Solomon falls away from the living God and his son reaps what he has sown.
1 Kings 11: Solomon Turns from the LORD
1 Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women,
2 from the nations concerning which the LORD had said to the people of Israel, "You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods." Solomon clung to these in love.
3 He had 700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart.
4 For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.
5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
6 So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and did not wholly follow the LORD, as David his father had done.
7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem.
8 And so he did for all his foreign wives, who made offerings and sacrificed to their gods.
The LORD Raises Adversaries
9 And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice
10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods. But he did not keep what the LORD commanded.
11 Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, "Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant.
12 Yet for the sake of David your father I will not do it in your days, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son.
13 However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem that I have chosen."
14 And the LORD raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite. He was of the royal house in Edom.
15 For when David was in Edom, and Joab the commander of the army went up to bury the slain, he struck down every male in Edom
16 (for Joab and all Israel remained there six months, until he had cut off every male in Edom).
17 But Hadad fled to Egypt, together with certain Edomites of his father's servants, Hadad still being a little child.
18 They set out from Midian and came to Paran and took men with them from Paran and came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house and assigned him an allowance of food and gave him land.
19 And Hadad found great favour in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him in marriage the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen.
20 And the sister of Tahpenes bore him Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh's house. And Genubath was in Pharaoh's house among the sons of Pharaoh.
21 But when Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers and that Joab the commander of the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, "Let me depart, that I may go to my own country."
22 But Pharaoh said to him, "What have you lacked with me that you are now seeking to go to your own country?" And he said to him, "Only let me depart."
23 God also raised up as an adversary to him, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from his master Hadadezer king of Zobah.
24 And he gathered men about him and became leader of a marauding band, after the killing by David. And they went to Damascus and lived there and made him king in Damascus.
25 He was an adversary of Israel all the days of Solomon, doing harm as Hadad did. And he loathed Israel and reigned over Syria.
26 Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite of Zeredah, a servant of Solomon, whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow, also lifted up his hand against the king.
27 And this was the reason why he lifted up his hand against the king. Solomon built the Millo, and closed up the breach of the city of David his father.
28 The man Jeroboam was very able, and when Solomon saw that the young man was industrious he gave him charge over all the forced labour of the house of Joseph.
29 And at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him on the road. Now Ahijah had dressed himself in a new garment, and the two of them were alone in the open country.
30 Then Ahijah laid hold of the new garment that was on him, and tore it into twelve pieces.
31 And he said to Jeroboam, "Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'Behold, I am about to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon and will give you ten tribes
32 (but he shall have one tribe, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city that I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel),
33 because they have forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the Ammonites, and they have not walked in my ways, doing what is right in my sight and keeping my statutes and my rules, as David his father did.
34 Nevertheless, I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, but I will make him ruler all the days of his life, for the sake of David my servant whom I chose, who kept my commandments and my statutes.
35 But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand and will give it to you, ten tribes.
36 Yet to his son I will give one tribe, that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I have chosen to put my name.
37 And I will take you, and you shall reign over all that your soul desires, and you shall be king over Israel.
38 And if you will listen to all that I command you, and will walk in my ways, and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did, I will be with you and will build you a sure house, as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you.
39 And I will afflict the offspring of David because of this, but not forever.'"
40 Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam arose and fled into Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.
41 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the Book of the Acts of Solomon?
42 And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years.
43 And Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.
1 Kings 12: Rehoboam's Folly
1 Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king.
2 And as soon as Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it (for he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), then Jeroboam returned from Egypt.
3 And they sent and called him, and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and said to Rehoboam,
4 "Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke on us, and we will serve you."
5 He said to them, "Go away for three days, then come again to me." So the people went away.
6 Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he was yet alive, saying, "How do you advise me to answer this people?"
7 And they said to him, "If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants forever."
8 But he abandoned the counsel that the old men gave him and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him.
9 And he said to them, "What do you advise that we answer this people who have said to me, 'Lighten the yoke that your father put on us'?"
10 And the young men who had grown up with him said to him, "Thus shall you speak to this people who said to you, 'Your father made our yoke heavy, but you lighten it for us,' thus shall you say to them, 'My little finger is thicker than my father's thighs.
11 And now, whereas my father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.'"
12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king said, "Come to me again the third day."
13 And the king answered the people harshly, and forsaking the counsel that the old men had given him,
14 he spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, "My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions."
15 So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turn of affairs brought about by the LORD that he might fulfill his word, which the LORD spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
The Kingdom Divided
16 And when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, "What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David." So Israel went to their tents.
17 But Rehoboam reigned over the people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah.
18 Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was taskmaster over the forced labour, and all Israel stoned him to death with stones. And King Rehoboam hurried to mount his chariot to flee to Jerusalem.
19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.
20 And when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. There was none that followed the house of David but the tribe of Judah only.
21 When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, 180,000 chosen warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.
22 But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God:
23 "Say to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people,
24 'Thus says the LORD, You shall not go up or fight against your relatives the people of Israel. Every man return to his home, for this thing is from me.'" So they listened to the word of the LORD and went home again, according to the word of the LORD.
