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1 Kings 11 Bible study: His heart turned away
The verb of "Solomon loved the LORD" (3:3) is the verb of "King Solomon loved many foreign women" (11:1), and the verb of his blessing, that the LORD "may incline our hearts to him" (8:58), is the verb of "his wives turned away his heart" (11:4). Even then the LORD kept one tribe "that David my servant may have a lamp always before me in Jerusalem" (11:36), and said, "but not forever" (11:39).
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“When Solomon was old, his wives turned away his heart after other gods; and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father was.”
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“In 1 Kings 11, the LORD says he will not tear the kingdom away in Solomon's own days.”
Is that in 1 Kings 11, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
He loved, and he held fast
Chapter 3 said, "Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father" (3:3). Chapter 11 opens, "Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh" (11:1). In Hebrew loved in both verses is the same verb, ahav (tap loved). 1 Kings uses it only three times; the other is "Hiram had always loved David" (5:1). Of the nations his foreign wives came from (11:1), the LORD had said to the children of Israel, "You shall not go among them, neither shall they come among you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods" (11:2). The same verse ends, "Solomon joined to these in love" (11:2). Joined is davaq, the verb of "You shall cling to him" (Deuteronomy 10:20) and of Joshua's "hold fast to the LORD your God" (Joshua 23:8) (tap joined). Joshua had set the other way beside it: "But if you do at all go back, and hold fast to the remnant of these nations, even these who remain among you, and make marriages with them" (Joshua 23:12).
Where it leads to Jesus
Solomon's son, in Jesus' line
1 Kings 11:43leads toMatthew 1:7
The LORD says he will not tear away all the kingdom: "I will give one tribe to your son, for David my servant’s sake" (11:13). The chapter ends, "Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in his father David’s city; and Rehoboam his son reigned in his place" (11:43). Matthew's "book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David" (Matthew 1:1) runs through them: "Solomon became the father of Rehoboam" (Matthew 1:7), and on to "Jesus, who is called Christ" (Matthew 1:16). Matthew doesn't quote 1 Kings 11; he names the same father and son.
Honest questions
Questions people ask about 1 Kings 11
That was a taste
The rest of 1 Kings 11 is waiting in Favor
- His heart turned away
- Torn, but not all of it
- Adversaries raised up
- The law for a king
- High places that stood
- Stories from David's days
- 17 questions as you read
- 11 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
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The Hebrew word behind it
נָטָהnatahsay na-TAH
Brown-Driver-Briggs: "stretch out, spread out, extend, incline, bend". Strong's: "to stretch or spread out; by implication, to bend away (including moral deflection)". It comes four times in 11:2-9, each time with the heart: "surely they will turn away your heart after their gods" (11:2), "His wives turned his heart away" (11:3), "his wives turned away his heart after other gods" (11:4), and "his heart was turned away from the LORD" (11:9). 1 Kings uses the verb eight times in all. When he blessed the assembly at the dedication (8:55), Solomon asked "that he may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways" (8:58), with this verb. Joshua had told Israel, "put away the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD, the God of Israel" (Joshua 24:23).
For your group
1 Kings 11 Bible study questions
- 1It was "when Solomon was old" that "his wives turned away his heart after other gods" (11:4). What small, slow turns could pull your heart away over years, and who in your life would notice?
- 2"Solomon loved the LORD" (3:3), and later "King Solomon loved many foreign women" (11:1). What do you love that could quietly compete with your love for God?
- 3In the same speech the LORD says "I will surely tear the kingdom from you" and "I will give one tribe to your son, for David my servant’s sake" (11:11-13). How does it change the way you see God's discipline that he held something back, for David's sake?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads 1 Kings 11 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home