And all Israel saw that the king hearkened not to them; and the people answered the king saying, What portion have we in David? And [we have] no inheritance in the son of Jesse To your tents, O Israel! Now see to thine own house, David! And Israel went to their tents.
Solomon is dead. His son Rehoboam has answered the people's plea for a lighter load with a threat. Now ten tribes walk away from the throne of David for good, and the break has never healed.
The cry in this verse was not invented that day. One writer traces it back to an earlier rebel, and sets against it what believers can say instead.
Judah and Israel were held together in practical oneness under David, the anointed of God... but even in his days the divisive spirit showed itself in a worthless man. "He blew a trumpet and said, 'We have no portion in David, and we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse; every man to his tents, O Israel!'" (2 Sam. 20:1). The seed was sown that day; and though the evil work was stopped there and then, it bore its bad fruit long afterwards... In contrast to this, the true joint-heirs surely say, All our portion is in Christ Jesus, and so is our inheritance for ever — let us stay in Him!
Rehoboam had two sets of advisers, and he chose the ones who echoed what he already wanted to hear.
Rehoboam turns away from the counsel of wisdom to follow that of the young men who had grown up with him... Had he stood before his father and heard the wise proverbs that fell from his lips, he could have passed on some of that wisdom to others. He would have known that "A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger" (Prov. 15:1); that "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall" (Prov. 16:18)... The counsel of the young men is, in the end, only the counsel of his own heart. Pride goes hand in hand with despising one's neighbour.
It is easy to read this as pure politics: a foolish king, an angry crowd, a torn kingdom. One writer says that reading stops too soon.
People of that day looked at the bare facts and might have concluded that the division was wholly due to the folly of Rehoboam... Such arguments might seem reasonable to the natural mind. But they would have been false. It was true that Rehoboam's folly was the immediate cause of the division. Yet the word of God in judgment had gone out long before the violent words of the king. The mighty hand of God in discipline was behind the feeble hand of the king. The holy government of God was tearing the kingdom apart. Behind the discipline of God was the low condition of the people.
The verse just before says the king would not listen because this turn of affairs came from the LORD. It fulfilled His word spoken through the prophet Ahijah. Some have used that to excuse the rebels.
Did that excuse Jeroboam? This is a very important principle that you will find constantly in the word of God. A prophecy is in no way a sanction of what is predicted. Prophecy takes in the most disgusting acts ever done by the proud, corrupt or murderous will of man.
Behind the cry lay Solomon's oppression, and out of the cry came a whole new kingdom.
Solomon turned away from God and oppressed His people. So at his death the people find their occasion to make demands on the new king coming to his father's throne. His rude and foolish answer brings on the crisis, and then we hear the unthankful and heartless cry... Ephraim then takes the lead of the ten tribes who revolted from the house of David, headed by Jeroboam, a man of the tribe of Ephraim. A new kingdom is formed, and every one of its nineteen kings turns away from the LORD.
Israel made the break in a single day. One writer follows what became of it, and where the same thing has happened since.
They announced a division among brothers at once. The division took no time to make, yet it has continued through the centuries until now. It will not be healed until the Lord Jesus comes in power and glory at the end of the Great Tribulation. In God's purposes Israel is one nation that cannot be divided. In practice the nation has been totally inconsistent with God's plan for her. Sadly, the same has been true in the history of the Church of God on earth also.
- Seed — a rebel in David's own reign shouted the same words. Division starts as an idea long before it becomes an event.
- Spark — Rehoboam took the advice that flattered him. A harsh answer, where a soft one was needed, cost him ten tribes.
- Government — Rehoboam's folly was the immediate cause. But God had spoken His judgment long before, and behind it lay the low state of the people.
- Responsibility — being foretold never makes an act right. Prophecy describes man's worst deeds without approving them.
- Portion — Israel claimed no share in David and walked away from his house. Believers say the opposite: our whole portion and inheritance is in Christ.
But as for the children of Israel that dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.
The ten tribes have just walked away from Solomon's son. This verse records what remains to him: the Israelites living in Judah's towns. Two questions follow. Why did anyone stay with Rehoboam? And what was this shrunken kingdom worth in God's eyes?
The shout that split the kingdom was not new. One writer traces it to an older revolt, and counts what was left.
