Week of June 18

What’s in a name? Names meant much in the Scriptures, and a person was expected to live up to the name given to him or her. Rehoboam’s name meant “one who enlarges the people,” but we will see the irony in the name from our focal passage today. He divided the people instead because of his lack of wisdom. His folly became the watershed moment in the book of Kings because the unified kingdom of Israel split, and he was left as king over the greatly reduced kingdom that became known as Judah (HCBC). We do well to learn from Rehoboam’s weakness today.

Truly, many leaders fail to understand that decisions, in one sense, are made in a row boat—as if rowing from the vantage point of looking behind at what has transpired before you entered the scene. Rehoboam obviously had no true grasp of the country's history under his father’s rule. He does not assess accurately the level of dissatisfaction with Solomon’s policies (cf. NAC; see more in the “Message for Our Lives” below). He meets the people of Israel in Shechem, and their being in that place indicates that they were ready to give him the benefit of the doubt about the nature of his leadership. However, he was not looking at the people or their needs and this quickly undermined the support he could have experienced (12:1).
 
The northern tribes were weary of being used as conscripted labor for building projects in the southern kingdom. Their burden had been a heavy one and they were wanting to receive some relief from the load they had been forced to carry (12:2-5; cf. 1 Kings 11:28). Political and sectional divisions had always been present, even in the reigns of David and Solomon, so one would think that Rehoboam would be alert to the fault line that ran down the middle of his kingdom (cf. EBC). He failed to understand a key element of leadership; namely, unity does not require uniformity to be successful.

Rehoboam was given some sage advice by the older leaders who provided him with counsel. They knew the circumstances of Solomon’s reign and how the people were near the point of rebellion, so they counseled the new king to blaze a fresh trail of success by taking on the role of a what was essentially a “servant leader” (12:7)! The word “servant” applied here means that he would yield and offer to serve the needs of the people who were downtrodden (cf. Matthew 9:36). The word is used typically of a slave in Israel, but this status involved rights (see below in following section). The King could have been a “type” of what would later become understood as a messianic designation, but he refused to heed the wise counselors or to lead in this way (cf. Isaiah 39-53; “servant” is mentioned 20 times in the singular; Theo Wrdbk). The result was leadership failure that led to national catastrophe in the centuries that followed.

If I plant an acorn, I will grow an oak tree. If I plant a mimosa seed, I will get a “weedy, short-lived, insect- and disease-prone” tree. The tree looks good for about two weeks per year, but it is not worth it! You get what you plant and nurture. What type of leaders are we producing at home and in our churches and institutions? Here is a closer moral inspection of the situation that we may apply to our lives today. Our actions are windows into our hearts.
 
Leaders are born at home. I have often told parents that a great place to begin leading and influencing a future generation begins by planting the right seeds inside their homes (Ephesians 6:1-4; “do not exasperate”). Our testimony as parents began with the names that we gave to our children. Lauren means, “crown” and “laurel,” and Aaron means “light.” We knew that we wanted them to grow into those names, so something more than mommy’s and daddy’s efforts would be required. Names grow into lasting legacies when they are supported with both the wisdom that God provides (Proverbs 8; 3:5-6) and the guidance of the Lord (Ephesians 5:1). 
 
Poor leaders lead to poor policies. I often teach students that the goal is to: “Find good people who will do good work, then let the good people do the good work!” We may see that a labor dispute is at the root of the national discontent (12:2-5). The northern ten tribes had been the conscripted labor force that Solomon used for building projects in the south (cf. 1 Kings 11:28). Wow! God’s people had fled Egyptian slavery centuries before only to be enslaved again by one of their own.
 
Several core ethical issues appeared to be involved: loss of dignity, ever-present inter-tribal tensions (seedbed for injustice), and an iron-fisted rule that oppressed the people (significant for sanctity of life, human rights, and justice). While it was not immediately a boiling pot, these contents were heating up!
 
A current application. Since we do not have a theocracy like ancient Israel, we do not have an exact parallel with our contemporary democracy. However, these circumstances sound something like your nation today (some of our readers are overseas).

The electorate in America has voiced loud concerns about various “lives matter” campaigns, social unrest over the minimum-wage, and complaints of being over-taxed and under-represented. These rumblings, we will see, are but the surface of a deeper neglect of the things of God.
 
One wonders how many leadership opportunities have been squandered and legacies diminished greatly because of a bad seed—an unwillingness to serve others (cf. John 13:12-20; Matthew 20:24-26). Rehoboam, the one whose name was intended to enlarge the people, saw his kingdom come to an end. Jesus, the one whose name means “God is salvation,” served His people and His kingdom will never end (Philippians 2:9-11). Choose your name and life path well! Legacies depend upon it.

1. If the fruit in your life is poor leadership, then check the tap root. Is it being fed by God’s wisdom that calls you to lead by serving? Plant your roots in God’s wisdom. I suggest beginning to transform your worldview by reading and praying each day over a chapter in Proverbs.
 
2. Lasting legacies are built across a lifetime of commitment to the Lord. Choose this day to serve and honor the Lord with your life and watch Him bless you and your name for generations to come.
 
3. For Families: Do your children know the meanings of their names? This passage, and the story of Rehoboam, show us clearly how to lead under God’s plan, and also how poorly things turn out when we choose our own way.

Find a great name dictionary like these (click here, or here) and help your children to look up their names to find their meanings, both first and middle names. Then ask your kids to think about how they could fulfill their names. For example, we learned above that Aaron Ashlock’s name means “light.” In what two or three ways could Aaron be God’s light in a dark place and fulfill his name for God?

Ask them to write both of their names on a large sheet of drawing paper, and add the meaning of their name in a special way–through symbols, words, pictures, or a story. Ask your children to explain their artwork after supper, and hang them on the wall of their bedroom to remind them of how precious they are to God, and that they have a good name to live up to each day.
 
May your paths be straight,
Larry C. Ashlock