Read 1 Kings 11
Solomon’s Wives
11 King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. 2 They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. 3 He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. 4 As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. 5 He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. 6 So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done.
7 On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. 8 He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods.
9 The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. 10 Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the Lord’s command. 11 So the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates. 12 Nevertheless, for the sake of David your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but will give him one tribe for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”
Solomon’s Adversaries
14 Then the Lord raised up against Solomon an adversary, Hadad the Edomite, from the royal line of Edom. 15 Earlier when David was fighting with Edom, Joab the commander of the army, who had gone up to bury the dead, had struck down all the men in Edom. 16 Joab and all the Israelites stayed there for six months, until they had destroyed all the men in Edom. 17 But Hadad, still only a boy, fled to Egypt with some Edomite officials who had served his father. 18 They set out from Midian and went to Paran. Then taking people from Paran with them, they went to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave Hadad a house and land and provided him with food.
19 Pharaoh was so pleased with Hadad that he gave him a sister of his own wife, Queen Tahpenes, in marriage. 20 The sister of Tahpenes bore him a son named Genubath, whom Tahpenes brought up in the royal palace. There Genubath lived with Pharaoh’s own children.
21 While he was in Egypt, Hadad heard that David rested with his ancestors and that Joab the commander of the army was also dead. Then Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Let me go, that I may return to my own country.”
22 “What have you lacked here that you want to go back to your own country?” Pharaoh asked.
“Nothing,” Hadad replied, “but do let me go!”
23 And God raised up against Solomon another adversary, Rezon son of Eliada, who had fled from his master, Hadadezer king of Zobah. 24 When David destroyed Zobah’s army, Rezon gathered a band of men around him and became their leader; they went to Damascus, where they settled and took control. 25 Rezon was Israel’s adversary as long as Solomon lived, adding to the trouble caused by Hadad. So Rezon ruled in Aram and was hostile toward Israel.
Jeroboam Rebels Against Solomon
26 Also, Jeroboam son of Nebat rebelled against the king. He was one of Solomon’s officials, an Ephraimite from Zeredah, and his mother was a widow named Zeruah.
27 Here is the account of how he rebelled against the king: Solomon had built the terraces and had filled in the gap in the wall of the city of David his father. 28 Now Jeroboam was a man of standing, and when Solomon saw how well the young man did his work, he put him in charge of the whole labor force of the tribes of Joseph.
29 About that time Jeroboam was going out of Jerusalem, and Ahijah the prophet of Shiloh met him on the way, wearing a new cloak. The two of them were alone out in the country, 30 and Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces. 31 Then he said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘See, I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon’s hand and give you ten tribes. 32 But for the sake of my servant David and the city of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, he will have one tribe. 33 I will do this because they have forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Molek the god of the Ammonites, and have not walked in obedience to me, nor done what is right in my eyes, nor kept my decrees and laws as David, Solomon’s father, did.
34 “‘But I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon’s hand; I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of David my servant, whom I chose and who obeyed my commands and decrees. 35 I will take the kingdom from his son’s hands and give you ten tribes. 36 I will give one tribe to his son so that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put my Name. 37 However, as for you, I will take you, and you will rule over all that your heart desires; you will be king over Israel. 38 If you do whatever I command you and walk in obedience to me and do what is right in my eyes by obeying my decrees and commands, as David my servant did, I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty as enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you. 39 I will humble David’s descendants because of this, but not forever.’”
40 Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam fled to Egypt, to Shishak the king, and stayed there until Solomon’s death.
Solomon’s Death
41 As for the other events of Solomon’s reign—all he did and the wisdom he displayed—are they not written in the book of the annals of Solomon? 42 Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. 43 Then he rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam his son succeeded him as king.
Go Deeper
First Kings 11 describes the fall of Solomon, but in order to fully understand what’s at work here, let’s look at Deuteronomy for some context. As king of Israel, Solomon was instructed not to amass great numbers of horses, many wives, or large amounts of silver and gold. He was instructed to write out these laws and read them all the days of his life to remind him to carefully follow all the laws of the Lord. If the king kept these commandments, then he and his descendants would continue to reign over this kingdom in Israel. (See Deuteronomy 17:16-20). But as we’ve seen in our reading so far, Solomon does not follow carefully the law of the Lord; instead, he collects great wealth and many horses. In today’s chapter, we see that he takes 700 wives and 300 concubines whose influence leads him astray.
The Lord reminds Solomon that as punishment for disobedience, the Almighty will tear the kingdom away from him. And we’ll see this unfold in the coming chapters – the kingdom will be divided and destroyed. But even in His anger, God extends grace. He will not tear away the kingdom in the days of Solomon but will tear it from the hands of his son (v. 12). And He will not tear away the whole kingdom, but will leave one tribe for the sake of David and for the sake of Jerusalem (v. 13). Even in executing judgment, God chooses to show mercy.
