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1 Kings 12:4
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2 So it happened, when aJeroboam the son of Nebat heard it (he was still in bEgypt, for he had fled from the presence of King Solomon and had been dwelling in Egypt ),  
3 that they sent and called him. Then Jeroboam and the whole assembly of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying,
4 “Your father made our ayoke heavy; now therefore, lighten the burdensome service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.”  
5 So he said to them, “Depart for three days, then come back to me.” And the people departed.
6 Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who stood before his father Solomon while he still lived, and he said, “How do you advise me to answer these people?”
7 And they spoke to him, saying, a“If you will be a servant to these people today, and serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.”  
8 But he rejected the advice which the elders had given him, and consulted the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him.
9 And he said to them, “What advice do you give? How should we answer this people who have spoken to me, saying, ‘Lighten the yoke which your father put on us’?”
10 Then the young men who had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, “Thus you should speak to this people who have spoken to you, saying, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter on us’—thus you shall say to them: ‘My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s waist!
Commentaries:
Forerunner Commentary
What is the Forerunner Commentary?
<< 1 Kings 12:3   1 Kings 12:5 >>

What Does 1 Kings 12:4 Mean?



1 Kings 12:4

Though Solomon may have been the wisest man who ever lived, his many extensive building projects placed a heavy burden of servitude on the people, and they had had enough. Notice that the people did not ask Rehoboam to remove the load, just lighten it a bit so that they could handle it. It was not an unreasonable request.

When the people had first asked for a king more than a century before this, God had warned them that this would happen. That story is told in I Samuel 8, and in verses 11-18, Samuel tells them that the king would take all the good things for himself and make them his servants. Nevertheless, the people wanted a king "like all the nations" (verse 19-20), so God gave them one. We should always be careful what we ask for; we might just get it.

Ronny H. Graham
Take My Yoke Upon You

Related Topics: Burden | Burden of Servitude | Loose from Burdens | Rehoboam | Rehoboam's Taxation | Relief from Burdens | Relieving Burdens | Yoke




Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing 1 Kings 12:4:

Deuteronomy 17:17
1 Kings 10:14-27
1 Kings 11:42


 
<< 1 Kings 12:3   1 Kings 12:5 >>

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