1 Kings 12:21

“And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, &e.] From Shechem, which was forty miles f313 from Jerusalem: he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon; which not only shows courage reassumed by Rehoboam, now safely home, but the hearty attachment of Judah and Benjamin to him, who raised presently so numerous an army in his favour; and had it not been that the Lord was against their going to battle with Israel, in all probability they might have gained their point, Jeroboam being scarcely settled in his kingdom, and…”

“The adhesion of Benjamin to Judah at this time comes upon us as a surprise. By blood Benjamin was far more closely connected with Ephraim than with Judah. All the traditions of Benjamin were antagonistic to Judah, and hitherto the weak tribe had been accustomed to lean constantly on its strong northern neighhour. But it would seem that, in the half-century which had elapsed since the revolt of Sheba, the son of Bichri 2 Samuel 20:1, the feelings of the Benjamites had undergone a complete change. This is best accounted for by the establishment of the religious and political capital at Jerusalem, on the border line of the two tribes Joshua 15:8; Joshua 18:16, from where it resulted that the…”

“12:21-24 Rehoboam resolved to restore the kingdom to himself by force, but he turned back when confronted with the message of the Lord through Shemaiah. The expression man of God emphasizes a prophet’s relationship to the Lord as his messenger. God’s prophets played a leading role in the history of the divided kingdom. Shemaiah apparently authored a history of Rehoboam’s reign (2 Chr 12:15).”

“when Rehoboam: Ch2 11:1-3 an hundred: Ch1 21:5; Ch2 14:8, Ch2 14:11, Ch2 17:14-19; Pro 21:30, Pro 21:31 3 Kings (1 Kings) 12:22”