Wise Counsel

July 17

2 Chronicles 10-12

Psalm 81:1-5

Proverbs 18:6-8

Romans 13

Wise Counsel

“But he forsook the counsel of the elders which they had counseled him and took counsel with the young men who grew up with him and stood before him.”  2 Chronicles 10:8 LSB

After the death of Solomon, the people of Israel went to Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, to make him king. Rehoboam sought advice from the elders who had served his father.  They told him to be kind to the people and they would follow him forever.  But Rehoboam rejected their advice and asked his friends what they thought.  They told him that he should be harsh with the people and demand more from them.  They basically told him to show them his power and demand their service.  Unfortunately, he listened to his friends and this resulted in the 10 northern tribes of Israel revolting and choosing Jeroboam as their king leaving only the 2 southern tribes under his power.  The kingdom remained divided until the Northern Kingdom fell to Assyria around 720 BC and the Southern Kingdom fell to the Babylonians around 586 BC.  We have discussed several times the importance of wise counsel and listening to advice.  Rehoboam is a perfect example of this.  Rehoboam was a spoiled prince.  He grew up in luxury and was used to getting what he wanted.  When Solomon died he was not equipped to be king.  He did not have his father’s wisdom.  We have seen that Solomon had many wives and concubines.  He did not apply his wisdom in his relationships with the women in his life.  Many of them were foreign wives who worshipped pagan gods.  Rehoboam’s mother was Naamah, an Ammonite.  She likely did not follow Solomon’s God and there is no indication that Rehoboam did either.  Rehoboam wanted the power of being king without the responsibility of wisely managing the kingdom.  When the men who had been with his father did not tell him what he wanted to hear, he went to his buddies who he knew would go along with him. 

It is essential that we have people in our lives who can give us wise counsel that we trust and listen to.  It is easy to find people who will tell us what we want to hear.  If you want to justify your actions, you can always find someone who will go along with you because they don’t want to upset you or make you mad.  Most people won’t challenge you because they don’t want to deal with the consequences.  It’s much easier just to agree and keep your mouth shut.  True friends, however, will say the hard things.  They will tell you the truth because they love you and want what is best for you.  They will take the time and energy and risk making you mad because they don’t want to see you do something that is foolish.  Rehoboam needed friends like that but he had surrounded himself with young men who enjoyed the power and privilege they had being friends with a prince.  Who are you surrounding yourself with?  Will they tell you the truth?  Are they pointing you to Jesus?