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Then Solomon rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David his father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.(1 Kings 11:43 NKJV)

1 Kings 12:1-24 NIV
Israel Rebels Against Rehoboam
12 Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone there to make him king. 2 When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard this (he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), he returned from[a] Egypt. 3 So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly of Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him: 4 \\u201cYour father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.\\u201d

5 Rehoboam answered, \\u201cGo away for three days and then come back to me.\\u201d So the people went away.

6 Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. \\u201cHow would you advise me to answer these people?\\u201d he asked.

7 They replied, \\u201cIf today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants.\\u201d

8 But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him. 9 He asked them, \\u201cWhat is your advice? How should we answer these people who say to me, \\u2018Lighten the yoke your father put on us\\u2019?\\u201d

10 The young men who had grown up with him replied, \\u201cThese people have said to you, \\u2018Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter.\\u2019 Now tell them, \\u2018My little finger is thicker than my father\\u2019s waist. 11 My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.\\u2019\\u201d

12 Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, as the king had said, \\u201cCome back to me in three days.\\u201d 13 The king answered the people harshly. Rejecting the advice given him by the elders, 14 he followed the advice of the young men and said, \\u201cMy father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.\\u201d 15 So the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from the Lord, to fulfill the word the Lord had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.

16 When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king:

\\u201cWhat share do we have in David,
what part in Jesse\\u2019s son?
To your tents, Israel!
Look after your own house, David!\\u201d

So the Israelites went home. 17 But as for the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah, Rehoboam still ruled over them.

18 King Rehoboam sent out Adoniram,[b] who was in charge of forced labor, but all Israel stoned him to death. King Rehoboam, however, managed to get into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem. 19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

20 When all the Israelites heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the house of David.

21 When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mustered all Judah and the tribe of Benjamin\\u2014a hundred and eighty thousand able young men\\u2014to go to war against Israel and to regain the kingdom for Rehoboam son of Solomon.

22 But this word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God: 23 \\u201cSay to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah, to all Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, 24 \\u2018This is what the Lord says: Do not go up to fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.\\u2019\\u201d So they obeyed the word of the Lord and went home again, as the Lord had ordered.

Where there is no guidance, a people falls,
but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.(Proverbs 11:14 ESV)

There are 5 principles I can learn or be reminded of from Rehoboam\\u2019s experience:

Servant leadership is the model we need to follow and exhibit. (It was also the model of Jesus.)
We need to make sure we are getting our wisdom from the right sources. Who are you listening to these days?
Doing what is right may not always be popular, but it is right.
The consequences for failure to follow wisdom are huge.
There is natural wisdom that comes from age.