Did God do this?

From II Chronicles 10 - 12:

1. I wonder why Jeroboam fled while Solomon was alive, but was not afraid to come back during at the beginning of the reign of his son? I mean, when Solomon took the reign from David, David instructed him about certain individuals that were a threat to the kingdom - see I Kings 2:5-10 for a reference. As a result of this, these enemies of the kingdom were put to death when Solomon took over the reign. One would think that Solomon would do likewise and instruct his son about his enemies (these are recorded in I Kings 11:14-40). I am guessing that Solomon had begun to lose the wisdom that God blessed him with. This began when he began following after the gods of his wives. God gives talents and blessings, but many forget that He can take them away just as easily as He gives them (Job 1:20b - "...The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away...") Otherwise one would think that Solomon would instruct his children about who his enemies were (and thus, enemies of the government). Then, when Jeroboam came back, he would have been walking right back to his demise.

2. We can see from Rehoboam and the way in which he chooses to respond that he is following the evil desires of his youth when he decides to follow the ill advice given by his young friends. Psalms 94:3-4 says this: "How long will the wicked, O LORD, how long will the wicked be jubilant? They pour out arrogant words; all the evildoers are full of boasting." Rehoboam was doing exactly this when he responded to the Israelites, being arrogant and boasting instead of being compassionate. (Psalms 112:4 emphasizes the importance of compassion and how God blesses those who are compassionate.)
Notice that both of the verses that I cited about the situation were found in Psalms. These were (likely) writings from David, or at least were likely available by the time of Rehoboam. Too bad that he did not read them.

3. Did God do this? - In II Chronicles 11:4, God tells the kingdom of Judah (as it would become after this split) not to go to war with what would become the kingdom of Israel. He says it is His doing (the split). Perhaps the appropriate way to phrase this would be that He allowed it because of Solomon's sins (and Rehoboam's subsequent arrogance / boasts). It is important to understand that all good things come from God. This was not a good thing for the Israelite nation, but it was as a result of sin, so God allowed it. This is similar to some of the bad things that have happened recently to the US. The planes that ran into the World Trade Centers were allowed to do this because the US (as a nation) has continued to walk apart from God (and continues to get further away).

4. In II Chronicles 12:13 it records that Rehoboam was 41 years old when he became king. If you refer back to item #2 you will see that Rehoboam acted immaturely and rashly. It is interesting to see how he acted so immaturely at the age of 41. I have always maintained that age is not always the best indicator of maturity, but rather the degree to which one follows God's word is more of an indicator. This is why I Timothy 4:12 instructs Timothy not to worry about his age, but rather to be an example for others to follow.