st Kings _Chapter 11

Besides Pharaoh’s daughter, King Solomon also favored many foreign women, including Moabite women, Ammonite women, Edom women, Sidon women, and Hittite women.

Regarding the people of these nations, the Lord spoke to the Israelites, saying, Do not associate with them, for they will tempt your hearts to follow their gods. But Solomon fell in love with these women.

Solomon had seven hundred concubines, all of whom were princesses. There are also three hundred concubines. These concubines tempted his heart.

When Solomon was old, his concubines tempted his heart to go after other gods, not to follow his father David’s faithful obedience to the Lord his God.

Because Solomon followed Ashtaroth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Milcom, the detestable god of the Ammonites.

Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and did not follow his father David’s wholehearted obedience to the Lord.

Solomon built high places on the mountain opposite Jerusalem for the detestable God of Moab, Chemosh, and the detestable God of the Ammonites, Moroch.

He did the same for the foreign women who burned incense and offered sacrifices to his own gods, even the concubines he married.

The Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart had deviated from the Lord, the God of Israel, who appeared to him twice.

The Lord had commanded him not to follow other gods, but he did not keep what the Lord had commanded.

Therefore the Lord said to him, “If you have done this and have not kept the covenant and laws that I have commanded you to keep, I will take back your kingdom and give it to your officials.”.

However, due to the fault of your father David, I will not do this while you are alive, and I will take the kingdom back from your son’s hand.

But I will not take back the whole country; I will leave one tribe for your son because of my servant David and the Jerusalem I have chosen.

The Lord raised up Hadad the Edomite as an enemy against Solomon. He is a descendant of the king of Edom.

Previously, David attacked Edom, and Joab, the commander of the army, went up to bury the fallen and killed all the men of Edom.

Joab and all Israel stayed in Edom for six months until all the males in Edom were cut off.

At that time, Hada was still a child. He and his father’s servants, along with several Edomites, fled to Egypt.

They set out from Midian and arrived at Balaam. He brought several people from Balaam to Egypt to meet Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Pharaoh appointed food for him and gave him houses and fields.

Hadad found great favor in the presence of Pharaoh, to the extent that Pharaoh gave him the sister of Queen Tabineh as his wife.

The sister of Tabinius gave birth to a son named Kenubal to Hadad. Dabineh weaned Kenubab in Pharaoh’s palace, and Kenubab stayed with Pharaoh’s sons in Pharaoh’s palace.

Hadad heard in Egypt that David was sleeping with his ancestors, and that Joab, the commander of the army, had also died. He said to Pharaoh, “Please allow me to go back to my own country.”.

Pharaoh said to him, What lack do you have with me that you want to go back to your own country? He replied, “I didn’t lack anything, I just asked the king to let me go back.”.

God also raised up Rezon, the son of Eliada, as an enemy against Solomon. He previously fled from his master Hadadezer, king of Zobah.

When David killed the people of Zobah, Rezon gathered a group of people and became their leader, living in Damascus and reigning there.

When Solomon was alive, besides Hadad being a threat, Rezon was also an enemy of Israel. He hated the Israelites and became king over the Arameans.

Jeroboam son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon, also raised his hand against the king. He was a Zeridah from the tribe of Ephraim, and his mother was a widow named Zerua.

The reason why he raised his hand to attack the king was because Solomon had previously built Miro to repair the breach in his father’s city of David.

Jeroboam was a man of great talent. When Solomon saw that the young man was diligent, he appointed him to oversee all the work of the Joseph family.

One day, Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, and the prophet Ahijah of Shiloh met him on the way. Ashiah was wearing a new garment. They are both in the field and there is no one else.

Ahijah tore the new garment he was wearing into twelve pieces,

And he said to Jeroboam, Take ten pieces. This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I will take the kingdom back from Solomon’s hand and give you ten tribes.

(I have left one tribe for Solomon because of my servant David and the city of Jerusalem that I have chosen among the tribes of Israel.)

Because he has abandoned me and worshipped Ashtaroth, the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh, the god of Moab, and Milcom, the god of the Ammonites. He did not follow my way, did what was right in my eyes, and kept my laws and judgments, just like his father David.

But I won’t take back the whole country from his hands. I have made him a ruler for life because my chosen servant David has kept my commandments and laws.

I will take the kingdom back from his son’s hand and give it to you with ten tribes,

Leave another tribe for his son, so that my servant David may have a light before me in the city of Jerusalem, where I have chosen to establish my name.

I will choose you and make you king over Israel according to all your desires.

If you obey all that I command you, walk in my ways, do what is right in my eyes, and keep my laws and commands, as my servant David did, then I will be with you and establish a strong house for you, just as I did for David, giving you the Israelites.

I will cause trouble for the descendants of David because of Solomon’s actions, but not forever.

Solomon therefore wanted to kill Jeroboam. Jeroboam stood up and fled to Egypt. When they arrived at King Shezzah of Egypt, they stayed in Egypt until the death of Solomon.

And all the other things that Solomon did, and all his wisdom, are written in the book of Solomon.

Solomon reigned over all Israel in Jerusalem for a total of forty years.

Solomon slept with his ancestors and was buried in the city of his father David. His son Rehoboam succeeded him as king.