The books of Chronicles connect the branches of the family tree for Israel and traces Israel’s history back through time and culture. This tracing provided Israel with an extensive genealogy and relational path to provide the people a sense of identity, heritage, and destiny (1 Chronicles 17:21-22). The Chronicler traces the roots of Israel from Adam onward, recounting its royal line, and the loving plan of God for His chosen people. Few people will enjoy reading the books of Chronicles with its many lists and genealogies. Yet, the books of Chronicles reveal God’s unshakable faithfulness and promises to His people. If you are a believer of Jesus Christ, these people are your ancestors too.
The book of Kings ended with both Israel and Judah in foreign captivity and revealed a dark age for God's people. Israel had been broken into two kingdoms (Israel in the north and Judah in the south) in 931 B.C. upon King Solomon’s death. In 722 B.C., the northern kingdom of Israel were invaded and destroyed by the Assyrians. Then, the southern kingdom of Judah was destroyed and fell in 586 B.C. at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. By 586 B.C., Israel lay in ruins. The Temple was burned, the walls of the city were broken down, and the people were deported to a foreign land. The Israelites had disobeyed God and His righteous standards, worshipped other gods, and only did what was right in their own eyes. As a result, God brought His judgment upon His people and they were carried off into foreign captivity. The people had forgotten to first and foremost trust and rely upon God for their power, wisdom, and wealth.
The books that follow Israel and Judah’s fall are the books of Chronicles. Chronicles were written to the Jews returning from foreign exile and rebuilding Jerusalem following their seventy-year Babylonian captivity. The writer of Chronicles is selective in his retelling of Israel’s history. Instead of writing an exhaustive work, the Chronicler highlights certain narratives of Israel’s history to teach them about their royal heritage. The Chronicler virtually ignored the northern kingdom in his retelling Israel’s royal history as the northern kingdom had no good kings. The northern kingdom had only a succession of only evil kings that lead the people away from God.
The books of Chronicles parallel the books of Samuel and Kings. The Septuagint (the pre-Christian Greek translation of the Old Testament) refers to the books of Chronicles as “the things omitted,” indicating that its translators regarded the books of Chronicles as a supplement to the books of Samuel and Kings. Chronicles has a freshness and flavor all its own. However, Chronicles’ focus is on David, Solomon and the kingdom of Judah. The writer of Chronicles viewed David and Solomon as victorious and great men with no failures or sins. Most important, Israel experienced its golden age during David and Solomon’s reigns. Israel was considered a respected world power with wealth, a Temple, and wisdom. The Chronicler wanted the Jews to re-establish their royal connections to the good kings of their history.
The books Chronicles (1 and 2 Chronicles) were originally one book in the Hebrew text. They became separated into two books by the translators of the Greek version of the Old Testament. Essentially, the books of Chronicles trace and summarize Israel's history from the beginning of the human race with Adam until the fall of Jerusalem and the subsequent return of the Jews during the reign of the Persian king, Cyrus the Great (559–529 B.C.). Cyrus, king of Persia, authorized the Jews to return to their homeland (538 B.C.). Those Jews who wished to return were allowed to return to the land to rebuild the Jerusalem Temple and their city. The returning Jewish community needed encouragement and a sense of family unity. Chronicles established continuity between the pre-exilic Israel of the past and the post-exilic present. Upon returning, the people had no king and subject to Persia’s governance. The Chronicler wanted the people to know of God’s continued love and faithfulness to His people as the everlasting King and their special spiritual heritage with Him as God.
The genealogical of Chronicles moves from the list of righteous people who lived before the Flood, to the sons of Noah and then to the Messianic line in Shem. This line is then traced to Abraham onward to David’s line, Israel’s greatest king (1 Chronicles chapters 11 – 29), where the Messiah would come. In fact, the writer of Chronicles stresses the Davidic kingship line because a son of David would occupy his throne forever. This Son was Jesus the Messiah (1 Chronicles 17:12-14). These genealogies are completed by those recorded in the New Testament (cf. Matthew 1:1–17; Luke 3:23–38). Israel's past formed a reliable basis for reconstructing the nation after their foreign exile away from God’s Promised Land. Many of the people needed hope and encouragement to begin again. The people had to be reminded that God’s covenant promises to Israel was still in force, and that He would complete His redemptive purposes in the world (Philippians 1:6). So, the Chronicler reminded the people of God’s still future blessings that would culminate in Jesus Christ.
The books of Chronicles are similar to the books of Samuel and Kings but they by no means are identical. Four main parts compromise the historical account of the books of Chronicles: (1) genealogies from Adam to postexilic Judah (1 Chronicles chapters 1 – 9); reigns of David and Solomon (1 Chronicles 10 through 2 Chronicles 9); Judah’s reign during the divided kingdom (2 Chronicles chapter 10 – 28); Judah’s reign as a sole kingdom (2 Chronicles chapters 29 – 36). In the same way that there are four accounts of the life of Jesus Christ in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, there are two accounts of the history of God’s people with the books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles. These books offer different historical perspectives of Israel. While the books of Samuel and Kings were written to those in exile, the books of Chronicles also addressed the post-exilic community returning from captivity.
Particularly, there are some notable differences in the Chronicler’s retelling of Israel history and the books of Samuel and Kings. In fact, several discrepancies and contradictions between Chronicles and the record in Samuel and Kings have caused liberal critics to doubt Chronicles’ historical trustworthiness and reliability. Some critics even called Chronicles nothing but historical fiction. Where Chronicles parallels material Samuel and Kings, the writer of Chronicles was accused of glorifying Israel’s past through exaggerated numbers and other changes in his sources. However, the details included in Chronicles were not intended to be exhaustive. The Chronicler emphasized the Davidic line. Therefore, King Saul is mentioned only in passing; and the rebellious northern kingdom, not of the faithful or Davidic line, is mentioned only where the northern history concerns the southern kingdom. Also, many displeasing details of the kings are omitted (e.g., David’s sin with Bathsheba, Absalom’s rebellion, Adonijah’s usurpation of the throne, Solomon’s many foreign wives, etc.). Even the history of Elijah and Elisha and their ministry in the northern kingdom is omitted.
Concerning numbers of Chronicles, sometimes the writer of Chronicles used larger numbers in its statistics than its parallel accounts in Samuel or Kings (e.g., cf. 2 Samuel 24:9 and I Chronicles 21:5). Other times, the number in Chronicles is smaller than the parallel passages (e.g., cf. I Kings 4:26 and 2 Chronicles 9:25). Yet, many prominent biblical scholars have explained the number variants because the system of numerical notation used in ancient times was difficult to determine. Other biblical scholars believe most numerical discrepancies can be attributed to variant transmission.
Importantly, the writer of Chronicles writes to encourage the nation to return wholeheartedly to God. Only by faithfully following God and seeking Him would they as a nation prosper and be healed (see e.g., 1 Chronicles 4:9-10 -prayer of Jabez; 2 Chronicles 7:14). “If My people, who are called by My Name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14). The Chronicler retells of the tragic result of idolatry and the people’s failure to place God first place in their lives. The writer of Chronicler reminded the people that God must be faithfully love, worshipped, and obeyed. The Chronicler aimed to reunite the nation around the true worship of God after their exile so the people would look only to God for their strength, protection, and guidance.
The writer of Chronicles records the king’s achievements and failures and noted how each king measured up to God's righteous standard. A good king faithfully obeyed God's laws, eliminated the places of idol worship, and made no alliances with other foreign nations for their help. For example, in 2 Chronicles chapters 29 through 32, Hezekiah is presented as a model of moral obedience and ensuring blessings by the framework “he did what was right in the sight of/before the Lord” (2 Chronicles 29:2; 2 Chronicles 31:20). Significantly, the writer of Chroniclers stressed that as a king was faithful, obedient, and devoted to God, they experienced prosperity, rest, honor, fame, a victorious army, building projects, and tribute from foreign kings. This connection of faithfulness, obedience, and devotion to God also flowed to individuals.
