Solomon: Israel’s Wisest King (36): The Lord Rebukes Solomon (I Kings 11:11-25) by Rev. Angus Stewart
I. In His Anger
II. Through Hadad in Edom
III. Through Rezon in Damascus
Arthur Penrhyn Stanley: “Theologians [have concerned] themselves with the question, whether Solomon was amongst the saved or the lost. Irenaeus, Hilary, Cyril of Jerusalem, Ambrose, and Jerome, lean to the milder view. The severer is adopted by Tertullian, Cyprian, Augustine, and Gregory the Great. So frequently was the question discussed, and so equally balanced did it seem, that in the series of frescoes on the walls of the Campo Santo at Pisa, Solomon is represented in the resurrection at the last day as looking ambiguously to the right and to the left, not knowing on which side his lot will be cast” (Lectures on the History of the Jewish Church, vol. 2, p. 253).
Philip Ryken: “Why does the Bible take the trouble to tell us this story [in I Kings 11:14-22], which at first may seem somewhat tangential to the story of King Solomon? To be sure, Hadad’s revenge is one of the tragic consequences of Solomon’s sin. From this time forward, the opposition of the Edomites would cause trouble for Israel. The story also shows how futile it was for Israel to make an alliance with Egypt. During the same time period that Pharaoh was selling chariots to Solomon and offering the hand of his daughter in marriage, he was harboring Israel’s enemies. All this is true. But why does the Bible tell this story in so much detail? To answer this question, it is important to notice how similar Hadad’s story sounds to the story of Israel in Egypt. A nation sojourns in Egypt, where it is given bread to eat and a place to live, and where some of its sons become princes. At the end of this sojourn, the leader of that nation asks Pharaoh to let his people go—a request that he refuses at first but eventually grants. Does any of this sound familiar? The story of Hadad follows the main plot line of the exodus, in which Moses and the children of Israel escaped from Egypt and returned to the Promised Land. Except that everything in Hadad’s story is backwards. The nation coming out of Egypt is not Israel but Edom. This turnabout is God’s doing—not for Israel’s benefit but to Israel’s detriment. The Bible plainly states that the Lord raised up Hadad as an adversary against Solomon (v. 14). The broader point is that this is what happens when our hearts turn away from the Lord: his hand goes against us, and we suffer the consequences for our sin” (King Solomon: The Temptations of Money, Sex, and Power, pp. 194-195).