Author: Pastor Bob

There was joy in Israel.  This is the closest that we get to a narrative in all of the chapter so far.  I know that it has seemed a very cold rendition of the families and the numbers who composed Israel, but there is always more to a story than just the names behind them.  The names represent families and we all know that families contain stories.  David was approached by all sorts of different families who wanted to show their support to him when Saul was seeking his life.  There were others who sided with the Philistines who were also going after Saul, but at that point David had to back out, or was asked to back out, because he could not be seen as going after his own king.  Not really what God wanted him to do.

Even while he was amassing his troops, and this is really what this account is about, David amassing his troops, there was still joy in Israel.  You will find in vs.38-40 an account of the feasts that they were having and yet all the while in theory they were ready for battle.  David apparently knew how to entertain and he drew to him people who were both good soldiers and good entertainers.  All of Israel was of a single mind to make David King.  All of Israel minus Saul and his men, I suppose.

We move from King Saul and the last days of his life to King David and his throne and the warriors who helped him achieve that throne.  There were three warriors in particular who are lifted up as significant.  They were front and center as David took over the crown and they helped to conquer Jerusalem that then became called the city of David.  It was ruled by the Jebusites who weren’t super pleased that David wanted to have it since, after all, it was theirs.  But David conquered the city and took it anyway.

You will find a listing of a whole number of other warriors who were important for David in order to maintain his kingdom.  You should see a familiar name in vs.41: “Uriah, the Hittite”.  Who remembers who this was?  This was the husband of Bathsheba whom David seduced and raped and then sent him to the battle front in order that he would be killed.  Of course, none of that is mentioned in these verses, but interestingly his name does not disappear, even if there is no mention of that incident, of that tragedy in Chronicles.  

David is portrayed as a man of the people as he complains that he can’t have the water from his home town, Bethlehem, remember that is where Mary and Joseph go for the census because they are from the house of David.  Then when these three soldiers go and get water from the well from Bethlehem he refuses to drink it because it was not right for him to put his men in danger just in order to have his desires met.  The deed was done, but he felt it was important to give an object lesson.

We now find inserted in this long list of genealogy the scene of the death of Saul which we can also find in I Samuel 31:1-13.  Feel free to read that for context.  It is interesting that of all the events that take place in the life of Saul, he chooses the very last event of his life, which is when he takes his own life.  I also find it interesting that we find a reason for why Aaul died in vs.13 and following.  The reasons are the following: 1.  He was unfaithful and 2. he consulted a medium.

The author goes on to say that “the Lord put him to death.”  It wasn’t the Philistines, even though they were the invading army, but rather the hand of God which caused Saul to see a hopelessness which he felt required him to take his life.  If you remember from I Samuel 11 Jabesh-gilead is where Paul is acclaimed king after he rescued this city from the Ammonites.  Now they are putting his head on display as a trophy.  We should never be surprised by history, it is fickle.

While in the previous chapters you have the list of genealogies which addresses the 11 tribes, you have here the list that addresses the priests which comes out of the family of Levi, and so were called the Levites.  I love how you see in vs.33 even a description of the families that provided the singers for the temple services were listed as well.  This is a whole list of those who were directly involved in the life of the temple, or what we would call the church.  But only if you were from a certain family could you participate in these services.

This does call to mind a very Protestant approach to clergy which is encapsulated with the phrase: “priesthood of all believers”.  This was John Calvin’s phrase and it parts ways with some denominations that believe in a succession that creates clergy.  Meaning that from Peter on down only certain people are called to be God’s emissaries.  We believe, conversely, that God has called upon all people to be “priests”.  By this term “priests” we mean that all people are given the power and the right to read and interpret Scripture and to hear and understand the voice of God.  

While there have been many who might hold pastors/priests who are ordained by the church to carry out their function in higher esteem as if they were somehow “closer” to God, that is anathema to our Protestant sensibilities.  A pastor is able to converse with God in no more ways than a farmer, or an accountant, or a police officer, or a teacher, or a…you fill in the blank.  That is what makes our church family so strong is that we don’t believe that one person in the church somehow has the monopoly on who is communicating with God.  We all are.  

Today we find ourselves with the listing of the progeny of Benjamin: how fun!  Okay, not really, but at least we have a scope of what we are viewing.  Remember Benjamin?  He was the absolutely youngest of the sons of Jacob and the last born to Rachel who died in childbirth when Benjamin was born.  So Joseph would have had a natural link to Benjamin because they had the same mother.  In fact, in Genesis we see how much Joseph loves Benjamin in Genesis 45:14 where we read about Joseph: “Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, while Benjamin wept upon his neck.”  Benjamin was very, very special to Joseph and it meant a lot to see him again.

Back to Chronicles…We find listed in Benjamin’s genealogy King Saul.  King Saul and his son Jonathan are listed.  Isn’t it interesting that Jesus’ birthright follows no through King Saul but through King David, who comes through Joseph’s line.  But Saul at one time was chosen to be the king of Israel and so potentially the line of the Messiah had a chance to run through him, and so through Benjamin, but instead it went through David.  Next chapter we will see ourselves with more names and genealogies.  Yay!

This chapter in Chronicles focuses on the increase in the number of warriors for the nation of Israel.  We read time and again here the number of “mighty warriors”.  The emphasis in this chapter is on growth, large numbers, and military prowess.  All of these things are important to nation that is surrounded by hostile nations, each looking to get a foothold in the region.  

