1. God gave King Solomon great wisdom, but Solomon turned away from the Lord and disobeyed the Lord. He even started worshipping idols (I Kings 11:4-8).
2. He lived a very lavish lifestyle and in order to maintain the opulence of his court, he taxed the people heavily.
3. Solomon had a son named Rehoboam, and when King Solomon died, Rehoboam was designated as heir to the throne.
4. However, he had an adversary named Jeroboam, an Ephraimite, who had worked for his father, King Solomon (cf. I Kings 11:26-40).
5. When Jeroboam heard that King Solomon was dead, he returned from Egypt (I Kings 12:1-3).
6. Rehoboam went to Shechem to be acknowledged as king (I kings 12:1). It was at Shechem that he met up with Jeroboam and his delegation from Israel, who gave to him an ultimatum (12:4).
7. Rehoboam asked for three days to think it over. That was about the only intelligent thing he did. Today I want for us to look at three mistakes that Rehoboam made.

I. HIS FIRST MISTAKE: HE SHOULD HAVE PRAYED FIRST (12:1-6).

1. Whenever you have to make an important decision, you should pray first. I think the reason Rehoboam neglected to pray was that he was not saved (cf. I Kings 14:21-24,31; 15:1-3).
2. Unsaved people have no communion (fellowship) with God (cf. Isa.30:1).
3. Whenever we need guidance, we should always first go to the Lord (cf. James 1:5-8; Phil.4:6,7).
4. The hymn writer put it this way:

"O what peace we often forfeit,
what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Ev’rything to God in prayer!"

II. HIS SECOND MISTAKE: HE FORSOOK THE COUNSEL OF THE OLD MEN (12:6-8).

1. Old people generally have more wisdom than young people – they have more experience.
2. I recall that when I was young, my father gave me excellent advice.
3. Someone once asked Mark Twain about his father.
4. The book of Proverbs has much to say about taking good counsel (Pro.1:5; 8:33; 9:9; 12:15). The old men gave Rehoboam wise counsel, "but he forsook the counsel of the old men…" (12:8).
5. Way back nearly 200 years ago, there was a young boy named William Colgate. His family was very poor and so at the age of 16 he left home to seek his fortune. All that he owned he could carry in a little bundle bag. He met up with an old man that was a canal-boat captain. William Colgate told the old man that his father was too poor to keep him and the only trade he knew was soap and candle making.
6. The old man kneeled down and prayed for young William. And then he gave him this advice: "Be a good man, give your heart to Christ, pay the Lord all that belongs to Him, make an honest soap; give a full pound, and I’m certain you’ll be a prosperous and rich man."
7. The young lad came to NYC in 1804 and started attending church. Soon he was Scripturally baptized at the First Baptist Church of NYC. He found a job as an apprentice to a soap-boiler. The first dollar he earned, he gave his tithe to the Lord. Eventually he became quite successful; he made an honest soap, gave a full pound, and was faithful with his tithes and offerings.
8. Soon, the business grew so he started giving 20% to the Lord, and then 30%, 40%, 50%, and finally he gave all of his income to the Lord’s work.
9. So the next time you wash with a bar of Colgate soap, you can remember the advice young William Colgate took from a wise old man.

III. HIS THIRD MISTAKE: HE CONSULTED WITH THE YOUNG MEN (12:8-15).

1. The young men were the spoiled children of the effete and luxurious regime of King Solomon (12:8).
2. Their advice was terrible and Rehoboam was foolish to follow it (12:9-11).
3. Rehoboam’s answer to Jeroboam and the people was rude and offensive. He insulted the people by answering them "roughly" (12:13).
4. "Scorpions" (12:11,14) refers here to cruel whips. The lash on these whips was loaded with heavy weights and sharp points of metal.
5. "For the cause was from the Lord" (12:15; cf. 12:22-24). This means the Lord was overruling in events to fulfill His Word spoken by His prophet Ahija of Shiloh (11:29-31).
6. This does not mean that Rehoboam was not responsible for his own foolishness and rude behaviour. He was responsible and the consequences were his fault (cf. Acts 2:23).
7. The free will of man never interferes with the sovereignty of God, and the sovereignty of God never interferes with man’s free will.
8. Rehoboam was responsible for his actions and God held him accountable.

CONCLUSION:

1. There is a Scripture in the NT I would like for us to turn to (I Cor.15:33).
2. The first century Greek writer Plutarch, said: "If you live with a lame man, you learn to limp."
3. On the other hand, Sir Henry Stanley said of David Livingstone: "It wasn’t Livingstone’s preaching that converted me. It was his living!"

I spoke a word
And no one heard;
I wrote a word,
And no one cared
Or seemed to heed.
But after half a score of years
It blossomed in a fragrant deed.
Preachers and teachers all are we,
Sowers of seed unconsciously,
Our hearers are beyond our ken,
Yet all we give may come again
With usury of joy and pain;
We never know
To what one little word may grow.
See to it, then, that all your seeds
Be such as bring forth noble deeds.
— John Oxenham.