Jim Gallagher

2 Chronicles 11:4

“Thus says the Lord: ‘You shall not go up or fight against your brethren! Let every man return to his house, for this thing is from Me.’  Therefore they obeyed the words of the Lord, and turned back from attacking Jeroboam.”

“Thus says The Lord” is a very common phrase in scripture. All in all, it is used over four hundred times. We find God speaking to priests,  prophets, kings and commoners. It becomes very clear that the problem is rarely with God being silent, and is more often with man refusing to listen and obey.

I am particularly encouraged by the use of “Thus says the lord” in this passage, because of who it was that God spoke to, and how he responded. The portrait the bible paints of Rehoboam makes it clear he was anything but a godly man. His self-will created division within the…