Israel rebels: "What portion do we have in David?" (v. 16). This was the rallying cry to rebellion, the common cry of those who were discontented in the days of David (2 Sam. 20:1). Rehoboam flees; nothing but Judah and Benjamin remain to him.
Those who stayed did not stay because Rehoboam had earned it. One writer separates the two sides of the split, then names what the smaller kingdom still holds.
The rebellion of the ten tribes was morally their own act and deed. Through Rehoboam's folly, it would have spread to all the tribes. Judah stayed with Solomon's son only because God's providence ruled it so. As His gracious word had said, He kept one tribe for the house of David, to carry out His purpose — the bringing in of His king. Judah keeps the hill of Zion. Though stripped of glory, they still have the temple and the city. God still acknowledges them, and the royal link between the Lord and the kingdom of Judah holds. Jeroboam's kingdom had no such outward link.
God calls what was left to David's son only "one tribe." Another writer weighs that small share against the bigger northern kingdom, and finds the smaller one steadier.
Judah was greatly reduced — reduced in the size and glory of the kingdom. But there was a marked difference from the ten tribes, the much larger part that went to the other side. They kept shifting their burdens from time to time. The ruling family changed again and again, and one man after another rose up... Not so with Judah. God calls it only one tribe, to put in the strongest possible way how completely their glory was gone. Still, there the light shall always be.
The chapter says this turn of events came from the Lord. The same writer measures Jeroboam's part by a rule he finds all through Scripture.
Did that excuse Jeroboam? This is a very important principle that you will find constantly in the word of God. A prophecy is in no way a sanction of what is predicted. Prophecy takes in the most terrible acts that have ever been done by the proud, corrupt, or murderous will of man.
The verse names a mixed group: Israelites, yet living in Judah's cities. One writer says who moved south, and how long their good start lasted.
The priests and Levites stayed faithful to the Lord, to His house and worship at Jerusalem, and to the house of David — the royal house God had chosen. They left the land of Israel to live in Judah and Jerusalem. Others too, who had set their hearts to seek the God of Israel, left the side of those who had broken away and flocked to Rehoboam. For three years all went well, and they walked "in the way of David and Solomon." But their goodness was like the early dew and the morning cloud, and passed quickly away — as everything merely human does.
Rehoboam kept a kingdom, but Israel was one nation no longer. One writer measures how long the split lasted, and finds the same failure among Christians today.
They at once announced a division among brothers. The division took no time at all, yet it has lasted through the centuries until now. It will not be healed until the Lord Jesus comes in power and glory at the end of the Great Tribulation... The same has sadly been true in the history of the Church of God on earth. There is only "one body" (Eph. 4:4), yet in practice there are many bodies of professing Christians. That is a shameful contradiction to our perfect unity "in Christ."
Losing ten tribes could have ended Rehoboam's usefulness. One writer shows what he did instead.
From now on Rehoboam stays inside the smaller sphere the division has left him, for we read that "he lived in Jerusalem." Does that mean he settles down to quiet ease and does nothing? ... Far from it. At once we read that he becomes a builder. He "built cities for defense in Judah." As we might say today, he "strengthened the things that remained."
- Cause. Harsh words from Rehoboam met an old rebel cry, and ten tribes walked out — their own act, whatever God had foretold.
- Kept. God's overruling providence held one tribe for David's house, so that His king would come.
- Small. God called what was left only one tribe. Yet it kept the temple, the city and a light that never went out, while the north kept changing rulers.
- Drawn. Priests, Levites and others who sought God left the north for Judah's cities — a move of the heart, not politics.
- Built. Rehoboam never got back what he lost, but inside his smaller borders he strengthened what remained.
And king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the levy; but all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. And king Rehoboam hastened to mount his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.
Rehoboam had just lost ten tribes by one harsh speech. He still sent his tax officer to collect from them, and the killing that followed split the kingdom for good — but whose hand was behind it?
The king's officer held a long-standing post. One reference work traces the same office and name back through two earlier reigns:
Chief over the tribute in the days of Solomon (1 Kings 4:6; 1 Kings 5:14). In David's time ADORAM was over the tribute (2 Sam. 20:24), and in the days of Rehoboam also a person of this name was over the tribute (1 Kings 12:18). Gesenius and others take that name as a shortened form of Adoniram, and as referring to the same person. The Adoram of 1 Kings 12:18 seems to be called HADORAM in 2 Chr. 10:18. All Israel stoned him to death at the revolt of the ten tribes. If Adoniram held office from David to Rehoboam it would cover a long period; still it may be the same man throughout, or father and son.
