2 Chronicles 11:1-4·~1 min
Shemaiah’s Prophecy
Rehoboam prepares for battle against Israel, but the LORD sends Shemaiah with a command to stand down and send the men home. The threatened war ends before it begins because the division is said to be God’s doing.
W1hen Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mobilized the house of Judah and Benjamin — 180,000 chosen warriors — to fight against Israel and restore the kingdom to Rehoboam. 2But the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah the man of God: 3“Tell Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah and all the Israelites in Judah and Benjamin 4that this is what the LORD says: ‘You are not to go up and fight against your brothers. Each of you must return home, for this is My doing.’”
Section summaryRehoboam gathers a large army to recover the northern kingdom, but the LORD stops the campaign through Shemaiah. The split is not to be reversed by force, because the division has come under God’s own hand.
Role in the chapterThis opening section sets the terms for the chapter. Before Rehoboam builds or governs, he is made to receive the kingdom’s division as something the LORD has allowed and must not be answered with war.