Useful Bible Studies > 1 Kings Commentary > chapter 11
Israel had 12 tribes, groups of families that each had their own region. God declared that Jeroboam would become the king of 10 of those tribes. Those were the tribes in the north and centre of Israel.
However, God would give one tribe that Solomon’s son and his future family would rule. That probably means one tribe in addition to the tribe of Judah, to which Solomon’s family belonged. That extra tribe seems to mean the tribe of Benjamin, in whose region Jerusalem was.
God gave two reasons why Solomon’s family would continue to rule these tribes in the south of Israel. The first reason was because of David, Solomon’s father. That probably means because of God’s promises to David in 2 Samuel 7:12-16. God wanted to show clearly that his love for David’s family continued. He was not simply leaving that family to choose another family to be the future kings. That fact matters very much because the Messiah, God’s future king, must be from David’s family (Isaiah 11:1; Jeremiah 23:5).
The second reason was because of Jerusalem. Jerusalem continued to be God’s holy city, the place of his temple (the house of God). This was the capital city for David’s family – but it was also the place that God had especially chosen (Deuteronomy 12:1-14). So, it mattered very much to God that Jerusalem should continue to be under the control of David’s family. God’s future king from David’s family, the Messiah, will rule the whole world from Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:8-11). To show that, God gave to David’s family not just the city called Jerusalem, but the whole region of Benjamin.
Next part: Solomon's evil acts (1 Kings 11:33)
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