12/16/2020 – Day 220 / 1 Chronicles 1-4 A New book for our Wednesday history theme.
1 Chronicles / Genealogies / The Reign of David
Ok , have I lost everybody already? Chapters 1 – 4 of our reading are nothing but genealogies. But I have some direct quotes on the genealogies from Halley’s Bible Handbook I would like to share with you at the very end of this post.
I am going to direct quote from Halley. I am taking some liberty here in that I am rearranging some paragraphs. Let’s get started:
“The Twelve preceding Books of the Bible ended with the Hebrew nation in Captivity. These two books of Chronicles retell the same story, and end at the same point. There are the Recapitulation of all that has gone on before, with special attention to the reigns of David, Solomon and subsequest kings of Judah.
1 Chronicles is, in part, the same as II Samuel. It has to do with the story of David, prefaced with 9 chapters of Genealogies. The Genealogies cover the period from Adam to the Jew’s Return from the Captivity, a sort of epitome of all previous sacred history.
Author
1 and II Chroicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah, were originally one series of works. Jewish tradition had it that Ezra was the author. …..
Thus, it is seen, the author had access to journals, diaries, and public records that are not known. He also had access to previous Old Testament books. Guided of God, he transcribed that which suited the purpose of his writing. So, in this part of the Old Testament, we have a double narrative.
Significance of the Double Narrative
Believing, as we do, that the whole Bible , is the Word of God, designed for Universal use, we wonder if God had some purpose other than Ezra’s immediate need in resettling the land in thus repeating TWICE over this part of the sacred story.
Repetition means Importance. At least, it is a caution not to neglect this part of the Bible. Even though we thing of Kings and Chronicles as rather dry reading, het they the story of God’s dealings with His people; and now and the, in reading, we find therein some of the finest jewels of Scripture.
Difference between Kings and Chronicles
Kings gives a parallel account of the Northern and Southern Kingdoms, while Chronicles confines itself to the Southern Kingdom. Chronicles seems to be concerned primarily with the Kingdom of David, and bringing his line down to date.
Chapters 1 – 9. The Genealogies
These genealogies seem to have had for their immediate object the resettling of the land according to the public records. Those who returned from the Captivity were entitled to lands formerly in their own families. In the Old Testatment land had been apportioned to families, and could not be sold in perpetuity out of the family. (see under Leviticus 25)
So the priesthood was hereditary in families. A priest was to succeeded by his son. This was the law of the land.
So, with the Kingly Line of David. The most important and precious of all promises was the World’s Saviour would come in David’s family. The central interest of these genealogies is about tracing the descent of David’s line. (See further on page 415.)
Most of the genealogies are incomplete, with many breaks in the lists. But the main line is there. They were probably compiled from many records which had been written on tablets, papyrus, or vellum, partly copied from preceding Old Testament Books.
These 9 chapters of genealogies form the generation-to-generation tie-up of all preceding Biblical history. They need not be read, for devotional purposes, as often as some other parts of Scripture. But in reality these, and similar genealogies are the skeleton framework of the Old Testament, the thing that binds the whole Bible togehter, and gives it unity, and makes it look like real HISTORY, not legend.”
Jimmy notes:
- 1 Chronicles 4:9 -10: “Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, ‘Because I bore him in pain.’ And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saing, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory , that your hand would be with me, and that you would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain” So God granted him what he requested.” Sublime: He that was named for the pain his mother endured to bring him into the world prays that he may not cause pain in others.
- partial of 1 Chronicles 4:27: “…, nor did any of their families multiply as much as the children of Judah.”
- 1 Chronicles 1:16 : “the Arvadite….” – Arvadites were famed in the old world for their skillful seamanship, drawing for this even the grudging admiration of the Assyrians. I went to high school at Arvada High School.