This
chapter begins with as melancholy a "but" as almost any we find in
all the Bible. Hitherto we have read nothing of Solomon but what was great
and good; but the lustre both of his goodness and of his greatness is here
sullied and eclipsed, and his sun sets under a cloud. I. The glory of his
piety is stained by his departure from God and his duty, in his latter days,
marrying strange wives and worshipping strange gods, ver. 4-8. II. The glory
of his prosperity is stained by God's displeasure against him and the fruits
of that displeasure. 1. He sent him an angry message, ver. 9-13. 2. He
stirred up enemies, who gave him disturbance, Hadad (ver. 14-22), Rezon,
ver. 23-25. 3. He gave away ten tribes of his twelve, from his posterity
after him, to Jeroboam, whom therefore he sought in vain to slay (ver.
26-40), and this is all that remains here to be told concerning Solomon,
except his death and burial (ver. 41-43), for there is nothing perfect under
the sun, but all is so above the sun.
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Solomon's
Defection and Degeneracy.
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B.
C. 983.
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1 But king Solomon loved many strange women,
together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites,
Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; 2 Of the nations concerning
which the LORD
said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall
they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart
after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. 3 And he had
seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives
turned away his heart. 4 For it came to pass, when Solomon was
old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his
heart was not perfect with the LORD
his God, as was the heart of David his father. 5 For
Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom
the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 And Solomon did evil in the
sight of the LORD,
and went not fully after the LORD,
as did David his father. 7 Then did Solomon build a high
place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is
before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of
Ammon. 8 And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which
burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods.
This is a sad story, and very surprising, of Solomon's defection and
degeneracy.
I. Let us enquire into the occasions and particulars of it. Shall Solomon
fall, that was the beauty of Israel, and so great a blessing of his
generation? Yes, it is too true, and the scripture is faithful in relating
it, and repeating it, and referring to it long after, Neh. xiii. 26. There
was no king like Solomon who was beloved of his God, yet even him did
outlandish women cause to sin. There is the summary of his apostasy; it
was the woman that deceived him, and was first in the
transgression.
1. He doted on strange women, many strange women. Here his revolt
began. (1.) He gave himself to women, which his mother had particularly
cautioned him against. Prov. xxxi. 3, Give not thy strength unto women
(perhaps alluding to Samson, who lost his strength by giving information of
it to a woman), for it is that which, as much as any thing, destroys kings.
His father David's fall began with the lusts of the flesh, which he should
have taken warning by. The love of women has cast down many wounded
(Prov. vii. 26) and many (says bishop Hall) have had their head
broken by their own rib. (2.) He took many women, so many that, at last,
they amounted to 700 wives and 300 concubines, 1000 in all, and not one good
one among them, as he himself owns in his penitential sermon (Eccl. vii.
28), for no woman of established virtue would be one of such a set. God had,
by his law, particularly forbidden the kings to multiply either horses or
wives, Deut. xvii. 16, 17. How he broke the former law, in multiplying
horses, and having them out of Egypt too (which was expressly
prohibited in that law) we read ch. x. 29, and here we are told how
he broke the latter (which proved of more fatal consequence) in multiplying
wives. Note, Less sins, made gold with, open the door to greater. David had
multiplied wives too much, and perhaps that made Solomon presume it lawful.
Note, If those that are in reputation for religion in any thing set a bad
example, they know not what a deal of mischief they may do by it,
particularly to their own children. One bad act of a good man may be of more
pernicious consequence to others than twenty of a wicked man. Probably
Solomon, when he began to multiply wives, intended not to exceed his
father's number. But the way of sin is down-hill; those that have got into
it cannot easily stop themselves. Divine wisdom has appointed one woman for
one man, did so at first; and those who do not think one enough will not
think two or three enough. Unbridled lust will be unbounded, and the
loosened hind will wander endlessly. But this was not all: (3.) They were
strange women, Moabites, Ammonites, &c., of the nations which God had
particularly forbidden them to intermarry with, v. 2. Some think it
was in policy that he married these foreigners, by them to get intelligence
of the state of those countries. I rather fear it was because the daughters
of Israel were too grave and modest for him, and those foreigners pleased
him with the looseness and wantonness of their dress, and air, and
conversation. Or, perhaps, it was looked upon as a piece of state to have
his seraglio, as his other treasures, replenished with that which was
far-fetched; as if that were too great an honour for the best of his
subjects which would really have been a disgrace to the meanest of them--to
be his mistresses. And, (4.) To complete the mischief, Solomon clave unto
these in love, v. 2. He not only kept them, but was extravagantly
fond of them, set his heart upon them, spent his time among them, thought
every thing well they said and did, and despised Pharaoh's daughter, his
rightful wife, who had been dear to him, and all the ladies of Israel, in
comparison of them. Solomon was master of a great deal of knowledge, but to
what purpose, when he had no better a government of his appetites?
