The Lord Raises Adversaries

1 Kings 11

9 And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because e his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, f who had appeared to him twice 10 and g had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods. But he did not keep what the Lord commanded. 11 Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, "Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, h I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant. 12 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. 13 However, i I will not tear away all the kingdom, but j I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem k that I have chosen."

14 And the Lord raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite. He was of the royal house in Edom. 15 For l when David was in Edom, and Joab the commander of the army went up to bury the slain, he struck down every male in Edom 16 (for Joab and all Israel remained there six months, until he had cut off every male in Edom). 17 But Hadad fled to Egypt, together with certain Edomites of his father's servants, Hadad still being a little child. 18 They set out from Midian and came to m Paran and took men with them from Paran and came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house and assigned him an allowance of food and gave him land. 19 And Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him in marriage the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen. 20 And the sister of Tahpenes bore him Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh's house. And Genubath was in Pharaoh's house among the sons of Pharaoh. 21 But when Hadad heard in Egypt n that David slept 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." 22 But Pharaoh said to him, "What have you lacked with me that you are now seeking to go to your own country?" And he said to him, "Only let me depart."

23 God also raised up as an adversary to him, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from his master o Hadadezer king of Zobah. 24 And he gathered men about him and became leader of a marauding band, p after the killing by David. And they went to Damascus and lived there and made him king in Damascus. 25 He was an adversary of Israel all the days of Solomon, doing harm as Hadad did. And he loathed Israel and reigned over Syria.

26 q Jeroboam the son of Nebat, r an Ephraimite of Zeredah, a servant of Solomon, whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow, also s lifted up his hand against the king. 27 And this was the reason why he lifted up his hand against the king. t Solomon built the Millo, and closed up the breach of the city of David his father. 28 The man Jeroboam was very able, and when Solomon saw that the young man was industrious he gave him charge over all the forced labor of the house of Joseph. 29 And at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, the prophet u Ahijah the Shilonite found him on the road. Now Ahijah had dressed himself in a new garment, and the two of them were alone in the open country. 30 Then Ahijah laid hold of the new garment that was on him, v and tore it into twelve pieces. 31 And he said to Jeroboam, "Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, 'Behold, w I am about to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon and will give you ten tribes 32 (but x he shall have one tribe, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, y the city that I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel), 33 because they have 1 forsaken me z and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the Ammonites, and they have not walked in my ways, doing what is right in my sight and keeping my statutes and my rules, as David his father did. 34 Nevertheless, I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, but I will make him ruler all the days of his life, for the sake of David my servant whom I chose, who kept my commandments and my statutes. 35 a But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand and will give it to you, ten tribes. 36 Yet to his son x I will give one tribe, that David my servant may always have b a lamp before me in Jerusalem, y the city where I have chosen to put my name. 37 And I will take you, and you shall reign over all that your soul desires, and you shall be king over Israel. 38 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, c I will be with you and d will build you a sure house, as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you. 39 And I will afflict the offspring of David because of this, but not forever.'" 40 Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam arose and fled into Egypt, to e Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.

41 f Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the Book of the Acts of Solomon? 42 And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. 43 And Solomon g slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David his father. And h Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.