Sending him misread the moment badly. One writer traces the mistake to self-flattery, and sets the king's boast beside his flight:
Rehoboam found it hard to believe that the ten tribes had really refused his yoke. He flattered himself, no doubt, that they would not dare rebel against his authority... So he confidently sent Hadoram to collect the imposed assessment. This unwise act brings matters to a crisis. The furious people stone the old collector-general, who had served in this office under his father Solomon and his grandfather David. The king had boasted that his "little finger" would be "thicker than his father's waist." Now, to his shame, he "hurried to mount his chariot to flee to Jerusalem."
The officer died for what he stood for. The people had complained of a heavy yoke, and one writer sets that complaint beside the yoke of Christ:
These men complain to the king about the yoke his father had put on them: "Your father made our yoke heavy." That wording shows it had not always been so. Christ's yoke will never be heavy on His people. To His own He will always stay the same as they have known Him in the day of suffering and of grace: "My yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
The king took the advice that looked strong. One writer follows it through to the stones:
The young men advise Rehoboam to take a course that seems admirable to the natural mind. It looks like taking a strong line and upholding the authority and majesty of the kingdom. Sad to say, Rehoboam follows the advice of nature. He takes a proud and unreasonable stand, and threatens the protesters with violent, extreme discipline. The people meet the king's violence with violence of their own. They stone the king's officer, and the division is complete.
The stoning did not create the revolt; it exposed it. And the damage outlasted everyone involved:
But this only became the open occasion for the rebellion to show itself... And that rebellion was never healed. Sad to say, we shall find worse abominations than this. But in this way the bitter fruits of evil were beginning to show themselves; and he who had sown the wind must reap the whirlwind.
It would be easy to blame the whole disaster on one proud young ruler. Commentators warn that this reading stops too soon:
It was true that Rehoboam's folly was the immediate cause of the division. But the word of God in judgment had gone out long before the violent words of the king. The mighty hand of God in discipline was behind the feeble hand of the king. The holy government of God was tearing the kingdom apart, and behind the discipline of God was the low condition of the people.
One writer follows the split forward, past Israel to the Church:
This division happened with no delay. But it has continued through the centuries until now, and it will not be healed until the Lord Jesus comes in power and glory... In the counsels of God, Israel is one nation that cannot be divided. But in practice the nation has been completely inconsistent with God's plan for her. Sad to say, the same has been true in the history of the Church of God on earth too.
- Root — the split goes back past Rehoboam. God's word of judgment had already gone out, and the low condition of the people invited the discipline.
- Yoke — the tax officer stood for a burden that had grown heavy. Christ's yoke never grows heavy on His people.
- Folly — the king answered a complaint with threats, force met force, and the man he sent paid with his life.
- Flight — the king who boasted of his "little finger" ended up running for his chariot.
- Reach — the tear was never healed. Commentators see in it Israel's long division, and the divided state of God's people since; only Christ's coming will mend it.
And Israel rebelled against the house of David, unto this day.
Rehoboam's harsh answer to the people ends in a split that was still open in the writer's own day. Two questions follow: who caused it, and why does Scripture treat this rebellion as something God Himself brought about?
It would be easy to pin the whole disaster on one bad decision by a young king. Commentators warn that stopping there misses what God was doing.
People of that day, looking at the bare facts of the case, might have concluded that the division was wholly due to the folly of Rehoboam. But however reasonable such a conclusion might appear to the natural mind, it would have been false. It was true that Rehoboam's folly was the immediate cause of the division. But the word of God in judgment had gone out long before the violent words of the king, and the mighty hand of God in discipline was behind the feeble hand of the king.
God's judgment fell on the king's own sin. But it reached past the throne to the people as well.
Here we find the root of division to be worldliness that turns aside to other gods, and disobedience to the Word of God, but now connected with the people. The folly and failure of the leaders, however great, would not necessarily cause division were it not for the low condition of the people of God generally. "This is done of you" condemns the individual; "they have forsaken Me" reveals the low condition of the people that lies behind the failure of the leaders.
God had foretold this split through a prophet, and Jeroboam knew it. That knowledge did not make his act innocent. Scripture still calls it rebellion.
