‘Thus
says the Lord, “You shall not go up or fight against your relatives; return
every man to his house, for this thing is from Me.” ’ (v. 4)
Here in
chapter 11 we see Rehoboam ready to go to war against his own brethren to
reunite the kingdom through force. But God speaks through the prophet Shemaiah
to restrain Rehoboam’s hand from it, and to his credit, he listened.
So what
should we take from these last two chapters then? In chapter 10 the Lord
allowed the division of Israel, but here in chapter 11 He seems to be against
its unification. I’m sure division is never God’s first or best choice, just as
I am also sure that bringing about a desired result through force is not either.
However, He can work in our lives through subtraction or separation, if we
allow Him to guide the way.
Family
infighting, husband and wife disagreements, scriptural interpretation,
differences of opinion from money to politics, can all lead to a battle against someone we love and
create division. But, instead of going to war against a family member, we should
pull back, remove ourselves from the situation, find a quite place and seek
God’s will - for all things come through His hand to us for our learning.
Sometimes
our lives need to be purged of junk, like cleaning out a closet. Therefore, let the Lord add to your life by subtracting the
junk from it. You've probably been at war long enough.
The Truth
“Finally,
brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one
mind, live in peace. And the God of love
and peace will be with you.” (2 Corinthians 13:11)
