2 Chronicles 10:11, 14 For whereas my father put a heavy yoke upon you, I will put more to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions….And answered them after the advice of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add thereto: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
King Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, heard a complaint from the people asking him to ease the heavy yoke and servitude of his father. Rehoboam asked advice from the elders, who advised him to lighten the yoke and make life easier. He then asked the advice of the younger men in his court. They advised him to make the yoke even heavier. He followed the counsel of the younger men, and he told the people he would make the yoke even heavier.
Bad choice! Jeroboam rallied the people to rebel, and split the kingdom, taking the larger part with him to form the kingdom of Israel, leaving only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin as a small kingdom under Rehoboam. The lust for power and control tempted Rehoboam to respond with the wrong choice that led to the breakup of the Kingdom.
The Bible says that he did not listen because the turn of affairs was of God that the Lord might perform his word. The Lord allows evil things to happen through the sin and selfishness of human beings. The results of rebellion are allowed to continue until the people repent and turn to God. Thus the strong kingdom of Solomon was divided and weakened, until only a remnant in Judah remained faithful in order to bring the Messiah, the Savior, into the world to bring all people back to God and to Life.
Our response of bad choices causes terrible consequences that God uses to bring us to our senses, repent, and come to Jesus for forgiveness and life. Many times in our life bad things happen in our life by our own sin and the sins of others. We let God use these things to bring us to Jesus for forgiveness, new life, salvation, and joyful restoration.