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Introduction
- Overview of the book of I Chronicles…
- 1st – The 5th of the 6 books of the Kings of Israel – I Samuel through II Chronicles…
- The Latin Vulgate labels the books – the I / II / III / and IV book of Kings
- The Hebrew Bible – Tanak – labels the books – Kings / and the book of Chronicles…
- I Samuel followed the anointing / reign / and fall of King Saul…
- II Samuel is focused on the life of King David – from his coronation to his death…
- I Kings focused on the reign of Solomon in the first 11 chapters…
- The rest of I Kings and II Kings – follow the divided Kingdom…
- I and II Chronicles – retells the history of only Judah (the southern Kingdom)
- I Chronicles – focuses on the first two Kings of Judah – Saul and David…
- II Chronicles – focuses on the final 41 Kings of Judah – Solomon – Zedekiah!
- 2nd – Who wrote the book of I Chronicles
- The name Chronicles was given to these books by the 5th century scholar Jerome…
- The name literally means – ‘The events of the days’ – from the Hebrew – Divrei Hayyamim
- The author is unknown – but it has been traditionally accredited to Ezra or Nehemiah…
- Written after the Babylonian captivity – 586 B.C. – when the people returned to Judah
- 3rd – I Chronicles – has a bit a of a bad reputation…
- It does not help it opens up with the longest genealogy in the Bible – 9 chapters…
- Then goes on to just repeat the same history we studies in II Samuel – II Kings…
- You may have noticed that the Bible often repeats itself…
- But God does not stutter – He is not interested in wasting time or space in the Bible…
- The reason is because often we do not hear it – or do not understand – the first time…
- The Bible tells us over and over in the hope we will eventually get it…
- It is too important for us not to get / so we must repeat it as many times as needed!
- Philippians 3:1 – “To write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe.”
- 4th – There are 4 major sections to I and II Chronicles…
- I Chronicles 1-9 – give the genealogy of the Nation of Israel – from Adam – Captivity…
- Genealogies were very important to the Jewish people – proving their heritage…
- But they become important for us – because it becomes the line of Jesus Christ!
- I Chronicles 10 – II Chronicles 9 – the period of the United Kingdom
- 1050 B.C – Saul – the first King of Israel began his 40-year reign over Israel…
- 1010 B.C. – David – the second King of Israel began his 40-year reign…
- 970 B.C. – Solomon – the third King of Israel began his 40-year reign…
- II Chronicles 10-28 the period of the divided Kingdom…
- 930 B.C. – After the death of Solomon the Kingdom of Israel was split in two…
- The Northern 10 tribes – called Israel – ruled at first by Jeroboam…
- Judah and Benjamin – called Judah – ruled at first by Rehoboam…
- Israel would not be reunited as one nation until 1948 – Ezekiel 37:21-22
- 40 Kings would rule over the two kingdoms – 20 in Israel / 20 in Judah…
- It is one of the most important / yet unknown parts of the history of Israel…
- All of the prophets from Isaiah-Malachi prophesied during the Divided Kingdom!
- The period end with the Diaspora – 722 B.C. – the northern Kingdom falls…
- 586 B.C. – the southern Kingdom is taken captive to Babylon for 70 years!
- II Chronicles 29-36 – the period of the reunited Kingdom…
- The captives returned to Judah in waves – Ezra / Zerubbabel / Nehemiah…
- 515 B.C. – the Jews returned to the Land – Fulfilling the prophecy of Jeremiah 29:10!
- I Chronicles 1-9 – give the genealogy of the Nation of Israel – from Adam – Captivity…
- 5th – The main themes of I and II Chronicles…
- The people of God – the nation of Israel…
- The book of Chronicles focuses on the 3 kings of the United Kingdom…
- As well as the 20 Kings of Judah – of which only 8 were Godly Kings…
- Yet all 12 tribes are listed in the genealogy in the first 9 chapters…
- Because God cares about all his people – not matter how messed up they were!
