Rehoboam: The Foolish King (1 Kings 12:1-19, 14:21-31)
1 Kings 14:21-31
As we study the Kings, one theme continually emerges:
The Importance of Seeking and Trusting God.
Throughout these two books, prosperity and blessing
Are definitely linked to how much a person seeks and trusts God.
We just came from a person, at least early on, did that very well.
Solomon was blessed because Solomon sought the Lord.
BUT MY WHAT A DIFFERENCE
A CHANGE IN ADMINISTRATION CAN MAKE.
We are about to leave behind the King who is famous for his wisdom,
And look at one of the most foolish Kings to ever sit upon the throne.
We are talking about King Rehoboam.
He was “The Foolish King”
In fact, his foolishness was in part a punishment on Solomon.
I told you, that Solomon wrote a book of regret at the end of his life.
Listen to one of the statements he made.
Ecclesiastes 2:18-19 “Thus I hated all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must leave it to the man who will come after me. And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is vanity.”
That passage turned out to be prophetic as Rehoboam was indeed a fool.
Rehoboam was 41 when he began to reign.
Solomon reigned for 40 years, which of course means that Rehoboam was one year old when Solomon took the throne, and Rehoboam had the benefit of watching his father’s entire reign.
If anything, Rehoboam should have been wiser than Solomon,
But he wasn’t.
WHY?
2 Chronicles 12:14 “He did evil because he did not set his heart to seek the LORD.”
This was of course just the opposite of Solomon.
Solomon sought God at Gibeon and asked for “an understanding heart” Rehoboam never saw the need to seek God at all.
It was arrogance…
It was self-reliance…
IT WAS FOOLISH
Psalms 14:1 “The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; There is no one who does good.”
“A person who doesn’t seek God, a person who doesn’t obey God;
That is a person who doesn’t truly believe in God. They are a fool.”
And that was Rehoboam, who refused to seek after God.
And so this morning, having seen the epitome of wisdom,
Let us now examine what it looks like to be a fool.
There are two main events that Scripture tells us about Rehoboam,
That enable us to see his foolishness.
#1 HIS FOOLISH DECISION
1 Kings 12:1-19
God had already promised Solomon that he would rip the kingdom from the hand of his son, and give it to Jeroboam.
This is how God chose to do it.
• When Solomon died, Jeroboam returned from exile in Egypt
• He sent delegates to approach Rehoboam to ask him to lessen the load.
Then occurs the first major blunder of Rehoboam.
Remember Solomon at the beginning of his reign?
1 Kings 3:7-9 “Now, O LORD my God, You have made Your servant king in place of my father David, yet I am but a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. “Your servant is in the midst of Your people which You have chosen, a great people who are too many to be numbered or counted. “So give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?”
When Solomon felt inadequate…
When Solomon felt uncapable…
Solomon went to God.
But Rehoboam did not.
Rehoboam went to men.
Now, for what it is worth, he did receive some good advice from some.
(6-7) “King Rehoboam consulted with the elders who had served his father Solomon while he was still alive, saying, “How do you counsel me to answer this people?” Then they spoke to him, saying, “If you will be a servant to this people today, and will serve them and grant them their petition, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.”
They gave him some of the same advice that Jesus would have given.
Luke 22:25-27 “And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’ “But it is not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. “For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves.”
These elders reflect in their answer that they indeed
Had learned from Solomon and did possess the wisdom of God.
So even though Rehoboam did not seek God directly,
He did at least have God’s wisdom made available.
BUT: Rehoboam was foolish.
(8) “But he forsook the counsel of the elders which they had given him, and consulted with the young men who grew up with him and served him.”
He wouldn’t become a servant,
But he would only listen to those who served him.
And their advice was not wise.
In fact it was tailor made to suit and please Rehoboam.
Their advice is filled with ego, pride, and arrogance.
(10-11) “The young men who grew up with him spoke to him, saying, “Thus you shall say to this people who spoke to you, saying, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, now you make it lighter for us!’ But you shall speak to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s loins! ‘Whereas my father loaded you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.'”
