The gate in today’s background photo speaks to the fact that the people of Israel have been carried away into captivity in a far-away foreign land.
70 years is a long time to live as exiles in a foreign land. An entirely new generation has been born and has grown up in captivity. The books of 1 & 2 Chronicles are written just as the first remnants of the Jews are beginning to return back to their homeland.
The books of 1 & 2 Chronicles are similar to the book of Deuteronomy in that they are a call to “Remember!” Remember how disobedience resulted in consequences! Remember! … so that this won’t happen again.
Deuteronomy was written to an entirely new generation after 40 years of wilderness-wandering (due to disobedience), so also the books of 1 & 2 Chronicles are written to an entirely new generation after 70 years of captivity (due to disobedience).
Just as the book of Deuteronomy restates God’s Law … teaching the new generation how to follow and serve God wholeheartedly, so also the books of 1 & 2 Chronicles focus on wholehearted devotion and worship of God.
Remember! Remember … how to worship God!
* 1 Chronicles, chapter 13 describes King David’s decisions on the proper manner in which to undertake moving the Ark of the Covenant.
* 1 Chronicles, chapters 15-16 present a detailed description of the Ark of the Covenant’s return to Jerusalem.
* 1 Chronicles 16:8-36 is a psalm of David, highlighting worship, and giving thanks & praise to God!
* 1 Chronicles, chapter 17 reveals God’s promise and direction to David concerning building the Temple.
* 1 Chronicles 21:15-22:1 describes how David purchased the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, which he then designated as the future site for the Temple.
* 1 Chronicles 22:2-19 details David’s extensive preparations for building the Temple.
* 1 Chronicles, chapter 28 records the official ceremony, before all the leaders of Israel, in which David officially passes to Solomon the charge to build the Temple.
* 1 Chronicles, chapters 23-27 list in great detail priests, Levites, armies, temple officials, and other leaders of various ministries. These lists might seem irrelevant to us today, however this information was extremely important for those to whom this book was written. It was through these genealogical records that the people could trace the legitimacy of a claim to a particular role or rank … which was especially vital as it related to service in the Temple.
An extensive amount of space in 1 Chronicles is devoted to genealogies. After 70 years of captivity in a far-away foreign land it is of upmost importance to trace, through genealogy, the purity of God’s chosen people, as they are at last returning to their homeland. It is of upmost importance to trace the purity of the priesthood. And to trace the line of David. Because … it is through the line of David that the Messiah would come! Jesus Christ!
Jesus in 1 Chronicles … is clearly and vividly seen through every aspect of the Temple and of the Sacrificial System. Everything about the Sacrificial System foreshadows the coming of Jesus to be the sacrifice for the sin of all humanity.
* The Ark of the Covenant represented God’s very presence with His people. Jesus Christ is the very presence of God, come to be with us. (Colossians 1:15-20; Matthew 1:23; John 14:9-10; John 10:30)
