The Lord's anger against Solomon led him to express that anger and to bring an indictment against him. We do not know whether this was done in another appearance to Solomon or through the words of a prophet. Other similar occurrences, such as the judgment pronounced against King Saul, took place through the mediation of a prophet.
God accuses Solomon of a twofold failure. The Lord says that the king has failed to keep, first, the covenant, and then the statutes that he has commanded. The foundational principle of the covenant bound God and Israel in a solemn and exclusive relationship. He declared himself the God of Israel and declared them to be his people.
When, therefore, Solomon turned away from Yahweh to Chemosh, Molech, and other foreign gods, it was a direct violation of the covenant. By the violation of God’s statutes, Solomon repudiated the manner of life that the Lord desired his people to display.
Nevertheless, the covenant of the Lord and his statutes overlap. The statutes are the stipulations of the covenant. The first table of the Law (the first four commandments) concern the people’s duty toward the One who established a covenant with them.
As a result of the disobedience of Solomon, the Lord declares that he will remove the kingdom from Solomon and give it instead to one of his servants. The language that the Lord uses to declare this shows both the certainty of its accomplishment and the somewhat violent manner in which it shall take place. The Lord says, I will surely tear the kingdom from you,
and the idea of tearing is an action that is not calm. The rending of a garment was a sign of great emotional turmoil, but how much more so is the rending of a kingdom apart.
11 Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, “Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant.