November 1, 2015
Leader Guide
Guide #2-8
1 Kings 12:1-17
The Kingdom is Divided
Bible Background
Chances are good that you are not an Old Testament scholar with extensive
knowledge on the history of the kings that followed David. You learned about David
last week, but the transition to life after his son Solomon is not always the most
common subject to make into a sermon, Bible study, or even a documentary on the
History channel.
The era after the reign of David and his son Solomon is documented in the book of 1
the death of Solomon, power issues have emerged and the once-united monarchy is
now, as the title of the lesson suggests, a divided monarchy.
What went wrong? The details of the narrative are part history, but also a lesson in
understanding the national God of the people of Israel. Whereas today, our theology
of God is one of love, the Israelites often saw the cause-effect events of their lives as
a direct response to the good or bad things they had done. In the case of King
Solomon, he had done some very bad things—most of them involving the women he
chose to marry or take as concubines in direct defiance to the LORD.
As a result of King Solomon’s disobedience to the LORD, the kingdom was split.
King Solomon had a lot of wives, many of whom worshiped foreign gods. This had a
strong effect on Solomon’s ability to follow the LORD. In 1 Kings 11, Solomon
reportedly had 700 princess wives and over 300 concubines and they turned his heart
from the true LORD God.
This makes Solomon susceptible to adversaries and one of those foes is his own
servant, Jeroboam. The prophet Ahijah encounters Jeroboam and takes a new
garment and splits it into 12 pieces, like the 12 tribes of Israel. Ahijah tells Jeroboam
to take ten pieces of the cloth because the LORD was going to rip apart Solomon’s
kingdom and give Jeroboam ten of the tribes. This didn’t sit well with Solomon, who
was advanced in age, so Jeroboam fled to Egypt until Solomon died.
This is where things get a little confusing—Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, takes over.
Jeroboam returns from Egypt and tells the new king that Solomon had overworked
his people, but if Rehoboam, as the new king, can lighten up—ease the yoke—
Jeroboam will tell the people to serve him. King Rehoboam seeks out the older
advisors that his father took counsel from, and they tell him to listen to Jeroboam.
The king must not have liked that answer because he then asks his younger buddies
what they think he should do. They suggest adding to the burden of his people. Not
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surprisingly, this didn’t go over well with the people. It definitely didn’t impress
Jeroboam.
Ultimately, the only tribe from the house of David to follow King Rehoboam is
Judah, which includes Jerusalem. The rest of the tribes follow Jeroboam and make
him king over the rest of Israel. Jeroboam, in defiance of the LORD in 1 Kings 11:38,
makes two golden calves for the people to worship—one in the north, Dan, and the
other in the south, Bethel. These calves are set up so that the people won’t bring their
sacrifices to the house of the LORD in Jerusalem because Jeroboam believes the
people would return to King Rehoboam and kill him.
King Jeroboam, who had been willing to serve King Rehoboam, is now the leader of
the rest of Israel, but his leadership steers them away from the LORD out of fear for
his own life. The prophet Ahijah also predicts King Jeroboam’s eventual demise too
because the idol he created took him away from obedience to God.
Interestingly, in 1 Kings 12:24, even though King Jeroboam and Rehoboam are
engaged in a civil war, the LORD declares that they should not fight each other, so
they listen to the word of the LORD and leave each other alone.
For Your Reflection
? Since this story might be unfamiliar, consider summarizing the background
notes for the group. Descriptions of the LORD found in the Old Testament
frequently place the LORD as a character directly in the story. What
characteristics of the LORD surprise you? What is your impression of
Jeroboam’s style of leadership?
Bible Connections
 1 Kings 12:19
 Mark 10: 42-45
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November 1, 2015
Participant Guide
Guide #2-8
1 Kings 12:1-17
The Kingdom is Divided
Into the Story
What makes a good leader? Think of a leader
that you respect and look up to. This can be a
leader from your own work life, from the
Bible, or even a leader from secular society
that people are willing to follow. What makes
this leader so successful? Why do you think
this leader is able to gain the trust of
followers? What are this leader’s
shortcomings or weaknesses?
