Name: Date:
Instructions: Read the following excerpt from the Bible, First Book of Kings, and answer the questions below.
First Book of Kings, Chapter 12
1 Now Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king.
2 And when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was in Egypt, heard of it (for he had fled from the presence of King Solomon, and Jeroboam was still in Egypt),
3 then they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and the whole assembly of Israel came to Rehoboam and said to him,
4 "Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore, lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke that he put on us, and we will serve you."
5 He said to them, "Depart for three days, then come back to me." So the people went away.
6 Then King Rehoboam consulted with the old men who had stood before his father Solomon while he was still alive, saying, "How do you advise me to answer this people?"
7 And they said to him, "If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants forever."
8 But he rejected the advice that the old men gave him, and consulted with the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him.
9 And he said to them, "What do you advise that we answer this people who have said to me, 'Lighten the yoke that your father put on us'?"
10 And the young men who had grown up with him said to him, "This is what you should say to this people who said to you, 'Your father made our yoke heavy, but do you make it lighter'—you should tell them, 'My little finger is thicker than my father's thighs.
11 And now, whereas my father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.'"
12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had said, "Come back to me the third day."
13 And the king answered the people harshly, and rejecting the advice of the old men, he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying,
14 "My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke. My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions."
15 So the king did not listen to the people. For God had brought about his own word, which the Lord had spoken by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
Questions:
1. Who does King Rehoboam consult with about how to respond to the people's request?
2. What advice does the older generation give King Rehoboam?
3. What advice does the younger generation give King Rehoboam?
4. How does King Rehoboam respond to the people's request?
5. What is the consequence of King Rehoboam's decision?