First and Second Chronicles were one book in the Hebrew Bible like the books of Kings and Samuel. Chronicles was the last book in the Hebrew Bible. It actually makes a lot of sense being placed last. It holds to a promise of another King from David’s line who will govern His people. We follow this in our Bibles with the introduction of King Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel. While much in First and Second Chronicles will seem to cover stories that you’ve recently read in Samuel and Kings the emphasis will be more theological. You can watch the video for the Bible Project Summary of Chronicles here where they will discuss some of the distinct purposes of Chronicles. If you have the Holman Concise Bible Commentary (HCBC) be sure to read pages 155-156 where the differences between Chronicles and Samuel/Kings are discussed and pages 163-164 where the purpose and theology of Chronicles are discussed. If you don’t own this commentary, you can borrow it from the Church Library. When you read these introduction pages a lot of Scripture references will be given to support the conclusions reached. I know it can be time consuming to look up and read these references, but the time spent will be well worth it. It’s always helpful to ask if the Biblical text supports any author’s conclusion. This more detailed study will also help you as you read the Bible itself to become more aware of what the author wants his first readers to understand. Sometimes we find ourselves just reading ‘words’ and not getting involved with the text. This is not the purpose of Bible reading.
In the HCBC in the Purpose and Theology we read, “The dominant motif is the temple and its service. Chronicles focuses on the institution of worship, especially music, and the role of the Levites.”[1] In 2 Samuel 6:12-18 we read the account of David bringing the ark to Jerusalem. Verse 12 reads, ” It was reported to King David, “The Lord has blessed Obed-edom’s family and all that belongs to him because of the ark of God.” So David went and had the ark of God brought up from Obed-edom’s house to the city of David with rejoicing.”[2] The passage then goes on to report on the rejoicing that ends with David’s wife Michal’s disgust with his actions. Contrast this with the account given in 1 Chron. 15:1-25,
David built houses for himself in the city of David, and he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it. 2 Then David said, “No one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, because the Lord has chosen them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister before him forever.… 11 David summoned the priests Zadok and Abiathar and the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab. 12 He said to them, “You are the heads of the Levite families. You and your relatives must consecrate yourselves so that you may bring the ark of the Lord God of Israel to the place I have prepared for it….15 Then the Levites carried the ark of God the way Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord: on their shoulders with the poles. 16 Then David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their relatives as singers and to have them raise their voices with joy accompanied by musical instruments—harps, lyres, and cymbals….22 Chenaniah, the leader of the Levites in music, was to direct the music because he was skillful.”
David is seen very positively in Chronicles; you won’t read anything about his affair with Bathsheba or the difficulty he had with his children. Criticism of Solomon is also avoided in Chronicles. Note 1 Kings 11:1-40 where Solomon’s many wives are mentioned, and his worship of pagan gods are discussed will not be paralleled in 2 Chronicles. As the last book in the Hebrew Bible, it ends looking forward to the Temple being rebuilt and a hope for God’s people once again in the land. The true hope will be found in the New Testament with the arrival of a new King in David’s line whose name is Jesus.
[1] Mathews, Kenneth A. 1998. “The Historical Books.” In Holman Concise Bible Commentary, edited by David S. Dockery, 156. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[2] All Scripture quotations are from theChristian Standard Bible. 2020. Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
