1 Kings 11 & 12: Is The LORD Angry With You?
Verse of the Day: (11:9) And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice
1. Angry (11:1-13)
Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake which I have chosen. (11:13)
God was angry with Solomon because he succumbed to his lust as he had 700 wives and 300 concubines when He had intended that man should have only one wife as in the beginning of time, He created Eve from Adam’s one rib. (Genesis 2:20-25) Though God loved Solomon that He appeared to him twice; once to grant him his desire, and the second to sanctify His house and promised Israel that He shall be with them forever, yet he failed Him. God then pronounced judgment upon him that his kingdom shall be divided. His servant, Jeroboam, shall remove from him 10 tribes, while his son, Rehoboam, shall be left with only 2 tribes, the tribe of Benjamin, and his own tribe, Judah, for David’s and Jerusalem’s sake. Indeed, let us only please God. (Galatians 1:10)
2. Adversary (11:14-43)
And the LORD stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite: he was of the king’s seed in Edom. (11:14)
God stirred 3 adversaries against Solomon; one was Hadad the Edomite prince, the second was Rezon who reigned over Syria, and the third was Jeroboam, Solomon’s servant. After Solomon knew that Jeroboam would divide his kingdom, he sought to kill him, and the latter fled to Egypt. After Solomon’s death, (who reigned in Jerusalem for 40 years, the same duration as David, his father) Jeroboam returned to Jerusalem and led a rebellion against the new King Rehoboam. Though God blessed Solomon yet he sinned and only repented at the end of his life. In his lifetime, God inspired him to write 3 books, namely, Song of Solomon, Proverbs and lastly, Ecclesiastes, in which he summed up man’s life purpose is to fear God and keep His commandments. (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)
3. Advice (12:1-33)
And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said, How do ye advise that I may answer this people? (12:6)
After Solomon’s death, Israel chose Jeroboam to lead them in demanding that King Rehoboam reduce their taxes. Rehoboam then consulted 2 groups of people; one was the veterans who advised him to reduce them, while the other was his contemporaries who advised him to charge them with more taxes. He listened to the latter, resulting in strife and the split of his kingdom. Let us only seek God, and not man, for advice. (Psalms 133)
Prayer of the Day:
Dearest God, please help me to flee from sins, and to only please and obey You.