The Chronicler’s theology of retribution is fundamental to understanding the books of Chronicles. The Chronicler continually stressed the theme of individual responsibility and the consequence of one’s own actions (see also Ezekiel 18). Each individual is accountable to God for his or her actions (see also Ezekiel 18:21-24, 30-32). Simply stated, wholehearted obedience to God is always rewarded with blessing, while disobedience to God results in God’s judgment. When a king led the Israelites into idolatry, disobedience, and wickedness, the king and the nation suffered. Unfaithfulness to God, the worship of foreign gods, and the failure to obey God’s righteous stands resulted in war, defeat, conspiracy from within and without Israel, and disease. Yet, God always provided an opportunity for REPENTANCE! Only true repentance can stop God’s judgment. For the repentant, God’s grace was at hand to repair the damage (2 Chronicles 7:14; see also 2 Chronicles 30:6-9, 18-20; 2 Chronicles 32:25-26; 2 Chronicles 33:12-13, 18-19, 23; 2 Chronicles 34:27). The Chronicler taught that when the king and his people wholeheartedly prayed to God, sought God for deliverance, and turned from their sinful ways, God was faithful to deliver and save His people. “Then if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14, NLT). The Chronicler stressed to the people returning from exile to humble themselves, seek God, and turn from their sins. The writer of Chronicler seeks to teach the readers the weighty lessons of God’s grace and judgment in Israel’s history. In essence, the Chronicler focused on Israel’s need for spiritual revival – renewing their faithful commitment to God and reforming their new society to rely on God for their help, guidance and protection.
References
Believer’s Study Bible. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1995.
King James Version Study Bible. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1988.
KJV Bible Commentary. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1994.
Life Application Study Bible. Carol Streams, IL: Tyndale House Pub., 2005.
New Student Bible. New York: Zondervan,1992.
Spirit Filled Life Study Bible. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1991.
Woman’s Study Bible. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1995.
Word in Life Study Bible. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1996.
LaSor, Hubbard, and Bush. Old Testament Survey. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1996.
The book of Kings ended with both Israel and Judah in foreign captivity and revealed a dark age for God's people. Israel had been broken into two kingdoms (Israel in the north and Judah in the south) in 931 B.C. upon King Solomon’s death. In 722 B.C., the northern kingdom of Israel were invaded and destroyed by the Assyrians. Then, the southern kingdom of Judah was destroyed and fell in 586 B.C. at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. By 586 B.C., Israel lay in ruins. The Temple was burned, the walls of the city were broken down, and the people were deported to a foreign land. The Israelites had disobeyed God and His righteous standards, worshipped other gods, and only did what was right in their own eyes. As a result, God brought His judgment upon His people and they were carried off into foreign captivity. The people had forgotten to first and foremost trust and rely upon God for their power, wisdom, and wealth.
The books that follow Israel and Judah’s fall are the books of Chronicles. Chronicles were written to the Jews returning from foreign exile and rebuilding Jerusalem following their seventy-year Babylonian captivity. The writer of Chronicles is selective in his retelling of Israel’s history. Instead of writing an exhaustive work, the Chronicler highlights certain narratives of Israel’s history to teach them about their royal heritage. The Chronicler virtually ignored the northern kingdom in his retelling Israel’s royal history as the northern kingdom had no good kings. The northern kingdom had only a succession of only evil kings that lead the people away from God.
The books of Chronicles parallel the books of Samuel and Kings. The Septuagint (the pre-Christian Greek translation of the Old Testament) refers to the books of Chronicles as “the things omitted,” indicating that its translators regarded the books of Chronicles as a supplement to the books of Samuel and Kings. Chronicles has a freshness and flavor all its own. However, Chronicles’ focus is on David, Solomon and the kingdom of Judah. The writer of Chronicles viewed David and Solomon as victorious and great men with no failures or sins. Most important, Israel experienced its golden age during David and Solomon’s reigns. Israel was considered a respected world power with wealth, a Temple, and wisdom. The Chronicler wanted the Jews to re-establish their royal connections to the good kings of their history.