Solomon allowed the things of the world to distract him from the call of God on his life. His heart was divided and not fully devoted to the Lord. “So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done” (v. 6).
God wants our whole hearts, not just little pieces of them, not just what’s leftover after we’ve given most of our attention to pursuing the things of this world. In the New Testament, James puts it this way, “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us?” (James 4:4-5). Devotion is serious business. Let’s learn from the example and warning of Solomon’s life and choose to live a life wholly devoted to the Lord and undistracted by worldly pursuits.
Questions
- What tends to distract you from wholehearted devotion to the Lord? Confess this to your Life Group or a trusted friend, and ask them to hold you accountable.
- If someone audited your life (what you spend your time doing, thinking, spending money on, etc.) what would they conclude that you are devoted to?
- What do we learn about God from this text? What truth can you reflect on throughout the day?
Pray This
Pray these words from Psalm 86:11-13 over your day today:
11 Teach me your way, Lord,
that I may rely on your faithfulness;
give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear your name.
12 I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart;
I will glorify your name forever.
13 For great is your love toward me;
you have delivered me from the depths,
from the realm of the dead.
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8 responses to “1 Kings 11”
A man’s own folly ruins his life Proverbs 19:3
This was written by Solomon. He didnt heed his own advice. He knew what the Torah said, but he took all those “foreign wives and horses” that was written not to do in Deut, which also says in 7:4 “they will turn away your heart after their gods.” which is exactly what happened to Solomon. All that took place with Solomon was a slow gradual thing. As he lost his way with the one true God, he became depressed and searched for happiness in other ways. First he was friendly with the world (James 4:4) and he came to love the world (1 John 2:15-17) and he conformed to the world (Rom 12:2)
What do you love? Proverbs 4:23 (by Solomon) ‘Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it springs the issues of life” Solomon seemed to forget all the wisdom he recieved and penned. Every action has a consequence good or not so good. Solomon lived his life with granduer and he wasnt happy. God gave him warnings and tried to steer him back to Himself.
One of the commentaries I read said “. The path to sin does not often take an immediate full-stop turn. It is usually death by a thousand paper cuts.” The Word of God is our only rule book, guide book to this life. In it all things that pertain to life and godliness are there. As a parent when my child or children do not heed my advice, they have to face the repercutions and most of the time it is painful experience. I imagine that is what God is saying as He shakes His head at me, if you would have just ask and/or listened (insert sad face).
Sin has a ripple effect, that we sometimes see and sometimes dont. But we will see the ripples Solomon made with his decisions and how it effected nations.
BUT GOD made a way so that we have a way out, to be with Him forever more.
God I thank You for these minutes of this day. Thank You that I can look to You for all answers to the questions. God help to avoid those papercuts in my life. Thank You for shema hearing You, that I listen not just to hear but to obedience. God thank You for Your Son and His obedience to You that in that is my way to being with You forever more. God help me to see others through Your love goggles, help me to be kind to all that I meet, help me to do right things and make right choices according to Your Word. Thank You for today, these minutes of this day, that I live full ON and OUT with You in Jesus name amen.
WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Amen! It’s not knowing the right thing to do (like Solomon). It’s doing the right thing that counts!
3 He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray.
The Bible is full of stories of polygamous leaders: Gideon, David, et al. And most famously here, Solomon with his 1,000 relationships. Even if permissible at the time, these seem to always end badly as it does yet again in this passage for Solomon.
And yet, the Bible also has stories of great leaders who are in committed monogamous relationships, including Isaac, Joseph, as well as all (?) of the prophets. This is obviously the better path!
I’m noticing that the wisdom granted to Solomon was conditional on following the Lord’s commands. Clearly he set his heart and affections on other things that skewed his calling and destroyed his kingdom. Beware! The same can happen to us as we buy into the perceived comforts and trappings of this world. Choosing to abide in Christ empowers us to flee from evil and cling to his precepts that bring true abundant life.
It seems like Romans 12:2 was written with Solomon’s failing in mind. It’s a great reminder for us to keep or focus on God.
“Do not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
Yes!
What a tragic downfall for Solomon due to his disobedience. (Seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines) Seriously! Even the wisest and most blessed individuals can be led astray by sin/worldly desires. We’ve seen it time and time again with evangelists.
Woe to us! God, help me to be ever mindful of the path You set before me, that I keep Your Word close to my heart and that my choice of surroundings and people are of Your choosing. In Jesus name, Amen!
So true!