1 and 2 Chronicles
form a unique part of our canon of Scripture.
The Septuagint gave direction to both the positioning of the books in
our Old Testament (before Ezra—Nehemiah) and also the
separating of the two books from one. "Chronicles
is the last book in the Old Testament in the Hebrew ordering of the Bible."[1] These two books include the genealogical tables from Adam to the time of
Ezra, the history of Saul, David and Solomon, including the history of various
kings in the kingdom of Judah from the division of the kingdom to the
Babylonian captivity. "Chronicles presents the people of God as organized around two
central institutions, the Davidic throne and the Jerusalem temple."[2] For those of us who know
our Biblical Theology we can readily see that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment
of both of those themes:
“And behold, you will conceive in your
womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and
will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the
throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his kingdom there will be no end.”” (Luke 1:31–33, ESV)
“Jesus answered them, “Destroy this
temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has
taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three
days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body. When therefore he was
raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they
believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.” (John 2:19–22,
ESV)
Why the history lesson? These books are post-exilic, meaning they
were written to the Israelites who lived through the Exile. Perhaps like orphaned children there was a
need to remind them of their roots. Or more specifically, to remind them that
they do have roots. The emphasis on the
fact that they are part of God's plan for the ages was a good encouragement to
them. "The Chronicler sought to address some urgent questions in his day
concerning the identity of Israel and to instill fresh confidence in the
people."[3] It also answered questions as to why they went through the years of
captivity. "These books are
intended to answer the questions that were surely at the front of everyone’s
mind: Has God rejected us completely? Do we have a future with him? What
confidence can we have that God still cares about us?"[4]
The record of constant failures of kings
and leaders would beg the question and permit the answer, "Does God's
promise of a king still exist?" The
key verses are 2 Chronicles 7:17–18
(ESV),
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 chose to rule his people through the Davidic kings. The books of
Chronicles show that when those kings fulfilled the demands of God’s law—the
instructions for personal and communal life—God blessed his people with life,
with meaning and purpose, with security and significance, and with clear
direction. We can be encouraged in the fact that our Davidic king, Jesus
Christ, has perfectly kept the covenant’s demands and so has achieved for us,
his subjects, true life. As we follow our King, as faithful citizens of his
kingdom, we will experience that life more and more."[5]
History and genealogy give us a link to the
past. They connect us with God's
promises. They show us man's inability
to live spiritually productive without Christ.
They humble us as we look to the only Hope that any person has: Jesus
Christ.
[1] Evans, P. S. (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015).
Chronicles, First and Second Books of. In J. D. Barry, D. Bomar, D. R. Brown,
R. Klippenstein, D. Mangum, C. Sinclair Wolcott, … W. Widder (Eds.), The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham,
WA: Lexham Press.
[2] Whitlock, L. G., Sproul, R. C., Waltke, B.
K., & Silva, M. (1995). The
Reformation study Bible: bringing the light of the Reformation to Scripture:
New King James Version (1 Ch 1:1). Nashville: T. Nelson.
[3] Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 701). Wheaton,
IL: Crossway Bibles.
[4] Williams, M. (2012). How to Read the Bible through the Jesus Lens: A Guide to Christ-Focused
Reading of Scripture (p. 53). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
[5] Williams, M. (2012). How to Read the Bible through the Jesus Lens: A Guide to Christ-Focused
Reading of Scripture (p. 56). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
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