Getting Along - 3 October 2007

When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mustered the whole house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin—a hundred and eighty thousand fighting men—to make war against the house of Israel and to regain the kingdom for Rehoboam son of Solomon. 1 Kings 12:21 (NIV)
Israel, twelve tribes, one nation, all united, fighting battles together. Until they began to fight amongst themselves. In their history there had been various small disagreements. In the time of the Judges the tribe of Benjamin nearly got wiped out but everything was agreed amicably in the end. This time it was a little more serious.
God was not pleased with Solomon, he had allowed his many foreign wives and concubines to affect his judgment and had set up shrines to their pagan gods. When he died and his son Rehoboam succeeded him there was a rebellion, presumably concerning heavy taxation. The leaders of the rebellion appealed to Rehoboam. In a three day consultation period the elders advised him to be lenient and win the love of the people but the younger men told him to take the hard line. He took the advice of the younger men and Jeroboam took all but the tribe of Judah and Benjamin away from him with God’s blessing. He had obviously not inherited his father’s famous wisdom.
For the rest of the history of Israel until they were carried off into slavery in Babylon they were a divided kingdom with two kings.
Where does division begin? Like us as with Solomon it begins with allowing other things to take priority over our principles, and also losing touch with the needs of others. When we stop loving God and we stop loving others. Jesus tells us that all the law and the prophets hang upon these two principles. Rehoboam just continued in the wrong attitudes of his father but without his wisdom, he could easily have brought healing, instead he reaped division.
Think about some of the divisions in your own life, what attitudes (your own and others) caused them and what would it take to mend them?