A prophecy is in no way a sanction of what is predicted. Prophecy takes in the most terrible acts that have ever been done by the proud, corrupt, or murderous will of man.
The same writer sees the split as a harvest from seed sown earlier:
And that rebellion was never healed. Here the bitter fruit of wrongdoing was beginning to show itself, and the one who had sown the wind had to reap the whirlwind.
The split lasted for centuries. Commentators see in it a lasting gap between what God says His people are and what they became in practice.
This division happened at once, but it has continued through the centuries until now. It will not be healed until the Lord Jesus comes in power and glory at the end of the Great Tribulation. In God's counsels Israel is one nation, indivisible. In practice the nation has been totally inconsistent with God's plan for her. Such has sadly been true in the history of the Church of God on earth also. Though there is only "one body" (Eph. 4:4), in practical testimony there are many bodies of professing Christians. That is a shameful contradiction of our perfect unity "in Christ."
Rehoboam wanted to win the tribes back by force. God forbade it, and writers draw a lesson from that.
Do we not find the same thing among God's people today? Because of our unfaithfulness there has been division among God's people. Instead of standing together in conflict against the common foe, God's people are so often engaged in opposing each other. Instead of fighting with brothers, we should pay attention to God's word to Rehoboam when the division occurred: "Thus says the Lord, You shall not go up or fight against your relatives the people of Israel… for this thing is from me" (1 Kings 12:24). God has allowed the divisions among brothers because of our sin and folly. It is for us to bow our heads and hearts before Him in shame, and to go on quietly before Him seeking His will in the middle of the sad and solemn consequences of our failure.
No king ever put the nation back together. Writers point to the one hand that will.
How beautiful it is that in God's day, when the Lord takes up the staff of Israel and of Judah, it will be reunited in His hand. It will be one, as it has never been since the division. All efforts in the past have been useless. King Rehoboam might fight to bring back the tribes that revolted, but it was completely impossible… But when the mighty Son of God takes hold of His people, that broken staff will be reunited.
- Root — God's word of judgment went out long before the split. Worldliness and disobedience to God's Word were its real source.
- Reach — The king did not fail alone. A people who had forsaken the Lord stood behind his folly.
- Responsibility — A prophecy excuses no one. It foretells evil acts without approving them, and the harvest matched the sowing.
- Result — "To this day" marks a break no human effort ever repaired. Commentators see the same contradiction today: one body in Scripture, many bodies in practice.
- Repair — God forbids fighting fellow believers. Only the Lord's own hand will make the broken staff one again, at His coming.
And it came to pass when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had come back, that they sent and called him to the assembly, and made him king over all Israel none followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.
The break happens fast: Israel hears that Jeroboam is back, calls an assembly, and crowns him. Two questions hang over the verse: was this rebellion man's doing or God's, and what did the house of David keep?
Israel got the leader their own condition called for. One writer traces that choice back to the decline under Solomon. He also links it to an earlier king Israel demanded and then had to live with.
All Israel had sunk into a far worse condition during the days of Solomon. That was to be expected once Solomon himself sank to the level of worshipping idols. God knew that Israel wanted a king with ability. They were not concerned to have a man of integrity who would put the Lord first in his thoughts, as David did. So God gave Israel the kind of king they wanted, and they made Jeroboam king over all Israel (v.20). Israel had to learn by experience how foolish it was to want a king such as Saul (1 Sam. 8:11-20). In the same way, having a king such as Jeroboam, they would learn by sad experience that they ought to trust the Lord instead of demanding their own rights.
A prophecy had already announced what Jeroboam would gain. Knowing that in advance did not make his grasping for it innocent.
Did that excuse Jeroboam? This is a very important principle, and you will find it again and again in the word of God. A prophecy never approves what it predicts. Prophecy covers the most terrible acts that the proud, corrupt, or murderous will of man has ever done.
Benjamin also stayed with Rehoboam, yet the record says Judah only. The reason is one of size and naming.
On the separation of the ten tribes, Judah and Benjamin formed a kingdom under the name of Judah. Benjamin being only a small tribe, the kingdom of Judah is sometimes spoken of as one tribe. No doubt the territory of Simeon was attached to Judah as well, since that tribe was more or less lost in the land.
That one tribe was no accident of politics, and it kept everything that mattered.
