The American Wisdom Series 
 http://www.americanwisdomseries.com

Presents 

Caution to students of God's Word - Please remember two things when using our studies: #1. Our commentary is not God's Word. It is only our interpretation or understanding of "His Word" and even though we try our best to be accurate we may or may not be correct. #2. The King James translation, or any other translation, of the original Hebrew text has some words which were given different translations at different places probably because of the interpreters preconceived ideas of what they think God meant to say. For example: According to the notes in the "Dake's Annotated Reference Bible" the Hebrew word hayah in the KJV is Trans. (became) 67 times, (becamest or came to pass) 505 times, (become) 66 times, and (come to pass) 131 times, but for some reason in Genesis 1:2 it is translated (was)! That sure changes the way a person perceives the original creation of the earth, doesn't it?  Gen. 1:2 And the earth was (became) without form, ... Having said that, let us continue with our "Key Knowledge" lessons. These are pamphlets containing knowledge, we believe, you must have to fully and accurately unlock and understand the Word of God.

John 15:26
But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

John 16:13-14
[13] Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. [14] He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

This Bible Study was originally written by Roger Christopherson,
 published at http://www.theseason.org/

Without the leading by the Holy Spirit, there is no understanding of the truths, for all the truth of the Scriptures are revealed to us by God's Spirit.

 Now here is our revised study of:

I Kings

Chapter 11

"Solomon's Marriages [1-4]."
"The Acceptance of Heathen Religions [5-10]."
"Yehovah. Punishment [11-40]."
"Prophet Ahijah Reveals that Kingdom will be Split [26-40]."
"Solomon's Death [41-43]."

In this chapter it is revealed that the tribes of Israel are going to be split into two separate nations called "houses". The smaller of the nations will be called the "House of Judah", while the larger nation, or house will be called the "House of Israel". God is going to cause this break up of the nation of Israel because of the great sins of Solomon, which are recorded in this chapter. God was very unhappy with Solomon, and I feel that it was for this reason that Solomon was not in the lineage of Christ. For we know from Luke 3:31 that Nathan, the brother of Solomon and son of David fulfilled that position in the lineage that the Lord Jesus Christ would be born through.

Remember from the prior chapter, Solomon sought to please God and God blessed him for it. Then when the blessings came, and the wealth and wisdom were bestowed on Solomon, he simply could not handle it, as we shall see in this chapter. When the riches and wisdom were showered down of Solomon, they came from all the nations of the world to seek the wisdom, and the partake of the wealth of Israel. As the Moabites, the Ammonites, The Edomites and all the other heathen came to Solomon they brought their daughters with them and Solomon loved them all. It didn't matter to Solomon what their race, or religious preference was, he took wives from all the nations. So now lets see exactly how Solomon changed, and took his eyes off God and his laws and commandments as he takes his many wives.

I Kings 11:1 But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites;"

There are many references to these foreign women in Solomon's book of Proverbs. These Edomites are of the lineage of Esau (Russia), the twin brother to Jacob [Israel; the Christian nations located today in Western Europe, the Isles of Britain, and the Americas].

I Kings 11:2 "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."

Moses gave this warning to all Israel in Exodus 34:16, when the Israelites were about to enter into, and take the promise land. This was the reason that the Israelites were to exterminate all the people of the land, from the men and women, even to the small infant.

Live Link to-> Destroy=Exterminate

Exodus 34:14 "For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, Whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God."

We know from the books of Joshua and Judges that the children of Israel did not listen and because of their refusal to eliminate all the heathen people and their forms of idol worship, in time these people and their gods took over the tribes of Israel, during the times of the Judges.

Exodus 34:15 "Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice;"

This was the reason for listening to God, and following His instructions. Remember that covenant that Solomon made with Hiram, the king of Tyre? In time those business ties came back to bring down that vast empire of Solomon's, and reduce it to two small tribes.

Exodus 34:16 "And thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go a whoring after their gods."

This is exactly what Solomon did, he took the women from all the nations for his wives, and right along with these wives, came their families, and those families religious forms and practices.

Exodus 34:17 "Thou shalt make thee no molten gods."

When Solomon took the daughter of the Pharaoh, it was to create a brotherhood between Egypt and Israel, to establish peace between these two nations. The reason that Israel never went to war with any nation, was that Solomon made a habit of taking wives from the kings and governors of all the nations. Along with the wives coming to Jerusalem, came their dowries, and their gods. In taking these heathen wives, Solomon has broken one of God's commandments to Israel. So in all the perfection of Solomon's wealthy kingdom, even in all the wisdom that he possessed, Solomon overlooked one of God most important commandments. That of putting other gods before the One True God.