2. He was drawn by them to the worship of strange gods, as Israel to Baal-peor
by the daughters of Moab. This was the bad consequence of his multiplying
wives. We have reason to think it impaired his health, and hastened upon him
the decays of age; it exhausted his treasure, which, though vast indeed,
would be found little enough to maintain the pride and vanity of all these
women; perhaps it occasioned him, in his latter end, to neglect his
business, by which he lost his supplies from abroad, and was forced, for the
keeping up of his grandeur, to burden his subjects with those taxes which
they complained of, ch. xii. 4. But none of these consequences were
so bad as this: His wives turned away his heart after other gods, v.
3, 4. (1.) He grew cool and indifferent in his own religion and remiss in
the service of the God of Israel: His heart was not perfect with the Lord
his God (v. 4), nor did he follow him fully (v. 6),
like David. We cannot suppose that he quite cast off the worship of God,
much less that he restrained or hindered it (the temple-service went on as
usual); but he grew less frequent, and less serious, in his ascent to the
house of the Lord and his attendance on his altar. He left his first
love, lost his zeal for God, and did not persevere to the end as he had
begun; therefore it is said he was not perfect, because he was not constant;
and he followed not God fully, because he turned from following him, and did
not continue to the end. His father David had many faults, but he never
neglected the worship of God, nor grew remiss in that, as Solomon did (his
wives using all their arts to divert him from it), and there began
his apostasy. (2.) He tolerated and maintained his wives in their idolatry
and made no scruple of joining with them in it. Pharaoh's daughter was
proselyted (as is supposed) to the Jews' religion, but, when he began to
grow careless in the worship of God himself, he used no means to convert his
other wives to it; in complaisance to them, he built chapels for their gods
(v. 7, 8), maintained their priests, and occasionally did himself
attend their altars, making a jest of it, asking, "What harm is there
in it? Are not all religions alike?" which (says bishop Patrick) has
been the disease of some great wits. When he humoured one thus, the
rest would take it ill if he did not, in like manner, gratify them, so that
he did it for all his wives (v. 8), and at last came to such a degree
of impiety that he set up a high place for Chemosh in the hill that is
before Jerusalem, the mount of Olives, as if to confront the
temple which he himself had built. These high places continued here, not
utterly demolished, till Josiah's time, 2 Kings xxiii. 13. This is the
account here given of Solomon's apostasy.
II. Let us now pause awhile, and lament Solomon's fall; and we may justly
stand and wonder at it. How has the gold become dim! How has the most
fine gold changed! Be astonished, O heavens! at this, and be horribly
afraid, as the prophet exclaims in a like case, Jer. ii. 12.
1. How strange, (1.) That Solomon, in his old age, should be ensnared with
fleshly lusts, youthful lusts. As we must never presume upon the strength of
our resolutions, so neither upon the weakness of our corruptions, so as to
be secure and off our guard. (2.) That so wise a man as Solomon was, so
famed for a quick understanding and sound judgment, should suffer himself to
be made such a fool of by these foolish women. (3.) That one who had so
often and so plainly warned others of the danger of the love of women should
himself be so wretchedly bewitched with it; it is easier to see a mischief,
and to show it to others, than to shun it ourselves. (4.) That so good a
man, so zealous for the worship of God, who had been so conversant with
divine things, and who prayed that excellent prayer at the dedication of the
temple, should do these sinful things. Is this Solomon? Have all his wisdom
and devotion come to this at last? Never was gallant ship so wrecked; never
was crown so profaned.
2. What shall we say to all this? Why God permitted it it is not for us to
enquire; his way is in the sea and his path in the great waters; he knew how
to bring glory to himself out of it. God foresaw it when he said concerning
him that should build the temple, If he commit iniquity, &c., 2
Sam. vii. 14. But it concerns us to enquire what good use we may make of it.
