This episode leads us to some obvious conclusions. He conveys to Rohoboam the following commandment from God: “You shall not go up nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel: let every man return to his house, for this thing is from me.” 12, 24). In response, the Kind of Judah gathered a large army to win back the lost territory, and at this point, Prophet Shemaiah comes to him. Few found his rash reply palatable, and, unsurprisingly, an uprising of ten tribes (except the tribe of Judah and half the tribe of Benjamin), which formed a separate state under the rule of Jeroboam I.
The king’s reply is well known: “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke: my father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions.” (3 Kings 12: 14). Yet he chose not to listen to the wise elders, and instead heeded to the more reckless and hot-headed of his advisers like he was himself. As we read in the third book of Kings, the people implored Rehoboam to ease the taxes that his father had imposed and promised to remain loyal. Presumably, his ambitions and claims to power obscured his logic and common sense, as it happens to many people at all times. The catalyst for the secession were the words and actions of his Rohoboam. The time is 10th century BC, given that Solomon died between circa 932 and 928 BC. Let us recall that after the reign of King Solomon, the once united Jewish Kingdom split into two kingdoms – Judah and Israel. Known facts about this prophet can be presented in only a few sentences, yet their significance is great, and the implications are far-reaching. We celebrated his feast day on 22 January.
As we may be aware, prophecy in the Old Testament was not the lot of only four great and twelve minor prophets listed by name on the content page of the Bible.Īlong with the great and famous prophets such as Moses, Samuel, Elijah and Elisha, the Bible also speaks about those who play a much less prominent role in the narration but are still glorified by the Church.
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