When we take a look at what is going on in our nation (the United States) today, we see that the heads of our nation today have also, over the years, made covenants with the heathen, sought after strange women, and lost sight of the commandments of God. Yes the physical needs of the people are being filled, however in the end there will be a price to pay for disobedience to God's commandments. We will see in this chapter the punishment that Israel payed for allowing God's commandments to be disregarded. Solomon enjoyed all of the fine things that God blessed him with, and he was attracted to all the ladies of the courts around the world.

So as much as God blessed Solomon with all his riches and glory, we will see what happens to a blessed man, when he loses sight of the commandments of God. When God loves you, and you disobey Him, He will correct you for your disobedience to Him. In chapter ten we witnessed how God will bless you if you obey Him, and in this chapter we will see how God corrects you when you disobey Him. It isn't a matter of what you intend to do, but a response to what you have already done to defy God's commandments.

To those that have much, God expects much, and to those that have little, little is expected. It is a matter of what you do with what you have. This applies to the Word of God spiritually, as much as it does with the money and physical things that God gives you. God will give you exactly what you prove you can handle, and the excesses will be taken away. If you think that you are going to get away with something, forget it, for Satan is right there in heaven accusing you of every fault that you have. Though Satan sees only your actions, God can look right into your mind and know the thoughts as you think them. So before you break any of God's commandments and laws know that they are well recorded where it counts, in heaven and before the throne of God. Every thing in time will be accounted for by you, before God's throne. Solomon overlooked many of God's commandments, and in his wisdom, I'm sure he knew them well.

I Kings 11:3 "And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart."

This is exactly what Moses warned against that we read above from Exodus 34:16. These wives turned Solomon's mind away from serving God. You must stay focused in God's Word, for discipline is important to every Christian who desires to be blessed of God. What you do is your own decision, but what you do determines whether you will be blessed of God, or find the curses on you. God told you what He wants you to do in His Word, and it is up to you whether you receive His blessings or not. The point is that you make your own mind up about whether or not to be led into the traps of this world. Today there is a lack of discipline in our churches , as well as Christianity on the whole.

I Kings 11:4 "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."

Solomon's heart "was not perfect", meaning that his mind was not loyal to the Lord. Nothing would ever match the loyalty of David to the Father. Solomon took those things that were worshipped by his wives, and incorporated them into the worship of Almighty God. This is the as bad as it can get before the eyes of God. God's commandments brings his blessings, and when you break them, God removes those blessings.

If you want to mix your life up with strange and foreign customs, do it, but leave God out of it. Don't mix it into your religious practices, or you will pay a price for your insulting the Father. Today many try to mix many of the things of the feast of Ishtar or Easter, with Passover, and by saying that it is of God, it makes it right. How foolish, but it is what is happening today. The point to all of this is that it makes God angry when you try to mix anything heathen with God's ways. (Did going to a sun rise service last April make you feel good: Better get down on your knees and ask God for forgiveness in Jesus name.)

I Kings 11:5 "For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites."

"Ashtoreth" was the worship of the moon goddess and was the same religious form that the Iraelites had taken up with in the time of the Judges, when Gideon made his stand. In Judges 8:33 we read; "And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after Baalim, and made Baal-berith their god." Understand first that "Baal-berith", "Ashtoreth" and grove worship are all the same thing.

"Baal-berith" in the Strongs Hebrew dictionary is # 1170; "Ba'al Beriyth, bah'-al-ath beh-ayr'; from 1168 and 1285; baal of (the) covenant, Baal Berith, a special deity of the Shechemites: Baal berith." Under # 1168 we are told that the Baal of the Phoenician deity, is the same Baal as the Shechemites. However in # 1285 we read; "Beriyth, ber-eeth; comes from 1262 in a sense of cuttting; "a compact (because made by passing between pieces of flesh: a covenant or league."

