1 & 2 Chronicles

1-2 Chronicles

Chronicles is a spiritual book, filled with treasures behind the Lions guarding the gate (the 9 chapters of begats that are not for the fainthearted).

S. DeVries (not Sharon) said of Chronicles, “I regard Chronicles as one of the richest mines of spirituality in all Scripture.”

W. A. Elmslie said, “Chronicles is one of the most stimulating books in the Bible, courageous and practical – a splendid achievement.”

Written sometime after the return of the exiles (the post-exilic period. 450-332 BCE) this book (once one book before it was split) has one main theme, to unite the exiles in a time of faithful living, taking on the responsibility of the faith handed down from their ancestors. It’s a story of restoration following a time of judgment and exile.

1 & 2 Chronicles isn’t interested in the details of history and in fact skips much of Israel’s history.

Outline:
1 Chronicles 1:1-9:34 God’s Elect Restored (the dreaded Ancestry)
1 Chronicles 9:35-2 Chronicles 9:31 David’s Kingdom (& Solomon’s Reign)
2 Chronicles 10:1-28:27 The Divided Kingdom
2 Chronicles 29:1-36:23 The Reunited Kingdom

Themes:
1. God’s Covenant with David
a. Why do you think the ancestry is listed here as it is?
b. Did you read the lists of descendents?
c. What interesting things did you find there?
d. They are good reminders of who’s related to whom, but their purpose is much simpler, it shows David’s genealogy as a plan of God.
e. When you look back at your history, can you see the hand of God preparing the way for where you are now? How? Share some 20/20 hindsights how God was working without you even knowing it to bring you to your faith today.
2. Preparations for Temple Worship
a. How did David prepare for the building of the Temple?
b. Why did he do so much work when he wasn’t supposed to build?
c. How can we develop this attitude to build something we may never see?
d. Jesus did the same with the Church and the Kingdom. While he does see it and work in it, he leaves it up to those remaining here on earth. What can we do to build the kingdom around us, and after us?
e. What might worship mean to us if we were to put this kind of energy into preparation for it?
3. Blessing or Judgment Choice (obedience or discipline)
a. What did Israel/Judah learn from their mistakes?
b. How might obedience unite them?
c. How is our obedience rewarded?
d. How is our disobedience disciplined?
4. Temple Worship
a. While Temple worship is central to these books, it’s not the goal of Chronicles to establish Temple worship as necessary. What then is the goal of this author?
b. What are the key elements in Temple worship? (timeless/untethered elements)
c. The Temple doesn’t exist today, yet there are many faithful to God. What’s the key to keeping this faith? (if we break down our faith to only its necessary elements, what would they be? A building, holy communion, baptism, sermons, pot-lucks, worship, scripture, music, etc.)

The key to understanding the purpose of Chronicles is not the history, rather how that history can shape the present, inform the present. History is supposed to teach us something, mainly how not to make the same mistakes and how to learn good habits. Our lives are very different today than they were before because we’ve learned something and we’ve changed.

So did Israel. Look to the past, not to wish for a time long gone, rather to inform the future that will more completely honor God.