He raised his hand against the king

Kings 1 11:26

^{And all at once the kingdom tears apart.  This dramatic chapter from the Bible holds hands with today’s news headlines from Israel, and includes a new prophet, a new leader who’s the son of a widow, a new coat torn in twelve parts, a torn kingdom, the next king, 1,000 royal widows, and many many more to come.}

I’m inserting a quote from an op-ed published yesterday, Monday 3/26/23 in Ha’aretz, because the astonishing links between the past and present are mentioned specifically:

פילוג המלוכה בין רחבעם וירבעם קרה על-פי הסיפור התנ״כי בשל עול המיסים הנורא של שלמה ואטימות ליבו של בנו הנסיך היהיר. מי שיודע לקרוא מבין שבעומק הדברים היה שם משהו אחר לגמרי - סרבנות עממית נרחבת כנגד הכפיה הדתית של כהני ירושלים. הבירה החדשה, עיר המקדש והארמון, סירבה להכיל את הריבוי הדתי של שאר השבטים ומסורותיהם. היא הוציאה אל מחוץ לחוק את המקדשים המקומיים שלהם, הכהנים שלהם, האלים שהאמינו בהם והפולחנים שנהגו על פיהם. ולעומת הכהנים הפריווילגים והנצלנים, ברית השבטים הישראלית לא היתה מוכנה לסבול את ההשתלטות של שבט יהודה על הפולחן הדתי, את הפרויקטים הממלכתיים המגלומנים ואת הפטור ממסים שניתנו לשבטו של המלך.

כך בירושלים הקדמונית, כך ברומא שהייתה, וכך בירושלים 2023. 

“The Kingdom’s rupture conducted by Rehoboam and Jeroboam occurred according to the biblical account because of Solomon’s unbearable yoke of taxation, followed up the hard heart of his arrogant heir to the throne. Those who know how to read between the lines know that there was much more going on - popular and vast national revolt agains the religious coercion of the Jerusalem priests. The new capital, city of temple and palace, refused to include of the religious diversity of the other tribes and their traditions. Jerusalem outlawed other local temples all through the land, banned their priests, waged war on the local deities worshipped for generations, and abolished the familiar and beloved rituals. In the face of this ongoing privileged abuse of the Jerusalem priesthood, the covenant of the tribes of Israel collapsed, unable to keep supporting the takeover of the tribe of Judah as it sought to define religious norms for all, fed up with the megalomanic construction projects of Solomon, and the tax-free status conferred only on Judah - the king’s own tribe. 

So it was in ancient Jerusalem and so it is in Jerusalem 2023. “

Avrum Burg, Ha’aretz march 27 2023 link to article in Hebrew

^{So here’s how we get there, back to Solomon, still on the throne:}

^{With 1,000 wives, from all the local ethnic cultures, Solomon builds not just extra harems but also altars to the Goddesses and Gods of the region, right in the middle of Jerusalem and in the temple. In just one chapter, Solomon the Wise is not so smart anymore, too old, too much, and too much trouble: The authors of Kings quote the wrath of YHWH and the turning of the tides against the king who turned against his people - and turned away from the One God of Israel.} 

^{But it’s the excess taxes that push the people over the edge. We don’t know how long the protest percolates but all at once the national fabric is ripped into shreds. Twelve shreds, if to be precise - torn off the brand new coat of the newest hero in our story and the new King of the Northern Kingdom Israel.} 

^{Here’s how he’s introduced in today’s chapter, without much fanfare or context:}

^{וְיָרׇבְעָם֩ בֶּן־נְבָ֨ט אֶפְרָתִ֜י מִן־הַצְּרֵדָ֗ה וְשֵׁ֤ם אִמּוֹ֙ צְרוּעָה֙ אִשָּׁ֣ה אַלְמָנָ֔ה עֶ֖בֶד לִשְׁלֹמֹ֑ה וַיָּ֥רֶם יָ֖ד בַּמֶּֽלֶךְ׃}

^{Jeroboam son of Nebat, an Ephraimite of Zeredah, the son of a widow whose name was Zeruah, was in Solomon’s service; he raised his hand against the king.}

^{Kings 1 11:26} 

^{Jeroboam’s story - his name means ‘He who created the popular revolt’ - is told in these chapters through the suspicious eyes of the later authors who were not on his side - although they too could not avoid the fact that his successful revolution had merit - Solomon has gone too far. But as we struggle to make sense of the dramatic politics and shifts that now enter our story it is critical to remember that the Book of Kings has a side and an agenda - and that our story may be much more nuanced and complex than this specific angle.} 

