John Gill Commentary 1 Kings 12

And Rehoboam went to Shechem
After the death and internment of his father:

for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king :
as was pretended, though in reality it was to seek occasion against him, and make Jeroboam king; it is very probable they knew of the prophecy of Ahijah, and therefore would not go to Jerusalem, but to Shechem, a city in the tribe of Ephraim, of which Jeroboam was, and where he had sowed the seeds of sedition when ruler there; and this place they chose, partly because they could more freely speak what they had in their minds, and partly for the safety of Jeroboam they had sent for on this occasion; so that Rehoboam went thither not of choice, but of necessity.

The Jews^F3 observe that this place was very ominous; here Dinah was ravished, Joseph was sold, Abimelech exercised tyranny, and here now the kingdom was divided.

FOOTNOTES:

• F3: T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 102. 1.

And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was
yet in Egypt, heard of it
Of the death of Solomon, and of the meeting of the Israelites at Shechem:

(for he was fled from the presence of King Solomon;
see ( 1 Kings 11:40)

and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt;)
until the death of Solomon; some render the words, "Jeroboam, returned out of Egypt" ^F4 , which agrees with (2 Chronicles 10:2) , this he did on hearing the above news, and on being sent for by some of his friends, as follows.

FOOTNOTES:

• F4: (Myrumb-bvyw) "reversus est de Aegypto", V. L. Ex Egypto, (b) pro (Nm) , Vatablus.

That they sent and called him
That is, the people of Israel, some of the principal of them, especially of the tribe of Ephraim, sent messengers to him, and gave him an invitation to come to them at Shechem; or, they had sent ^F5, as Kimchi interprets it, which was the reason of his returning from Egypt, at least one of them:

and Jeroboam, and all the congregation of Israel, came ;
the chief men of them, the heads of the people; these, with Jeroboam at the head of them, who was come out of Egypt, came to Shechem, where Rehoboam was, and they had appointed to meet him:

and spoke unto Rehoboam ;
one in the name of them all, perhaps Jeroboam:

saying ;
as follows.

FOOTNOTES:

• F5: So Pagninus, Montanus.

Thy father made our yoke grievous
Laid heavy taxes upon them, for the finishing of his buildings, for the maintenance of his household, for keeping such a large number of horses and chariots, and for the salaries of his officers, and for the support of his magnificent court; though they had very little reason to complain, since this was for the honour and grandeur of their nation, and they enjoyed their liberty, and lived in peace, plenty, and safety all his days; and such an abundance of riches was brought unto them by him that silver was as the stones of the street;

Though perhaps the taxes might be increased in the latter part of his life, for the support of his vast number of wives, and of their idolatrous worship, and for the defence of himself and kingdom against the attempts of Hadad and Rezon; but, as most interpreters observe, what they find most reason to complain of, they take no notice of, even the idolatry he had set up among them:

now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his
heavy yoke which he put upon us lighter ;
that is, ease them of their taxes, or lessen them:

and we will serve thee ;
acknowledge him as their king, give him homage, and yield obedience to him.

And he said unto them, depart yet for three days, then come
again to me
Suggesting that he would consider of their proposal and inquire into the merits of it and as things should appear to him he would give them an answer in three days time; which at first sight may seem a point of prudence in him, to take time for deliberation and counsel in this affair.

But in his case and circumstance it was very imprudent; for he might easily see there was discontent among the people, and a faction forming against him, and, by taking time to himself, he gave them time to take their measures, and hasten and ripen them for a revolt; for, by giving them such an answer, they might plainly perceive he was not inclined to give them satisfaction; it would have been the most advisable in him to have promised them at once that he would make them easy:

and the people departed ;
to their quarters, and there remained to the third day.