1 Kings 11

Solomon, the wisest of kings, ends his reign in sad failure. His many foreign wives draw his heart to their gods, and he even builds shrines for them. God announces that the kingdom will be torn apart, raises up enemies, and promises ten tribes to Jeroboam, while still keeping a lamp burning for David’s line.

1 Kings 11:1-2

Solomon’s love for many foreign women broke a clear command. God had warned that marriages with these nations would turn Israel’s hearts to their gods. Solomon did not stumble by accident; he held on to these women anyway, knowing what God had said.

BSA: clung (“to cleave or stick”): The word is used elsewhere of a husband’s devotion to his wife, so Solomon gave these women the loyalty that belonged to God.

See also: Deuteronomy 7:3-4; Deuteronomy 17:17.

1 Kings 11:3

The numbers are staggering: seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines. Many marriages sealed treaties with other kingdoms. What looked like political strength became spiritual weakness, and the women did exactly what God had said they would do.

BSA: turned (“led astray, deflected”): His heart was not smashed at once but gently bent off course, like a road bending away from its destination.

1 Kings 11:4

The decline came slowly and late in life. The man who once asked for wisdom and built the temple now followed other gods. God measures him against David, whose heart, despite great sins, stayed fully the Lord’s.

BSA: wholeheartedly (“completely, fully”): God asks for an undivided heart, not a heart shared with other loves.

Hebrew: שָׁלֵם (shalem, H8003) — “whole, complete, at peace.” The Hebrew word behind ‘wholeheartedly’ means a heart that is whole and undivided. Solomon’s heart was split among many loves.

1 Kings 11:5-6

Solomon followed Ashtoreth, a Sidonian goddess, and Milcom, the god of the Ammonites. Scripture calls these gods an abomination, something God hates. The verdict is plain: he did evil in the Lord’s sight and did not follow Him completely, as David had.

BSA: abomination (“disgusting idol”): The Bible uses a strong word of disgust to show how God sees idols, however attractive they may seem.

1 Kings 11:7-8

Solomon went beyond private tolerance and built high places on a hill east of Jerusalem, within sight of the temple. Chemosh and Molech were gods tied to cruel worship. He built for all his wives, so idolatry was openly established in God’s chosen city.

BSA: high place (“cultic platform, worship site”): These were raised sites for pagan worship, now set up near the Lord’s own house.

See also: Leviticus 18:21.

1 Kings 11:9-10

The Lord’s anger is the right response of a faithful God to a broken relationship. It was heavier because Solomon had received much: God appeared to him twice and warned him clearly. Knowing better made his fall more serious.

BSA: grew angry (“be enraged, breathe hard”): The picture is of heavy breathing, showing that God’s anger is real and personal, not cold.

See also: 1 Kings 3:5; 1 Kings 9:2.

1 Kings 11:11-13

God declares judgment: the kingdom will be torn away and given to a servant. Yet mercy shines through. For David’s sake the split will come in Solomon’s son’s day, and one tribe will remain, tied to God’s promise to David and to Jerusalem.

BSA: tear (“rend, violently separate”): The word suggests ripping cloth, preparing us for the torn cloak in verse 30.

See also: 2 Samuel 7:12-16.

1 Kings 11:14-22

God now raises up Hadad the Edomite as an adversary. As a boy he escaped Joab’s slaughter of Edom and grew up in Egypt, even marrying into Pharaoh’s household. When David and Joab died, he asked to go home. Solomon’s peace was beginning to break.

BSA: adversary (“Satan, an opponent”): The Hebrew word simply means an opponent, here one God Himself permits to stand against Solomon.

1 Kings 11:23-25

A second adversary, Rezon, escaped from the king of Zobah, gathered raiders, and took Damascus. He ruled Aram and was hostile to Israel all through Solomon’s days. Each enemy shows that disobedience cost Solomon the peace he once enjoyed.

BSA: raiders (“outlaws, rebels”): Rezon began as a leader of a roving band, yet became a king who troubled Israel.

1 Kings 11:26-28

Trouble also rises from inside. Jeroboam, an Ephraimite and a capable young man, was set by Solomon over the labor force of the house of Joseph. Heavy labor on the building projects set the stage for resentment among the northern tribes.

BSA: industrious (“hardworking, diligent”): Solomon rewarded his skill, not knowing God would use this same man to divide the kingdom.

1 Kings 11:29-31

The prophet Ahijah meets Jeroboam alone and tears a new cloak into twelve pieces, giving him ten. The torn garment is a living picture of the kingdom being split. God says He Himself will give Jeroboam ten tribes.

Hebrew: קָרַע (qara’, H7167) — “to tear, rip.” This is the same word used for tearing clothes in grief. The torn cloak shows a kingdom ripped apart by sin.

1 Kings 11:32-36

Judah remains for David’s sake and for Jerusalem. The reason for the judgment is repeated: they forsook the Lord for Ashtoreth, Chemosh and Milcom. Yet God promises David a lamp, a continuing light, in Jerusalem, a sign of mercy and of the line that leads on.

BSA: lamp (“a candle, a light”): A lamp that stays lit shows that David’s family would never be completely snuffed out.

See also: 1 Kings 15:4; Psalm 132:17.

1 Kings 11:37-39

God offers Jeroboam a real promise with a real condition: obey as David did, and God will be with him and build him a lasting house. Judgment on David’s line is also not final: God will humble them, but not forever.

BSA: lasting (“faithful, enduring”): A dynasty is only secure when it rests on faithfulness to God.

See also: 2 Samuel 7:16.

1 Kings 11:40

Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but God’s plan could not be stopped by a king’s anger. Jeroboam fled to Shishak of Egypt and stayed until Solomon died. Trying to hold power by force is no match for what God has declared.

BSA: fled (“to escape, to run away”): Jeroboam escaped to safety, waiting for God’s word to be fulfilled.

1 Kings 11:41-43

Solomon’s reign lasted forty years. His deeds and wisdom were written in a record now lost to us. He died and was buried in David’s city, and Rehoboam became king. His story ends with greatness and failure side by side, a warning that great gifts need a faithful heart.

BSA: rested (“slept with his fathers, died”): This gentle phrase marks death as a sleep, repeated at the end of each king’s story.