Expert: Brenda Martin - 3/13/2008

Question
Because of King Solomon's sin, the prophet told King Solomon that his Kingdom would be destroyed but not in his life time for the sake of Jerusalem and for the sake of his father.  His son would lose the kingdom and a servant would raise it up (Jeroboam).  So I was asked how can God punish the son and take the Kingdom away from him when it was His father's sin?

Answer
"THE PROPHET TOLD KING SOLOMON THAT HIS KINGDOM WOULD BE DESTROYED"

Israel’s history after the death of King Solomon.

The nation became divided into two kingdoms, the kingdom of Israel with its capital in the north and the kingdom of Judah with its capital at Jerusalem and with the son of Solomon as king. WHY was that? Because in his later life King Solomon fell away from his heavenly wisdom and turned away from the God of his father, King David.

The northern kingdom of Israel lasted for 257 years. Then it was destroyed by the world power of Assyria. WHY? Because it, too, fell away from the worship of Jehovah at Jerusalem and took up the worship of the idol, the golden bull, and later the false god Baal and his consort Astarte, or Ashtoreth. The kingdom of Judah lasted for 390 years after Solomon’s death.

"HIS SON WOULD LOSE THE KINGDOM AND A SERVANT WOULD RAISE IT (JEROBOAM)."  

Contrary to Jehovah’s command, Solomon takes many wives from other nations—700 wives and 300 concubines. (Deut. 17:17) His heart is drawn away to serve other gods. Jehovah tells him that the kingdom will be ripped away from him, not in his day, but in the day of his son.

"HOW CAN GOD PUNISH THE SON AND TAKE THE KINGDOM AWAY FROM HIM WHEN IT WAS HIS FATHER'S SIN?"

He didn’t; On the whole, Rehoboam’s life is best summed up in this commentary: “He did what was bad, for he had not firmly established his heart to search for Jehovah.”—2Ch 12:14.

Jeroboam pleaded with Rehoboam to remove some of the oppressive measures laid upon them by Solomon. Rehoboam took the matter under advisement. First he consulted the older men, who counseled him to heed the cry of the people and reduce their burdens, thereby he would prove himself a wise king, one who would be loved by his people.

But Rehoboam spurned this mature advice and sought the counsel of young men with whom he had grown up. They told the king he should in effect make his little finger as thick as his father’s hips, increasing their yoke burden and chastising them with scourges instead of whips.—1Ki 12:2-15; 2Ch 10:3-15; 13:6, 7. This arrogant, high-handed attitude adopted by Rehoboam completely alienated the majority of the people.

When his kingship was firmly established he abandoned Jehovah’s worship and led Judah in the practice of detestable sex worship, perhaps because of Ammonite influence on his mother’s side of the family. (1Ki 14:22-24; 2Ch 12:1) This, in turn, provoked Jehovah’s anger, and in expression of it he raised up the king of Egypt, Shishak, who, together with his allies, overran the land and captured a number of cities in Judah in the fifth year of Rehoboam’s reign.

God didn’t punish Rehoboam because of his father’s sin, it was because of his own sins.

All the best
Brenda