Solomon Turns Away from God

King Solomon loved many foreign women from nations the Lord had warned Israel about. The Lord had said those peoples would turn Israel’s heart towards other gods. Solomon had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines, and when he was old, his wives turned his heart away from the Lord.

Solomon followed other gods and did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. He was not wholehearted with the Lord as David had been. He built high places for Chemosh and Molech, and he did the same for his foreign wives as they burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.

The Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away, even though the Lord had appeared to him twice and had commanded him not to go after other gods. So the Lord said the kingdom would be torn from Solomon’s family, but not during Solomon’s lifetime, and not all of it.

Then the Lord raised up adversaries against Solomon. One was Hadad the Edomite, who had escaped to Egypt as a child during earlier bloodshed in Edom. Another was Rezon, who gathered followers, ruled in Damascus, and remained an enemy to Israel during Solomon’s days.

Another challenge came from inside the kingdom. Jeroboam, one of Solomon’s servants, had been put in charge because he was capable and hardworking. The prophet Ahijah met him alone, tore a new garment into twelve pieces, and told him to take ten. This showed that God would give ten tribes to Jeroboam after Solomon, while one tribe would remain to Solomon’s son for David’s sake and for Jerusalem.

Jeroboam was also warned to listen to God and walk in his ways. When Solomon sought to kill him, Jeroboam fled to Egypt until Solomon died.