Judah stayed loyal to Solomon's son only because of the overruling providence of God. In keeping with His gracious word, God reserved one tribe to the house of David, and He did it to accomplish His purpose — the bringing in of His king. Judah keeps the hill of Zion. Stripped of glory, they still have the temple and the city. God still owns them, and the royal link between the Lord and the kingdom of Judah still stands. With Jeroboam's kingdom there was no outward link. There was no properly ordained priest, and the king was given in judgment... All the symbols of worship appointed by God were with Judah; the ten tribes had not one of them.
The king's own folly set off the split, but it was not the deeper source. God also claimed the outcome as His own.
When the ten tribes revolted and Israel was divided, Rehoboam tried to unite them by force. But the Lord sent him a message saying, "this thing is from me." The apparent and immediate cause of the division was the foolishness of the king in rejecting the counsel of the elders. The underlying cause was Solomon's idolatry.
The crowning of Jeroboam took a day. Its effects have run on for centuries, and one writer reads the same pattern into the state of Christians today.
Jeroboam and his followers announced at once a division among brothers. The division took no time at all, but it has continued through the centuries until now. It will not be healed until the Lord Jesus comes in power and glory at the end of the Great Tribulation. In the counsels of God, Israel is one nation that cannot be divided. In practice the nation has been completely inconsistent with God's plan for her. Sadly the same has been true in the history of the Church of God on earth. There is only "one body" (Eph. 4:4), yet in practical testimony there are many bodies of professing Christians. That is a shameful contradiction of our perfect unity "in Christ."
- Cause. The split looked like one king's foolish answer to the people. The deeper cause was Solomon's idolatry, and the Lord's own message named the outcome as His doing.
- Choice. Israel wanted a capable king, not a man who put the Lord first. God gave them what they asked for — the same sad lesson Saul had already taught them.
- Excuse. Jeroboam had a prophecy on his side, yet a prophecy never approves what it predicts. Knowing what was coming did not clear him.
- Remnant. "Judah only" means two tribes under one name. It was small, yet it held Zion, the temple, the city and every God-given symbol of worship. The larger kingdom had none of them.
- Result. The kingdom broke in a day and has never come back together. It will stay that way until Christ comes — a warning to a divided people who are, in truth, one body.
And Rehoboam came to Jerusalem; and he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, a hundred and eighty thousand chosen men apt for war, to fight against the house of Israel, that he might bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.
Rehoboam would not accept the loss of the ten northern tribes, so he raised 180,000 fighting men to take the kingdom back by force. The verse raises a question that still matters: when God's people split, may one side force them back together?
Two things happened at Jerusalem: a king made a plan, and God answered it.
When Rehoboam returned to Jerusalem, he thought he could force Israel into submission. He gathered 180,000 chosen warriors to attack Israel. But the Lord stepped in. He sent the prophet Shemaiah to forbid Rehoboam to carry out this attack. Shemaiah told him and the people of Judah and Benjamin not to go and fight their brothers.
Stopping that army took a man willing to stand in front of it.
Shemaiah must have been a very brave man. He stood in front of a gathered army of 180,000 men, an angry king and an angry people, and delivered a message that must have been very unwelcome. And you cannot help admiring how graciously the king and the people submitted.
There was something right about what Rehoboam wanted.
Rehoboam sets to work at once to bring the people of God together again. Using the methods that suited his day, he gathers an army for this purpose. There is no question that it was in accord with God's thoughts that the people should be one. They had been one at the beginning of God's ways with them. In the day to come they will be one again, as the prophet said... So it might look as if Rehoboam was right to work at ending the division and uniting the people of God.
What ruled the plan out was the reason God gave for the split.
Shemaiah, the man of God, tells Rehoboam why they must stop. It is because God says, "This thing is from Me." God had rebuked Solomon for his worldliness and for disobeying the Word of God, and said to him, "I will surely tear the kingdom from you." Now that the blow has fallen, God can say to Rehoboam, "This thing is from Me." To seek to undo the evil of Solomon may be right; to ignore the governmental acts of God is certainly wrong. Rehoboam and those with him have to learn what we all have to learn in the divisions our own folly has caused. No one can brush aside the government of God.
God still called the ten tribes their brothers. That one word shaped what Judah could and could not do.
