Good Counsel in the Midst of Transitions

[0:00] Teenagers on up to their class and we'll go and take your Bible throw to the book of 1 Kings tonight. 1 Kings as we look here in the Word of God a little bit here this evening.

[0:15] Got some handouts for everybody here. As we're going to continue on looking at transitions and the things that happen along the way. And the one thing we can learn tonight as we're going to be looking through is I want you to understand that when it comes to transitions there's always a second thing we're going to see here tonight too and that's good counsel in the midst of transitions.

[0:38] You know we're going to look here tonight at the transition as it begins to take place here with the children of Israel and the kingdoms as they are separated just as God showed forth and God declared that that was going to be the case and how that was going to come about in that.

[0:57] And so we know at the death of Solomon it naturally leads to the declaration when one king passes it's a natural declaration that there's going to be a new king. That there'll be a new one that sits on the throne.

[1:10] And we know this was his one that was assumed to be Jeroboam which would have been accepted to the throne. There was never a challenge recorded in scripture here of challenging him about the throne.

[1:23] And when it comes to Solomon one of the things that's interesting for a guy with 700 wives and 300 concubines you only have three children listed in the scripture.

[1:39] He has his son Jeroboam or excuse me Rehoboam. Get the right Boam going. I don't know what they were thinking.

[1:50] They need to get it. I need to name him like Jerry and Bob or something to help keep them separate you know. But his son Rehoboam is the only son mentioned in scripture.

[2:02] We also have two of his daughters mentioned that married two of his leaders that he had out over the districts. And so it's interesting that to me anyways that you have somebody that had that many wives and things and you only have three children that were made note of in scripture.

[2:22] And why we don't know but we know that there was definitely no problem with Jeroboam being the one that was to assume the throne. There was no conflict about that portion of it.

[2:35] There was nobody arguing about it. It was just stated that and Jeroboam or excuse me Rehoboam ruled in his stead the Bible tells us. I mean it's just very clearly there with that.

[2:49] And as Jeroboam excuse me as Rehoboam assumes the throne of Solomon upon his death that would later we're going to find that he assumed the throne. But also tonight as we begin looking at this transition he sat upon the throne as one that was going to be installed as king.

[3:08] Because you know we know from history that oftentimes when a king would die the next one would be honored as king. But they would have a coronation ceremony you might say where they actually validate all that with a ceremony and a gathering.

[3:22] And the people would all be in agreement with what was going on. And we're going to see tonight this taking place because he was going to be crowned as king there in a city called Shechem.

[3:37] And the children of Israel would acknowledge and accept their kings like this. You know one of the things you'll notice throughout the scripture David, Solomon, and Rehoboam all three of those we have examples of the people gathering to validate them as their king.

[3:55] In other words they were the king but the people kind of put the stamp on it and said we will follow you. A little different than a lot of kingdoms because if you study history a lot of kingdoms are just like I am so you will.

[4:11] But the interesting thing you find about Israel is Israel the elders always gathered to kind of put a stamp of approval saying we will follow. We will follow the king.

[4:24] And we're going to see that as this plays out here as the elders would gather. And we find that these things were taking place. And while Solomon had passed and Rehoboam was the acting king as they come here to Shechem where we're going to pick up here tonight is where he was going to be acknowledged by all Israel.

[4:47] So look here in 1 Kings chapter 12 as we pick up here and we'll read through the first five verses here as we get started here tonight. And it says And Rehoboam sent to Shechem for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king.

[5:01] And it came to pass that Jeroboam the son of Nebat who was yet in Egypt heard of it for he was fled from the presence of King Solomon and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt.

[5:13] And they sent and called him and Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came and spake unto Rehoboam saying Thy father made our yoke grievous. Now therefore make thou the grievous make thou the grievous service of thy father and his heavy yoke which he put upon us lighter and we will serve thee.

