1 and 2 Chronicles

Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Matthew 6:9-10

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The special features of Chronicles (as opposed to Samuel and Kings) are:

• Focus on the southern kingdom of Judah
• Emphasis on the temple and temple-worship
• Genealogies
• Records of extended speeches and addresses
• Special attention on David's reign
• Focus on the spiritual health of Judah's kings (both positive acts, and persistent failures)

The ending of Chronicles (Cyrus' command for the exile Jews to return to Jersualem and rebuild the temple) gives a clue about the purpose of the book. The returning exiles needed an account to set the context for the significance of what their return, they needed the lessons of history re-iterated to them as they attempted to rebuild a life for themselves in the land, and they needed to understand both the instructions for and the significance of the temple and its rituals if they were to rebuild it and re-establish the proper worship of God from it as the centre of their lives.

The bulk of Chronicles is concerned with the Israelite monarchy, beginning with the reign of Saul and continuing until Zedekiah the last king of Judah - spanning a period of around 400 years. In contrast, the kings of Israel appear much more in passing. While the northern Israelite kingdom was brought to an end in 721, it was never centred around Jerusalem temple worship. The northern kingdom was never re-established, and these two aspects probably explain why Chronicles focusses on Judah.

Chronicles runs in parallel to the books of Samuel and Kings. In fact, its name in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) is paralipomena which means 'the acts left out' (of Samuel and Kings). Chronicles contains around 20 chapters and 24 chapter segments which are not found in Samuel-Kings, but there is also material in those books which is omitted in Chronicles. The narrative of Chronicles is taken up in the book of Ezra, and it has been suggested that Ezra is the author / compiler of Chronicles.

Coming soon!

In Hebrew the books of Chronicles go by the name 'The acts of the days', whereas our English name 'Chronicles' comes from the prologue of Jerome's latin translation of Samuel and Kings. He suggested it because those books contain references to a state chronicle that contains supplementary information. It is not certain that those references in Samuel and Kings do refer to our books of Chronicles, however; they may refer to a third record which we no longer possess.

The lives of the kings of Judah provide many lessons for disciples of all ages. There are tremendous examples of spiritual reform and great courage in the face of threat from enemy armies. There are negative examples also of kings who went in completely the wrong direction - ignoring the obvious signs - and of those who started well but got distracted, led astray by pride, or somehow lost their initial zeal and focus.

The focus on the importance and procedure for worshipping God is another aspect of Chronicles that carries an obvious relevance through the ages.