The die is cast and the two kingdoms are starting to take root. The new king, Rehoboam was already king of Judah and was seeking the same from Israel. With his father's death, he met with the Israelites and Jeroboam who had returned from Egypt after his exile. They had pleaded with him to be more lenient than his father (who had become cruel after he turned from the Lord) and had the choice of two counsels. The elder counsel was one who worked with Solomon and had some of his wisdom and advised him to use the "carrot" approach and he would win them over forever. The younger counsel told him to use the "stick" approach and due to the Lord's influence - he chose that one. The result was a divided kingdom since they rejected Rehoboam as their king and killed Hadoram was the officer who forced the people to do hard labour. As a result, Rehoboam fled to Judah with his life to escape the wrath of the Israelites. Since then the Israelites rejected the sons of David as their king.
What a story and we see the two kingdoms starting to emerge after the death of Solomon. Why was he so stupid when he was handed the answer on a silver platter? He did use some judgment when he said that he would return in three days with his decision but chose poorly and it cost. Needless to say, he didn't seek counsel from the one who could have prevented all of this but he didn't - God was not in his equation despite seeing the temple his entire life as well as the sacrifices and the history that was his to grasp.
Good day yesterday, reading outside was a treat. Already looking forward to the weekend and the church picnic.
Praise for today: By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me - a prayer to the God of my life. Ps 42: 8
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