What the Bible Says About Civil War and National Division: Lessons from Israel's Ancient Split

In the 21st century, war between nations isn’t as common as in the past. True, there is a real threat of world war and nuclear destruction. But the smaller skirmishes between neighboring nation-states that were so common in earlier eras have become rarer in our times of economic interdependence.

On the other hand, civil wars have gone from being a rarity to a common scourge.

According to American political scientist Barbara F. Walter, author of How Civil Wars Start, in 1870, there were almost no civil wars being fought. By 1992, there were more than 50. And the number has jumped in the new century.

Since there are just under 200 countries on earth, that means the rate of civil war at a given moment is about one in four.

Here in the United States, civil war is the greatest tragedy in our national history. And there are increasing fears that a repeat could be in our future.

In 2022, a YouGov poll showed that two in five Americans believed that a new civil war was at least somewhat likely in the next decade.

So it’s clear that civil war is a very relevant topic for research and study in our nation and world today.

For centuries, philosophers and theologians have debated and refined just war theory – the ethical framework for when war among nations is appropriate and how it should be waged. The Bible and early Christian thought are often consulted. But little attention is given to understanding the causes, ethics and solutions of war within nations.

But we often forget that if we are looking at Scripture for examples and principles, there is much to say about civil war and division.

In fact, Israel – the focus of most of the Old Testament – underwent a pivotal, if largely forgotten, division around 930 B.C. While major bloodshed was averted, the nation’s split into a northern and southern kingdom was one of the main turning points in ancient Jewish history.

An extended discussion of the spiritual, economic and political forces at play is provided in I Kings 11-12 and II Chronicles 10-11.

Though we aren’t ancient Israel, there are doubtless lessons we can learn to understand what is occurring when nations divide.

Here are a few points that stand out.

1.????? Division Can Come Right After a Nation’s Peak

In the 10th century B.C., Israel was at its peak as a power in the world, under the rule of David and Solomon. For the only time in history, a large section of the Middle East was under Israelite control. And Israel was world renowned for its wealth and wise administration.

The death of Solomon changed all that.

His son, King Rehoboam, faced the defection of 10 tribes (the kingdom was organized into 12 tribal entities).

And during Rehoboam’s reign, Pharoah Shishak of Egypt invaded the southern kingdom of Judah and looted official treasures.

Picture yourself alive in those days and imagine the stunning turn of events from glory days to division and foreign invasion in just a few years!

What a reminder to nations throughout history not to rest on their laurels and always be vigilant both within and without.

2.????? Division Started Within the Individual

It has been said that Solomon’s divided heart led to a divided kingdom.

After chapters of recounting the glories that were Solomon’s, I Kings 11 tells the story of the spiritual decline at the end of his 40-year-reign.

Solomon married many wives and established a large harem of concubines, a common practice among world rulers of his day, though one specifically forbidden by God in Deuteronomy 17:17.

This international collection of women brought with them their own religious beliefs, which ended up being practiced in Israel alongside the faith handed down by Moses centuries earlier.

Solomon’s own loyalties became divided between these different faiths and practices.

Parallels can be drawn both with America’s Civil War in the 1860s and today’s division.

Generations before the debate over slavery erupted into armed conflict, the Founding Fathers were divided, not only among themselves but also within themselves about whether slavery could exist in the new nation. Ultimately, they never took a concerted stand. And their indecision planted the seeds of a future conflict that a future generation would fight.

Looking at today’s American moment, consider how conservative/liberal debate being waged today is the descendent of the hypocrisy and duality that existed in many Americans’ lives a few decades ago.

It wasn’t long ago when outspoken Christian evangelist Billy Graham was among the most admired men in America. But the majority was also embracing seemingly contrary practices such as casino gambling and the sexual revolution.

The opposing sides of the culture war eventually aligned in sharp opposition to each other. But it started as a war within the individual for their own heart’s allegiance.

3.????? Despite a Peak of Prosperity, Economic Trouble Was Brewing Beneath the Surface

“Your father made our yoke heavy; now therefore, lighten the burdensome service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.”

That’s the cry of the people to their new king, Rehoboam, as recorded in I Kings 12:4.

After accounts of the splendor of Solomon’s kingdom in previous chapters, this cry for justice might seem out of place.

But it is a reminder that even during prosperous times, there is often a large section of society that is left behind during the good times. And that inequality can set the stage for future division.

The Biblical account tells us that high taxes and forced labor made possible Solomon’s great building projects and construction exploits.

No doubt, Solomon’s wealth did raise the standard of living for many of his subjects. But certainly not for all. And servitude to a monarch was a difficult plight for many of the freedom-loving Israelites to accept.

Putting things together, we surmise that there was a two-fold division in Israelite society: a spiritual one (worship of God as dictated by the Mosaic law vs. additional worship of foreign deities) and an economic one (the wealthy class that had gotten richer and richer vs. the working class that was falling behind).

Doesn’t that sound like America today? Aren’t we divided both in the sense of a culture war and economic inequality?

As the decades had gone by, the wealthy class in Israel had become further and further removed from the plight of the working poor.

Rehoboam’s grandfather, David, was a shepherd boy turned king. David had experienced a life of deprivation and hardship before ascending to the throne. David had the people’s hearts as one of their own.

David’s son Solomon would know nothing of living a less than royal life.

And Rehoboam’s generation was so out of touch that the king’s peers roughly and carelessly blamed the people for their plight and threatened them with worse taxes and overlordship.

“My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scourges!” (I Kings 12:14).

Clearly, any rapport between king and commoner was lost.

4.????? Division, Not Civil War, Was God’s Plan

This is perhaps the most interesting aspect of the story. Listen to God's words to Solomon:

“Because you…have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. Nevertheless I will not do it in your days, for the sake of your father David; I will tear it out of the hand of your son. However I will not tear away the whole kingdom; I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen” (I Kings 11:11-13).

God promised national division as the consequence of Solomon’s divided loyalties.

Yet when King Rehoboam attempted to subdue the rebellious northern tribes and bring them back into the fold through military force, God said, “You shall not go up nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel. Let every man return to his house, for this thing is from Me.” (I Kings 12:24).

With all the conquest and violence in the Old Testament, it is noteworthy that war within Israel was forbidden.

If that was true in Israel, why would we think that civil war would be God’s will in a Gentile nation never part of a covenant relationship with the Lord?

Though perhaps some extreme exception might exist, I Kings 12:24 strongly suggests that civil war is not just war.

At the same time, division of a nation may sometimes be the right course when the vision is just so different. There may be times when working together becomes impossible. A peaceful secession could be the best solution when all else fails, since there can come a time when national unity is no longer possible.

As Jesus Christ said in Matthew 12:25: "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand."

Other than foreign invasion, internal division is the most common way empires and great powers come to an end. But this conclusion need not be a bloodbath. Division does not have to equal destruction.

5.????? When a Nation Divides, the Winner and Loser Aren’t Always Apparent

If you lived in Rehoboam’s time, you’d probably think that the Northern Kingdom, consisting of 10 tribes, was the victor in the division. After all, it had more people and more territory.

But the student of Biblical history knows that while the Northern Kingdom went into Assyrian captivity and was scattered, never to exist again as a national entity, the Southern Kingdom would last longer and reappear in history several times.

In fact, the term “Jew” comes from “Judah,” the name for the Southern Kingdom. “Judaism” means “the religion of Judah.”

And it is through the Southern Kingdom of Judah that Jesus Christ would come.

Perhaps a reminder that the full implications of a national divorce aren’t clear in a generation. Only in the hindsight of history can we fully understand it.

?