About the Author of the Blogsite, Not the Author of the Bible::

About the Author of the Blogsite, Not the Author of the Bible: Since the Lord had it on my heart to write this blog, I was uncertain of how to accomplish this, mindful of Revelation 22:18-19, which says that nobody is to add to, or to take away from what was written in the Bible. After lots of prayerful contemplation, the Lord had it on my heart that I’m not to change the meaning of what is written in the Bible. He has also shown ways to add to people’s understating of that meaning, without altering the meaning, by putting that info within [brackets]. This is primarily accomplished with the KJV Bible and lots of prayers, but at times, BibleGateway.com, Biblehub.com, NIV Bible, Webster Dictionary, and other internet resources, as needed. Debra Seiling

About Understanding the Bible:

Understanding the Bible: After reading Isaiah 28:10 many times over the years and not totally understanding it, it recently became apparent to me that the Lord God has this passage as the means for understanding the Bible. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little. Isaiah 28:10 KJV. Being prayerful about this passage, and looking up 'precept' in the Webster's Dictionary, it gave this passage a whole new meaning, once 'commandment' is substituted for 'precept'. Within brackets are additional words the Lord had on my heart to aid in understanding the meaning. For commandment must be [built up] upon commandment; commandment upon commandment; line upon line, line upon line; [developing understanding] here a little, and there a little.

The Table Format:

The Table Format: I was overwhelmed with how to explain the process for determining if someone had leprosy in Leviticus 13, which seemed very complicated. After praying, "Lord, if this is difficult for me to understand after reading it many times, how can this be explained to others?" The thought the Lord God had on my heart was for me to put it into a vertical chart to visually see the process. This made it much easier for me to follow the progression. After doing so, I prayed, "Lord, how can this be conveyed to readers, so that they can understand this process?" The thought the Lord God had on my heart was to put it within the lines of a table. Being a stiff-necked, stubborn person, as it's often called in the Bible, I prayed, asking the Lord God if He's sure that's really what He wanted me to do? I reluctantly put Leviticus 13 into a table format. When I read this difficult leprosy process within a table format, it suddenly became easier for me to understand. That's because it builds line upon line, as explained in the Understanding the Bible section. Shortly after that, the Lord God had it on my heart, to put all of The Books of the Bible in Smaller Chunks within a table format, to aid in understanding, line upon line.

By 2/20/26 All Chapters of the Bible [in Smaller Chunks] Will Be Posted

By 2/20/26 All Chapters of the Bible [in Smaller Chunks] Will Be Posted. If you want to read any chapters, just Click the desired Book of the Bible on the Right, and Click on the chapters of that Book of the Bible you want to read. My personal recommendation for those who are just beginning reading the Bible, is to start in the New Testament first.

9/14/2023

1 Kings 12:1-33 The Israelites Ask Rehoboam to Make Their Work Lighter

 

The Israelites Ask Rehoboam to Make Their Work Lighter

1 Kings 12:1-33                               1 Kings [in Smaller Chunks]

Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all [of] Israel [had] come to Shechem to make him king. [1. Kings 11:43 And Solomon slept with his [forefathers,] & was buried in the city of David, his father. And Rehoboam, his son, [ruled] in his [place.]  

It [happened,] when Jeroboam, [Nebat’s] son, who was [still] in Egypt, heard of it, (for he [had] fled from the presence of king Solomon, & Jeroboam [lived] in Egypt.)

They sent, & called for Jeroboam. And Jeroboam & all the congregation of Israel came & [spoke] to [king] Rehoboam, [a.k.a. Solomon’s son,] & said, Your father made our yoke grievous.

Therefore, [we want] you [to] now make [our] grievous service, & his heavy yoke, [a.k.a. heavy work,] of your father, [that] he put upon us, lighter, & we will serve you.  And [Rehoboam] said to them, [Leave] for 3 days, & then, [return] to me again, [so] the people [left.] 

And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, [who] stood before his father, Solomon, while he [still] lived, & said, How do you advise, [so] that I may answer [these] people? 

And they [said] to him, If you will be a servant to [these] people, & [will] serve them, & answer them [with] [kind] words this day, then, they will be your servants forever. 

But [Rehoboam rejected] the [advice] the old men had given him, & consulted the young men, [who had] grown up with him, & stood before him. [Rehoboam] said to them, What [advice] [do] you give [to me, so] that we may answer [these] people, who [asked] me, saying, Make the yoke lighter [that] your father put on us? 

And the young men [who had] grown up with him [said,] You shall [tell this] to [these] people [who said] to you, Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter [for] us: You [shall] say [this] to them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s [waist.] 