  1. Cross References
    1 Kings 11:2
    From the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, "You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods." Solomon clung to these in love.
    1 Kings 11:4
    For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.
  2. Cross References
    1 Kings 3:5
    At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, "Ask what I shall give you.
    1 Kings 9:2
    The Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon.
  3. Cross References
    1 Kings 6:12
    Concerning this house that you are building, if you will walk in my statutes and obey my rules and keep all my commandments and walk in them, then I will establish my word with you, which I spoke to David your father.
    1 Kings 9:6
    But if you turn aside from following me, you or your children, and do not keep my commandments and my statutes that I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them.
  4. Cross References
    1 Kings 11:31
    And he said to Jeroboam, "Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, 'Behold, I am about to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon and will give you ten tribes
    1 Kings 12:15 - 16
    So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turn of affairs brought about by the Lord that he might fulfill his word, which the Lord spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
  5. Cross References
    2 Samuel 7:15
    But my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you.
    Psalms 89:33
    But I will not remove from him my steadfast love or be false to my faithfulness.
  6. Cross References
    1 Kings 11:32
    (but he shall have one tribe, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city that I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel).
    1 Kings 11:36
    Yet to his son I will give one tribe, that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I have chosen to put my name.
    1 Kings 12:20
    And when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. There was none that followed the house of David but the tribe of Judah only.
  7. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 12:5
    But you shall seek the place that the Lord your God will choose out of all your tribes to put his name and make his habitation there. There you shall go.
    Deuteronomy 12:11
    Then to the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell there, there you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution that you present, and all your finest vow offerings that you vow to the Lord.
  8. Cross References
    2 Samuel 8:14
    Then he put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became David's servants. And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.
    1 Chronicles 18:12 - 13
    And Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, killed 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt.
  9. Cross References
    Numbers 10:12
    And the people of Israel set out by stages from the wilderness of Sinai. And the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paran.
    Deuteronomy 33:2
    He said, "The Lord came from Sinai and dawned from Seir upon us; he shone forth from Mount Paran; he came from the ten thousands of holy ones, with flaming fire at his right hand.
  10. Cross References
    1 Kings 2:10
    Then David slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David.
  11. Cross References
    2 Samuel 10:16
    And Hadadezer sent and brought out the Syrians who were beyond the Euphrates. They came to Helam, with Shobach the commander of the army of Hadadezer at their head.
  12. Cross References
    2 Samuel 8:3
    David also defeated Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to restore his power at the river Euphrates.
    2 Samuel 10:8
    And the Ammonites came out and drew up in battle array at the entrance of the gate, and the Syrians of Zobah and of Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah were by themselves in the open country.
    2 Samuel 10:18
    And the Syrians fled before Israel, and David killed of the Syrians the men of 700 chariots, and 40,000 horsemen, and wounded Shobach the commander of their army, so that he died there.
  13. Cross References
    1 Kings 12:2
    And as soon as Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it (for he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), then Jeroboam returned from Egypt.
    2 Chronicles 13:6
    Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up and rebelled against his lord.
  14. Cross References
    1 Samuel 1:1
    There was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephrathite.
  15. Cross References
    2 Samuel 20:21
    That is not true. But a man of the hill country of Ephraim, called Sheba the son of Bichri, has lifted up his hand against King David. Give up him alone, and I will withdraw from the city." And the woman said to Joab, "Behold, his head shall be thrown to you over the wall.
  16. Cross References
    1 Kings 9:24
    But Pharaoh's daughter went up from the city of David to her own house that Solomon had built for her. Then he built the Millo.
    2 Samuel 5:9
    And David lived in the stronghold and called it the city of David. And David built the city all around from the Millo inward.
  17. Cross References
    1 Kings 12:15
    So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turn of affairs brought about by the Lord that he might fulfill his word, which the Lord spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
    1 Kings 14:2
    And Jeroboam said to his wife, "Arise, and disguise yourself, that it not be known that you are the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh. Behold, Ahijah the prophet is there, who said of me that I should be king over this people.
    1 Kings 15:29
    And as soon as he was king, he killed all the house of Jeroboam. He left to the house of Jeroboam not one that breathed, until he had destroyed it, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite.
    2 Chronicles 9:29
    Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, from first to last, are they not written in the history of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat?
  18. Cross References
    1 Samuel 15:27
    As Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore.
  19. Cross References
    1 Kings 11:11 - 13
    Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, "Since this has been your practice 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.
  20. Cross References
    1 Kings 11:13
    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.
    1 Kings 12:21
    When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, 180,000 chosen warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.
  21. Cross References
    1 Kings 14:21
    Now Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city that the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. His mother's name was Naamah the Ammonite.
    Deuteronomy 12:5
    But you shall seek the place that the Lord your God will choose out of all your tribes to put his name and make his habitation there. There you shall go.
  22. Cross References
    1 Kings 11:5
    For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
    1 Kings 11:7
    Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem.
  23. Cross References
    1 Kings 11:12
    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.
    1 Kings 12:16 - 17
    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 Israel went to their tents.
  24. Cross References
    1 Kings 11:32
    (but he shall have one tribe, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city that I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel).
  25. Cross References
    1 Kings 15:4
    Nevertheless, for David's sake the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, setting up his son after him, and establishing Jerusalem.
    2 Samuel 21:17
    But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid and attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then David's men swore to him, "You shall no longer go out with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel.
    2 Kings 8:19
    Yet the Lord was not willing to destroy Judah, for the sake of David his servant, since he promised to give a lamp to him and to his sons forever.
    2 Chronicles 21:7
    Yet the Lord was not willing to destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David, and since he had promised to give a lamp to him and to his sons forever.
  26. Cross References
    1 Kings 11:32
    (but he shall have one tribe, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city that I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel).
  27. Cross References
    Joshua 1:5
    No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.
  28. Cross References
    1 Samuel 2:35
    And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed forever.
    2 Samuel 7:11
    From the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house.
    2 Samuel 7:27
    For you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, saying, 'I will build you a house.' Therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you.
  29. Cross References
    1 Kings 14:25
    In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem.
    2 Chronicles 12:2
    In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, because they had been unfaithful to the Lord, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem
    2 Chronicles 12:5
    Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and to the princes of Judah, who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, "Thus says the Lord, 'You abandoned me, so I have abandoned you to the hand of Shishak.'
    2 Chronicles 12:7
    When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah: "They have humbled themselves. I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance, and my wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak.
    2 Chronicles 12:9
    So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. He took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king's house. He took away everything. He also took away the shields of gold that Solomon had made.
  30. Cross References
    1 Kings 11:41 - 43
    Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the Book of the Acts of Solomon?
    2 Chronicles 9:29 - 31
    Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, from first to last, are they not written in the history of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat?
  31. Cross References
    1 Kings 2:10
    Then David slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David.
    1 Kings 14:20
    And the time that Jeroboam reigned was twenty-two years. And he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his place.
  32. Cross References
    Matthew 1:7
    And Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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