Where ever Baal worship exists, the groves are mentioned the word "Asherah" is mentioned as well. The word "Asherah" is from the root "Ashar", which is "to be straight, erect, or upright". It is from this word "Asherah" that we get the moral reference, "to be upright", hence an expression to be happy and prosper. When the word Asherah is used in the scripture, the word is also given as "grove or groves" and is left as a proper name. So in review for past references of different time periods, Baal, Asherah and groves are used in the form of worship, and they are all tied together. This form of worship deals with a tree with its tops cut off, and the trunk or stump fashioned into a certain shape. (the erect male penis; there, I said it! Did you ever wonder how or why church steeples came into existence?) Note: I once had a lady from a church I was attending justify their easter worship (teaching their children to roll colored easter eggs on the church lawn by saying, "We are not doing any thing disrespectful to God, we're just celebrating NEW LIFE."

Deuteronomy 16:21 "Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of the Lord thy God, which thou shalt make thee."

When we take this word "grove" back into the Hebrew, here again we see the word "Asherah". This is not talking about the planting of the trees, but what you will make of the trees once they have grown to maturity. It deals with how you shape the trees, and what those shapes are symbols of. These tree stumps were artificially shaped and set into the ground.

Isaiah 17:8 "And he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands, neither shall respect that which his fingers have made, either the groves or the images."

Once again the "groves" and the "images" are tied together. The Hebrew text refers to the "groves" again as "Asherah", and the "images" to the "sun". The groves or tree trunks were artificially fashioned and set erect in the ground, and made of wood or sometimes made of stone. The "images" however were made of stone. This is why Gideon was able to cut down those groves, as we read in Judges 6:26, and it was through that action that Gideon's name was changed to Jerabbaal.

So this "Asherah" can be a living tree that is cut off at the top and shaped; or the trunk of the tree that is cut off and shaped and stuck into the ground in an upright position. When these trees and images are coupled with "Mazzeroth" or "pillars of stone", it is connected directly to Baal-worship.

The male part called "Asherah" of the worship is distinguished from "Ashtoreth" the female goddess, yet the images are worshipped together. The Ashtoreth being representative of the productive (or passive) principle of life; and "Baal" or "Asherah" being representative of the generative (or active) part of the process for producing life. In other words, this is using the sexual process in a form of worship, and the shaping of the trunks of trees as the idols and images to excite the worshippers into the practice, and God hates the practice. In many churches paintings are used in art form depicting scriptual matters, whereby the images are of the people in the nude.

Stones of worship in Baal and Ashoreth are set up all over the Semetic world; and even in Arabia. Even the Islamic sacred stone, the "kaaba" in Mecca, remains an object of reverence. Like in every form of religion, the stones and tree trunks have to do with the flesh object, and thus it even exists in the promotion of the law of evolution. Evolution is seen as the progress of man by his works, even in life, for it teaches that man evolved from the most simplest of forms, in ignorance. Evolution believes that man has arrived to where it is today through the development and learning process of mistakes and failures, achieving to the point of intelligence that man has now.

Isaiah 57:6 "Among the smooth stones of the stream is thy portion; they, they are thy lot: even to them hast thou poured a drink offering, thou hast offered a meat offering. Should I receive comfort in these ?"

When you join the "smooth stones" with the word "lot" in the translation we have the old and out dated Greek word for "Stigma", and it should be a warning to us today. Remember that Isaiah was writing this to this end generation as a warning and we are living in those days. It is the same word that the number 6-6-6 comes from in Revelation 13:18.

Revelation 13:18 "Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six."

Though this seems like a great mystery to many today, lets stop for a moment and see what it all says. Isaiah was trying to tell those people of the end times about something that would happen in our day. Isaiah used the symbols of stones in a stream bed, that were warn smooth over a long period of time. The "lot" is what you hold title to and possess, it is what is yours. The drink offering and the meat offering is what you offer to please the Father. It is your worship practice to show the Father that you love him, to seek forgiveness for your sins, and as love offerings to God . The stones are the number for a man, and that man is Satan, and when you know Satan, you will know his children. these verses are addressing the identity of the Kenites.

Today most churches have allowed Kenites, "the smooth stones of the stream", and their "lot" or traditions to become their drink offerings and feat offerings to God. God is asking you; "Should I receive comfort in these?" So back in I Kings 11:5, notice that Solomon accepted the ways of the Zidonians [Kenites], for he took wives from there, as well as their traditions. Zidon and Tyre were sister cities, and the form of worship of these Zidonians was Ashorath and Baal worship. They were Kenites, from Hamath, and as we see in I Chronicles 2:55, though they held high offices even in the Temple, they were heathen, and brought their heathen traditions into the Temple worship with them.

