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Speaker 1: Let us pray, howbeit I will not take the whole

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Speaker 1: kingdom out of his hand, but I will make him

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Speaker 1: prince all the days of his life for David, my

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Speaker 1: servant's sake, whom I chose because he kept my commandments

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Speaker 1: and my statutes First Kings eleven thirty four. Lord, through

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Speaker 1: the life of Solomon and the listening of First Kings

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Speaker 1: and Second Chronicles, I now know the value of wise

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Speaker 1: and honest counsel. Therefore, I pray that there is never

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Speaker 1: a moment in my life that I am ever without

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Speaker 1: wise and God fearing counsel. When others around me seek

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Speaker 1: to give advice that is contrary to your wisdom and

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Speaker 1: your ways. Place people like Jerobaeum in my life to

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Speaker 1: remind me to honor what you have entrusted me with

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Speaker 1: and to deal kindly with every one I come in

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Speaker 1: contact with. From this truth, I know your hand will

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Speaker 1: stay upon me and guide me as you continue to

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Speaker 1: expand and enlarge the tent pegs of my life and ministry.

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Speaker 1: In Jesus name, Amen, thank you for praying with us

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Speaker 1: to day. Continue your time with God by listening to

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Speaker 1: today's Bible story brought to you by Bible in a

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Speaker 1: year dot com.

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Speaker 2: The Kingdom of Israel's splits. In our last story, we

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Speaker 2: beheld the vast wisdom of the philosopher King Solomon. Kings

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Speaker 2: and queens of old would seek him out and travel

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Speaker 2: long distances to glean from his wisdom. Solomon led with

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Speaker 2: great kindness and pursued peace with other nations. However, Solomon

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Speaker 2: had a weakness for women. He am asked he of

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Speaker 2: hundreds of wives and concubines from other nations. He immersed

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Speaker 2: himself and lude cultures and sexual devians. Eventually he began

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Speaker 2: to worship foreign gods. Therefore, his kingdom was promised by

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Speaker 2: God to be split. Solomon died and left his kingdom

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Speaker 2: to his son Riaboam. Now we peer more into the

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Speaker 2: inner workings of rebellion during Solomon's reign and witness the

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Speaker 2: heart of Riaboam. His pride and unwillingness to heed the

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Speaker 2: advice of his elders may end up being his downfall.

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Speaker 2: Inspired by the book Are First Kings.

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Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Jack Graham with today's episode of the Bible

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Speaker 3: in a Year. In yesterday's episode, we heard about Solomon's

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Speaker 3: fall from God. Though he was wise and wealthy, his

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Speaker 3: heart sought his own desires. He disobeyed God and married

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Speaker 3: foreign women, hundreds of them, and with each new wife

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Speaker 3: he would give a bit of his heart to a

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Speaker 3: false God. His life, though filled with such promise, ended

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Speaker 3: up in strife and sorrow. But God's grace was with him,

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Speaker 3: and in the end he turned back to the Lord

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Speaker 3: and praised the God of his father, the one True God.

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Speaker 3: Today we'll hear how dissension was already brewing before Solomon's death,

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Speaker 3: and how his son Raya Boam, his successor, would face

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Speaker 3: the consequences of Solomon's sins and his own prideful spirit.

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Speaker 3: Let's listen now to today's scripture.

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Speaker 2: The trees shifted slightly from the breeze. Crickets chirped, and

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Speaker 2: the subtle sound of babbling brooks could be heard among

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Speaker 2: the forest. In the darkness, a fink chanting could be

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Speaker 2: heard from the distance. Deep among the trees, Solomon stood

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Speaker 2: in the mount of Olives, where his father would once

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Speaker 2: go to pray and sing before the Lord.

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Speaker 4: His face was.

