2 Chronicles 11:1 - Meaning and Application

The ten tribes had already deserted the house of David, as we saw in the previous chapter. They had long been loosely attached to that family (2 Samuel 20:1, 2), and now they completely broke away. They did not think about how much this would weaken the nation and pull Israel down from the high level it had reached in the previous reign. But God was correcting the kingdom as well as the house of David.

Rehoboam, at last, acted like a brave man and gathered an army, planning to bring the rebels back under his rule (2 Chronicles 11:1). Judah and Benjamin were not only willing to stay loyal to him, but also ready to help him recover his rightful rule. Judah was his own tribe, the tribe that had accepted him before the others did. Benjamin was the tribe where Jerusalem, or most of it, stood, which may be one reason it stayed with him.

Yet Rehoboam also acted like a careful man, because when God told him not to carry out this plan, he obeyed. He may have done this because he honored God’s authority, or because he knew he would not succeed by going against God’s command. If he tried to win back what he had lost, he might instead lose what he still had. It is dangerous to begin anything, especially war, if it goes against God’s will.

God calls him “Rehoboam the son of Solomon” (2 Chronicles 11:3), to show that this trouble had come because of Solomon’s sin. It would be pointless to fight against a decision God had already made. So they obeyed the word of the Lord. Even though this looked humiliating and would bring criticism from their neighbors, they laid down their weapons because God had said so.

Rehoboam then acted like a wise man and strengthened his own land. He saw that trying to bring back the rebels would not work. A few kind words might have kept them from breaking away, but now all the armies in his kingdom could not bring them back. The deed was done, and he had to accept it.

It may be that the same young advisers who had told him to answer the people harshly also urged him to fight anyway, despite God’s warning. He had already paid dearly for listening to them, so now, perhaps, he paid attention to older and wiser counselors. They likely told him to submit to God about what was lost and to focus on keeping what remained.

By their advice, he fortified the borders and many of the main cities in his kingdom, which had not needed defenses during Solomon’s peaceful reign. He also supplied them with plenty of food and weapons (2 Chronicles 11:11, 12). Since God forbade him to make war, he did not sit back in bitterness and do nothing for the safety of the people. He wisely prepared for attack. Those who cannot be conquerors can still be builders.