(1.) Let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. We see how weak
we are of ourselves, without the grace of God; let us therefore live in a
constant dependence on that grace. (2.) See the danger of a prosperous
condition, and how hard it is to overcome the temptations of it. Solomon,
like Jeshurun, waxed fat and then kicked. The food convenient, which Agur
prayed for, is safer and better than the food abundant, which Solomon was
even surfeited with. (3.) See what need those have to stand upon their guard
who have made a great profession of religion, and shown themselves forward
and zealous in devotion, because the devil will set upon them most
violently, and, if they misbehave, the reproach is the greater. It is the
evening that commends the day; let us therefore fear, lest, having run well,
we seem to come short.
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God's
Displeasure against Solomon.
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B.
C. 983.
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9 And the LORD
was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD
God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, 10 And had
commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods:
but he kept not that which the LORD
commanded. 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. 12
Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for David thy father's sake: but
I will rend it out of the hand of thy son. 13 Howbeit I will not
rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe to thy son for
David my servant's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake which I have chosen.
Here is, I. God's anger against Solomon for his sin. The thing he did displeased
the Lord. Time was then the Lord loved Solomon (2 Sam. xii. 24)
and delighted in him (ch. x. 9), but now the Lord was angry with
Solomon (v. 9), for there was in his sin, 1. The most base
ingratitude that could be. He turned from the Lord who had appeared unto
him twice, once before he began to build the temple (ch. iii. 5)
and once after he had dedicated it, ch. ix. 2. God keeps account of
the gracious visits he makes us, whether we do or no, knows how often he has
appeared to us and for us, and will remember it against us if
we turn from him. God's appearing to Solomon was such a sensible
confirmation of his faith as should have for ever prevented his worshipping any
other god; it was also such a distinguishing favour, and put such an
honour upon him, as he ought never to have forgotten, especially considering
what God said to him in both these appearances. 2. The most wilful
disobedience. This was the very thing concerning which God had commanded
him--that he should not go after other gods, yet he was not restrained
by such an express admonition, v. 10. Those who have dominion over
men are apt to forget God's dominion over them; and, while they demand
obedience from their inferiors, to deny it to him who is the Supreme.
II. The message he sent him hereupon (v. 11): The Lord said unto
Solomon (it is likely by a prophet) that he must expect to smart for his
apostasy. And here, 1. The sentence is just, that, since he had revolted
from God, part of his kingdom should revolt from his family; he had given
God's glory to the creature, and therefore God would give his crown to his
servant: "I will rend the kingdom from thee, in thy posterity,
and will give it to thy servant, who shall bear rule over much of
that for which thou hast laboured." This was a great mortification to
Solomon, who pleased himself no doubt with the prospect of the entail of his
rich kingdom upon his heirs for ever. Sin brings ruin upon families, cuts
off entails, alienates estates, and lays men's honour in the dust. 2. Yet
the mitigations of it are very kind, for David's sake (v. 12, 13),
that is, for the sake of the promise made to David. Thus all the favour God
shows to man is for Christ's sake, and for the sake of the covenant
made with him. The kingdom shall be rent from Solomon's house, but, (1.) Not
immediately. Solomon shall not live to see it done, but it shall be rent out
of the hand of his son, a son that was born to him by one of his strange
wives, for his mother was an Ammonitess (1 Kings xiv. 31) and probably had
been a promoter of idolatry. What comfort can a man take in leaving children
and an estate behind him if he do not leave a blessing behind him? Yet, if
judgments be coming, it is a favour to us if they come not in our days, as 2
Kings xx. 19. (2.) Not wholly. One tribe, that of Judah, the strongest and
most numerous, shall remain to the house of David (v. 13), for
Jerusalem's sake, which David built, and for the sake of the temple there,
which Solomon built; these shall not go into other hands. Solomon did not
quickly nor wholly turn away from God; therefore God did not quickly nor
wholly take the kingdom from him.