[5:36] And he said unto them depart yet for three days and then come again to me and the people departed. Let's pray. Heavenly Father as we take a few moments tonight as we look into your word Lord to see this transition and Lord even the importance and the dynamic of sound counsel in the midst of transitions and being able to look for the right things when it comes to counsel and the desire of what we would have as we make wise decisions Lord not selfish decisions but wise decisions in what you would have for us Lord and we just ask all these things in your precious name Amen.

[6:16] You know so we see here they've come to an interesting place here to gather together because they came to the city called Shechem Now this is a city that you'll find throughout the scripture Shechem is mentioned a lot of different times and it was really a very important place for the children of Israel Shechem wasn't a strange place to them you might say as a people but it was a very important place When you read the scripture there was many things that took place here at this place called Shechem Shechem was the place that God met with Abraham when he came into the land In Genesis chapter 12 Shechem was the place that God met with Abraham and Abraham built an altar unto the Lord at Shechem It started right there at Shechem you might say I mean that's where God had met with Abraham as he came out of Ur of the Chaldees he met him at Shechem when he spoke to him in the land and so we find that we find that Jacob you know Abraham Jacob here Jacob is in Genesis chapter 33 he buys land at Shechem for his residence he gave him a home and the Bible tells us in Genesis 33 that he built an altar you find that when the children of Israel come back up out of Egypt that they bury somebody very important in Shechem who can tell me who that is this is your Bible trivia question

[7:43] Joseph Joseph bones of Joseph were brought up out of Egypt and buried at Shechem you find Shechem is a very important place to them because here at Shechem is also when Israel got ready to they got into the land and here at Shechem they had rededicated themselves to the Lord saying we will serve the Lord there in Joshua chapter 24 you'll find they made a dedication to the Lord here around Shechem here as Israel dedicated them Shechem was also another interesting city here's another Bible trivia question for you so you can see what was what was unique and special also about the city of Shechem it had a special place within all the cities of Israel it was a city of refuge in other words the city of Shechem belonged specifically to the

[8:44] Kohathites it was given unto them in a city of refuge I think this is important that they met here because we'll find as we look through here I think that's the reason that Jeroboam was able to meet there at Shechem was because it was a city of refuge we don't have time to study that out tonight but if you go back and look to see there were certain restrictions placed upon a city of refuge there are certain things if somebody one of the things that would happen at a city of refuge if somebody accidentally killed somebody you know as they talk about in the scripture you know somebody's out chopping wood and they're trying to get their job done and suddenly the axe head breaks and the axe flies off head flies off and kills somebody with no intention or no malice a person could flee to the city of refuge and they would have to stay there once they proved it was an accident and the family could not take vengeance for their lost loved one it was a place of refuge it was a place of safety it was a place that

[9:48] God designed that's just one of the few things in the land that you'll find about it but also Shechem was in the land of Ephraim it was given to Joseph's son this particular area around Shechem and Shiloh we talked a little bit about that last week but we know we don't know specifically it doesn't say why they were at Shechem but I think that being a city of refuge is probably a pretty good reason that they were there because when Jeroboam comes why was Jeroboam down in Egypt do you remember from a few weeks ago why did Jeroboam have to go to Egypt yeah because Solomon was going to do what kill him because he was trying to usurp the throne so he's on the run and so it would make sense that somebody on the run would meet at least for counsel or protection in a city of refuge because you couldn't touch anybody in a city of refuge without all the elders getting together kind of like a court trial and acknowledging those things in other words it wasn't just it was a place that this who could offer protection to

[10:56] Jeroboam in the midst of all this and so we find here that if we look back at our text notice here that they gathered at Shechem to make him king verse 2 and it came to pass when Jeroboam the son of Nebat who was yet in Egypt heard it you know verse 3 and they sent and called him in other words the children of Israel the leaders sent down to Egypt and said hey Solomon has died and Jeroboam now returns back into the land because remember Solomon began to reign immediately but he wasn't placed officially you might say until they came to the to the coronation of the king you know and the people's approval you know and so this is what we're seeing that transition that was taking place we know it didn't just happen overnight in other words there was some time period here in preparation and the things going on preparing for it and so we're we're seeing here that this is happening and and Jeroboam comes up because he was of the children of

