1 Kings Chapter 11
Solomon’s Decline and Death
A. Solomon’s Apostasy
1. (1 Kings 11:1-3) Solomon’s unlawful marriages
But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites, from the nations of whom the LORD had said to the children of Israel, You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods. Solomon clung to these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned away his heart.
a. Solomon loved many foreign women: Solomon openly disobeyed the clear standard God established for Israel. The first issue was that these women came from nations that worshipped idols and carried the religious corruption of their homeland. The second issue was that he rejected God’s institution of marriage, where the Lord established one man and one woman becoming one flesh in Genesis 2:23 through 24 and affirmed again by Jesus Christ in Matthew 19:4 through 6. Solomon knew the Scriptures, yet he dismissed them for the sake of his personal desires.
b. Nations of whom the LORD had said, You shall not intermarry with them: The command was straightforward. God warned Israel that marriage to pagan nations would inevitably pull the heart away from Him. Solomon had supernatural wisdom given by God, yet he did not use that wisdom to govern his own life. He behaved as if God’s command applied to others but not to him. Like many people, Solomon assumed he would escape the consequences that others suffered. He believed he would be the exception. He was not.
c. Solomon clung to these in love: Solomon chose romantic and sensual pursuit over obedience to God. Rather than resist the pull of sinful attraction, he embraced it. This reveals a timeless truth. A person can feel genuine affection or attraction toward someone they have no moral right to be attached to. Attraction does not equal righteousness. Solomon valued passion more than purity. He held tightly to what God commanded him to release.
d. He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: This number is staggering. His wives were noblewomen and his concubines were legal partners without the same status. The scope of this harem shows the complete abandonment of God’s design. No man can meaningfully love or lead such a multitude of partners. This was not intimacy. It was excess.
Solomon likely followed the poor example of his father David, documented in 2 Samuel 5:13 through 16, where David increased wives beyond God’s standard. Scripture never blesses this lifestyle. It consistently presents it as disorder and spiritual compromise.
Solomon’s choices also reflected unrestrained lust. If a man is discontent with the wife God gave him, a thousand women will not satisfy him. The issue is the man, not the wife. Proverbs 27:20 states, Hell and Destruction are never full, so the eyes of man are never satisfied. Solomon proved that truth through painful experience.
His enormous harem also signified pride and political ambition. In the ancient world, the size of a king’s household signaled his wealth and power. Solomon wanted the world to see his status. This desire for public admiration drove him into forbidden marriages. As Poole observed, this came partly from lust, which once indulged becomes unsatisfied, and partly from pride, which seeks honor and grandeur.
e. And his wives turned away his heart: This is the tragic fulfillment of God’s warning. At first Solomon knew genuine love with one woman, as seen in the Song of Solomon. However, a man can begin right and still drift far from God if he neglects obedience. Love itself does not keep a marriage or a man’s heart faithful. Only the blessing of God upon obedience does.
We do not know when Solomon took his second wife, but once he followed David’s example, it became easy to continue. Each new wife made the next addition simpler. Eventually he violated the direct command of Deuteronomy 17:17 which states, Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away. Solomon multiplied wives beyond measure, and the result was exactly what God said would happen. His heart turned.
Meyer observed that Solomon could have crushed idol worship with intellectual arguments if presented directly. His problem was not theological weakness. It was moral compromise. He allowed the cords of sensuality and emotional attachment to lead him step by step into idolatry. Wisdom without obedience leads to ruin.
Morgan noted that Solomon’s story stands as a solemn warning. His life began with extraordinary promise, yet ended in failure because he surrendered to the pull of his sinful nature. His decline was not sudden. It was the slow erosion of a heart that no longer guarded itself from temptation.
2. (1 Kings 11:4 through 8) Solomon’s wives turn him away from God
For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not loyal to the LORD his God, as was the heart of his father David. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and did not fully follow the LORD, as did his father David. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the hill that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon. And he did likewise for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.
a. When Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods: Solomon’s decline did not correct itself with age. Experience did not produce maturity because wisdom must be applied to be effective. A man can possess knowledge yet lack obedience. Solomon began his reign with a tender heart toward the Lord, yet the sinful habits and compromises of his youth grew stronger with time. Old age does not automatically bring godliness. It only solidifies the trajectory that was set earlier in life. If a man sows compromise in his strength, he will reap corruption in his later days.
b. His heart was not loyal to the LORD his God: This phrase draws a clear contrast between Solomon and those who fully followed the Lord. Scripture uses this same language to describe Joshua and Caleb in Numbers 32:11 through 12, Deuteronomy 1:36, and Joshua 14:8 through 9 and 14. It also describes David. Solomon stands out because he did not follow the Lord with a whole heart. His failure is recorded so that future generations would see how tragic it is when a man refuses to give God complete obedience.
c. As was the heart of his father David: David had many failures and many wives, just as Solomon did. Yet David’s heart retained loyalty to God. He sinned grievously, but he always returned to the Lord with repentance and sincerity. Solomon did not. Both men shared the same weakness, yet one survived spiritually while the other collapsed into apostasy.
