The Purpose of The Book of Chronicles

Spartan Sprinter 1

Formerly known as Shaun
Hi guys, I'm really struggling spiritually to read through the Book of Chronicles in the sense that it seems to be repeating a lot of the stuff in the book of Kings with only a little bit more detail.

Does anyone know what is the purpose of the book of chronicles to the believer ?

This is the 1st time that i want to skip over a book of the bible but i know that there surely must be something in it for us gentile believers?
 

RonJohnSilver

Well-Known Member
In general, all of the Bible is useful as Paul says, for examples of what to do and not to do. Timothy says the Bible is useful for training in righteousness. Even with some of the repetitions, remember that the Old Testament points to Jesus, sometimes obscurely, but Jesus himself said that the O.T. was all about Him. As for Chronicles, remember that in the Hebrew Bible, the Tanach, some of the books were consolidated into one. Chronicles and Kings may be two that were together at one time. Finally, I remember one of my teachers saying that he believed the entire Bible was useful, every single verse, even the geneologies and Levitical laws...perhaps not to everyone...but someone, somewhere would find meaning in the difficult verses. I'm not at my desk so I don't have the Biblical references at hand. Keep reading, though, it gets better.
 
Hi guys, I'm really struggling spiritually to read through the Book of Chronicles in the sense that it seems to be repeating a lot of the stuff in the book of Kings with only a little bit more detail.

Does anyone know what is the purpose of the book of chronicles to the believer ?

This is the 1st time that i want to skip over a book of the bible but i know that there surely must be something in it for us gentile believers?

The Books of Chronicles focuses soley on the Kingdom of Judah, while the Books of the Kings focuses on both Judah and Israel. Being that out of the two nations only Judah survives to return (the northern kingdom is taken by Assyria and never seen again per se), the Lord returns to focus on them a bit more in the Chronicles. In fact, over half of the information in the Books of Chronicles do not appear in Either Samuel 1 or 2, or the Books of the Kings.

In the Chronicles are given several chronological lists; these lists became very important in re-establishing worship in Jerusalem, as only the Levites could qualify to become priests in the temple. Additionally, by showing the lineage of Israel from Adam to that point, as well as the Lord's provision in times past, the people could take heart that they were still God's chosen nation and that He had not abandoned them.

So, what do these books hold for us today then?

For one thing: they demonstrate that all that God promised to do, He has done. Whenever Hod made a promise to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their descendants, He was more than able to fulfill it. He brought them out of Egypt, He established them in the Holy Land, He provided for and cared for them, and He preserved a remnant even in the worst of times. If the Lord God can be trusted to do so for the Israelites back them, and preserve not only their heritage, but their lineage and the promises made to them (as well as the prophecies made to them as well), the He can still do so for us today. We, who are waiting on one of the most important prophecies and promises yet to come, can see in Chronicles not only the history (good and bad) of Judah, but how the Lord held true to his word throughout it.

For another: it demonstrates that when the Lord has a warning for us, we would do very well to heed it! God warned Israel and Judah repeatedly that judgment was coming if they did not turn from their sin. Just because Judah had escaped Assyria's invasion did not mean they had skipped out on the Lord's judgment against them! They spent a generation in captivity learning a hard lesson: When God says something, He means it!!

Finally, the last statement of 2 Chronicles tells that Cyrus permitted the return of the Jewish nation to Israel. This serves as a note that not only did they have permission from the King of Persia, but that the Lord had restored them to their homeland. At least in my mind, it shows us that even when we mess up badly, there is still forgiveness and restoration in the Lord, no matter the circumstances.
 
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Spartan Sprinter 1

Formerly known as Shaun
The Books of Chronicles focuses soley on the Kingdom of Judah, while the Books of the Kings focuses on both Judah and Israel. Being that out of the two nations only Judah survives to return (the northern kingdom is taken by Assyria and never seen again per se), the Lord returns to focus on them a bit more in the Chronicles. In fact, over half of the information in the Books of Chronicles do not appear in Either Samuel 1 or 2, or the Books of the Kings.

In the Chronicles are given several chronological lists; these lists became



very important in re-establishing worship in Jerusalem, as only the Levites could qualify to become priests in the temple. Additionally, by showing the lineage of Israel from Adam to that point, as well as the Lord's provision in times past, the people could take heart that they were still God's chosen nation and that He had not abandoned them.

So, what do these books hold for us today then?

