1 Kings 11:26

1 Kings 11:26 says, And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite of Zereda, Solomon's servant, whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow woman, even he lifted up his hand against the king.  Not only did Solomon have enemies outside of the kingdom of Israel, but he had enemies within as well.  It is bad enough to have enemies outside the church, but we need to pray that we don't start fighting with one another as Christians.  Verse twenty-seven adds, And this was the cause that he lifted up his hand against the king: Solomon built Millo, and repaired the breaches of the city of David his father.  Jeroboam went against Solomon because Solomon had built Millo and repaired the breaches in Jerusalem, the city of David, his father.  Since Jeroboam was of the tribe of Ephraim, he may have believed that Solomon was doing too much in other parts of the country and not in Ephraim, but Matthew Henry says that Jeroboam being in charge of the building there believed that Solomon was abusing the people of Israel for his own gain.  Whatever the reason, he began to oppose Solomon and we will see later that God endorsed this, but we as Christians cannot afford to start opposing other Christians and still be effective in doing God's work.  Of course, we could make the point that Solomon was not doing God's work by this time, and if those who profess to be God's people begin to teach and follow things against God's will, we need to oppose them.  Verse twenty-eight continues, And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valour: and Solomon seeing the young man that he was industrious, he made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph.  Solomon saw that Jeroboam was a young man of valor, so he put him in charge of the house of Joseph, or Ephraim and Manasseh.  Even if someone is young and a hard worker today, it may not mean that they are the best person to put in charge in the church.  Sometimes, they may think that they are more important than the people who appoint them.  Of course, this doesn't mean that Jeroboam felt that way.  Verse twenty-nine states, And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field:  When Jeroboam was out of Jerusalem, Ahijah from Shiloh found him, and they were alone in a field.  Matthew Henry says that the people of Shiloh had not deserted God and He had raised up a prophet from there.  God will never be without those who follow Him as long as this world stands.  Verse thirty adds, And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces:  Ahijah took Rehoboam's new garment and tore it in twelve pieces.  I don't know how Rehoboam felt about this, but if God destroys something we own today to get our attention, I wonder if we would be upset about it or if we would look to God to see what He is telling us.  Verse thirty-one continues, And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee:  Ahijah told Jeroboam to take ten take pieces, and that represented God taking ten tribes from Solomon and giving them to him.  So, we see that Jeroboam was not just acting out of his own self-will, but was appointed by God, as hopefully new people who take over God's work in the church today will be.  Verse thirty-two says, (But he shall have one tribe for my servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:)  Ahijah said that God was going to leave Solomon with one tribe for David's sake.  God never went back on His promise to David, and He will never go back on His promises to us today as long as we fulfill our part of the covenant with Him and always put our faith in following Jesus Christ, Who is the fulfillment of God's promise to David.  Verse thirty-three adds, Because that they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father.  God said He was doing this because the people of Israel had not remained true to Him under Solomon's reign, but they had started following other gods.  We cannot be a follower of Christ and follow after other gods at the same time.