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Download these notes here:

Session 19 Eplilogue.pdf

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I. Introduction: The Intended Audience

A. “My Son” – Proverbs as Royal Curriculum

• Repeated direct address: “my son” (Prov. 1:8; 3:1; 4:1)

• The intended heir: Rehoboam, son of Solomon (1 Kings 14:21)

• Proverbs’ stated goal:

  “To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.” (Prov. 1:4–5)

• Proverbs is practical Torah guidance for the king:

  • Follow Proverbs → follow Torah → receive Torah’s blessings
  • Proverbs as condensed form of Torah’s promises and commands

B. Who Was Rehoboam?

• Son of Solomon and Naamah the Ammonitess (1 Kings 14:21)
• Crowned king at age 41, a mature adult
• Solomon’s uncertainty about successor (Ecclesiastes 2:18–19)
• Reigned 17 years in Jerusalem over Judah (1 Kings 14:21)
  • Oversaw kingdom division, continuous civil war (1 Kings 14:30)

II. Rehoboam’s Rise and First Test: A Crisis in Leadership (1 Kings 12:1–20; 2 Chronicles 10)

A. The People’s Appeal: A Call for Relief

• Israel’s request: lighten heavy burdens (1 Kings 12:4)

• Solomon’s demanding reign: forced labor, heavy taxation (1 Kings 4:7–28; 5:13–18)

• Samuel’s earlier warning of royal burdens (1 Samuel 8:11–18)

• Relevant proverb:

  “Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.” (Prov. 3:27–28)

B. Rehoboam’s Counsel