I Kings Chapter 11
Please read: I Kings 11 –
God’s plan for marriage since the very beginning has been one man and one woman. This was stated in the book of Genesis and repeated by Jesus Himself.
Matthew 19:4-7a He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
God had specifically given a warning to any future king of Israel, back in Deuteronomy, that he “shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away.” Deuteronomy 7:17 And that is exactly what happened to Solomon. Solomon probably thought he would never abandon God, that he was wise enough to be able to rise above that. But his own lust for women led to his downfall and his betrayal of God and he worshipped other gods. It is a lesson to us all in that no matter how wise or how spiritual we believe we are, we should never put ourselves in a position of temptation to be vulnerable to the enemy’s tactics. The enemy will use anything to draw our hearts away from God.
Let's Reflect
1. Verses 9-10 tell us everything we need to know about this passage. What do those verses tell us?
2. What two gods did Solomon begin to worship because of the influence of his many wives? The second god mentioned, it was well known that the way people worshipped that god was to offer child sacrifices to him. Solomon had allowed himself to become a part of the most despicable sin. No wonder God was angry with him.
3. Solomon who had been given all the opportunity in the world was now going to experience the chastisement of God. God told him that the kingdom would be taken away from him and a servant would reign over all of Israel except one tribe He would allow Solomon’s son to reign over. It would be a divided kingdom. We all know the trouble that comes with a divided kingdom. Why did God say He would allow Solomon’s son to have reign over a small part?
4. Part of the chastisement that would be on Solomon was enemies of the throne that God would raise up to work against Solomon. One man was Hadad, another man had been holding a grudge against David for many years for comrades of his that David had killed in battle. What was his name? See verse 23.
5. In verse 26 we learn the name of the servant that would become the king of Israel, Jeroboam. Jeroboam was upset with Solomon for the building project known as the Millo. We are not told why he was upset, but Solomon had previously given him a special position because of his hard-working efforts. What position did Solomon give to Jeroboam? The Millo was most likely some sort of fortified wall made of huge stones and filled in dirt like a huge retaining wall to fortify the city. Jeroboam was most likely upset with Solomon over the whole building project because of the forced labor.
6. What surprising news did Jeroboam receive from a prophet of God?
7. According to verses 29-32 how did the prophet demonstrate to Jeroboam the fate of the kingdom of Israel?
8. What did God ask of Jeroboam? See verse 38.
9. And just like that, the reign of Solomon was over, and his son reigned in his stead. What was his son’s name?
