1 Kings 11:34-40 – Living a life of faithful obedience to God

In 1 Kings 11:34-40, seemed to be the words of the prophet Ahijah to Jeroboam. He first made known that God would punish Solomon for his sin, but it would not happen during his reign. This is the graciousness of God. Even in disciplining Solomon, He would show grace. He would let him remain on the throne till the end of his life. This was in consideration of His promise to David, who had shown faithfulness and walked according to all His commandments and instructions.

In verses 35-37, God proceeded to say that He would take ten tribes from Solomon’s son and give it to Jeroboam. In other words, Solomon’s successor would only have two tribes (Judah and Benjamin) to rule. In these verses, God again reiterated why He was allowing Solomon’s successor to remain on the throne. It was for David’s sake and for Jerusalem, the city He had chosen for Himself to make His name known. To Jeroboam, God promised that he would also make his kingdom as enduring as David’s if he would obey His commandments and walk in all His ways, as David did. This implied that the moment Jeroboam chose to walk in the footsteps of Solomon and turned to idolatry, the promise would cease.

Verse 39 shows us another gracious act of God. The punishment He would bring upon the descendants of David would not be forever. He had earlier promised that there would always be a king from the Davidic line. This verse highlights that the lamp of David would continue to burn, keeping alive the hope that the Messiah would come from his line.  The whole episode ended with Jeroboam fleeing to Egypt and being protected by king Shishak, for Solomon was after his life. And he remained in Egypt until Solomon died.  

In these verses, God made many promises to Jeroboam. In verse 35, God promised to give ten tribes of Israel to him. In verse 37 God promised that he would rule over Israel to his heart’s desire. In verse 38, he was promised God’s presence, if he would walk in all His ways like David did. God even promised that he could have a dynasty as enduring as David’s. These were wonderful promises. He could have enjoyed just as much greatness as King David. But did he? We will learn how he faired later.

Like him, God has promised to bless us. But we know that it is one thing to have the promises of God and another to have them fulfilled in our lives. It all depends on how willing we are to trust and obey God, and to remain faithful to Him. The promises of God are yes and amen in Christ Jesus, provided we live our lives in line with His word. Let’s be challenged to live a life of faithful obedience to God!