1 Kings 11:27

The mischief caused by Hadad and Rezon did not only begin when Solomon became an idolater. But notice this: the Holy Spirit holds back the account of the trouble they caused the king until then. The Spirit Himself presents it as a direct chastening for his idolatry. And these were not the only ones. They were external. Solomon might say, "Well, we cannot expect anything better. They have private grudges, or national grudges, against our family." But "Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite," was no foreigner, and it was not a question of avenging supposed wrongs done to his family or his race.

Next comes the building of the Millo. This must have been a citadel, a tower in Jerusalem's defences. Solomon fortified his kingdom against possible attacks by enemies. Yet he had already welcomed the enemy into his kingdom by marrying an Egyptian woman!

Solomon kept company with strangers, and they led his heart astray. Enemies arose in the very quarters from which he drew the means of pleasing himself. Man's self-devised plans and wilful choice always come back on him with a harvest of results.

The post gave him a place of importance in the eyes of his fellow countrymen, and it prepared the way for what was soon to follow. They plainly resented this forced labour. "Your father," they said later to Rehoboam, "made our yoke heavy." There is no certain evidence that this was really so. Their labour served the glory and security of the kingdom, and everyone was meant to share in its prosperity. It is possible, though, that Solomon set them to work on projects that served nothing but self-indulgence. When men leave the right way, as Solomon did, they soon become oppressive. That would give some ground for their discontent. And Jeroboam, it is quite certain, would take no trouble to calm it.

"He lifted up his hand against the king," it says. It may have been a failed bid on his part to stir up rebellion, to hurry along the prophecy concerning him. How unlike David, the man after God's own heart! The prophet Samuel had anointed and chosen him to replace Saul. Even so, David would not harm a hair of the condemned king's head, or lift a finger to bring the kingdom to himself! David was a man of faith; and faith — that precious "gift of God"! — always waits on God, waits for His time and His way to fulfil His promises.

Solomon had set him over Ephraim for the work of fortifying Millo, which was the defence of Jerusalem against enemies from the north. It was a most dangerous move, but what could Solomon foresee? God alone knew. Through his duties Jeroboam knew all the secrets of the stronghold, and he won the sympathies of his own tribe as well. In the same way, when difficulties arise among God's people, the greatest danger comes from those who by their own activity have taken up the principles of their fellow believers. Such men have managed to put themselves in the place of Christ in winning the sympathies of the many.