Another Bible Commentary: 1 Chronicles

Congratulations for making it this far. Wow, that history was largely depressing, right? The good news is that life under the New Covenant isn’t much like that at all. The bad news is that the next two books of the Bible cover much of the same ground again. Many people skip the Chronicles, but they’re worthwhile. Let’s recap what we’ve covered so far and look at where we’re going. We’ve seen how God made the world and made us, how we ruined everything by opting for rules, the width and breadth of what the rules look like, and a historical record of humans consistently failing at being righteous by their own works. We needed the minutiae of the rules to understand the history. We need the history books, philosophy books, the poetry, etc., to understand the prophets, both for the events they predicted/responded to and the conventions of language with which their messages were spoken. We need the Law of Moses and the prophecies to see Jesus coming and to understand what He was talking about in His earthly ministry; to properly differentiate the Old and the New. Truly understanding the New in its shocking simplicity is enhanced by familiarity with the Old, so let’s get back to work. The Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah were all written down around the same time, forming a “Chronicler’s History” if you will, compared to the Deuteronomic History books (which just means that Israel’s history was told in light of their adherence to the Law and its associated curses from Joshua through the end of 2 Kings). The Books of Chronicles were written down by (and as an encouragement to) the people who came back from exile and rebuilt the Temple. An overall theme to look for is that God accepts those who return to Him (no matter how wicked they were). We all stumble in many ways, but we can trust Jesus to keep us safe. “Contradictions” with the Deuteronomic History (even if you insist on the Masoretic text) tend to be in the numbers of long-dead side characters, amounts of money later plundered, sizes of long-gone buildings, reigns of failed kings, etc. What God was doing is consistent.

Notice that Genesis 5:4 mentions other sons and daughters of Adam, so this book just focuses on certain descendants. Frequently, the mentions are either for plot relevance or as an aide to returning exiles in re-establishing ancestral land claims. Since “son of” can mean “descendant of” and people are missing in the genealogies, I would advise against attempting to calculate the age of Earth from the Bible.

1:5 Magog is referenced in Ezekiel 38 and Revelation 20. There have been attempts to identify Javan with Jove, Tiras with Tyr, etc., but we won’t use any of that in our investigation of the prophecies.

1:18,19, 25 “Eber” might be where Hebrew was derived from.

1:32 Again, Midianites were Abrahamic.

1:35-36 Amalekites were descended from Esau and therefore Abrahamic.

2:6 There are several other people named Heman in the Bible (1 Kings 4:31, 1 Chronicles 6:33, etc.), none of whom are the guy who fights Skeletor.

2:15 “seventh” David was the eighth son in 1 Samuel 16 and 1 Samuel 17. Since Nadab and Abihu are omitted in 1 Chronicles 6:50, one hypothesis out there is that someone may have died without issue, and therefore been irrelevant to returning exiles’ land claims. However, the existence of verses 30 and 32 call that line of reasoning into question.

2:16 “three sons” David’s warrior nephews (2 Samuel 2:18).

2:17 “Amasa” See 2 Samuel 19:13.

2:19 David is associated with Caleb, another giant-killer. Caleb’s town of Hebron (Joshua 14), near the tomb of Abe, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, and Jacob, was David’s capital city before Jerusalem. Caleb had a wife named Ephrath; Bethlehem (“House of Bread”) used to be called Ephrath/Ephrathah ("Fruitful”; Rachel died in childbirth there). See also Ruth 4:11, 1 Samuel 17:12, Micah 5:2.

3:16 See 2 Kings 24:8 note for Jehoiachin’s other names.

3:19 Attempts to reconcile this with Ezra 3:2 have involved Levirate marriage, adoption by an uncle, or guessing that there may have been different names involved like we literally just mentioned in the 1 Chronicles 3:16 note.

4:10 God answered the famous Prayer of Jabez. There is nothing wrong with wanting good things from your Father, including material blessings. For people who only base their relationship with God on this level, though, setbacks experienced in a fallen world can shipwreck their faith. Christ is our secret to contentment regardless of your present circumstances (Philippians 4:11-13). Don’t get discouraged. That being said, God is good, and you have plenty to look forward to whether in this world or the next.

4:24 See also Genesis 46:10 and Numbers 26:12.

5:1 Reuben’s “firstborn” status changed. Jesus said repeatedly that the last will be first and the first will be last. That is good for us Gentiles. See Exodus 4:22, Deuteronomy 32:21, Ephesians 2:11-22, and Paul’s explanation in Romans 9 through Romans 11.

1 Chronicles 6 – The attention to detail in this genealogy suggests priestly authorship, like Ezra perhaps.

6:13 See 2 Kings 22:4, 2 Chronicles 34:14, and Jeremiah 1:1.

6:14 Ezra’s family (Ezra 7:1).

