But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him (I Kings 12:8).

I Kings chapter 12 provides us with some powerful examples of how NOT to be faithful to our faithful God. It tells the story of Rehoboam and Jeroboam. Rehoboam was Solomon’s son and heir to the throne. Jeroboam was a rival to the throne. Both of these leaders showed themselves unworthy of the office. Let’s look at some of their choices and learn what NOT to do.

Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, made the mistake of listening to unwise counsel. Rehoboam was faced with an important decision and did the right thing by seeking out help. The problem was that he chose to reject the wise counsel of the elders, even though they were respected by his father (v9). Instead, he listened to the bad advice of the young men who served him (v13-14). 

He most likely preferred the counsel of the young men because they told him what he wanted to hear. His pride made him want to show the people that he was the boss, so the go-tough advice from his peers sounded good to him. He was looking for confirmation of what he already wanted to do — not counsel. The result of Rehoboam’s bad decision was a rebellion that shattered God’s one kingdom into two pieces.  

Jeroboam, who is widely regarded in Scripture as the WORST king, also looked for counsel in all of the wrong places. Scripture says that he made decisions out of fear (v27). Like Rehoboam, he knew what he was after. He wanted to be king, on whatever terms could give that to him, even including disobedience to God and God’s covenant. However, if you read I Kings 11: 31-40, you’ll see that God had already spoken prophetically to Jeroboam telling him that God’s judgment was falling on Solomon and his descendants. God had also told Jeroboam that he would do for him what he did for David. 

However, instead of trusting in God’s promise and timing, Jeroboam consulted false gods (v28). He led others astray too, pushing them away from the true God to worship false gods and even to sacrifice to golden calves that he had made (v30-32).  Since he made decisions based on his fear, pride, insecurity, and self-righteousness, he created division, judgment, and calamity.

Even though we live in a different culture and time from Rehoboam and Jeroboam, their unfaithful examples can help us learn what NOT to do.  Much of the bad consequences that they experienced were a result of following unwise advice.  But how do we discriminate between wise and unwise counsel? 

First, if the advice that we receive contradicts God’s word, we need to throw it out. Second, if someone gives us advice that we don’t like, we need to ponder it and pray about it, rather than ignore it. Often that hard advice is the wise course of action. Third, we need to be careful never to make decisions out of fear and insecurity. Lastly, when looking for wisdom, we need to consider the source carefully. The best place to look for wise counsel is God’s Word, our instruction manual. We also have our church, our small group, sermons, devotionals, and godly friends who can help us.

God is faithful to bless us when we follow His commands. He is also faithful to remind us, sometimes through others, when we don’t. However, He gives us a choice. We can choose wisdom and blessing or judgment and calamity.  And even if we choose the latter, He still remains faithful to forgive and restore us once we repent.

Where do you need counsel?  Is there an important decision that you need to make? Whose counsel will you invite into your decision-making process: Scripture? Godly, spiritually mature friends? Your pastor or other leaders?  What will help you avoid finding your way to the counsel you want to hear, instead of the counsel you need to hear? Take some time to learn from Rehoboam and Jeroboam about what NOT to do and choose to trust in God’s wisdom and faithfulness instead.