From what Jesus teaches in Luke 16:19 through 31, we understand that David, at the time of Solomon’s life, was in Abraham’s bosom, a place of blessing and comfort. If it were possible for someone there to see earthly events and grieve over them, David would have been deeply sorrowful at the sight of his son’s downfall. Every father desires his children to surpass him in righteousness. David hoped Solomon would reach greater victory over the flesh than he himself experienced, particularly in the area of sexual temptation. Tragically, David’s sons showed even less restraint.
It is important to note that David’s sin, though destructive, never turned his heart away from the Lord. A sin that merely hinders one believer may utterly destroy another. David was wounded by his failure. Solomon was ruined by his. This is why Scripture warns believers away from causing others to stumble in Romans 14 and First Corinthians 8. What one person barely survives, another cannot withstand.
d. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, after Milcom, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, and for Molech: The text describes something that would seem unbelievable if Scripture did not plainly declare it. Solomon, the man entrusted with the temple, the man to whom God personally appeared twice, the man given supernatural wisdom, turned to the worship of the vilest pagan deities.
Yet Solomon likely convinced himself that he was not abandoning the Lord. He did not renounce the God of Israel in a formal sense. Instead, he added the worship of other gods beside Him. He imagined he could honor both. The Lord never accepts divided worship. He requires exclusive devotion. He does not permit a man to keep the idols of his heart while offering lip service to the covenant.
This is the destructive power of lust. Solomon’s sensual desires placed him on a downward path until he found himself supporting idolatry he once would have condemned. Lust clouds the mind and blinds spiritual judgment. It creates a fog of confusion until a man finds himself committing sins he would have sworn he would never approach. Solomon eventually entered the presence of Chemosh and Molech, gods associated with unspeakable practices such as child sacrifice. What began with romantic compromise ended in open idolatry.
The reader should take this warning seriously. If the wisest man who ever lived fell into such darkness because of unchecked lust and divided loyalty, what hope does anyone have apart from constant dependence upon Jesus Christ? Solomon’s life instructs us to cling to Christ daily, to guard the heart with diligence, and to resist the first step toward compromise.
It is also important to acknowledge that the name Ashtoreth used in this passage reflects a deliberate alteration by the biblical writers. Ashtart was the Canaanite fertility goddess. The Hebrew text intentionally revocalized the name using vowels associated with the word for shame, emphasizing God’s contempt for idolatry, as noted by Patterson and Austel.
3. (1 Kings 11:9 through 13) God announces His judgment
So the LORD became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the LORD God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods, but he did not keep what the LORD had commanded. Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. Nevertheless I will not do it in your days, for the sake of your father David, I will tear it out of the hand of your son. However I will not tear away the whole kingdom, I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen.
a. So the LORD became angry with Solomon: God had every reason to be angry with Solomon. This was not the sin of a man who never knew the truth. This was the rebellion of someone who received extraordinary revelation from the Lord Himself. God appeared to Solomon twice. He spoke clearly to him about the danger of idolatry. Solomon could not claim ignorance. His sin was deliberate. It was an act of ingratitude toward God’s mercy and a betrayal of the privileges God had entrusted to him.
This reminds us that even the greatest spiritual experiences cannot keep a person faithful if the heart chooses disobedience. Solomon had wisdom, supernatural encounters, wealth, and divine blessing. None of it prevented him from falling. If the wisest man on earth could fall so far, then believers today must remain humble and vigilant. No spiritual experience can replace daily obedience.
b. I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant: The kingdom that God promised to David’s descendants was conditional upon obedience. David reminded Solomon of this truth in First Kings 2:4. Solomon enjoyed the height of Israel’s power and prosperity. His reign displayed unmatched wealth, military might, architectural greatness, and international respect. However, Israel’s true security rested in the blessing of God, not in the brilliance of their king or the strength of their military.
