Solomon had worked and wearied the northern tribes of Israel for most of his forty-year reign, working to develop and improve the southern half of the nation. Their frustration boiled over about the time that Solomon died. When his son assumed the throne, a delegation of northern leaders came to plead their case before him.
The old advisors, men who had served Solomon for years, suggested that the new king listen to the complaints of his subjects and make some concessions to secure their continued loyalty. Rehoboam’s peers, their pride and arrogance not yet tempered by the hard knocks of life, pushed him to be even more aggressive toward the citizens of the north.