2 Chronicles 10:4

10:4 Rehoboam was not powerful enough to enforce taxation over the northern tribes, so they demanded concessions to remain under his rule.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

That is, handled us rudely, it seemeth that God hardened their hearts, so that they thus murmured without cause: which declareth also the inconstancy of the people.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

(4) Made . . . grievous . . . ease thou.—Made hard . . . lighten.

Now therefore.—And now. Kings and the Syriac here, “and thou now”—w’attah ‘attah: an assonance which the chronicler has avoided, at the expense of the proper emphasis, which lies on thou. (Some Hebrew MSS. and the Vulgate and Arabic read, and thou.) (Comp. 2Ch_10:10, and thou . . . lighten it.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

4. ease thou somewhat … put upon us] R.V. make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter (as in 1 Kin.). The “service” complained of is described (in part) in 1Ki_5:13-14 (no parallel in Chron.). Cp. 2Ch_8:9 (= 1Ki_9:22), note.

and we will serve thee] The people claim their ancient right to a voice in the appointment of a king; cp. 1Sa_11:14-15 (Saul) and 2Sa_5:1-3 (David).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The grievous servitude heavy yoke. These may, for conciseness" sake, be supposed to correspond with the naturally enough hated "forced labour" (1Ki_4:6, 7 5:13-16 11:27, 28) and the burdensome "taxes" (1Ki_4:19-28) which had not failed to become more odious to the people as familiarity with them grew. The refreshing New Testament contrast to all this (Mat_11:28-30) will occur to every memory.

Vers. 4-14.

The legacy of brilliance, etc.

We have here

I THE LEGACY OF BRILLIANCE. "Thy father made our yoke grievous" (ver. 4). No man ever had a nobler opportunity than Solomon had. His father handed to him a united nation, a country whose enemies were subdued, the kindly and helpful shadow of a great name and a beloved disposition and an illustrious career. He was endowed by God with great talent and surpassing wealth. He had before him an object of honourable ambition, which would be acceptable to Heaven and gratifying to his subjects. But, instead of pursuing the path of usefulness and the prize of a people"s gratitude, he aimed at overwhelming splendour. And what did he gain by his pursuit? Forty years of selfish gratification, not undimmed (we may be sure) by many cares, disappointments, difficulties, in his home (or harem) and in his court; and when he died he left a kingdom less compact, a dynasty less secure than he found when he took the reins of government from his father David. All his brilliance ended in a popular sense of injury, in a general consciousness that the people had been weighted with needlessly heavy burdens, with a store of suppressed popular discontent ready to burst out and blaze forth at the first opportunity. Brilliance is a very fascinating thing, whether it be on the throne or in parliamentary government, or in the courts of law, or in business, or in the school. But what is its end? To what issues does it lead? Usually it conducts to poverty, to serious error, to discomfiture, often to a catastrophe. But, where brilliance breaks down and is ruined, steady and conscientious faithfulness, under the guidance of heavenly wisdom, will succeed will lead on to a real enrichment, to a lasting safety, to an honour that may be accepted and enjoyed.

II THE WISDOM OF CONTEMPLATION AND CONSULTATION. "He said Come again unto me after three days And he took counsel" (vers. 5, 6). It is, indeed, true that no good ultimately came of this delay and this consultation. But that was because Rehoboam consulted the wrong men. He did well in asking for time and in appealing to others at this critical juncture. Supposing that this demand took him by surprise, nothing would have been more foolish than to have given a reply offhand. A remonstrance is very likely to excite anger in the first instance, and no wise man will come to an important decision when he is out of temper. It is in the hour of complete self-control that we should settle grave matters affecting our destiny. Moreover, we do well to take the judgment of others. It was due to the nation that his father"s wise statesmen should be asked for their advice in a great national crisis. It was due to himself that his inexperience should secure the inestimable advantage of their ripe sagacity. It is always due to ourselves that we get the additional light which can be gained from an impartial judgment. No man can possibly look at his own affairs in a perfectly pure atmosphere; no man can take an entirely unbiassed view of his own temporal interests. Men who look from outside see what we cannot possibly see, and their counsel is sure to be worth our consideration. "The physician who prescribes for himself, or the lawyer who advises himself, has a fool for his patient or for his client." This saying will hold good in every department of human action. Take time for thought, and invite the frank and full counsel of your true friends.

III OUR TRUE COUNSELLORS. These are:

1. They who have had an opportunity of knowing. The young men whomRehoboam consulted could have given him very good advice on some subjects, on those that belonged to their period of life athletics, fashions, etc.; but of statesmanship what could they tell? We should take care to consult those who know, who have learned in the best schools.

2. They who give us frank rather than palatable counsel; who will tell uswhat they believe to be for the best, rather than that which will humour our own fancies.

3. They whose counsel makes for peace rather than for strife. There aretimes when the wisest will be for war, but in nine cases out of ten the true Christian advocate will urge conciliation and concord. C.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Grievous - It is probable, when Solomon had declined from God, that God left him to himself to act thus impolitically.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Your father made our yoke hard because he was a man who toiled at work, and he made it incumbent upon us to sustain his laborers with the tax, as it is written in I Kings (5:27): “And King Solomon raised a levy, etc.”

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.