Division of the Kingdom

Biblical Text and Narrative

1 Kings 12 and 2 Chronicles 10–11 record this event. When Solomon died, his son Rehoboam went to Shechem to be made king. The people, with Jeroboam as their spokesman, asked him to lighten the heavy yoke that Solomon had placed on them. Rehoboam rejected the counsel of the elders, who advised him to grant the people's request. Instead, he followed the advice of the young men who had grown up with him and answered, "My father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions" (1 Kings 12:14).

The northern tribes then turned away, declaring that they had no portion in the house of David, and they stoned to death Adoram, who was over the forced labor. They made Jeroboam king. The house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin remained with Rehoboam (12:21). Rehoboam prepared for war, but Shemaiah the man of God prevented it by delivering the word of the LORD: "This thing is from me" (12:22–24).

The division had been foretold. Because Solomon worshiped foreign gods, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite tore a new garment into twelve pieces, gave ten of them to Jeroboam, and announced that ten tribes would be given to him (11:29–39). Concerning Rehoboam's decision, the text states, "For the cause was from the LORD" (12:15).

Background

Tension between the northern tribes and Judah predated this event. At the beginning of David's reign the two factions were already at odds, and during Sheba's rebellion the same cry was raised: "We have no part in David" (2 Samuel 20:1). The text also indicates that the forced labor and heavy taxation of Solomon's reign fueled the discontent. The division is commonly dated to around 930 BC, although scholarly estimates vary by a few years.

After the Division

To keep the people from going up to the temple in Jerusalem, Jeroboam set up golden calves at Bethel and Dan. He appointed priests who were not Levites and instituted a feast in the eighth month resembling the feast held in Judah (12:26–33). This feast is commonly understood as an imitation of the Feast of Tabernacles. Jeroboam's words, "Behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt," recall the golden calf incident (Exodus 32:4). Thereafter the books of Kings repeatedly use "the sin of Jeroboam" as the standard by which the kings of northern Israel are evaluated. By contrast, the Levites and some of the people in the north moved south to Judah (2 Chronicles 11:13–16). The two kingdoms continued as separate states until northern Israel fell to Assyria (Fall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel).

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

The prophets looked forward to the reunification of the divided people. In Ezekiel 37:15–28, the sign of joining two sticks into one declares that the two kingdoms will never again be divided. In the New Testament, James quotes Amos 9:11, which speaks of building again "the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down," and applies it to the inclusion of Gentiles in the church (Acts 15:16). Christians commonly read this as part of a movement in which the restoration of the Davidic covenant is fulfilled in Christ.

Interpretation and Debate

The text speaks both of Rehoboam's foolish choice and of God's will. Traditions that emphasize providence and divine sovereignty read the event as an example of God's will being accomplished through human decisions. Those who emphasize human responsibility place greater weight on Rehoboam's pride and Solomon's idolatry.

The so-called legend of the "ten lost tribes" is an extrabiblical addition. Scripture records that people from the northern tribes joined Judah, and the New Testament mentions Anna of the tribe of Asher (Luke 2:36). Accordingly, the biblical text offers no basis for asserting that the ten tribes disappeared entirely.

In Korean Churches

In Korean Protestant preaching, the scene in which Rehoboam rejects the counsel of the elders is frequently cited in sermons on a leader's humility and willingness to listen. Sermons that liken the division of Israel into north and south to the division of the Korean Peninsula, and that draw on the two-sticks passage of Ezekiel 37 to pray for reunification, are also widespread among Korean churches (Reunification and the Church).