6:33 Heman, the author of Psalm 88.

6:36-37 “Azariah” could explain “Ezrahite” musicians. The Sons of Korah (Numbers 16) mentioned as psalmists are men like Heman (1 Chronicles 6:33-37) and likely his associates like Ethan, Asaph, etc.

6:39 “Asaph” wrote Psalm 50 and Psalms 73 through 83.

6:44 “Ethan” wrote Psalm 89

6:50 Nadab and Abihu are omitted here. They are acknowledged in 1 Chronicles 24:2.

1 Chronicles 7 – The tribe of Dan is either omitted or hidden (perhaps in 1 Chronicles 7:12 by way of Genesis 46:23) among other tribes for whatever reason, perhaps for idolatry, moving to Naphtali land, etc.

1 Chronicles 8 – In addition to the national interest in the family of the first king, Benjaminite exiles also returned.

8:34 Merib-Baal is also known as Mephibosheth.

9:3 See 2 Chronicles 11:14-17. “Lost” tribes lost their land but individuals descended from those who moved to Judah prior to the Assyrianization of Israel could still be found.

10:6 “all his house” Saul’s dynasty was no longer in power. Some descendants remained. See 1 Chronicles 8:34-39.

11:1-2 The Chronicler rides right on past the civil war, Ishbosheth, etc., from 2 Samuel 2:9 through 2 Samuel 4:12.

11:4 “Jerusalem” was Melchizedek’s town (Genesis 14:18).

11:6 In 2 Samuel, Joab already had his position, had killed Abner, etc.

11:11 There were 800 men in 2 Samuel 23:8. The Three are like David’s version of Jesus’ Peter, James, and John.

11:19 See Leviticus 17:10-13 and Deuteronomy 12:23-24.

11:20 Abishai bagged “half a Shamgar” (Judges 3:31).

11:21 Abishai was thought of more as a general than a SEAL, it would seem.

11:25 There were more than thirty members over the years. The Thirty is a unit, like “The Navy SEALs” or how a total of approximately 18 men and counting were ever members of The Four Horsemen of professional wrestling.

11:27 See 2 Samuel 23:11-12.

12:2 Mentioning “Saul’s kinsmen” emphasizes national unity under David.

12:8 Do those that insist on literal human-animal hybrids in Revelation see “faces of lions” here as something other than metaphor?

12:20 “a thousand” can also be translated as a military unit.

13:14 If it is a blessing to be near the ark holding God’s Old Covenant Law of condemnation and death (2 Corinthians 3, Romans 7), then we who are united with Him and share a Spirit with Him (John 17:20-26, 1 Corinthians 6:17) are very, very blessed (Ephesians 1:3).

14:3-4 Regarding “Solomon”, the Chronicler’s overall mission was to motivate the returning exiles to rebuild the Temple by attaching it to storied hazy memories of national unity. Embarrassing family stuff (2 Samuel 11 through 2 Samuel 13) including David’s personal failings with regard to Bathsheba and the resulting deaths are omitted.

1 Chronicles 15 – Whatever instruments you want to use to praise God are fine (1 Kings 15:5).

16:4 Whatever anyone has said about this instance of a king assigning duties to churchmen (that obey Romans 13, of course) legitimizing the “supremacy” of Henry VIII with regard to liturgical matters, Acts 5:29 still exists.

16:7 See Psalms 105, 96, and 106; they appear to be on the soundtrack of this “film”.

16:23-24 “all the earth...salvation…the nations…all peoples” Again, Gentiles were always part of the plan.

16:33 “He comes to judge the earth” To judge is to rule; this is another Jesus reference. See James 5:9.

16:34 That’s a great verse right there, even today.

17:6 If God never really wanted a Temple, then the Book of Haggai would have been about a tent. I bring this up because there are some commentators that try to posit the growth of Israel’s wealth and opulence as when they went off the rails as opposed to their actual sinning like idolatry, etc.

17:27 like Romans 11:29.

18:4 The Masoretic text of 2 Samuel 8:4 suggests 1700 charioteers, but the Septuagint is in agreement there and here about 7000. Some prefer the Masoretic text as it is older than the Septuagint, but some say the Septuagint was translated from even older manuscripts than the Masoretic and therefore closer to the original. The Septuagint was good enough for inspired New Testament writers to quote, so I’d like all the scholars, textual critics, fundamentalists, etc., to all play nice.

18:11 The Chronicler shows David stockpiling materials to build the Temple.

18:17 “chief officials” See 2 Samuel 8:18 note.

19:4 People plucked Jesus’ beard and gambled away His robe.

19:18 Whether 700, 7000, or 7 “military units” are here and in 2 Samuel 10:18, they’re all dead now and Jesus is our risen Lord (Romans 10:9-13).

