The Seeds of Division

2 Chronicles 10

The divided kingdom of Isreal starts in this chapter. What is stunning about this is how quickly it occurs. Solomon's rule has just barely ended with his death and notice Rehoboam is still in Shechem which is were he goes to be officially installed as king (verse 1 -- "... for to Shechem were all Israel come to make him king."). So clearly, this is the very beginning of Rehoboam's rule.

My primary impression as I read this account this time is this -- the seeds of division were already in place. It's easy to over look this obvious fact because we are usually distracted by the strong object lesson at play here regarding the unwise counsel given to Rehoboam by his peers. There's so much to this lesson that we spend a lot of time there (and rightfully so) gathering wisdom about disrepecting the advise of elders, the glaring disconnect in the wisdom on Solomon and his son Rehoboam, the pretense of asking for advice and not really wanting it, and so forth.

The other great insight to be gained here is the fact that even during this glorious period that was the reign of Solomon when Isreal was so united and so respected -- division was brewing under the surface. Even with Jeroboam far away in Eqypt, there must of been some unresolved discontent in Israel as well. Notice how quickly these people turned against Rehoboam. It happened too fast to not have been in the works already and this is something that I really haven't considered as I comtemplate the golden era under David and Solomon. God's judgement of Israel would be ready far before they have fully turned away from him. It reminds me again that God is timeless and even when we are spiritually strong we should be on the look out for seeds of destruction because God is already aware of them and ready to render judgement to his people.