They stroked Rehoboam’s ego,
And of course it was their advice that he followed.
And you know the results:
(16) “When all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, saying, “What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse; To your tents, O Israel! Now look after your own house, David!” So Israel departed to their tents.”
And of course Rehoboam would try to get them back,
But it was futile, for this was of God.
SO WHAT DO WE SEE FROM REHOBOAH?
• He failed to understand true greatness (servant)
• He failed to listen to Godly counsel
• He acted in arrogance, and split the kingdom.
And Solomon’s worst fears came to fruition.
The man who reigned after him was fool,
And most of what Solomon had worked for was stripped away.
WHAT DO WE LEARN THERE FROM REHOBOAM?
Namely, that wisdom is not automatic.
Many people think that wisdom just naturally comes with age,
Or with experience. Some think they naturally have it.
How foolish.
WISDOM DOES NOT COME NATURAL TO ANYONE.
Psalms 14:2-3 “The LORD has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men To see if there are any who understand, Who seek after God. They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one.
Wisdom does not come natural.
You only get it by seeking God.
James 1:5 “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”
You have to seek God for wisdom,
But of course that was the one thing Rehoboam would not do.
Those of you who have been with us on Sunday nights,
Know that this was the topic of last Sunday night.
If you are to ever be wise, you must first realize that you are not.
Proverbs 4:7 “The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom; And with all your acquiring, get understanding.”
Paul told the Corinthians:
1 Corinthians 3:18-20 “Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, “He is THE ONE WHO CATCHES THE WISE IN THEIR CRAFTINESS”; and again, “THE LORD KNOWS THE REASONINGS of the wise, THAT THEY ARE USELESS.”
Wisdom belongs to God, and if you are ever to achieve it,
The first thing you must realize is that you do not have it.
I don’t care how financially successful…
I don’t care how educated you are…
I don’t care how much experience you have…
None of those things equals wisdom before God.
In fact “The Lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are useless.”
TO BE WISE, YOU MUST FIRST BECOME A FOOL.
You must first humble yourself before God
And ask Him to show you what you do not know.
Bill Parcells, “He doesn’t know what he doesn’t know.”
It is arrogance to make your own plans without seeking His will.
James actually said:
James 4:13-16 “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.”
Those are the ways of a fool.
THOSE ARE THE WAYS OF REHOBOAM.
IS THAT YOU?
Do you seek the wisdom of God in His word, before you go forward with your decisions in life?
Don’t be a fool. Seek God’s will.
So we see His Foolish Decision.
#2 HIS FOOLISH DISPLAY
1 Kings 14:21-31
This was of course the passage we read to open the sermon.
Don’t worry about the text we are skipping over,
It involves Jereboam, and we will return to it.
But I want to show you one more display of foolishness
From Rehoboam here this morning.
At this point, in his ministry, the kingdom has been split.
Jereboam has led 10 of the 12 tribes away from Rehoboam.
But Rehoboam went ahead with what he had.
And began to strengthen the nation of Judah.
But there was a problem.
Once Rehoboam succeeded in fortifying Judah,
Here is what the writer of Chronicles wrote:
2 Chronicles 12:1-2 “When the kingdom of Rehoboam was established and strong, he and all Israel with him forsook the law of the LORD. And it came about in King Rehoboam’s fifth year, because they had been unfaithful to the LORD, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem.”
Obviously Rehoboam learned nothing from his father’s down fall,
For he is doing the same thing.
The writer of Kings gives the details of this defection.
(14:21-24) “Now Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD had chosen from all the tribes of Israel to put His name there. And his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonitess. Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked Him to jealousy more than all that their fathers had done, with the sins which they committed. For they also built for themselves high places and sacred pillars and Asherim on every high hill and beneath every luxuriant tree. There were also male cult prostitutes in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD dispossessed before the sons of Israel.”
This guy went into full scale idolatry.
If you were to go back and read Chronicles
Shishak nearly destroyed all Judah.
Rehoboam humbled himself, and God stopped it.
