The Fabric of Civil Discord

Jeroboam will become the leader of the 10 tribes of Israel and an instrument of God's judgment upon Solomon for his wandering ways late in life. The promise made to Jeroboam sounds very similar to the promise God made to Solomon at the beginning of his call to the kingship.
1 Kings 11:37–40 (ESV) And I will take you, and you shall reign over all that your soul desires, and you shall be king over Israel. 38 And if you will listen to all that I command you, and will walk in my ways, and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did, I will be with you and will build you a sure house, as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you. 39 And I will afflict the offspring of David because of this, but not forever.’ ” 40 Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam arose and fled into Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.

What's interesting here is that the Lord is promising good and success for this man who will lead a civil rebellion in the nation. The only stipulation is the same one Solomon received: Follow the Lord and walk in His ways. What does this teach us? First that the Lord ultimately seeks to establish a righteous nation. Secondly, He will accomplish this purpose using anyone from anywhere. And third, that all government authority is in His hand. Even when we heartily disagree with who is in charge, the Lord is ultimately in control. 

We should also notice that Jeroboam did not seek this title or position from God. He wasn't born to be king. God sent His prophet and raised him up for this. We think along bloodlines and positional opportunity. God works outside the boundaries of our imaginations. Sadly, Jeroboam will not follow the ways of the Lord in spite of this incredible opportunity. We will see that in the coming chapter. But I want to look at a picture this chapter gives us of something significant we find in Christ.

The tragedy of the divided kingdom is symbolized here in the same way as it was when Saul lost the kingdom. You may remember that Samuel turned to leave and Saul sought to grab hold of his cloak. This happens:
1 Samuel 15:26–28 (ESV) And Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you. For you have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you from being king over Israel.” 27 As Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore. 28 And Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you.

Now here, the same image of a torn garment is used to symbolize the civil discord of the nation at God's directive:
1 Kings 11:30–31 (ESV) Then Ahijah laid hold of the new garment that was on him, and tore it into twelve pieces. 31 And he said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am about to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon and will give you ten tribes 

The truth is sadly witnessed both in Saul's kingdom and now Solomon's - that earthly kings will ultimately tear us apart. They may start off good but eventually their humanity will fail us. This symbolism of torn garments is not accidental. Torn garments leave people cold and exposed. That's what political alliances and civil division does to us. Today more than ever friends and family are divided because of political fights that really do not amount to much change in their lives. 

We need someone who won't tear us apart but bring us together. We need someone who will never let his garment be torn. That someone is Christ. At the cross, they did not tear his cloak, but cast lots for it. 

John 19:23–24 (ESV) When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, 24 so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture which says, “They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.” So the soldiers did these things,

The question for you is this: Is the garment of the Lord yours? Are you clothed in Christ? Because if so, that cloak brings you peace and unity with the Godhead and peace and community with His family. Churches may divide over silly differences, but in every church there are members of His Church - and brought together in the One who's kingdom shall never fracture.