But he abandoned the counsel that the old men gave him and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him.
The people have asked Rehoboam to lighten the load his father laid on them, and he has three days to decide. Two sets of advisers stand ready: the men who had served Solomon, and the men who grew up alongside Rehoboam. His choice between them splits a kingdom.
The Advice He Threw Away
The older men did not tell him to give up his throne. They told him how to keep a people. One writer links their advice to Romans 15:
Hamilton SmithThe old men are rich in experience. They advise Rehoboam that all will be well if he will "be good to this people and please them and speak good words to them" (2 Chron. 10:7). Does not this carry our thoughts to Romans 15:1-4? In verse 1 we have the kindness that bears with "the failings of the weak," instead of putting heavy yokes on them. In verses 2 and 3 we have pleasing our neighbour "for his good, to build him up," instead of pleasing ourselves. In verse 4 we have the "good words" of Scripture for our comfort and hope.
Yet even this advice fell short of the best ground:
William KellyIt was prudence, it was good policy. I could not say there was faith in it, but there was good policy in it, as far as that went.
Why The Young Men Won
The men he turned to had grown up with him and stood before him. They owed him their place, and it showed in their advice:
H. L. RossierRehoboam abandons the counsel of wisdom to follow that of the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him (v. 8). They could not be anything other than the mirror and reflection of their master's thoughts. If he had stood before his father and heard the wise proverbs that fell from his lips, he could have passed some of that wisdom on to others. He would have known what suits a king. He would have known that "A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger" (Prov. 15:1); that "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall" (Prov. 16:18)… But no, those who flatter his pride are the ones who win his approval. The counsel of the young men in the final analysis is but that of his own heart.
He did not seek a second opinion. He sought an echo.
The Counsel Of Nature
What the young men proposed did not look like folly at the time. It looked like backbone:
Hamilton SmithSuch is the spiritual advice of the old men. The counsel of nature, given by the "young men," is very different. They advise Rehoboam to take a course that appears highly commendable to nature: it takes a strong line, and it maintains authority and the majesty of the kingdom. Alas, Rehoboam follows the advice of nature. He becomes overbearing and unreasonable. He threatens the protesters with violent, extreme discipline (1 Kings 12:12-15).
The old men's road was service; the young men's road was mastery. That road was not only for kings:
H. L. RossierThe old men's counsel is the counsel of Jesus to His disciples: "Let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves" (Luke 22:26).
Folly — But Not Folly Only
Rehoboam's choice was his own. But one writer warns against reading the split as nothing more than a political blunder:
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 the discipline of God lay the low condition of the people.
God said it would happen before it happened. That excuses nobody:
William KellyA prophecy in no way approves what it predicts. Prophecy takes in the most terrible acts that the proud, corrupt, or murderous will of man has ever done.
Warning For The Young
Rehoboam grew up within reach of his father's wisdom and ignored it. One writer turns that on the reader:
A J PollockIs this not a word to young Christian men to pay attention to what Solomon said, even if they do not find wisdom in their own fathers? Young people tend to belittle their parents' wisdom and to think that they themselves know.
Summary
- Asked — He consulted the men of experience first, then refused what he heard. Seeking advice you never meant to take is not humility.
- Echoed — The friends he turned to were simply the reflection of his own thoughts. Their counsel was his own heart handed back to him with approval.
- Flattered — Advice that backs a strong hand feels like leadership. What nature calls maintaining authority can be pride walking toward its fall.
- Refused — The road he rejected was service: be good to the people, please them, speak good words to them.
- Split — His folly tore the kingdom in two, yet God's government stood behind it. A predicted outcome never excuses the one who brings it about.