God did not forbid His people to seek a righteous way of reconciliation. He did not forbid them to find out why the break had happened, or to confess their failure together. What He did forbid was fighting with their brothers... Where there has been failure on all sides, it is best to drop the sword and for everyone to go to their knees.
Rehoboam's harsh answer broke the kingdom in two. It did not create the divided heart that was already there.
The break came through the folly of Rehoboam. Yet God was behind it, to expose the disunity that already existed in Israel. God often exposes the same kind of evil in the Church of God — evil that people try to cover up, but that in the end causes public divisions. This is to our shame, but God is perfectly righteous to show any condition for what it really is.
Note who stayed. The promise to David spoke of one tribe, yet the verse counts Benjamin with Judah:
When the kingdom divided, Benjamin stayed with Judah, though Israel seized a large part of their land. At times they seem to drop out of sight. Ahijah said that God had kept one tribe for the house of David, as if Benjamin counted as cut off in judgement. People regularly spoke of the two tribes as "Judah," and of the ten tribes as "Israel."
Obedience left Rehoboam a smaller kingdom. What did he do inside it?
From now on Rehoboam stays inside the narrow sphere the division has made, for we read that "he lived in Jerusalem." Does that mean he settles down to a life of quiet ease and does nothing?... Far from it. At once we read that he becomes a builder... As we might say today, he "strengthened what remained." And he provided food for the people of God.
- Cause. Rehoboam's folly split the kingdom. God used the split to expose a disunity that was already there.
- Restraint. One man with a message from God stopped 180,000 armed men. The king listened, and the war never happened.
- Brothers. The ten tribes stayed brothers, not targets. God banned the sword, not the honest search for peace.
- Method. Wanting one people matched God's own mind. Forcing it by strength ignored God's hand in the break, and so was wrong.
- Result. Obeying left Rehoboam a smaller field. Inside it he built, fortified, and fed the people of God.
But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying,
Rehoboam has just lost ten tribes, and his answer is an army of 180,000 men. Before a single sword is drawn, God speaks. He does not speak to the king on his throne, but to a man named Shemaiah. The whole future of the nation hangs on whether Rehoboam obeys that word.
A prophet appears at this exact moment for a reason. When the leaders of God's people failed, God opened a new way to reach them.
Once the priesthood was ruined, it no longer served as the public link between the people and God. The king, the Lord's anointed, took the priest's place in that role. From then on, all the blessing of Israel — and its judgment too — depended on the conduct of the king. Strictly speaking, when the king failed in his responsibility, it affected the people's relationship with God. But then something new happened. It lasted through the whole time of the kingdom and even afterwards: the prophet came on the scene. His coming proved that nothing could destroy the grace and mercy of God, even when everything was in ruins.
Scripture calls Shemaiah a "man of God." The phrase turns up at a particular kind of moment.
The expression "man of God" occurs about 76 times in the Old Testament, and only two times in the New. Except where Moses is spoken of, it refers to those who witnessed to God's people in a day of departure.
Shemaiah had to carry this message into a camp already armed for war.
Shemaiah (heard of Jehovah), a man of God, brought the message from the Lord not to fight against Israel. They obeyed, and the war was avoided. As failure had come in, prophecy at once reappears. Shemaiah must have been a very courageous man. He stood in front of a gathered army of 180,000 men, an angry king and an angry people, and delivered a message that no one wanted to hear. And one cannot but admire the gracious submission of king and people.
The ten tribes were guilty. That did not give Rehoboam the right to punish them.
Rehoboam wants to fight. It was in vain. God had given away ten parts of the kingdom. He would not allow a man who was himself guilty to fight even against the guilty. God had not given them a king of the house of David in order that they might fight against Israel. "You shall not go up or fight against your brothers, the people of Israel. Every man return to his home, for this thing is from me." So they listened to the word of the Lord and went home again, according to the word of the Lord.
God claims the division as His own act. That draws a line between repairing damage and resisting God.
He has to learn, and all Israel with him, that despite the division the ten tribes are still their "brothers." They are not to go up or fight against them. Moreover Shemaiah, the man of God, tells Rehoboam why they must stop. It is because God says, "This thing is done of Me." God had rebuked Solomon for his worldliness and disobedience to the Word of God, and told him, "I will surely tear the kingdom from you." Now that the blow has fallen, God can say to Rehoboam, "This thing is done of Me." Trying to undo the evil of Solomon may be right. Ignoring the governmental acts of God is certainly wrong.
