Solomon's Idolatry (1 Kings 11)

Is obedience to God more important than wealth and wisdom? Can a wealthy and wise man become a fool? Is greed a form of idolatry? Let’s begin in 1 Kings 11.

What did the wisest man on earth do that was very foolish? What was the result? How selfish was his polygamy, a lonely woman seeing her husband once every few years?

Now King Solomon loved many foreign women. Besides Pharaoh’s daughter, he married women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon, and from among the Hittites. The Lord had clearly instructed the people of Israel, “You must not marry them, because they will turn your hearts to their gods.” Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway. He had 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines. And in fact, they did turn his heart away from the Lord. (1 Kings 11:1-3 NLT)

What did Solomon do that was evil in the eyes of the Lord?

As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods. He wasn’t committed to the Lord his God with all his heart as was his father David. Solomon followed Astarte the goddess of the Sidonians, and Milcom the detestable god of the Ammonites. Solomon did what was evil in the Lord’s eyes and wasn’t completely devoted to the Lord like his father David. (1 Kings 11:4-6 CEB)

Did God warn the king about his worship of foreign gods? Did Solomon obey?

Solomon built shrines on a hill east of Jerusalem to worship Chemosh the disgusting god of Moab, and Molech the disgusting god of Ammon. In fact, he built a shrine for each of his foreign wives, so all of them could burn incense and offer sacrifices to their own gods. The Lord God of Israel had appeared to Solomon two times and warned him not to worship foreign gods. But Solomon disobeyed and did it anyway. This made the Lord very angry. (1 Kings 11:7-10 CEV)

What did God plan to do to punish Solomon for his foolish disobedience?

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. 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. 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.” (1 Kings 11:11-13 ESV)

How did Hadad become an enemy of Israel, because of Solomon’s disobedience?

So the Lord raised up Hadad the Edomite as an enemy against Solomon. He was of the royal family in Edom. Earlier, when David was in Edom, Joab, the commander of the army, had gone to bury the dead and had struck down every male in Edom. For Joab and all Israel had remained there six months, until he had killed every male in Edom. Hadad fled to Egypt, along with some Edomites from his father’s servants. At the time Hadad was a small boy. Hadad and his men set out from Midian and went to Paran. They took men with them from Paran and went to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave Hadad a house, ordered that he be given food, and gave him land. Pharaoh liked Hadad so much that he gave him a wife, the sister of his own wife, Queen Tahpenes. Tahpenes’ sister gave birth to Hadad’s son Genubath. Tahpenes herself weaned him in Pharaoh’s palace, and Genubath lived there along with Pharaoh’s sons. When Hadad heard in Egypt that David rested with his fathers and that Joab, the commander of the army, was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Let me leave, so I can go to my own country.” But Pharaoh asked him, “What do you lack here with me for you to want to go back to your own country?” “Nothing,” he replied, “but please let me leave.” (1 Kings 11:14-22 HCSB)

How did Rezon become an enemy of Israel, because of Solomon’s disobedience?

God also raised up Eliada’s son Rezon, who had escaped from his master King Hadadezer of Zobah. He raised an army and commanded a gang of raiders after David had eliminated those who lived in Zobah. Rezon and his army moved to Damascus, remained there, and Rezon ruled from Damascus. He opposed Israel during Solomon’s entire reign, in addition to all of the evil things that Hadad did. Rezon also hated Israel while he reigned over Aram. (1 Kings 11:23-25 ISV)

What did the prophet Ahijah say to Jeroboam about the northern ten tribes of Israel?