The books Chronicles (1 and 2 Chronicles) were originally one book in the Hebrew text. They became separated into two books by the translators of the Greek version of the Old Testament. Essentially, the books of Chronicles trace and summarize Israel's history from the beginning of the human race with Adam until the fall of Jerusalem and the subsequent return of the Jews during the reign of the Persian king, Cyrus the Great (559–529 B.C.). Cyrus, king of Persia, authorized the Jews to return to their homeland (538 B.C.). Those Jews who wished to return were allowed to return to the land to rebuild the Jerusalem Temple and their city. The returning Jewish community needed encouragement and a sense of family unity. Chronicles established continuity between the pre-exilic Israel of the past and the post-exilic present. Upon returning, the people had no king and subject to Persia’s governance. The Chronicler wanted the people to know of God’s continued love and faithfulness to His people as the everlasting King and their special spiritual heritage with Him as God.
What other nation on earth is like Your people Israel? What other nation, O God, have You redeemed from slavery to be Your own people? You made a great name for Yourself when You redeemed Your people from Egypt. You performed awesome miracles and drove out the nations that stood in their way. You chose Israel to be Your very own people forever, and You, O Lord, became their God. 1 Chronicles 17:21-22 (NLT)
The genealogical of Chronicles moves from the list of righteous people who lived before the Flood, to the sons of Noah and then to the Messianic line in Shem. This line is then traced to Abraham onward to David’s line, Israel’s greatest king (1 Chronicles chapters 11 – 29), where the Messiah would come. In fact, the writer of Chronicles stresses the Davidic kingship line because a son of David would occupy his throne forever. This Son was Jesus the Messiah (1 Chronicles 17:12-14). These genealogies are completed by those recorded in the New Testament (cf. Matthew 1:1–17; Luke 3:23–38). Israel's past formed a reliable basis for reconstructing the nation after their foreign exile away from God’s Promised Land. Many of the people needed hope and encouragement to begin again. The people had to be reminded that God’s covenant promises to Israel was still in force, and that He would complete His redemptive purposes in the world (Philippians 1:6). So, the Chronicler reminded the people of God’s still future blessings that would culminate in Jesus Christ.
The books of Chronicles are similar to the books of Samuel and Kings but they by no means are identical. Four main parts compromise the historical account of the books of Chronicles: (1) genealogies from Adam to postexilic Judah (1 Chronicles chapters 1 – 9); reigns of David and Solomon (1 Chronicles 10 through 2 Chronicles 9); Judah’s reign during the divided kingdom (2 Chronicles chapter 10 – 28); Judah’s reign as a sole kingdom (2 Chronicles chapters 29 – 36). In the same way that there are four accounts of the life of Jesus Christ in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, there are two accounts of the history of God’s people with the books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles. These books offer different historical perspectives of Israel. While the books of Samuel and Kings were written to those in exile, the books of Chronicles also addressed the post-exilic community returning from captivity.
Particularly, there are some notable differences in the Chronicler’s retelling of Israel history and the books of Samuel and Kings. In fact, several discrepancies and contradictions between Chronicles and the record in Samuel and Kings have caused liberal critics to doubt Chronicles’ historical trustworthiness and reliability. Some critics even called Chronicles nothing but historical fiction. Where Chronicles parallels material Samuel and Kings, the writer of Chronicles was accused of glorifying Israel’s past through exaggerated numbers and other changes in his sources. However, the details included in Chronicles were not intended to be exhaustive. The Chronicler emphasized the Davidic line. Therefore, King Saul is mentioned only in passing; and the rebellious northern kingdom, not of the faithful or Davidic line, is mentioned only where the northern history concerns the southern kingdom. Also, many displeasing details of the kings are omitted (e.g., David’s sin with Bathsheba, Absalom’s rebellion, Adonijah’s usurpation of the throne, Solomon’s many foreign wives, etc.). Even the history of Elijah and Elisha and their ministry in the northern kingdom is omitted.
