1 Kings 12:9
And he said unto them, What counsel give ye that we may answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which thy father did put upon us lighter? And he said unto them, What counsel give ye that we may answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which thy father did put upon us lighter?
The yoke complained of was grinding taxation laid on the poor of the nation to pay for extravagance practiced in selfish indulgence. That oppressive burden came because God was not made guide and counselor, self-indulgence became god, fine sensibilities were blunted, and the conscientious, considerate spirit of the early reign was changed. Evil counselors swayed the once noble, independent mind toward severe judgment and cruel tyranny, changing the wisest king that ever swayed a scepter into a despot, and because the king was the idol of the nation, what he did and said was copied.
The people had asked Rehoboam to lighten the heavy yoke and burden imposed by his father Solomon, and the question in the verse is his asking for counsel on how to answer them. He directed that question to the younger men he had grown up with, his young companions. Their counsel was to reject the request for reform, to rule harshly and resist interference, and to threaten to preserve and increase the people's burdens, oppressive policies, and harsh treatment.
Rehoboam chose that advice of the younger men over the older men's counsel to treat the people kindly. His rough answer therefore promised to increase their burden rather than lighten it. That mistake helped bring about the division of the kingdom, as the people's revolt fulfilled the prophet's prediction and the ten northern tribes separated from Judah and Benjamin.