1 Kings 11:4

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Summary

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.

When solomon

His wives

His heart

General references

Exodus 34:16

Judges 3:6

Bible References

When solomon

He was king in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years.

Solomon began work on the Temple. It was four hundred and eighty years after the people of Israel left Egypt, during the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the second month, the month of Ziv.

It took twenty years for Solomon to build two houses, the Temple of Jehovah and the king's house.

Solomon's son Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king of Judah. He ruled seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city Jehovah chose from all the territory of Israel as the place where he was to be worshiped. Rehoboam's mother was Naamah from Ammon.

His wives

Jehovah warned the children of Israel about these nations. He said: You are not to take wives from them and they are not to take wives from you. They will certainly turn your hearts to go after their gods. Solomon loved his wives anyway.

They will lead your young people away from me to serve other gods. So the anger of Jehovah will be kindled against you and will destroy you suddenly.

He must not take many wives or his heart will turn astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.

Was it not in these things that Solomon, king of Israel, did wrong? Among a number of nations there was no king like him. He was dear to his God, and God made him king over all Israel. But even he was made to do evil by strange women.

His heart

Solomon did evil in the eyes of Jehovah. He did not walk in Jehovah's ways with all his heart as David his father did.

If you obey all my laws and commands, I will do for you what I promised your father David.

Let your hearts be committed to Jehovah our God. Then you will live by his laws and keep his commands as you have today.

As for you, if you will walk before me, as David your father did, uprightly and with a true heart, doing what I have given you orders to do, keeping my laws and my decisions;

He was not completely loyal to Jehovah his God as his great-grandfather David had been. He committed the same sins as his father did.

Jehovah, Please remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and truth. And consider my whole heart devoted to you. I have done what is good in your eyes. Hezekiah wept bitterly.

You my son Solomon, learn to know your father's God. Serve Jehovah wholeheartedly and willingly because he searches every heart and understands every thought we have. If you dedicate your life to serving him, he will accept you. On the other hand if you abandon him, he will reject you from then on.

Give my son Solomon a wholehearted desire to obey everything that you command and to build the Temple for which I have made these preparations.

Jehovah blessed Jehoshaphat because he followed the example of his father's early life and did not worship Baal.

He did what Jehovah considered right, but he did not do it wholeheartedly.

This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah. He did what was good and right and true to Jehovah his God.

He did what Jehovah considered right. He lived in the ways of his ancestor David and never stopped living this way.

General references

You might take some of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters might commit spiritual immorality (fornication) with their gods and cause your sons also to commit spiritual immorality with their gods.

They intermarried with them and worshiped their gods.