Now we get the Chronicler’s take on what happened after the death of Solomon. In close parallel to what we read in I Kings 12, the Chronicler reports that Solomon’s son Rehoboam became king (II Chronicles 9:29-31). His older advisors recommended that the new king act in such a way as to win the favor of the people; his younger advisors proposed that he tell the people that he would increase their burdens much more than his father Solomon had done (10:6-11).

[The phrase “my little finger is thicker than my father’s loins” (10:10) is a graphic sexual boast; Rehoboam endeavored to live up to that claim by gathering a considerable harem, 78 women (11:18-21) – this was, however, quite a bit smaller than his father’s famous harem of a thousand (I Kings 11:3).]

When Rehoboam opted for the harsh advice of his younger advisors (II Chronicles 10:12-15), Jeroboam led the ten northern tribes into rebellion (10:16-19). Rehoboam mustered his army to put down the rebellion (11:1), but the prophet Shemaiah came to Rehoboam with a declaration from God: don’t go fight against your kindred (11:4). Because Rehoboam listened to this word from the Lord, war was averted. Still, we can notice that the rebellion was triggered because Rehoboam skipped his chance to build a spirit of cooperation and relationship, and opted for self-aggrandizement instead.

We can also recognize that the Chronicler copied faithfully from I Kings, and that I Kings had also been copied from a previous source, if we notice how both of them state that “Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day” (I Kings 12:19, II Chronicles 10:19). By the time I Kings was written (during the Exile), and even more by the time II Chronicles was written (after the Exile), the northern kingdom of Israel was no longer in rebellion: it was no longer in existence. It had been destroyed by the Assyrians about 150 years earlier. It was inelegant on the part of both historians to have exactly copied their source material instead of making an editorial emendation to say something like “Israel was in rebellion until the Assyrians came and destroyed them.” Even so, this inelegance shows their bias regarding the importance of copying their source material exactly.

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We are no better than our ancestors, O Lord: like Rehoboam, we choose the path of putting others down to make ourselves feel important, rather than finding the way to work together to accomplish the goodness of your kingdom. Grant us, we pray, the humility to seek cooperation rather than coercion, both with the people we like, and also those we don’t.

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