In this chapter, we read about Solomon and his many wives, as a result of marrying foreign women, led him into idolatry, 1 Kings 11:1. Later we will read about his death and how the United Kingdom, became the Divided Kingdom. It appears that Solomon is so focused on his wealth, that he either totally forgot about God’s commands or he deliberately chose to break them, 1 Kings 11:2.
He marries women from different nations, doing so would give him political leverage over these nations. He had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines, 1 Kings 11:3 / Song of Songs 6:8, but marrying foreign women was strictly forbidden by God, Exodus 34:16 / Deuteronomy 7:3-4.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Strictly speaking, the prohibition in the Law of intermarriage was confined to the Canaanite nations. But the principle of the prohibition applied equally to the Moabites, Ammonites, and Edomites who all bordered on the holy land and was so applied by Ezra, Ezra 9:1, and Nehemiah, Nehemiah 13:23.’
Because he married foreign women, there will be a consequence to pay, in Solomon’s case, it was his loyalty to God. This is why God often tells His people not to marry foreign women, because they may lead them into idolatry, 1 Kings 11:3-4 / Deuteronomy 17:17.
Ashtoreth, 1 Kings 11:5 / Exodus 34:13 / Deuteronomy 16:21, was the goddess of the Sidonians. This is the same as Astarte, who was called Ishtar in Mesopotamia. In Syria, she was the female consort of Baal and a model for the Greek Aphrodite. She was the goddess of fertility and erotic love. The Canaanites worshipped her with unbelievable licentiousness and so, it’s not hard to see why Solomon went after that kind of a goddess.
Molek, 1 Kings 11:5 / Leviticus 20:2-5, was the detestable god of the Ammonites, he was possibly the fire god, who was associated with child sacrifice. Later the worship of Molech became very common in Jerusalem, with its accompanying sacrifices of children. Solomon is nothing like his father, David, who stayed focused on trying to please God and keep His commandments, all the days of his life, 1 Kings 11:6 / 1 Samuel 13:14 / Acts 13:22.
Chemosh, 1 Kings 11:7 / Numbers 21:29, was the detestable god of Moab, this was a sun god and worshipped by the Moabites as a god of war. He is also called a god of the Ammonites, Judges 11:24. Notice that Solomon built high places for the god Chemosh and the god Molek, 1 Kings 11:7, the high places would be temples.
Solomon’s heart is so far from God at this point in time, he’s more interested in pleasing his wives, 1 Kings 11:8, than pleasing God, 2 Corinthians 6:14-18. He’s more interested in worshipping these false gods than he is in worshipping the One True God who gave him everything he has.
Because of Solomon’s disrespectful attitude towards God, God becomes very angry with him, 1 Kings 11:9. This is understandable considering Solomon has married many foreign wives, and not only committed idolatry but also encouraged it, 1 Kings 11:11 / 1 Kings 11:8. Solomon had no one to blame but himself, as God is now going to bring to an end this United Kingdom period, Amos 9:8.
Solomon’s punishment wouldn’t begin straight away, it would begin when God brings to an end the united kingdom of Israel, 1 Kings 11:11. David’s legacy would continue through Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, 1 Kings 11:12, who would reign over Judah and Benjamin.
As we shall see later, ten tribes are going to be removed from the kingdom of Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, but God was going to allow him to live long enough to see that his unwise decisions would cause the division of Israel.
In essence, what Solomon did, was set the trend for idolatry within Israel and even when the kingdom was divided into two kingdoms, the north and the south, both are going to get involved in idolatry which would lead to them being taken into captivity. Notice that God says for David’s and Jerusalem’s sake, 1 Kings 11:12-13.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The line of the Messiah must be preserved. The prevailing lion must come out of the tribe of Judah: not only the tribe must be preserved, but the regal line and the regal right. All this must be done for the true David’s sake and this was undoubtedly what God had in view by thus miraculously preserving the tribe of Judah and the royal line, in the midst of so general a defection. As David was a type of the Messiah, so was Jerusalem a type of the true Church, therefore the OLD Jerusalem must be preserved in the hands of the tribe of Judah, till the true David should establish the NEW Jerusalem in the same land, and in the same city. And what a series of providences did it require to do all these things!’