Being stopped looks like loss. Here it was a rescue, and a later king shows the cost of ignoring the same word.
It was mercy on God's part to send this message. Otherwise there might have been a terrible slaughter, with nothing settled at all. Later than this, Amaziah, a king of Judah, launched a battle against Joash king of Israel, and suffered a heavy defeat. At least Rehoboam had sense enough to listen to Shemaiah and to obey the Word of the Lord.
- Word after ruin. The king's failure broke the nation, but God did not fall silent. The prophet's arrival proved that His grace and mercy outlast total ruin.
- Word to a man. Apart from Moses, "man of God" marks those who spoke for God when His people had turned away. The word reaches the crisis through such a man, not through the throne.
- Word against the sword. God would not let one guilty side punish another. He sent the 180,000 home and forbade brother to fight brother.
- Word owning the loss. "This thing is from me" makes the division God's own act. Undoing Solomon's evil may be right. Overriding God's dealings never is.
- Word obeyed. Shemaiah faced an angry king and army, and they submitted. That obedience prevented a slaughter. A later king ignored the same word and lost his battle.
Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remainder of the people, saying,
Rehoboam has gathered an army to win back the ten tribes by force. Before the first blow falls, God sends a word — and He sends it to the king, the two tribes, and all the people with them.
The king has just lost most of his kingdom. Into that collapse God sends a man with a message. Writers see a pattern: as the kingship falls, prophets come to the front.
Notice how the role of the prophet grows in importance as the kingship falls into ruin. Through all this part of the history, prophets hold our attention. Ahijah was the first to appear, when Solomon fell under God's judgment... Now here is Shemaiah, who turns Rehoboam from his plans of war. The role of the prophet was a great grace. It allowed relations between God and His people to continue despite the ruin. Above all, the prophet was the mouthpiece for the Word of God.
Rehoboam still had an army of 180,000 and a reason to use it. The word that stops him names him king of Judah only.
It must have been clear to him now that the rebellion was very real and serious. It was not a passing wave of discontent that would soon die away by itself and be forgotten. But a man does not easily accept such an immense loss, or such terrible results coming so suddenly. Force may still work. There is the army, one hundred and eighty thousand strong... Might must make right, if right cannot be shown any other way. But "the God of peace" loves His people even when they are misguided and in error. So He warns the king of Judah by the word of the man of God, Shemaiah. Note the deliberate limit of his title (2 Chron. 11:3).
God's reason is not that the war would fail. It is that the split came from Him. One writer sets this word beside God's earlier sentence on Solomon.
He has to learn, and all Israel with him, that despite the division the ten tribes are still their "brothers." They are not to "go up nor fight against" them. Moreover Shemaiah, the man of God, tells Rehoboam why they must stop. It is because God says, "This thing is from Me." God had rebuked Solomon for his worldliness and for disobeying the Word of God. He said to him, "Since this is done by you... I will tear the kingdom from you." Now that the blow has fallen, God can say to Rehoboam, "This thing is from Me." To try to undo the evil of Solomon may be right. To ignore God's own acts of government is certainly wrong.
There is another reason the war was hopeless. Rehoboam was not the innocent party.
Rehoboam wants to fight. It was in vain. God had given away ten parts out of the kingdom, and God would not sanction that the man who is himself guilty should fight even against the guilty. God had not given them a king of the house of David so that they might fight against Israel.
The ban is narrow. It stops the sword, not the search for peace.
Look carefully at that Old Testament story. God did not forbid His people to seek a righteous way of reconciliation, or to find out why the split had happened, or to confess their failure together. But He did forbid them to fight with their brothers... Where the failure has been general, it is better to drop the sword and for everyone to go to their knees.
Rehoboam listened, and that obedience saved lives. A later king of Judah would not be so wise.
It was mercy on God's part to send this message, for otherwise there might have been a terrible slaughter with no problem resolved at all. Later, Amaziah, a king of Judah, attacked Joash king of Israel, and suffered a heavy defeat (2 Kings 14:8-12). At least Rehoboam had sense enough to listen to Shemaiah and to obey the Word of the Lord.
Accepting the loss did not mean giving up on the people of God.
Does this mean he settles down to a life of quiet ease and inaction? Does he no longer concern himself with the interests of the people of God? Far from it, for at once we read he becomes a builder... As we might say in our day, he "strengthened the things that remained." He also provided "stores of food, oil, and wine." He provided food for the people of God.
