Episode 136: My little finger will be thicker than my father's loins

1 Kings 12

The people of Israel rebel against Rehoboam

12 ¹ After Solomon died, his son Rehoboam went to Shechem. And all the people of Israel went there to meet him to make him king.

² When Jeroboam heard about it, he came back to Israel from Egypt (where he had fled to avoid being killed by Solomon).

³ Jeroboam and all the people of Israel said to Rehoboam,

⁴ Your father Solomon was hard on us.

You need to treat us better.

⁵ Rehoboam said to them, "Go away and come back in three days."

⁶ Rehoboam asked the older men who served as his advisers, "How should I respond to these people?"

⁷ The old men said to him,

If you're going to be king, you need to speak kindly to them.

If you do, they'll serve you forever.

⁸ But he ignored the advice of the old men and asked the young men what to do.

¹⁰ The young men said that he should say the following words to the people:

My little finger will be thicker than my father's loins.

¹² My father laid a heavy burden on you. I will add to your burden.

He punished you with whips; I'll punish you with scorpions.

¹² On the third day Jeroboam and all the people of Israel returned to hear what king would say. And here's what he said to them:

My father laid a heavy burden on you. I will add to your burden.

He punished you with whips; I'll punish you with scorpions.

¹⁶ When everyone in Israel heard Rehoboam's words, they said to him,

We want nothing to do with David. We're going home.

¹⁷ But Rehoboam ruled over the people of Judah. ¹⁸ He sent his taskmaster Adoram to the people of Israel. But everyone in Israel stoned him to death. So Rehoboam got in his chariot and fled to Jerusalem. ¹⁹ And Israel has rebelled against David's kingdom to this very day.

²⁰ The people of Israel made Jeroboam king of Israel. And so only the tribe of Judah still followed the house of David.

God tells everyone to go home

²¹ Rehoboam assembled 180,000 soldiers from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin to fight against Israel and restore the kingdom in Israel.

²² But then the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God saying,

^23-24 Say this to Rehoboam and all the people of Judah: "Don't fight against Israel. Go home."

So they didn't fight against Israel and everyone went home.

Jeroboam's golden calves

²⁶ But Jeroboam was worried. He said to himself:

When the people sacrifice in God's house, they will make Rehoboam their king and kill me.

²⁸ So Jeroboam made two golden calves and said to the people,

Here are your gods! The ones who brought you out of Egypt.

²⁹ Jeroboam put one of the gods in Bethel, and the other in Dan.

³⁰ And this thing became a sin.

³¹ Jeroboam made houses on the high places and made the lowest people priests. None of them were Levites.

³² Animals were sacrificed at Jeroboam's high places at the same times sacrifices were made in God's house in Jerusalem.