7 And they ſpake unto him, ſaying, If thou wilt he a ſervant unto this people this day +, and wilt ſerve them, and ; anſwer them, and ſpeak good words to them, then they will be thy ſervants for ever.
h By complying with their Deſires, and condeſcending to them for a ſeaſon, till the troubled Humours be quieted, and thc Oppor- tunity they now have, and ſome of them that ſeek, for Sedition, be gone, and thou beeſt better ſtabliſhed in thy Throne. They uſe this expreſſion, as fore-ſeeing that ſome would diſſwade him from this courſe, as ſervile or flaviſh, and below the Majeſty of a Prince. z; For, that # ; Thy Service, ſay they, is not hard it is only a few good words, which it is as eafic ro give as bad ones. .
8 Buthe forſook the counſel of the old men & which they had given him, and conſulted with the youn men / chat were grown up with himm, «nd which ſtood before him.
& Judging it unworthy of his Majeſty and Authority,and likely to encourage and increaſe the people in their infolent Demands. / $9 called comparatively to the old Men; otherwiſe they were near 40 years old, as the following words imply. m Which is added as the reaſon of his inclination to their Counſels, becauſe his daily converſe with them, and the likeneſs of their Age and Humour to his, had-ingaged his AffeCtions ro them, and that bribed his Judg. ment, as 1t commonly doth. :
9 And he ſaid unto them, What counſel give ye, that we may anſwer this people, who have ſpoken to me, ſaying, Make the yoke which thy father did put upon us, lighter 2?
' 10 And the young men that were grown up with him, ſpake unto him, ſaying, Thus ſhalt thou ſpeak unto this people that ſpake unto thee, ſaying, Thy facher made our yoke heavy, but make thou 5: lighter unto us ; thus ſhalt thou {iy unto them, My little frger ſhall be thicker » than my fathers loins.
z Or rather « thicker, and therefore ſtronger, and more able to cruſh you, if you proceed in theſe Mutinous Demands,than hs loins, in which is the principal Seat of Strength. My Father was young and weak, and had many Enemies when he firſt took the Kingdom ; but I am the undoubted Heir ; and I find the Kingdom by his wiſe Care, far better ſettled and fortified againſt all Enemies, Foreign or Domeſtick, than he did:
11 And now whereas my father did lade you with an heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke o : my father hath chaſtiſed you with whips, but I will chaſtiſe you with ſcorpions p.
0 7. e. Make it heavier and ſtronger,both to puniſh your Petulancy, and to curb and reſtrain you from Seditious Attempts. pi.e. With
ſuch Whips as will ſting you like Scorpions.: If you proceed in theſe courſes, 1 will moſt ſeverely puniſh you for it.
12 4 So Jeroboam and all the people came te Re- hoboam the third day, as the king had appointed, ſaying, Come to me again the third day.
13 And the king anſwered che people Þ roughly ; #86, and forſook the old mens counſel that they gave him : hr,
14 And ſpake to them after the courſe of the young men, ſaying, My father made your yoke heavy, and [ will add to your yoke ; my father alſo chaſtifed you with whips, but I will chaſtiſe you with ſcorpions.
15 Whereforethe king hearkned not unto the people, for * the + cauſe was from the LORD 9, that he might « Judg perform his ſaying, which the LORD * ſpake by Ahijah 14 «4 che Shilonite, unto Jeroboam the ſon of Nebar. 2 Chrow
q Who gave up Rehoboam to ſo fooliſh and fatal a miſtake, and aa
alienated the peoples AffeCtions from him ; and ordered all Circum- & 26:1 ſtances by his wiſe Providence to that end. + o k 16 9 So when all Ifrael ſaw that the king hearkned ,,,;, not unto them, the people anſwerd the king, ſaying, * Chp What portion have we in David » ? neither have we 11: 31! inheritance in the ſon of Jeſſe 5s: to your tents, O If- rael t ; now ſee to thine own houſe, David «, So If-
rae] departed unto their tents,
r 7. e. In David's Family and Son ; we can expe&@ no benefit or relief from him, and therefore we renounce all Commerce with him, and SubjeCtion to him. See 2 Sam; 20: 1. They named David, rather than Rehob9am ; to ſignifie, That they did renounce, not | Rehoboam only, but all David's Family. s So they call Dawid in con- rempt ; q.d. Rehoboam hath no reaſon to carry himſelf with ſuch Pride and Contempt toward his People, for if we trace his Original,
Chap. W 'c
it waSas mean and obſcure as many of ours. And ſince he abuſeth his power, let usreduce him to his former Obſcurity. 7 7. e. Letus all ftorſake him, and go to our own homes, there to conſider, and then to meet,and conclude how to provide otherwiſe for our ſc!ves, 47, e. Govern thy own Family; for thou ſhalt no longer Rule over us. Thus they brake out into aCtual Rehellion againſt him, whom God had made their Lawful Sovereign ; wherein, though they ful- filled God's Counſe], yet they violated his Authority and Command. And they do again make an opprobrious mention of David, whom they ſhould not have named without Honour. : 17 But * & for the children of Iſrael which dwelt 11 * (bp
the cities of Judah x, Rehoboam reigned over them. un 3 » By which Phraſe he principally underſtands the Tribe of Juaah ;
but withal, thoſe parts and parcels of the Tribes of Lev:, and Sr
meon, and Benjamin, whoſe dwellings were within the Confines of
18 Then king Rehoboam ſent Adoram, who _ OV
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ks #4230 XII.
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himſelf.
|| Or, fi guaye
*Chap. 1. 13-
f: Chron! 11, 31,
*,Chron.
I.
that he died : therefore king Rehoboam + made ſpeed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jeruſalem z.
y Him he ſent, either, r- To pacific the People, and promiſe them Relief, now when it was too late» But then he would not have ſent a Perſon to ungrateful to the People,as thar ſort of Men aſe to be. Or rather, 2. To purſue the Counſel which he had re- ſolved upon, and to execute his Office, and exa@t their Tribute with Rigour and Violence, if need were. z From Shechem, where it ſeems he yet ſtaid, and his Guards and Friends with him ; that being there in rhemidfr of his Kingdom, and among the Seditious Tribes, he might over-awe them by his Preſence, and repreſs any Tumults in their firſt riſe.
19 So Iſrael || rebelled 4 againſt the houſe of David
unto this day.