1 Chronicles 12:1-40 - Disciples from all nations

12:1-40

Even though David was banished by Saul, men came to join him and became his warriors. In fact men joined him from all sorts of groups, and many of these were able and skilful men. Still more joined David at Hebron. In gospel terms this parallels men believing the gospel from all people groups. WE may start off small, but God has a plan, and it is to draw people from every nation, tribe and tongue, to make disciples of all nations. Those who join bring their own abilities and riches into God’s kingdom. The returnees in Jerusalem should not give up, nor should we ever lose heart.

1 Chronicles 11:1-47 - All Israel came together to David at Hebron

11:1-3

David becomes king over Israel. \the emphasis in this chapter is that things happened according to God’s plan, and when they did things went well. All Israel welcomed David. What a pity that all Israel did not welcome Jesus, the true shepherd of God when He came! 

11:4-9

We then read of the taking of Jerusalem (call Jebus at the time). The Jebusites declared that they would not succeed, nevertheless David conquered the fortress of Zion. People declaring that we will not succeed is not unusual and is actually of no account. If God has said we will succeed, then we will do so. Jerusalem had been given to David and to Israel by the Lord. This would be an encouragement to the returnees. We should always remember what God’s long term plans are.

11:10-47

 We now get yet another list, but this time not another genealogy, but a list of David’s mighty warriors and their exploits. They succeeded because the Lord gave them victory, sometimes in the most amazing situation and against the odds. The lesson for the returnees is that though their situation was difficults, God could give them victory.

1 Chronicles 10:1-14 - Why Saul died.

10:1-14

At last we have reached a part that is not full of genealogies. This chapter tells of the death of Saul and his sons. More can be read about this in ! Samuel 31. Here it is v13 and 14 that are crucial, summing up why these things happened. Namely, Saul was unfaithful to the Lord, and did not enquire of Him. Instead Saul enquired of a witch. “So the Lord put Him to death and turned the kingdom over to David.

1 Chronicles 7:1-9:44 - And so it goes on

7:1-12

And there seems to be no end to the genealogies. The tribes in this chapter were part of the northern kingdom of Israel, the ones in 7:4-19 come from west of the Jordan (transJordanian tribes). There seems to be an emphasis on the numbers of fighting men.

7:13

The info here comes from Gen46:24 and Num 26:48,49.

I am afraid i am just going to skip the next few chapters of genealogies.

1 Chronicles 6:1-81 - The sons of Levi

6:1-30

And still the lists go on (and on), a whole chapter of them, devoted to the tribe of Levi. 6:4-15  gives the high priests, with some missed out (eg Jeheoida , 2 Kings 12:2, two Azariahs , Eli and Abiathar) Ezra 7:1-5 repeats much of the list. 

6:31-47

We now get the temple musicians. Music has always been an important part of worship

6:48-53

There was atonement for sin, but it had to be carried out in the way ascribed by the Lord. It was important for them to realize this. For Kings makes plain that Israel had suffered because of her sin. Not realising the need to address the sin problem is a fatal mistake, but there is then the danger that we will think “we’ll do things this way”, it needs to be done God’s way.

6:54-81

The Levites were not given their own allotment of land, but were distributed throughout Israel. Every  tribe provided something for the priests.

1 Chronicles 5:1-26 - Reuben, Gad and Manasseh

5:1-17

Reuben was the first born, but did not have the primacy normally due to the first born, this was because of his sin. It is a consistent principle in the Bible, old and new testaments, that sin matters and has consequences. We do well to remember this. So his firstborn rights passed to Joseph.

Chapter 5 gives details for the tribes east of the Jordan, i.e. Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh. God was committed to “All Israel”.

5:18-22

Here we get the first account of a battle, their victory against the Hagrites. The key points are (i) they won because of God’s help; (ii) they received this help because they trusted God; (iii) they cried out to God in the midst of the battle.

5:23-26

The account of Manasseh is given in contrast to the previous example. They were unfaithful to God, prostituting themselves  to false gods, so they were taken into exile by Tiglath-Pileser.