[11:58] Ephraim because remember Jeroboam's job he was head over the house of Joseph you know Ephraim and Manasseh and so we see this connection coming in and and we understand that he had had been met there by the prophet Ahijah and proclaimed that he would have a kingdom of ten of the tribes that we talked about last week and even take ten of them from Rehoboam and and but we find here that the people had gathered they knew all these things they knew what God had said but the people still gathered together and you know I think it's probably just like us today I think they gathered even though they knew what would have been prophesied they gathered out of many reasons that you could put in there one is loyalty hey this is our people this is where we belong this is this is family there's a loyalty that plays in there may have been patriotism you know or you get the other side of the coin you get sometimes people just don't like change you know they like the status quo you know don't rock the boat you know any of those things or other things but we do know that the people all gathered together under the understanding that they were going to crown Rehoboam as the new king over all the tribes that was their intention but we know that God had already said what that he was going to take ten tribes away but we find those tribes still meeting to honor

[13:32] Rehoboam so let's take a look here tonight at what's going on here as we look through this and we find that they came for one thing was to address the grievances that they had with Rehoboam's father Solomon to redress grievance you know and that that happens you know and we're going to look at this grievance or this complaint here tonight that's the first one we're going to look at the complaint that they made and I think we can all relate to their complaint you know when we look at what's going on because look here in verse four it says thy father made our yoke grievous now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father and his heavy yoke which he put on us lighter and notice what they say we will do what serve thee that's the reason I think they came wanting the status quo or loyalty or whatever they were even though they knew what had been said to Jeroboam at least the children of all

[14:37] Joseph Ephraim and Manasseh because Jeroboam was their leader and he tried to overthrow Solomon so you know the word was out of what the prophet had told him you know we understand that that would have been known but they still all came and said hey address the grievances and we will serve you we'll stick with you we'll stay with you if you address the grievances and so we see here that this yoke was grievous put on by Solomon what was it it was as many projects projects which meant they had a need for money and manpower to complete you know there's really no difference today is there I mean if we have projects and things going on it takes money and manpower and it's going to take it's going to cost people there was a levy there was going to be a tax you know the one thing we know is it hasn't changed amen you're going to get taxed there's going to be a levy to build things for for the government and all those things that's just part of what's going to take place it's what's going to transpire as we look at these things and it was not their forefathers that had been had not been warned about this I mean if you think about when they got ready to set up the king if you we won't take time to read tonight but first Samuel chapter 8 where

[16:02] Saul the people are calling for a king before Saul gets put in and Samuel comes and says hey let me tell you what God tells you and some of the things he says there's going to be heavy taxes there's going to be a big demand on your goods and there's going to be a big demand on your children and your families because a king is going to take your money he's going to take your goods he's going to take your family and he's going to put them into his service they were warned way before this exactly what was going to happen and that this was how it was going to come together there in first Samuel chapter eight and but this specific levy or yoke placed by Solomon we find take a look back a few chapters go to first Kings chapter four tonight first Kings chapter four because what would happen is Solomon had 12 officers over Israel which provided victuals for the king in his household and each man his month in a year made provision in other words each group that was under the taxing authority said here is your month to provide everything that's needed for everybody to eat and consume and all the things that were needed we're going to call up and this is what you're going to be doing but we see here that he also

[17:24] Solomon raised a levy of people first Kings chapter five just over a page there in your Bible and verse 13 it says in King Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel and the levy was 30,000 men in other words Solomon sent out and said hey we're going to get together and we're going to take 30,000 young guys that are healthy in the prime of their life and we're going to take them and they're going to we're going to put them into service and we're going to put these men are going to serve the king but in this they also collected heavy taxes and tribute to support the projects you know and I tell you what one thing we know is that Rehoboam had quite a bolsterous proud spirit about him because we'll look a little later even after the people all left and said we're not we're going to set up our own king he sends out the tax collector to go collect money we'll look at that next week we'll find out it didn't end so well for the tax collector that's one of those things that talk about rock and a hard place he had to go do his job because the king sent him knowing that it probably wasn't going to go over very good that's a true old fashioned rock and a hard place amen matter of fact we find it cost him his life trying to collect the taxes sent out because Rehoboam said hey go collect it from him they owe it so we see here the conflict and as we see this that

