1 Kings 11:36

_AND UNTO HIS SON WILL I GIVE ONE TRIBE, THAT DAVID MY SERVANT MAY HAVE A LIGHT ALWAY BEFORE ME IN JERUSALEM, THE CITY WHICH I HAVE CHOSEN ME TO PUT MY NAME THERE._ That David my servant may have a light, х_ NEEYR_ (H5216)] - a lamp; i:e., posterity (1 Kings 15:4; 2 Samuel 14:7); literally, that there may be a light to David my servant forever; i:e., that his dynasty may be preserved in unbroken continuity. The main idea pervading the context is, that a disruption of the kingdom would take place, in consequence of the misgovernment of so untheocratic a king as Solomon; that he and his successors would be visited with adversity, in a milder or severer form, according to their transgressions; but that although the largest portion of Israel wo

26-40 In telling the reason why God rent the kingdom from the house of Solomon, Ahijah warned Jeroboam to take heed of sinning away his preferment. Yet the house of David must be supported; out of it the Messiah would arise. Solomon sought to kill his successor. Had not he taught others, that whatever devices are in men's hearts, the counsel of the Lord shall stand? Yet he himself thinks to defeat that counsel. Jeroboam withdrew into Egypt, and was content to live in exile and obscurity for awhile, being sure of a kingdom at last. Shall not we be content, who have a better kingdom in reserve?...

Verse 36. _THAT DAVID MY SERVANT MAY HAVE A LIGHT ALWAY_] That his posterity may never fail, and the regal line never become extinct. This, as we have already seen, was in reference to the Messiah. He was not only _David's light_, but he was a _light to enlighten the_ _Gentiles_....

THAT DAVID MAY HAVE A LIGHT - Compare the marginal references. The exact meaning of the expression is doubtful. Perhaps the best explanation is, that “light” here is taken as the essential feature of a continuing “home.”...

EXPOSITION SOLOMON'S ADVERSARIES.—As the historian has collected together in 1 Kings 6:1; 1 Kings 7:1; 1 Kings 8:1, all the information he can convey respecting the _temple, _and in 1 Kings 9:1; 1 Kings 10:1. all the scattered notices respecting Solomon's _power _and _greatness, _so here he arranges in one section the history of Solomon's _adversaries_._ _It must not be supposed that the following records stand in due chronological order. The enmities here mentioned did no

AND UNTO HIS SON WILL I GIVE ONE TRIBE,.... Judah and Benjamin reckoned as one; 1 Kings 11:13, that David my servant may have a light always before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there; or a kingdom, as the Targum; or an illustrious prince, a successor, shining in royal majesty and glory, to guide and direct, cheer and comfort, the people of Israel; be an honour to David's family, and a means of continuing the pure worship of God in the temple at Jerusalem; see 2 Samuel 21:17....

7. SOLOMON'S FAILURE: JUDGMENT ANNOUNCED AND THE BEGINNING OF DISRUPTION CHAPTER 11 _ 1. Solomon's polygamy and departure from God (1 Kings 11:1)_ 2. Hadad the Edomite (1 Kings 11:14) 3. Rezon the second adversary (1 Kings 11:23) 4. Jeroboam (1 Kings 11:26) 5. Solomon's reign and death (1 Kings 11:41) “But--.” An ominous word with which this chapter begins. It introduces us to the sad picture of Solomon's great apostasy. “He shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people

SIN OF SOLOMON, AND THE ADVERSARIES RAISED UP IN CONSEQUENCE. From various differences in the arrangement of the earlier verses in the LXX and Heb., it has been supposed that in its original form the narrative merely recorded the fact that Solomon had a number of wives, and that he built sanctuaries and offered sacrifice to their gods. In its present form the influence of a Deuteronomic editor is unmistakable. But the account of Solomon's adversaries (1 Kings 11:14 ff.) must be derived from an earlier source; and even as it stands does not necessarily mean that they were raised up in punishment of his sin. Hadad, the Edomite (1 Kings 11:14) must have troubled him early in his reign (1 Kings 11:21 f.), and Rezon wa

LIGHT. lamp. Compare the "furnace" of 1 Kings 8:51, and see note on Genesis 15:17. Compare 2 Kings 8:19; Psalms 18:28; Jeremiah 25:10, implying the continued existence of the Divine purpose....

_one tribe_ Here again, as in 32, the LXX. has -two tribes." _a light_ Literally -a lamp." The idea is quite an Oriental one. In the tent was hung the lamp, for constant lighting, and the permanency of the home is implied in the lamp which is not extinguished. Cf. Psalms 132:17. David's line was to last, though most of the kingdom was taken from his descendants. The LXX. paraphrases by θέσις, i.e. a status, position....