Lives of Scripture

Rezon son of Eliada had served Hadadezer, king of Zobah, until David's armies crushed Zobah's forces (2 Samuel 8:3-8). Rather than submit, Rezon fled, gathered a band of raiders around himself, and eventually seized Damascus, establishing himself as king over Aram (1 Kings 11:23-24). Scripture is explicit about why this mattered: "God raised up an adversary to [Solomon], Rezon the son of Eliada" (11:23) -- one of two foreign adversaries named, alongside Hadad the Edomite, as direct consequences of Solomon's unfaithfulness, after "his heart was turned away from the LORD" by his many foreign wives and their gods (11:1-4, 9). Rezon "was an adversary of Israel all the days of Solomon," ruling Aram and holding a lasting grudge against Israel (11:25). His dynasty in Damascus would trouble Israel for generations afterward, down through Ben-hadad and Hazael. Rezon's rise is a stark illustration that God is sovereign even over Israel's enemies, raising up trouble as discipline for a king who had every reason to remain faithful and did not.