Jeroboam's Golden Calves
25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. And he went out from there and built Penuel.
26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, "Now the kingdom will turn back to the house of David.
27 If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the LORD at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah."
28 So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, "You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt."
29 And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.
30 Then this thing became a sin, for the people went as far as Dan to be before one.
31 He also made temples on high places and appointed priests from among all the people, who were not of the Levites.
32 And Jeroboam appointed a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he made. And he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places that he had made.
33 He went up to the altar that he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, in the month that he had devised from his own heart. And he instituted a feast for the people of Israel and went up to the altar to make offerings.
Things to think about…
1. 1 Kings 11:1-8 shows some pretty big cracks beginning to appear in Solomon’s ministry. Solomon “clung to his wives in love”, vs 2 rather than clinging to the Lord. Sadly, this happened as he grew old, vs 4. As we grow older may we grow in love and grace for the Lord and with others. Bitterness and a coldness to Christ arises if we lack the love and discipline of a daily devotion to our Saviour.
2. In 1Kings 11:9-25 God raises up adversaries against Solomon because he was unfaithful to the Lord. Solomon needed to be disciplined by the Lord and so the Lord raised up enemies of Israel against him. He knew peace even with his enemies at the start of his reign, but the Lord raised up enemies from his father’s past, vs 15, 24. Our greatest enemy of course is sin. The puritan John Owen once said, “be killing sin or it will be killing you”. These enemies are still enemies to Israel today. We see Syria, Lebanon in the north and the other Arab nations on the eastern side of the Jordan River still against Israel today.
3. In 1Kings 11:26-40 we are introduced to Jeroboam the son of Nebat. We hear this title “Jeroboam the son of Nebat” as a title of infamy as the descriptor of the man who didn’t take Ahijah’s advice, 1Kings 11:38. Solomon dies, 1 Kings 11:43 and the fulfilment of Ahijah’s prophecy to Jeroboam is allowed to come to life through the foolishness of Rehoboam – Solomon’s son.
4. Rehoboam’s folly in listening to the young men whom he had grown up with him rather than his father’s counsellors, shows a little of the material struggle that Rehoboam had grown up seeing in his dad. His father had turned away from the Lord and Rehoboam thought that he could rule without the wisdom that the Lord had granted his father. He could not. God is in complete control – even as we see the beginning of the end for the first temple, 1 Kings12:15. The kingdom becomes divided. It has since become the strongest it has been in Millenia in our present day. A modern miracle by any sense.
5. A kingdom divided cannot stand 1 Kings12:16-24. Pray that our leaders listen to the Lord’s leading rather than other voices that would distract from the central message of the gospel. Even the folly of Rehoboam raising an army of 180 000 men against the other tribes is rebuked by the prophet Shemaiah as folly, vs 21. It seems Solomon was blessed with wisdom but Rehoboam was cursed with folly. Without Christ being passed on to the next generation this sad cycle has played out throughout the ages. It’s only when we raise our children in the fear and admonition of the Lord that when they are old they will not depart. A poor example from a parent inevitably leads to a son or daughter turning away from Christ.
6. Jeroboam did not want people to worship the Lord at Jerusalem because people’s hearts would be drawn away from him, so he built two gold idols (calves), one at Dan in the north and one at Bethel in the south, 1Kings 12:25ff. But his actions would lead the ten northern tribes of Israel being led away from the true and living God for over 250 years. A horrible indictment on the man. It would take the godly king Josiah to finally destroy these idols, cf 1Kings 13:2-3; 2 Kings 23:15-20.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Life groups Wednesdays. 6:30pm every Wednesday. 5:30pm prayer.
Prayer Points
1. A new admin and finance officer for CBC. Pray for God’s choosing in this role.
2. Prayer for Israel, Gaza and Lebanon for peace to descend over the region.
3. Pray for the work we have going on with site development and TMR and the development of a project team.
4. Keep praying for PlayPatch on Fridays, pray for more families to be reached.
5. Pray for Chaplaincy and Kids Hope at Karalee State School.
6. The ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
7. Church finances to continue to grow and expenses to be more than met.
8. Pray for Kids@Church, Life groups. Young Adults.
9. Mathys has a prayer time at church on Wednesday afternoons, 5:30pm at church. He would be happy for you to join him and to send prayer requests.
10. That we be bold in our witnessing for Christ. Pray for a heart to see those around you to be saved. Pray for the blessing over the new pastoral care and hosting program.
11. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to increase.
Praise Points
1. Faithful p[reaching Andrew Otte.
2. More new visitors on Sunday. Pray they feel welcomed in the church
3. Café, music, sound and technical team every week
4. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Members meeting – AGM - 24th Nov after the service
2. PlayPatch Friday mornings – 9:30am. Contact Anna for details
3. Prayer meeting 5:30pm and Life Group Wednesday 6:30pm at church.
4. Carols Sunday 22nd Dec starting from 3pm.
5. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
6. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for November...
Q. 26. Who tempted them to this sin? A. The devil tempted Eve, and she gave the fruit to Adam.