God would not allow Shishak to completely destroy Judah,
But God did allow Shishak to plunder them.
And that is where we are back in 1 Kings 14
(25-26) “Now it happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam, that Shishak the king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. He took away the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house, and he took everything, even taking all the shields of gold which Solomon had made.”
Shishak took all the major treasure of Judah.
In fact, Rehoboam may have even given it to him by way of a treaty.
But thanks to Rehoboam’s foolishness, Judah has now been plundered.
You would expect now for Rehoboam to be in a state of humility,
And would finally turn to God for direction and guidance.
BUT THAT IS NOT WHAT REHOBOAM DOES.
(27-28) “So King Rehoboam made shields of bronze in their place, and committed them to the care of the commanders of the guard who guarded the doorway of the king’s house. Then it happened as often as the king entered the house of the LORD, that the guards would carry them and would bring them back into the guards’ room.”
Instead of coming to a point of humility, and beginning to seek God, that instead Rehoboam begins to put on a false appearance.
He didn’t have any gold to display, so instead he used brass.
Now this is interesting.
Gold and Brass look very similar, but what is the problem with brass?
It tarnishes. You have to continually polish it to make it shine.
AND THAT SUMS UP THE REIGN OF REHOBOAM.
He is not a golden king, he is simply polished brass.
• His father was genuine, he was a fake.
• His father was wise, he was a fool.
• His father shines the blessings of God, he was stuck polishing brass.
Instead of seeking God and trusting God
And maintaining a life of faithful obedience to God,
Rehoboam tried to fake it and look like God was blessing him.
WE HAVE A WORD FOR THIS TODAY
HYPOCRISY
They don’t really have a relationship with God,
But they try to look like they do for their own personal glory.
REMEMBER THE PHARISEES?
THEY DID NOT KNOW GOD.
Yet they prayed in public.
THEY DID NOT LOVE GOD.
Yet everyone saw them fast.
THEY DID NOT SACRIFICE FOR GOD.
Yet what was given, was given for all to see.
Instead of being the genuine article,
They woke up every morning and polished their brass.
Jesus actually called them fools.
Matthew 23:16-17 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘ Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated.’ “You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold?”
Jesus would go on:
Matthew 23:25-28 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. “You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. “So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”
According to Jesus, to put on a display of greatness
When you have no true greatness is foolish.
That is what Rehoboam did.
That is what the Pharisees did.
And yet that is what foolish people do today.
Instead of truly dealing with God,
They just put on a show of religion in order to fool men.
They don’t have the wealth of the kingdom of God in their lives,
Instead they wake up in the morning and polish their brass
To make it look like they do.
It is all for appearance…
It is all for show…
But God is not deceived…
AND THAT IS FOOLISH
WHY?
BECAUSE YOU ONLY END UP DECEIVING YOURSELF.
GOD IS NOT FOOLED
Matthew 7:21-27 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. “And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell — and great was its fall.”
REHOBOAM WAS A FOOL.
Not because he deceived others, but because he deceived himself.
• Despite his failures…
• Despite his blunders…
• Despite his rebellion against God…
Rehoboam convinced himself that he was still great
And that he deserved to look the part.
HOW ABOUT YOU?
It is foolish to fail to seek the Lord.
It is even more foolish to fail to seek the Lord
And yet to pretend like everything is ok.
I’M HERE TO TELL YOU TODAY,
That if you have never humbled yourself of pride
And sought out the salvation of God,
Confessing your sins and fully surrendering your life to Jesus
Then you have absolutely no basis for feeling secure in salvation.
There is but one way to be saved and it requires
You denying you and fully surrendering your heart to Jesus Christ.
Matthew 16:24-27 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.”
Some day your metal will be tested.
Is it gold, or are you just polishing brass?
There are many in the world today who try to look like a Christian
Without actually becoming a Christian.
It won’t wash, and furthermore, it is foolish.
This morning, I am asking you to finally quit playing the game.
Humble yourself before God,
Seek His wisdom, and His will,
And be a partaker in His salvation.
