1 Kings 12:24

24 Thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel: return every man to his house; for this thing is from me. They hearkened therefore to the word of the LORD, and returned to depart, according to the word of the LORD.

1 Kings 12:24 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 12:24

Thus saith the Lord
A common preface the prophets used when they spoke in the name of the Lord:

ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of
Israel;
and that because they were their brethren; though that is not the only reason, another follows:

return every man to his house, for this thing is from me;
it was according to the will of God, as Josephus rightly says F15; it was by his ordination and appointment, though Jeroboam and the people sinned in the way and manner in which they brought it about; and therefore to fight against Israel, in order to regain the kingdom, would be fighting against God, and so to no purpose:

they hearkened therefore to the word of the Lord, and returned to
depart according to the word of the Lord;
they knew Shemaiah was a prophet of the Lord, and they believed the message he brought came from him, and therefore hearkened and were obedient to it; and with the consent of Rehoboam were disbanded, and returned to their habitations, being satisfied with, and submissive to, the will of God, both king and people.


FOOTNOTES:

F15 Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 8. c. 8. sect. 3.)

1 Kings 12:24 In-Context

22 But the word of God came unto Shemaiah the man of God, saying,
23 Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remnant of the people, saying,
24 Thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel: return every man to his house; for this thing is from me. They hearkened therefore to the word of the LORD, and returned to depart, according to the word of the LORD.
25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and went out from thence, and built Penuel.
26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David:
The King James Version is in the public domain.