2 Chronicles 10:1

2 Chronicles 10:1 says, And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for to Shechem were all Israel come to make him king.  Rehoboam went to Shechem, since that was where the people were gathered to make him king.  I don't know why they didn't do this in Jerusalem, but it was called the city of God, and Rehoboam was not going to prove to be much of a man of God.  I do know that we don't need to do things in the church that are not in accordance with God's will.  Verse two adds, And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was in Egypt, whither he fled from the presence of Solomon the king, heard it, that Jeroboam returned out of Egypt.  When Jeroboam heard that Solomon was dead, he returned from Egypt where he had fled for fear of Solomon.  He had been appointed by Solomon to build the fortress at Millo and other public works, and I don't find the reason that he fled to Egypt stated here, but he had formed conspiracies to make himself king of the ten northern tribes even during Solomon's reign, according to Matthew Henry.  If we have fled from God, and all people have, we have the good news that Jesus Christ died for our sins, and we can return to God by putting our faith in Him.  Verse three adds, And they sent and called him. So Jeroboam and all Israel came and spake to Rehoboam, saying,  Jeroboam was called on to be the spokesman for the people to bring their concerns to Rehoboam.  We have the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, to bring our concerns to God, and we can rest assured that he will always do what is best for us as long as we are obedient to God.  Verse four concludes, Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore ease thou somewhat the grievous servitude of thy father, and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we will serve thee.  They wanted Rehoboam to lighten their yoke, which they said his father Solomon had made grievous.  Matthew Henry says that with all his wealth, he wasn't sure why Solomon had to tax the people so heavily, but that it might have been to do with his lifestyle and his many foreign wives.  I will say that preachers today never should expect their parishioners to sacrifice more than they are able to give to support his lifestyle.  Verse five states, And he said unto them, Come again unto me after three days. And the people departed.  Rehoboam told them to come back in three days.  Verse six adds, And king Rehoboam took counsel with the old men that had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying, What counsel give ye me to return answer to this people? He wanted to seek the counsel of the old men who had stood with Solomon.  It is always good to seek the counsel of those who are familiar with the situation before we make decisions.  He asked them what they thought his decision to the people should be.  They would have been best prepared to offer him advice.  The older people in the church are often in a position to offer advice, but even their advice should come from the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  Verse seven adds, And they spake unto him, saying, If thou be kind to this people, and please them, and speak good words to them, they will be thy servants for ever.  They advised Rehoboam to be kind to the people and they would be his servants forever.  God is always kind to us, and as Christians, we should willingly serve Him forever.  Verse eight says, But he forsook the counsel which the old men gave him, and took counsel with the young men that were brought up with him, that stood before him.  Rehoboam had asked the advice of the older men, but he rejected it.  It doesn't do us any good to get good advice if we are going to reject it if we don't like it.