The Ammonites had another form of worship, and the word stated here "Milcom" is the same form the Aramaic calls "Molech", in verse seven. Translated the word simply mean "the king". In ancient times, in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, king Molech would sacrifice children to his gods. Solomon was even allowing such things to go on in the sight of his temple in Jerusalem. It was the sacrificing of human flesh for the sake of sin.

I Kings 11:6 "And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord, as did David his father."

Unlike David, Solomon's father, Solomon allowed all of his wives worship practices to be mixed in with those of Israels. This is the same fault as churches today are doing in working in the traditions of men into their worship of God. It is mixing heathen practices in with those things that Christ and the Apostles laid out in the Scriptures. God doesn't like this.

I Kings 11:7 "Then did Solomon build an 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."

"Chemosh" was the "sun god". This is like the building of the "mars hill" in Athens of Paul's day, where the Greeks built a idol to every one of the heathen gods, and one to the "unknown god", just so they could please all the gods. Solomon built these idols right outside the east gate of the Temple, where it could be observed by everyone. It was on the hill called the Mount of Olives, and the historians have rightly named it, "the hill of confusion". Later the prophets called it the mount of corruption.

II Kings 23:13 "And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moabites, and for Milcomthe abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile."

All of those heathen rituals and practices were going on right there in the sight of the temple, along side of the practices of the temple. Is it any wonder that Solomon brought the Kenites or Zidonians into the Temple to take part in and mix in their worship services.

I Kings 11:8 "And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods."

He allowed for all his foreign wives, to keep them happy and keep peace in the family. Remember that Solomon didn't ask for all the riches, and all the wealth and attention to be brought his way, but Solomon in his youth asked for the simple wisdom to govern his people, and it was God that brought all the rest his way. When the gold started to pour into Jerusalem, it didn't take long for the king of the Kenites, Hiram to enter the gates with his covenants, and promises of a joint business venture, and Solomon bought into the entire package that Hiram, the king of the Kenites offered. Solomon asked to be a decent king and serve the people well, and God gave that to him.

 John's  Note: This is the same Hiram, "the widows son" that the masons are so proud of; So you see it is not only our so-called Christian churches who are worshiping idols in this 21st. century! --- Locusts, locusts, they're everywhere. All around us in these "END TIMES" Live Link to-> Locusts, Locusts, Everywhere! The Book of Joel gives us the details of that fearsome locust army from the 9th chapter of Revelation. 

So in looking at all of Solomon's wisdom, and seeing what Solomon has turned into, and done, you would have to agree that even with his wisdom, he did a very stupid thing. Solomon's wisdom has been taken from him. It will only be a matter of time that the riches will head out the gate and be gone also. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, bless be the name of the Lord. The choice was Solomon's and he blew it, he threw it all away.

I Kings 11:9 "And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, Which had appeared unto him twice,"

God came to Solomon twice, and Solomon spoke with God, and he knew the Lord. Solomon knew where his wisdom and riches came from, and he knew God's Covenants, God's laws, His statutes, and God's Judgments. There was no confusion in his mind what God expected of him, yet with all this wisdom, these women turned Solomon's mind [heart] away from the commands of God.

I Kings 9:4 "And if thou wilt walk before Me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep My statutes and My Judgments:" The word "if" put conditions to the promises that God was going to give Solomon, and that condition was that Solomon keep all the statutes and Judgments of God's law. When any man comes to take inventory of himself, he can be very slack in his judgment. There are no exceptions to that statement.

I Kings 11:10 "And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the Lord commanded."

I 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."

Because of what Solomon had done, and how he misused the gifts that God had given him, God is going to take the kingdom form Solomon and give it over to one of Solomon's servants.

I Kings 11:12 "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."

God is telling Solomon that because of promises that He made to David, He will not take the kingdom while Solomon is still alive. As soon as you are dead and gone, so are the riches and the kingdom that would have been thy son's.

I Kings 11:13 "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." "

Ten tribes will be given over to this servant's hand, and two will remain with the son of Solomon. The tribe of Judah for the sake of David, and the tribe of Benjamin because Jerusalem was in the land of Benjamin. These two small tribes will be the only tribes to make up the nation of the house of Judah under the control of the sons of Solomon. All the other tribes will split off from Judah, and go to make up an entire separate nation, carrying the name of Israel. To this day as we start the 21st. century, the house of Israel and the house of Judah are two separate peoples. God dealt with each of these peoples separately, and the joining of these people into one nation again will not take place until Jesus Christ returns at the seventh and last trumpet to set up his kingdom right here on earth.

