Old Testament Bible Personalities: Rehoboam

Rehoboam-ENTJ

*Information for personality types has largely been derived from a culmination of my own study from a variety of locations, however for this series, I heavily rely on the MBTI Manual published by CPP and the following: Briggs Myers, Isabel (2015, 7th ed). Introduction to Myers-Briggs Type: A Guide to Understanding Your Results on the MBTI Assessment. USA: CPP, Inc & The Myers Briggs Co. *Disclaimer: Using the MBTI to speculate personality type of Bible characters is only a jumping off point for further discussion and learning from them.

Rehoboam in the Bible

• lived during mid 10th century BC
• 1 Kings 12, 14; 2 Chronicles 10-13
• Solomon’s son
• 1st king of the southern kingdom
• The 1st King of Israel (Saul) was also an ENTJ-check out his profile here
• Rehoboam “prepared not his heart to seek the Lord.”
• famous quote: “My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s loins” (1 Kings 12:10)

Rehoboam’s characteristics

Rehoboam’s infamous decision

Perhaps the highlight of Rehoboam’s life was when Jeroboam, the king in the north, came to him with a request. Jeroboam said “Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke, which he put upon us, higher, and we will serve thee” (1 Kings 12:4). Rehoboam tells Jeroboam to give him three days to decide. During this three days, Rehoboam consults with his father’s cabinet of elders and with his own younger cabinet. The elders say to agree to the request, but the younger cabinet said to tell them “whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions” (1 Kings 12:11).

Rehoboam’s core motivation

A Kingly Lineage

Rehoboam was the 2nd generation that was reared completely inside the kingly courts. His father, Solomon was the first. Solomon’s father, David, had humble beginnings as a shepherd for his his father. It is my opinion that Rehoboam was resentful toward his father and he acted with displaced resentment toward the divided nation. Despite his father reigning in a mostly peaceful era, he blamed his father for not taking enough action as the kingdom began to disintegrate towards the end of Solomon’s life.

Resentment

Rehoboam blamed his father for the division of the nation and was likely resentful toward his father for a number of reasons, both personal and political. What if Rehoboam read all of his father’s recommendations in the Proverbs writings, and asked “why didn’t he talk to me about these things while he was alive?” Perhaps Solomon did, but whether he did or he did not, Rehoboam was clearly not happy with his father, and it appears that he took it out on the nation he governed.

Was it peer pressure?

Many people think that Rehoboam succumbed to peer pressure when he took the advice of the younger men, however, I am not sure that’s what it really was. I think he fully agreed with strong-arming the people to demonstrate how powerful he could be, he liked the idea of flexing his power, and he thinks his father did not flex his power as much as he should have. The Introduction to the Myers-Briggs Type says that if an ENTJ has not developed their intuition “their decisiveness can become dictatorial” (p. 41).

Displaced Anger

Rehoboam used his displaced anger toward his father to make his decisions. He asked counsel of the elders and the young men, not because he did not know how to make a decision on his own, but rather he gathered information from both sides so he could figure out how to best demonstrate the full force of his power and control. He couldn’t take his anger out on his dad because he was already gone, so he took it out on the nation.

Rehoboam’s underlying fear

Power and safety

Rehoboam comes across as a spoiled rich elite, who is oppositional and defiant, who is resentful to an absent father, and who is most concerned with his own power and safety. His decisions are fuelled by his underlying fear of becoming powerless and obsolete. He is only interested in ensuring his own safety and the security of his lineage in power.

Protection

He had offspring for the purpose of fortifying the cities and he built fences to protect his cities against enemies. As the nation divides and begins to disintegrate, he feels his power disintegrating and being threatened. His fear is that he will look weak and out of control because he feels weak and out of control, which is usually the mindset of a bully.

The impact of one decision

Rehoboam’s single (and foolish) decision to deny Jeroboam’s request was the final straw that resulted in the division of an already disintegrating and unstable nation. And it all stemmed from his own unresolved emotional issues associated with his father, Solomon. Based on my understanding of his behaviors, fears, motivations, his personal history and childhood, he types well as an ENTJ.

TWO RECOMMENDATIONS for Rehoboham

1. Find your worth.

Don’t be a bully. Bullies are usually bullies because they feel incompetent and suffer from low self worth and poor self confidence. In an effort to make up for those feelings of incompetency, they over react with excess force and aggressive behaviours. ENTJs can be especially susceptible to this vicious cycle if they do not focus on developing their emotional awareness.

Rehoboam held anger in his heart towards his father, which he displaced on to the nation. Because he held a grudge against his father, he succumbed to this victim mentality which resulted in his domineering, controlling, bully facade.

Don’t be a victim. Rehoboam’s actions can tell us a lot about how he was likely valued and loved as he grew up, and it is the same for every one of us. Our previous experiences will play a part in how we interact and react, however, we can overcome this victim mentality by dealing with our emotions and understanding how those emotions impact us.

Understand your worth. If Rehoboam had any feelings of self worth, he would not have tried to “one up” his dad by becoming more tyrannical and dictatorial. Taking time to evaluate our worth and develop our personal confidence can help us reach a healthier state of being, which will in turn influence our actions towards others.

2. Practice Compassion

It is evident that Rehoboam did not understand compassion. For one thing, I’m not sure he had a good role model. We know he was not sympathetic towards the northern kingdom and their request for a lighter load to bear. Instead, he piled on the work and increased their burdens. He made his decisions based on personal feelings and judgments, rather than from an objective viewpoint.

If ENTJs don’t find a place where they can use their gifts and be appreciated for their contributions, they usually feel frustrated and may become overly impersonal and critical, be intrusive and directive-giving orders without listening, become abrasive and verbally aggressive” (p. 41).

Briggs Myers, Isabel (2015, 7th ed). Introduction to Myers-Briggs Type: A Guide to Understanding Your Results on the MBTI Assessment. USA: CPP, Inc & The Myers Briggs Co.

Compassion toward self. When an ENTJ neglects self reflection and developing emotional awareness, they fail to appreciate others’ viewpoints, they forget the importance of connection, and they will not be able to recognize the needs of others. Instead, they may be viewed by others as self, overly critical, and overbearing.

Compassion toward others. Take time to recognize the humanity in others. Rehoboam could not put himself in another’s shoes, nor did he care about taking the time to do so. He was enveloped so much with the anger, resentment, and bully mentality, that he was unable to recognize the universality of his situation. Personally, I think he resented his dad so much that he was unable to care about anything else. He let his resentment take root inside him and it clouded his ability to be compassionate towards himself or towards others.

So far, in this series, character studies are available for Saul, David, Solomon, and now Rehoboam. If you like this type of article and would like to see more like this, subscribe on Substack and follow along. If you have a Bible personality you’d like to see typed, feel free to reach out and request it.

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