1 Kings 11

Despite his wisdom from God, Solomon disobeyed the law of Moses by amassing wealth and marrying many wives (see Exodus 34:12–17; Deuteronomy 7:3–4; 17:17). He married to form alliances with other nations, which weakened his spiritual dedication and led him away from God. This had severe spiritual and political effects on his people (see 1 Kings 11:4–13; 12:4, 16; 2 Kings 17:5–23; 25:1–23).

he did not follow the LORD completely: David committed a serious sin, but he truly repented when God's prophet confronted him (2 Samuel 11:1–12:23; Psalm 51:1–4). However, Solomon ignored God's warnings (1 Kings 3:14; 6:12–13; 9:4–9) and did not learn from Israel's history. Instead, he repeated their sins.

• Ashtoreth was the Canaanite goddess of love and war. She was widely worshiped in the ancient Near East. She was also known as Ishtar and Astarte. The worship practices of Astarte influenced the Greek worship of the goddess Aphrodite.

• The worship of Molech, the god of the Ammonites, involved sacrificing children by fire (1 Kings 11:7; see Leviticus 20:1–5; 2 Kings 16:3; 23:5–10; Jeremiah 7:30–33; 19:4–6; 32:35). The writer strongly condemns these practices as detestable.

The Moabite god Chemosh is mentioned on the Mesha Stela (Moabite Stone), which describes the conflict between Moab and Israel (see 2 Kings 3).

The LORD … had appeared to him twice (1 Kings 3:5–15; 9:1–9): Each time, God reminded Solomon to stay faithful. When Solomon ignored God's warning about worshiping other gods, he broke the first commandment (Exodus 20:3) and God's agreements with Moses and David.

God declared that the kingdom would split, but Solomon's descendants would keep a portion of it (see 1 Kings 11:32–36).

Solomon's first enemy was Hadad. David had fought the Edomites and defeated them severely (2 Samuel 8:13–14; 1 Chronicles 18:13Œ14). Hadad was the only survivor from the Edomite royal family. He escaped to Egypt with some followers. The Egyptian king welcomed him as a possible ally and gave him his wife's sister to marry. When David and Joab died, Hadad returned to Edom, waiting for a chance to strike back at Israel.

God delivered Solomon’s punishment through three political adversaries, Hadad, Rezon, and Jeroboam (see 1 Kings 11:40).

Solomon’s second enemy was Rezon, an Aramean who had served under King Hadadezer of Aram-zobah. After David defeated Hadadezer (2 Samuel 8:3–7), Rezon escaped, gathered followers, and went to Damascus. He stayed there when Solomon campaigned in Hamath-zobah (2 Chronicles 8:3–4) and eventually became king of Damascus. Like Hadad, Rezon was a persistent enemy of Israel and caused trouble for Solomon.

Details about Solomon's third enemy, Jeroboam son of Nebat, help explain how the kingdom of Israel split (1 Kings 12–14).

Solomon noticed Jeroboam's strong work ethic during the city's repairs and put him in charge. Jeroboam's position among the workers likely made him aware of growing unrest in the northern parts of Solomon's kingdom. Jeroboam showed leadership during this time and when the empire split and the northern tribes reorganized (1 Kings 12:12–19, 25–33). Unfortunately, he did not always use his skills wisely and later proved unfaithful to the Lord (1 Kings 12:25–13:10; 14:14–16; 2 Kings 17:21–23).

Ahijah tore his cloak into twelve pieces and gave ten to Jeroboam. This act showed God's plans for Jeroboam and Israel after Solomon's death (see “Prophetic Sign Acts” Theme Note). Ten tribes would leave, while one tribe, Judah, would stay with Solomon's heir. The twelfth tribe was likely Benjamin (see 1 Kings 12:21). Benjamin often acted with Judah (see 2 Chronicles 11:3, 23; 14:8; 15:2–9; 17:17). Simeon, another southern tribe, seems to have joined the north (2 Chronicles 15:9; 34:6).

The meeting between Jeroboam and the prophet Ahijah started God's judgment on Solomon's family line. Ahijah appears again in the story of Jeroboam's sick son (1 Kings 14:1–18). He wrote a book, now lost, that included details about Solomon's actions (2 Chronicles 9:29).

for the sake of David: Even though Solomon broke God's agreement, God kept his promises to David (see also Psalm 89:28–37).

Ahijah also told about the coming division of the kingdom. He gave God’s message to Jeroboam: God would bless him and give him lasting rule if he obeyed the Lord.

a lamp: David's successors were to be living symbols of God's promise to David. They were to shine as examples of God's grace (1 Kings 15:4; 2 Kings 8:19; 2 Chronicles 21:7). They pointed to Jesus, David's descendant, who is the light of the world (John 1:4–5) and fulfills God's promises to David (Ezekiel 34:23–31).

a lasting dynasty: A dynasty is a family line of rulers, where a king’s descendants (sons and grandsons) continue to rule after him. Jeroboam had a great opportunity. God promised that if he was faithful and obeyed the Lord, his kingdom would last for a long time. But Jeroboam turned away from God (1 Kings 12:25–33; 14:10–18). He led Israel onto a harmful spiritual path that later brought destruction (2 Kings 17:21–23).

Jesus, a descendant of David, would later inherit his rightful throne, as promised by God to:

• David (2 Samuel 7:13, 16–19; Psalm 89:35–37),

• Abraham (Genesis 17:1–8; Luke 1:67–79), and

• Judah (Genesis 49:10).

He has made a new agreement with God's people and will rule forever (Jeremiah 31:31–36; Ezekiel 37:22–28; 2 Corinthians 3:6).

• Solomon likely knew trouble was coming. So he attempted to kill Jeroboam.

• Later, King Shishak of Egypt invaded Judah when Solomon’s son Rehoboam was king (1 Kings 14:25–26).

• The brief summary of Solomon’s reign and death is similar to that of his father David (1 Kings 2:10–12). These summaries follow a typical pattern for the accounts of later kings.

• The Book of the Acts of Solomon was probably kept in a prophetic center or in palace and Temple archives. It provided information for the author of Kings but is now lost (compare 1 Kings 14:19, 29).

• Solomon ruled from 971 to 931 BC.