I Kings 11:14 "And the Lord stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite: he was of the king's seed in Edom." (Yes, a Russian)

Hadad is one of Esau's offspring, this Hadad is right out of the royal seed of the lineage of Esau.

I Kings 11:15 "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;"

This thing that the Lord is allowing to stir trouble against Solomon went back many years, to the time when Joab, the captain of David's army, went against Edom and killed all the males of the tribe of Edom. The story of what happened in Edom is recorded in II Samuel 8:4-18, and took place some seventy years prior to the actions of Hadad against Solomon. This Hadad, then, was the offspring that survived that purge in his childhood, and is now coming to give trouble to Solomon, a generation later. God has a way of making things that go around, come around again. The Edomites of that location were destroyed, however there were family members in other locations that survived the slaughter, and they are the ones coming to seek revenge against Solomon.

I Kings 11:16 "(For six months did Joab remain there with all Israel, until he had cut off every male in Edom:)"

I Kings 11:17 "That Hadad fled, he and certain Edomites of his father's servants with him, to go into Egypt; Hadad being yet a little child."

We see now how Hadad had survive the slaughter, for at the time he was just a small child and part of the royalty of the Edomites, fleeing down into Egypt. His father and mother were seeking a safe haven outside Edom and went to the Pharaoh of Egypt for protection.

I Kings 11:18 "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 an house, and appointed him victuals, and gave him land."

When Hadad grew up in Egypt, Pharaoh gave the family a land to live on, a house to live in and everything that was necessary to live their life in comfort.

I Kings 11:19 "And Hadad found great favour in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him to wife the sister of his own wife, and sister of Tahpenes the Queen."

As Hadad grew into adulthood he was loved of the Pharaoh, and the Pharaoh gave Hadad his own sister in law for a wife. The same time that Solomon is changing and turning against the ways of God; making covenants with Hiram the head of the Kenites, and taking on all the heathen gods, God is raising up an enemy that will take Solomon down.

Stop and think about it for a moment. If God has counted on you to do something for him, and given you the gifts and the ability to carry out that task, He expects results from you. When Solomon entered into the covenant with the Hiram, the king of the Kenites, it was the start of Solomon's slide. Hiram built on Solomon's pride to a point to where he felt nothing was forbidden nor impossible for him to do. That was the start of Solomon's fall. And with the fall, God set His plan in motion to fulfill the very thing that He told Solomon that he would do, when God first told Solomon of the wisdom and wealth that he would have. Hadad is the man that will carry out God's wishes. Remember the warning that God gave Solomon in I Kings 9:6?

I Kings 9:6 "But if ye shall at all turn from following Me, ye or your children, and will not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them:"

"But if..." is the condition for the turning away from following God's ways, commandments and judgments. It is a warning to Solomon.

I Kings 9:7 "Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for My name, will I cast out of My sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all People:"

Just as God was the one that built up Solomon, it is God that will use Hadad to perform the act of "cutting off Israel...".

I Kings 9:8 "And at this house which is high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, `Why hath the Lord done thus unto this land, and to this house?' "

Today most Christians have no idea in the world why God ever did this to Solomon and Israel. In fact they have no idea that Israel was ever split, and they treat the house of Israel as if it were the Jews of the House of Judah.

Even today, if you think that you can know the truth and understand the commandments and statutes of God's Word and then turn your back on those precious truths of His Word, God is going to raise an adversary up to bring you down.

I Kings 11:20 "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."

God took this young man and brought him right to the right hand of the Pharaoh, married to the Queens sister, and having the Queen of Egypt herself wean his own son; that is reaching the top in Hadad's day. Hadad lived a blessed life in Egypt, and he was placed in a position of authority.

I Kings 11:21 "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." "

Remember that one of Pharaoh's daughters married Solomon, so that Egypt was not the place to do the work that God set forth for Hadad. Hadad was well aware of how Joab and the Israelites had destroyed his countrymen, and killed off many of the males of Edom. It was time for accountability, and God chose Hadad for the task.

I Kings 11:22 "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."

The Pharaoh simply could not understand why any man would leave the home and wealth that he had received in Egypt, to go back and risk it all for the sake of a grudge. When asked for a reason, Hadad answered him, "Nothing: but [how be it] let me go any wise."

