A Divided Kingdom:The Books of I & II Kings

Solomon’s Demise

I Kings Chapter 11

Announcements

I KingsWeek Date Topic

1 05 Sep 12 Introduction

2 12 Sep 12 Fight For the Kingdom: I Ki 1-2

3 19 Sep 12 Solomon Begins His Reign: I Ki 3-5

4 26 Sep 12 Solomon Builds The Temple: I Ki 6-8

5 03 Oct 12 Splendor of Solomon’s Kingdom: I Ki 9-10

6 10 Oct 12 Solomon’s Demise: I Ki 11

7 17 Oct 12 Division of the Kingdom: I Ki:12

8 24 Oct 12 Early History of the Kingdoms, Pt 1: I Ki 12:25-16:34

9 31 Oct 12 Early History of the Kingdoms, Pt 2: I Ki 12:25-16:34

10 07 Nov 12 Stories of Elijah: I Ki 17:1-19:21

11 14 Nov 12 War with Syria: I Ki 20:1-43

12 21 Nov 12 More Stories of Elijah: I Ki 21:1-21:29

13 27 Nov 12 Ahab’s Final Battle: I Ki 22:1-53

Today’s Objectives

• Review last weeks lesson

• Review historical maps of Israel and the region

• Learn about Solomon’s unlawful marriages

• Learn why Solomon turns to pagan gods

• Learn about God’s judgment upon Solomon

• Review how God raises two enemies against Solomon

• See how and why God chooses Jeroboam to rule 10 tribes of Israel

Last Week’s Lesson

• Reviewed the previous week’s lesson

• Reviewed historical maps of Israel and the region

• Learnd how God warns Solomon a second time to heed His commandments and walk in His ways (Chp 9)

• Reviewed Solomon’s building projects (Chp 9)

• Learned about the Queen of Sheba’s visit (Chp 10)

• Learned about Solomon’s great wealth (Chp 10)

• Learned how Solomon’s great wealth begins to corrupt

Overview of I and II Kings• Originally one book

– Early Greek manuscripts of the OT combined the books of Samuel and Kings under the title of "kingdoms," or "reigns"

– Kings was broken into two books for convenience sake because of its length (Greek translation)

• Authorship– Some portions of the book identical to the book of Jeremiah

– Jeremiah would have personal knowledge of some contents

– Evidence that Ezra was the author after the Babylonian captivity

• Timeline– Approximately 400 years, written between 560 B.C. and 538 B.C.

– Start: Death of David in 971 B.C.

– End: Jehoiachin's release from a Babylonian prison in 562 B.C.

Overview of I and II Kings• Books of Samuel and Kings cover Israel's period as

a nation under a king:– I Samuel: Life of Saul– II Samuel: Life of David– I Kings: Solomon and the divided kingdom– II Kings: The fall of the divided kingdoms of Israel and

Judah

• Content of I and II Kings– 47 chapters (I Ki – 22 chapters, II Ki – 25 chapters)– History of the Jewish commonwealth– Death of David to subjugation to Babylonians

• Purpose– Imparting of great moral lessons backed up by well-

known illustrations– Religious history – Focused upon kings rather than prophets

• Key Lesson– God does not fail His people; His people, led by their

kings, have failed God– God’s covenant has the contingency of Israel’s

faithfulness– Covenant also promises a return from exile those that

return to God

Overview of I and II Kings

Main Characters of Chapters 11• Solomon – David’s youngest son and the third king of Israel• Chemosh - god of Moab, fish god• Molech - god of the Ammonites, associated with child-sacrifice• Ashtoreth – moon goddess of the Sidonians, also Ishtar, Astarte• Hadad – enemy God raised to punish Solomon, ruled in Edom,

managed to escape Edom when Joab (David’s military commander) destroyed the Edomites

• Rezon - enemy God raised to punish Solomon, ruled in Syria (Aram), originally a leader of a band of rebels when David destroyed the forces of Zobah

• Jeroboam – God selects to ebelled against the king. He was one of Solomon's officials, an Ephraimite from Zeredah, and his mother was a widow named Zeruah

• Ahijah - prophet of Shiloh, delivered the news that God would give Jeroboam 10 tribes to rule over; also, God would leave one tribe with one of Solomon’s son

• Rehoboam – Solomon’s son who succeeded him as king

Solomon’s Unlawful Marriage(1 Kings 11:1-3)

• Solomon loved many foreign women– Foreign women who worshipped other Gods– Many women

• Nations Israel was to intermarry with

• 700 wives and 300 concubines– Lust for power, prestige, and authority– If one wife can’t satisfy, neither will 1000– Deuteronomy 17:17: Neither shall he multiply

wives for himself, lest his heart turn away

• His many wives turned away his heart

Solomon Turns To Pagan Gods (1 Kings 11:4-8)

• Solomon’s heart was not loyal to God– As was his father David

• Went after the gods of the pagan nations– Gods from the nations of his wives– Possibly didn’t see it as a denial of God– Convinced himself that this was okay– Gradual, justifiable sin that overcomes us

God Announces His Judgment (1 Kings 11:9-13)

• God becomes angry with Solomon– Even though God had appeared to Solomon twice to

warn him

• Kingdom will be torn away from Solomon– Judgment delayed until after Solomon’s death– One tribe given to Solomon’s son for David’s sake– Judah and Benjamin – see 2 Chron 11:12

Two Enemies for Solomon(1 Kings 11:14-25)

• Hadad the Edomite (11:14-22)– Decendent of the king in Edom– Joab had killed every male in Edom, Hadad fled to

Egypt (2 Sam 8:13)– Pharaoh king of Egypt gave him a house, food, and

land, he found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh – Pharaoh gave Hadad the sister of his wife, Queen

Tahpenes, to Hadad as a wife– Bore him a son, whom Tahpenes weaned in

Pharaoh's house

Two Enemies for Solomon(1 Kings 11:14-25)

• Rezon of Syria (11:23-25)– Worked for the king of Zobah, but left after David’s

defeat– Led a band of marauders– Took Damascus and became ruler of Syria– Laid the foundation for centuries of conflict with

Israel, particularly the Northern Kingdom– Lineage leads to Tabrimmon, Ben-hadad I, and Ben-

hadad II– Some of his line sided with Judah against Israel

God Picks Jeroboam Lead Israel(1 Kings 11:26-36)

• Jeroboam – a servant of Solomon (26-28)– Son of Nebat, an Ephraimite, a fellow Israelite– Rebelled against Solomon for building Millo– Perhaps a populist leader, man of valor

• Ahijah speaks to Jeroboam (29-36)– Take ten pieces of the robe– He would lead the 10 tribes of the divided kingdom– God divides Israel for forsaking Him– God keeps one tribe under the house of David– First mention of a divided kingdom

Jeroboam and Solomon’s death (1 Kings 11:37-43)

• God ordains the division of Israel– Did this as a judgment upon Solomon for idolatry– God promises a lasting dynasty for Jeroboam, if he

does what is right in God’s sight

• Solomon seeks to kill Jeroboam– God states Jeroboam’s ascent would happen after

Solomon’s death, as judgment upon Solomon– Solomon thought he could defeat God’s will

• Solomon dies after a 40 year reign

Review

• Reviewed last week’s lesson• Reviewed historical maps of Israel and the region• Learned about Solomon’s unlawful marriages• Learned why Solomon turns to pagan gods• Learned about God’s judgment upon Solomon• Reviewed how God raises two enemies against

Solomon• Saw how and why God chooses Jeroboam to rule 10

tribes of Israel• Next week: Chapter 12 – Division of the Kingdom