Delve Into The WritingsSample

DAY 13 - CHRONICLES-EZRA-NEHEMIAH 

In the fifth century BC, the exiles from Judah were allowed to return to their homeland. It must have been difficult for them to see how they could still fulfill God’s special purpose for them as a distinct nation. Their capital city and its temple had been destroyed; they were no longer ruled by their own king; many of them had married people from other nations; and foreigners had settled in many parts of their land. They may have thought they should still see themselves as scattered among the nations and just try to be good citizens of the foreign country they served. But the books of Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah (which are really one long book, telling one continuous story) speak a resounding “No!” to this way of thinking. Together they insist that the returned exiles can still provide a demonstration to the surrounding nations that their God is the only true God, if they’ll once again form a distinct society, now to be centered in the worship of God in a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem. 

These books communicate their message by presenting a sweeping chronicle of Israel’s national history, beginning with a long genealogy (ancestor list). Going all the way back to Adam, it situates the people of Israel among the nations, implicitly reminding them of their calling even as it documents their credentials as a distinct people. Most of the genealogy is a record of the twelve sons of Jacob (Israel) and their descendants. Special attention is given to Judah, the ancestor of the royal line of David, and to Levi, the ancestor of the priests and temple attendants. The genealogy follows these descendants down through the exile and return. At the end, it goes back to the list of Benjamin’s descendants in order to introduce Saul, the first king of Israel. 

This leads into the second main part of this national chronicle, a description of each of the kings who ruled in Jerusalem down to the time of the exile. David receives more attention than any other king, but even so, many details of his life described in Samuel–Kings and the Psalms are left out. The history focuses essentially on his military campaigns and on his elaborate preparations for the temple in Jerusalem. The reason for this selection of material becomes clear when it’s explained that David wasn’t permitted to build the temple himself because he was a warrior, and God wanted a “man of peace and rest” to build the temple, since it would be a place where people of all nations could come and pray. This honor therefore fell to David’s son Solomon. 

PRAYER: O Lord, You are the only true God. I worship You.