1 Kings 12:16-20

C. THE REBELLION OF ISRAEL 12:16-20

TRANSLATION

(16) When all of Israel saw that the king did not hearken unto them, the people responded to the king, saying, What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse! To your tents, O Israel! Now look after your own house, David! So Israel went to their tents. (17) But as for the children of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. (18) And King Rehoboam sent Adoram who was over the forced labor, but all Israel pelted him with stones, and he died. Then King Rehoboam hastened to mount his chariot to flee to Jerusalem. (19) So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day. (20) And when all of Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him unto the assembly, and they made him king over all Israel. None followed after the house of David except the tribe of Judah alone.

COMMENTS

After briefly consulting among themselves, the representatives of the Northern tribes defiantly replied to the king: What portion have we in David? This is the same expression used in 2 Samuel 20:1 and seems to mean, We are receiving no consideration from David's seed, so why yield homage to him? (cf. 2 Samuel 19:43). The dissidents further declared, Neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse, i.e., his tribe is not ours; his interests are not ours. To your tents, O Israel, they shouted. This was a battle cry that had its origins in the period of the desert wanderings. As they angrily stomped out of the audience chamber they shouted one last warning, Now see to your own house, David, i.e., Let the seed of David henceforth reign over the tribe of Judah if it can; but let him not interfere in the affairs of the other tribes. With these ominous words, the representatives of Israel departed for their tents, i.e., their dwellings (1 Kings 12:16).

The battle-cry here is similar to the one used by Sheba (2 Samuel 20:1) when he rebelled against David, and yet the circumstances are very different. Sheba cried, We have no portion in David because he believed in the dynastic principle, and believed that the scepter should remain in the house of Saul. In this case, the people used the battle-cry to indicate that they were not committed to the dynastic principle. They felt no compulsion to accept Solomon's heir as their king. The right to bestow sovereignty rested with the people.[322]

[322] Honor, JCBR, p. 176.

Only those members of the ten tribes who happened to be settled within the territory of Judah rendered homage to Rehoboam (1 Kings 12:17). A number of Simeonites were certainly among them (cf. Joshua 19:1-9). From this point on, the term children of Israel will be used by the author of Kings in its restricted sense as referring to the inhabitants of the Northern Kingdom, the kingdom of Jeroboam.

Rehoboam was determined to demonstrate to the rebels that he would not be intimidated. He therefore sought immediately to force the Northern tribes to pay tribute and thereby to recognize his sovereignty. The king assigned this task to Adoram,[323] the superintendent of forced labor, a man who would naturally be obnoxious to the people of the North. But the Northern tribes would no longer allow themselves to be coerced into serving the Davidic dynasty. With vicious determination they picked up stones and pelted Adoram until he died. The death of Adoram showed Rehoboam that the revolt was for real and that his own life was in danger in Shechem. He therefore lost no time in hastening south to the safety of Jerusalem (1 Kings 12:18).

[323] Adoram is usually identified with Adoniram who served as superintendent of forced labor under Solomon (1 Kings 4:6).

With the single exception of the death of Adoram, the revolution of 931 B.C. was a bloodless one. The author of Kings seems to regard that death as marking the formal beginning of the rebellion which was to continue until those Northern tribes were carried away captive in 722 B.C. The phrase unto this day (1 Kings 12:19) indicates that the source for this history utilized by the author of Kings was written before the destruction of the Northern Kingdom. The phrase reveals a hope that the two sister kingdoms would ultimately be reunited.

The representatives of the Northern tribes returned to their respective communities and reported what had transpired at Shechem. When the people heard that Jeroboam had returned from Egypt, they were anxious to assemble and crown him. The sacred historian does not reveal where the coronation ceremony was held, but it was likely at Shechem soon after the flight of Rehoboam. This public and formal consecration of Jeroboam completed the secession of the Northern tribes. Only the tribe of Judah (1 Kings 12:20) and the tiny tribe of Benjamin rendered allegiance to Rehoboam (1 Kings 12:21).

It is somewhat surprising to find that Benjamin cast its lot with Judah. The hereditary ties of Benjamin were with the Northern tribes. Furthermore, when the scepter was transferred from the house of the Benjaminite Saul to the house of David, deep and bitter jealousy between the two tribes developed. Apart from David's struggles with Abner and Ishbosheth, Saul's son, David had to deal with rebellions led by Sheba (2 Samuel 20:1) and Shimei (2 Samuel 16:5 ff), both Benjaminites. Nevertheless, when the Northern tribes fell away, Benjamin never seems to have wavered in its allegiance to the house of David. It was probably their interest in Jerusalem which drew Benjamin close to Judah. This magnificent city, the civil and religious capital of the empire, was on the border between Benjamin and Judah. Separation from Judah would mean the loss of Jerusalem to Judah. But while the tribe as a whole elected to adhere to the house of David, some portions of BenjaminBethel, Gilgal, and Jericho, for examplewere controlled by the Northern Kingdom.