The northern tribes revolt (1 Kings 12; 2 Chronicles 10-11)

[Back to the story...Solomon is dead and his son Rehoboam has succeeded him. Meanwhile, God has offered a dynastic covenant of the northern tribes to another man, Jeroboam. Jeroboam was living in Egypt because Solomon had hunted him.]

The people of Israel come to Rehoboam and ask that he treat them more gently than Solomon did. Rehoboam says he will give an answer in 3 days. Meanwhile, he consults his advisers. The older advisors tell him to lighten their load to gain the loyalty of the people while his friends advise him to make things worse. He chooses the latter option. Now, before we jump on Rehoboam, the text says that this was all God's doing. The only other time I remember where God interfered like this was when God hardened Pharaoh's heart.

The people get angry and openly talk of rebellion. Rehoboam sends Adoniram to restore some order, but he is stoned to death. The people hear that Jeroboam is back from Egypt so they choose him as king. His capital is Shechem in the land of Ephraim.

So, now we have two nations, a southern kingdom with Rehoboam and Jerusalem as capital and a northern kingdom with Jeroboam as king and Shechem as capital.

A civil almost immediately erupts between the two, but God intervenes. Rehoboam is mobilizing the army when God tells a prophetic man to advise Rehoboam and is soldiers not to go to war and this is all God's doing. It does not say what was Rehoboam's reaction was, but I imagine he was probably mad at God.

Meanwhile, Jeroboam wants to consolidate power. He is afraid that the people will return their allegiance to the southern kingdom because that is where the temple is and the people will have go make pilgrimages there. So, instead of relying on God, he an starts alternative religion that competes against the Feast of Tabernacles. He has golden calfs made and directs the people to worship them in the northern kingdom at the same time that they would otherwise be going to Jerusalem.

To make it worse, he tells the people that these golden calfs were the gods that brought them out of Egypt. Jeroboam knows what he's doing. It is a calculated political move that has major religious implications. The people are already have strong proclivity towards idolatry and this would have the intended effect - they would stop going to Jerusalem at Feast time to honor God but rather stay in the northern lands to worship these calfs.

Jeroboam goes as far to prevent the Levites from worshiping God. So, All the Levites in the north move south to Jerusalem even abandoning their lands. Others loyal to God follow as well and leave the northern lands. This makes Jerusalem stronger.

We can guess God's response to Jeroboam's calfs. These things never end well. Jeroboam is not doing his part to establish a covenant with God and to have a dynasty.