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Speaker 2: Illuminated by candles and incense. There in the coolness of evening,

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Speaker 2: Solomon worshiped the moabide God, Shimosh. Shimosh was known as

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Speaker 2: the Destroyer. He was said to be a god that

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Speaker 2: craved blood. The Moabites would often make human sacrifices to

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Speaker 2: Shimash to appease him. There, bowing before a massive black

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Speaker 2: stone altar, Solomon worshiped the Destroyer. His kind heart was

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Speaker 2: being tainted by the evil that lurked behind the altar.

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Speaker 2: He sat among a darkness that would not relent in

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Speaker 2: its desire to destroy Solomon's soul. Solomon's idolatry was well

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Speaker 2: known by his officials. They watched as he left in

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Speaker 2: the middle of the night. They witnessed his lust for

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Speaker 2: foreign women. They saw his insatiable hunger for exotic sex

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Speaker 2: and idole worship. Jeroboam, son of Niebat, watched as Solomon

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Speaker 2: came to and fro from the black stone altar. His

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Speaker 2: bones shook at the thought of Israel's king worshiping a

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Speaker 2: god that required human blood. Jeroboam was the son of

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Speaker 2: a widow and knew the hardships some had experienced in Israel.

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Speaker 2: It pained him to watch the king shirk his faithfulness

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Speaker 2: for the sake of simple pleasures and dark arts. One day,

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Speaker 2: Solomon was overseeing a rebuilding project of Israel's walls. He

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Speaker 2: took many of his men to aid in the repairs.

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Speaker 2: Together in the hot sun, Solomon and his men began

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Speaker 2: to reinforce the walls, building better beams and support systems

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Speaker 2: to keep it upright. Solomon saw Riaboam work. He was

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Speaker 2: a capable young man, strong, and a good leader among

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Speaker 2: the rest of his men. Solomon decided to put him

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Speaker 2: in charge of the labor force from the tribes of

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Speaker 2: Ephrium and Manasse. Jeroboam accepted the task reluctantly, Still leery

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Speaker 2: of the king, Jeroboam departed from Jerusalem to begin his work.

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Speaker 2: He passed some of the farm lands on the outskirts

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Speaker 2: of the city. The fields were lush and ripe for harvesting,

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Speaker 2: and the air smelled of wheat and barley. Along the way,

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Speaker 2: the prophet of Hyjah stopped him in the middle of

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Speaker 2: the field.

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Speaker 4: A Hyjah was.

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Speaker 2: Wearing a brand new cloak that waved gracefully in the breeze.

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Speaker 2: Jeroboam watched as a Hyjah removed his new cloak and

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Speaker 2: tore it into ten pieces. He watched curiously as the

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Speaker 2: prophet ripped the robe. He handed the ten pieces to

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Speaker 2: Jeroboam and said, take these pieces of my cloak, for

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Speaker 2: the Lord is about to tear the kingdom apart. Because

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Speaker 2: of Solomon's idolatry. Ten tribes of Israel will be given

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Speaker 2: to you, Jeroboam. However, he will leave one tribe to

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Speaker 2: Solomon and his descendants because of his loyalty to King David.

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Speaker 2: You shall rule over all that your heart desires. Listen

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Speaker 2: to the ways of the Lord, and your dynasty will

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Speaker 2: be established. Jeroboam held the torn pieces in his hands,

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Speaker 2: and from that day forward he began the secret workings

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Speaker 2: of a rebellion. When Solomon caught wind of Jeroboam's favor,

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Speaker 2: he sent men to kill him. However, Jeroboam fled to

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Speaker 2: King Shishak of Egypt and stayed there for a long while.

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Speaker 2: The days of Solomon came to a close and it

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Speaker 2: was time for his son rha Boam to take the throne.