- Romans 11:29 – “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”
- God does not make mistakes – He does not change His mind – and He chose Israel!
- A comforting thought – there has been many a day I questioned God…
- Lord are you sure you want to use me – I make an awful lot of mistakes…
- But God does not make any mistakes – and He chose us to follow Him!
- The Temple of God…
- Beginning with the desire of David to build a house for the Lord…
- Carried out by his son Solomon – who constructed the Temple…
- To the destruction of the Temple because the people trusted it rather than the Lord!
- The Blessing and Judgment of God…
- God uses Israel to illustrate a simple point – choose blessings or curses…
- Obey the Word of God and be blessed / disobey and find you are cursed!
- Joshua 24:15 – “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…
- We do not choose to be blessed or cursed – that we be an easy choice…
- We choose to obey or to disobey the Word of God – it is a choice we make everyday…
- If we obey – Blessed – if we choose to go our own way – Cursed!
- The people of God – the nation of Israel…
- 1st – The 5th of the 6 books of the Kings of Israel – I Samuel through II Chronicles…
The longest Genealogy in the Bible… (2 things)
- 1st – The beginning… vs. 1-54 – (3 points) Read: I Chronicles 1:1-4
- 1st – From Adam to Noah… vs. 1-3
- When we read the names in Hebrew they have little meaning to us…
- But if we read them translated things get a lot more interesting…
- Man – Appointed – Mortal – Sorrow – The Blessed God – Shall come down…
- Teaching – His death shall bring – The despairing – Rest!
- The Gospel in a Genealogy – hidden in plain sight in the list from Adam to Noah!
- From the very beginning God planned on giving his life to save ours!
- 2nd – The table of nations – Shem / Ham / and Japheth… vs. 5-27
- This genealogy is parallel to the one listed in Genesis 10 – the ‘Table of Nations’…
- Because it is from these 3 sons of Noah that the whole earth was populated!
- The sons of Japheth are listed first in verses 5-7 – who was the youngest son of Noah…
- Japheth was the forefather of the people who settled in ‘Europe’…
- His descendants were best known for the intellectual / science / and politics
- Why do we care about these names…
- You have heard of the country of Germany – 100 years old – used to be called Prussia
- Turkey / Saudi Arabia / Qatar – 80 years old – used to be called Ottoman Empire
- The problem with names is that we are always changing them!
- So if God wants to talk about a country in the Bible – what name does He use…
- He goes back to the beginning – the table of nations – and uses their first names!
- The sons of Ham are listed in verse 8-16…
- Ham was the forefather of the people who would settle in Africa…
- His descendants were best known for the arts and building – Pyramids…
- Nimrod (son of Cush) – was a ‘mighty tyrant in the face of Yahweh’…
- Men scattered after the Flood – Nimrod became their leader uniting them against God!
- He built great cities in the plains of Shinar (Iraq) – and the tower of Babel – Genesis 11!
- Canaan was also a descendant of Ham – the father of the Canaanites…
- Who infamously inhabited the Land of Israel prior to Joshua conquering it!
- The sons of Shem are listed in verses 17-27…
- His descendants settled in the Middle East – and were best known for religions…
- All 3 great religions of the world come from Shem – Judaism / Christianity / Islam
- Shem is the forefather of all the Semitic people (Shem)…
- The father of all the children of Eber – ‘Hebrew’!
- This genealogy is parallel to the one listed in Genesis 10 – the ‘Table of Nations’…
- 3rd – The birth of a nation… vs. 28-54
- Abraham – the descendant of Seth – had children by 3 different women…
- He had Ishmael by Hagar – the servant of his wife Sarah – because Sarah was barren…
- After the death of Sarah he married Keturah – when he was 140 years old – 6 sons…
- But God only considered Isaac – the son of the promise – his son – Genesis 22:2
- And he gave all he had – his whole inheritance – to Isaac – the son of the Promise!
