King Solomon loved many foreign women. Along with the daughter of the Pharaoh were Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women all from the nations concerning which the Lord told the people of Israel, “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.”
He had 700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines. Gross! I thought it was weird when they had a couple of wives, this many is just insane! I still don’t understand how this was allowed.
After being such a man whore, Solomon grew old and his wives did turn his heart away from the Lord and towards other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.
Then Solomon built a high place for all his foreign wives, who made offerings and sacrificed to their gods. The Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from Him, even though the Lord had appeared to him twice warning him that he should not go after other gods.
The Lord told Solomon since he did not keep what the Lord commanded and His covenant and statutes, the Lord would tear down his kingdom and give it to his servant. However, for the sake of his father David, the Lord would not do this in the days of Solomon, but out of the hands of his son.
The Lord said he wouldn’t tear down the entire kingdom, but would give one tribe to Solomon’s son, for the sake of David and for the sake of Jerusalem that the Lord had chosen.
Then the Lord raised up and adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite. Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, and he married Pharaoh’s sister, Tahpenes the queen. And she bore him Genubath his son.
God also raised up as an adversary, Rezon the son of Eliada who had fled from his master king of Zobah. He gathered men around him and became leader of a marauding band. He became king of Damascus and was an adversary of Israel all the days of Solomon, doing harm as Hadad did. He loathed Israel and reigned over Syria.
Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite of Zeredah, a servant of Solomon, also lifted up his hand against the king. He went against him because Solomon placed him in charge of all the forced labor of the house of Joseph; and one day when he was out on the road one day he ran into a prophet who tore his garment into twelve pieces. He gave Jeroboam ten of them and told him that the God of Israel was about to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon and would give to him ten tribes.
Jeroboam would reign over all that his soul desired and he would be king over Israel. As long as he did what was commanded: walked in the ways of the Lord, and kept His statues and commandments.
Solomon thought he would kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam arose and fled into Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.
The rest of the acts of Solomon, his wisdom and all that he did are written in the Book of Acts. In that time Solomon reigned over Israel for forty years. When Solomon died he was buried in the city of David, and Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.
Rehoboam went to Schechem, in front of all of Israel and was made king. As soon as Jeroboam heard this, he returned from Egypt. Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came to Rehoboam and said, “Your father had made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke on us, and we will serve you.”
Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he was still alive. They advised him by saying, “If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants forever.”
The young men who grew up with him responded to the “lighten the load for the people of Israel” option and told the king he should say to the people, “My little finger is thicker than my father’s thighs. And now, whereas my father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.”
So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turn of affairs brought about by the Lord that he might fulfill his word. And when all Israel saw that the king would not listen to them, they went to their own homes. But the people who lived in Judah, Rehoboam reigned over. Israel was in rebellion against the house of David.
When Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned they sent for him to make him king over all of Israel. There was none other than the house of Judah that followed the House of David.
When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, 180,000 chosen warriors to fight against Israel, to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. But the Lord said,
Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. He went out from there and built Pentuel. Jeroboam said in his heart, now the kingdom will turn back to the house of David. If the people would go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of his people would turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they would kill him and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.
So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. He told the people that they had gone up to Jerusalem long enough. He put one in Bethel and the other in Dan. Then it became a sin, because the people sought out to see them. Seriously, they learned nothing from the first golden calf!?
Day 28, Exodus 30-32
He also made temples on high places and appointed priests from among all the people, who were not of the Levites. They had feasts and offered sacrifices on the altar to the calves that he made.