111 Now King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh : Moabite , Ammonite , Edomite , Sidonian , and Hittite women , 2 from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the sons of Israel , " You shall not associate with them, nor shall they associate with you, for they will surely turn your heart away after their gods ." Solomon held fast to these in love . 3 He had seven hundred wives , princesses , and three hundred concubines , and his wives turned his heart away . 4 For when Solomon was old , his wives turned his heart away after other gods ; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God , as the heart of David his father had been. 5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and after Milcom the detestable idol of the Ammonites . 6 Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord , and did not follow the Lord fully , as David his father had done. 7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable idol of Moab , on the mountain which is east e of Jerusalem , and for Molech the detestable idol of the sons of Ammon . 8 Thus also he did for all his foreign wives , who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods .
9 Now the Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart was turned away from the Lord , the God of Israel , who had appeared to him twice , 10 and had commanded him concerning this thing , that he should not go after other gods ; but he did not observe what the Lord had commanded .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 1 Kings 11:1-10
Commentary on 1 Kings 11:1-8
(Read 1 Kings 11:1-8)
There is not a more melancholy and astonishing instance of human depravity in the sacred Scriptures, than that here recorded. Solomon became a public worshipper of abominable idols! Probably he by degrees gave way to pride and luxury, and thus lost his relish for true wisdom. Nothing forms in itself a security against the deceitfulness and depravity of the human heart. Nor will old age cure the heart of any evil propensity. If our sinful passions are not crucified and mortified by the grace of God, they never will die of themselves, but will last even when opportunities to gratify them are taken away. Let him that thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall. We see how weak we are of ourselves, without the grace of God; let us therefore live in constant dependence on that grace. Let us watch and be sober: ours is a dangerous warfare, and in an enemy's country, while our worst foes are the traitors in our own hearts.
Commentary on 1 Kings 11:9-13
(Read 1 Kings 11:9-13)
The Lord told Solomon, it is likely by a prophet, what he must expect for his apostacy. Though we have reason to hope that he repented, and found mercy, yet the Holy Ghost did not expressly record it, but left it doubtful, as a warning to others not to sin. The guilt may be taken away, but not the reproach; that will remain. Thus it must remain uncertain to us till the day of judgment, whether or not Solomon was left to suffer the everlasting displeasure of an offended God.