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Speaker 2: All of Israel gathered to make him king. He was

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Speaker 2: ushered in with parades and dancing. The news of Solomon's

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Speaker 2: passing spread across the land, for Solomon was beloved among

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Speaker 2: every surrounding nation. The news came to Jeroboam, who had

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Speaker 2: found refuge in the land of Egypt for a few

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Speaker 2: years he had amassed wealth and influence in Egypt, yet

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Speaker 2: left it to return to his people. He walked the

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Speaker 2: city streets. While many kings would have seen a thriving

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Speaker 2: and flourishing culture, Jeroboam saw laborers who were worked hard

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Speaker 2: and taxed too much. His days living in Jerusalem with

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Speaker 2: his widowed mother had made him compassionate towards the suffering

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Speaker 2: and poor in Israel. Together with a few of the

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Speaker 2: elders in Israel, Jeroboam approached the new king. He stood

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Speaker 2: before him and said, your father was a hard master

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Speaker 2: at times. If you lightened the load of labor and

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Speaker 2: decreased taxes, the people will love you and thank you.

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Speaker 2: They will be your loyal servants. Riabaum stroked his young beard.

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Speaker 2: A certain air of arrogance came off of him. It

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Speaker 2: vexed Jeroboam. Riabaum deepened his voice and waved his hand

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Speaker 2: like a child, pretending to be king. He held out

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Speaker 2: his hands and said, give me three days to think.

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Speaker 4: This over and come back for my answer.

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Speaker 2: So Jeroboam and the elders left. Riabaum gathered his father's

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Speaker 2: advisers and asked for their advice. How shall I respond

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Speaker 2: to their requests, he asked the eldest counselor of the group.

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Speaker 2: Looked among the men. They all seemed to be in

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Speaker 2: agreement that Riaboum should lighten the load for the people.

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Speaker 2: He bowed before the king and said, if you would

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Speaker 2: become a servant to these people, they will serve you

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Speaker 2: with loyalty and honor. Rioboum did not like this answer.

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Speaker 2: He had waited his whole life to become king. He

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Speaker 2: enjoyed the lavish lifestyle of his father's riches. He enjoyed

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Speaker 2: the fine wines, the gardens, the women, and the expensive robes.

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Speaker 2: The last thing Riobouam wanted was to serve anybody. Instead

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Speaker 2: of heeding their advice, Riobaum gathered his young friends together.

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Speaker 2: They drank reveled and pretended to speak of the kingdom's

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Speaker 2: greatest needs. What is your advice, he asked them. How

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Speaker 2: shall I answer these elders and servants. The young men

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Speaker 2: were filled with the same self importance as their king.

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Speaker 2: They responded, just as expected, here is how you handle

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Speaker 2: the complainers of Israel. Say this to them, I have

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Speaker 2: more power in my finger than my father did in

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Speaker 2: his whole body. He lashed you with whips, but I

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Speaker 2: shall lash you with scorpions.

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Speaker 4: Riobaum laughed.

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Speaker 2: The cackles of his friends filled the halls. Three days later,

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Speaker 2: Jeroboam entered into the palace halls with the elders behind him.

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Speaker 2: Jeroboam was tall, strong, and held his posture in a

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Speaker 2: commanding demeanor. King Rioboam took notice of this and was

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Speaker 2: slightly threatened. Beaum shifted upright on his throne to seem taller.

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Speaker 2: He raised his staff in the air and said, I

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Speaker 2: have my answer.

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Speaker 4: The whole crowd was silent.

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Speaker 2: My father gave you heavy burdens, but I will make

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Speaker 2: them even heavier. Jeroboam's fists clenched at the sound of

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Speaker 2: his words. The king smiled and said, my father lashed

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Speaker 2: you with whips, but I shall lash you with scorpions.

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Speaker 2: His friends laughed behind him, Yet the elders and Jeroboam

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Speaker 2: were unamused, saying nothing.

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Speaker 4: They left the halls.

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Speaker 2: So the king was brutal to his people. His cruelty

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Speaker 2: and taxation increased, and his heavy hands stirred up the

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Speaker 2: people of Israel. An uproar began to ignite among the people.

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Speaker 2: They shouted in the city streets down with the legacy

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Speaker 2: of David. They refused to work any longer and returned

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Speaker 2: to their homes in protest. Riobaum was livid at their disobedience.

