Session 4 1 Kings 12:6-19

ARROGANCE REIGNS (1 KINGS 12:8-15)

listen for Rehoboam’s actions after he received the elders’ advice.

8 But he rejected the advice of the elders who had advised him
and consulted with the young men
`who had grown up with him and attended him.
9 He asked them,
“What message do you advise that we send back to this people who said to me,
‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us’?”
10 The young men who had grown up with him told him,
“This is what you should say to this people who said to you,
‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you, make it lighter on us!’
This is what you should tell them:
‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist!
11 Although my father burdened you with a heavy yoke,
I will add to your yoke;
my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with barbed whips.’”

12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day,
as the king had ordered:
“Return to me on the third day.”
13 Then the king answered the people harshly. He rejected the advice the elders had given him
14 and spoke to them according to the young men’s advice:
“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 barbed whips.”
15 The king did not listen to the people,
because this turn of events came from the LORD to carry out his word,
which the LORD had spoken through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat.

Write:

Selfish and Self-Centered.
Instruct the group to reread verses 8-11 silently,
naming evidence of selfish and self-centered attitudes.
Record their responses on the board.

Discuss:

• What blinded Rehoboam to any potential pitfalls in the young men’s advice?
• How might have arrogance played into the advice that Rehoboam’s young consultants gave? (p. 39)

Contrast:

While Rehoboam’s elder advisors had counseled him to hear the people’s concerns
and act with kindness, his young men did just the opposite.
They encouraged Rehoboam to threaten the people with even more severe working conditions.

Explain:

Note that it is no wonder the people hoped the new king
would offer them some relief from their workload.

Ask:

• What evidence do we have of arrogance in Rehoboam’s response to the people’s pleas?

State:

Rehoboam makes plain that he sought the advice of the elders
and of his contemporaries.
The text gives no indication that Rehoboam sought the Lord’s counsel or guidance.

Discuss:

• What did Rehoboam hope to accomplish by responding to the people harshly?
• How does a person’s demeanor impact how their message is received?

Transition:

Verse 15 tells us that Rehoboam’s actions fulfilled God’s prophecy
that the kingdom of Israel would be divided—
because the people had abandoned God and followed after pagan gods.
Disobedient actions have consequences.