- Sent. With the kingdom in ruins, God sends a prophet. Commentators call this a great grace: God keeps speaking to His people after the collapse.
- Named. The message calls Rehoboam king of Judah only. It then reaches past him to Judah, Benjamin, and all the rest of the people.
- Stopped. God tells them the division came from Him. He would not sanction the war, and a guilty man has no right to punish the guilty.
- Still brothers. God forbids the sword, but not the search for reconciliation or the confessing of failure together.
- Building. Obedience spared a slaughter. Rehoboam then strengthened and fed what remained.
Thus saith Jehovah Go not up, nor fight with your brethren, the children of Israel; return every man to his house, for this thing is from me. And they hearkened to the word of Jehovah, and returned to depart, according to the word of Jehovah.
Rehoboam had lost ten of the twelve tribes in a day, and he gathered an army to take them back by force. God stopped him with one message through a prophet named Shemaiah: the split had come from God Himself.
The phrase "this thing is from me" points back to an earlier word spoken over Solomon.
He has to learn, and all Israel with him, that despite the division the ten tribes are still their "brethren." They are not to "go up nor fight against" them. Shemaiah, the man of God, tells Rehoboam why they must stop. It is because God says, "This thing is from Me." God had rebuked Solomon for his worldliness and disobedience to the Word of God, and said to him, "Since this is done by you… I will tear the kingdom from you." Now that the blow has fallen, God can say to Rehoboam, "This thing is from Me." To seek to undo the evil of Solomon may be right. To ignore the acts of God's government is certainly wrong.
The aim looked patriotic. That did not make it right.
Under the government of God this division of the kingdom was the punishment of the sins of Solomon, brought on by the folly of Rehoboam; it must therefore stand. To fight, then, to bring back the unity of the nation, good as the purpose might seem, was to fight against God. Rehoboam ought to have been thankful that God's love to David had left him even two tribes.
One man with a message turned a king back from war.
Now here is Shemaiah who turns Rehoboam from his plans of war. The role of the prophet was a great grace. It let relations between God and His people continue despite the ruin. Above all the prophet was the mouthpiece for the Word of God… Whoever followed this Word could be sure of good guidance and blessing. It is the same for us… Our prophet is the Word of God. God no longer gives us new revelations, as He did in times past, because He has already revealed everything to us. But when His Word speaks to us, let us respect it and not turn aside.
The ban was not only government. It was kindness.
It was mercy on God's part to send this message. Otherwise there might have been a terrible slaughter with no problem solved at all. Later, Amaziah, a king of Judah, launched a battle against Joash king of Israel, but suffered a crushing defeat. At least Rehoboam had sense enough to listen to Shemaiah and to obey the Word of the Lord.
God banned the sword. He did not ban the search for peace. That difference matters wherever believers are divided today.
Look carefully at that Old Testament story. God did not forbid His people to seek a righteous way of reconciliation, or to find out why the split had happened, or to confess their failure together. But He did forbid them to fight with their brethren… Where there has been general failure, it is best to drop the sword and for all to go to their knees. The division in Israel was God's condemnation on their evil state.
Rehoboam and the two tribes did the one thing open to them.
Very wisely Rehoboam and the two tribes stopped their efforts. As we read, they "obeyed the words of the Lord." They accept the humiliation and sorrow of the division and bow under the chastening hand of the Lord.
Submission here is not despair, because God had already set a boundary on the discipline.
They, the Lord's witnesses, ought to accept the division as the result of their sin. They ought to entrust themselves to God, who would know how to put things right once His judgment had run its course and borne its fruit. That is why Ahijah had said to Jeroboam: "And for this I will afflict the descendants of David, but not for ever."
- From Me — the torn kingdom was God's own act, His answer to Solomon's sin, not just the fallout of Rehoboam's folly.
- Against God — a war to force reunion, however good the aim looked, would have been a war against God Himself.
- Mercy — the ban saved Judah from a slaughter that would have solved nothing; Amaziah later ignored the lesson and lost his war.
- Brethren — God banned the sword, not reconciliation; when failure is general, drop the weapon and go to your knees.
- Not for ever — Rehoboam's part was to bow under God's hand; God's part was to limit the discipline and one day remedy it.