^{Jeroboam - which likely was not his real name but we’ll never know - is of humble stock, and of the northern tribes of Joseph. As a son of a single mother, whose husband died during forced labor for Solomon, he exhibits talent and rises in the ranks, rising up to become the Chief Tax Collector for the tribe of Joseph. That means he knew his way around the corridors of power and he had seen enough.} 

^{How does he raise his hand against the king and start the revolution?} 

^{With dramatic guidance from a local prophet we have not yet met. Ahija of Shilo (his name means ‘the brother of the divine’) meets the tax collector on the road, they are alone, and the prophet grabs hold of the official’s coat.} 

^{The old motif of torn coat has been around since the day Joseph was sold to slavery by his ten brothers back in Genesis. We are even in the same geographical area more or less. King Saul’s coat was torn too.}

^{The man of God rips the tax collector’s coat into twelve pieces and announces a prophecy:} 

^{The kingdom will now rip apart. Ten parts will be governed by Jeroboam, as the king of the north. One part will be given to Solomon and the House of David. Presumably, the 11th part, Benjamin's, is in coalition with the southern Judah.} 

^{With this religious authority backing him up, Jeroboam begins an anti Solomon campaign, flees and finds refuge in Egypt and waits it out until Solomon dies, which happens, quietly and with little fanfare, at the end of our chapter.}

^{King Solomon is buried in Jerusalem next to his father David and his son, Rehobam - his name means ‘He widened the nation’ -- sits on the throne.  Smooth succession.}

^{This is the moment the reformers, or rebels, with exiled Jeroboam at their head, have been waiting for.} 

^{So how did Solomon turn overnight, in just one chapter  from the wisest of all kings, sought after by queens of the east, to a has-been sinner and failure?} 

^{In  Kings: Torn in Two, scholar Alex Israel offers helpful framing:} 

^{“Kings is not a history book. Although the prophet grafted his prophetic perspective onto a historical frame, it has an overtly religious agenda. In contrast to royal-sponsored histories, I Kings is exceedingly critical of monarchs and, more often than not, records their shortcomings and failures. This is one of the surest proofs that this book did not emerge from royal sources. Prophetic works are highly subversive readings of history; no royal-sponsored work would ever record the flaws and sins of a monarch in the manner of the book of Kings. The king would never allow a litany of this sort to be published! Rather, Kings transmits a religious and educational message, interpreting events and evaluating them in accordance with the standards of the Torah.}

^{From a prophetic perspective, this book is an investigation and spiritual evaluation of an era. The book of Kings targets the leadership in particular, evaluating – king by king – which leaders accelerated the path to destruction and who reversed the momentum, turning instead to God. Every king, from construction to destruction, is surveyed in order to understand his part in the national collapse. But Kings goes further, identifying one specific area of deviance as the core of the problem – the sin of idolatry. Hence, when a king is described as “doing that which is right in the eyes of the Lord” or “doing evil in the eyes of the Lord,” it is always a function of the purity of his worship of God or, conversely, his attraction to and involvement in idolatry. This is a focused book, pinpointing idol worship and its associated practices as the key criterion for national ruin.”}

^{So that’s why this final chapter of Solomon’s reign and the end of the United Kingdom - whether it existed or not - begins with the narrative of the many wives and worship of local deities.  From our author’s perspective, the people’s rage over excess tax and corruption coincides with the divine wrath over the turning away from the core, more modest and monotheistic values of the religious Solomon neglected.} 

^{Alex Israel continues:} 

^{“Solomon is caught between clashing forces. Seeking to influence the world, he instigates a benevolent foreign policy, extending a hand in partnership to each country of his empire. The daughter of Pharaoh, his wife, represents Egypt, Solomon's most powerful ally, symbolizing the power, trade, and international influence that appeal to his imperial mind. However, the world around Solomon is not neutral; it is pagan. He seeks to export monotheism, but he soon discovers that there is a cultural two-way street. His wives import a devastating idolatrous culture, which in time, "in his old age," overwhelms him. As we noted in the introduction, the book of Kings examines history from the vantage point of the Temple's demise, probing the causes of its destruction. Solomon's marriages further threaten his greatest achievement.”}

^{The king is dead. His 1000 wives are left behind in lavish palaces as his son takes over. His mother, Naama, from the Ammonite nation up north, a former enemy of Israel, likely enjoys higher status now. But not for long.}

^{The war is about to begin.} 

^{And if any of you are reading this with disbelief that our ancient page is echoing the front page headlines from Israel with deadly prophetic accuracy - well, you are not alone.}

^{Pay close attention as we try to make sense of history as it unfolds with a deeper understanding of the same patterns already in the mix, from long long ago - right now. Are we on the brink of a split?}

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