1 Kings 11:14 - Meaning and Application

As long as Solomon stayed close to God and did his duty, there was no enemy and no trouble that could shake him (1 Kings 5:4). But now the story turns, and we see two enemies rise up against him. They were small in themselves, and they could not have done much to such a powerful king unless Solomon had first made God his enemy by sin.

What harm could Hadad or Rezon have done to Solomon if he had not made himself weak through disobedience? When God is for us, we do not need to fear the strongest enemy. But when God is against us, even the smallest trouble can make us afraid, and even a grasshopper can feel heavy. Both of these enemies were stirred up by God, though they were also driven by ambition or revenge (1 Kings 11:14, 1 Kings 11:23). God used them to discipline Solomon. The main judgment, the dividing of the kingdom, was delayed, but Solomon still felt the sting of God’s rod so he could be humbled more deeply.

Whenever anyone rises against us, we should remember God’s hand in it. He stirred up Shimei to curse David, and he can use human enemies the same way here. We should look past the person who troubles us and see the Lord’s purpose in it. That is how we hear God’s case against us and understand his correction.

Both enemies had roots in the days of David, when he conquered their lands (1 Kings 11:15, 1 Kings 11:24). Solomon enjoyed the benefit of his father’s victories. David’s victories gave him a larger kingdom and more wealth. If Solomon had stayed faithful to God, he would have enjoyed only those blessings. But now trouble rises to balance the gain, and the old enemies made by David become thorns in Solomon’s side.

Those who stir up anger too freely should think about this. What they have done may be remembered later and paid back with interest to their children or their own house. Since we already have so few friends in this world, wisdom says we should not make more enemies than we must.

Hadad, an Edomite, was one of Solomon’s enemies. We are not told exactly what he did, only that he was an adversary. But we are told why he held a grudge. David had conquered Edom, and Joab, David’s army commander, killed all the males there (1 Kings 11:15, 1 Kings 11:16). It was a severe judgment, probably too severe, though it did answer Edom’s earlier hatred of Israel. While Joab was burying the dead, Hadad, who was then only a small child and part of the royal family, was rescued by some of the king’s servants and taken to Egypt (1 Kings 11:17).

They first stopped in Midian and then in Paran, where they gathered attendants so the young prince could travel in a manner fit for his rank. In Egypt, Pharaoh gave him shelter and treated him kindly as a helpless prince. Hadad later married Pharaoh’s wife’s sister (1 Kings 11:19), and they had a child whom the queen loved so much that she raised him among Pharaoh’s own children. After David and Joab died, Hadad returned to his country. He seems to have stayed quiet while Solomon remained wise and alert for the public good, but he had the chance to trouble Israel once Solomon lost his wisdom through sin, just as Samson lost his strength in the same way.

We are not told exactly what trouble Hadad caused. We only see how unwilling Pharaoh was to let him go, and how strongly he pressed him to stay (1 Kings 11:22). Pharaoh asked, “What have you lacked with me?” Hadad answered, in effect, “Nothing, but let me go to my own country, to the land that belongs to me.” Peter Martyr adds a thoughtful point: heaven is our true home, so we should keep a holy love for it and long for it, even when this world, our place of exile, treats us well. If the world asks why we are so eager to leave when we lack nothing here, we can answer, “Nothing the world can give us is enough. Let us go where our hope, our honor, and our treasure are.”

Rezon, a Syrian, was another enemy of Solomon. When David conquered the Syrians, Rezon gathered the survivors and lived by plunder until Solomon became careless. Then Rezon took Damascus and ruled there, along with the land around it (1 Kings 11:24, 1 Kings 11:25). He troubled Israel, likely together with Hadad, during Solomon’s later years, after Solomon had turned from God. Or he may have been hostile throughout Solomon’s reign, showing his hatred whenever he could, though he could do little until Solomon lost God’s protection.

Scripture says that Rezon hated Israel. Other rulers admired Israel and Solomon and wanted friendship with them, but Rezon despised them. Even the greatest and best rulers and people are not loved by everyone. Some may respect them in general, yet still hate them deeply.