[19:00] Rehoboam looks at the individuals and says well go away for three days and come back and I'll have an answer for you so as we look at this what what are the people asking of Rehoboam they're not telling him to remove all this from them they said to do what make it lighter in other words the burden is too great and we know under your father it was like this but now you have an opportunity to make a change you have an opportunity to do things a little different you have an opportunity to to do things that were going to be beneficial for the people as a whole and we're going to see here that the the counsel that he gets because we're going to spend a lot of time here tonight talking about the counsel that Rehoboam gets but also his response to that counsel because this is where it meets the road for us because when we come in times of life of transition and things of having to make a decision what direction are we going to go we need to understand what part does counsel and sound counsel play into that and how does that look in our life here because let's pick up here in verse 6 and it says in King Rehoboam consulted with the old men that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived and said how do you advise that I may answer this people so what does

[20:30] Rehoboam do Rehoboam calls together the counselors that his dad had before him and he says hey guys here's the situation you heard what was going on what do you say I should do what's your advice because you know what how are we going to handle this you know how are we going to deal with that and and really that's where counsel comes in when it's like hey there's two different directions to go which one is the right one how do we deal with this situation or the specifics even in our own life and we're going to see here what he do this Rehoboam was very smart in because he did what all us ought to do if you don't sure what to do or you need to make sure you're thinking correctly because counsel does two things counsel helps us to get guidance but counts good counsel also make sure that we're thinking correctly because sometimes what we desire is not what we ought to desire good counsel helps us make sure we're thinking and seeing things properly have you ever heard somebody you go talk to them and they and they'll start pointing out things and you're like huh hadn't thought about that that's sound counsel it's making you process all the elements that are going to be involved all the things that are a part of it and it's not to be entered into lightly but we find here that was a solid decision to seek the advice of others you know look over the book of

[22:01] Proverbs Ramon it's interesting Proverbs was written by Rehoboam's dad you know Solomon penned the Proverbs and let's look back and see what Solomon his father told him you know and you'll find in Proverbs that Solomon charges his son to follow sound counsel as you read through Proverbs but notice here in chapter 11 in verse 4 notice what the Word of God tells us it's where no counsel is the people fall but in the multitude of counselors there is safety we're going to look here tonight at getting counsel because sometimes we go for counsel for the wrong reasons or we seek out the wrong counsel and we're going to look at this a little bit as we go through here because notice he seeks the opinion of the old men that stood with Solomon and he asked him a good question how do you advise that I may answer this people now I don't know about you but that's a good question to ask counselor if you're going for counsel how should I what's your well how are you thinking I should answer this you know what's what's your input what's the details that I need to to have you know to get a right perspective because what counsel does is help us get the right focus on the right things and to grab a hold of that and we see here verse 6 he asked that question how do you advise that I may answer this people and it says and they spoken to him saying now notice what they tell him here because they as they were there these were men they were aware what had been told Solomon remember they were told before Solomon was told that the kingdom was going to be taken from him if this is Solomon's counselors they already knew this stuff that would had gone on they were aware of it but I want you to see their answer was not a bad answer because they're telling Rehoboam it says hey humble yourself lighten the taxes and these people will serve you notice how they respond to him he says and verse 7 and they spake unto him saying if thou will be a servant unto this people this day and serve them and answer them and speak good words to them that they will be thy servants forever you know the counsel you get is important and you definitely want to have the counsel you want to have wise counsel you know take a look in the scripture go to Proverbs chapter 19 Proverbs chapter 19 because you know the Bible has a ton to say about getting good counsel and what kind of counsel should we listen to and why should we listen to it but Proverbs chapter 19 here in verse 20 notice what the Word of God says it says hear counsel and receive instruction that thou mayest be wise in thy later end you know that's some good good stuff to absorb right there good counsel helps make you wiser and smarter helps you understand what's going on now notice verse 21 there are many devices in a man's heart nevertheless the counsel of the Lord that shall stand you know one of the things you'll find is that oftentimes when it comes to counsel we're going to look here at this here but notice

