The Servant King and the Golden Calves

The united kingdom ended in a single conversation. At Shechem, Israel asked Rehoboam to lighten the heavy yoke Solomon had laid on them. The elders gave counsel that sounds like the gospel: if you will be a servant to this people today, and will serve them, and answer them with good words, then they will be your servants forever. Rehoboam rejected it and took the advice of the young men, promising scorpions instead of whips.

The narrator adds an important note. The turn of events was from Yahweh, that He might establish His word spoken by Ahijah. Human pride and divine purpose worked together. Israel cried out that they had no portion in David and went home. The people turned against Adoram, the officer over forced labor, and Rehoboam fled. Only Judah, with Benjamin, remained loyal. When Rehoboam gathered an army, God spoke through Shemaiah, and the soldiers obeyed and went home.

Jeroboam had received a promise from God, but he did not trust it. He feared that worship in Jerusalem would win the people back. So he made two calves of gold and said, in effect, that these were the gods who brought Israel out of Egypt, echoing Aaron's calf at Sinai. He set them in Bethel and Dan, made priests from all the people, and invented a feast. This became the sin of Jeroboam, a phrase repeated throughout Kings. In the New Testament, Jesus said that whoever wants to be great must be a servant (Mark 10:43).