1 Kings 3:1 tells us, “And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took PHARAOH’S DAUGHTER, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the LORD, and the wall of Jerusalem round about.” 1 Kings 14:21 says, “And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD did choose out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother’s name was NAAMAH an Ammonitess.” It is said of Solomon in 1 Kings 11:3, “And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.” We know that Pharaoh’s daughter (her name is not given) and Naamah were named wives of Solomon. We also see that in later years, he had 700 wives and 300 mistresses (concubines), so it is probable that Solomon had many children.

We have three children named who were the children of Solomon.

  • One son: Rehoboam. 1 Chronicles 3:10, “And Solomon’s son was REHOBOAM…”
  • Two daughters: Taphath and Basmath. 1 Kings 4:11, “The son of Abinadab, in all the region of Dor; which had TAPHATH the daughter of Solomon to wife.” 1 Kings 4:15, “Ahimaaz was in Naphtali; he also took BASMATH the daughter of Solomon to wife.”

It was Rehoboam who assumed his father’s throne after his death. As we read in 1 Kings 14:21, “And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah.” It was after he was made king that we read of a decision Rehoboam made. 1 Kings 12:3-5, “That they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam, saying, Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee. And he said unto them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed.” Jeroboam, king of Israel came with a group of Israelites to ask that the load that Solomon had put upon them should be lightened. It seems to be wise that Rehoboam asked for time to think about their request. We read in verse 6-7, “And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said, How do ye advise that I may answer this people? And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever.?” This seems like a wise thing to do. He asked advice from the older men who were more mature and who had known Solomon and had a sense of what Solomon would do in this case.

Yet, Rehoboam did not heed their advice. Instead, he sought the counsel of the young men. We read in verse 8, “But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him.” What was the advice of the younger inexperienced men? That they tremendously increase the workload of the Israelites. 1 Kings 12:11 says, “And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.” The result of this action? 1 Kings 12:19 says, “So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day.” Instead of making friends with their brethren, they made enemies of them. Although the thoughts and ideals of our young people may sound good and productive, we need the counsel of our older brothers and sisters in Christ. They often speak from a more scriptural perspective, seasoned by years of experience of following the Lord. This was a terrible lesson for Rehoboam to learn. May we learn to value the advice of the older ones the Lord puts into our lives. Insisting, of course, that all counsel come from the Word of God. (233.8)