1 Kings 11:1-12:24 "The Kingdom Divided" We have seen how the central chapters of Solomon's reign focus on his wisdom. Chapter 11, however, reveals his folly. In chapters 1-2, Solomon successfully fought off challengers to his throne, and then at the beginning of chapter 3 he married Pharaoh's daughter which is portrayed as a successful and proper marriage-- the climax of his success at defending his throne. In chapters 11-12, his other foreign marriages are portrayed as the underlying reason for his fall. Because he loved many foreign women, and especially women from those peoples whom God had forbidden: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian and Hittite. Exodus 34:16 specifically warns against the Hittites (and other Canaanite women). And Deut 17:17 warned against kings multiplying wives. And sure enough, Solomon clung to these in love (v2) and his wives turned away his heart (v3). Exactly what God had warned! 1. The Wages of Sin Is Death (11:1-43) Chapter 11 shows us that the wages of sin is death. God had promised Solomon that if he used his wisdom wisely, and obeyed him, then God would bless him with long life. Solomon will die at age 60 not exactly a long life by biblical standards. 1 Kings 11 concludes the Solomon narrative by showing us how sin results in death and not only the death of Solomon himself, but also the dismemberment of the Kingdom. Both the structure and the content of chapter 11 demonstrate that the wages of sin is death (see outline). a) Solomon Did What Was Evil in the Sight of the LORD (11:1-8) Solomon reigned for 40 years. And for many years he appears to have been "playing" with temptation. Because we are told that it was only when Solomon was old that his wives turned away his heart after other gods (v4). It would take more than a few years to collect a harem of 700 wives (princesses) and 300 concubines. So for many years Solomon was playing with fire. This is a warning both for you who are young and you who are old! For you who are young, you may think that you can play with temptation and get away with it. But remember Solomon. He was willing to dabble with unbelief by marrying these foreign women. Eventually they would turn his heart away, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. Playing with sin will result in death. So put to death those things that belong to the old man. Get rid of them do not indulge the desires of the flesh, but cling to Christ! Let your heart be devoted to Christ alone! For those of you who are old, do not be complacent. Remember Solomon. The wisest man who ever lived. He turned away from the path of wisdom. You can never rest from the war against sin. There is no "early retirement" from the Christian life. And remember Caleb, who at the tender age of 85 asked for the privilege of fighting the giants in the hill country! The golden age of Israel's history the new Eden that Solomon built ends the same way that the first one did. And Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. When his heart was set on the LORD, he built a house for the name of the LORD. Now that his heart is set on these women, he builds houses for the names of their gods. Deuteronomy 10:20, 11:22, 13:5, and 30:20 all command Israel to "cling" to Yahweh. But verse 2 says that Solomon was "clinging" to these foreign women. And verses 7-8 make it clear that Solomon endorses polytheism in his kingdom. No doubt he still believed in Yahweh as the highest god, but Yahweh is not interested in being the chief god in a pantheon! b) The LORD's Judgment (11:9-13) And so verse 9 tells us that 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 and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods. God had warned him! But still he did precisely the thing that God had told him not to do! Sounds like Adam, doesn't it? God gives a very specific command if you do this one thing, you will die your kingdom will be taken from you. And so what is the one thing that Solomon makes sure that he does?! But before you mock Solomon too much, take a hard look at yourself! Aren't you the same way? The very thing you knew was wrong is the very thing you did. But he did not keep what the LORD commanded. Therefore the LORD said to Solomon 'Since this has been your practice' (unlike David, he did not repent immediately; he had continued in sin) 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. (In verse 30 Ahijah will tear a garment as a sign of this judgment) 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 (v12-13). God had brought everything to fulfillment in the days of Solomon. All that God had promised to Abraham and Moses had come true. But the Second Adam the one who restored paradise did not persevere to the end. This is the difference, humanly speaking, between Solomon and Jesus. Solomon got off to a great and glorious start, but he could not finish what he started. We need a king who will persevere to the end, and sit down not merely on the throne of David in Jerusalem, but at the right hand of the Father in heaven. c) And the LORD Raised Up a Satan (11:14-25) And so the LORD raised