“Your companions are like the buttons on an elevator. They will either take you up or they will take you down.” (from God’s Little Instruction Book, Honor Books, Inc., 1993) Proverbs 13:20 says it more bluntly, “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise; but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.” It’s pretty good advice. Rehoboam learned this lesson the hard way.
The story takes place in I Kings 12 and II Chronicles 10. At the end of Solomon’s reign he had been excessive and had put a heavy burden on the people. The heavy burden was a forced labor policy. Enforcing the labor policy was a matter of having ‘overseers’ use whips on the people. When the people asked Rehoboam, King Solomon’s son and successor, to have the forced labor end, he made a political mistake. Rather than listening to the advice of some moderate counselors, he listened to his younger hot-headed buddies. Rehoboam’s reply was that, instead of whips, he would use scorpions to force their labor. A ‘scorpion’ is a kind of leather pouch filled with sand and studded with metal spikes attached to the end of a whip. This sparked a rebellion and Israel split over it.
Not only is Psalms 1 a good guide to follow in making choices, it is also a reminder of what happens to those who fail to choose their associates wisely. Verse 1 is three don’t: Avoid the ungodly, ones who have no reverence for God. Don’t keep company with those who do wrong. Sinfulness is like a virus, it spreads to others. Don’t join in with mockers. They have no concern for their fellowman. Their end is not pretty. Verse 4 states they are worthless and will be condemned at the time of judgment.
Rehoboam is an example of what not to do. The sad thing is that he had a chance to do otherwise. There were others he could have consulted. They were there. He made a choice and showed who he really was.
The story takes place in I Kings 12 and II Chronicles 10. At the end of Solomon’s reign he had been excessive and had put a heavy burden on the people. The heavy burden was a forced labor policy. Enforcing the labor policy was a matter of having ‘overseers’ use whips on the people. When the people asked Rehoboam, King Solomon’s son and successor, to have the forced labor end, he made a political mistake. Rather than listening to the advice of some moderate counselors, he listened to his younger hot-headed buddies. Rehoboam’s reply was that, instead of whips, he would use scorpions to force their labor. A ‘scorpion’ is a kind of leather pouch filled with sand and studded with metal spikes attached to the end of a whip. This sparked a rebellion and Israel split over it.
Not only is Psalms 1 a good guide to follow in making choices, it is also a reminder of what happens to those who fail to choose their associates wisely. Verse 1 is three don’t: Avoid the ungodly, ones who have no reverence for God. Don’t keep company with those who do wrong. Sinfulness is like a virus, it spreads to others. Don’t join in with mockers. They have no concern for their fellowman. Their end is not pretty. Verse 4 states they are worthless and will be condemned at the time of judgment.
Rehoboam is an example of what not to do. The sad thing is that he had a chance to do otherwise. There were others he could have consulted. They were there. He made a choice and showed who he really was.