He won’t ‘tear the whole kingdom from him but will give him ‘one tribe’, 1 Kings 11:13. When we read through Kings, Chronicles, and the prophets, we learn that the phrase ‘one tribe’ is a reference to the tribe of Judah. However, we must bear in mind that this also includes the tribe of Benjamin, 1 Kings 12:21. When we enter into the Divided Kingdom period, we read that the northern kingdom consisted of ten tribes, whilst the southern kingdom consisted of two tribes, that is Judah and Benjamin.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Benjamin was looked upon as absorbed in Judah, so as not to be really a tribe in the same sense as the others. Still, in memory of the fact that the existing tribe of Judah was a double one, 1 Kings 12:21, the prophet Ahijah tore his garment into twelve parts, and kept back two from Jeroboam, 1 Kings 11:30-31.’
Solomon’s reign of peace over the nations was now about to come to an end as God raises adversaries beginning with Hadad, 1 Kings 11:14. A few years before this event Edom had been under the reign of David and been restrained by Joab who led David’s army, 1 Kings 11:14-16 / 2 Samuel 8:13-14 / 1 Chronicles 18:12-13.
It was during that siege by Joab we read that Hadad had run away to Egypt, 1 Kings 11:17. It appears that God was at work in bringing him back to Edom, along with the Edomite fighting men to rise up against Solomon, 1 Kings 11:17-18. Hadad, who hated Israel and ruled in Edom would prove to be a powerful enemy of Israel, 1 Kings 11:19. It was only the providence of God that prompted Pharaoh to grant such wonderful favours to this potential enemy of Solomon.
It appears that the Pharaoh, whose daughter was married to Solomon, 1 Kings 3:1 / 2 Chronicles 8:11, had, at this time, been succeeded by another, 1 Kings 11:19-20. While he was in Egypt, Hadad heard that David rested with his ancestors and that Joab the commander of the army was also dead and so Hadad asks Pharaoh to let him go back home, 1 Kings 11:21.
Remember that Pharaoh was supposed to be in alliance with Solomon. However, he allowed Hadad to hide in Egypt and gave him land and a wife to form an alliance once he led his revolt against Israel. In other words, Solomon betrayed God to form an alliance with Egypt only to be betrayed by Egypt.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘That Hadad should wait for the death of Joab before requesting leave to return to Idumea shows how terrible an impression had been made by the severe measures which that commander had carried out twenty-five or thirty years previously, 1 Kings 11:16.’
Pharoah asks Hadad what he lacked that he wants to go back to his own country, to which Hadad says nothing, but insists on going home, 1 Kings 11:22.
After Hadad, God sent Rezon son of Eliada to rise up against Solomon, 1 Kings 11:23. Rezon had established himself in the far northern region of Palestine and it appears that he had organised a raiding group of bandits who continually harassed the Israelites who had also settled in the northern region of Palestine, 1 Kings 11:24.
Under the leadership of Rezon, Israel eventually lost control of the Syrian territory, 1 Kings 11:25. Rezon managed to survive when David attacked him, 2 Samuel 8:3-8 / 2 Chronicles 8:3-4, he refused to pay tribute to Israel and later he went on to attack northern Israel, 1 Kings 15:18 / 1 1 Kings 20:1.
After Hadad and Rezon, God sent Jeroboam to rise up against Solomon, 1 Kings 11:26. He was one of Solomon’s officials, an Ephraimite from Zeredah, and his mother was a widow named Zeruah, 1 Kings 11:26. We know that God sent him because God uses the prophet, Ahijah, who was form Shiloh, 1 Kings 11:29 / Joshua 18:10 / Judges 18:31 / 1 Samuel 4:3.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following, concerning Ahijah.
‘He was one of those who wrote the history of the reign of Solomon, as we find from 2 Chronicles 9:29, and it is supposed that it was by him God spoke twice to Solomon and particularly delivered the message which we find in this chapter, 1 Kings 11:11-13.’
Jeroboam from this moment onwards played a huge role in Israel’s history, he led God’s people into idolatry again, which eventually would lead them into Babylonian captivity. He opposed Solomon when Solomon built a wall to protect Jerusalem, 1 Kings 11:27.
When Jeroboam was younger, he proved himself to be a very capable leader and because of this, Solomon showed favour towards him, 1 Kings 11:28. Here we see him in charge of all the forced labour in Solomon’s kingdom, 1 Kings 11:28.
When Jeroboam was leaving Jerusalem, Ahijah the prophet of Shiloh met him wearing a new cloak, 1 Kings 11:29. Alijah took a new cloak and tore it into twelve pieces and told Jeroboam to take ten pieces, 1 Kings 11:30. Because Jeroboam was told he would reign over ten tribes, 1 Kings 11:31, this tells us at this point in time, that many people in Israel were feeling the heavy burden of Solomon’s tax payments, which helped subsidise his huge building efforts, 2 Chronicles 8:1-8.
