1 Kings 11:9-13 ESV
9 And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice 10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods. But he did not keep what the Lord commanded. 11 Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant. 12 Yet for the sake of David your father I will not do it in your days, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem that I have chosen.”

THE ANGER OF GOD.
How could God be angry with man when He is the God of love? Perhaps, this is the underlying reason why many presume they can go on sinful lifestyle and compromises like Solomon. There is no conflict between God’s holiness and love. As the stream flows along its banks so God’s love doesn’t rejoice in wrongdoing. [1 Cor 13:6] The stream is God’s love while the banks are God’s holiness.

God isn’t venting His anger towards Solomon as somebody ruled by uncontrolled passion like the cartoon character, incredible hulk. He isn’t capricious, is He? Does not the act of God’s calling for Adam after he sinned a gesture of love and grace? And, does not God appear to Solomon twice to warn him? Sadly, like Adam, Solomon did not repent. He was hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.[Heb 3:13]

God’s dealing with Solomon was conditioned by his obedience or not. Blessings are received when His statutes are followed. Otherwise, he will be judged. God’s holiness is as the unchanging heat of the sun that can either harden the clay or melt the wax. In other words, Solomon’s tender heart had changed so that the anger of God was inevitable. As Jesus said to Paul in a vision, “It is hard for you to kick against the pricks.”[Acts 9:5, Acts 6:14]

Prov 15:10 says, “There is severe discipline for him who forsakes the way; whoever hates reproof will die.” Solomon’s son would be stripped off the throne for his servant, who will rule the 10 tribes. If not for David’s sake, his son won’t be allowed to rule one tribe. The split was a sad result of Solomon’s sins.

At the end of the day, God won his heart back. Solomon had realized his futility but the damage had been done. He wrote, “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.”[Ecc 12:13,14]

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