Upon this message which God graciously sent to Solomon, to awaken his
conscience and bring him to repentance, we have reason to hope that he
humbled himself before God, confessed his sin, begged pardon, and returned
to his duty, that he then published his repentance in the book of
Ecclesiastes, where he bitterly laments his own folly and madness (ch.
vii. 25, 26), and warns others to take heed of the like evil courses, and to
fear God and keep his commandments, in consideration of the
judgment to come, which, it is likely, had made him tremble, as it did
Felix. That penitential sermon was as true an indication of a heart broken
for sin and turned from it as David's penitential psalms were, though of
another nature. God's grace in his people works variously. Thus, though
Solomon fell, he was not utterly cast down; what God had said to
David concerning him was fulfilled: I will chasten him with the rod of
men, but my mercy shall not depart from him, 2 Sam. vii. 14, 15. Though
God may suffer those whom he loves to fall into sin, he will not suffer them
to lie still in it. Solomon's defection, though it was much his reproach and
a great blemish to his personal character, yet did not so far break in upon
the character of his reign but that it was afterwards made the pattern of a
good reign, 2 Chron. xi. 17, where the kings are said to have done well,
while they walked in the way of David and Solomon. But, though we
have all this reason to hope he repented and found mercy, yet the Holy Ghost
did not think fit expressly to record his recovery, but left it doubtful,
for warning to others not to sin upon presumption of repenting, for it is
but a peradventure whether God will give them repentance, or, if he
do, whether he will give the evidence of it to themselves or others. Great
sinners may recover themselves and have the benefit of their repentance, and
yet be denied both the comfort and credit of it; the guilt may be taken
away, and yet not the reproach.
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Solomon's
Adversaries.
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B.
C. 980.
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14 And the LORD
stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite: he was of
the king's seed in Edom. 15 For it came to pass, when David was
in Edom, and Joab the captain of the host was gone up to bury the slain,
after he had smitten every male in Edom; 16 (For six months did
Joab remain there with all Israel, until he had cut off every male in
Edom:) 17 That Hadad fled, he and certain Edomites of his
father's servants with him, to go into Egypt; Hadad being yet a
little child. 18 And they arose out of Midian, and came to Paran:
and they took men with them out of Paran, and they came to Egypt, unto
Pharaoh king of Egypt; which gave him a house, and appointed him victuals,
and gave him land. 19 And Hadad found great favour in the sight
of Pharaoh, so that he gave him to wife the sister of his own wife, the
sister of Tahpenes the queen. 20 And the sister of Tahpenes bare
him Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh's house: and Genubath
was in Pharaoh's household among the sons of Pharaoh. 21 And
when Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers, and that Joab
the captain of the host was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, Let me depart, that
I may go to mine own country. 22 Then Pharaoh said unto him, But
what hast thou lacked with me, that, behold, thou seekest to go to thine own
country? And he answered, Nothing: howbeit let me go in any wise.
23 And God stirred him up another adversary, Rezon the son of Eliadah,
which fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah: 24 And he
gathered men unto him, and became captain over a band, when David slew them of
Zobah: and they went to Damascus, and dwelt therein, and reigned in
Damascus. 25 And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of
Solomon, beside the mischief that Hadad did: and he abhorred Israel,
and reigned over Syria.
While Solomon kept closely to God and to his duty there was no adversary
nor evil occurrent (ch. v. 4), nothing to create him any
disturbance or uneasiness in the least; but here we have an account of two
adversaries that appeared against him, inconsiderable, and that could not
have done any thing worth taking notice of if Solomon had not first made God
his enemy. What hurt could Hadad or Rezon have done to so great and powerful
a king as Solomon was if he had not, by sin, made himself mean and weak? And
then those little people menace and insult him. If God be on our side, we
need not fear the greatest adversary; but, if he be against us, he can made
us fear the least, and the very grasshopper shall be a burden. Observe,
I. Both these adversaries God stirred up, v. 14, 23. Though they
themselves were moved by principles of ambition or revenge, God made use of
them to serve his design of correcting Solomon. The principal judgment
threatened was deferred, namely, the rending of the kingdom from him, but he
himself was made to fee the smart of the rod, for his greater humiliation.
Note, Whoever are, in any way, adversaries to us, we must take notice of the
hand of God stirring them up to be so, as he bade Shimei curse David; we
must look through the instruments of our trouble to the author of it and
hear the Lord's controversy in it.
