Why Didn't Benjamin Leave?

"Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day ... Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah and Benjamin"

The united kingdom of Israel was divided after the reign of King Solomon, as a punishment for Solomon's idolatry, into two independent kingdoms - the "Kingdom of Israel," composed of the northern ten tribes, and the "Kingdom of Judah," which was composed of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin (and later all of Levi). The division was facilitated by Solomon's arrogant fool son and successor, Rehoboam.

"^10:1 And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for to Shechem were all Israel come to make him king. ^10:2 And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was in Egypt, whither he had fled from the presence of Solomon the king, heard it, that Jeroboam returned out of Egypt. ^10:3 And they sent and called him. So Jeroboam and all Israel came and spake to Rehoboam, saying, ^10:4 Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore ease thou somewhat the grievous servitude of thy father, and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we will serve thee.

^10:5 And he said unto them, Come again unto me after three days. And the people departed." (2 Chronicles 10:1-5 KJV)

King Solomon was wise in his youth and became an old fool (see Solomon's Wise Years), whereas Rehoboam was simply a young fool who "forsook the counsel which the old men gave him, and took counsel with the young men that were brought up with him, that stood before him."

"^10:6 And king Rehoboam took counsel with the old men that had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying, What counsel give ye me to return answer to this people?

^10:7 And they spake unto him, saying, If thou be kind to this people, and please them, and speak good words to them, they will be thy servants for ever.

^10:8 But he forsook the counsel which the old men gave him, and took counsel with the young men that were brought up with him, that stood before him. ^10:9 And he said unto them, What advice give ye that we may return answer to this people, which have spoken to me, saying, Ease somewhat the yoke that thy father did put upon us?

^10:10 And the young men that were brought up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou answer the people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it somewhat lighter for us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father's loins. ^10:11 For whereas my father put a heavy yoke upon you, I will put more to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions." (2 Chronicles 10:6-11 KJV)

Rehoboam's foolishness was magnified by his arrogance (see also Why Does Satan Hate Humility?). When he responded to the people with the swaggering boast, "My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add thereto: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions," the northern tribes rejected him as king (a word that means the father of a kin; "patriotism," which means loyalty to the father, originally referred to loyalty to the people's king i.e. the father of a nation). Rehoboam thereby diminished from the last king of the united kingdom of Israel to the first king of the Kingdom of Judah (see The First Kings Of Israel and Judah).

"^10:12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king bade, saying, Come again to me on the third day. ^10:13 And the king answered them roughly; and king Rehoboam forsook the counsel of the old men, ^10:14 And answered them after the advice of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add thereto: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. ^10:15 So the king hearkened not unto the people: for the cause was of God, that the LORD might perform his word, which he spake by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

^10:16 And when all Israel saw that the king would not hearken unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? and we have none inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to your tents, O Israel: and now, David, see to thine own house.

So all Israel went to their tents. ^10:17 But as for the children of Israel that dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.

^10:18 Then king Rehoboam sent Hadoram that was over the tribute; and the children of Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. But king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem. ^10:19 And Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day." (2 Chronicles 10:12-19 KJV)

So it was then that King Rehoboam was left with his home tribe of Judah, as well as the tribe of Benjamin whose tribal territory included the northern part of Jerusalem (Judah and Benjamin had a very strong geographical incentive to remain together; see the Fact Finder question below). When Rehoboam began to go to war to force the separated tribes back, the LORD stopped him with the command "Thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren: return every man to his house: for this thing is done of me."

"^11:1 And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he gathered of the house of Judah and Benjamin an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against Israel, that he might bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam.

^11:2 But the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying, ^11:3 Speak unto Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying, ^11:4 Thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren: return every man to his house: for this thing is done of me. And they obeyed the words of the LORD, and returned from going against Jeroboam." (2 Chronicles 11:1-4 KJV)

Fact Finder: How did the tribe of Benjamin acquire its homeland at Jerusalem?
See The Land Of Benjamin

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This Day In History, February 22

705: Empress Wu Zetian abdicated the throne of China, thereby restoring the Tang Dynasty (see also The First Chinese American War).

896: Germanic King Arnulf was crowned Emperor by Pope Formosus, who later declared Lambert deposed (see also The Holy Roman Empire Of The German Nation).

1349: Jews (see also Jews - Three Tribes and Three Meanings) were expelled from Zurich, Switzerland.

1370: Robert II succeeded his uncle, David II, as King of Scotland, beginning the Stuart dynasty.

1512: Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci died at age 61. "America" (i.e. the continents of North America and South America where numerous American nations exist, from Canada in the north to Argentina in the south) was derived from his first name. In reality, no single nation is America - imagine if, for example, the people of Germany called themselves the Europeans, or if they claimed that Germany alone was Europe. It robs many other people of their genuine and rightful identity.
See also Thanksgiving In History and Prophecy for the maps of the voyages of Christopher Columbus who actually only "discovered" the islands of the Caribbean Sea.

1630: Native Americans (who were called "Indians" by early European explorers who thought that they had arrived in India) introduced popcorn to British colonists in North America (see also The First Chinese American War).

1632: Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems was published. Galileo correctly believed that the Earth orbits the sun - which nearly got him executed by the Church of Rome that incorrectly taught that the sun orbits the Earth (see also What Can You See In The Firmament Of The Heavens?).

1797: The last invasion of Britain occurred when 1,500 French troops landed at Fishguard, in Wales.

1825: Britain and Russia established the Canada-Alaska boundary. The U.S. purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867.

1862: In Richmond, Virginia, Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as President of the breakaway "Confederate States of America."

1911: The Parliament of Canada voted to keep Canada as a member state within the union of the British Empire (later known as the British Commonwealth).

1913: Francisco Madero, revolutionary President of Mexico, was assassinated by the military, along with Vice-President Pino Suarez.

1958: Egypt and Syria joined to form the short-lived United Arab Republic (Bible prophecy does plainly describes a united Arab confederation, in the past, and in the yet future - see Constantine's Crusades In History And Prophecy).

1979: The Caribbean island of Saint Lucia gained full independence from Britain after 165 years. It became the 40th member state of the British Commonwealth.

1980: Israel introduced its new currency, the shekel. It replaced the Israeli pound (see also Israel In History and Prophecy: Israel Of Judah).

1984: The U.S. and Britain sent warships to the Persian Gulf in support of the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein following an Iranian offensive against Iraq. At the time, Saddam Hussein was viewed as an ally of the western democracies, despite the atrocities and war crimes that he was committing then, no different than he was later when he had gone from being a pro-western "good dictator" to an anti-western "bad dictator."

1997: Scientists in Scotland announced that an adult sheep named Dolly had been successfully cloned.