[25:32] Solomon's counsel counselors that he had of his dad the old men they referred to in other words they've been seasoned around a little bit you know they'd they'd been seen the things going on they'd seen the the struggle of the people they'd seen basically the schism that had been caused between the people because of the levy the weight that was upon them and the extravagance and also the excess of Solomon when you read about Solomon think about what was spent in Solomon's palace and all those things when people would travel from afar just to see the wonders of Solomon's palace the Bible tells us that he had gold shields lining the area around the throne battle shields in solid gold now I don't know who would think that's extravagant I mean that was Solomon in all his glory and splendor people would travel just to hear his wisdom and just to see the glory of his kingdom and all these things and and we find this extravagant and excess of his father put an attitude upon Rehoboam because really he lived if his dad was living like that you can imagine his son was living pretty well

[26:53] Rehoboam probably had the easy life man it's just hanging out you know always just doing what you want to do whenever you do it somebody brings you something when you need it you know you have everything that you need because of the extravagance and when you understand when you read through the book of Ecclesiastes this young man would have grown up in the midst of Solomon doing all the things he talks about in Ecclesiastes all the things that he sought with wisdom and women and money and everything looking for joy and satisfaction in life Rehoboam would have seen Solomon through that stage of his life it would have had an impact on how he thought seeing his father do those things the choices you make impact more than you we need to understand that picture of why Rehoboam was that like he was he was influenced by his father how do you know that because that's normal that's how it works parents influence children the choices you make the priorities you make the things that you put forth impact the generation that follows you but notice here the old men knew something very important because notice the advice that they give Rehoboam simply summed up this it said they're basically telling Rehoboam this he says humble yourself to serve them in other words get off your high horse and consider the purpose that you really are as king and that is for the benefit of the people to watch over to protect and to to guide and to to move the nation in a direction you know these men would have been witnesses for for themselves to the burden that was upon the people notice here their advice was not to be arrogant but to be gracious they said hey if you're gonna if you would humble yourself these people would serve you forever look over to Proverbs chapter 16 for a moment

[29:29] Proverbs chapter 16 verse 18 who's got that one for me tonight Proverbs 16 18 got that Ethan think about that pride goeth before what destruction and a haughty spirit before fall we're gonna look here that Rehoboam had both he had a mindset about who he was and what he was expecting the old man Solomon's advisors look at him and say be a servant he was advised to humble himself and to think of the people really he's given him the same advice that Jesus gave us an example and encouraged us to be think about Jesus Jesus said the greatest among you will be what a servant think about even Jesus's example you know and what Jesus told Mark chapter 10 verse 43 says but so shall it not be among you but whosoever will be great among you shall be your minister that word minister is servant it's there for the benefit of somebody else you know have you considered that even political leaders have a responsibility to be good ministers or servants of the people

[30:55] Romans chapter 13 and verse 4 calls him a minister of God to thee for good now I want you to understand God said that's what they're supposed to be doing but we all know that's not necessarily what they do that's no different than any other area of life we have sometimes God makes it very clear what we're supposed to be doing but yet we don't do it it's no different so we see here that consider the response here is really a critical point because Rehoboam was instructed also to use good words in other words be careful how you address this back Proverbs 25 verse 11 who can look that one up quick for me got that David

[31:57] Proverbs 25 11 a word fitly spoken you know it's like apples of gold and pictures of silver I mean it's something that's beautiful and beneficial you know something that helps the situation you know but I want you to see here how we respond to counsel and the choices we make regarding counsel determines more than what we sometimes consider in the midst of something because I want you to see here here's the counsel that the old men gave him hey Solomon your dad was harsh he was hard upon the people he demanded much and the old counselor says hey you have a chance to make a change in a transition there's a great opportunity for change he had a choice to make of what he was going to do what he was going to go how that was going to come together because

