1 Kings 11:40
Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. And Jeroboam arose, and fled into Egypt, unto Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon. Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. And Jeroboam arose, and fled into Egypt, unto Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.
After the prophet declared that ten tribes would be taken from Solomon's son and given to Jeroboam, Solomon sought to kill him, so Jeroboam fled to Egypt and stayed there until Solomon died, then returned and was made king over the northern tribes. This stands at the close of Solomon's reign over the undivided kingdom, whose great wisdom and prosperity did not keep him faithful, and whose idolatry and transgression brought the division of the kingdom. Jeroboam's rising against Solomon was a rash and ambitious grasping for the kingdom before God's appointed time, by which he lost the lasting honor God intended for him and his house. Solomon's attempt to kill him reveals his fallen and hateful condition, a murderous intent that brings the second death according to Ezekiel 18:26. While in exile Jeroboam was joined to Egypt's royal house and schooled in its idolatrous worship, and that unbelief and Egyptian training shaped his kingship when he set up the golden calves to keep Israel from Jerusalem, an idolatry that outlived his house to the end of the ten-tribe kingdom.
Historical Setting and Narrative
The verse belongs to the account of Solomon's reign within the period of the undivided kingdom, and the first eleven chapters of 1 Kings contain Solomon's life and the history of Solomon and the division of the kingdom. The section of 1 Kings 1 to 11 gives the history of the undivided kingdom under Solomon in chronological order and relates the same events as 2 Chronicles 1 to 9. The chief matter in this section is the building and furniture of the temple, with the dedication prayer and sacrifices and the divine answer to Solomon's prayer. The revolt under Jeroboam marks the close of the undivided kingdom and the beginning of the history of Judah down to the Babylonish captivity.
Despite his wisdom and knowledge of God, Solomon became an idolater and apostate whom great earthly prosperity did not keep faithful. His reign ended in clouds under decline, and his mistakes and transgression led to the division of the kingdom. In that context of Solomon's decline Jeroboam rebelled against him.
Jeroboam the son of Nebat was the strong young man who led Israel's revolt. He raised his hand against Solomon by trying to seize the kingdom before the appointed time. After Solomon learned through Ahijah's prophecy that ten tribes would be taken out of the house of Solomon's son and given to Jeroboam, he tried to kill Jeroboam. The prophecy carried the promise that if Jeroboam would walk before God as David did, God would establish him as He had promised to David.
To save his life Jeroboam arose and fled into Egypt unto Shishak king of Egypt and remained there until Solomon's death. Solomon's seeking to kill him was driven by hatred after learning from the prophet that Jeroboam was to rule over the ten tribes. When he heard that Solomon had died he returned to his native land and was chosen king by the northern tribes and became king of Israel, to whom the ten tribes were given.
Moral Lessons and Consequences
The record of 1 Kings 3-21 to which this verse belongs is wholly historical, yet it is a sad record full of important lessons. It shows a general downward moral tendency from David onward in both Judah and Israel, broken by times of reviving whenever the people sought God, for God wrought for them and through them abundantly when they did. It shows the heavy responsibility resting upon leaders, since whenever king and priest were faithful to God and strong for Him they molded the people immensely, but whenever the leaders failed to lead in right ways the people failed with them. Jeroboam's own impatience and rash ambition led him to act before the Lord's time and thereby to lose the honors God had intended for him and his house. Solomon's attempt to kill Jeroboam reveals his fallen condition and hatred, and that murderous intent was a sin for which, by Ezekiel 18:26, he would face the second death. That hatred drove Jeroboam to flee to Egypt and remain there until Solomon's death, after which he returned to his native land and was chosen king by the northern tribes.
During that exile Jeroboam married into the Egyptian royal family and learned Egypt's idolatrous worship, which he later introduced in Israel. His time in Egypt exposed him to Egyptian gods and their worship, which he later imitated in making the golden calves. He was given a great opportunity when the ten tribes were given to him at the division of the kingdom and he became king of Israel, and this history forms the setting for his later introduction of images to represent the true God in violation of the second commandment. His education in Egypt, joined with lack of faith in God, determined his policy as king.
That Egyptian influence produced the calves of gold as a seemingly political measure to keep the people from going to Jerusalem, a patriotic form of idolatry. His house became extinct in two generations because of that course, yet that idolatry persisted to the end of the ten-tribe kingdom.