingdom was about to be torn. First Kings chapter 12 verse 16 records the people's response. When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king. What share do we have in David? What part in Jesse's son to your tents, Israel? Look after your own house, David. So the Israelites went home. What share do we have in David? They were done. The bond between the Northern tribes and the house of David, the bond that had held Israel together for generations was broken in an instant. They rejected Rehoboam. They rejected Jerusalem. They rejected the entire dynasty. To your tents, Israel. This was the cry of separation, the cry of independence, the cry of a people who had been pushed too far. But Rehoboam did not understand how serious the situation was. First Kings chapter 12 verse 18 tells us King Rehoboam sent out Adoniram, who was in charge of forced labor. But all Israel stoned him to death. Adoniram, the man who had overseen the labor gangs, the man whose name represented everything the people hated about Solomon's rule. Rehoboam sent him to negotiate with the rebellious tribes. It was the worst possible choice. And the people killed him. They stoned him to death right there in the open. First Kings chapter 12 verse 18 concludes King Rehoboam, however, managed to get into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem. The king fled. He ran for his life. He jumped into his chariot and raced back to Jerusalem as fast as his horses could carry him. The United Kingdom of Israel was finished. First Kings chapter 12 verse 19 summarizes. So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day. With Rehoboam gone, the northern tribes needed a leader and they knew exactly who they wanted. First Kings chapter 12 verse 20 tells us when all the Israelites heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the house of David. Jeroboam was king. The man who had once supervised the forced labor of the northern tribes was now their ruler. The man who had fled to Egypt as a fugitive was now wearing a crown. The prophecy of Ahijah had come true. The 10 pieces of the torn cloak now represented 10 tribes under Jeroboam's rule. Only Judah remained with Rehoboam. The tribe of David, the tribe of the royal family. Along with Benjamin, the small tribe whose territory bordered Jerusalem. Everything else belonged to Jeroboam. But Rehoboam was not ready to accept this division. First Kings chapter 12 verse 21 tells us when Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mustered all Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, 180,000 able young men to go to war against Israel and to regain the kingdom for Rehoboam son of Solomon. 180,000 soldiers, an army assembled for civil war, brother against brother, Israelite against Israelite. Rehoboam was determined to take back what he had lost. He would conquer the north by force if necessary. But God had other plans. First Kings chapter 12 verses 22 through 24 records what happened next. But this word of God came to Shemiah, the man of God. Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon, king of Judah, to all Judah and Benjamin and to the rest of the people. This is what the Lord says. Do not go up to fight against your brothers. The Israelites go home. Every one of you for this is my doing. So they obeyed the word of the Lord and went home again. As the Lord had ordered Shemiah, the prophet brought God's message. Do not fight. Go home. This is my doing. God claimed responsibility. The division was not an accident. It was not simply the result of Rehoboam's foolishness. It was God's judgment on the house of Solomon for turning away from him. It was the fulfillment of what God had promised through Ahijah and the people obeyed. The 180,000 soldiers went home. The war never happened. The kingdom remained divided from that day forward. There were two kingdoms where once there had been one in the south. Judah ruled by the descendants of David from the city of Jerusalem in the north. Israel ruled by Jeroboam from wherever he chose to establish his throne. The golden age of Solomon was over. The United Kingdom of Israel was finished. And the long painful history of the divided monarchy had begun. And so the kingdom that once shone as the greatest in all the earth was now divided in two. What God had built through David, what Solomon had expanded with wisdom and wealth, was torn apart in a single day at Shechem. The seeds of this division were not planted overnight. They grew slowly year after year through heavy burdens placed on the people. Through forced labor that took fathers from their homes. Through a king whose heart turned away from the God who had given him everything. Solomon started his reign asking for wisdom. He ended it building altars to foreign gods. He started with the glory of God filling the temple. He ended with the Lord raising up enemies on every side. And when his son had the chance to heal the wounds, he chose pride over humility. Harshness over kindness. The counsel of fools over the wisdom of the elders. One kingdom became two. Ten tribes followed Jeroboam. One tribe remained with Rehoboam. And the people who had once lived in peace under their own vines and fig trees were now divided, never to be fully united again. This is the story of how Israel was torn apart. A story of blessing and failure. A story of wisdom gained and wisdom lost. A story that reminds us that even the greatest among us can fall when we turn our hearts away from God. If this story touched your heart, if you learned something new today, take a moment to subscribe to this channel and turn on the notification bell so you never miss another video. Share this message with someone who needs to hear it. Send it to a friend, a family member, someone who loves the stories of the Bible as much as you do. Your support helps us continue bringing these powerful stories to life. Together we can share the Word of God with people all around the world. Thank you for watching. And until next time, may you walk in the ways of the Lord all the days of your life.