- Ever think you were born to the wrong family…
- If only we had been born to some rich loving family – life would have been easy…
- Yet it was not the sons of Abraham that were blessed – but the son of promise!
- Romans 8:16-17 – “For his Holy Spirit speaks to us deep in our hearts and tells us that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we will share his treasures—for everything God gives to his Son, Christ, is ours, too.”
- Isaac had two sons – Israel and Esau…
- We are given the genealogy of Esau in verses 35-54…
- The result of Esau was his decedents just became another godless nation…
- Esau – the son of Isaac – the son of the promise – became a worldly nation…
- The Holy Spirit give us all these seemingly useless names – twice – Genesis 36:9-43
- As a warning – for us who read about these two sons who lived very different lives…
- Both Jacob and Esau were the sons of Isaac – both had godly parents…
- Only one went on to be a Godly nation – a nation ruled by God…
- Only Israel – who gave his heart to the Lord – became a nation that served the Lord!
- Abraham – the descendant of Seth – had children by 3 different women…
- 1st – From Adam to Noah… vs. 1-3
Do not settle in – do not get comfortable – we are no going to be here for very long!
2nd – The nation of Israel… (8 points)
1st – The Tribe of Judah… Chapter 2:1-55 Read: I Chronicles 2:1-2
Each of these twelve sons of Jacob – became one of the tribes of Israel…
Chapter 2 gives us the genealogy of the Tribe of Judah…
Judah was the most important of the Tribes – because Jesus would come from Judah!
Revelation 5:5 – “Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David…”
Judah had 3 sons by the daughter of Shua – Er / Onan / and Shelah – Genesis 38:1-5…
Judah took a wife for his oldest son Er – Tamar…
Er was an evil man and God killed him – so Judah told Onan to take Tamar as his wife…
But Onan refused to give her children – Deuteronomy 25:5-6 – so God killed him!
At this point Judah only had one son left – Shelah – who was to young to marry!
Tamar saw Judah had not given her to Shelah as a wife (nor did he intent to)…
So she put on a veil – dressing up as a prostitute – and waiting along the road…
Judah propositioned her – not knowing it was his daughter-in-law…
She asked what he was willing to pay – they settled on a goat as the ‘fee’!
3 months later – word came Tamar had played the Harlot – and was pregnant
Judah was quick to judge – bring her here and burn her!
Matthew 7:1 – “Judge not, that you be not judged.”
Funny how we want grace when we make a mistake – and judgment for others…
We are called to forgive others – give them grace – as we have been forgiven!
Tamar had twins – Perez and Zerah…
One of the descendants of Perez was Boaz – the great grandfather of King David!
Ever think that God could not use you because of your past…
God put a prostitute into the lineage of Jesus Christ!
2nd – The genealogy of King David… Chapter 3:1-24
The two most important sons of David are Solomon and Nathan…
The genealogy in Matthew 1:1-17 – follows Solomon – the Royal lineage…
The genealogy in Luke 3:21-38 follows Nathan – the non-cursed lineage…
If Jesus had come from the line of Solomon He could not have been king…
The result of the curse on Jehoiakim – Jeremiah 22:30 – the 19th King of Judah…
But as the adopted son of Joseph He inherited the Royal lineage – through Solomon…
And as the son of Mary He was in the direct lineage of David – through Nathan!
The sons of Solomon are listed in verses 10-24 – the list of the Kings of Judah!
3rd – Genealogy of Judah (non-royal) / and Simeon… Chapter 4:1-43 Read: I Chronicles 4:9-10
Verses 1-23 goes back to Perez and follows the non-royal line of Judah…
There is one interesting name that comes up in the list – Jabez (pain)…
A book called the ‘Prayer of Jabez’ was very popular in Christian circles for a while…
Jabez called on the God of Israel – and asked God to keep him from evil…
It is a good prayer – and certainly shows the great heart Jabez had!
There is nothing wrong with taking note of prayers in the Bible – but do not repeat them!