For one thing: they demonstrate that all that God promised to do, He has done. Whenever Hod made a promise to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their descendants, He was more than able to fulfill it. He brought them out of Egypt, He established them in the Holy Land, He provided for and cared for them, and He preserved a remnant even in the worst of times. If the Lord God can be trusted to do so for the Israelites back them, and preserve not only their heritage, but their lineage and the promises made to them (as well as the prophecies made to them as well), the He can still do so for us today. We, who are waiting on one of the most important prophecies and promises yet to come, can see in Chronicles not only the history (good and bad) of Judah, but how the Lord held true to his word throughout it.

For another: it demonstrates that when the Lord has a warning for us, we would do very well to heed it! God warned Israel and Judah repeatedly that judgment was coming if they did not turn from their sin. Just because Judah had escaped Assyria's invasion did not mean they had skipped out on the Lord's judgment against them! They spent a generation in captivity learning a hard lesson: When God says something, He means it!!

Finally, the last statement of 2 Chronicles tells that Cyrus permitted the return of the Jewish nation to Israel. This serves as a note that not only did they have permission from the King of Persia, but that the Lord had restored them to their homeland. At least in my mind, it shows us that even when we mess up badly, there is still forgiveness and restoration in the Lord, no matter the circumstances.


Thanks Sojourner for clearing that up, i understood how this book would benefit the Jews but wasn't sure what it's application is for us believers.

Your explanation was very clear and concise
 

Spartan Sprinter 1

Formerly known as Shaun
In general, all of the Bible is useful as Paul says, for examples of what to do and not to do. Timothy says the Bible is useful for training in righteousness. Even with some of the repetitions, remember that the Old Testament points to Jesus, sometimes obscurely, but Jesus himself said that the O.T. was all about Him. As for Chronicles, remember that in the Hebrew Bible, the Tanach, some of the books were consolidated into one. Chronicles and Kings may be two that were together at one time. Finally, I remember one of my teachers saying that he believed the entire Bible was useful, every single verse, even the geneologies and Levitical laws...perhaps not to everyone...but someone, somewhere would find meaning in the difficult verses. I'm not at my desk so I don't have the Biblical references at hand. Keep reading, though, it gets better.


Yeah at the moment it's the genealogy of the tribes that is kind of getting a bit monotonous to read through , I'll have to pray that the holy spirit keeps my attention and to show me the relevant lessons tjat i need to take heed of
 

God's Servant

Well-Known Member
I can understand the feeling of monotony. But RonJohnSilver is correct, at least to my experience. God brought me through a bunch of genealogies, all the way back to Ishmael who started the nation of Kedar, now modern day Saudia Arabia, from where my absent biological father is from. It blew my mind.

So yeah, those long lists maybe lists and exhausting for some to read, but they are in the Bible, part of inspired Scripture. Even if it doesn't make sense to you, you should probably read the list anyway, not knowing what God will show you like He did for me. Every single word in the bible is precious to me, because it is all from God.
 

antitox

Well-Known Member
1 Chronicles is valuable to me since I refer to it often to find out lineages of certain people I'm reading about. For example, in 1 Samuel it gives Samuel's father's reference as an Ephraimite. 1 Chr reveals that he was a Kohathite from Levi. 1 Chr 6 shows that. He was just called an Ephramite because he dwelt there. So Samuel was of the priestly tribe, that's why he could offer the sacrifices for people. It is a valuable tool for me. 2 Chronicles goes through Judah kings, some in more detail than you might find in the book of Kings. I still like looking back in there because I keep finding out more things about the people.
 

cavalier973

Well-Known Member
I am about halfway through 2 Chronicles, reading it aloud to my wife—I had begun with 1 Samuel.

I suspect you’ve already finished reading it, since this post is from last year, but one interesting thing to do is to compare what is said in the Chronicles versus what is reported in Samuel/Kings. As Chuck Missler noted, when you find what appears to be a discrepancy in the Scriptures, there is an opportunity for Spirit-led, in-depth study.

For example, in 1 Kings it says that King Asa of Judah did not remove the high places, while 2 Chronicles says that he did. Why did the Holy Spirit lead the writers of these books to write different things? The answer may be something simple, such as 2 Chronicles was correct in reporting that King Asa removed all the pagan idols in the high places, but 1 Kings is correct that he did not remove the high places devoted to worshiping the Lord God. It may be something more in-depth, as well.

As to the genealogies, yeah, those are a slog. I kept an eye on which names were reused over generations (David was never reused, as I recall) and also noted whenever a woman’s name was mentioned.
 

Spartan Sprinter 1

Formerly known as Shaun
I am about halfway through 2 Chronicles, reading it aloud to my wife—I had begun with 1 Samuel.

