Chapter 10

1 The Israelites, assembled at Shechem to crown Rehoboam, by Jeroboam make a suit of relaxation unto him. 6 Rehoboam, refusing the old men’s counsel, by the advice of young men answereth them roughly. 16 Ten tribes revolting kill Hadoram, and make Rehoboam to flee.

1. Rehoboam went. Chapter 10 deals with the revolt of Jeroboam. The comparable record is 1 Kings 12:1–19. The differences in the two accounts are few and unimportant.

Shechem. On the possible reason for Rehoboam’s choice of the city of Shechem as the place for his coronation see on 1 Kings 12:1.

2. Who was in Egypt. The chronicler had not previously referred to Jeroboam’s flight to Egypt (see 1 Kings 11:26–40), and that is probably why he did not say that Jeroboam “was yet in Egypt,” as did the writer of Kings.

3. Called him. Some think that this means that he was called, not from Egypt, since he had already returned (see v. 2), but from Ephraim (see on 1 Kings 12:3). He was called to Shechem, where the tribes had assembled to consider making Rehoboam king.

4. Grievous servitude. The people had just reason for complaint, for Solomon’s extensive program of public works had produced a heavy weight of taxation and an unwelcome draft of forced labor (1 Kings 5:13, 14). The request was entirely fair, and both justice and prudence called for the new king’s giving due consideration to the matter now set before him.

7. If thou be kind. There is no better rule of government than kindness. In the home and in the school, in the shop and in the field, kindness warms the heart and makes friends. If Rehoboam had treated his people kindly, showing them that as their king he was there only to serve them and look after their welfare, he would have won their hearts and saved his kingdom.

8. The old men. Wisdom increases with years and experience. Young men need the counsel of their elders and invite trouble and disaster when they despise the sound counsel of the hoary head.

10. The young men. The counsel of Rehoboam’s young advisers came not from kind hearts or wise heads. The reply they suggested was couched in severe and uncompromising terms that could only invite retaliation and revolt.

11. Scorpions. These small animals with stings in their tails that inflict severe pain seem here to be used as a figure of a whip probably provided with sharp pieces of metal that made its use particularly painful and cruel. Thus Rehoboam was telling the people that he would treat them with greater severity than his father. Throughout the ages there have been those who thought that government must be by power rather than by kindness and mercy and that peoples can be held in subjection by brute force. But the verdict of history has always been to the contrary.

13. Roughly. The king showed no consideration for the feelings of his subjects and displayed none of the Spirit of Christ, but spoke as a hardened Oriental despot. The purpose was, of course, to make a show of strength, but in effect he was giving only a pitiful demonstration of weakness and folly. Harsh words lead to harsh acts, while kind words from kind hearts lead to submission and obedience, to cooperation and tranquillity.

15. Of God. See on ch. 11:4.

16. Would not hearken. Wise kings have ears that are attuned to the voices of their subjects. When Rehoboam took the throne his first task should have been to ascertain the needs of his people and to endeavor to right previous wrongs. By his unwillingness to hearken, the king invited revolt and made himself responsible for the rebellion that followed.

The son of Jesse. Only a few short years before, David had been a national hero. Now, because of the folly of his offspring, his name was detested in Israel, and the northern tribes were determined to go their own way, independent of the south.

Thine own house. The tribes were saying in effect, “And now, David, take care of your own affairs in your own country, and we will take care of ours.” These were words of defiance and revolt. The die had been cast. The house of David was henceforth to rule over only a section of the country—chiefly over David’s own tribe of Judah, and Benjamin—while the bulk of the tribes would go their own independent way under their own rulers.

17. The cities of Judah. In view of the fact that Rehoboam was of the tribe of Judah it would only be natural that under circumstances such as these, where the other tribes rejected his leadership, his own tribe should remain loyal to him. Whether or not Solomon may have spared his own tribe a measure of the heavy taxes and forced labor he levied upon Israel as a whole, is not known. If so, this would have provided them with an additional incentive to support him.

Ellen G. White comments

1–19PK 87–91

1, 2 PK 87

3–7PK 89

4 PK 55; 4T 628; 7T 218