2 Chronicles 11:4 - Considerations of Division from the Origin of the Divided Kingdoms.

2 Chronicles 11:4: Considerations of Division from the Origin of 
the Divided Kingdoms. 

2 Chronicles 11:4 (NIV)  'This is what the LORD says: Do not go 
up to fight against your brothers. Go home, every one of you, for 
this is my doing.'" So they obeyed the words of the LORD and turned 
back from marching against Jeroboam. 

2 Chronicles 11:4 (CWR)  This is what the Lord says, 'Do not 
fight against your brothers to the north.  I want you to go home.  
What happened was my doing.'"  The king and his troops listened, then 
returned home and did not attack their brothers as they had planned. 

It was not, of course, God's will that David's kingdom should be 
divided into two monarchies. God's will was that the Israelites should 
walk in His ways and continue to grow until by their missionary 
efforts they had proclaimed His name to all the earth. But when the 
Israelites walked in their own ways and forsook the Lord, His protecting 
hand was withdrawn, and forces of disruption inevitably had their 
way. It was to this extent that the division of the kingdom was from 
God. [SDA Commentary] 

While the nations rejected God's principles, and in this 
rejection wrought their own ruin, it was still manifest that the divine, 
overruling purpose was working through all their movements.  {Ed 177.1} 

A few good words might have prevented the rebellion of 
Rehoboam's subjects; but all the force of his kingdom cannot bring them 
back. And it is in vain to contend with the purpose of God, when it is 
made known to us. [Matthew Henry Commentary Concise] 

Why would God support this rebellion? It was part of the 
nation's punishment for turning away from God (1 Kings 11:11). It may 
also have been God's way of saving Rehoboam's smaller kingdom from 
defeat. In doing so, God preserved David's line and kept intact his plan 
for the Messiah to be a descendant of David (see 2 Samuel 7:16). 
When we see division, especially in a church that splits, we wonder 
what God would have us do. God desires unity, but while we should 
always work toward reconciliation, we must recognize that only God 
knows the future. He may allow a division in order to fulfill his 
greater purposes. [Life Application SB] 

Some divisions are of God (11:4), even though they create 
problems and cause hurts. For one thing, divisions force people to make 
decisions, and the decisions they make reveal the kind of people they are. 
[Chapter by Chapter Bible Commentary by Warren Wiersbe]