up a satan. That's the word. "Satan" after all, means "adversary." In fact, God raises up two satans: 1) Hadad the Edomite a descendant of Esau Jacob and Esau didn't get along too well, and their feuding continued through all generations. An Edomite (Herod) will play a key role in the trial of Jesus. In our story Hadad sounds suspiciously like Joseph. He flees to Egypt and finds favor in Pharaoh's sight, marries the sister of the queen. When David dies, he returns to his own land of Edom and is a perpetual thorn in Solomon's side. You can almost see an Exodus theme there, where this man with royal connections comes up from Egypt and starts harassing the Molech-worshiping king in Canaan. Except this time, the Molech-worshiping king is not a Canaanite; it is Solomon! 2) Rezon of Damascus is simply a gentile. He sounds suspiciously like David! He had fled from his master Hadadezer of Zobah like David had fled from Saul. He became the leader of a band of outlaws (like David) and was crowned king of his people in Damascus, like David was crowned king in Hebron. Hadad is a counterfeit Israel. Rezon is a counterfeit David. For those of you who have studied the book of Revelation, what is the Beast (a counterfeit Christ) what is the 2nd beast (a counterfeit Spirit) what is the Harlot Babylon (a counterfeit church). You see the same thing happening here. An Edomite with a story like Israel. A Gentile king with a story like David. The Edomites and the Gentiles conspire against the LORD's anointed. But the only way to truly overthrow the Meshiach is from within. b') Ahijah's Prophesies Judgment through the Rise of Jeroboam (11:26-40) The third to rise up against Solomon is not called an "adversary" (or Satan). He is an insider one from Solomon's own government. He had worked on the defenses of Jerusalem indeed he had charge of the forced labor from the house of Joseph. He knew first hand what the labor conditions were like for the people. But he is a faithful servant to Solomon just like David had been a faithful servant to Saul. And just as Samuel had anointed David to succeed Saul, so now Ahijah the prophet designates Jeroboam to succeed Solomon. In 1 Samuel 15:24-31 Saul tears Samuel's robe, and now Ahijah replays that episode, handing 10 of the 12 pieces of his robe to Jeroboam. As Saul had persecuted David, forcing him to flee to the Philistines, so now Solomon persecutes Jeroboam, forcing him to flee to Egypt. And the promise made to Jeroboam sounds very much like the promise made to David: verses 38-39: 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. And I will afflict the offspring of David because of this, but not forever. Obviously the key difference from the promise to David in 2 Samuel 7 is that there is no promise of "olam" forever. But then again, when David was anointed in 1 Samuel 16 there was no mention of "olam" either. Because Jeroboam is offered the same promise as David. I will build you a sure house, as I built for David. God is saying that if Jeroboam is as faithful as David, then God will establish Jeroboam's house. We often forget about this story because this one didn't turn out so well. But the story of Jeroboam is in many respects the key to understanding the book of Kings. Because the kings of Israel will walk in the ways of Jeroboam, sinning the sin of Jeroboam (which we'll look at next time). We are reminded of how remarkable David was a king who avoided idolatry all his life! Another theme of the book of Kings is how the word of the prophet comes to pass. Kings deals with the intrigue of kings and generals the most powerful men in the world. But time after time, the most powerful men in the world are humbled by a man who simply talks. It is not the power of kings that rules the world, it is the Word of the LORD. a') The Death of Solomon (11:41-43) The death of Solomon reminds us that the wages of sin is death. For 40 years Solomon reigned. And upon his death the kingdom itself died. 2. The Folly of Rehoboam and the Division of the Kingdom (12:1-24) The structure of chapter 12 is a very simple chiasm (see outline). It begins and ends at a coronation. The "b" sections deal with the request of the people and the reply of Rehoboam. And at the heart of the chiasm is verse 8: 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. In other words, our passage tonight says that Solomon got in trouble when he was old, but that Rehoboam didn't wait! Both old men and young men can be fools! a) The Coronation of Rehoboam (12:1) So Rehoboam went to Shechem to be crowned king. Interesting choice. Shechem was the place where Israel had first renewed the covenant in Joshua 24. That is probably the connection that Rehoboam wants people to make. But Shechem was also the place where Israel's first king was crowned. No, not Saul. Abimelech, the son of Gideon, in Judges 9. Abimelech was a horrible failure as a king. And so was Rehoboam. b) The Request from Jeroboam and All the People (12:2-5) But when Jeroboam heard that Rehoboam was going to be crowned king, he returned from Egypt and the people called him, and he came to Shechem