1 Chronicles 4:1-43 - other clans

4:1-10

While David was in one sense “the main man”, God’s covenant and promise applied to all Israel, so we get more genealogies. In 4:9,10 we get Jabez, the “prayer of Jabez” was quite “a thing”  a few years ago. His name meant “pain”, or, at least, sounds like the Hebrew for pain. He prayed and God granted his request. One can imagine the prayer and situation of Jabez being very relevant to the returnees. Israel had become a byword for disgrace, and they had suffered much. Moreover,  they wanted God’s blessing and for their territory to be increased. So God granting Jabez’s prayer would be an encouragement to them.

4:11-43

In 4:15 we get yet another Caleb. 4:24 onwards gives the genealogy for Simeon.

1 Chronicles 3:1-24 - These were the sons of David

3:1-16

Into chapter 3 and, of course, we have more genealogies. A key part of the authors’ purpose is to stress the continuation of David’s line. God had made a promise to David, and despite all the momentous, and sometimes terrible, events God’s purpose remained, and would be fulfilled.

3:17-24

Chronicles was written primarily for those who had returned from exile. So 3:17 onwards gives the genealogies after the exile, God’s purposes were continuing.

1 Chronicles 2:1-55 - More genealogies

2:1

The genealogies continue, giving now the “sons of Israel”, followed by Judah. David came from Judah, and , humanly speaking, Jesus descended from David. As mentioned before, genealogies do not do a lot for me, but they do stress the importance of Israel, and God’s long term commitment to Israel. In my opinion, those who downplay the importance of Israel are on dangerous ground. It is quite clear that God loves Israel. He told Abraham that through him, all people on earth would be blessed. This has and is happening through Christ and the church.

2:2,3

1:3 mentions God putting Er to death because of his wickedness. ANy accurate concept of God needs to take account of both the judgement of God and His grace.

2:18

The Caleb here is not the one of the exodus, who gave a good report after surveying the Promised Land.

1 Chronicles 1:1 - Historical records

1:1

The book contains a lot of lists, genealogies. Many of us, myself included, find these boring, but the  Jews were different. One of the things it is doing is stressing that God is the creator of all people, including those who attacked Israel, and those who ruled over them. Most of the lists closely match those in Genesis.

Chronicles - Introduction

Introduction

`Chronicles was originally just one book, it was divided into two when the Greek version of the Old Testament was produced (the Septuagint). It covers much of the material in Samuel and Kings. It adds some further details. Kings was essentially explaining why Israel had ended up in exile, namely because of their persistent disobedience. Chronicles was written for the return. The people may well have asked how shall we now live, is there any point in worshipping God to which the answer is a resounding yes! Indeed Chronicles puts more emphasis on the temple and worship. God lives among his people.  In the exodus God dwelt among them  in the tabernacle and the ark of the covenant. Then once in the Promised Land he lived among them in the temple. In Christ He was Immanuel (God with us) (Matt 1:23). Through the Holy Spirit He lives within us, and in Rev 21:3 it declares that God’s dwelling place is now among the people.

It is not known who wrote Chronicles, though Jewish tradition ascribes authorship to Ezra. The end of 2 Chronicles leads into the book of Ezra.

2 Kings 25:8-30 - Violent times

25:8-26

The Babylonian commander then went to Jerusalem, he set fire to the temple, the royal palace and many houses. So every important building was burnt down. The walls were also broken down. Many people were carried off into exiles, leaving only the poorest behind. Various items from the temple were taken. Many priests were also taken into exile. They were then executed by the Babylonian king. Gedaliah tried to reassure the people, telling them to serve the Babylonians, and if they did do it would go well with them. However this led to Gedaliah being assassinated. The remaining people then fled to Egypt out of fear.

25:27-30

The next king of Babylon seemed to be less violent and he released Jehoiachin, who then lived quite well even eating at the king’s table. He was also given a regular allowance.

2 Kings 25:1-7 - Jerusalem besieged

25:1-7

Nebuchadnezzar marched against Jerusalem and besieged it. Conditions within the city would become progressively more and more terrible during this time. So much so that there would be no food. Even the army fled, apparently including the king. However, this provided no escape for the Babylonian army pursued them, especially the king. The king was captured and the army scattered. Zedekiah’s sons were killed before his own eyes, then they gouged out his eyes, these were brutal times.