Learning the Story
While the story from 1 Kings 12 might be less
familiar, the presence of the LORD in the midst of
the conflict demonstrates the awesome power of our
God who works through ordinary people, like the
servant Jeroboam, to provide steady leadership in the
midst of an oppressive King Rehoboam.
Read 1 Kings 12: 1-11
? King Rehoboam consults his father’s
advisors and they give him advice, but he
disregards it immediately. Why do you
think he sought out the elders? Whose
advice do you seek out when making
difficult decisions? Why are elders
opinions often valued or sought out?
Bible Nuts and Bolts- Maps
To understand the split that was
happening during this story, it would
be helpful to look at a map that shows
the United Monarchy and the
Divided Kingdom.
Your Bible may include maps;
otherwise, you can find public
domain maps online at this site
(United):
http://preceptaustin.org/map%20of
%20tribes%20of%20israel.gif
Divided Kingdom:
http://preceptaustin.org/map%20of
%20divided%20kingdom.gif
The kingdoms divided around 931
BC, from the biblical information
provided in 1 Kings 12. Other things
to consider while looking at the maps
is that the King of the Ten Tribes of
Israel, Jeroboam, sets up the two
golden calves in Dan (near the top)
and Bethel, just north of Jerusalem,
which is where King Rehoboam
rules.
? King Rehoboam also sought out the
advice of his friends and they know him well. They know what he wants to hear.
Have you ever got bad advice from someone? What did you do with that advice?
Read 1 Kings 12: 12-17
? King Rehoboam consults his older advisors and then his younger advisors. Why
do you think he chooses to side with the younger advisors, especially when his
efforts at more power backfire and he ends up losing land and people? What
would your advice be for Rehoboam?
? Because of Solomon’s disobedience and his son, King Rehoboam’s, power-driven
choices, it appears the kingdom is in big trouble. Do you ever make choices in
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your life that are not what God would want
you to do? How do you understand God
working in you and through you to make good
choices or to provide forgiveness when you
know you’ve messed up?
Discuss 1 Kings 12 overview from leaders
guide:
? Your leader may be able to provide you a
bigger picture of what is happening with
Jeroboam. At the beginning of our time
together, you shared your stories of leaders in
the sports or political arena. What is your
opinion of Jeroboam’s leadership? What about
King Rehoboam?
Living the Story: Fellowship
Stepping Outside
If there is a rabbi or an active
Jewish
authority
in
your
community,
this
particular
reading would be informative to
hear from them. What is their
understanding of the LORD in
this passage?
Or seek out a person in your
community. Feel free to tell them
that as “homework,” you are
looking to connect with people in
your neighborhood who are from
different races, cultures, or faith
backgrounds. After you identify
that difference, spend time in
conversation to get to know each
other and ask each other what
your goals are for the community
you live in. What do you notice
are your commonalities? Bring
your results back to the group and
see if there are similar patterns or
reports from your peers.
 King Rehoboam asks for advice from the
elders and from his friends in this story. As
a group, talk about the importance of
leadership from different people in your
congregation. Consider inviting a church leader
to your group to discuss (someone that’s not
already in your group, if possible).
 Find someone from your congregation who is from a different generation
than you and ask them about one of their favorite leaders. What qualities do
they value? How are your answers similar and where do they differ?
 Bring your prayer reflection home or to work where you can see it
throughout the week. As you pray daily, continue to ask for God’s help and
guidance in your calling. Now, as you pray individually, also pray for the other
members by name or as a group for strength in their calling.
Last Week/Next Week
Last week, the focus was on David and his obedience to the LORD brings leadership and a
United Monarchy. As you can see from this week, without David’s obedience to the LORD,
the kingdom falls apart after Solomon dies without a smooth transition plan. When Jeroboam
leads the people away from the oppressive King Rehoboam, Jeroboam also leads the people
towards Baal. Next week, the showdown the LORD and Baal is on. The LORD uses the
prophet Elijah to demonstrate God’s power in a contest versus the prophets of Baal.
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