1 Kings 11:38. If thou wilt hearken to all that I command thee, &c. He is hereby given to understand, that the grant of the crown to him and his descendants will be conditional, and that he and they will be upon their good behaviour. read more
1 Kings 11:39. I will for this For Solomon’s sin, mentioned 1 Kings 11:33; afflict the seed of David By rending the greatest part of the kingdom from them; but not for ever A time shall come when the seed of David shall not be thus molested by the kingdom of Israel, but shall flourish again in great power and prosperity; which it did in many illustrious kings of Judah, who reigned in glory when Jeroboam’s family was extirpated. And at last the Messiah came, who united together the... read more
Solomon’s idolatry (11:1-43)Although some of Solomon’s marriages were for political purposes, most of his wives and concubines were probably given to him as gifts. These women usually brought their gods into Israel, and Solomon’s weakness in worshipping these gods led finally to his downfall (11:1-8). God’s judgment on Solomon and Israel was to bring the long-standing friction between northerners and southerners to a climax in the division of the kingdom. Only Solomon’s tribe Judah (which had... read more
if thou wilt hearken. Same conditions as in 1 Kings 9:4 . a sure house: i.e. a long and unbroken line of descendants. read more
not for ever. Thus confirming the prophecy of Genesis 49:10 , which refers to the tribal pre-eminence of Judah (not national existence), which was preserved till fulfilled in Christ, when David's line ended in Him. read more
4. Solomon’s apostasy ch. 11The writer brought Solomon’s weaknesses and sins, to which he only hinted previously, into the light in this chapter. Solomon had sown some seeds of departure from God and His Word early in his reign. They bore bitter fruit as he grew older. read more
Solomon’s internal adversary 11:26-40Jeroboam, who would become the first king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, was from Ephraim, the most prominent tribe in the North (1 Kings 11:26).Part of Benjamin affiliated voluntarily with Judah eventually (1 Kings 11:32; cf. 1 Kings 12:21; 2 Chronicles 11:1; 2 Chronicles 11:10; 2 Chronicles 15:2; 2 Chronicles 15:9; Ezra 4:1). Really parts of two tribes joined the kingdom of Judah: Simeon and Benjamin. The reference to 10 northern tribes evidently... read more
Solomon’s Errors and their Consequences. His DeathThis chapter furnishes an account of Solomon’s marriages with numerous foreign princesses, and traces the evil effect of such in the toleration of idolatry, which provoked the Lord’s anger. This was manifested in the growth of opposition abroad and disaffection at home, so that an otherwise brilliant reign had a cloudy ending.3. Seven hundred wives] The Persian king Darius Codomannus is said to have had, besides his own wife, 329 concubines. 4.... read more
(31, 39) Take thee ten pieces.—The message delivered by Ahijah first repeats exactly the former warning to Solomon (1 Kings 11:9-13), marking, by the two reserved pieces of the garment, the duality of the “one tribe” reserved for the house of David; next, it conveys to Jeroboam a promise like that given to David (so far as it was a temporal promise), “to build thee a sure house, as I built for David,” on condition of the obedience which David, with all his weakness and sin, had shown, and from... read more
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Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Kings 11:39
But not forever - David had been distinctly promised that God should never fail his seed, whatever their shortcomings Psalms 89:28-37. The fulfillment of these promises was seen, partly in the Providence which maintained David’s family in a royal position until Zerubbabel, but mainly in the preservation of his seed to the time fixed for the coming of Christ, and in the birth of Christ - the Eternal King - from one of David’s descendants. read more