1 Kings 11
Summary for 1Kgs 11:1-3: 11:1-3 a In spite of his God-given wisdom, Solomon blatantly violated the law of Moses with his excessive wealth and many wives (see Exod 34:12-17 b; Deut 7:3-4 c; 17:17 d). Taking wives to form foreign alliances compromised Solomon’s spiritual commitment, as predicted, and turned his heart away from the Lord. The spiritual and political consequences for his people were disastrous (see 1 Kgs 11:4-13 e; 12:4 f, 16 g; 2 Kgs 17:5-23 h; 25:1-23 i).Summary for 1Kgs 11:4-8: 11:4-8 j instead of being completely faithful: Although David had committed grievous sin, he genuinely repented when rebuked by God’s prophet (2 Sam 11:1–12:23 k; Ps 51:1-4 l). However, Solomon failed to heed God’s warnings (1 Kgs 3:14 m; 6:12-13 n; 9:4-9 o) or to learn from Israel’s past; instead, he reproduced their sins.
11:5 p Ashtoreth, the Canaanite goddess of love and war, was widely worshiped in the ancient Near East under names such as Ishtar and Astarte. The cult practices associated with Astarte were transmitted to the Greek world in the worship of the goddess Aphrodite.
• Rites in the worship of Molech, the god of the Ammonites, included sacrificing children by fire (11:7 q; see Lev 20:1-5 r; 2 Kgs 16:3 s; 23:5-10 t; Jer 7:30-33 u; 19:4-6 v; 32:35 w), which the writer properly denounces as detestable.
11:7 x The Moabite god Chemosh is mentioned on the Mesha Stela (Moabite Stone) detailing the Moabite-Israelite conflict (see 2 Kgs 3 y).
Summary for 1Kgs 11:9-10: 11:9-10 z The Lord ... had appeared to him twice (3:5-15 aa; 9:1-9 ab): On both occasions, God reminded Solomon of the need to be faithful. When the king failed to heed the Lord’s warning about worshiping other gods, he clearly violated the first commandment (Exod 20:3 ac) and God’s covenants with both Moses and David.
Summary for 1Kgs 11:11-13: 11:11-13 ad God announced that the kingdom would be divided, although Solomon’s descendants would retain part of it (see 11:32-36 ae).
Summary for 1Kgs 11:14-40: 11:14-40 af God delivered Solomon’s punishment through three political adversaries, Hadad, Rezon, and Jeroboam (see 11:40 ag).
Summary for 1Kgs 11:14-22: 11:14-22 ah Solomon’s first adversary was Hadad. David had fought against the Edomites and defeated them with a great slaughter (2 Sam 8:13-14 ai; 1 Chr 18:13-14 aj). Hadad was the only member of the Edomite royal house to survive and escape. He had gone to Egypt with a number of followers, where the Egyptian king received him as a potential ally and gave him his wife’s sister in marriage. When David and ... Joab died, Hadad returned to Edom, awaiting an opportunity to retaliate against Israel.
Summary for 1Kgs 11:23-25: 11:23-25 ak Solomon’s second adversary was Rezon, an Aramean who had served under King Hadadezer of Aram-zobah. When David had defeated Hadadezer (2 Sam 8:3-7 al), Rezon escaped, gained a group of followers, and went to Damascus. He maintained himself there when Solomon campaigned in Hamath-zobah (2 Chr 8:3-4 am) and eventually became king of Damascus. Like Hadad, Rezon remained a bitter enemy of Israel and was troublesome to Solomon.
Summary for 1Kgs 11:26-40: 11:26-40 an Information about Solomon’s third adversary, Jeroboam son of Nebat, provides background for the division of the kingdom of Israel (chs 12–14 ao).
Summary for 1Kgs 11:27-28: 11:27-28 ap Solomon noted the work ethic of Jeroboam during the repair of the city’s structures and put him in charge. Jeroboam’s status among the laborers may have made him aware of brewing discontent in northern sections of Solomon’s kingdom. Jeroboam showed leadership on this occasion, as well as during the empire’s division and reorganization of the northern tribes (12:12-19 aq, 25-33 ar). Unfortunately, he did not always use his abilities wisely and later proved unfaithful to the Lord (12:25–13:10 as; 14:14-16 at; 2 Kgs 17:21-23 au).
Summary for 1Kgs 11:29-39: 11:29-39 av The meeting between Jeroboam and the prophet Ahijah set in motion God’s judgment on the dynasty of Solomon. Ahijah reappears in the account of Jeroboam’s sick son (14:1-18 aw). He authored an unpreserved work containing information about Solomon’s deeds (2 Chr 9:29 ax).