20:1 David’s sin isn’t mentioned here.

20:4-8 There is no mention of God in this bit about men killing giants. Pride goes before a fall.

21:1-2 Personal sins tend to be left out of Chronicles, but pridefully relying upon things like the size of a military in defiance of the spirit of Deuteronomy 17 led to events relevant to the making of the Temple. See the 2 Samuel 21:17 note and the 2 Samuel 24:1 note.

21:3 Joab knew not to try to count what should be innumerable. See 1 Chronicles 27:23-24.

21:5 Compare 2 Samuel 24:9. Either way, David had many more soldiers than God had used to conquer Canaan.

21:15 Like at Bethel, an encounter with God chooses a worship site. The Temple would be here eventually. This was where the promise of innumerable offspring (and blessing to the nations which we now enjoy in Christ) was given in Genesis 22, so “withdraw your hand” echoes the attempted sacrifice of Isaac.

1 Chronicles 21:25 through 1 Chronicles 22:1 – Compare 2 Samuel 24:24. The price for David’s sacrifice to end the plague and the threshing floor where it was performed is a separate transaction from the price for all the land for the future Temple. Chronicles focuses on the Temple (to motivate the returning exiles to rebuild).

21:17 David displays self-sacrificial intercession like Moses in Exodus 32:32; Jesus is the best at it (1 John 2:1-2, Hebrews 7:25).

21:26 Fire fell from heaven as a sign of God’s acceptance of His Temple. We’re the new Temple, so fire marked believers as such at Pentecost (Acts 2).

22:1-5 The Chronicler emphasizes David’s role in building the Temple to focus on the legitimacy of rebuilding it after returning from exile. Since Solomon’s activities ultimately led to their doom, looking at him as the sole Temple builder leads to tangents about whether wealth was the real enemy, etc., and whether God would have preferred to keep His tent despite Haggai. Jesus’ objection to the Temple Establishment wasn’t “shiny bad” but to their taking money from people who couldn’t afford to offer it (Mark 12:38 through Mark 13:2). The opulent Temple had a role in its time showing the world God, and to show that we as believers (His new Temple – see 1 Corinthians 3:16-17) are that special now.

22:6-10 See 2 Samuel 7:11 note. The problem wasn’t that David was a killer, but that the fighting wasn’t over yet. God was waiting for stability under Solomon.

22:12 The Chronicler shows David asking for wisdom for Solomon.

23:6 The exiles needed these lists of names to know their role in the reestablished Temple system.

24:1-19 “divisions” There were 24 priestly orders. This fact may come in handy later. There are 25 men (the high priest is included) in Ezekiel 8:16-18, there are 24 elders in Revelation, etc.

25:1,3 like 2 Kings 3:15. Good music (even with instruments, in case any Campbellites have found this) in a worship service can elevate your mood and your thoughts. Now under the New Covenant, we are one spirit with the Lord (1 Corinthians 6:17). Feel free to “turn your radio on” to commune with God, but know that it’s a local call.

1 Chronicles 26 – Obed-edom had been blessed by his proximity to the Ark of the Covenant (2 Samuel 6).

27:23-24 Counting what God says is innumerable is a lack of faith.

28:3 See 2 Samuel 7:11 note. The problem wasn’t that David was a killer, but that the fighting wasn’t over yet. God was waiting for stability under Solomon.

28:20 Under the Old Covenant, God was with Solomon until his work was finished (nasty bit of foreshadowing, right?); under the New Covenant, God is with us because Jesus finished His work. He will not forsake us (John 6:37, John 17:4, John 17:24).

29:6 “willingly” like Exodus 35.

29:10-19 is a good place to introduce the Amidah, a Jewish prayer similar to what is called the “Lord’s Prayer”. If we’re going to call something the Lord’s Prayer, I would vote for John 17 instead, but we’ll talk about that later. The “Amidah” or “18 Blessings” (a “19th” was added in response to Christian “heretics”) was prayed three times daily in the synagogues. Jesus summarized the proto-Amidah of the time (perhaps based on this 1 Chronicles 29 passage, which would make the closing about the kingdom, the power, and the glory that was added later from 1 Chronicles 29:11 make a lot of sense).

29:10-11 is like the introductory hallowing, the closing, and the acknowledgement of rulership.

29:12 More like “Thy will is done” in this instance.

29:14 Acknowledges the source of daily bread.

29:15 Describes a situation from which one would ask to be delivered.

29:17 Knowing this means knowing the need for forgiveness.

29:18 Guiding our hearts toward Him simultaneously leads us not into temptation.

29:19 David asked that God’s will be done.

29:22 “a second time” See 1 Chronicles 23:1. The Chronicler skips the succession difficulties of 1 Kings 1 through 1 Kings 2. Solomon had two coronations because of Adonijah.

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