2 Chronicles 11:1

2 Chronicles 11:1 says, And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he gathered of the house of Judah and Benjamin an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against Israel, that he might bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam.  When Rehoboam got back to Jerusalem, he gathered a hundred and eighty thousand warriors from Judah and Benjamin, the two tribes still loyal to him, to fight against Israel and bring them under his rule again.  We should never go to war with other Christians for any purpose.  Verse two adds, But the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying,  While Rehoboam was preparing for war, God's word came to Shemiah, the man of God.  I think it is important to note that during all his actions, we see no mention of Rehoboam seeking God's will for what he should do, but now God was going to tell him anyway.  If believe that if we are one of God's people, even if we aren't seeking His guidance, He is still going to let us know what we should be doing.  Verse three continues, Speak unto Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying,  God told Shemiah he had a message for Rehoboam and for all the people of Judah and Benjamin.  God still applies to all Christians, and not just one or two, but if He has a work for us to do or if He wants to prevent us from doing something that is wrong He may send His message by a particular individual.  If He does, the message will always be consistent with His written word.  Verse four concludes, Thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren: return every man to his house: for this thing is done of me. And they obeyed the words of the Lord, and returned from going against Jeroboam.  God told them not to go to war against their brothers because He was behind their actions.  Since God was with the people of Israel, Rehoboam could only hope to not lose what he had left if he went to war with Israel.  If we fight against what God has ordained, we can only hope that we don't lose what we have left in this world.  Verse five states, And Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem, and built cities for defence in Judah.  Rehoboam listened to God's word, so at least he had that much wisdom.  He stayed in Jerusalem and built up cities for defense.  The next several verses just tell us the names of cities he built up.  Verse six adds, He built even Bethlehem, and Etam, and Tekoa, Verse seven continues, And Bethzur, and Shoco, and Adullam,  Verse eight says, and Gath, and Mareshah, and Ziph,  Verse nine adds, And Adoraim, and Lachish, and Azekah,  Verse ten continues, And Zorah, and Aijalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and in Benjamin fenced cities.  These were all cities within Judah and Benjamin and were built up for defense instead of being built to attack the rest of the nation of Israel.  I think sometimes instead of looking to reconcile with other Christians we can fortify our defense of our opposition against them.  Had Rehoboam been obedient to God, he would have had no reason to have a divided kingdom and fear those who were a part of God's people.  Verse eleven states, And he fortified the strong holds, and put captains in them, and store of victual, and of oil and wine.  Rehoboam fortified these cities with troops and supplies.  I believe we too often look to the things of this world to protect us as followers of Christ instead of looking to God by faith.  Verse twelve adds, And in every several city he put shields and spears, and made them exceeding strong, having Judah and Benjamin on his side.  Rehoboam put weapons of war in these cities, since he still had Judah and Benjamin on his side.  I believe he would have been much better off by relenting and seeking God's guidance, and I know that we are much better off relying on God than on anything else in the world to keep us safe today.