Solomon forgot this. He acted as if worldly success secured the future of the kingdom. In reality, disobedience erased every advantage. His failure shows that no amount of earthly achievement can protect a nation from divine judgment.
c. I will not do it in your days, for the sake of your father David, I will tear it out of the hand of your son: God delayed the judgment out of respect for David. This reveals the enduring impact of a godly life. David was far from perfect, but he loved the Lord wholeheartedly. That loyalty brought blessing to generations after him.
Solomon’s actions, however, brought immediate consequences. The judgment was sealed in his lifetime, even though it would fall on his son. This pattern is seen throughout Scripture. Disobedience often produces consequences that impact future generations.
d. However I will not tear away the whole kingdom, I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David: Even in judgment, the mercy of God is evident. The kingdom would be divided, yet God would preserve a remnant for the house of David. His promise regarding the Messiah required that David’s line remain intact. God’s covenant faithfulness ensured that the tribe of Judah, along with Benjamin, would remain loyal to the Davidic dynasty.
This division also sets the stage for the rise of two kingdoms in Israel’s history, the northern kingdom with ten tribes and the southern kingdom associated with David’s lineage. Other passages, such as Second Chronicles 11:12, make it clear that the southern kingdom consisted of Judah and Benjamin. Here it is referred to as one tribe either because Benjamin was absorbed into Judah or because the text is referring to one tribe in addition to Judah.
B. Two foreign adversaries of Solomon
1. (1 Kings 11:14 through 22) Hadad the Edomite
Now the LORD raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite, he was a descendant of the king in Edom. For it happened, when David was in Edom, and Joab the commander of the army had gone up to bury the slain, after he had killed every male in Edom, because for six months Joab remained there with all Israel, until he had cut down every male in Edom, that Hadad fled to go to Egypt, he and certain Edomites of his father’s servants with him. Hadad was still a little child. Then they arose from Midian and came to Paran, and they took men with them from Paran and came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house, apportioned food for him, and gave him land. And Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him as wife the sister of his own wife, that is, the sister of Queen Tahpenes. Then the sister of Tahpenes bore him Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh’s house. And Genubath was in Pharaoh’s household among the sons of Pharaoh. So 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 depart, that I may go to my own country. Then Pharaoh said to him, But what have you lacked with me, that suddenly you seek to go to your own country. So he answered, Nothing, but do let me go anyway.
a. Now the LORD raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite: Solomon’s reign was marked by prosperity and splendor, yet God in His wisdom did not allow it to remain entirely free of difficulty. Solomon’s disobedience required correction. Therefore the Lord raised up an adversary to trouble him. Hadad, a royal descendant of Edom, became a divinely appointed instrument of resistance. Clarke observed that early in Solomon’s reign he could say there was no satan, no adversary, as recorded in First Kings 5:4. Once Solomon turned from God, three adversaries arose immediately, Hadad, Rezon, and Jeroboam. The presence of adversaries was not accidental. It was the direct result of Solomon’s departure from the Lord.
b. He was a descendant of the king in Edom: Hadad belonged to the royal line of the Edomites and carried deep resentment over the devastation inflicted upon Edom by Israel during David’s time. Joab spent six months in Edom executing judgment and wiping out the male population, which forced the child Hadad to flee for his life. Egypt provided him refuge, protection, and influence. Pharaoh even welcomed Hadad into his household as family. Over time, Hadad grew in confidence and political strength. When he learned of the deaths of David and Joab, he desired to return to his homeland and assert himself as an adversary to Solomon.
c. Let me depart, that I may go to my own country: Pharaoh questioned why Hadad would ever leave such favor and privilege in Egypt. Hadad lacked nothing. Yet he continued to carry bitterness toward Israel and longed to return to Edom. Scripture does not detail the specific manner in which he troubled Solomon, but it is clear that God permitted him to harass the kingdom. Hadad became a persistent opposition to Solomon’s reign, a reminder that no amount of earthly prosperity can shield a disobedient man from divine correction.