I suspect you’ve already finished reading it, since this post is from last year, but one interesting thing to do is to compare what is said in the Chronicles versus what is reported in Samuel/Kings. As Chuck Missler noted, when you find what appears to be a discrepancy in the Scriptures, there is an opportunity for Spirit-led, in-depth study.

For example, in 1 Kings it says that King Asa of Judah did not remove the high places, while 2 Chronicles says that he did. Why did the Holy Spirit lead the writers of these books to write different things? The answer may be something simple, such as 2 Chronicles was correct in reporting that King Asa removed all the pagan idols in the high places, but 1 Kings is correct that he did not remove the high places devoted to worshiping the Lord God. It may be something more in-depth, as well.

As to the genealogies, yeah, those are a slog. I kept an eye on which names were reused over generations (David was never reused, as I recall) and also noted whenever a woman’s name was mentioned.
Thanks that's a great suggestion, i will do that once i finish reading Jeremiah
 

Belle of Grace

Longing for Home
Chronicles was written by Ezra. In the English Bible it comes after Kings, but in the Hebrew Bible it is the last book in the Old Testament. Putting Chronicles behind Kings in the English Bible is confusing. We are like "hey, I just read this". Kings tells the story of both good and bad kings. Chronicles actually only tells the story of the good Kings of Israel. Why? It was written after the Babylonian exile by Ezra. It is meant to be sort of "come together, we are God's people, let's start over and realize who we are" book and it gives the nation of Israel its' Roots. Royalty and Religion. It is important to know WHEN a book is written to understand WHY it was written and its' meaning.
"Unlocking the Bible" by David Pawson is in incredible book to read for this purpose.
I have recently begun to understand that books like this are useful for determining the dates when different Kings reigned.
It's another way of verifying the truth it contains. As I'm sure you already know, the Bible is the most carefully examined and vetted book that was ever written. Its truth still stands.

Thanks for the book suggestion.
 

Classic

Member
Hi guys, I'm really struggling spiritually to read through the Book of Chronicles in the sense that it seems to be repeating a lot of the stuff in the book of Kings with only a little bit more detail.

Does anyone know what is the purpose of the book of chronicles to the believer ?

This is the 1st time that i want to skip over a book of the bible but i know that there surely must be something in it for us gentile believers?
I have heard it described as King’s tells the story from mans earthly perspective, Chronicles more from Gods perspective.
 

JamesSuth

Well-Known Member
For another: it demonstrates that when the Lord has a warning for us, we would do very well to heed it! God warned Israel and Judah repeatedly that judgment was coming if they did not turn from their sin. Just because Judah had escaped Assyria's invasion did not mean they had skipped out on the Lord's judgment against them! They spent a generation in captivity learning a hard lesson: When God says something, He means it!!
Excellent response. I find it interesting to consider all the warnings that God gave His people in the Old Testament. And then I consider the warnings given to the churches in Revelation. God doesn't change.

And today we await God's next big move on earth with the return of Christ knowing that this too was promised and will take place.
 

GEOINTAnalyst

Well-Known Member
The Books of 1 & 2 Chronicles cover mostly the same information as 1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Kings. Perhaps the biggest distinction is that 1 & 2 Chronicles focus more on the priestly aspect of the time period. The Book of 1 Chronicles was written after the exile to help those returning to Israel understand how to worship God. The history focused on the Southern Kingdom, the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi. These tribes tended to be more faithful to God.
 

Jonathan

Well-Known Member
Hi guys, I'm really struggling spiritually to read through the Book of Chronicles in the sense that it seems to be repeating a lot of the stuff in the book of Kings with only a little bit more detail.

Does anyone know what is the purpose of the book of chronicles to the believer ?

This is the 1st time that i want to skip over a book of the bible but i know that there surely must be something in it for us gentile believers?
This is an excellent question. Despite having read the Bible straight through twice now, (not to mention reading and contemplating all sorts of verses,) I didn't even come to the part where it made me wonder about it. Great question. I've bookmarked it to be able to follow the thread and the answers given.
 

mattfivefour

Well-Known Member
For example, in 1 Kings it says that King Asa of Judah did not remove the high places, while 2 Chronicles says that he did. Why did the Holy Spirit lead the writers of these books to write different things? The answer may be something simple, such as 2 Chronicles was correct in reporting that King Asa removed all the pagan idols in the high places, but 1 Kings is correct that he did not remove the high places devoted to worshiping the Lord God. It may be something more in-depth, as well.
2 Chronicles 14 says Asa removed the high places in Judah. 2 Chronicles 15 days he did not remove them from Israel. So, he purified Judah, but his returns did not extend fully to the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
 
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