I Kings 11:23 "And God stirred him up another adversary, Rezon the son of Eliadah, which fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah:"

So we see that Hadad was set on going, however there is another adversary that is planning trouble for Solomon. This Rezon was also out of the land during the time of Joab's terror that took the lives of all the males of that Edomite war. Rezon is back, and he remembers how the Israelites destroyed his family.

I Kings 11:24 "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."

This is talking about the country of Syria, and in time Rezon returned to Damascus, gathered himself an army, and he reigned there in Damascus. This new king knew what happened to Zobah, and that David and Joab slew his former king.

I Kings 11:25 "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."

So now we see that Solomon's troubles are coming from two fronts, from the group that Hadad put together of mercenaries, and from Rezon the king of Syria itself. God is now going to use these two forces to bring trouble in all Israel.

I Kings 11:26 "And Jeroboam the son of Mebat, 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."

Now on a third front against Solomon is this young man Jeroboam of the Tribe of Ephraim. God stirred him up against Solomon also to bring trouble from within Solomon's government.

When Solomon became king, the men of the tribe of Ephraim were given the hard work when the duties of building Solomon's kingdom came, and they simply did not like it. Remember that the tribe of Judah was the king line, from the prophecies of Genesis 48 and 49, and Ephraim were assigned to be the leadership of all the tasks of building the nation, and running it.

1 Kings 11:27  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.

So this great hardship on the tribe of Ephraim was the reason that Jeroboan lifted his hand up against the king. Today we would call it hard work without the recognition and appreciation for what had been done.

I Kings 11:28 "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."

The word "Jeroboam" in the Hebrew, means "of many people". Remember that the "house of Joseph" comprised the ten tribes of "house of Israel". Joseph's two sons were to carry the name of Israel from the time in Egypt to the end of this earth age. Jacob passed the blessing of Abraham not on to Judah, but on to Joseph and to his two sons.

John's  Note: And so it has been passed on to Ephraim (Great Britain) and Manasseh (United States of America).

Genesis 48:14 "And Israel [Jacob] stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn."

Genesis 48:15 "And he blessed Joseph, and said, "God, before Whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God Which fed me all my life long unto this day,"

Genesis 48:16 "The Angel Which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth."

God is about to split the nation into two separate nations, and the larger of the two will be called Israel, and carry the name of Israel; and this is not the house of Judah.

I Kings 11:29 "And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilomite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field:"

Ahijah was a prophet of God that served at Shilo. We will see later in chapter 14 that Ahijah will rebuke Jeroboam for the idolatry that he allowed to come into the House of Israel. Ahijah met Jeroboam when he was off in a field alone, and that's where this took place. It was the breaking apart of this new garment that will represent exactly what is about to happen to Solomon's kingdom of Israel.

I Kings 11:30 "And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces:"

Ahijah took that outer garment and ripped it into twelve pieces. After Solomon chased after all the false idols and brought the people into idolatry, he wasn't fit to be king. This renting of the garment shows why and when the separation came about of the twelve tribes of Israel.

I Kings 11:31 "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:"

These ten pieces of cloth from Jeroboam's garment represented the ten tribes of the the northern kingdom of the House of Israel, which the two pieces that Ahijah kept represented the two tribes that would remain under the grandson of David, as a promise that God gave to David many years prior. The reason that Solomon lost it all and the kingdom split was because of Idolatry; messing around with heathen women and their gods. Solomon thought himself just too good to fall, and in the end, he lost it all.

My fellow Christian, God is trying to show you how He operates, what He will put up with, and whose things that He will not tolerate. If you want God's continual blessings for your life, you are not going to be messing around with the traditions of men, and those forms of man made idolatry in your religious doings

I Kings 11:32 "(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:)"

This lists the two tribes that will be called the House of Judah, the first and foremost is Judah, for it is of the lineage of David, and the second of course is Benjamin, because of Jerusalem, the city that the land of the Benjaminites live in. The tribe of Levi can not be named in this numbering for this tribe is the priest tribe and scattered amongst all the tribes. Remember that Joseph had two sons, and each of those sons became a tribe because Israel [Jacob] adopted them for himself, in giving Joseph the double portion of blessing.

I Kings 11:33 "Because that they have forsaken Me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of 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."

This is the reason that Israel will be broken up; "Because they have forsaken Me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth...." and so on. So how does this relate to us today? 