Matthew 6:7 – “When you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do.”
The idea of scripted prayers is just silly – that is a speech – not a prayer…
And we must be careful not to make prayer a ritual rather than a conversation…
Imagine a ‘friend’ came up to you the same time every day and said the same thing…
Never any variation – never waiting around for a reply – no relationship!
When we simply repeat ourselves out of habit there is no conversation!
Verses 24-43 – give us the descendants of Simeon – who settled in the South of Israel
4th – Genealogy of Reuben / Gad / and ½ Manasseh… Chapter 5:1-26 Read: I Chronicles 5:1-2
Ruben settled on the east side of the Jordan River – along with Gad and ½ Manasseh…
Rueben was not given his birthright as the oldest son – because of sin…
He had an affair with his father’s wife – Bilhah – Genesis 35:22
Simeon & Levi were also disqualified – they wiped out the town of Shechem – Genesis 34
Therefore the birthright passed onto Judah – the 4th son of Jacob!
Verses 11-17 give us a short Genealogy of the tribe of Gad
Verses 18-22 – give us the battle of Rueben / Gad / and the ½ tribe of Manasseh…
They had 47,600 well-trained soldiers – and cried out to God – so He gave them victory!
Psalms 20:7 – “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the LORD our God.”
It is easer to trust in someone we can touch and see – then to trust in God…
The problem is men are limited – and victory can only come from the Lord!
Verses 23-34 give us a short Genealogy of the ½ tribe of Manasseh
Verses 25-26 give us the fall of Reuben / Gad / and ½ Manasseh – to Assyria…
They were content to settle in the grazing lands east of the Jordan River…
They lacked the natural barrier of the river – making them vulnerable…
So they were the first of the 12 tribes to be conquered – II Kings 10:32-33…
Often we try to reason with God – how far away from the world do we need to be…
We do not want to be in the world – just really close – is that OK God…
There is no compromising – there is no middle ground – no fence…
The danger of living life on the fence – is falling off on the wrong side!
5th – Genealogy of Levi… Chapter 6:1-81
The Levites – out of the 12 tribes – were dedicated to serving the Lord…
Why did God choose the Levites above all the other tribes…
Exodus 32:25-29 – The Golden calf rebellion of Israel…
Moses called out – ‘whoever is on the Lord’s side – come to me.’
Many from Israel came to Moses – including the whole tribe of Levi…
They did not give in to the world – they were zealous for the Lord!
So all of the Levites were called into the service of God – caring for the Tabernacle…
And Aaron and his sons – from the tribe of Levi – were appointed as the priests of God!
God uses us – when we keep ourselves from the world – excited about God…
Who would you choose to be on your team – excited or apathetic…
Often we believe in the Lord – we follow the Lord – but often from a distance…
Look like a Christian on Sundays – like the world Monday – Saturday…
God is looking for those who are zealous for Him every day!
6th – Genealogy of 6 of the Northern Tribes… Chapter 7:1-40
The Tribes of Issachar / Benjamin / Naphtali / Manasseh / Ephraim / Asher…
When we see lists of names like this – we think the only use might be a cure of insomnia…
But I heard a story of a woman who loved to read the Genealogy in Chronicles…
It comforted her that God never forgets a name – and that means He knows ours as well!
7th – The Genealogy of the tribe of Benjamin… Chapter 8:1-40
An exhaustive list that likely serves one purpose – King Saul was from Benjamin…
As the first King of Israel it made the tribe / and Genealogy important!
8th – The remnant of Israel… Chapter 9:1-44
The final list – is a breakdown of who came back from Babylon after 70 years!
It lists their names / tribes / location they settled into / and their work…
When the time came for the Jews to return – only 42 thousand went – Ezra 1:64…
The majority of the Jews stayed in exile – because they it had become comfortable!
While we are still here waiting to go home – it is easy for us to get comfortable…
It is easy for us to forget this is not our home – we are waiting to go home…
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