And now, whereas my father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.’”
Rehoboam answered a plea to lighten the taxes his father Solomon had imposed with a promise of a heavier load. His words split the nation in two — but was the split his doing, or God's hand?
The threat in the words
The "scorpions" are not insects. Commentators take the word to mean a whip:
Morrish Bible DictionaryIn Revelation 9 we read of locusts with stings in their tails. They torment people the way scorpions do. They stand as symbols of cruel and pitiless agents of some kind. In 1 Kings 12:11, 14 and 2 Chronicles 10:11, 14, the word is thought to point to a scourge with hard knots or metal points.
The line came from his young advisers. One writer describes what they wanted:
Leslie M. GrantThese young men, who had some authority in government, wanted to use that authority as cruel overlords of the people. They advised Rehoboam to tell the people that he would be more demanding than his father. He would admit that his father had punished the people with whips, but he himself would punish them with scourges. His little finger would be thicker than his father's waist.
Advisers who only echoed him
Rehoboam did not get new advice. He heard his own thoughts read back to him:
H. L. RossierRehoboam turns away from wise counsel and follows the young men who grew up with him and served him. They could be nothing other than the mirror and reflection of their master's thoughts... But no, the ones who flatter his pride are the ones who win his approval. The counsel of the young men is, in the end, only the counsel of his own heart. Pride goes hand in hand with despising your neighbour. In the eyes of a king who exalts himself, this lowly people counts for nothing.
The road not taken
The older advisers had urged a different way to rule. One writer links their words to Christian life today:
Hamilton SmithThe old men, rich in experience, advise Rehoboam that all will be well if he will "be kind to this people, and please them, and speak good words to them" (2 Chronicles 10:7). Does this not carry our thoughts to Romans 15:1-4? In the first verse of that passage we have the "kindness" that bears "the infirmities of the weak" instead of putting heavy yokes on them. In verses 2 and 3 we have pleasing one another for "good to edification," not pleasing ourselves. And in verse 4 we have the "good words" of Scripture for our comfort and hope.
A mouth left unguarded
Proverbs warns that the mouth can preserve a life or ruin it. One writer applies that to Rehoboam:
L M GrantThe virtue of guarding your mouth (v. 3) is a great preserver of life. Sadly, Rehoboam did not guard his mouth when the Israelites asked him to lighten the load of taxes Solomon had imposed. He answered them, "My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions" (1 Kings 12:13-14). This was "opening his lips wide," and it ended in the destruction of the kingdom.
Authority and its abuse
Rehoboam had a genuine right to rule. What he did not have was permission to crush:
C KnappGod commands us to be subject to the powers that be. But tyranny over the souls and bodies of people is nowhere approved in His word, and rulers who try it must learn the results to their cost. There are many proofs of this in Scripture, as in history. Government is of God, and therefore of divine appointment; but God's frown is on all abuse of power.
Behind the folly, the hand of God
There was more at work here than one king's folly:
Hamilton SmithIt was true that Rehoboam's folly was the immediate cause of the division. But the word of God in judgment had gone out long before the violent words of the king. The mighty hand of God in discipline was behind the feeble hand of the king. The holy government of God was tearing the kingdom apart. And behind that discipline lay the low condition of the people.
Nor does the fulfilled prophecy leave anyone innocent:
William KellyThis is a very important principle that you will find constantly in the word of God. A prophecy is in no way a sanction of what is predicted. Prophecy takes in the most evil acts that the proud, corrupt, or murderous will of man has ever produced.
Summary
- The yoke asked about — the people wanted the load lightened. Rehoboam promised to add to it, backed by a whip with knots or metal points.
- The yoke advised — the older counsellors urged kindness and good words. That is the way of bearing with the weak instead of loading them.
- The yoke chosen — he took the counsel of men who mirrored his own heart, and pride made him despise the people he ruled.
- The yoke that broke him — a mouth "opened wide" destroyed the kingdom. God's frown rests on all abuse of power.
- The yoke God laid — God had announced the division in judgment long before. Even so, prophecy never excuses the pride that carries it out.