1 Kings 12:1-5: a reflection

1Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. 2When Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it (for he was yet in Egypt, where he had fled from the presence of King Solomon, and Jeroboam lived in Egypt; 3and they sent and called him), Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came, and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, 4“Your father made our yoke difficult. Now therefore make the hard service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, lighter, and we will serve you.” 5He said to them, “Depart for three days, then come back to me.” So the people departed.

Rehoboam has just inherited Solomon's throne, and immediately he faces a defining choice. The people come with a reasonable request: your father laid a heavy yoke on us; lighten it, and we will gladly serve you. It is the first real test of his reign, and it is a simple one: how will he use the power he has just received, to serve the people under him, or to dominate them? He tells them to come back in three days.

We know, reading on, that Rehoboam will make the wrong choice, rejecting the counsel of the elders who advised him to serve the people and lighten their load, and listening instead to the young men who told him to answer harshly and show his strength. That choice will tear the kingdom in two. But the crossroads itself is worth pausing on, because it is one that everyone with any authority eventually faces.

New authority tempts us to prove it, to come down hard, to establish that we are in charge. The wiser and harder path is to use authority to serve those under it, to lighten burdens rather than add to them. Wherever you have been given authority, over people at work, in a family, in any role, Rehoboam's crossroads is yours too. Will you lord it over people, or serve them? The choice to lighten the yoke rather than tighten it is the beginning of leading well.

Lord, wherever you give me authority over others, keep me from the temptation to dominate and prove myself. Give me the wisdom Rehoboam lacked, to use authority to serve, to lighten burdens rather than add to them, and to lead by serving as your Son did.