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Day 94 or April the 4th. Great leaders are great

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followers. Our thoughts today are from 1 Kings

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chapter 12 verse 8. Rehoboam rejected the advice

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the elders gave him and consulted the young men

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who had grown up with him and were serving him.

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Now the big picture surrounding this verse. Halfway

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through the book of 1 Kings, the kingdom is split

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into north and south on the death of Solomon.

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These two separate kingdoms, Israel and Judah,

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will coexist for a long time before one is scattered

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and the other is taken away into exile, leaving

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the land bereft of the tribes of Israel for 70

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years. The new king of Israel is now Rehoboam,

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son of Solomon. He takes advice from his peers

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and decides not to reduce the taxation pressures

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on the tribes, and all ten of the northern tribes

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declare independence under their new leader,

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Jeroboam. He reintroduces the worship of golden

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calves, so that his people have no need now to

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travel south to the temple in Jerusalem. Poor

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leadership and persistent battles between these

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two kingdoms are the reason for this period being

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called the Divided Kingdom period. After only

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120 years of United Kingdom under Saul, David

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and Solomon, the land slips into chaos and never

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quite recovers. Our action step for today. When

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Rehoboam succeeded his father Solomon, he obviously

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decided it was time to show his power and enforce

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his rule. Rehoboam's mistake was being far too

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heavy -handed in his leadership. I remember a

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minister friend of mine telling me that he had

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just experienced a difficult church meeting,

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which he resolved by telling the whole church

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that he was the minister, and whatever they said,

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he would decide what the next step was. A modern

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day Rehoboam. Leaders should remember that they

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are followers of Jesus, who said that he came

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to serve. Check your priorities to make sure

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that as a leader, you are leading as Christ would,

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whether in church or at home.