1 Kings 11 – Study

For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Preliminary:

We are, in these studies, looking specifically at the Kings of Israel, and by that we don’t mean all the kings who reigned over Israel as a people as constituted by God, but the kings of the ten tribes after the nation had been split into two, following Solomon’s reign. We will simply be working through the books of 1 & 2 Kings omitting references to the kings of Judah so that we can focus on the kings of Israel.

Passage: 1 Kings 11:26-40

26 Also, Jeroboam son of Nebat rebelled against the king. He was one of Solomon’s officials, an Ephraimite from Zeredah, and his mother was a widow named Zeruah.

27 Here is the account of how he rebelled against the king: Solomon had built the terraces and had filled in the gap in the wall of the city of David his father. 28 Now Jeroboam was a man of standing, and when Solomon saw how well the young man did his work, he put him in charge of the whole labour force of the tribes of Joseph.

29 About that time Jeroboam was going out of Jerusalem, and Ahijah the prophet of Shiloh met him on the way, wearing a new cloak. The two of them were alone out in the country, 30 and Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces. 31 Then he said to Jeroboam, ‘Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: “See, I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon’s hand and give you ten tribes. 32 But for the sake of my servant David and the city of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, he will have one tribe. 33 I will do this because they have forsaken me and worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Molek the god of the Ammonites, and have not walked in obedience to me, nor done what is right in my eyes, nor kept my decrees and laws as David, Solomon’s father, did.

34 ‘“But I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon’s hand; I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of David my servant, whom I chose and who obeyed my commands and decrees. 35 I will take the kingdom from his son’s hands and give you ten tribes. 36 I will give one tribe to his son so that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put my Name. 37 However, as for you, I will take you, and you will rule over all that your heart desires; you will be king over Israel. 38 If you do whatever I command you and walk in obedience to me and do what is right in my eyes by obeying my decrees and commands, as David my servant did, I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty as enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you. 39 I will humble David’s descendants because of this, but not for ever.”’

40 Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam fled to Egypt, to Shishak the king, and stayed there until Solomon’s death.

A. Find Out:    

1. What are we told of Jeroboam’s background? v.26
2. What are we told of his work? v.27,28
3. What message was given, how, from God to him? v.29-32, 34-37
4. What reason was given him? v.33
5. What conditional promise was given him? v.38
6. What happened to Jeroboam? v.40

B. Think:

1. What sort of man is Jeroboam shown to be here?
2. What do you think he should learn from what he is told?
3. How is the Lord helping him?

C. Comment:

See, first of all, what we are told about Jeroboam as a person. His mother is a widow. He is an official working in the harsh regime of Solomon. To achieve that position, he has had to prove himself and he stands out in his job so well that he is promoted to a major managerial position. He’s obviously an industrious and hard worker.

The second thing we see about him is that he is chosen by God. There is no reason given why God chose him particularly, but it may be that the Lord knew that this industrious tough young man, would be the sort who would stand up to Solomon’s foolish son in the year ahead. The Lord sends His prophet to speak to Jeroboam and tells him three crucial things. First He tells him what He will do. The division of the kingdom is God’s plan. It’s not merely men who can’t get on with each other. It is expressly God’s intent. Second, He tells him why He is going to do this: it is because of Israel ‘s idolatry. This therefore should come as a strong warning for the years to come to Jeroboam. Third, the Lord promises that if Jeroboam is faithful to Him, He will bless his family and establish them for many years. It is conditional however on Jeroboam’s faithfulness. He has been given great insight and he ought to learn from that. Tragically he didn’t and the whole future of the northern tribes will be blighted as a result. Remember this in all that follows.

D. Application:

1. God gave Jeroboam all the help he needed for the future.
2. God’s help is by providing insight. Do we learn?