9 And he said H559 unto them, What counsel give H3289 ye that we may H7725 answer H1697 this people, H5971 who have spoken H1696 to me, saying, H559 Make H7043 the yoke H5923 which thy father H1 did put H5414 upon us lighter? H7043
Then said H559 Absalom, H53 Call H7121 now Hushai H2365 the Archite H757 also, and let us hear H8085 likewise what he saith. H6310 And when Hushai H2365 was come H935 to Absalom, H53 Absalom H53 spake H559 unto him, saying, H559 Ahithophel H302 hath spoken H1696 after this manner: H1697 shall we do H6213 after his saying? H1697 if not; speak H1696 thou.
Then the king H4428 of Israel H3478 gathered H6908 the prophets H5030 together, H6908 about four H702 hundred H3967 men, H376 and said H559 unto them, Shall I go H3212 against Ramothgilead H7433 H1568 to battle, H4421 or shall I forbear? H2308 And they said, H559 Go up; H5927 for the Lord H136 shall deliver H5414 it into the hand H3027 of the king. H4428 And Jehoshaphat H3092 said, H559 Is there not here a prophet H5030 of the LORD H3068 besides, H5750 that we might enquire H1875 of him? And the king H4428 of Israel H3478 said H559 unto Jehoshaphat, H3092 There is yet one H259 man, H376 Micaiah H4321 the son H1121 of Imlah, H3229 by whom we may enquire H1875 of the LORD: H3068 but I hate H8130 him; for he doth not prophesy H5012 good H2896 concerning me, but evil. H7451 And Jehoshaphat H3092 said, H559 Let not the king H4428 say H559 so.
Therefore the king H4428 of Israel H3478 gathered together H6908 of prophets H5030 four H702 hundred H3967 men, H376 and said H559 unto them, Shall we go H3212 to Ramothgilead H7433 H1568 to battle, H4421 or shall I forbear? H2308 And they said, H559 Go up; H5927 for God H430 will deliver H5414 it into the king's H4428 hand. H3027 But Jehoshaphat H3092 said, H559 Is there not here a prophet H5030 of the LORD H3068 besides, that we might enquire H1875 of him? And the king H4428 of Israel H3478 said H559 unto Jehoshaphat, H3092 There is yet one H259 man, H376 by whom we may enquire H1875 of the LORD: H3068 but I hate H8130 him; for he never prophesied H5012 good H2896 unto me, but always H3117 evil: H7451 the same is Micaiah H4321 the son H1121 of Imla. H3229 And Jehoshaphat H3092 said, H559 Let not the king H4428 say H559 so.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on 1 Kings 12
Commentary on 1 Kings 12 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 12
The glory of the kingdom of Israel was in its height and perfection in Solomon; it was long in coming to it, but it soon declined, and began to sink and wither in the very next reign, as we find in this chapter, where we have the kingdom divided, and thereby weakened and made little in comparison with what it had been. Here is,
1Ki 12:1-15
Solomon had 1000 wives and concubines, yet we read but of one son he had to bear up his name, and he a fool. It is said (Hos. 4:10), They shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase. Sin is a bad way of building up a family. Rehoboam was the son of the wisest of men, yet did not inherit his father's wisdom, and then it stood him in little stead to inherit his father's throne. Neither wisdom nor grace runs in the blood. Solomon came to the crown very young, yet he was then a wise man. Rehoboam came to the crown at forty years old, when men will be wise if ever they will, yet he was then foolish. Wisdom does not go by age, nor is it the multitude of years nor the advantage of education that reaches it. Solomon's court was a mart of wisdom and the rendezvous of learned men, and Rehoboam was the darling of the court; and yet all was not sufficient to make him a wise man. The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong. No dispute is made of Rehoboam's succession; upon the death of his father, he was immediately proclaimed. But,
1Ki 12:16-24
We have here the rending of the kingdom of the ten tribes from the house of David, to effect which,
1Ki 12:25-33
We have here the beginning of the reign of Jeroboam. He built Shechem first and then Penuel-beautified and fortified them, and probably had a palace in each of them for himself (v. 25), the former in Ephraim, the latter in Gad, on the other side Jordan. This might be proper; but he formed another project for the establishing of his kingdom which was fatal to the interests of religion in it.