1 Kings 11 — “The High Cost of a Divided Heart”
“King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women…” (New International Version)
The chapter opens with a single Hebrew verb
’āhav—“loved.”
Love, God-given and beautiful when rightly ordered, becomes the seed of
disaster when dis-ordered. Solomon gathers seven hundred wives and three
hundred concubines. The writer repeats a haunting refrain:
“They turned his heart after other gods.”
The Hebrew word lēvāḇ (heart) is used six times in
the chapter. The center of thought, will, and worship drifts inch by
inch until the drift becomes a gulf.
Cross-references: Deuteronomy 7:3-4; 17:17; James 1:14-15; Matthew
6:24.
Solomon did not renounce Yahweh in a single day; he simply added other loves alongside Him. The first commandment (“You shall have no other gods before Me”) cannot be shared. Our idols are rarely golden statues; they are good gifts loved out of place: career, family, nation, reputation.
Suggested hymn: “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing”—“Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it…”
“So the LORD raised up adversaries against
Solomon…”
Twice the text uses the Hebrew word śāṭān—literally
“adversary” or “accuser.” Hadad of Edom and Rezon of Aram chip away at
the edges of the empire. The peace (shalom) of chapter 10
fractures because the king’s heart fractured first.
Archaeological note: Edomite royal seal impressions from Tel Arad and Aramean inscriptions from Tel Dan confirm that these small kingdoms were active in the 10th–9th centuries BC, matching the biblical setting.
God’s discipline often comes wrapped in ordinary trouble—financial strain, restless neighbors, inner anxiety—warning lights on the dashboard of the soul. C. S. Lewis called pain “God’s megaphone.” We ignore it to our peril.
Ahijah of Shiloh meets Jeroboam on a lonely road and tears a new cloak into twelve strips, handing ten to the astonished servant. This acted parable recalls the torn robe of 1 Samuel 15:27-28 when Saul lost the kingdom. God’s people understand pictures even when words fail.
Early church writers (e.g., Jerome) saw in the “one tribe” left to David’s line a foreshadowing of the one faithful Son—Jesus—who would reunite the broken kingdom on a cross.
Hebrew nuance: Ahijah says God will choose Jerusalem “the city I have chosen.” The verb bāḥar echoes Deuteronomy 12 and signals covenant election; even judgment is tethered to grace.
“He reigned in Jerusalem forty years… and he rested with his
ancestors.”
The writer does not gloat; he sighs. All of Solomon’s wisdom, gold, and
songs end in a short obituary. The Septuagint adds, “Solomon slept… and
Rehoboam his son reigned.” Sleep imagery hints at resurrection hopes not
yet revealed.
Oscar Wilde quipped, “The tragedy of old age is not that one is old, but that one is young.” Scripture adds: the tragedy is to be old in years yet thin in faith. What story will our final lines tell?
• Marriage alliances in the ancient Near East were political
treaties. Each foreign wife came with her national deity in tow,
demanding a shrine as part of the contract.
• The phrase “Milkom the detestable god of the Ammonites” (v. 5) uses
šiqqûṣ—a word later tied to “the abomination that
causes desolation” (Daniel 9:27). The writer deliberately shocks his
audience.
• Shiloh, where Ahijah lives, had lost the tabernacle centuries earlier
(cf. Jeremiah 7:12-14). The prophet’s hometown itself is a living
warning that sacred places can be abandoned when hearts wander.
• Augustine: “He loved God less because he feared to lose the love of
women more.”
• Luther: “In Solomon we see that wisdom without fear of God is a
splendid lamp in the hand of the blind.”
• John Wesley: “Our hearts are like narrow-mouth bottles; what is poured
in first keeps out what should follow.”
Deuteronomy 17:14-20 – Laws for kings
Psalm 72 – Ideal kingship (Solomon’s own prayer)
1 Kings 14:21-31 – Shishak’s invasion, the full consequence
Hosea 10:2 – “Their heart is divided; now they must bear their
guilt.”
James 4:4 – Friendship with the world as spiritual adultery
Revelation 2:4 – “You have forsaken the love you had at first.”
Faithful Father,
You who gave Solomon wisdom also gave him warning. We confess that our
hearts are prone to wander. Expose every hidden idol, break every
divided loyalty, and draw us again to the beauty of Your Son, Jesus
Christ. May the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts be
pleasing in Your sight today.
In the name of the One greater than Solomon—Amen.