The Kingdom Divided

Title Options:Israel’s Kingdom is Divided in two.Kings Rehoboam and Jeroboam.

After King Solomon died, Israelite elders [leaders] gathered in [went to] Shechem [Town], where they made Solomon’s son Rehoboam their new king.In Egypt, Jeroboam heard [say], “King Solomon has died,” so he left Egypt, returning to Israel.

At Shechem, the Israelite elders spoke to King Rehoboam, saying, “Your father King Solomon forced us to work and he made us pay too much tax. If you will not demand so much work or tax, then we will remain loyal to you!”

Rehoboam asked his wise old advisors, “What should I do?” He also asked his young friends, “What should I do?” He then replied rudely and harshly to the elders.

Rehoboam said, “I will make your work and your taxes harder than my father did!”

When the elders reported to their tribes what Rehoboam had said, most Israelites rebelled against him. Many shouted, “We want nothing to do with King David’s family [descendants]!”Ten Israelite tribes made Jeroboam their new king, while Judah [only] remained loyal to King Rehoboam.

King Jeroboam said to himself, “If the ten tribes keep going to Jerusalem to worship God in the big temple, then they could become loyal to King Rehoboam and kill me!”

After talking [consulting] with his advisors, Jeroboam made two golden idols that looked like calves [cattle], and he made altars for sacrifices. He said to the ten tribes, “You should no longer go to Jerusalem to worship the Lord. You may worship the Lord by bowing to these idols at Dan City in the North or at Bethel City in the South.”

In this way, Jeroboam angered the Lord who then sent a prophet to Bethel, shouting [saying]: “Someday, a son [descendant] of King David will slay [kill] your priests on this altar!”

One day, King Jeroboam’s son became very ill [sick]. So he said to the child’s mother, “Put on ordinary clothes, so no one will know who you are. Travel [Go] to Shiloh City to see the prophet Ahijah. Ask him, ‘What is going to happen to our son?’”

Before the mother arrived at Shiloh, the Lord told Ahijah that she was coming to inquire about her son. When she arrived, Ahijah said to her, “The Lord says, ‘I took most of the kingdom away from David’s family, because his descendants disobeyed me! So I made Jeroboam ruler over ten Israelite tribes!

“But Jeroboam has sinned against me more than David’s family did!’ Therefore, God is going to let all Jeroboam’s male [boy] children die! So, go home now! When you arrive home, you son will die!’”This happened as Ahijah said [it would].

The Israelites living in Judah also did many evil actions. They began to live as the Canaanites had lived, whom the Lord drove [destroyed] out of the land, to give it to the Israelites. They worshipped pagan [other] gods on hills and in the shade of big trees.

When Rehoboam had been king five years, an army from Egypt attacked Jerusalem. The Egyptians took all the wealth [gold and silver] from the temple and from the king’s palace.Then a prophet who worshipped the Lord came and said to Rehoboam and his advisors, “The Lord says to you [Israelites]: Because you have forsaken [abandoned] me [the Lord], I will forsake [abandon] you [Israelites]!”