eBook: 1-2 Chronicles von Dane Ortlund | ISBN 978-1-4335-6108-5 | Sofort-Download kaufen (2024)

WEEK 1: OVERVIEW

Getting Acquainted

The books of 1–2 Chronicles are a remix. Their anonymous author (we will call him the Chronicler) seeks to provide a different angle on the history recounted in the books of Genesis through 2 Kings, reworking it with new details and a fresh perspective. Sometimes the accounts in 1–2 Chronicles may seem contradictory to those earlier in Scripture, but in fact they are complementary perspectives, bringing out different aspects of the same events.

The Chronicler’s original audience consisted of saints toiling for God’s kingdom in days of relative obscurity. He wanted them to know that God had made an abiding promise to dwell with his people. He also wanted to challenge them with a picture of what God’s ideal people ought to look like. They were to stand with God’s chosen king, who ought to embody the virtues of David and Solomon. They were to support the work of the temple, being careful to worship God exactly as he commanded and to rejoice before him in song. Although he does not deny that sin has generational dimensions, the Chronicler wants us to think about the time we have before us and to realize that now is the time to obey God. Each generation must make this choice; obedience will lead to blessing, whereas disobedience will lead to the consequences of God’s discipline.

God is the main character in this story. He is a God who has chosen Israel, Jerusalem, and the line of David. His grace, his initiative, stands behind every willing human inclination and gift. His compassion and forgiveness are endless to those who turn to him in repentance. The Chronicler wants us to look to God for help, and he assures us of God’s plan to bless his people by dwelling with them forever.

Placing 1–2 Chronicles in the Larger Story

First and Second Chronicles are the final books in the original order of the Hebrew Bible and were two of the last books of the Old Testament to be written. In a sense, 1–2 Chronicles embrace and unify the whole Old Testament into one coherent story. The books were first written to people looking back on the history of Israel from the other side of the exile.1 First and Second Chronicles pointed them back to the past for examples of how to live as a people, looking especially to the ideal models of David and Solomon. The books also provide examples of the danger of sin and its consequences. Most of all, they point God’s people to the importance of repentance and reform: turning away from our sin and toward God in order to receive his forgiveness and blessing. The people of Israel were stubborn in their sin. They did not listen to God or his prophets, despite repeated calls to turn back to their God. Although God disciplined them with affliction for their sin, they still did not repent. The Chronicler thus warns his hearers to be quick to repent.

The Chronicler also points his readers toward the future, toward the hope of God’s promise. The two cornerstone institutions of the people of Israel, the Davidic monarchy and the temple, are both founded upon God’s unbreakable promise. Despite the obstacles in their way, the people can have confidence that God will keep his word to Israel, and this knowledge should give them confidence to engage joyfully in the work of God’s kingdom.

Key Verse

“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.” (2 Chron. 7:14)

Date and Historical Background

Chronicles is anonymous and cannot be dated precisely. The best clue in the book is the genealogy of David in 1 Chronicles 3, which is traced down through Zerubbabel to six subsequent generations. Given that Zerubbabel returned to the land after the edict of Cyrus in 539 BC, this would place the book somewhere in the 400s BC, if one allows about a century for his family tree to grow to this extent. This assumes, of course, that the Chronicler has brought the genealogy down to his own day: if not, the book could have been written quite a bit later.

The time from 539 to 331 BC in the ancient Near East is known as the Persian period, as it was dominated by the Persian Empire. The period began favorably, with King Cyrus allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple, but not all of the Persian kings were as hospitable to God’s people. Ezra–Nehemiah records the efforts of surrounding nations to thwart the building of the temple and the walls of Jerusalem, and these efforts succeeded in turning the Persian kings against Judah. This period was marked by new beginnings and hope for the future but also by difficulties and setbacks, bringing a constant awareness of Judah’s vulnerability to vastly more powerful Gentile overlords.

The effort to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem was ultimately successful. The Chronicler shows a keen interest in the history of the Levites, and he himself may have been a Levite or a priest, connected to the temple in some way. Tradition identifies the Chronicler as Ezra, but there is no evidence in the book itself to prove this claim. It has sometimes been believed that the Chronicler was also the author of Ezra–Nehemiah, but more recent scholarship highlights the differences between these books, suggesting they had different authors.

Outline

I. The People of God: Genealogies of the Tribes of Israel (1 Chronicles 1–9)

A. The election of Israel (1 Chronicles 1:1–2:2)

B. Judah, David, and Simeon (1 Chronicles 2:3–4:43)

C. The Transjordanian tribes (1 Chronicles 5)

D. Levi (1 Chronicles 6)

E. The northern tribes (1 Chronicles 7)

F. The genealogy of Saul (1 Chronicles 8)

G. The genealogy of the returnees (1 Chronicles 9:1–34)

H. Second genealogy of Saul (1 Chronicles 9:35–44)

II. God Chooses David and Gives Him the Plan for the Temple (1 Chronicles 10–29)

A. The rise of David (1 Chronicles 10–12)

B. David and the ark (1 Chronicles 13–16)

C. The covenant with David (1 Chronicles 17)

D. David’s wars (1 Chronicles 18–20)

E. David’s census (1 Chronicles 21)

F. David’s first charge (1 Chronicles 22)

G. David’s organization of the temple personnel (1 Chronicles 23–27)

H. David’s second charge (1 Chronicles 28–29)

III. God Chooses Solomon and Helps Him Build the Temple (2 Chronicles 1–9)

A. Solomon’s wealth and wisdom (2 Chronicles 1)

B. Solomon and Hiram (2 Chronicles 2)

C. Solomon’s construction of the temple (2 Chronicles 3–5)

D. The temple dedication (2 Chronicles 6–7)

E. Solomon’s wealth and wisdom (2 Chronicles 8–9)

IV. The Kings of Judah: Good, Bad, and Mixed (2 Chronicles 10–36)

A. Rehoboam (2 Chronicles 10–12)

B. Abijah (2 Chronicles 13)

C. Asa (2 Chronicles 14–16)

D. Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 17–20)

E. Jehoram (2 Chronicles 21)

F. Ahaziah (2 Chronicles 22)

G. Joash (2 Chronicles 23–24)

H. Amaziah (2 Chronicles 25)

I. Uzziah (2 Chronicles 26)

J. Jotham (2 Chronicles 27)

K. Ahaz (2 Chronicles 28)

L. Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 29–32)

M. Manasseh and Amon (2 Chronicles 33)

N. Josiah (2 Chronicles 34–35)

O. Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, Zedekiah, and the end (2 Chronicles 36)

As You Get Started

If you were to summarize the whole story of Israel’s history in a few broad strokes, how would you do so? What would be its most important parts? What do you remember about the stories of David and Solomon? What do you remember about the temple and why it was important?

What is worship, and why is it an important part of the Christian life? Why do we sing songs? What does this tell us about God and about ourselves?

How does God’s discipline work? Is suffering always a result of punishment for sin? Does God’s forgiveness always remove the consequences of sin? Do you have any questions or confusions about this topic that you wish to explore in the course of this study?

Is the Christian life all about our effort, God’s effort, or both? How can God’s promises be certain if the obedience of sinners—who are constantly liable to disobey—is also necessary?

Definition

1 Exile – Several relocations of large groups of Israelites/Jews have occurred throughout history, but “the exile” typically refers to the Babylonian exile, that is, Nebuchadnezzar’s relocation of residents of the southern kingdom of Judah to Babylon in 586 BC. (Residents of the northern kingdom of Israel...