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The Kingdom Splits – Rehoboam and Jeroboam Divide Israel | Bible Story for Kids · Wonderfully Made: Bible Stories for children

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  Hello friends! Welcome back to Wonderfully Made,
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  Bible Stories for Children. I'm so glad you're
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  here. Last time, we learned about King Solomon.
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  How God gave him wisdom, and how he became richer
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  and more powerful than any king on earth. But
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  sadly, Solomon's heart turned away from the Lord,
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  and he began to drift. And because Solomon turned
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  away, God warned that the kingdom would not stay
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  the same forever. Today, we'll hear what happens
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  after Solomon dies. Will Israel stay united?
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  Or will the kingdom break apart? Let's begin.
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  After many years of ruling, King Solomon died.
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  And Solomon's son became king. His name was Rehoboam.
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  The people of Israel came to Rehoboam with an
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  important request. They explained that Solomon
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  had worked the people very hard. They asked Rehoboam
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  to be kinder and lighten the heavy work. Rehoboam
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  didn't answer right away. Instead, he decided
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  to ask for advice. Rehoboam first spoke with
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  the older men, leaders who had served his father
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  Solomon. The older men advised him to speak kindly
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  to the people. They explained that if he served
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  the people well, the people would stay loyal
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  to him. That was wise advice. But Rehoboam didn't
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  like it. Rehoboam went to his younger friends,
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  men who had grown up with him, and his friends
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  gave him a very different kind of advice. They
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  encouraged him to speak harshly. They told him
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  to prove that he was stronger than his father.
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  They wanted him to show power, not kindness.
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  Rehoboam listened to the wrong advice. When he
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  returned to the people, he answered them proudly
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  and harshly. He made it clear that he would not
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  lighten their burdens. Instead, he would make
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  things even harder. And when the people heard
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  this, they were shocked. They realized their
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  new king did not care about them. The people
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  of Israel became angry. They decided they would
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  no longer follow Rehoboam as king. And just like
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  that, the kingdom began to split. Only the tribe
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  of Judah stayed with Rehoboam. But the other
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  tribes chose a different leader, a man named
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  Jeroboam. Now Israel was no longer one united
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  kingdom. It became two kingdoms, Judah in the
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  south, ruled by Rehoboam and Israel in the north,
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  ruled by Jeroboam. This was a very sad moment
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  in Israel's history. And it happened exactly
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  the way God had warned. God had said that because
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  Solomon turned away, the kingdom would be torn
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  apart after him. And now it was happening. Rehoboam
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  wanted to fight and take the kingdom back. But
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  God sent a message through the prophet Shemaiah,
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  warning him not to go to war against his brothers
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  the Israelites. So Rehoboam stopped. But Jeroboam
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  also made a terrible choice. Jeroboam was afraid
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  that if the people went to Jerusalem to worship
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  God, they might return to Rehoboam. So Jeroboam
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  made two golden calves and placed them in different
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  cities. He encouraged the people to worship those
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  instead of worshiping the Lord in Jerusalem.
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  This was a great sin. Jeroboam did not trust
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  God. Instead of leading the people toward the
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  Lord, he led them away. And that's how the kingdom
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  split into two kingdoms. One was called Judah,
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  and the other was called Israel. This story teaches
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  us something very important. Rehoboam lost the
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  kingdom because he listened to pride instead
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  of wisdom. And Jeroboam led the people into sin
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  because he was afraid and wanted control. Let's
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  think about this together. Have you ever refused
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  to listen to good advice because you wanted your
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  own way? Why do you think pride is dangerous?
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  When you are in charge of something, how can
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  you lead with kindness instead of harshness?
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  What should we do when we feel afraid, like Jeroboam
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  did? who listen, and who obey him. Pride breaks
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  things apart, but humility helps people stay
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  together. Thanks for joining me today. Next time,
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  we'll hear about what happens in the northern
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  kingdom of Israel, where people begin to follow
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  idols and turn away from God. Will God give them
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  warnings? Will they listen? We'll find out next
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  time. Until then, remember, you are wonderfully
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  made. Bye for now.