23 And God raiseth to him an adversary, Rezon son of Eliadah, who hath fled from Hadadezer king of Zobah, his lord,
And Aram seeth that it is smitten before Israel, and they are gathered together; and Hadadezer sendeth, and bringeth out Aram which `is' beyond the River, and they come in to Helam, and Shobach head of the host of Hadadezer `is' before them. And it is declared to David, and he gathereth all Israel, and passeth over the Jordan, and cometh in to Helam, and Aram setteth itself in array to meet David, and they fight with him; and Aram fleeth from the presence of Israel, and David slayeth of Aram seven hundred charioteers, and forty thousand horsemen, and Shobach head of its host he hath smitten, and he dieth there.
And David smiteth Hadarezer king of Zobah, at Hamath, in his going to establish his power by the river Phrat, and David captureth from him a thousand chariots, and seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen, and David destroyeth utterly all the chariots, and leaveth of them a hundred chariots `only'. And Aram of Damascus cometh in to give help to Hadarezer king of Zobah, and David smiteth in Aram twenty and two thousand men, and David putteth `garrisons' in Aram of Damascus, and the Aramaeans are to David for servants, bearing a present, and Jehovah giveth salvation to David whithersoever he hath gone. And David taketh the shields of gold that have been on the servants of Hadarezer, and bringeth them in to Jerusalem; and from Tibhath, and from Chun, cities of Hadarezer, hath David taken very much brass; with it hath Solomon made the brazen sea, and the pillars, and the vessels of brass. And Tou king of Hamath heareth that David hath smitten the whole force of Hadarezer king of Zobah,
And Aram seeth that they have been smitten before Israel, and send messengers, and bring out Aram that `is' beyond the River, and Shophach head of the host of Hadarezer `is' before them. And it is declared to David, and he gathereth all Israel, and passeth over the Jordan, and cometh in unto them, and setteth in array against them; yea, David setteth in array the battle to meet Aram, and they fight with him; and Aram fleeth from the face of Israel, and David slayeth of Aram seven thousand charioteers, and forty thousand footmen, and Shophach head of the host he hath put to death. And the servants of Hadarezer see that they have been smitten before Israel, and they make peace with David and serve him, and Aram hath not been willing to help the sons of Ammon any more.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on 1 Kings 11
Commentary on 1 Kings 11 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 11
This chapter begins with as melancholy a "but' as almost any we find in all the Bible. Hitherto we have read nothing of Solomon but what was great and good; but the lustre both of his goodness and of his greatness is here sullied and eclipsed, and his sun sets under a cloud.
1Ki 11:1-8
This is a sad story, and very surprising, of Solomon's defection and degeneracy.
1Ki 11:9-13
Here is,
Upon this message which God graciously sent to Solomon, to awaken his conscience and bring him to repentance, we have reason to hope that he humbled himself before God, confessed his sin, begged pardon, and returned to his duty, that he then published his repentance in the book of Ecclesiastes, where he bitterly laments his own folly and madness (ch. 7:25, 26), and warns others to take heed of the like evil courses, and to fear God and keep his commandments, in consideration of the judgment to come, which, it is likely, had made him tremble, as it did Felix. That penitential sermon was as true an indication of a heart broken for sin and turned from it as David's penitential psalms were, though of another nature. God's grace in his people works variously. Thus, though Solomon fell, he was not utterly cast down; what God had said to David concerning him was fulfilled: I will chasten him with the rod of men, but my mercy shall not depart from him, 2 Sa. 7:14, 15. Though God may suffer those whom he loves to fall into sin, he will not suffer them to lie still in it. Solomon's defection, though it was much his reproach and a great blemish to his personal character, yet did not so far break in upon the character of his reign but that it was afterwards made the pattern of a good reign, 2 Chr. 11:17, where the kings are said to have done well, while they walked in the way of David and Solomon. But, though we have all this reason to hope he repented and found mercy, yet the Holy Ghost did not think fit expressly to record his recovery, but left it doubtful, for warning to others not to sin upon presumption of repenting, for it is but a peradventure whether God will give them repentance, or, if he do, whether he will give the evidence of it to themselves or others. Great sinners may recover themselves and have the benefit of their repentance, and yet be denied both the comfort and credit of it; the guilt may be taken away, and yet not the reproach.
1Ki 11:14-25
While Solomon kept closely to God and to his duty there was no adversary nor evil occurrent (ch. 5:4), nothing to create him any disturbance or uneasiness in the least; but here we have an account of two adversaries that appeared against him, inconsiderable, and that could not have done any thing worth taking notice of if Solomon had not first made God his enemy. What hurt could Hadad or Rezon have done to so great and powerful a king as Solomon was if he had not, by sin, made himself mean and weak? And then those little people menace and insult him. If God be on our side, we need not fear the greatest adversary; but, if he be against us, he can made us fear the least, and the very grasshopper shall be a burden. Observe,
1Ki 11:26-40
We have here the first mention of that infamous name Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that made Israel to sin; he is here brought upon the stage as an adversary to Solomon, whom God had expressly told (v. 11) that he would give the greatest part of his kingdom to his servant, and Jeroboam was the man. We have here an account,
1Ki 11:41-43
We have here the conclusion of Solomon's story, and in it,