2 Chronicles 10
“I wish there was a way to know you were in the good old days before you’ve actually left them” – Andy Bernard.
If you are old enough to remember the good old days, you might be a little older than me. If on the other hand you wonder what was good about no Tic-Toc and no Door Dash, you might be a little younger. We are living in a world where things are changing fast. We used to argue with our neighbours, but can now argue with people in other countries and in real-time.
Change comes with challenges and opportunities. We all struggle to navigate change. But we also know one thing for sure…the people who are older than us are the ones who have messed up the world. And the people who are younger than us are now messing up the world. Only our generation knows what they are doing.
You might think that this is a recent phenomenon facilitated by internet culture and social media. Not so. Intergenerational bias goes way back.
There was once a wise king in Israel, who achieved a great deal in service to God and his people. But his ambition outran his wisdom and he redirected his devotion to God to his wives and their gods. So he crushed his people with taxes and built pagan temples in Jerusalem. God’s response was to shrink his kingdom to two tribes and humble his posterity.
Following Solomon’s death in 2 Chronicles 10, we find his son Rehoboam trying to fill his father’s shoes. He gathered all of Israel to Shechem to make a new covenant with them. Led by Jeroboam, the people promised to serve Reheboam if he relaxed the heavy taxes of his father. They wanted to make their lives better under new leadership and pressed the advantage handed them by a government in transition.
So Rehoboam asked his father’s advisors (the old guard) for advice. They recommended that he give the people what they had asked for. This was not what Rehoboam was looking for. He may have been offended by the implication that he lacked the strength of his father. And it may have been that he was not ready to let go of the lavish lifestyle afforded by that income.
At any rate, he didn’t accept their advice, and instead sought the counsel of the friends who he had grown up with. They were of a very different opinion. Today they might have said “Okay Boomer, me and my homies think that’s cap, I’m way more goated than the old guy.” (If you’re struggling to understand that sentence just ask a nine year old.). In other words…”no new deal”. ‘Be a man and they will respect you’.
Generational differences and bias have been around as long as there have been generations. Rehoboam listened to his contemporaries and we know how that turned out. Under Jeroboam, 10 of the tribes rebelled and the nation was split into Israel in the North and Judah in the south.
In 1 Chron 12:32 we are told that when David was king he relied upon the advice of the “Men of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do.” Rehoboam also had access to such men, who had read the situation and knew that it was time to back off. But he was young, proud, privileged and rich. He was out of touch with his people and didn’t know what he didn’t know.
When it comes to generational conflict, the fact is that there is plenty of blame to go around. Life is hard and it is complicated. God said that it would be, because we are living in a fallen world. Most people are doing their best to make their way in whatever circumstance they are in. When combined with the word of God, age and experience produce wisdom. It makes sense to share that wisdom so that each generation might benefit from the past and start in a better place. To do that, each must see others in a favourable light. Those who rely opon the wisdom of their elders – do so with respect and gratitude. Those who mentor as they teach – respect the generation upon which they must rely in their senior years and who will carry on the Lord’s work. Nothing is gained and much is lost when the generations fail to co-operate. The way forward is hand in hand with each other and with our Lord.