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2 Chronicles 10 Bible study: A heavier yoke
2 Chronicles tells Shechem almost word for word as 1 Kings, but not quite. Its old men say, "If you are kind to these people, please them, and speak good words to them" (10:7), where 1 Kings has "If you will be a servant to this people today" (1 Kings 12:7). And the word by Ahijah that the LORD established (10:15) is one 2 Chronicles never tells.
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“They spoke to him, saying, “If you are kind to these people, please them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.””
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“2 Chronicles 10:15 says the king didn't listen so that the LORD might establish his word spoken by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam.”
Is that in 2 Chronicles 10, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
"The grievous service of your father"
"Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king" (10:1). Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who "had fled from the presence of King Solomon" (10:2), comes back from Egypt, and "Jeroboam and all Israel came" (10:3). They say, "Your father made our yoke grievous. Now therefore make the grievous service of your father and his heavy yoke which he put on us, lighter, and we will serve you." (10:4) (tap yoke, grievous and lighter). In Hebrew grievous service joins avodah (tap service) and qashah, the same two words Exodus puts together for Israel's slavery in Egypt, where the Egyptians made their lives bitter "with hard service in mortar and in brick" (Exodus 1:14). 2 Chronicles had said, "But of the children of Israel, Solomon made no servants for his work" (8:9). It sets that verse and the people's request down without saying how they fit, and these notes don't either. The request ends with a promise: "and we will serve you" (10:4).
Honest questions
Questions people ask about 2 Chronicles 10
That was a taste
The rest of 2 Chronicles 10 is waiting in Favor
- Two counsels
- "Brought about by God"
- "Every man to your tents"
- "My service, and the service of the kingdoms"
- My yoke is easy
- 10 questions as you read
- 11 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
Favor reads the Bible in order, so you'll reach 2 Chronicles 10 with everything before it in view. First week free, then $10 a month per person.
The Hebrew word behind it
עֹלolsay OHL
Brown-Driver-Briggs: "yoke". Strong's: a yoke "as imposed on the neck". The people's request turns on it: "Your father made our yoke grievous", and "his heavy yoke which he put on us" (10:4). The Hebrew Bible has ol forty times, and seven of them are in this chapter (10:4 twice, 10:9, 10:10, 10:11 twice, 10:14), the only place 2 Chronicles uses it. 1 Kings tells the same meeting with the word eight times: where the king says here, "I will add to it" (10:14), 1 Kings has "I will add to your yoke" (1 Kings 12:14). The LORD had said to Israel, "I have broken the bars of your yoke, and made you walk upright" (Leviticus 26:13).
For your group
2 Chronicles 10 Bible study questions
- 1The old men said, "If you are kind to these people, please them, and speak good words to them" (10:7). Who looks to you for leadership or care, and what would kind, good words sound like to them this week?
- 2Rehoboam "abandoned the counsel of the old men" (10:8) for the young men who had grown up with him. When you face a big choice, how do you tell wise counsel from counsel that only agrees with you?
- 3The people asked for a lighter yoke (10:4), and Jesus said, "my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:30). What weight are you carrying right now that you'd like to bring to him?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads 2 Chronicles 10 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
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What is Favor?
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.
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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home