2. (1 Kings 11:23 through 25) Rezon, from the north country
And God raised up another adversary against him, Rezon the son of Eliadah, who had fled from his lord, Hadadezer king of Zobah. So he gathered men to him and became captain over a band of raiders, when David killed those of Zobah. And they went to Damascus and dwelt there, and reigned in Damascus. He was an adversary of Israel all the days of Solomon, besides the trouble that Hadad caused, and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria.
a. God raised up another adversary against him: Solomon’s success and power did not make him invincible. Once he abandoned obedience to the Lord, God allowed pressure to rise from every direction. Just as the Lord raised Hadad from the south, He also raised Rezon from the north. Solomon discovered that no human strength, wealth, or reputation can shield a man from the consequences of spiritual rebellion. When God removes His protective hand, adversaries emerge easily and multiply quickly.
b. Rezon the son of Eliadah: Rezon originally fled from Hadadezer, the king of Zobah, and eventually formed a band of raiders. These men seized Damascus, establishing Rezon as a ruler and creating a hostile kingdom directly to Israel’s north. Rezon hated Israel and maintained his hostility for the remainder of Solomon’s reign. The Lord used him to create continuous pressure upon Solomon, demonstrating that adversaries serve a purpose. They reveal the weakness of a compromised heart and test the response of those who face them. God shapes His people not only through blessings but also through opposition. Rezon’s rise reminds us that adversity is sometimes a divinely appointed tool for discipline and correction.
C. Jeroboam, a special adversary
1. (1 Kings 11:26 through 28) Jeroboam, the servant of Solomon
Then Solomon’s servant, Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite from Zereda, whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow, also rebelled against the king. And this is what caused him to rebel against the king, Solomon had built the Millo and repaired the damages to the City of David his father. The man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor, and Solomon, seeing that the young man was industrious, made him the officer over all the labor force of the house of Joseph.
a. Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite: Jeroboam was notably different from the earlier adversaries God raised against Solomon. Hadad and Rezon were foreign enemies, but Jeroboam belonged to Israel itself. His opposition was not external resistance, but internal division arising from within the covenant community. This made his adversarial role far more destructive. Internal rebellion is always more dangerous than external hostility.
b. This is what caused him to rebel against the king, Solomon had built the Millo and repaired the damages to the City of David: Scripture does not specify the exact reason why these construction projects ignited Jeroboam’s rebellion. Jewish tradition suggests that Jeroboam opposed Solomon’s heavy use of forced labor in these projects, and this is a reasonable conclusion. As the officer in charge of the labor force from the tribes of Joseph, Jeroboam had a position that exposed him to the hardships and grievances of the workers. This likely positioned him as a sympathetic, populist figure among the northern tribes.
Dilday notes that the name Jeroboam may mean may the people be great, suggesting that he was seen as a champion for the common people. Knapp comments that while Jeroboam appeared to merely present the people’s petition, he was likely working behind the scenes as a shrewd political operator, preparing himself for leadership long before the crown came to him.
c. Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor: His strength, skill, and industrious nature made him an effective leader and therefore a more formidable adversary to Solomon. Solomon himself had elevated Jeroboam because he recognized these qualities, but the very qualities that earned him promotion later became the qualities that fueled rebellion and division.
2. (1 Kings 11:29 through 36) The prophet Ahijah speaks to Jeroboam
Now it happened at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the way, and he had clothed himself with a new garment, and the two were alone in the field. Then Ahijah took hold of the new garment that was on him, and tore it into twelve pieces. And he said to Jeroboam, Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give ten tribes to you, but he shall have one tribe for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, because they have forsaken Me, and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the people of Ammon, and have not walked in My ways to do what is right in My eyes and keep My statutes and My judgments, as did his father David. However I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, because I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of My servant David, whom I chose because he kept My commandments and My statutes. But I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand and give it to you, ten tribes. And to his son I will give one tribe, that My servant David may always have a lamp before Me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for Myself, to put My name there.
a. Take for yourself ten pieces: The prophet Ahijah used a dramatic prophetic sign to reveal God’s judgment. By tearing his new garment into twelve pieces and giving Jeroboam ten, he revealed that God Himself would divide the kingdom. Jeroboam would rule over ten tribes. Only one tribe would remain under the house of David. Patterson and Austel note the shock of this event. Rehoboam and Judah would go from leading a vast, wealthy, international kingdom to ruling a small and weakened state almost overnight.
This prophetic act made clear that the division was not merely political. It was divine. God was tearing the kingdom because Solomon had torn his heart away from the Lord.
b. Because they have forsaken Me: God explained the spiritual reason behind the political upheaval. Israel forsook the Lord by turning to the worship of Ashtoreth, Chemosh, and Milcom. Their idolatry was not accidental. It was the result of Solomon’s leadership and Solomon’s disobedience. Because the king turned away, the people followed. Therefore the kingdom would be torn apart.
Yet God preserved one tribe for the house of David to honor His covenant. His faithfulness does not fail even when His people fail.
