1 Kings · chapter 11 of 22
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1 Kings 11 tells how Solomon, now old, marries many foreign women who turn his heart toward other gods. The Lord, angered, announces that he will tear most of the kingdom from his descendants, but will leave one tribe for David's sake. He raises up adversaries against Solomon, and the prophet Ahijah promises Jeroboam ten tribes. Solomon dies and his son Rehoboam succeeds him.
After the splendor of 1 Kings 10, chapter 11 is the tragic turn of Solomon's reign. The man who asked for an understanding heart and dedicated the temple turns away from the Lord, and the book explains why the united kingdom will divide. It is a warning: God's gifts are no substitute for faithfulness.
Solomon loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh's daughter: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian and Hittite women, from the nations about which the Lord had warned Israel. He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart away. When he grew old, he followed Ashtoreth and Milcom, and built high places for Chemosh and Molech, and his wives burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods.
The Lord was angry with Solomon, who had turned from him though he had appeared to him twice, and told him he would tear the kingdom from his hand and give it to one of his servants. For David's sake he would not do it in Solomon's days but in his son's, and he would not take everything, leaving one tribe for the sake of David and of Jerusalem. Then the Lord raised up adversaries: Hadad the Edomite, who had fled to Egypt as a boy after Joab's slaughter, and Rezon, who reigned in Damascus.
Jeroboam, an official of Solomon from Zeredah, rebelled against the king. One day the prophet Ahijah of Shiloh met him on the road, tore his new cloak into twelve pieces and gave him ten, saying the Lord would give him ten tribes. If Jeroboam obeyed the Lord's commands as David had, God would build him a lasting house. Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, who fled to Egypt, where he stayed under Shishak until Solomon's death. Solomon reigned forty years in Jerusalem, died and was buried in the city of David. His son Rehoboam reigned in his place.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
When Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was no longer wholly true to the Lord as David's had been. The problem did not begin with one great act but with a slow drifting of the heart.
The Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart turned away from him, though he had appeared to him twice. Having received much from God makes unfaithfulness all the more serious.
God announces that he will tear the kingdom from Solomon's descendants, but for David's sake will leave one tribe. The judgment is real, but God's faithfulness to his promise to David remains.
The Lord promises Jeroboam a lasting house like David's, if he obeys and walks in his ways. It is the same conditional promise once made to Solomon, and it will show whether Jeroboam learns from that mistake.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines. — 1 Kings 11:3
Answer: They turned it after other gods when Solomon was old. — 1 Kings 11:4
Answer: That he would tear the kingdom from his descendants, but leave one tribe for David's sake. — 1 Kings 11:11-13
Answer: Hadad the Edomite and Rezon, who reigned in Damascus. — 1 Kings 11:14-25
Answer: He tore it into twelve pieces and gave ten to Jeroboam as a sign that he would receive ten tribes. — 1 Kings 11:29-31
Answer: Forty years, and his son Rehoboam succeeded him. — 1 Kings 11:42-43
Solomon's fall was not sudden: it began with small decisions that built up over years. In a class or small group, talk about how the heart drifts without our noticing, and which habits of prayer, community and obedience help guard it. No one, however wise or blessed, is safe from this danger.
It is also encouraging to notice that God remains faithful to his promise even in the midst of judgment: he leaves one tribe for David's sake. If you need to return to the Lord today, remember that his mercy depends not on your history but on his character.
1 Kings 11 leaves Solomon dead, Rehoboam on the throne and Jeroboam waiting in Egypt. In 1 Kings 12, Ahijah's promise begins to be fulfilled as the people ask Rehoboam to lighten their burdens and the kingdom divides.
The law warned Israel against marriages with certain nations, not for reasons of race but because they drew the people into serving other gods. The text shows that is exactly what happened to Solomon, who even built high places for his wives' gods.
Chemosh was the god of Moab, and Molech, also called Milcom in this chapter, was a god of the Ammonites. The later prophets condemn their worship as an abomination, and King Josiah later destroyed those high places.
The text explains it was for the sake of his servant David and for Jerusalem, the city the Lord had chosen. It is an example of how God is faithful to his promises even when his servants fail.