We find in this chapter also the birth of one of the heroes of Scripture, Joshua.  You’ll find him mentioned in vs.27.  So how are you holding up with all of these names and all of these people that we have already seen either in Genesis or other passages that we worked through in Kings and really all of the Old Testament.  What makes this book of the Bible difficult is that there are very few stories and events in the lives of these people that are elucidated.  Just names and then more names on top of that may not tell much of a story until you do some research and find out more about those names.  We have tried to do that fairly consistently, and hopefully in the next chapters we can do more.  

The emphasis on military prowess is not unusual for Israel.  It does fly a bit against what we see Jesus bringing in the New Covenant.  

While this picture can also reflect what is written in Joshua 21, and feel free to read that, it really represents what we find in chapter 6 of I Chronicles.  You will find what are described as Levitical towns, places where folks who were accused of breaking the law could go in order to find justice and not be pursued and attacked and killed by an angry mob.  The map shows those cities, which are called  cities of refuge, with red boxes.

Interesting how today in the 21st century there is still talk and discussion about refuge or sanctuary cities.  I know that my father was very active in what was called the Sanctuary movement in the late 70’s and early 80’s where churches would sponsor families that were fleeing from terrible civil war and unrest from Latin America.  These sanctuary churches, as they were called, would house families sometimes for years before they were able to be processed and run through our legal system.  

It always fascinates me to see a biblical concept carried out and put into place and lived even thousands of years after it was first carried out.  The Levitical towns were such because the Levites were considered the priests of the Lord.  Those who had the responsibility for the sacrifices and the laws, and the religious life of the people were also responsible to ensure that the most vulnerable would be protected.  In this chapter you read about the refugee cities in vs.66 and following.

This chapter begins with an interesting side bar that describes the reason why Reuben, who was the eldest of the family of Jacob, or Israel, did not receive the birthright.  It states because he “defiled his father’s bed”.  If you remember, and you may not because I had to go back and look it up, a random verse in Genesis 35 describes what happens after Rachel dies in childbirth when Benjamin is born, the last of the children of Rachel.  Remember, Rachel is also the mother of Joseph.  If you look at vs.22 in that chapter you read: “While Israel (that would be Jacob) lived in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine; and Israel (that would be Jacob) heard of it.”  

That is all we read in this chapter in Genesis until we get to Genesis 49 where we find Jacob on his death bed and he calls all of his sons together so that he can bless them.  Look at vs.3-4 of chapter 49 and you will hear Jacob say: “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might and the first fruits of my vigor, excelling in rank and excelling in power.  Unstable as water, you shall no longer excel because you went up onto your father’s bed; then you defiled it – you went up onto my couch!”  This is where we read that Reuben lost his birthright because of this act.  

There was no mention of this act for 40 years then it comes up on the death bed of Jacob and now it comes up again in I Chronicles where we are reminded of the status of Reuben and also, conversely, the prioritized status of Joseph.  We read that Joseph’s sons were given the birthright, and again we can read that event in Genesis 48 and 49.  Your past can come up and haunt you if you are not careful, even when you think the past is finished and gone.  

In the midst of the genealogy which begins with the tribes of Judah, we find a bit of a gem nestled in this chapter.  First of all, Judah, if you remember, was the southern kingdom and Israel, which we saw in chapter 2, was the northern kingdom.  Under king David the north and the south were united, but then later on they became divided.  This chapter begins with the lineage of Judah, which we can assume could apply primarily to those who went into the Southern Kingdom.  

Now, look at vs.10 and you will find what has been called the prayer of Jabez.  There was a long kind of cultish following to this prayer in the early 2000’s and people used it constantly as a reference to what they wanted God to do for them.  Personally, I never liked it.  I see it as a self-centered prayer which is kind of the opposite of what we see in Matthew 25:31-46 where the king honors those who looked after the hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, sick and in prison and the poor.  Not those who pray for the Lord to expand their own borders or to protect them as individuals, even while they were out conquering other nations.  This would be a prayer to make me great and to…, well, to the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth to anyone else and everyone else who might get in my way.  Not really a prayer that our Savior would encourage us to pray.  Especially not our Savior who tells us to pray for our enemies and to give them the clothes off our back, even if it means that we are at a loss because of it.  I like my savior more than I like Jabez.

Did I mention that we are going to be seeing a bunch genealogies over this book of the Bible?  Well, I think I was right.  This is one of the reasons why I kept Chronicles for last because I wanted to be sure that we made it through the other books of the Bible before we get caught up and stuck in Chronicles.  Interestingly enough all of these names you should have heard before.  I almost said you should be familiar with them, but having read them just a couple times in Kings and Samuel doesn’t make you familiar with them, it just means that you have seen them once or twice before.  

This chapter starts off with King David and all of his progeny.  It is interesting, and I hope you caught this, that Chapter 1 began with Adam and those who came from him.  Adam tends to be a pretty important person in the Bible.  Chapter 2 starts with Jacob, or Israel, and all of his progeny.  Jacob tends to be a pretty important person in the Bible.  Now, chapter 3 starts with David, also a pretty important person in the Bible.  If you are able to understand the Old Testament as broken down historically with Adam, Jacob/Israel, and David, you will understand much of it and how God’s hand has been at work for thousands of generations.  We are a part of that story.  Don’t ever forget from where you come not only as an individual, but also as believers in Jesus Christ.  This is part of our story, this is His-story and our story.