My fellow Christian, Do you think maybe it's time to attend another "sun rise service"? or  to teach your children to roll "quick-like-a-bunny" eggs around on the church lawn!  All the while, pretending it's a Christian thing to do! You can call it Easter or Ashtoreth or what ever you want, but BEWARE it's a pagan way of celebrating our Lord's Passover! Do you think Jesus approves? Better read 1 Kings chapter eleven all over again!

Today one of the most precious holidays of the Christian year is Easter, it is the the time of the feast of Ishtar, the female part of grove worship. On Easter morning, Christians rush to their early sunrise services, to see the sun rise, and they utter their traditional thoughts. So this is a mixture of Ashtoreth and Chemosh, the sun goddess, being mixed in with the most precious time in Christianity, the Passover. Christ became our Passover, when He shed His blood on the cross, and the way we celebrate Passover is to in the Communion service. We are to keep the Passover, or Communion until the return of Jesus Christ at the seventh trumpet. Christ's blood fulfilled those parts of the statutes of ritual law of blood sacrifice, and thus that is the only part of God's law that was completed or done away with.

If you are chasing Easter bunnies, or rolling Easter eggs, you are indulging in other forms of the feast of Ishtar [Easter], so at what point do you stop mixing this idolatry with the things of God. If you do what you do because mom and dad did it, than it is all part of man's tradition. Easter was a fertility right of Ashoreth and Baal worship, and it has entered into the most holy time of the Christian year. Are you starting to catch on what happened in Solomon's day? Solomon had so mixed in the pagan rites of these heathen religions, that they were becoming traditions even within the Temple of God. The Kenites had been brought in to help with the mixing and teaching, and being the scribes have hidden themselves and their heathen customs and traditions so that most Christians simply don't know the difference. "Easter" is mentioned only one time in Scripture, and that was done in error by a scribe. If you take the time to look it up in Strong's Hebrew dictionary, you will see that it is called "Passover" in the manuscripts.

If this offends you and the traditions that you hold dear in your church, then do yourself a favor and study the Scriptures for yourself. Study a little deeper to find out what pleases God, and what God hates. Yes, there are many things that God hates, and those things are the things that go against the teachings of His Word.

Passover was the time when the death angel passed over the ancient Israelites while slaves in Eygpt, and we now have the anointing of the only true Lamb slain for the sins of the world. When you are under the blood of Christ, Satan, the death angel must pass over you, for you are a believer in Christ. To turn that special Holy day into a feast day of idolatry of wicked rituals, is as bad or worse than what Solomon did, and God condemned both Solomon and Israel for that wickedness. There is a great need for discipline for Christians today, and we Christians had better wake up to that fact!

I Kings 11:34 "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:"

I Kings 11:35 "But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand, and will give it unto thee, even ten tribes."
Because of David's keeping of the commandments and Statutes, God did not do this until after Solomon's death. 

And then Israel split into two seperate kingdoms, The good times were over for Israel, from this time forth, and these two kingdoms steadily fell into idolatry. God scattered the northern kingdom, called the "House of Israel", around the world, along with much of the southern kingdom, called the "House of Judah", when they were carried off by the Assyrians (In 745-721 B.C. after being taken captive and relocated below the Black and Caspian Seas, the tribes of the House of Israel see II Kings 18:11 below  plus tens of thousands of Judahaits and Benjaminites from the House of Judah see II Kings 18:13 below were used by their Assyrian conquerors as a buffer state to ward off any advances by the Medes.)
II Kings 18:11 "And the king of Assyria did carry away Israel unto Assyria, and put them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes:"  II Kings 18:13 "Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them."
Then a short time later, the rest of the "House of Judah" was taken into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. (This remnant that was left there of the "House of Judah" was taken to Babylon during the conquering of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzor in 586BC, 135 years after the "House of Israel" along with most of the two tribes of the "House of Judah" were captured by their Assyrian conquerors!)

James addressed this split in the book of James, and his letter, or book was written to the offspring of the 12 scattered tribes, all over the world. This book is written to all the tribes, not just the two tribes calling themselves Jews.

James 1:1 "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greetings."

Many people today refer to the lost ten tribes, however, these people were well known to James, for he wrote a letter to them, addressed it to them, and he knew where it had to be delivered.

James 1:2 "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;"

James 1:3 "Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience."

When your faith is tried it is good, for it allows you to build patience in you. Why? Because if you are a believer, you know in the end we are going to win anyway.

James 1:4 "But let patience have her perfect [mature] work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing."

