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1 King Solomon loved many foreign women. Besides Pharaoh's daughter, there were women from the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites. 2 They were from the nations that the Lord had warned the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, for they will undoubtedly convince you to worship their gods.” Yet Solomon because of his love for women held on to them. 3 He had seven hundred wives of noble birth and three hundred concubines. His wives did convince him to turn away from the Lord.
4 As Solomon grew old, his wives led him to follow other gods, and he did not commit himself wholeheartedly to the Lord as his father David had done. 5 Solomon worshiped Ashtoreth, goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech, vile god* The word for “god” is replaced in the text by the world “filth,” meaning something vile and detestable. Also in verse 7. of the Ammonites. 6 This was how Solomon did evil in the Lord's sight, and was not completely dedicated to the Lord as his father David was.
7 It was then that Solomon built a high place of worship for Chemosh, the vile god of the people of Moab, and for Molech, the vile god of the Ammonites, on a hill east of Jerusalem. 8 He built places of worship for all his foreign wives where they burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.
9 The Lord became angry with Solomon because he had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. 10 The Lord had warned Solomon about this—that he should not worship other gods. But Solomon did not listen to the Lord's warning. 11 So the Lord told him, “Since this is what you have done, and since you have not kept my agreement and my laws that I commanded, I will definitely take† The word used here is to rip or tear. Also in verse 12. the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. 12 However, for the sake of your father David, I will not do this in your lifetime—I will take it away from your son. 13 Even then I will not take away the whole kingdom. I will leave your son with one tribe for the sake of my servant David, and for the sake of my chosen city Jerusalem.”
14 Then the Lord encouraged Hadad the Edomite of Edom's royal family to oppose Solomon. 15 Previously, when David was in Edom, Joab the commander of the Israelite army had gone to bury some of his soldiers who had been killed, and had slaughtered every male in Edom. 16 Joab and the whole Israelite army had spent six months there destroying them all.
17 But Hadad and some Edomites who had been his father's officials had run away to Egypt—Hadad was just a boy at the time. 18 They left Midian and went to Paran. Then, along with some people from Paran, they went to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt. He provided Hadad with a house and food, and also assigned him land as a gift. 19 Pharaoh became very friendly with Hadad, and he gave him the sister of his own wife to marry, Queen Tahpenes' sister. 20 She gave birth to his son called Genubath. Tahpenes brought him up in Pharaoh's palace with Pharaoh's own children.
21 However, when news reached Hadad in Egypt that both David and Joab, the commander of the army, had died, Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Let me leave and return to my own country.”
22 Pharaoh asked him, “Is there anything that you have lacked here with me that now you want to go back to your own country?”
“No, there's nothing,” Hadad replied, “but please just let me go home.”
23 God also encouraged Rezon, son of Eliada, to oppose Solomon. He had run away from his master Hadadezer, king of Zobah. After David had destroyed Zobah's army, 24 Rezon gathered around him a rebel band, and became their leader. They went and settled in Damascus, where they took over. 25 Rezon was Israel's enemy throughout Solomon's lifetime which added to the trouble Hadad caused. Rezon really hated Israel, and was the ruler of Aram.
26 In addition, Jeroboam, son of Nebat, rebelled against the king. One of Solomon's officials, he was an Ephraimite from Zeredah. His mother was a widow called Zeruah.
27 This is why he rebelled against the king: Solomon had built the terraces and had closed the gap in the wall of the city of his father David. 28 Jeroboam was a man of ability, and when Solomon realized how successful he was in what he did, he placed him command of all the forced labor of the tribes of Joseph.
29 Around that time the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met Jeroboam on the road as he was leaving Jerusalem. 30 Ahijah had wrapped himself in a new cloak, and the two of them were by themselves in the countryside. Ahijah took the new cloak he was wearing and ripped it up into twelve pieces. 31 He said, “Jeroboam, take ten pieces. This is what the Lord God of Israel says. ‘Jeroboam, I am the Lord, the God of Israel, and I am going to take Solomon's kingdom from him and give you ten of the tribes. 32 One tribe will be left for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I chose from among all the tribes of Israel. 33 This is because they have abandoned me and bowed down in worship of Ashtoreth, goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh, god of the Moabites, and Molech, god of the Ammonites. They have not followed my ways; they have not done what is right in my sight; they have not kept my commandments and laws as David, Solomon's father, did.
34 Even so, I'm not going to take the whole kingdom from Solomon, because I made him ruler for his lifetime for the sake of my servant David. I chose him because he kept my commandments and laws. 35 But I will take from his son's kingdom ten tribes and give them to you. 36 I will give his son one tribe, so that my servant David will always have a descendant like‡ “A descendant like”: implied. a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to be honored. 37 I will take you, and you shall reign over everything that you want. You will be king over Israel. 38 If you accept everything that I command you, if you follow my ways, if you do what is right in my sight, keeping my laws and commandments as my servant David did, then I will be with you. I will set up for you a dynasty that lasts, just as I did for David, and I will give Israel to you. 39 I will punish David's descendants because of this, but not forever.”
40 So Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam ran away to Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt. He remained there until Solomon's death.
41 The record of the rest of the acts of Solomon, including everything he did, and his wisdom, are written in the Book of the Acts of Solomon. 42 Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all of Israel for a total of forty years. 43 Solomon died and was buried in the city of his father David. His son Rehoboam succeeded him as king.

- 1 Kings
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*11:5 The word for “god” is replaced in the text by the world “filth,” meaning something vile and detestable. Also in verse 7.

†11:11 The word used here is to rip or tear. Also in verse 12.

‡11:36 “A descendant like”: implied.

© 2018 Dr. Jonathan Gallagher