1 Kings 11:11
Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant. Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant.
The Lord declared to Solomon that because he had broken the covenant and statutes commanded him, the kingdom would surely be torn from him and given to his servant, a rending to be carried out through his son and not in his own lifetime. His breach was turning from God to false gods in idol worship through his many idolatrous wives, growing out of exalting his own wisdom, ceasing to trust and obey God, refusing counsel, and indulging appetite, pride, and the pursuit of wealth and power by alliance with idolatrous nations. Neither his wisdom, power, riches, nor past faithfulness could preserve him once he relied on himself, and that self-reliance with a grasping, covetous spirit spread extravagance, corruption, and oppression and made him a more effective agent of evil. Even when his apostasy was complete and his case seemed well-nigh hopeless, God in mercy did not utterly forsake him but sent this startling rebuke to awaken his conscience, teach him the emptiness of earthly good and heathen altars, and bring him back in his later years to the fountain of life. His awakened repentance could not undo the harmful influences set in motion, and his history warns God's people in every age that departing from close connection with God by mingling with His enemies will bring the same sorrow of having the kingdom rent from them.
Solomon's Sin and Sentence
The sentence is sure: because Solomon broke the covenant and statutes commanded him, the kingdom would be torn from him and given to his servant. The breach was turning from God, failing to keep His covenant, and bringing upon himself announced judgment that his prosperity and rule as Israel's universal monarch would end. That judgment would not fall in his own lifetime but would be carried out through his son.
The breaking of the covenant was apostasy to false gods and idol worship. His many idolatrous wives and marriages turned his heart from God and led him into idolatry, so that he did not carry out the will of God. In this he lost his connection with heaven.
That unfaithfulness grew from exalting his own wisdom, ceasing to trust and obey God, relying on himself, refusing counsel, and choosing his own way until he became corrupted and ensnared. It grew also from indulgence of appetite and passion, from pride and the pursuit of wealth and power, and from political alliances with idolatrous nations by which he mingled with God's enemies and violated the covenant. Wisdom and power, when turned to self-reliance, did not protect him from temptation but made him a more effective agent of evil, and neither wisdom nor past faithfulness could preserve him once trust and obedience ceased.
It grew also from a grasping, covetous spirit that spread extravagance, corruption, and oppression of the poor through the kingdom and weakened self-denial and self-sacrifice in God's service. The grasping pursuit of high wages among those serving him fostered covetousness and extravagance and helped spread that corruption. The same departure from condition appeared in choosing to go to other nations to secure facilities for building the temple when it could have been built with what the Lord had provided, though wisdom with riches and honor had been given on condition of walking in the Lord's ways and keeping His statutes and judgments.
The loss meant prosperity would cease and universal rule over Israel would end, with God's protecting care removed. Adversaries were permitted to trouble, harass, and weaken the kingdom, as a warning meant to awaken him to his sin. God broke His covenant with Solomon because Solomon was disloyal, and having set Israel so misleading an example, he could not be vindicated.
Mercy, Repentance, and Warning
Even when his apostasy was complete, his heart hardened in transgression and his case seemed well-nigh hopeless, infinite mercy did not utterly cut him off or forsake him. A stern, startling and terrible prophetic rebuke was sent to arouse him to the sinfulness of sin, announcing that because he had broken the covenant and statutes commanded him the kingdom would surely be torn from him and given to his servant, and it came together with terrible judgments in which protecting care was removed and adversaries were permitted to harass and weaken him. The sentence of judgment against him and his house awakened his conscience and gave him hope, for it showed God was ready to deliver him from cruel bondage to sin from which he could not free himself.
On hearing the message he awoke as from a dream and began to see his folly in its true light. He learned by bitter experience the emptiness of seeking the highest good in earthly things and the vanity of altars to heathen gods, and in his later years he returned to drink at the fountain of life as the discipline of suffering at last accomplished its work. That awakening brought him to repentance, but his late repentance could not undo the consequences of his long course of wrongdoing or fully control the harmful influences it had set in motion, and the rending foretold would not occur in his lifetime but would be carried out through his son. He had not carried out the will of God but had allowed his wives to lead him into idolatry, losing his connection with heaven and setting Israel so misleading an example that he could not be vindicated and the covenant with him was broken because of his disloyalty, yet had he heeded the instruction given him God would have worked through him to reveal to the world His power and majesty.
God desires to encircle His people with His protecting arm, blessing them above all others and preserving them in purity while they remain closely connected with Him, blessing with wisdom and also with riches and honor on condition of walking in His ways and keeping His statutes and judgments, but if they depart they will share Solomon's sorrows in having the kingdom rent from them. His pride, pursuit of wealth and power, political alliances with idolatrous nations and surrender to passion violated the covenant and statutes and brought loss of his kingdom, warning God's people in every age that abandoning their distinct, holy character by mingling with God's enemies can lead step by step away from hope, happiness and heaven. His failure to keep the covenant and commands so that the kingdom would be taken from him and given to his servant warns against cherishing or introducing error, which can damage faith and weaken spiritual life, including choosing to go to other nations to secure facilities for building the temple when it could have been built with what the Lord had provided.