Concerning numbers of Chronicles, sometimes the writer of Chronicles used larger numbers in its statistics than its parallel accounts in Samuel or Kings (e.g., cf. 2 Samuel 24:9 and I Chronicles 21:5). Other times, the number in Chronicles is smaller than the parallel passages (e.g., cf. I Kings 4:26 and 2 Chronicles 9:25). Yet, many prominent biblical scholars have explained the number variants because the system of numerical notation used in ancient times was difficult to determine. Other biblical scholars believe most numerical discrepancies can be attributed to variant transmission.
Importantly, the writer of Chronicles writes to encourage the nation to return wholeheartedly to God. Only by faithfully following God and seeking Him would they as a nation prosper and be healed (see e.g., 1 Chronicles 4:9-10 -prayer of Jabez; 2 Chronicles 7:14). “If My people, who are called by My Name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14). The Chronicler retells of the tragic result of idolatry and the people’s failure to place God first place in their lives. The writer of Chronicler reminded the people that God must be faithfully love, worshipped, and obeyed. The Chronicler aimed to reunite the nation around the true worship of God after their exile so the people would look only to God for their strength, protection, and guidance.
The writer of Chronicles records the king’s achievements and failures and noted how each king measured up to God's righteous standard. A good king faithfully obeyed God's laws, eliminated the places of idol worship, and made no alliances with other foreign nations for their help. For example, in 2 Chronicles chapters 29 through 32, Hezekiah is presented as a model of moral obedience and ensuring blessings by the framework “he did what was right in the sight of/before the Lord” (2 Chronicles 29:2; 2 Chronicles 31:20). Significantly, the writer of Chroniclers stressed that as a king was faithful, obedient, and devoted to God, they experienced prosperity, rest, honor, fame, a victorious army, building projects, and tribute from foreign kings. This connection of faithfulness, obedience, and devotion to God also flowed to individuals.
The Chronicler’s theology of retribution is fundamental to understanding the books of Chronicles. The Chronicler continually stressed the theme of individual responsibility and the consequence of one’s own actions (see also Ezekiel 18). Each individual is accountable to God for his or her actions (see also Ezekiel 18:21-24, 30-32). Simply stated, wholehearted obedience to God is always rewarded with blessing, while disobedience to God results in God’s judgment. When a king led the Israelites into idolatry, disobedience, and wickedness, the king and the nation suffered. Unfaithfulness to God, the worship of foreign gods, and the failure to obey God’s righteous stands resulted in war, defeat, conspiracy from within and without Israel, and disease. Yet, God always provided an opportunity for REPENTANCE! Only true repentance can stop God’s judgment. For the repentant, God’s grace was at hand to repair the damage (2 Chronicles 7:14; see also 2 Chronicles 30:6-9, 18-20; 2 Chronicles 32:25-26; 2 Chronicles 33:12-13, 18-19, 23; 2 Chronicles 34:27). The Chronicler taught that when the king and his people wholeheartedly prayed to God, sought God for deliverance, and turned from their sinful ways, God was faithful to deliver and save His people. “Then if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14, NLT). The Chronicler stressed to the people returning from exile to humble themselves, seek God, and turn from their sins. The writer of Chronicler seeks to teach the readers the weighty lessons of God’s grace and judgment in Israel’s history. In essence, the Chronicler focused on Israel’s need for spiritual revival – renewing their faithful commitment to God and reforming their new society to rely on God for their help, guidance and protection.
References
Believer’s Study Bible. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1995.
King James Version Study Bible. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1988.
KJV Bible Commentary. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1994.
Life Application Study Bible. Carol Streams, IL: Tyndale House Pub., 2005.
New Student Bible. New York: Zondervan,1992.
Spirit Filled Life Study Bible. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1991.
Woman’s Study Bible. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1995.
Word in Life Study Bible. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1996.
LaSor, Hubbard, and Bush. Old Testament Survey. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1996.
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