Who is the True Leader of a Nation?

Reflection on 1 Kings 12: 1-33

“Leaders establish the vision for the future and set the strategy for getting there; they cause change. They motivate and inspire others to go in the right direction and they, along with everyone else, sacrifice to get there.”

In Israel’s history, King David’s name is stamped onto the chosen people’s consciousness, his star, prominent in their identity. King David was a great King because he had a vision which the people also subscribed to; he had the strength and the resolve to take his nation to greatness; and he made several sacrifices in order to get there. King David became the benchmark for all the great leaders who ruled Israel. In contrast Jeroboam – at first the leader chosen by the people – became the benchmark for all that was “evil in the sight of the Lord”.

Jeroboam’s kingship was bestowed upon him by the Lord. As His judgment for Solomon’s sins, God decided to take away the Kingdom of Israel from Solomon and left only a part of it to a descendant of David. We know nothing about Jeroboam’s background except that he is the son of Nebat, and Nebat, we know to be a commander in Solomon’s army. We can glean from the story, however, that the people of the northern tribes believed they could trust Jeroboam to lead them. How they were wrong!

When Jeroboam escaped to Egypt because Solomon wanted to kill him, the people filed additional evidence of their belief that Solomon was an unjust King. Jeroboam’s self-exile could have become the catalyst for the people’s grievances. After all, the people knew him; he had a high profile in their consciousness since he was there, day by day, overseeing their labor. When finally they needed a torchbearer to light up their way they saw Jeroboam as the very person for the job. Jeroboam found courage to end his self-exile in Egypt, because the people were behind him. The person seeking to kill him, Solomon, was dead and now he had to deal with the son.

The people were right about Jeroboam when they thought he could lead them. But they were wrong in thinking Jeroboam had their interests in mind. Power was bestowed upon Jeroboam without any intense struggle or heavy campaigning. Unlike David whose followers were outlaws who had to fight Saul’s persecution wherever they went, Jeroboam had the people beside him, and Rehoboam was the one who needed to watch his back. Jeroboam had ten tribes versus Rehoboam’s two, and although Rehoboam prepared a huge army to subdue the sedition of the north, he knew he couldn’t defeat them. Therefore, he heeded the warning of a prophet that “each man should go back to his own house” and did not pursue going to battle.

Since the people had a falling out with David’s sons, it could not have been easy for them to still mingle with the two tribes who remained loyal to Rehoboam. Their bitterness could flare up in unwanted clashes that would deepen already existing animosities. This is true in every divided nation where the best solution for bickering and in-fighting which may lead to separation or annihilation of the weaker party is to simply keep quiet, while gathering enough muster before confronting the enemy with strong evidences of injustice. And yet in Jeroboam’s case, the people of the northern tribes were the stronger party: they had the numbers, they had the muster, and they just succeeded in freeing themselves from Rehoboam’s tyrannical tendencies!

Populist leaders may not know the full impact of the charge of leadership they are being ushered into. In the beginning, emotions rule the day and logic is always put aside to be dealt with later. The people’s sentiments may not have equal urgency, and yet, the most urgent one should be the chosen leader’s first and foremost agenda. A populist leader's major concern at the beginning of his term is how to please the people who put him to power.

After Jeroboam’s rise to kingship, he had to deal with urgent questions that tested his leadership. How would he rule the ten tribes? Was it enough to take them away from their hard labor? Was it justice done when they had been freed from heavy taxes? What about their brothers in the South? Was it still proper that they continue communications with Judah and Benjamin? How was this going to affect their newly founded freedom? What about former commercial ties and other profitable ventures? Would this mean an economic downfall? And how about Rehoboam, how should Jeroboam deal with him? Should he seek a permanent truce? Or should he go to war against Rehoboam and subdue the remaining two tribes? How would he deal with the ten tribes, who, out of habit and religious piety, still go back and forth to Jerusalem? Wouldn’t they be influenced by their relatives to renew an alliance with Rehoboam? Would this mean that they would become his loyal subjects once more?

Clearly, there was more to Jeroboam’s charge. He needed a vision for the new Kingdom. He must rally the people behind this vision. He must prepare a strategy for development. He needed to secure additional resources to offset what couldn't be taken away from Rehoboam. He needed to form new alliances and a new capital to work from. Maybe Jeroboam had all these in mind. And yet, in spite of his anointing, Jeroboam failed to realize the full impact of God’s trust and instead, pursued his agenda of self-actualization.

While in Egypt, he was confronted with the pagan practices. When he finally assumed leadership of the ten tribes in the north, he brought the paganism of Egypt to Israel and diluted the true worship ordained by God. This he did because he wanted to be sure that the people would remain loyal to him. He had to close any opportunity that would make them turn away from him. This was “his” kingdom now that we’re talking about. He was king, the ten tribes were his subjects; he would do as he pleased but first, he must let them think that he was serving their ends.

Jeroboam’s held on to power using as tool the very core of Israel’s nationhood– it’s faith on the one and only God. Having no deep relationship with God, unlike David whose heart was after God’s own heart, Jeroboam wanted to "give it to the people" -- an answer to a clamor for more independence, more liberty from the limitations of their culture and religion. The whole nation of Israel was now being split not only in its geographical middle but at its spiritual core. This was happening because Jeroboam lusted for power, and power corrupted him. Although he knew the people had him only as a convenient carrier of their short term agenda, he also knew that God had told him through a prophet that he would become king. Had Jeroboam taken his anointing seriously, had he reflected even for a moment on God's grace and mercy bestowed upon him, had he consulted God on how to lead the ten tribes, then he could have turned out to be a great leader.

It was most convenient for the people to simply worship in the high places in the north. Jeroboam built these high places, installed the worship of calves and other pagan deities, founded new festivals similar to the one in Jerusalem but entirely pagan in their influence, and succeeded in totally dividing the tribes. Now Israel was alone, apart from God, and was going to be ruined.

Jeroboam’s lust for complete control began his decline. His corruption of the priestly duties and worship practices resulted in the succeeding decline of the Kingdom of Israel, which ended in its exile and in the scattering of the ten tribes. While the charge of stewardship of the ten tribes was upon him, his thought was on how to hold on to power. Why he was insecure when he was leading more tribes than Reboboam is a puzzle. In effect, he waged his battle not against Rehoboam but against God, since he prevented the people from going on a yearly pilgrimage to Jerusalem and holding their worship festivals there. God had ordained it crucial and necessary for the chosen people to worship in Jerusalem, which Jeroboam seemed to have totally ignored.

Jeroboam could not win this war. A great leader he could have become, but instead, he led Israel to total degeneration. He had the backing of the people and that made him even more powerful. But this power was the enemy. He could have remained "the people’s choice" up to the end of his life, but his legacy remains to be a bad note in history.