First, let’s conclude our introduction to 1 & 2 Kings.
· Comparisons and contrasts of 1 and 2 Kings
1 Kings 2
Kings
Begins with David Ends with the
king of Babylon
Opens with
Solomon’s glory Ends with
Zedekiah’s captivity
Records building
the temple Records
burning of the temple
Records blessing of
obedience Records the curse
of disobedience
The
progress of apostacy The
consequences of apostacy
The kings
failure to rule for God Results of failure to rule for God.
Introduces Elijah Introduces
Elisha
Records the longsuffering of God Records God’s punishment of sin
We already did a brief overview of 1
Chronicles because it, along with 2 Samuel, covered the life of David. But now let us get introduced to the two
books.
·
Authorship
Scripture does not tell us who served as the
human author, but the Jewish tradition that it was Ezra has much to offer. The book of Ezra begins where 2 Chron.
ends. There are similarities of
style. And Ezra was a priest, and it appears
the author of the Chronicles had a priestly concern.
·
Sources
The Holy Spirit tells us that the writer did
rely on various sources. In the genealogies
of 1 Chron. 1-9 there was dependence on the Pentateuch as well as various books
of history in the OT. In addition, 1
Chron. 29:29 speaks of three sources: the books of Samuel, Nathan and Gad. 2 Chron. 9:29 refers to the prophecy of
Abijah and the visions of Ido. 2 Chron.
12:15 refers to the book of Shamiah. 2
Chron. 24:27 refers to “the annals of the book of the kings” which could refer
to the Biblical books of “The Kings.”
·
Purpose:
o The Kings were written from a prophetic
viewpoint; Chronicles was written from a priestly viewpoint.
§ Genealogies of 1 Chr. 1-9. This was critical to the priestly ministry.
§ Omission of history of NK. The temple and it’s worship were in Judah,
not in the NK.
§ Heavy attention is given to priestly worship,
and the extensive organization that took place under David.
o To show division of families and positions
prior to captivity.
o To trace the Kingdom of Judah from the
beginning to the restoration.
o To impress the people with the importance of
temple worship (to keep them from idolatry).
o To show the importance of faithfulness to the
Lord.
·
Outline:
o 1 Chr. 1-9: Genealogy of Mankind (Adam to
David)
o 1 Chr. 10-29: History of David
o 2 Chr. 1-9: History of Solomon
o 2 Chr. 10-36: Kingdom of Judah to the proclamation
of Cyrus.
When you read the books of Kings and Chronicles,
I believe it is the record of what God prophesied for the nation in the Song of
Moses (Deut. 32) as well as the prophecy of blessings and curses in Lev. 26. God predicted Israel’s unfaithfulness as well
as His chastisement on the nation, including removal from the land. You will see, when you read the prophets,
that they had this perspective. They
viewed the events in Israel through the lens of the Song of Moses. Various pestilences and defeats at the hands
of the nations were not viewed as political events; they were the fulfillment
of prophecy. God was doing in Israel
what He said He would do. Consider this
as you read the Books of History, Joshua through Esther.
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