II. Both these adversaries had the origin of their enmity to Solomon and
Israel laid in David's time, and in his conquests of their respective
countries, v. 15, 24. Solomon had the benefit and advantage of his
father's successes both in the enlargement of his dominion and the increase
of his treasure, and would never have known any thing but the benefit of
them if he had kept closely to God; but now he finds evils to balance the
advantages, and that David had made himself enemies, who were thorns in his
sides. Those that are too free in giving provocation ought to consider that
perhaps it may be remembered in time to come and returned with interest to
theirs after them; having so few friends in this world, it is our wisdom not
to make ourselves more enemies than we needs must.
1. Hadad, an Edomite, was an adversary to Solomon. We are not told what he
did against him, nor which way he gave him disturbance, only, in general,
that he was an adversary to him: but we are told, (1.) What induced him to
bear Solomon a grudge. David had conquered Edom, 2 Sam. viii. 14. Joab put
all the males to the sword, v. 15, 16. A terrible execution he made,
avenging on Edom their old enmity to Israel, yet perhaps with too great a
severity. From this general slaughter, while Joab was burying the slain (for
he left not any alive of their own people to bury them, and buried they must
be, or they would be an annoyance to the country, Ezek. xxxix. 12), Hadad, a
branch of the royal family, then a little child, was taken and preserved by
some of the king's servants, and conveyed to Egypt, v. 17. They
halted by the way, in Midian first, and then in Paran, where they furnished
themselves with men, not to fight for them or force their passage, but to
attend them, that their young master might go into Egypt with an equipage
agreeable to his quality. There he was kindly sheltered and entertained by
Pharaoh, as a distressed prince, as well provided for, and so recommended
himself that, in process of time, he married the queen's sister (v.
19), and by her had a child, which the queen herself conceived such a
kindness for that she brought him up in Pharaoh's house, among the king's
children. (2.) What enabled him to do Solomon a mischief. Upon the death of
David and Joab, he returned to his own country, in which, it should seem, he
settled and remained quiet while Solomon continued wise and watchful for the
public good, but from which he had opportunity of making inroads upon Israel
when Solomon, having sinned away his wisdom as Samson did his strength (and
in the same way), grew careless of public affairs, was off his guard
himself, and had forfeited the divine protection. What vexation Hadad gave
to Solomon we are not here told, but only how loth Pharaoh was to part with
him and how earnestly he solicited his stay (v. 22): What hast
thou lacked with me? "Nothing," says Hadad; "but let me
go to my own country, my native air, my native soil." Peter Martyr has
a pious reflection upon this: "Heaven is our home, and we ought to keep
up a holy affection to that, and desire towards it, even when the world, the
place of our banishment, smiles most upon us." Does it ask, What have
you lacked, that you are so willing to be gone? We may answer, "Nothing
that the world can do for us; but still let us go thither, where our hope,
and honour, and treasure are."
2. Rezon, a Syrian, was another adversary to Solomon. When David conquered
the Syrians, he headed the remains, lived at large by spoil and rapine, till
Solomon grew careless, and then he got possession of Damascus, reigned there
(v. 24) and over the country about (v. 25), and he created
troubles to Israel, probably in conjunction with Hadad, all the days of
Solomon (namely, after his apostasy), or he was an enemy to Israel during
all Solomon's reign, and upon all occasions vented his then impotent malice
against them, but till Solomon's revolt, when his defence had departed from
him, he could not do them any mischief. It is said of him that he
abhorred Israel. Other princes loved and admired Israel and Solomon, and
courted their friendship, but here was one that abhorred them. The greatest
and best of princes and people, however much they may in general be
respected, will yet perhaps be hated and abhorred by some.
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Jeroboam's
Promotion Foretold.
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B.
C. 977.
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26 And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an
Ephrathite of Zereda, Solomon's servant, whose mother's name was
Zeruah, a widow woman, even he lifted up his hand against the
king. 27 And this was the cause that he lifted up his
hand against the king: Solomon built Millo, and repaired the breaches
of the city of David his father. 28 And the man Jeroboam was
a mighty man of valour: and Solomon seeing the young man that he was
industrious, he made him ruler over all the charge of the house of
Joseph. 29 And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went
out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the
way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were
alone in the field: 30 And Ahijah caught the new garment that was
on him, and rent it in twelve pieces: 31 And he said to
Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD,
the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of
Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee: 32 (But he shall have
one tribe for my servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city
which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:) 33 Because
that they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the
Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the
children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is
right in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did
David his father. 34 Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom
out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for
David my servant's sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and
my statutes: 35 But I will take the kingdom out of his son's
hand, and will give it unto thee, even ten tribes. 36 And
unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light
alway before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name
there. 37 And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according
to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel. 38
And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt
walk in my ways, and do that is right in my sight, to keep my
statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with
thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give
Israel unto thee. 39 And I will for this afflict the seed of
David, but not for ever. 40 Solomon sought therefore to kill
Jeroboam. And Jeroboam arose, and fled into Egypt, unto Shishak king of
Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.
