11:29-39). This weakening of the people's faithfulness to God gave
place for the manifestations of their former jealousy. (3) Solomon had
put upon the people heavy burdens of taxation and of forced labor,
which were fast taking away the people's liberties and reducing them
to serfdom. This policy inflamed the jealousy of the northern tribes
into a bitter discontent. They would rebel rather than submit to the
loss of their liberty which to them meant also disloyalty to God. (4)
The ambition of Jeroboam, of the tribe of Ephraim, a valiant officer
of Solomon, no doubt led him to stir up the ten tribes to revolt.
Ahijah, the prophet, had made known to him that, upon the death of
Solomon, he should become the head of these tribes. (5) The final and
immediate cause was the foolish course of Rehoboam. He went to Shechem
to be accepted as king by the northern tribes. They demanded that he
should relieve them of the heavy burdens laid on them by Solomon. The
older and more experienced men counseled him to grant their request,
but he heeded the advice of the young men, who were ignorant of
conditions, and answered them with a threat of even severer burdens.
Incensed by this foolish threat, the ten tribes revolted and enthroned
Jeroboam as their king and the division of the empire was
accomplished. This was the turning point of the nation. It was the
undoing of all that had been accomplished by the three kings that had
proceeded.

Comparison of the Two Kingdoms. Each kingdom had its advantages and
its disadvantages. (1) The northern kingdom, from the material point
of view, was far superior to the southern. It had a larger and more
fertile country. It had three times as many people and a much better
military equipment. Ramah, Bether and Gilgal with their sites of their
schools of the prophets were all in their borders. Their country was
also the scene of greatest prophetic activity and their cause was