as well! Notice that Jeroboam is placed at the head of the petitioners in verse 3 and again in verse 12: and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and said to Rehoboam, '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.' This is a very defiant move on the part of the people. They have called the one person whom Rehoboam most hates as their spokesman. And they are saying to the crown prince, "Lighten our yoke or else we will not serve you." This is plainly not a group of people who believe in the Divine Right of Kings. You may be the son of David, but remember that we didn't always follow David! What makes you think that we will follow you! The word "heavy" is the word cavod which means heavy, weighty, or "glory." Solomon is the King of glory! His temple was glorious (and weighty) His palace was glorious (and weighty) And his yoke was glorious (and weighty) We need a king with a little less weight! The golden age was taking its toll on the people of God! Solomon's weighty kingdom has become an oppressive burden. Rehoboam, though requests three days to decide. So the people went away. They would not crown him king until he answered them. c) Rehoboam Consults with the Old Men (12:6-7) At the center of the passage, Rehoboam consults with two sets of advisors, one giving bad and one giving good advice. First he turns to the old men the elders who had advised his father. They understand the situation very well. And their answer reveals that they understood the proper function of the king. He was not merely the master of the people, he was also the servant of the people. If he would serve them for a day in other words, if he would hear them, love them, and heed their pleas then the people would serve him all their lives. This is good advice. c') Rehoboam Consults with the Young Men (12:8-11) Verse 8 is the very center of this passage. Even before we hear that Rehoboam asked the young men, we are told that he "abandoned" the counsel of the old men. He turns to the "boys" his childhood friends. They urge him to threaten to make the burden heavier. Oh, and I should mention that there is no reference to Rehoboam's "finger" in verse 10. Literally it reads, My little thing is thicker than my father's thighs. Do I need to make it any clearer? You thought you got @#% by my father? b') Reply to Jeroboam and All the People (12:12-15) So when after three days Jeroboam and all the people returned . . . [three days? Rehoboam could have resurrected his kingdom after three days but by listening to his "friends" he will remain in his father's grave] Rehoboam answered them harshly. My father made your yoke heavy [glorious], but I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions. Perhaps now you understand what Jesus meant when he said, Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-29) Jesus is claiming to be wiser than Rehoboam! He is the faithful Son of David who rules his people with humility and gentleness. a') The Coronation of Jeroboam (12:16-20) Chapter 12 had opened with all Israel gathering to crown Rehoboam king. But instead they crown Jeroboam. 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 Rehoboam reigned in Judah alone, and when he sent Adoram, the taskmaster, to the northern tribes, they stoned him to death. Shechem was no longer a safe place for Rehoboam, the Son of David, and so he fled back to Jerusalem. So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day. (12:19) The northern tribes spent 70 years under the house of David. (and even during the reign of David, they rebelled against him twice!) The house of Omri had a longer reign over Israel than the house of David did. If you think about it in terms of pure politics, the house of David has very little claim over the northern tribes. They accepted David and Solomon for safety and protection, but rejected Rehoboam and preferred their own king. If this sort of thing happened today, we would very quickly side with Jeroboam, and insist that no Judahite monarch has the right to impose himself on others. Don't you believe in the consent of the governed? Indeed, this political division is simply the fulfillment of the Word of God through the prophet. Epilogue: The Prophecy of Shemaiah the Man of God (12:21-24) The epilogue is equally important because of its focus on the prophetic Word. Jeroboam leads an exodus out of the house of David. Rehoboam is cast as a sort of Pharaoh oppressing the Israelites with his taskmasters. But unlike Pharaoh, he does not pursue Israel. He plans his pursuit gathers his 180,000 chosen warriors but then stops at the last minute. Why? Because the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God: '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.' Shemaiah's name means "Listen to Yahweh" And, remarkably! They listened to the word of the LORD and went home again, according to the word of the LORD. Rehoboam may have listened to the wrong advisors, but at least at this moment he listens to the word of the LORD. As we'll hear next time, Jeroboam will despise the word of the LORD. What will you do with the Word of God?