From 2 Chronicles 10 we have the story of Rehoboam the son of Solomon. Now Solomon was a king so wise his name became a synonym for a wise king. But the wisdom he exemplified was not a godly wisdom, or one that inspired the productivity and ambition of his people, but more of an academic, philosophical, or even sorcerer’s wisdom. And so the wise king as attested by learned men did not produce such a wise son and heir in his 40 years of rule. Instead he produced Rehoboam.

Now this is the story of how the new king Rehoboam at age 41 lost the support of Jeroboam and his tribes when the new king promised to increase the burden they bore for their government, which was already too high, and instead provoked the tribes of Israel into rebellion against the house of David that continued for the remainder of his life, and even after it ended.

1 And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king. 2 And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it, (for he was in Egypt, whither he had fled from the presence of king Solomon,) that Jeroboam returned out of Egypt. 3 And they sent and called him; and Jeroboam and all Israel came, and they spake to Rehoboam, saying, 4 Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee. 5 And he said unto them, Come again unto me after three days. And the people departed.

6 And king Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, that had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying, What counsel give ye me to return answer to this people? 7 And they spake unto him, saying, If thou be kind to this people, and please them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants forever. 8 But he forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him, and took counsel with the young men that were grown up with him, that stood before him. 9 And he said unto them, What counsel give ye, that we may return answer to this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke that thy father did put upon us lighter? 10 And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou say unto the people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger is thicker than my father’s loins. 11 And now whereas my father did lade you with 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 bade, saying, Come to me again the third day. 13 And the king answered them roughly; and king Rehoboam forsook the counsel of the old men, 14 and spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add thereto: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. 15 So the king hearkened not unto the people; for it was brought about of God, that the LORD might establish his word, which he spake by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

16 And when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So all Israel departed unto their tents.

17 But as for the children of Israel that dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. 18 Then king Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was over the levy; and the children of Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. And king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem. 19 So Israel rebelled against the house of David, unto this day.

The foolish young partisans who recommend that Obama crush the opposition have urged onerous taxes, suppression of domestic energy sources, price increases on energy, dithering instead of an aggressive search for and punishment of the financial swindlers whose Ponzi schemes have brought our financial system to the brink of collapse, stealth attacks on free speech and the right to bear arms, doubling down on vote fraud with ACORN running the US census, secret conspiracies with news reporters to slant the news in the administration’s favor, and constant demonization of Republicans for Democrat sins. They seek to transform the country into a one-party state. Their plan, if it works, will lead to a tyranny of niceness and obsequious deference to the hurt feelings of protected victim classes. On the other hand, the mandatory oppressor class will be crushed by the weight of government regulation.

It will be a good time to emigrate to a free land. If any can be found. If none can be found then men who cannot live under anything less than freedom will have their backs against the wall.

UPDATE: As EPU pointed out in the comments, “this rift split the kingdom into Israel (northern 10 tribes) and Judah (Judah and Benjamin, with some Levites). The split was never undone, and eventually the north and their heritage disappeared forever.” The product of Rehoboam’s foolishness was not minor. It was major and led to the ten tribes of wandering Jews.