This will become clear later when we see that only two tribes, that is, Judah and Benjamin would stay with Rehoboam. For the sake of God’s servant David and the city of Jerusalem, which God chose chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, Solomon will have one tribe, 1 Kings 11:32. God says the main reason why Israel will become a divided nation is because ‘they forsook Him’, 1 Kings 11:33.
In other words, they followed Solomon’s example of idolatry and become an idolatrous nation, 1 Kings 11:33. This was something that David never got involved in and never promoted when he reigned as king of Israel, David sought to live and lead the nation in the ways of God, 1 Samuel 13:14 / Acts 13:22.
David’s righteous influence is shown in God’s heart as God made it possible that the seed line promise that was made to David would bring about the promise that was given to Abraham, Genesis 12:1-3. It would be from David’s seed that the Messiah would eventually come, 2 Kings 8:19 / 2 Chronicles 21:7 / 2 Samuel 21:17. Remember that God promised David that his house would stand forever, 2 Samuel 7:16.
God isn’t going to remove the whole kingdom from Solomon because He made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of David, whom He chose and obeyed God’s commands and decrees, 1 Kings 11:34. God will take the kingdom from Solomon’s son’s hands and give Jeroboam ten tribes, 1 Kings 11:35.
God will give one tribe to his son, Rehoboam, so that David God’s servant may always have a lamp before Him in Jerusalem, 2 Samuel 21:17, the city where He chose to put His Name, 1 Kings 11:36. Ahijah tells Jeroboam that God will take him, and he will rule over all that his heart desires, he will be king over Israel, 1 Kings 11:37.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘It appears from this that Jeroboam had affected the kingdom, and was seeking for an opportunity to seize on the government. God now tells him, by his prophet, what he shall have, and what he shall not have, in order to prevent him from attempting to seize on the whole kingdom, to the prejudice of the spiritual seed of David.’
Notice once again the terms and conditions for Jeroboam’s rule, he must be obedient to God as David did and if he does, God will be with him, and He will build him a dynasty as enduring as the one he built for David and will give Israel to him, 1 Kings 11:38. God says He will humble David’s descendants because of this, but not forever, 1 Kings 11:39.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘David had been distinctly promised that God should never fail his seed, whatever their shortcomings, Psalms 89:28-37. The fulfilment of these promises was seen, partly in the Providence which maintained David’s family in a royal position until Zerubbabel, but mainly in the preservation of his seed to the time fixed for the coming of Christ, and in the birth of Christ, the Eternal King,- from one of David’s descendants.’
It’s clear that Jeroboam became a little arrogant when Ahijah tells him that he would reign over the ten tribes of Israel. He soon fell out of favour with Solomon because he tried to fulfil this prophecy too quickly. Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam and as a result, Jeroboam ended up fleeing to Shishak, the king of Egypt, until Solomon died, 1 Kings 11:40 / 1 Kings 14:25. This is the first time a Pharaoh is mentioned by name in the Scriptures.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Jeroboam’s flight into Egypt was possibly due to the news of Ahijah’s announcement to Jeroboam having been spread over Jerusalem like wildfire. Nothing is here stated about that, but by some means or other, Solomon identified the man to whom God would give the greater part of his dominion. And evil man that he was, he made every effort to thwart God’s purpose by murdering Jeroboam. Another possible reason for Jeroboam’s flight to Egypt is also suggested. He was over all the forced labour of the tribe of Ephraim, and it is possible that the injustice of that situation could have provoked Jeroboam into some rebellious act against the king; and when Solomon sought to kill him, he fled to Egypt.’
In 1 Kings 11:41, we are told they are written in the book of the annals of Solomon. In 2 Chronicles 9:29, we are told that the other events of Solomon’s reign, from beginning to end, are written in the records of Nathan the prophet, in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat.
Just like Saul and David, Solomon’s reign lasted forty years, 1 Kings 11:42 / 2 Chronicles 9:30 / Act 13:21 / 2 Samuel 5:4-5, and then he died and was buried in the city of David, 1 Kings 11:43 / 2 Chronicles 9:31.
There’s a lot of debate as to whether or not Solomon actually repented of all his idolatrous actions before he died, some suggest the Bible doesn’t tell us and others look at the Book of Proverbs and the Book of Ecclesiastes and suggest that he did.
Solomon’s son, Rehoboam took over as ruler of the United Kingdom of Israel, 1 Kings 11:43 / 2 Chronicles 9:31. Sadly, his reign really didn’t last very long. He followed his father’s example which ended up being one of the reasons the United Kingdom of Israel became the Divided Kingdom.