2 Kings 24:10-20 - The endi is near

24:10-17

The siege of Jerusalem now begins. Israel did not put up a fight, Jehoiachin, his mother and his attendants all surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar. Jehoiachin was taken prisoner, while Nebuchadnezzar removed the gold articles from the temple, he also carried all the officers, skilled men and fighting men off to Babylon. Only the poorest people were left behind.Jehoiachin’s uncle was made king, and had his name changed to Zedkiah.

24:18-20

Zedekiah reigned for eleven years, he also did evil in the eyes of the Lord. In the end he rebelled against the king of Babylon, but to no avail.

2 Kings 24:1-9 - Babylon attacks

24:1-9

Babylon, under Nebuchadnezzar, now invades Judah,Jehoiakim was a puppet king, but he rebelled against Babylon. However, Babylon, with help from Aram, Moab and Ammon,attacked Judah. All this was in accordance with the word of the Lord, His judgement against JUdah for her persistent disobedience. This is the key message of 1 & 2 Kings. It was not just the idolatry, but also the “shedding of innocent blood”, this was at least partly a result of the idolatry. Jehoiakim died and was succeeded by his som Jehoiachin.:No help was available from Egypt. Jehoiachin reigned for a mere three months, “He did evil in the eyes of the Lord”.

2 Kings 23:21-30 - Celebrate the Passover

23:21-25

As well as the negative steps, Josiah did not neglect the positive. He reinstituted the celebration of the Passover. Despite being required by the Law, it seems that it had never actually taken place (23:22). It is like the atoning aspects of the cross being forgotten.

23:26-30

Despite Josiah’s devotion and commitment, the judgement on the land remained. King Josiah died, killed by the king of Egypt. (23:29).\we should beware the deep effects of sin. He was succeeded by his son ehoahaz.

2 Kings 22:1-20 - He read the Book of the Covenant

23:1-3

The word from the prophet was apparently bad news, but Josiah did not despair. Instead he went up to the temple of the Lord, gathered all the people of Jerusalem and the priests and prophets, and read the word of the Lord to them. He then renewed the covenant committing them to keeping the commands of God. Unlike most previous kings he directed the people towards the Lord, not to idols.

23:4-20

Josiah ordered the removal of everything associated with idol worship. He also dealt with the high places. Every vestige of idol worship was removed., Torpeth, where child sacrifice was carried out, was desecrated. Josiah was very thorough in what he did. He killed many of the priests. The effects of idolatry had spread into many areas of the land, and so determined steps were necessary. However, Josiah also displayed respect for the faithful prophets.

2 Kings 22:1-20 - Another good king

22:1-11

\we now get another rarity, Josiah was a king who did what “was right in the eyes of the Lord”.He was just like his father David. He reigned for thirty one years. In his eighteenth year he took steps to restart the work on the temple. Hilkiah told him that he had found the book of the Law. We might find it odd that they did not already have this, but things can easily be forgotten. In recent years our own society seems to have had great difficulty in knowing the difference between men and women! The king was informed of this finding, and the book was read to him. Josiah heard and understood realising how far they had strayed from God’s Law, and the ensuing consequences.

22:12-20

Josiah got the priests and officials to inquire of the Lord what needed to be done to put things right. It was a female prophet who pointed them in the right direction. She tells them that judgement is coming, and why it is coming. However, the Lord also respects Josiah and his piety, because of this  he will die in peace. He would not see the disaster.

2 Kings 1`:19-25 - Like father, like son

21:19-25

Amon only reigned for two years, like his father he did evil in the eyes of the Lord. He too worshipped idols, forsaking the ways of the Lord. His officials conspired against him and assassinated him. His son, Josiah succeeded him, and was to prove to be a much better king.

2 Kings 21:7-18 - Manasseh the idiot

21:7-9

The idiot  even took an Asherah pole that he had made and placed it in the temple. The whole saga reminds me of Jesus' teaching in Matt 12:43-45 about the impure spirit, which went to find seven more, making the situation worse than it was before. The problem for Israel was that there was no change of heart. Manasseh led the nation astray, making them worse than the previous occupants of the land. The purpose of a leader is to lead the people in the ways of the Lord. 

