1 KINGS—NOTE ON 1 KINGS 12:1 The Kingdom Is Divided. Two kingdoms emerge. Judah is made up of two tribes (Judah and Benjamin) in the south and is ruled by Rehoboam. Israel is made up of the ten northern tribes and is ruled by Jeroboam. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (v... [ Continue Reading ]
1 KINGS—NOTE ON 1 KINGS 12:4 YOUR FATHER MADE OUR YOKE HEAVY. Solomon placed great financial burdens on the people. They are no longer living in freedom in the Promised Land. They are again a people under HARD SERVICE, as they were in Egypt (Exodus 1:14; Exodus 2:23). They toil as oxen would under a... [ Continue Reading ]
1 KINGS—NOTE ON 1 KINGS 12:10 MY LITTLE FINGER IS THICKER THAN MY FATHER’S THIGHS. Rehoboam is saying that he will be much harsher than his father was. SCORPIONS probably refers to a particularly vicious form of whip. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images... [ Continue Reading ]
1 KINGS—NOTE ON 1 KINGS 12:14 I WILL ADD TO YOUR YOKE. Rehoboam is behaving exactly as Pharaoh had behaved before him (compare Exodus 5:1). ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.length, img; i [ Continue Reading ]
1 KINGS—NOTE ON 1 KINGS 12:15 A TURN OF AFFAIRS BROUGHT ABOUT BY THE LORD. God is in control of all events. His word is being carried out, as was the case with the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart (Exodus 4:21; Exodus 7:3, Exodus 7:13). ⇐ ⇔... [ Continue Reading ]
1 KINGS—NOTE ON 1 KINGS 12:16 WHAT PORTION DO WE HAVE IN DAVID? The people do not support Rehoboam, so they leave for THEIR TENTS. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.length, img; i [ Continue Reading ]
1 KINGS—NOTE ON 1 KINGS 12:18 It is not clear whether ADORAM is the person mentioned in 1 Kings 4:6 and 1 Kings 5:14. He comes to impose FORCED LABOR on Israel. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.length, img; i [ Continue Reading ]
1 KINGS—NOTE ON 1 KINGS 12:24 THEY LISTENED TO THE WORD OF THE LORD AND WENT HOME. War is avoided, at least for now. But the peace does not last long. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.length, img; i [ Continue Reading ]
1 KINGS—NOTE ON 1 KINGS 12:25 JEROBOAM BUILT SHECHEM... PENUEL. The first task for Jeroboam was the obvious one of defense. He built up two major cities. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.length, img; i [ Continue Reading ]
1 KINGS—NOTE ON 1 KINGS 12:27 TWO CALVES OF GOLD. Jeroboam fears that the presence of the TEMPLE OF THE LORD AT JERUSALEM will lead the people of northern Israel to return to Rehoboam. To prevent this, Jeroboam sets up his own system for worship. His words to the people about the calves—BEHOLD YOUR... [ Continue Reading ]
1 KINGS—NOTE ON 1 KINGS 12:29 Jeroboam builds centers of worship within his own territory to rival Jerusalem, one in the far north (DAN) and one in the far south (BETHEL). He appoints PRIESTS who had not been set apart by God for such service. He invents a central FEAST in the EIGHTH MONTH, a versio... [ Continue Reading ]