[33:04] I want you to see here how he responded look at verse 8 it says but he did what he forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him and consulted with the young men that were growing up with him which stood before him now it says he forsook the counsel of the old men I want to make a statement here they're not wise because they were old that's not the reason that God puts that statement there because you can be old and foolish but these were men of sound experience and when we look at it I mean I think we can look at this today the advice the old men gave him was that sound advice was that wise advice I mean hey these people are mad these people are upset you better do something to de-escalate the situation you better do something to deal with what's going on you know

[34:17] I want you to understand though this very important thing even though age is not a measurement of wisdom we need to understand that we by nature sometimes reject sound counsel we reject sound counsel just as Rehoboam did he got sound counsel and this is very important to look at because notice what he did he got sound counsel he rejected it and went looking someplace else for it this is something we can apply to our lives today because sometimes we get sound counsel and we go looking for somebody else to affirm our decision look over to Psalm chapter 1 for a moment because there's two forms of counsel you'll get

[35:22] Psalm 1 1 you can catch that one for me tonight got that Don okay blessed is the man that does what walketh not in what the counsel of who the ungodly when you boil it down to it you have two types of counsel you have good godly counsel and you have ungodly counsel now the variants underneath that are big but really that's the essence of it either counsel that lines up with God lines up with his word or it doesn't wise counsel Proverbs chapter 12 verse 5 look at the word of God the thoughts of the righteous are right but the counsel of the wicked are deceit and we're going to see this here because Rehoboam didn't like the counsel of his father's counsel maybe he thought because he didn't receive the desired answer you know well they'd advise dad and you know this didn't you know

[36:39] I'm going to do my own thing you know I want to do what I want to do of how I want to do things because notice here in verse 8 of our text it says which when they had given him and consulted with the young men that were growing up with him which stood before him in other words he rejected what was said before seeking the counsel of the young men in other words he got sound counsel and said I don't like that I'm going to look for something else let's put it in a little different situation of presentation here for a moment I'll put it this way he didn't like the counsel so he went shopping for some of the counsel he liked the problem of advice shopping is no different today than it was in days of Rehoboam matter of fact

[37:40] I think it might be more prevalent today than it was in his day because of our communication but I want you to see here that the young men that had grown up about Rehoboam spoke what he wanted to hear even though the counsel was opposite of the old men because notice what it tells us here in verse 9 and he said unto them what counsel give you that I may answer this people who had spoken to me saying make the yoke which my father did put upon us lighter and the young men that were growing up with him spake unto him saying thou shalt thus speak unto this people that spake unto thee saying thy father made your our yoke heavy but thou but make thou it lighter for us thus shalt thou say unto them a little finger shall be thicker than my father's loins and now whereas my father did laid you with heavy yoke

[38:42] I will add to your yoke my father hath chastised you with whips I will chastise you with scorpions that's the young man advice put them in their place that's really the advice the young men gave be proud be arrogant be self centered be self focused the old men said humble yourself and serve the people the young men said you have a right you can do this it's your right to do that you know the problem is that this was exactly what Rehoboam wanted to hear he went advice shopping and found what he wanted today often times even believers will go advice shopping because today with the great invention of Al Gore's internet some of you will get that joke if you've been around a while but the internet is a just a massive amount of information and today in that often times even

[40:16] Christians will look to Google for an answer instead of the Bible what did somebody else have to say about it you know what you'll find if you Google what you're looking for you'll find somebody that will agree with you you'll find if you search long enough you'll find somebody that holds your thought on it doesn't make it wise doesn't make it smart but you feel better because somebody agrees with you when we go advice shopping we get in trouble you know one thing I've said for many years a true friend is one who will tell you what you need to hear not what you want to hear somebody that's really your friend will tell you what you need to hear and not just what you want to hear and we need friends that speak that into our life that we have a relationship with that have the power and ability to speak that into your life in the right way because that's different from the one who just wants to be the smart aleck that comes up and tells you what you ought to do if you're going to have counsel that they're talking about here there needs to be a relationship there needs to be a trust saying I know this person well enough to know what they're telling me is not out of spite or meanness or just trying to be angry or just trying for some other means of selfish means of their own when they come and speak to me they're speaking to me from a place that say hey I love you and I need you to know what God says about this

