Hello, this is Father Paul, and I'm glad we're
taking this journey together to read the Bible
in a year. Today's reading is from 1 Kings chapter
11. But King Solomon loved many foreign women,
as well as the daughter of Pharaoh, women of
the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians,
and Hittites, from the nations of whom the Lord
had said to the children of Israel, You shall
not intermarry with them, nor they with you.
Surely they will turn away your hearts after
their gods. Solomon clung to these in love. And
he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three
hundred concubines. And his wives turned away
his heart. For it was so, when Solomon was old,
that his wives turned his heart after other gods.
And his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God,
as was the heart of his father David. For Solomon
went after Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians,
and after Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites.
Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and
did not fully follow the Lord, as did his father
David. Then Solomon built a high place for Shemosh,
the abomination of Moab, on a hill that is east
of Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination
of the people of Ammon. And he did likewise for
all his foreign wives, who burned incense and
sacrificed to their gods. So the Lord became
angry with Solomon because his heart had turned
from the Lord God of Israel, who had appeared
to him twice, and had commanded him concerning
this thing, that he should not go after other
gods. But he did not keep what the Lord had commanded.
Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, Because you
have done this and have not kept my covenant
and my statutes, which I have commanded you,
I will surely tear the kingdom away from you
and give it to your servant. Nevertheless, I
will not do it in your days for the sake of your
father David. I will tear it out of the hand
of your son. However, I will not tear away the
whole kingdom. I will give one tribe to your
son for the sake of my servant David and for
the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen. Now
the Lord raised up an adversary against Solomon,
Hadad the Edomite. He was a descendant of the
king in Edom. For it happened when David was
in Edom, and Joab the commander of the army had
gone up to bury the slain, after he had killed
every male in Edom, because for six months Joab
remained there with all Israel, until he had
cut down every male in Edom. That Hadad fled
to go to Egypt, he and certain Edomites of his
father's servants with him. Hadad was still a
little child. Then they arose from Midian and
came to Paran, and he took men with them from
Paran and came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt,
who gave him a house, apportioned food for him,
and gave him land. And Hadad found great favor
in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him
a wife, the sister of his own wife, that is,
the sister of queen Tephinis. Then the sister
of Tephinis bore him Genubat, his son, whom Tephinis
weaned in Pharaoh's house. And Genubat was in
Pharaoh's household among the sons of Pharaoh.
So when Hadad heard in Egypt that David rested
with his fathers, and that Joab the commander
of the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh,
Let me depart, that I may go to my own country.
Then Pharaoh said to him, But what have you lacked
with me, that suddenly you seek to go to your
own country? So he answered, Nothing, but do
let me go anyway. And God raised up another adversary
against him, Rezon the son of Eliadah, who had
fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah. So
he gathered men to him and became captain over
a band of raiders when David killed those of
Zobah. And they went to Damascus and dwelt there
and reigned in Damascus. He was an adversary
of Israel all the days of Solomon, besides the
trouble that Hadad caused. And he abhorred Israel
and reigned over Syria. Then Solomon's servant
Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite from
Zerida, whose mother's name was Zeruiah, a widow,
also rebelled against the king. and this is what
caused him to rebel against the king. Solomon
had built the Milo and repaired the damages to
the city of David his father. The man Jeroboam
was a mighty man of valor, and Solomon, seeing
that the young man was industrious, made him
the officer over all the labor force of the house
of Joseph. Now it happened at that time, when
Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet
Ahijah, the Shilonite, met him on the way, and
he had clothed himself with a new garment, and
the two were alone in the field. Then Ahijah
took hold of the new garment that was on him
and tore it into twelve pieces. And he said to
Jeroboam, Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus
says the Lord the God of Israel, Behold, I will
tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and
will give ten tribes to you. But he shall have
one tribe for the sake of my servant David and
for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have
chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. Because
they have forsaken me and worship Ashtoreth,
the goddess of the Sidonians, Shemosh, the god
of the Moabites, and Milcom, the god of the people
of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways to do
what is right in my eyes and keep my statutes
and my judgments, as did his father David. However,
I will not take the whole kingdom out of his
hand, because I have made him ruler all the days
of his life for the sake of my servant David,
whom I chose because he kept my commandments
and my statutes. But I will take the kingdom
out of his son's hand and give it to you, ten
tribes. And to his son I will give one tribe,
that my servant David may always have a lamp
before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have
chosen. for myself to put my name there. So I
will take you, and you shall reign over all your
heart desires, and you shall be king over Israel.
Then it shall be, if you heed all that I command
you, walk in my ways, and do what is right in
my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments,
as my servant David did. Then I will be with
you, and build for you an enduring house, as
I built for David, and will give Israel to you.
And I will afflict the descendants of David because
of this, but not forever. Solomon therefore sought
to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam arose and fled
to Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and was in
Egypt until the death of Solomon. Now the rest
of the acts of Solomon, all that he did, and
his wisdom, are they not written in the book
of the acts of Solomon? And the period that Solomon
reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty
years. Then Solomon rested with his fathers,
and was buried in the city of David his father,
and Rehoboam his son reigned in his place. I
hope you enjoyed today's reading as much as I
did and I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow
to continue on our journey. God bless you and
have a great day.