This passage marks the first introduction to the divided kingdom which would dominate Israel’s history for centuries. From a human perspective, ten tribes should have formed the stronger and more successful kingdom. Yet history showed the opposite. The ten tribes under Jeroboam persisted in rebellion, idolatry, and instability, while the one tribe under the house of David retained greater endurance because it adhered more closely to the worship of the Lord.
3. (1 Kings 11:37 through 40) Jeroboam’s great opportunity
So I will take you, and you shall reign over all your heart desires, and you shall be king over Israel. Then it shall be, if you heed all that I command you, walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as My servant David did, then I will be with you and build for you an enduring house, as I built for David, and will give Israel to you. And I will afflict the descendants of David because of this, but not forever. Solomon therefore sought to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam arose and fled to Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.
a. I will take you, and you shall reign over all your heart desires, and you shall be king over Israel: God Himself ordained the coming division of the kingdom and the rise of Jeroboam. Jeroboam did not seize the throne by his own talent or ambition alone. God raised him up as an instrument of judgment. This was a severe punishment on Solomon for embracing idolatry and turning away from the Lord. The coming division was not accidental. It was theological, spiritual, and deliberate. God was tearing the kingdom because Solomon had torn his heart from Him.
b. Then I will be with you and build for you an enduring house: This was an extraordinary offer. God extended to Jeroboam the possibility of an enduring dynasty similar to the house of David. If Jeroboam would walk in obedience and righteousness, God would establish his throne. This was a remarkable opportunity for a man who had risen from being a servant to becoming a king.
Jeroboam’s story mirrors but contrasts with David’s. Both were appointed by God to follow after disobedient kings. David patiently waited for the Lord to open the way to the throne, and his reign received God’s favor. Jeroboam did not wait on the Lord. He took matters into his own hands, seizing authority through political manipulation and later resorting to idolatry to secure his power. Because he would not wait upon the Lord or walk in God’s ways, Jeroboam forfeited the blessings that God freely offered.
c. Solomon therefore sought to kill Jeroboam: This is a disturbing sign of how far Solomon had fallen. Instead of humbling himself under the word of God delivered by Ahijah, Solomon attempted to prevent God’s decree through violence. God had clearly stated that the division would occur after Solomon’s death. Solomon refused to accept this, and in rebellion against God he tried to eliminate Jeroboam. This attempt failed. Jeroboam fled to Egypt until Solomon died. The word of God cannot be thwarted. The judgment God announced came exactly as He promised.
4. (1 Kings 11:41 through 43) Solomon’s death
Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon. And the period that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. Then Solomon rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David his father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.
a. The period that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years: Many commentators believe Solomon began his reign around the age of twenty. If that is correct, Solomon died at roughly sixty years old, which is not a long life for a king who lived in extraordinary wealth, luxury, and privilege. His life was shorter than it could have been because he failed to walk in the commandments of the Lord. First Kings 3:14 records the promise God made to Solomon.
So if you walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.
Solomon forfeited this blessing because he abandoned obedience. Clarke notes that considering the excess in which Solomon lived and the sinful passions he indulged among his thousand wives, his life lasted as long as could reasonably be expected. Sin always shortens life in one way or another.
b. Then Solomon rested with his fathers: This familiar phrase in Kings appears twenty five times. It simply indicates that the individual entered the world beyond. It does not guarantee salvation or a righteous end. It is used for righteous kings and wicked kings alike. It does not tell us Solomon’s eternal fate.
The final description of Solomon in Scripture is bleak. The last scene of his life in First Kings is marked by idolatry, rebellion, and disobedience. The text gives no indication of repentance. Poole notes that if Solomon did repent, Scripture deliberately remains silent to increase the warning and weight of his example. The uncertainty of Solomon’s eternal state makes his story more sobering. His life was filled with promise, wisdom, wealth, and divine blessing, yet it ended with spiritual ruin.
Some argue that Solomon may have received special mercy for David’s sake, referring to the promise in Second Samuel 7:14 through 15 where God declares mercy for David’s offspring. Others point to the Book of Ecclesiastes, believing Solomon wrote it at the end of his life as an expression of repentance and rejection of his former vanity. Scripture does not explicitly confirm this.
Trapp concludes with a harsh but accurate observation. It would have been better for Solomon to have been buried alive than to have died in dishonor, apostasy, and spiritual disgrace. His fall stands as a warning that no man is above temptation, and no amount of wisdom or privilege guarantees faithfulness without obedience to God.