We have here the first mention of that infamous name Jeroboam the son of
Nebat, that made Israel to sin; he is here brought upon the stage as an
adversary to Solomon, whom God had expressly told (v. 11) that he
would give the greatest part of his kingdom to his servant, and Jeroboam was
the man. We have here an account,
I. Of his extraction, v. 26. He was of the tribe of Ephraim, he next
in honour to Judah. His mother was a widow, to whom Providence had made up
the loss of a husband in a son that was active and ingenious, and (we may
suppose) a great support and comfort to her.
II. Of his elevation. It was Solomon's wisdom, when he had work to do, to
employ proper persons in it. He observed Jeroboam to be a very industrious
young man, one that minded his business, took a pleasure in it, and did it
with all his might, and therefore he gradually advanced him, till at length
he made him receiver-general for the two tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, or
perhaps put him into an office equivalent to that of lord-lieutenant of
those two counties, for he was ruler of the burden, or tribute, that is,
either of the taxes or of the militia of the house of Joseph. Note, Industry
is the way to preferment. Seest thou a man diligent in his business,
that will take care and pains, and go through with it? he shall stand
before kings, and not always be on the level with mean men. Observe a
difference between David, and both his predecessor and his successor: when
Saul saw a valiant man he took him to himself (1 Sam. xiv. 52); when
Solomon saw an industrious man he preferred him; but David's eyes
were upon the faithful in the land, that they might dwell with him:
if he saw a godly man, he preferred him, for he was a man after God's own
heart, whose countenance beholds the upright.
III. Of his designation to the government of the ten tribes after the death
of Solomon. Some think he was himself plotting against Solomon, and
contriving to rise to the throne, that he was turbulent and aspiring. The
Jews say that when he was employed by Solomon in building Millo he took
opportunities of reflecting upon Solomon as oppressive to his people, and
suggesting that which would alienate them from his government. It is not
indeed probable that he should say much to that purport, for Solomon would
have got notice of it, and it would have hindered his preferment; but it is
plainly intimated that he had it in his thoughts, for the prophet tells him
(v. 37), Thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth.
But this was the cause, or rather this was the story, of the
lifting up of his hand against the king: Solomon made him ruler over the
tribes of Joseph, and, as he was going to take possession of his government,
he was told by a prophet in God's name that he should be king, which
emboldened him to aim high, and in some instances to oppose the king and
give him vexation. 1. The prophet by whom this message was sent was Ahijah
of Shiloh; we shall read of him again, ch. xiv. 2. It seems,
Shiloh was not so perfectly forsaken and forgotten of God but that, in
remembrance of the former days, it was blessed with a prophet. He delivered
his message to Jeroboam in the way, his servants being probably ordered to
retire, as in a like case (1 Sam. ix. 27), when Samuel delivered his message
to Saul. God's word was not the less sacred and sure for being delivered to
him thus obscurely, under a hedge it may be. 2. The sign by which it was
represented to him was the rending of a garment into twelve pieces, and
giving him ten, v. 30, 31. It is not certain whether the garment was
Jeroboam's, as is commonly taken for granted, or Ahijah's, which is more
probable: He (that is, the prophet) had clad himself with a new
garment, on purpose that he might with it give him a sign. The rending
of the kingdom from Saul was signified by the rending of Samuel's mantle,
not Saul's, 1 Sam. xv. 27, 28. And it was more significant to give Jeroboam
ten pieces of that which was not his own before than of that which was. The
prophets, both true and false, used such signs, even in the New Testament,
as Agabus, Acts xxi. 10, 11. 3. The message itself, which is very
particular, (1.) He assures him that he shall be king over ten of the twelve
tribes of Israel, v. 31. The meanness of his extraction and
employment shall be no hindrance to his advancement, when the God of Israel
says (by whom kings reign), I will give ten tribes unto thee. (2.) He
tells him the reason; not for his good character or deserts, but for the
chastising of Solomon's apostasy: "Because he, and his family, and many
of his people with him, have forsaken me, and worshipped other gods,"
v. 33. It was because they had done ill, not because he was likely to
do much better. Thus Israel must know that it is not for their
righteousness that they are made masters of Canaan, but for the
wickedness of the Canaanites, Deut. ix. 4. Jeroboam did not deserve so good
a post, but Israel deserved so bad a prince. In telling him that the reason
why he rent the kingdom from the house of Solomon was because they had
forsaken God, he warns him to take heed of sinning away his preferment in
like manner. (3.) He limits his expectations to the ten tribes only, and to
them in reversion after the death of Solomon, lest he should aim at the
whole and give immediate disturbance to Solomon's government. He is here
told, [1.] That two tribes (called here one tribe, because little
Benjamin was in a manner lost in the thousands of Judah) should remain sure
to the house of David, and he must never make any attempt upon them: He
shall have one tribe (v. 32), and again (v. 36), That
David may have a lamp, that is, a shining name and memory (Ps. cxxxii.
