The Kingdom of Israel Splits

Solomon’s lust for foreign women eventually led him to foreign worship as well. This idolatry not only tore apart his relationship with God but would tear the kingdom from his hands as well. During the reign of his son Rehoboam, Jeroboam, one of his servants who had fled from him, returned. He came to confront the new king about the injustices of his father, hoping he would change. However, when Rehoboam refused the wise counsel of his elders and gave a harsh message to the people, the ten tribes of the north left him and followed Jeroboam instead.

In yesterday’s episode, we heard about Solomon’s fall from God. Though he was wise and wealthy, his heart sought his own desires. He disobeyed God and married foreign women—hundreds of them. And with each new wife, he would give a bit of his heart to a false god. His life, though filled with such promise, ended up full of strife and sorrow. But God’s grace was with him and in the end, he turned back to the Lord and praised the God of his father, the One true God. Today we’ll hear how dissension was already brewing before Solomon’s death, and how his son Rehoboam, his successor, would face the consequences of Solomon’s sins, and his own prideful spirit.