18 And king Rehoboam sendeth Adoram who `is' over the tribute, and all Israel cast at him stones, and he dieth; and king Rehoboam hath strengthened himself to go up into a chariot to flee to Jerusalem;
And Ahishar `is' over the household, and Adoniram son of Abda `is' over the tribute.
and he sendeth them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month, by changes, a month they are in Lebanon, two months in their own house; and Adoniram `is' over the tribute.
And Moses crieth to Jehovah, saying, `What do I to this people? yet a little, and they have stoned me.'
And all the company say to stone them with stones, and the honour of Jehovah hath appeared in the tent of meeting unto all the sons of Israel.
And he saith, `If for peace they have come out -- catch them alive; and if for battle they have come out -- alive catch them.' And these have gone out of the city -- the young men of the heads of the provinces -- and the force that `is' after them, and smite each his man, and Aram fleeth, and Israel pursueth them, and Ben-Hadad king of Aram escapeth on a horse, and the horsemen;
And king Rehoboam sendeth Hadoram, who `is' over the tribute, and the sons of Israel cast at him stones, and he dieth; and king Rehoboam hath strengthened himself to go up into a chariot to flee to Jerusalem;
And they conspire against him, and stone him with stones by the command of the king, in the court of the house of Jehovah,
And the courageous of heart among the mighty, Naked doth flee in that day, An affirmation of Jehovah!
then the magistrate having gone away with officers, brought them without violence, for they were fearing the people, lest they should be stoned;
And they, having cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and did rush with one accord upon him, and having cast him forth outside of the city, they were stoning `him' -- and the witnesses did put down their garments at the feet of a young man called Saul --
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on 1 Kings 12
Commentary on 1 Kings 12 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 12
The glory of the kingdom of Israel was in its height and perfection in Solomon; it was long in coming to it, but it soon declined, and began to sink and wither in the very next reign, as we find in this chapter, where we have the kingdom divided, and thereby weakened and made little in comparison with what it had been. Here is,
1Ki 12:1-15
Solomon had 1000 wives and concubines, yet we read but of one son he had to bear up his name, and he a fool. It is said (Hos. 4:10), They shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase. Sin is a bad way of building up a family. Rehoboam was the son of the wisest of men, yet did not inherit his father's wisdom, and then it stood him in little stead to inherit his father's throne. Neither wisdom nor grace runs in the blood. Solomon came to the crown very young, yet he was then a wise man. Rehoboam came to the crown at forty years old, when men will be wise if ever they will, yet he was then foolish. Wisdom does not go by age, nor is it the multitude of years nor the advantage of education that reaches it. Solomon's court was a mart of wisdom and the rendezvous of learned men, and Rehoboam was the darling of the court; and yet all was not sufficient to make him a wise man. The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong. No dispute is made of Rehoboam's succession; upon the death of his father, he was immediately proclaimed. But,
1Ki 12:16-24
We have here the rending of the kingdom of the ten tribes from the house of David, to effect which,
1Ki 12:25-33
We have here the beginning of the reign of Jeroboam. He built Shechem first and then Penuel-beautified and fortified them, and probably had a palace in each of them for himself (v. 25), the former in Ephraim, the latter in Gad, on the other side Jordan. This might be proper; but he formed another project for the establishing of his kingdom which was fatal to the interests of religion in it.