17), and his family, as a royal family, may not be extinct. He must not
think that David was rejected, as Saul was. No, God would not take his
loving-kindness from him, as he did from Saul. The house of David must be
supported and kept in reputation, for all this, because out of it the
Messiah must arise. Destroy it not, for that blessing is in it.
[2.] That Solomon must keep possession during his life, v. 34, 35.
Jeroboam therefore must not offer to dethrone him, but wait with patience
till his day shall come to fall. Solomon shall be prince, all the days of
his life, not for his own sake (he had forfeited his crown to the
justice of God), but for David my servant's sake, because he kept my
commandments. Children that do not tread in their parents' steps yet
often fare the better in this world for their good parents' piety. (4.) He
gives him to understand that he will be upon his good behaviour. The grant
of the crown must run quamdiu se bene gesserit--during good behaviour.
"If thou wilt do what is right in my sight, I will build thee a sure
house, and not otherwise" (v. 38), intimating that, if he
forsook God, even his advancement to the throne would in time lay his family
in the dust; whereas the seed of David, though afflicted, should not be
afflicted for ever (v. 39), but should flourish again, as it did in
many of the illustrious kings of Judah, who reigned in glory when Jeroboam's
family was extirpated.
IV. Jeroboam's flight into
Egypt
, v. 40. In some way or other Solomon came to know of all this,
probably from Jeroboam's own talk of it; he could not conceal it as Saul
did, nor keep his own counsel; if he had, he might have staid in his
country, and been preparing there for his future advancement; but letting it
be known, 1. Solomon foolishly sought to kill his successor. Had not he
taught others that, whatever devices are in men's hearts, the counsel of
the Lord shall stand? And yet does he himself think to defeat that
counsel? 2. Jeroboam prudently withdrew into
Egypt
. Though God's promise would have secured him any where, yet he would use
means for his own preservation, and was content to live in exile and
obscurity for a while, being sure of a kingdom at last. And shall not we be
so, who have a better kingdom in reserve?
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The
Death of Solomon.
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B.
C. 975.
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41 And 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 slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David his
father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.
We have here the conclusion of Solomon's story, and in it, 1. Reference is
had to another history then extant, but (not being divinely inspired) since
lost, the Book of the Acts of Solomon, v. 41. Probably this
book was written by a chronologer or historiographer, whom Solomon employed
to write his annals, out of which the sacred writer extracted what God saw
fit to transmit to the church. 2. A summary of the years of his reign (v.
42): He reigned in Jerusalem (not, as his father, part of his time in
Hebron and part in Jerusalem), over all Israel (not as his son, and
his father in the beginning of his time, over Judah only), forty years.
His reign was as long as his father's, but not his life. Sin shortened his
days. 3. His death and burial, and his successor, v. 43. (1.) He
followed his fathers to the grave, slept with them, and was buried in
David's burying-place, with honour no doubt. (2.) His son followed him in
the throne. Thus the graves are filling with the generations that go off,
and houses are filling with those that are growing up. As the grave cries,
"Give, give," so land is never lost for want of an heir.
