1 Kings 11:28-39
One day a young man who was an overseer of King Solomon’s builders was going out of the city when he met a prophet, who is a man who speaks to people for God.
The young man had on a new coat, perhaps it was what we would call a robe. The prophet did a strange thing, he caught hold of the new garment and quickly tore it into twelve pieces, and told the young man to take ten of the pieces. Why did the prophet do this? Because he wanted to show the man that the nation of Israel was to be divided in a quick, rough way, and that he should have ten parts.
There were twelve tribes in Israel with one king over all, the first, King Saul; the next, King David; and then, King Solon. But the prophet said that after Solomon’s death, ten tribes should be taken away from his son and given to this young man, whose name was Jeroboam.
Perhaps the young man did not like it when his coat was torn, yet when he heard that, instead of being a servant, he was to be king over ten tribes of Israel, he would not feel sorry about the coat, but would plan for the high place.
God also told King Solomon that, because he had made and worshiped idols, ten of the tribes of Israel should be given to his servant. God had given Solomon greater honor, riches and wisdom than any other man. He had twice spoken to him directly to keep His Words, which were kept in the temple, and he must have read, and of which he must also have had a copy (Deut. 17:15-20). Yet he so greatly sinned.
What the prophet said came true. After Solomon died, his son, Rehoboam, tried to be king over all Israel, but ten of the tribes made Jeroboam, instead, their king, and only the tribe of Judah with the small tribe of Benjamin was left to Rehoboam.
The city of Jerusalem, with the big temple, was in the country belonging to the tribe of Judah, and Rehoboam lived there. Jeroboam had a great city built at Shechem for the rule of the ten tribes. He did not want the people to go to Jerusalem to worship God at the temple, so he made two calves of gold, which, he was so wicked and foolish as to say, had brought Israel out of Egypt, and the people worshiped those.
So the nation of Israel became what we call two kingdoms, and there were many wars and sorrows in both, for the kings and people did not honor God.
Notice how much alike are the names of the first two kings: Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, who ruled two tribes and was called, the king of Judah.
Jeroboam, the man whose coat was torn, who ruled ten tribes and was called, the king of Israel.
ML 02/05/1939