BSF Study Questions People of the Promised Land 1: Lesson 29, Day 5: 1 Kings 11:26-43; Ecclesiastes 9:12; 12:1-14

Summary of 1 Kings 11:26-43:

Jeroboam was in charge of the whole labor force of the house of Joseph. He ran into Ahijah, a prophet of Shiloh. Ahijah tore his new cloak into 12 pieces and gave Jeroboam 10 pieces, telling him God is going to give him 10 tribes, but allow Solomon to keep one tribe because of Solomon’s failure to walk in God’s ways, keep His commands and statues, and worship other gods. He will do this during Solomon’s son’s reign, who will be allowed to keep one tribe so David will always have a lamp in Jerusalem. If Jeroboam follows God’s commands and statues and obeys God, God will establish a dynasty for him and humble David’s descendants. Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam fled to Egypt until Solomon died. Solomon reigned 40 years and then died. His son, Rehoboam, succeeded him.

Summary of Ecclesiastes 9:12; 12:1-14:

No one knows when they will die. Remember God for everything in the world is meaningless. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment.

BSF Study Questions People of the Promised Land 1: Lesson 29, Day 5: 1 Kings 11:26-43; Ecclesiastes 9:12; 12:1-14:

12) God is going to give him 10 tribes during Solomon’s son’s reign. If Jeroboam follows God’s commands and statues and obeys God, God will establish a dynasty for him and humble David’s descendants.

13) His last months were probably empty, devoid of God, and meaning nothing to him. He had everything except God. Thus, Solomon had nothing. He probably realizes he needed to have kept God’s commandments all the days of his life.

14) Personal Question. My answer: You can have all the blessings in the world, have everything the world had to offer, but without God, you have nothing.  You are alone, and you’ll die feeling unfulfilled. It’s important to remember to obey God and not to allow little sins in your life and excuse them away. The little sins are as big as the big sins, and they all matter to God.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promised Land 1 Lesson 29 Day 5: 1 Kings 11:26-43; Ecclesiastes 9:12; 12:1-14:

I’m struck by how little is recorded of Solomon’s death; whereas, we have all the details of David’s death. We know Solomon must have had a huge funeral celebration of life like David, but it’s not in the Bible. Solomon seemed to have died empty inside, having sold his soul with idol worship. A man surrounds himself with 1000 women and still dies alone. Sad, very sad.

End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promised Land 1 Lesson 29, Day 5: 1 Kings 11:26-43; Ecclesiastes 9:12; 12:1-14:

Commentary 1 Kings 11:26-43:

The name Jeroboam means, “may the people be great.” We are not told why Jeroboam rebelled against Solomon .Jewish traditions say Jeroboam opposed the oppressive use of forced labor in Solomon’s building projects. Since he was the officer over all the labor force, this tradition makes some sense.

God promised to divide Israel and put ten of the twelve tribes under Jeroboam as judgment for the sin and idolatry of Solomon. God would still keep one tribe under the house of David in faithfulness to His promise to David.

Fun Fact: This is the first we hear of the divided kingdom, which became Israel’s history for hundreds of years after the death of Solomon. We would expect that the ten tribes under Jeroboam would be larger, greater, and more enduring than the one tribe left unto the House of David. As it turned out, just the opposite happened because the ten tribes forsook the Lord, while the one tribe was more obedient. God is more powerful than numbers.

God’s promise to Jeroboam

• God promised to make a lasting dynasty for Jeroboam, if he would do what is right in the sight of the Lord. An obedient Jeroboam had the opportunity to establish a parallel dynasty to the House of David.

Both Jeroboam and David were appointed by God to follow after disobedient kings. David waited upon the Lord to make the throne clear, and God blessed his reign. Jeroboam did not wait on the Lord but made his own way to the throne, and God did not bless his reign.

Solomon sought to kill Jeroboam. Solomon thought he could defeat God’s will, but he was unsuccessful. God’s word through Ahijah proved true.

Solomon’s death

Many commentators believe that Solomon began his reign when he was about 20 years old. This means that Solomon did not live a particularly long life. The promise made in 1 Kings 3:14 was not fulfilled to Solomon because of his disobedience.

“Then Solomon rested with his fathers” is a familiar phrase used in 1 and 2 Kings (used 25 times) and was used of such wicked kings as Ahab (1 Kings 22:40). It means that Solomon passed to the world beyond. We cannot say with certainty that he is in heaven.

Based on this chapter, there is no hope or cheer at the end, which leads many commentators to conclude that Solomon died in apostasy.

However, it may be that Solomon was shown special mercy for the sake of David his father (as in 2 Samuel 7:14-15, if that promise also applies to Solomon as well as the Messiah). Some also believe that Solomon wrote the Book of Ecclesiastes at the very end of his life as a renunciation of his fall into vanity.

Commentary Ecclesiastes 9:12; 12:1-14:

When there is more to life than what we can see – there is an eternity and an eternal God to reckon with – then the legitimate pleasures of life can be enjoyed in the best sense. One doesn’t try to find meaning in those pleasures, but simply some good seasoning for a life that finds its meaning in eternity and the eternal God.

One may live according to their heart and by what they see; but they should not think that their own heart  or  eyes will be their judge.

Theme of Ecclesiastes 12:

Life is lived not only for this life but also for eternity, knowing that good will be rewarded and evil will be condemned perfectly by the God who will bring you into judgment. Literally, Solomon spoke of the judgment, referring to our great accountability before God.

Knowing there is an eternity, we can:

• Remove sorrow from our hearts
• Live a holy, godly life in our days on earth.

Apostle Paul later wrote, Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 15:58)

The Apostle Paul: If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable (1 Corinthians 15:19)

Fun Fact: This is the first mention of God as Creator. To this point the Preacher worked hard to ignore the eternal God one must stand before in the future; yet he also refused to think about the Creator God who existed before he did. This self-imposed ignorance relieved the sense of accountability before the Creator, which still must be accounted for in the life to come.

“Creator is a plural form in Hebrew, suggesting greatness of majesty.” (Eaton)

Most agree that what follows here is a poetic description of the effects of advancing age.

• The arms and hands that keep the body now begin to tremble (the keepers of the house tremble).
• The legs and knees begin to sag (the strong men bow down).
• Teeth are lost and chewing is more difficult (the grinders cease because they are few).
• The eyes are dimmed (the windows grow dim).
• The ears become weaker and weaker (the sound of grinding is low).
• Sleep becomes more difficult and one is easy wakened (one rises up at the sound of a bird).
• Singing and music are less appreciated (the daughters of music are brought low).
• One becomes more fearful in life (afraid of height, and of terrors in the way).
• The hair becomes white (the almond tree blossoms).
• The once active become weak (the grasshopper is a burden).
• The passions and desires of life weaken and wane (desire fails).

At the end of advancing age is eternity. Remember God before this life is over. Life is meaningless without God.

How to proclaim God’s truth

• The teacher should teach the people knowledge.
• The teacher should seek to find acceptable words.
• The teacher should seek to bring forth that which is upright – words of truth.
• The teacher should make his words as goads and well-driven nails, with point and direction.
• The teacher should bring forth the words given by one Shepherd.
• The teacher should realize that good study is wearisome to the flesh and be willing to pay that price.

Don’t believe everything you read.

Conclusion to Ecclesiastes 12:

Obey God and live for eternity and prepare for judgment.

Fun fact: This is the only place in Ecclesiastes where the commands of God are mentioned.

When there is an eternal accounting, everything has meaning and importance, both for the present and for eternity.

Paul explained:  For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven. (2 Corinthians 4:17-5:2)