1 Kings 12:1–16
Everyone knows that movies and television programs are fake; they’re not real. Actors play parts; sets are typically nothing more than façades—sturdy-looking and impressive on the outside but flimsy on the inside. Of course we sometimes forget—at least for a time—that what we are watching isn’t real, but then the credits roll and we return to reality.
Unfortunately, people can be just as phony as a movie set. On the surface they appear to be genuine, but when you really get to know them there is nothing on the inside except deception and cunning to prop up a façade. As we look behind the royal robes of Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, we’ll observe the emptiness of his character. The view also provides a challenge to us to replace our hearts of bronze—polished to appear like gold—with true hearts of gold, the more precious and valuable metal.