Summary for 1Kgs 11:29-32: 11:29-32 ay Ahijah’s symbolic tearing of his cloak into twelve pieces and giving ten of these pieces to Jeroboam symbolized God’s plans for Jeroboam and Israel following Solomon’s death (see thematic note for Prophetic Sign Acts at end of chapter). Ten of the tribes would defect; one tribe (Judah) would remain with Solomon’s heir. The twelfth tribe was probably Benjamin (see 1 Kgs 12:21 az). Benjamin consistently acted in tandem with Judah (see 2 Chr 11:3 ba, 23 bb; 14:8 bc; 15:2-9 bd; 17:17 be). Simeon, the other southern tribe, seems to have allied with the north (2 Chr 15:9 bf; 34:6 bg).
Summary for 1Kgs 11:34-39: 11:34-39 bh Ahijah further described the coming division of the kingdom and delivered God’s offer of blessing and perpetuity to Jeroboam, who was required to obey the Lord in order to receive the offer. 11:34 bi For the sake of my servant David: Although Solomon violated the terms of God’s covenant, God remained faithful in not revoking his promises to David (see also Ps 89:28-37 bj).
11:36 bk a lamp: David’s successors were to be living representatives of God’s covenant with David, and they were to shine as lights of God’s grace (15:4 bl; 2 Kgs 8:19 bm; 2 Chr 21:7 bn). They pointed to Jesus, the descendant of David, who is the light of the world (John 1:4-5 bo) and who fulfills God’s promises to David (Ezek 34:23-31 bp).
11:38 bq an enduring dynasty: Jeroboam had a great opportunity. God promised that if he was faithful and obedient to the Lord, his kingdom would be strong and long-lasting. However, he departed from God (12:25-33 br; 14:10-18 bs) and set Israel on a destructive spiritual path (2 Kgs 17:21-23 bt).
11:39 bu David’s descendant, Jesus, would later inherit his rightful throne, as stipulated in God’s promises to David (2 Sam 7:13 bv, 16-19 bw; Ps 89:35-37 bx), Abraham (Gen 17:1-8 by; Luke 1:67-79 bz), and Judah (Gen 49:10 ca). He has established a new covenant with God’s people, and he will reign forever (Jer 31:31-36 cb; Ezek 37:22-28 cc; 2 Cor 3:6 cd).
11:40 ce Solomon, probably aware of impending difficulty, tried to kill Jeroboam.
• King Shishak of Egypt later invaded Judah during the reign of Solomon’s son Rehoboam (14:25-26 cf).
Summary for 1Kgs 11:41-43: 11:41-43 cg The brief closing summary of Solomon’s reign and death is similar to that of his father David (2:10-12 ch). These summaries provide a typical formula for the accounts of succeeding kings.
• The Book of the Acts of Solomon was likely kept in a prophetic center or in palace and Temple archives. It served as a source of information for the author of Kings but is now lost (cp. 14:19 ci, 29 cj).
• Solomon reigned from 971 to 931 BC.
Thematic note: Prophetic Sign Acts
The prophets of Israel occasionally communicated through sign acts, which were dramatic visual aids performed in public to increase the impact of the message and help people feel the truth as much as hear it. Their purpose was to present an unforgettable message. These acts were unusual, even outlandish—and not just from a modern perspective. Unlike modern readers, however (who might think that the prophet was psychologically disturbed), ancient observers understood these sign acts as a regular part of a prophet’s communication style.
Ezekiel was required to act out his message more frequently than any other prophet, perhaps because he was communicating to a particularly hardened audience (Ezek 2:6-7 ck). The sign acts reinforced the content of his message and underlined the depth of his personal commitment to it. For example, after he swallowed the word of God (2:8–3:3 cl), Ezekiel embodied it for the exiles (3:4-9 cm) in a series of judgment scenes (chs 4–6 cn). This dramatic form of communication is difficult for even a hostile audience to ignore or forget.
The ultimate sign act was performed by Jesus Christ on the cross (see Matt 27:32-54 co). There God visibly depicted his wrath against sin in the darkness, the earthquake, and the agony of the sinless one who was apparently abandoned by his Father. God also depicted his profound love for the world in that he would rather die than let his people go. The cross is a confrontational message of God’s love and wrath that is hard to ignore or forget.
Passages for Further Study
Jer 13:1-11 cp; 19:1-15 cq; 25:15 cr; Ezek 2:6–3:3 cs; 3:4-9 ct; 4:1-17 cu; 5:1–6:14 cv; 12:1-28 cw; 21:19-23 cx; 24:1-14 cy, 16-27 cz; 37:15-28 da; Hos 1:2-9 db; 3:1-3 dc; Matt 26:26-28 dd; 27:45-54 de; Mark 6:11 df; 11:12-21 dg; Luke 22:17-20 dh; Rom 6:3-5 di; 1 Cor 10:16-17 dj; 11:23-32 dk
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