I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Kings 11-12.

King Solomon took many wives. When I was growing up I was told that many of these were marriages designed to cement alliances. However, I think now that Solomon used his wealth and power to satisfy his lusts by taking as a wife or concubine any woman he desired. In his old age, he began to take part in the worship practices of some of those women. I suspect that he did so seeking new thrills. He began to worship Ashtoreth, whose worship likely included sexual acts, and Molech, whose worship included child sacrifice. In any case, King Solomon became so involved in these activities that he failed to put down the rebellions which rose up in foreign lands which King David had conquered. King Solomon’s idolatry even led to a rebellion among the tribes of Israel, but this rebellion Solomon was able to put down.

Upon King Solomon’s death, the leaders of the tribes of Israel summoned Jeroboam back from his exile in Egypt to present their demands to Rehoboam. By looking at the demands which Jeroboam presented to Rehoboam and the role he held under Solomon, we get a pretty clear picture of the cause of the rebellion. Under Solomon, Jeroboam was in charge of the labor force from the descendants of Joseph until he was forced into exile. In addition to his other building projects, Solomon had ordered the building of temples to various foreign gods. Whether the discontent resulted from the fact that they were building idolatrous temples, or just from the workload, Solomon’s building projects stressed the loyalty of the people of Israel to King David’s dynasty. As we read Rehoboam’s response to the people’s demands we see that he had never understood the political balancing that his father and grandfather had done. Rehoboam thought being king was just about exercising power. When Solomon had taken the throne he had done so with the aid and advice of some of David’s closest advisers. However, Solomon was mostly secure on the throne his entire reign, so Rehoboam did not see the need for carefully listening to experienced advisers. It was only when a prophet of God warned him against making war against his fellow Israelites that Rehoboam began to realize the limits of his power. Even then I wonder if Rehoboam chose to listen to the prophet or if his army refused to go to war after hearing the prophet.