chronicler – Be Still…

1 Chronicles 9:1-44 – Connecting the Dots

Read 1 Chronicles 9:1-44

This is the final chapter of the genealogies compiled by the Chronicler. While we see some repetition in the data, this chapter connects the dots between the families before and after the exile. We’re told what happened to these families in the first verse. “The people of Judah were exiled to Babylon because they were unfaithful to the Lord.”

The decline in faithfulness took years, but it was the descendants we’ve just read about in the first part of this book who ended up in exile. The rest of 1 Chronicles will tell the story of King David’s reign, and we’ll see how God was moving at that point in history.

1 Chronicles 6:1-81 – The Priestly Line

Read 1 Chronicles 6:1-81

By now, you are probably wondering when we will be done with all the genealogies. Soon, very soon. We’ll have a couple of long readings over the next couple days, and then we’ll get into the historical account from the priestly viewpoint of Chronicles.

Again, we encounter a lot of names, most of them hard to pronounce, all descending from Jacob’s son, Levi. We are given a lot of information in this chapter about Levi’s descendants, some of whom became priests. We’ll likely encounter some of these names again when we read the historical accounts of the kings. It’s good for us to keep in mind that the priests served right alongside the kings leading the people in matters of faith and obedience to God’s laws.

1 Chronicles 1:1-54 – Don’t Get Stuck

Read 1 Chronicles 1:1-54

The first section in 1^st Chronicles will deal with many genealogies. How fascinating that we have such detail about people who lived so long ago. We often rush past such lists, but this time take time to cherish the information that has forever been recorded. How far back can you trace your own family?

As we get deeper into 1^st Chronicles, we’ll begin to see a parallel history to what we see in other books of the bible (1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2^nd Kings). Because the author of Chronicles did not write those other books, we can’t expect the two histories to be the same. Look instead for the meaning of each passage letting the Holy Spirit guide you.