We begin July with a blog on 1-2 Chronicles. Admittedly, these two books don’t appear to be the most exciting among Old Testament books. Readers making their way through the Bible come to 1-2 Chronicles and might experience them as a more boring “re-do” of 1-2 Samuel and 1-2 Kings. This is unfortunate. There is much rich storytelling and deep theology that can bless and instruct us as Christian readers of Scripture. Let’s cover these two books to see how God might teach us about hope in God’s faithfulness and the centrality of worship.
A RE-TELLING OF ISRAEL’S HISTORY
A good starting point for understanding 1-2 Chronicles is to see it as a re-telling of Israel’s history. When comparing 1-2 Chronicles with the books of 1-2 Samuel and 1-2 Kings, it’s clear that the author knew and consciously re-told this story. Also, it’s important to note that through the genealogy in 1 Chronicles 1-9, the author’s re-telling of Israel’s history begins with creation. The story of 1-2 Chronicles also goes further forward in time – to the beginning of the return from exile. Because these two books cover so much similar ground as 1-2 Samuel and 1-2 Kings, we will not review all of these books’ events.
So, what makes 1-2 Chronicles unique among these historical books? Here are some key distinctions:
1. They go into greater detail concerning the reigns of certain kings.
2. They focus on the reigns of the Davidic monarchy, with nearly exclusive attention given to the southern kingdom after the division of the monarchy.
3. They omit certain negative material about the reigns of certain Davidic kings, especially David and Solomon, in order to focus on the more positive aspects of their reigns.
4. They give most of their attention to the Davidic monarchy and worship at the Temple in Jerusalem.
We’re going to spend the rest of our time unpacking these distinctions, with most of our energy given to the last one.
THE DAVIDIC MONARCHY
Let’s start with the Davidic monarchy. In 1 Chronicles 17:1-15, God had promised to give David and his descendants a royal dynasty that would last forever. You might recall from the blog on 1-2 Samuel that David had requested to build for God a temple, which would be a house for God. Instead of fulfilling this request, God promised to David a house, that is, a royal dynasty.
Included in God’s response through the prophet Nathan was the warning that God would discipline any kings who were unfaithful to God and his covenant. Later generations were, in fact, unfaithful, and God ultimately brought covenant curses upon the king and the nation. Destruction and exile came upon the northern and then southern kingdoms after the nation had split in two.
It seems that 1-2 Chronicles was written after the return from exile had begun. The question on the returnees’ minds and hearts was, “What future does God have for us as his people?” To answer this question, they looked at God’s ancient promises to his people in the past. God’s covenant commitment to David and his royal line proved to be a wellspring of hope for God’s people as they returned to the Promised Land. This accounts for the Chronicler’s focus on the Davidic monarchy and the more positive portrayal of these kings. God’s people knew about the consequences of their sins. Now, they needed to look to the future in hope!
WORSHIP AT THE JERUSALEM TEMPLE
It’s been said that 1-2 Chronicles are a tale of two houses. The first house is the house of David, and the second house is the house of God, the temple. It would be David’s son, Solomon, who would build the temple in Jerusalem. In 1-2 Chronicles, we learn much about David’s part in preparing God’s people, especially the leadership, for worship and more about the workings of the temple.
As the narrator evaluates each king and their leadership of the nation, it is in terms of religious commitment. We saw this in 1-2 Kings. It is even more important in 1-2 Chronicles. To be more specific, the emphasis is on their faithfulness to worship at the Jerusalem temple. In addition to this, we hear more about prayer at the temple and the importance of repentance. God’s prophets were at work. King and people were given opportunity to seek the Lord and experience healing for the nation. So, we can see more of a developed spirituality in these two books in comparison with 1-2 Kings.
LESSONS ABOUT WORSHIP
Let’s conclude with some lessons about worship. A great passage to see all these themes come together is 2 Chronicles 7:11-18, which is part of a vision that God gave Solomon after he completed building his palace and the house of God:
11 Thus Solomon finished the house of the Lord and the king’s house. All that Solomon had planned to do in the house of the Lord and in his own house he successfully accomplished. 12 Then the Lord appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice. 13 When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, 14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. 16 For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that my name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time. 17 And as for you, if you will walk before me as David your father walked, doing according to all that I have commanded you and keeping my statutes and my rules, 18 then I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to rule Israel.’
God knew that the king and people would succumb to the power of sin. But God also offered a path of prayerful repentance. We can see here the need for God’s people to humble themselves before God, to seek God’s face, and to turn from their wicked ways. Worship is a whole-life response to the mercies of God, so repentance involves every aspect of our lives. To exiles returning to the land, this would be good news. Just as they were offered repentance and restoration, so, too, were God’s people as they were returning to rebuild the temple and restore the nation.
This is the same path of repentance that Jesus laid out for his disciples, when he announced this at the beginning of his ministry in Mark 1:15:
“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
You see, discipleship started long before Jesus. With Jesus, it comes to its fulfillment. The same God that was at work in the Old Testament is made known to us fully in the person and work of Jesus. Let us take seriously the power of sin and even more seriously the gracious power of God to those who repent and rely on the grace of our King Jesus.
Blessings, Dean Bobar
Year in the Bible 