1 Kings 11:38

And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Benson Commentary

1 Kings 11:38. If thou wilt hearken to all that I command thee, &c. — He is hereby given to understand, that the grant of the crown to him and his descendants will be conditional, and that he and they will be upon their good behaviour.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

11:26-40 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?

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

See the marginal references. To "build a sure house," or "give a house," is to give a continuity of offspring, and so secure the perpetuity of a family. The promise, it will be observed, is conditional; and as the condition was not complied with, it did not take effect (see 1 Kings 14:8-14). The entire house of Jeroboam was destroyed by Baasha 1 Kings 15:29.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

29. clad—rather, "wrapped up." The meaning is, "Ahijah, the Shilonite, the prophet, went and took a fit station in the way; and, in order that he might not be known, he wrapped himself up, so as closely to conceal himself, in a new garment, a surtout, which he afterwards tore in twelve pieces." Notwithstanding this privacy, the story, and the prediction connected with it [1Ki 11:30-39], probably reached the king's ears; and Jeroboam became a marked man [1Ki 11:40]. His aspiring ambition, impatient for the death of Solomon, led him to form plots and conspiracies, in consequence of which he was compelled to flee to Egypt. Though chosen of God, he would not wait the course of God's providence, and therefore incurred the penalty of death by his criminal rebellion. The heavy exactions and compulsory labor (1Ki 11:28) which Solomon latterly imposed upon his subjects, when his foreign resources began to fail, had prepared the greater part of the kingdom for a revolt under so popular a demagogue as Jeroboam.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Build thee a sure house, i.e. firmly settle thee and thy posterity in the throne, as this or the like phrase is used, 2 Samuel 7:16,27; but he doth not say he would do this for ever, as is there said of David’s house 1 Kings 11:16.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee,.... And be obedient thereunto:

and wilt walk in my ways; directed to in the law of Moses:

and do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes, and my commandments; those particularly respecting divine worship:

as David my servant did; who very diligently and constantly attended to the ordinances of religion:

that I will be with thee; to guide and direct, protect and defend, prosper and succeed:

and build thee a sure house, as I built for David; continue the succession of the kingdom in his posterity:

and will give Israel unto thee; to rule over them.

Geneva Study Bible

And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

38. And it shall be &c.] The condition on which Jeroboam is set up is the same as that laid down for the family of David. As in their case transgression involved a downfall.

and will give Israel unto thee] These words and the whole of 1 Kings 11:39 are omitted in the LXX.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 38. - And it shall be, if thou writ hearken unto all that I command thee [cf. 1 Kings 3:14; 1 Kings 6:12; 1 Kings 9:4], and wilt walk in my ways, and do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee [cf. ch. 1:37, note], and build thee a sure house [cf. 2 Samuel 7:11, 16; i.e., a family, perhaps dynasty. Observe, however, there was no promise to Jeroboam, as there was to David, of an enduring kingdom. It was not God's design to take away the kingdom from David in perpetuity (ver. 39) ], as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee. 1 Kings 11:38

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

The condition on which the kingdom of Jeroboam was to last was the same as that on which Solomon had also been promised the continuance of his throne in 1 Kings 3:14; 1 Kings 6:12; 1 Kings 9:4, namely, faithful observance of the commandments of God. The expression, "be king over all that thy soul desireth," is explained in what follows by "all Israel." It is evident from this that Jeroboam had aspired after the throne. On the condition named, the Lord would build him a lasting house, as He had done for David (see at 2 Samuel 7:16). In the case of Jeroboam, however, there is no allusion to a lasting duration of the ממלכה (kingdom) such as had been ensured to David; for the division of the kingdom was not to last for ever, but the seed of David was simply to be chastised. זאת למען, for this, i.e., because of the apostasy already mentioned; "only not all the days," i.e., not for ever. ואענּה is explanatory so far as the sense is concerned: "for I will humble." Jeroboam did not fulfil this condition, and therefore his house was extirpated at the death of his son (1 Kings 15:28.).