Realizing his empire was divided, Rehoboam sought to reunite it by force. But the Lord sent a prophet, saying, “Don’t fight your brethren in striving for unity.”

The Lord never desired division, but He allowed it. Why? Under the reign of Solomon that lasted forty years, Israel experienced incredible prosperity. But at the same time, the nation was cracking and crumbling because of moral decay. So the Lord would actually allow the kingdom to split in order to save it.

From this, I understand that sometimes, although division is not the Lord’s best, He sometimes allows it to accomplish His purpose. In Acts 2, we read that the Lord added to the church such as should be saved. In Acts 6, we read that the Lord multiplied the church. But in between Acts 2 and Acts 6 is Acts 5 - where we see not addition, not multiplication, but subtraction. Ananias and Sapphira were subtracted because they lied to the Holy Spirit. So, before there could be a further explosion of growth in the church, there first had to be a purging of the church.

In my own life, this same principle holds true. The Lord adds to my life and wants to multiply abundantly. But He sees He must do some subtracting first. So a season of purging follows. So too, if you’re wondering why you’re being purged, why you seem to be in a season of subtraction or division, it could very well be because the Lord is getting ready to do a great work of multiplication through you.