[42:05] Rehoboam did exactly what many people do today he wouldn't advise shopping it'll be okay somebody agrees with me remember we ought to walk not in the counsel of the ungodly we need to be careful in these things because today with social media and internet you don't have to look long before you definitely find somebody who knows and agrees with you but the question is we need to not measure it is there somebody that agrees with me how does it measure according to God's word Micah chapter 6 dealt with that and it tells us what we're supposed to do that which justly rightly and humbly before

[43:11] God that's our responsibility you know it gives us a good parameter to hang everything else from to do good before God you need to make sure it's just it's right and you're doing it humbly Micah 6 8 Micah 6 8 we need to be careful we don't follow the internet expert and that's dangerous today I couldn't even if I we'd have a new building I think if I had a dollar for every time I heard this well I looked up on the internet and this guy said this you know we have more YouTube experts than we know what to do with look over to

[44:12] Proverbs chapter 19 Proverbs chapter 19 look there at verse 20 we read this just a little bit ago but this plays back right in Proverbs 19 20 says hear counsel and receive instruction that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end there are many devices in a man's heart nevertheless the counsel of the Lord that shall stand when we're measuring counsel that people give us we need to filter it through the word of God we need to filter it is what they're telling me is there a conflict in the word of God does it conflict or get caught up on something in God's word because if it's caught up on the things in God's word there's a problem and we all need to do that you know the young men affirmed the ideas of

[45:14] Rehoboam in not only maintaining the levy but basically they said don't just you know these people have more to give just take more from them increase it now as we look at this we're going to see that there was a cause that the ten tribes left you know when you read this and as I read that I'm like you know I think I probably agree with the ten tribes right here you know here's a guy supposed to set up to be your king and all he's looking out as far as his self interest but I want you to see here that after three days they reconvened to hear the king and an answer was given notice as we look down through here verse 12 so Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day as the king had appointed saying come to me again the third day and the king answered the people notice this roughly and forsook the old men's counsel that they gave him he spoke to them roughly and spake to them after the counsel of the young men saying my father made your yoke heavy and I will add to your yoke my father also chastise you with whips but I will chastise you with scorpions wherefore the king hearkened not unto the people for the cause was from the lord that he might perform his saying which the lord spake by

[46:50] Ahijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam the son of Nebat so I want you to understand this didn't catch God off guard but God allowed the very nature of man to play things out this word roughly though is interesting because when you read that you think he was just gruff with them you know or very loud or angry but the Hebrew word here is the same word that God uses to describe the children of Israel as being stiff necked other places this word is translated as stiff necked hard hearted and obstinate so when he said that he spoke roughly now do you get a different picture he wasn't just loud to them he was arrogant and bolsterous to say you have to submit to me and because you said this I'm going to extract even more you know we need to listen to the right counsel we're going to see the impact of this counsel as it plays out here in this transition because we're watching this important transition of where Israel goes from the 12 tribes bonded together to being separated by 10 and ultimately by two because we're going to see here a little later the tribe of Benjamin goes with

[48:41] Judah and there'll be some reasons behind that I think we'll talk about a little later that was part of the other problem that Solomon did but I want you to understand that we need to listen to godly counsel both first from the word of god and also the wise counselors that god makes available for you you need to use those things that god has given and we'll close on this thought turn over to psalm 33 for a moment psalm 33 look here at verse 10 because god's word is beneficial even for us today notice what he tells us here in verse 10 of psalm 33 he says the lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to not he maketh the devices of the people of none effect the counsel of the lord standeth forever the thoughts of his heart are to all generations you know tonight

[49:49] I want to encourage you to consider where you get your counsel because when things come up in life we need to look to the word of god and we need to look and seek godly counsel not go advice shopping but be able to hear what we need to hear to live godly to do good in god's eyes to do just and right that's how that happens is by following god's word