I Kings 12-14

“If you will be a servant to this people today … and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever” (v12:7).  The old councilors of the kingdom gave young Rehoboam good advice in the midst of a shaky transfer of authority.  They knew the secret of effective leadership: winning trust and respect, instead of trying to force it.  Rehoboam instead decided to grasp power, and he lost most of the kingdom (v20). 

God called Israel to be different: a nation in which the weak were protected, the strong acted responsibly, and the king served the people.