And now, [since] my father [loaded] you with a heavy [workload,] I will add to your [work.] My father [had] chastised, [a.k.a. corrected,] you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. So, Jeroboam & all the people [returned] to [king] Rehoboam the 3rd day, [like] the king had [requested,] saying, Come to me again the 3rd day.

And the king answered the people [harshly, & rejected] the old men’s [advice] that they gave him. And [king Rehoboam spoke] to them, [according to] the [advice] of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke, [a.k.a. workload,] heavy & I will add to your [work.] 

Also, my father [corrected] you with whips, but I will [correct] you with scorpions, [a.k.a. scourges with points.]

[For this reason,] the king [didn’t listen] to the people, [since it] was from the Lord [God,] [so] that He [could accomplish what He said] to Jeroboam, [Nebat’s] son, by Ahijah, the Shilonite. 

[1 Kings 11:31-33. And [Ahijah] said to Jeroboam, take 10 pieces for you; for the Lord God of Israel says [this, Watch,] I will [tear] the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, & will give 10 tribes to you. 

(But he shall have 1 tribe for My servant, David’s, sake & for Jerusalem’s sake, the city [that] I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:) Because they have [abandoned] Me,

And have worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Zidonian’s, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, & Milcom, the god of the children, [a.k.a. people,] of Ammon, & have not walked, [a.k.a. followed,] in My ways, to do [what] is right in [My] eyes, & to keep: [My mandates] & My judgments, [like] David, his father did.]

So, when all [of] Israel saw that king [Rehoboam] [didn’t listen] to them, the people answered the king, What portion [do] we have in David? Neither [do] we have [any] inheritance in the son of Jesse. [Return] to your tents, O Israel. 

Now, [take care of] your own house, David. So, Israel departed to their tents. But Rehoboam [still] [ruled] over the children, [a.k.a. people,] of Israel [who lived] in the cities of Judah. 

Then, king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the tribute, [a.k.a. forced labor;] & all Israel stoned him [to death.] Therefore, king Rehoboam [hurried] to get [himself into] his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem. So, Israel [has] rebelled against the house of David to this day. 

And it [happened,] when all [of] Israel heard that Jeroboam, [Nebat’s son, had returned,] they sent, & called him to the congregation, & made him king over all [of] Israel. There [were] none [who] followed the house of David, [except] only the tribe of Judah. 

And when Rehoboam [came] to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, 180,000 chosen warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to [restore] the kingdom again to Rehoboam, [Solomon’s] son. 

But the Word of God came to Shemaiah, the man of God, saying, Speak to Rehoboam, [Solomon’s] son, [Judah’s] king, & to all the house of Judah & Benjamin, & the [rest] of the people, saying, The Lord [says this,] You shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren, the children, [a.k.a. people,] of Israel.

Every man return to his house; [since] this thing is from Me. Therefore, they [listened] to the Word of the Lord, & [turned to leave,] according to the Word of the Lord. Then, Jeroboam, [a.k.a. Nebat’s son, rebuilt] Sheshem in Mount Ephraim, & [lived there.] [Jeroboam] went out from there, & built Penuel. 

And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now, the kingdom shall return to the house of David. If [these] people go to Jerusalem to sacrifice in the house of the Lord, then the [hearts] of [these] people shall [return] again to Rehoboam, [Judah’s] king. And they shall kill me, & go again to Rehoboam, king of Judah.

[For this reason,] king [Jeroboam, Nebat’s son,] [got advice,] & made 2 gold calves, & said to them, It’s too much for you [to have] to go up to Jerusalem [to sacrifice.] [Look,] your gods, O Israel, [that] brought you up, out of the land of Egypt. 

And [Jeroboam put] 1 [gold calf] in Bethel, & put the other in Dan. This became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one [gold calf,] even to Dan. And [Jeroboam] made a house [in] high places, & made priests of [the lowliest] of the people, [who] weren’t sons of [the Levites.]

And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the 8th month, on the 15th day of the month, [similar to] the feast that is in Judah, & [Jeroboam] offered upon the altar. So, in Bethel, [Jeroboam sacrificed] to the [gold] calves that he had made.

And in Bethel, [Jeroboam] placed the priests [for] the high places [that] he had made. [Deuteronomy 12:2-3. You shall [totally] destroy all the places, [in which] the nations you shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, & upon the hills, & under every green tree. 

And you shall overthrow their altars, & break their pillars, & burn their groves with fire; and you shall [cut] down the [carved] images of their gods, & destroy the names of them out of that place.] 

So, [Jeroboam] offered upon the altar [that] he made in Bethel, [on] the 15th day, of the 8th month, even in the month [that] he had [made up in] his own heart, & ordained a feast to the children, [a.k.a. people,] of Israel. And [Jeroboam] offered upon the altar, & burnt incense.