“Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. “How would you advise me to answer these people?” he asked. But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him. He asked them, “What is your advice? How should we answer these people who say to me, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us’?” The king answered the people harshly. Rejecting the advice given him by the elders, he followed the advice of the young men and said, “My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.”” – 1 Kings 12:6, 8-9, 13-14 NIV

Rehoboam had the ability to take the advice of the older men or to take the advice for the younger men. In the end he chose to take the advise of the younger men and reject the advise of the older men. Rejecting their advice cost him most of the kingdom. It is clear that the elders were the embodiment of wisdom in this situation and the young men the embodiment of foolishness and yet Rehoboam chose foolishness anyway. One thing to keep in mind is the significance of the possible wisdom of those with great age. Here is a verse from Job:

“Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding?” – Job 12:12 NIV

Those with great age have much wisdom typically because they have much experience. This isn’t universal because some live life without attempting to gain any knowledge and have little of it as a result. The elders who served Solomon would most likely have been extremely wise based on hearing all of the wisdom of Solomon and their positions as elders. On the other hand, the young people Rehoboam grew up with were most likely not well versed in dealing with matters of domestic affairs of the kingdom. In any case, knowing the position they were in as well as the factoring their age in, it should have been clear that Rehoboam should have chosen the advice of elders over the younger people. A good rule of thumb is those who are older than you are wiser than you. Keep that in mind and discern on an individual basis if a person is and if you should take advice from them.