What is the result of this overbearing government that Rehoboam establishes over Israel? By his attempts to subdue the people by oppression, threats, and violence he in fact loses the people. They fragment and leave him with only a small part of the kingdom which was left to him originally. God's declaration that having a king would be a bad thing for Israel is proven to be true. Within four generations the nation has splintered.
What can we take from this? On the surface we may see this passage in 1 Kings as instructive in the art of government. But more importantly we see it as a stark reminder that we need to remember and obey what God has commanded. He is, after all, the one who is always right. If he says we should not have a king, we should not have a king. Likewise in the ways he tells us to live, we are to live and receive his promised blessing and reward.
Even when it goes against our intuition, we who are called by God's name need to trust what he has said.
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