ONLY ONE TRUE LORD

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

All this I saw, as I applied my mind to everything done under the sun. There is a time when a man lords it over others to his own hurt.

Ecclesiastes 8:9 

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As we have journeyed first through 1 Kings and then 1 and 2 Chronicles and finally Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, we have come to know a lot about Solomon, the son of David who assumed the throne of Israel after his father’s passing.

Ask most people to tell what they know about Solomon and I would guess that almost all your responses would be complimentary in nature, focusing on Solomon’s wisdom and faith in God.

But did you know that Solomon ended up with a very bad reputation among his people, seen as an oppressor who mistreated those he led?

It’s true. We know this from the following verses in 1 Kings, Chapter 12:

Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone there to make him king. When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard this (he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), he returned from Egypt. So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly of Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him: “Your 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.” (vv 1-4)

Rehoboam was installed as King of Israel after Solomon passed and from the words of the “whole assembly of Israel” we learn that Solomon, Rehoboam’s father, had placed a heavy yoke on the people through harsh labor. The people hoped for relief from their hardship now that a new king was ascending to the throne.

Ironically, we have the following words written by Solomon himself in the 8th Chapter of Ecclesiastes:

All this I saw, as I applied my mind to everything done under the sun. There is a time when a man lords it over others to his own hurt. (v9)

Solomon had it all. He asked God for wisdom to lead the Israelites and God answered that request including a great amount of wealth and splendor to go along with it. And yet, in the end he lorded over others, oppressing them to his own hurt. A man who could have been loved and admired by his people for the righteous and loving way he treated them instead became detested and left his son with a mess to deal with. Solomon lorded over others to his own hurt but his son had a chance to get things back where they needed to be. All he had to do is lighten the load on the people and he would have gained their favor, admiration, and appreciation.

This is tack that the wise elders advised the newly crowned young king to take. Look at their guidance:

“If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants.” 1 Kings 12:7

The king was to serve the people he reigned over and the people were looking for the king to offer them relief. If the young king would comply with their request, the people would want to serve him without being forced to do so. He could have righted the ship and helped his people, the chosen people of God who had been placed under his rule.

But the young king chose to reject the counsel of the elders, opting instead to listen to the young men he grew up with who said this to him:

“These people have said to you, ‘Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter.’ Now tell them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist. 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.’” 1 Kings 12:10-11

In other words, Rehoboam would essentially say to the people, “If you thought my father was bad, you haven’t seen anything yet!”

And that’s just what he did.

So what happened?

The words of Rehoboam’s father, Solomon, the one who created the situation Rehoboam found himself in, came to life:

There is a time when a man lords it over others to his own hurt.

Rehoboam chose to oppress instead of relieve oppression and so the people chose to not follow him anymore. Here’s how the scriptures detail the event:

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

“What share do we have in David, what part in Jesse’s son? To your tents, Israel! Look after your own house, David!”

So the Israelites went home. But as for the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah, Rehoboam still ruled over them.  1 Kings 12:16-17

Essentially, Rehoboam lost eight-tenths of his kingdom with one unwise decision, a decision to lord over his people. I would say that he made the wrong choice to his own hurt, wouldn’t you?

We really don’t need to guess because the actions of the people who broke free of Rehoboam, under the leadership of Jeroboam, validates the fact. For after the people left, Rehoboam sent out Adoniram, who was in charge of forced labor, to bring them back but he was stoned to death. King Rehoboam was also endangered but scriptures tell us he managed to get into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem (1 Kings 12:18).

It was obvious that the oppressed now joined together to eliminate the oppressor if any attempt was made to return the people to what used to be.

One young king’s decision led to a divided kingdom. His father’s oppressive rule at the end of his reign set the stage for it. In both cases, a man lorded over others to their own hurt.

So what are we to take away from this? What lesson is God teaching us today?

The answer is that there is only one true Lord and He is the Lord God Almighty, the Maker of heaven and earth, the only One who has the authority to lord over us.

Man has no place lording over others to the point of oppression and mistreatment. It’s not that people aren’t placed in authority over others by God because they are, but ultimately they are accountable to God for the way they lead, they are to consult Him for the way they govern.

Look at the story of Rehoboam in 1 Kings 12 and you will see that the young king never once turned to God for direction as to how he should proceed. If he had, the results would have most probably been much different. But he didn’t and as a result, the kingdom that the Lord had established with twelve tribes united for a common cause became fractured, broken apart because a king chose to lord instead of turning things over to THE Lord.

As we deal with others, and particularly when we are placed in authority over others in some way, we need to remember this lesson from the scriptures. We are to not lean on our own understanding when it comes to important decisions impacting the people we are to lead but rather to turn to the Lord and lead them in the way He wills us to.

Only then will we ensure that we lead right and in a way that will have positive results, both for us as leaders and for the people the only one true Lord has blessed us to lead.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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