II Chronicles 9-11

“And he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men …” (10:13).  King Rehoboam had inherited an enormous, wealthy kingdom from his father Solomon, but he began his reign with a huge mistake.  While Solomon had asked God for wisdom to lead “this great people,” his son Rehoboam ignored both God and his elders (v13), preferring the advice of his young friends.  This advice happened to feed his vanity and arrogance (v11) instead of encouraging a humble dependence on God.

Rehoboam’s friends were his downfall.  As the proverb says, “the companion of fools will suffer harm” (Prov 13:20).