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Speaker 2: He sent his andrser Aruneium to restore order in the

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Speaker 2: city streets. However, he was stoned to death as a

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Speaker 2: message to the king. When Riabaum heard of this, he

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Speaker 2: hopped on his chariot and hid in the palace of Jerusalem.

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Speaker 2: From that day forward, the northern tribes of Israel refused

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Speaker 2: to be ruled by the descendants of David. The ten

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Speaker 2: northern tribes of Israel gathered together in rejection of their king.

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Speaker 2: They talked among themselves and decided that Jeroboam.

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Speaker 4: Should be their new king.

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Speaker 2: Jeroboam accepted their offer and ruled over every tribe except

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Speaker 2: for Judah. When Riaboam heard of this, he amassed a

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Speaker 2: great army of one hundred eighty thousand troops. He was

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Speaker 2: ready to destroy all of Israel in vengeance. However, the

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Speaker 2: Lord spoke to him sternly, saying, do not attack your brothers,

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Speaker 2: for this is my doing. So Rioboam cowered in his

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Speaker 2: palace and ruled over the vast nation of Judah. Once again,

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Speaker 2: Israel was a split kingdom. Are no perfect kings. The

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Speaker 2: entirety of Israel pointed to the faithfulness of God to

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Speaker 2: work in imperfect people. Solomon, for all his wisdom in

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Speaker 2: tact as a king, fell prey to the grips of sin.

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Speaker 2: His sins trickled down into the heart of his son.

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Speaker 2: God would not excuse this, nor would he abandon Israel altogether. Instead,

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Speaker 2: God would weave Israel's goodness and evil into one tapestry,

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Speaker 2: ultimately pointing to his grace.

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Speaker 3: Today we begin with Solomon, who is still alive. He

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Speaker 3: has given himself over to his foreign wives and their

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Speaker 3: false gods, and his wisdom and kindness seems a distant

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Speaker 3: memory to many. In the Kingdom of Israel, we also

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Speaker 3: meet a young Israelite leader by the name of Jeroboam.

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Speaker 3: He was a dedicated and hard worker, but even as

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Speaker 3: he served the king, Jeroboam witnessed the conflict in Israel

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Speaker 3: and Solomon's harshness with Jewish workers. Laman was impressed by

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Speaker 3: Jeroboam and tasked him with overseeing laborers from the northern

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Speaker 3: tribes of Ephraim and Manassa. Little did Solomon know that

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Speaker 3: this began to set the stage for a divided kingdom.

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Speaker 3: One day, as he was working, Jeroboam encountered the prophet Ahijah,

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Speaker 3: who delivered a dramatic message to Jeroboam. He tore his

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Speaker 3: robe into twelve pieces to symbolize the twelve tribes of Israel,

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Speaker 3: and told Jeroboam that God was going to take ten

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Speaker 3: of the tribes away from Solomon's successor and give them

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Speaker 3: to Jeroboam. With this promise came a warning he was

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Speaker 3: being given charge over a vast number of God's people,

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Speaker 3: so he must follow the Lord and listen always to

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Speaker 3: his counsel. I can only imagine the weight of all

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Speaker 3: this news on Jeroboam. Surely he was both excited and

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Speaker 3: fearful at the same time. Shortly after he received the news, however,

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Speaker 3: Solomon got wind of this threat to his kingdom and

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Speaker 3: tried to kill Jeroboam, who had no choice but to

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Speaker 3: flee to Egypt and hide. After Solomon's death, when Raeboam

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Speaker 3: was king, Jeroboam felt it was safe to return, and

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Speaker 3: for the sake of his people, that's what he did.

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Speaker 3: His first order of business was to approach the new

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Speaker 3: king and appeal to him for the people. They were

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Speaker 3: being worked too hard and taxed too much, so Jereboam

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Speaker 3: asked the king to ease their burden. Rae Boam's initial

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Speaker 3: response seems reasonable. He doesn't immediately deny the request or concede.

