August 17 - 1 Kings 12: ‘The Servant King’

What should a leader of God’s people be like?

As we’ve been reading 1 Kings each day, we’ve seen the successes and failures of God’s kings, and it’s helped us recognise what is most needed in his messiah.

This whole experience helps us understand why Jesus is the perfect king of Israel.

In chapter 12, Solomon has died and now his son, Rehoboam, gathers with “all Israel”, who wish to make him king, verse 1.

Strangely, they do this “in Shechem”, not in Jerusalem, which shows us that this group has already started to break away to begin to form the northern kingdom.