“When Rehoboam arrived at Jerusalem, he mobilized the men of Judah and Benjamin—180,000 select troops—to fight against Israel and to restore the kingdom to himself. But the Lord said to Shemaiah, the man of God, “Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the Israelites in Judah and Benjamin: ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not fight against your relatives. Go back home, for what has happened is my doing!’” So they obeyed the message of the Lord and did not fight against Jeroboam. Rehoboam remained in Jerusalem and fortified various towns for the defense of Judah. He built up Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, Beth-zur, Soco, Adullam, Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron. These became the fortified towns of Judah and Benjamin. Rehoboam strengthened their defenses and stationed commanders in them, and he stored supplies of food, olive oil, and wine. He also put shields and spears in these towns as a further safety measure. So only Judah and Benjamin remained under his control. But all the priests and Levites living among the northern tribes of Israel sided with Rehoboam. The Levites even abandoned their pasturelands and property and moved to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons would not allow them to serve the Lord as priests. Jeroboam appointed his own priests to serve at the pagan shrines, where they worshiped the goat and calf idols he had made. From all the tribes of Israel, those who sincerely wanted to worship the Lord, the God of Israel, followed the Levites to Jerusalem, where they could offer sacrifices to the Lord, the God of their ancestors. This strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and for three years they supported Rehoboam son of Solomon, for during those years they faithfully followed in the footsteps of David and Solomon.”
‭‭‬‬

2 Chronicles‬ ‭11‬:‭1‬-‭17‬ ‭NLT

This was a trying time for Rehoboam. He found himself struggling to keep control after pledging to oppress his people. Because of this, there was a rightful revolt. Yet what Rehoboam didn’t expect was that it was a divinely sanctioned revolt. Jeroboam may have thought himself the leader, but in fact, God was allowing his success. This may seem ironic given Jeroboam’s illegitimate claim to the throne and his rampant idolatry, yet the text is plain. God turned Rehoboam’s assault away because Jeroboam’s rebellion was sanctioned. This brings up two points. First is that this point of discovery, in David, would’ve brought about repentance. Here it only pushed his grandson to double down and shore up his defenses. Clearly David did not transfer his spirit of repentance to Solomon in a strong enough way that he felt it worth ensuring. This could’ve been a point of restoration; instead, it sealed the fracture. Second is that Gods hand moves regardless of the intent of persons. The sanctioning of the rebellion wasn’t about Jeroboam. We can see very clearly that it caused a polarization amongst Israel. It helped to cull the idolatry from the nation. It also helped to consolidate the godly people into Jerusalem, specifically moving the priesthood toward the temple. This would be important later on for the fulfillment of God’s prophecy that Jerusalem would be the seat of religious authority amongst the nations. God had not abandoned Rehoboam or Israel, but Rehoboam had abandoned God. He should’ve repented rather than recoiled and pulled from the heart of his grandfather to revive the nations.

Divine Intervention: God sanctioned Jeroboam’s revolt against Rehoboam, highlighting God’s sovereignty despite human actions.

Rehoboam’s Response: Rehoboam’s lack of repentance and doubling down on defenses contrasted with David’s spirit of repentance, ultimately contributing to the nation’s fracture.

God’s Purpose: God’s sanctioning of the revolt aimed to cull idolatry, consolidate godly people in Jerusalem, and fulfill the prophecy of Jerusalem as the seat of religious authority.