Confident or Competent? (Rehoboam)
(2 Chronicles 10:1-12:16)
1. Four people—a pilot, a professor, a pastor, and a plumber—were flying in a small plane when the engines died. The pilot said, “There are only three parachutes. Since this is my plane, I’m taking one of them.” He put it on and jumped out. The professor said, “I’m brilliant and the world needs me more than it needs pastors or plumbers, so I’m taking a parachute,” and he jumped out.
Then the pastor told the plumber, “I don’t want to be selfish, so you take the last parachute.” The plumber replied, “There are still two left, so we can each have one. The brilliant professor jumped out with my backpack!”
2. There are people who know what they are doing, but do not exude much confidence, and then there are people who exude great confidence, but do not know what they are doing. But they often do not know that they don’t know.
3. Today’s sermon will center around King Solomon’s son, Rehoboam. King Solomon was the last king to reign over Israel as a united, single nation. It was at the very start of Rehoboam’s reign that Israel split. The northern tribes had suffered much abuse during Solomon’s reign, and they were at a breaking point. But Rehoboam couldn’t see it.
First king [of Judah after split] Rehoboam (10:1-12:16)
a. introduction: revolt of Jeroboam and ten northern tribes (10:1-19)
b. invasion of Israel by Judah forbidden (11:1-14)
• prophecy of Shemaiah
c. establishment of fortified cities in Judah (11:5-12)
d. CENTER: support of priests and Levites (11:13-17)
c’. placement of princes of Judah in fortified cities (11:18-23)
b’. invasion of Judah by Egypt (12:1-12)
• prophecy of Shemaiah
a’. conclusion: summary of reign and warfare with Jeroboam (12:13-16)
[source: The Literary Structure of the Old Testament by David A. Dorsey, p. 150.]
Main Idea: When we choose to listen to confident people over experienced and competent people, we are asking for trouble.
I. A King Who Followed His CONFIDENT Peers Rather than Proven Advisors (2 Chronicles 10:1-12:16)
A. The Northern Israelite leaders ask Rehoboam to RELAX the royal demands (10:1-5).
1. The location, Shechem, was special.
Thomas Swope writes, “The very choice of Shechem indicated that they were calling on the king to recognize his obligations under the Law of Moses. Shechem was the place to which Israel had first gathered under Joshua for the reading of the Law and the renewal of the covenant (Joshua 8.30-35), in obedience to the command of YHWH through Moses (Deuteronomy 11.29-32), and was the place where Joshua himself had renewed the covenant after the initial stages of the invasion were over and Israel were settled in the land (Joshua 24.1-28). It was a recognized place at which YHWH had recorded His Name (suggested by Joshua 8.30-31 with Exodus 20.24). It was the place where the stone of witness had been set up (Joshua 24.26) and it may well be that the regular reading of the covenant required by the Law of Moses took place at Shechem whose two local mountains Ebal and Gerizim, together with the narrow valley that lay between them, formed a natural amphitheater (Deuteronomy 27.1-26)” [sermoncentral.com].
2. The northern tribes had always been a separate block; for 7 years, David reigned only over Judah, not northern Israel, while Saul’s line continued in the north.
3. Solomon, who was of Judah, conscripted workers from the north, exempting the people of Judah from forced labor and taxes.
B. Rehoboam follows the advice of the CONFIDENT over the competent (10:6-15).
1. Rehoboam asked for 3 days to consider Jeroboam’s request.
2. During that time, he consulted two different groups of advisors. One group was wise and experienced and suggested Rehoboam make a compromise to win the approval of the people; the other group was young, inexperienced, ignorant of human nature, and arrogant.
3. Notice their advice in 10:6-11.
4. Rehoboam was reared with a silver spoon in his mouth and had no sense about human nature or the common man, so he was drawn to the advice of others like him.
5. The young men exuded confidence, but it was the confidence of ignorance.
“The Dunning-Kruger effect is a type of cognitive bias in which people believe that they are smarter and more capable than they really are. Essentially, low ability people do not possess the skills needed to recognize their own incompetence. The combination of poor self-awareness and low cognitive ability leads them to overestimate their own capabilities.
The term lends a scientific name and explanation to a problem that many people immediately recognize—that fools are blind to their own foolishness.”[ verywellmind.com]
C. Rehoboam FLEES for this life because of the fallout from his foolish choice (10:16-19).
1. The northern Israelites essentially succeeded from the union.
2. When Rehoboam sent Hadoram, the task master over conscripted workers, the northerner killed him.
3. Rehoboam realizes his life is in danger and flees the city.
4. What used to be Israel is now two nations: Judah and Benjamin formed the kingdom of Judah, ruled by Rehoboam; the other tribes formed the northern kingdom, which retained the name Israel and was ruled by Jeroboam.
D. A prophet stops Rehoboam from initiating a WAR (11:1-4).
1. Shemiah the prophet shared the Word: Do not attack brethren, this is an act of judgment from God’s hand.
2. At this point, Rehoboam reigns in his arrogance and submits to God’s Word.
3. A solid fool makes the same mistakes over and over, never learning.
E. Rehoboam FORTIFIED his country (11:5-12).
1. Now that the nation was divided into Israel and Judah, both entities were weakened.
2. As a matter of fact, they had many small skirmishes during his reign.
3. Egypt was experiencing a revival under Shishak, so Rehoboam began to prepare.
F. The GODLY people from the North immigrated to Judah (13-23).
1. In the north, Jeroboam developed his own hybrid idolatrous religion to keep his subjects from going to Jerusalem – which was in Judah – to worship at the temple.
2. The priests and Levites immediately fled to Judah, as did many godly northern Jews.
3. Later, there would be additional migrations from the north, as solid believers fled idolatry and persecution.
4. Thus, all the tribes of Israel would eventually be represented in the tribe of Judah.
5. There is a principle: Come out and be separate. This is the opposite of trying to infiltrate apostate churches with a view toward rescuing them.
6. A fellow who went to Harvard to infiltrate and influence…
G. Rehoboam turned further AWAY from the Lord, and the nation suffers for it (12:1-10).
1. After three years, he trashes all or part of the Law of Moses….
2. God sends another judgment, King Shishak of Egypt takes Judah’s riches and forces them to pay tax to Egypt.
When we choose to listen to confident people over experienced and competent people, we are asking for trouble.
II. WHO We Listen To Significantly Affects the Course of Our Lives.
A. We ORCHESTRATE our future (in part) by who we allow to INFLUENCE us.
• Marylu about impatient driver honking for me to make a turn.
• This is part of the reason we need to be part of a church family.
• Reclusive people can develop some strange beliefs – not challenged
• Our most important belief, perhaps, is Sola Scriptura….
• Our most important peer group is those who follow the Scriptures…
B. We choose our peer groups, but on what BASIS?
1. You probably have a variety of friends in a variety of spiritual places.
2. But who influences you the most? Whose counsel usually trumps other counsel?
C. Arrogance creates FALSE confidence, and a little information can nurture arrogance.
• The internet has created many so-called “authorities.”
• The less we know about something, the less we recognize how little we know.
D. Talk is cheap, so are SIMPLE solutions to complex problems.
If you wonder why people are drawn to false religions and cults, it often boils down to this: they are confident, offer easy answers, or they say, just entrust yourself to us and don’t stress yourself or rack your brain. Just join yourself to our stream & we will steer you.
E. Young people can be very wise, especially if they ASSOCIATE with the wise and experienced, but age alone does not guarantee wisdom.
:When we choose to listen to confident people over experienced and competent people, we are asking for trouble.
Who do you listen to?