21:10-18

God spoke to the nation through the prophets, telling them that judgement was coming. They had seen what had happened to Samaria, but had learnt nothing., so they would suffer a similar fate. It was not just idolatry, but blood shed came with it. Manasseh evenTUlly died and was succeeded by his son Amon.

2 Kings 21:1-6 Manaseh becomes king

21:1-6

Having had a good king we now come to another in the line of evil kings. Manasseh reigned for 55 years, so a long reign does not necessarily indicate favour with God. Manasseh continued with idol worship, undoing much of the good work of Hezekiah. He rebuilt the high places. He even built altars to idols in the temple of God. His sin aroused the anger of the Lord.

2 Kings 20:12-21 - Envoys from Babylon

20:12-21

Hezekiah then makes a big mistake. Envoys are sent from Babylon, and it is Hezekiah’s illness that led to them coming. Hezekiah showed them everything that he had. Why did he do this, we are not told, perhaps it was pride, or wanting to impress the Babylonians. Isaiah appears on the scene and warns Hezekiah that the Babylonians will carry everything off to Babylon, as well as some of his descendents.

Hezekiah seems pleased, believing that there will be peace in his time. There is nothing in Isaiah’s word as to when things will happen. Hezekiah’s reaction can be seen as selfish, but it is also understandable.

Hezekiah died and was succeeded by his son Manasseh.

2 Kings 20:1-11 - Hezekiah became ill

20:1-6

We now read of two interesting incidents in Hezekiah’s life. First he becomes ill and is close to death. Initially Isaiah is rather pessimistic, saying that the Lord says he will not recover. We are often told that prayer is not about trying to change God’s mind. I have a lot of sympathy with that view, but what happens next shows there is more to it. Hezekiah does not like the word and pleads with the Lord, weeping bitterly. In response the Lord speaks again to Isaiah. He is to tell Hezekiah that he has changed his mind and will add fifteen years to Hezekiah's life. He will also deliver the city from Assyria. God was moved by Hezekiah’s prayer and his tears, also by His promise to David. A lot of things are done because of God’s covenant with David. In the same way, God does many things in our lives because of Jesus.

20:7-11

Isaiah gives practical advice “prepare a poultice of figs”, and Hezekiah recovers. Surprisingly Hezekiah wants a sign that he will actually be healed, and God gives him a sign. God is more accommodating than we often think.

2 kings 19:20-37 - Jerusalem delivered

19:1-7

Hezekiah is full of fear, but he does pray to the Lord, rather than running after idols, which was what other kings had done. More comments can be found here.Isaiah remains calm and foretells Jerusalem’s deliverance.

19:8-13 

Isaiah’s words come true.However Sennacherib sees this as only a temporary setback, and tries to keep Hezekiah in a state of fear.

19:14-19

This time Hezekiah reacts differently, and takes sennacherib’s letter directly to the Lord, and prays with faith. More can be found here.

19:20-37

Isaiah still sends a message to Hezekiah, encouraging him. More can be found here, Sennacherib was duly assasinated. .

2 Kings 18:1-37 - A good king, at last!

18:1-8

At last we get a good king of Judah, king Hezekiah. He reigned for twenty nine years, and the text makes clear that it is his obedience to the Lord that makes the difference. He takes after his father David. He even removed the high places, as well as cutting down the Asherah pole. The bronze snake that Moses had made had become a source of idol worship. We will make idols out of anything. Hezekiah was aware of the dangers of idol worship, note that later he would be criticised for this.

Hezekiah trusted the Lord, so he was successful, and he rebelled against Assyria, and defeated the Philistines.

18:9-37

Assyria, under Shalmaneser, laid siege to Samaria and captured it . Israel’s defeat is put down to their disobedience to the Lord.Then Assyria turned their attention to Judah, but failed. The difference in outcomes  is put down to trusting the Lord by Hezekiah. Even so Hezekiah had sought to buy off Assyria with temple treasures. We then get a telling of the way the battle went with fear tactics used by Assyria, I have written about this in my notes on Isaiah.