Kingdom Division

1. Forget About God

Doesn’t Have to be Active. It’s Often Passive

“He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart. For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.” (1 Kings 11:3–4, ESV)

The Simple Becomes Complex

“And the LORD raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite. He was of the royal house in Edom.” (1 Kings 11:14, ESV)

2. Listen to The Wrong People

Failure to Learn From History

“And as soon as Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it (for he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), then Jeroboam returned from Egypt. And they sent and called him, and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and said to Rehoboam, “Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke on us, and we will serve you.” He said to them, “Go away for three days, then come again to me.” So the people went away.” (1 Kings 12:2–5, ESV)

David worked to unite. Solomon took it for granted, and Rehoboam decided to make it worse

“Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he was yet alive, saying, “How do you advise me to answer this people?”” (1 Kings 12:6, ESV

3. Think About Yourself

“And the king answered the people harshly, and forsaking the counsel that the old men had given him, he spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.” So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turn of affairs brought about by the LORD that he might fulfill his word, which the LORD spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.” (1 Kings 12:13–15, ESV)

Questions:

Where have others influenced you and God is no longer directing? What has been the result?

How do you get that back on track? Who are your sources for what is true? How do you put those things into practice?