When you have the Word of God, you lack nothing and need nothing more to understand God's full plan.

James 1:5 "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, That giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."

God's word is given simply and in a form that even a child can understand. If you want wisdom in His Word, than ask Him for wisdom.

James 1:6 "But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering, For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed."

If you ask in faith, than believe that your prayer will be answered. If you have doubt, than don't even bother to pray for that favor, for God promised that you will not receive it.

James 1:7 "For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord."

James 1:8 "A double minded man is unstable in all his ways."

The people of Solomon's kingdom became double minded when they brought idols and other traditions into God's place of worship. God is a jealous God, and He just will not stand for it. A "double minded person" is full of doubt and without faith. He doesn't go to "God's Word" (the Bible), because he doesn't know how to rightly understand and divide the Word of God.

I Kings 11:36 "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."

I Kings 11:37 "And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel."

This promise is to Jeroboam, the one that shall rule over the house of Israel. The king over the southern kingdom, the house of Judah will be Solomon's son, Rehoboam.

I Kings 11:38 "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."

Does this sound familiar by now; for it was given by Moses in the wilderness, to the judges, to Saul and David, and these same words that were given to Solomon are now given to Jeroboam. This is quite a promise, and all he has to do is follow God's ways and keep the commandments and statutes of God. In return God will build Jeroboam a great nation.

John's  Note: And he has, It is called the United States of America.

I Kings 11:39 "And I will for this affect the seed of David, but not for ever.' "

I Kings 11:40 "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."

When Solomon heard about God's promise to Jeroboam, naturally he wanted Jeroboam's head. To take ten tribes away from Israel would reduce his kingdom to nothing more than a county size government by today's standards.

I Kings 11:41 "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?"

Though many critics say that there wasn't a written language until latter times in the Old Testament, Appendix 47 in the Companion makes it very clear that there truly was a written language, even prior to the time of Moses. Though this book referred to here was not in the Bible, other writings of Solomon were, mainly the song of Solomon, the Proverbs, and the book of Ecclesiastes.

I Kings 11:42 "And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years."

All of the things that Solomon and Israel did, bringing in the wealth of the world by ships, and it happened in just forty years. "Forty" being the number for probation in biblical numerics, and was Solomon ever on probation.

I Kings 11:43 "And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead."

Solomon died, and Rehoboam is now king of Israel, for a while, but not for long. Jeroboam is about to claim most of the kingdom for himself. I will expand only briefly on another side of Solomon's life, and that is the part dealing with the "dark sentences", or the symbolism of the Kenites. Solomon bonded together real well with King Hiram of the Kenites, and with the Zidonian people of Tyre. Hiram befriended David as well as Solomon, but Solomon took Kenite women of the Zidonians to wife, as well as these women's religion. There is no record that David ever messed around with this realm of mysticism, and thus even though David and Hiram were friends, they never bonded in the religious world like Solomon did. As Hiram built the temple and provided the goods, he also taught Solomon all the realm of Satan's world.

Jacob's staircase to heaven was a straight ladder, where the angels ascended and descended, however Solomon's staircase was spiral, and went into the heart of mysticism. The Star of the Israelites was a five pointed star, until Solomon, sitting on David's throne, brought in the six pointed star of Mysticism. That stairwell of Satanic thought was brought right into the Solomon's home and the temple, as he mixed the things of Satanic worship of the Zidonians with the things precious to our Heavenly Father. When the Queen of Sheba saw and heard that spiral utterance from Solomon she was amazed at what she saw and heard. After the Temple was built, and everything completed, the change came, and God turned against Solomon, so much so that Solomon's kingdom was taken from him, except for one tribe, Judah, and for the sake of David his father, Benjamin was given to Rehoboam also because the Temple was iin Benjamin's land. David heard and did not buy into the Kenite lies of Satanism. The "Star of David" was Solomon's Star, not David's as others would have us believe. It represented Satan's forms that Hiram made when he covenanted with God's people. After all, Solomon was sitting on David's throne, and he defiled it. Today many of these things are accepted by people calling themselves Christians, but they do this in ignorance because they do not study "The Word of God", book by book, chapter by chapter, and verse by verse, rightly dividing His letter to them, in most of their church houses or even in most of their homes.

Memo to all Americans: If you can't see the parallel between what happened to King Solomon's Israel and what is happening to 21st. century America; You have blinders on!

Remember:  1 Corinthians 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them (the ancient Israelites) for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

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