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Speaker 3: He asked for time to consider it. Then he seeks

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Speaker 3: counsel from the elders, and their response was a wise one.

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Speaker 3: If he will serve the people, then they will reward

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Speaker 3: him with service and loyalty of their own. It's the

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Speaker 3: kind of response Solomon himself would have given in his

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Speaker 3: younger years when he walked with the lord. Tragically, Rayaboam

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Speaker 3: wasn't seeking wise counsel. What he wanted was an end answer.

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Speaker 3: He liked one that stroked his ego. So in One

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Speaker 3: Kings twelve, verse eight we read this, but he abandoned

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Speaker 3: the council that the old men gave him and took

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Speaker 3: counsel with the young men who had grown up with

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Speaker 3: him and stood before him. So he asked his friends,

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Speaker 3: his yes men, and they gave him the response he wanted.

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Speaker 3: Show your power and don't back down. They said, in fact,

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Speaker 3: turn the heat up. It's a response reminiscent of Pharaoh's

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Speaker 3: answer to Moses, not of a gentle king who loves

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Speaker 3: his people, but that's the answer he gave Jeroboam and

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Speaker 3: the people when they returned. Rather than lighten their load,

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Speaker 3: he would pile on more. His plan to gain power

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Speaker 3: and respect by force backfired immediately. When the people saw

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Speaker 3: that he didn't care for them, they dropped their tools

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Speaker 3: and abandoned their work. Ray Boam, rather than acknowledge his mistake,

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Speaker 3: tried once again to force the people to submit. He

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Speaker 3: sent an enforcer to put the people back to work,

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Speaker 3: but the Israelites stoned him to death in the streets.

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Speaker 3: At the end of the day, Ray of Boham was

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Speaker 3: left with only two tribes to rule, while the ten

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Speaker 3: tribes of the north made Jereboam king. And so, just

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Speaker 3: as God had told Solomon it would happen, the kingdom

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Speaker 3: of Israel was split in two. Jereboam would now have

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Speaker 3: to remember Ahijah the Prophet's warning to follow God's commandments

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Speaker 3: and to seek him. How would he fare We'll find

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Speaker 3: out in tomorrow's reading. Dear God, we thank you always

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Speaker 3: for your word, for it is light and life to us.

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Speaker 3: Thank you for the lesson that we learned today, that

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Speaker 3: it is always right and best to seek wise counsel

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Speaker 3: rather than foolish counsel. Help us always to listen to

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Speaker 3: those who give us godly counsel, wise men and women

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Speaker 3: who seek you and your ways. For We pray this

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Speaker 3: in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you for listening to today's

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Speaker 3: Year podcast. I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download Theprey

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Speaker 3: dot com app and make prayer and Bible study a

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Speaker 3: Pass it on because this podcast can make a huge

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Speaker 3: difference in people's lives. I'm hearing wonderful stories of the

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Speaker 3: impact of God's Word as a result of listening to

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Speaker 3: Bible in a year. And if you want more biblical

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Speaker 3: resources resources from God's Word that will enable you and

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Speaker 3: assist you in your walk with God, then be sure

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Speaker 3: to visit Jack Graham dot org. That's Jack Graham dot org.

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Speaker 3: God bless you. This episode is sponsored by Meta Share,

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Speaker 3: an innovative healthcare solution for Christians to save money without

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Speaker 3: sacrificing quality.

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Speaker 5: Welcome to the Premius Podcast, where Hope is our Only bia.

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Speaker 5: Each day, we'll unpack the most prominent stories happening in

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Speaker 5: the news and offer a Christian perspective. We won't shy

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Speaker 5: away from the hard topics, and we won't dilute the

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Speaker 5: hopeful message of Christ. This is more than a daily

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Speaker 5: brief on the news.

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Speaker 4: It's a way to.

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Speaker 5: Be informed and transformed. Listen to Pray News on the

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