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Israel divided into two countries

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[ 1 Kings 12:16 ]

Jeroboam thought to himself, "The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David.

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Solomon is well known as the King of Wisdom. King Solomon ruled Israel according to God's will with the wisdom he received from God. God blessed Israel, ruled by King Solomon, to make it a peaceful and powerful nation. King Solomon's greatest achievement was the construction of a temple where God would dwell.

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But King Solomon's last was not beautiful. It is because they have served the idols of the nations without listening to God's warning. Solomon ruled Israel for 40 years and then died. Then, after Solomon, his son, Rehoboam, became king of Israel.

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To Rehoboam, who became king, a man named Jeroboam led the people to visit. Jeroboam and the people told Rehoboam: "The king's father has done very hard work for us. Please take our work off. Do not do hard work for us like the king's father. If you do that, we will serve you."

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When Rehoboam heard the people, he said, "Come back in three days." The people decided to come again three days later and went back.

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King Rehoboam decided to ask his servants to answer the people. The first people I met were older servants. The servants were asked, "How would you like me to answer this people?"

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The older servants said to King Rehoboam: “The king must be generous to these people. Please please them and answer them in kind words. Then the people will always serve the king.”

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Rehoboam also asked the younger servants the same question. The servants answered the opposite of the older ones. “The king tells them: 'My little finger is thicker than my father's waist. My father has done hard work for you, but I will do much harder work for you. My father hit you with a leather whip, but I will strike you with a stinger of scorpions. ” They told the people to show how strong the king was in very strong words.

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After three days of promise, Jeroboam and the people came again. Rehoboam did not listen to the advice of older servants. As young servants said, he spoke ruthlessly to the people.

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“My little finger is thicker than my father's waist. My father has done hard work for you, but I will do much harder work for you. My father struck you with a leather whip, but I will strike you with a stinger of scorpions.”

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The people were disappointed by Rehoboam who said he would be merciless to them. They told King Rehoboam that he would no longer serve as king. “There is nothing we can get from David. We have nothing to do with Jesse's son. Let's go back to our house, Israelites. Son of David, rule over your people. ” And left Rehoboam.

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Rehoboam did not pray to God to solve this. I asked God for help and not His will. He listened only to his servants and tried to rule the country according to his own thoughts. A kingdom without God can never be firmly established.

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Israel, which was one until King Solomon, was divided into two countries: Judah in the south and Israel in the north during King Rehoboam. The 10 tribes left King David's king Rehoboam and belonged to northern Israel; only Judah and Benjamin's 2 tribes remained in Judah under Rehoboam.

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King David was a king who had faith in God's heart. God has made Israel a strong and powerful nation. King Solomon had faith in seeking wisdom to govern the kingdom God had given him. God made him build a temple and made all the surrounding countries envious of Israel.

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Israel, who left God due to the fall of King Solomon, had a difficult time with many wars. And when Rehoboam was trying to rule the country according to his own thoughts without asking God's will, he suffered the misfortune of dividing the country.

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The same is true of us who believe in Jesus and become children of God. Our thoughts should always be compared to the Word of God. If you don't follow the Word and act only on your own thoughts, you won't get God's help. You should always be careful that your thoughts and actions are not ahead of God's will. For this, God has given us the gift of prayer. By praying in all things, I hope to become the children of the wise Lord who live on the Word of God.

(This is the sample conclusion provided by CTM. Please feel free to change the conclusion to best suit the listeners of your sermon.)