1 & 2 Chronicles:
· Pre-understandings
· Chronicles offers many of the stories from Samuel and Kings but retold at least 3 generations later.
· These stories are remembered for the returning exiles
· The timeframe of the hearers has more in common with Ezra and Nehemiah than with Samuel and David
· God’s message in Kings was “Here is how you got to this miserable exile.”
§ His message in Chronicles is “Here is how to recover from this miserable exile.”
· Key question on the minds of those returning: “Have we fallen too far to come back?”
· Key observation: look for what is missing as you compare the same events told in Kings versus Chronicles.
· Back to the Beginning
· The genealogy of chapters 1-9 goes all the way back to Adam
· Note God’s plan from the beginning
· The genealogy hits the high points, almost ignoring the hardest times
· God is able to make all things work together for good
· The genealogy links God’s plan from the Garden of Eden directly to the returning exiles.
· The message is “God’s plan is still in the process of being carried out and you still have a place in it.”
· Remember the Glory Days
· David and Solomon were part of God’s plan, now it’s time for the next steps.
· Never forget the Lessons of Failure or Success!
· Retelling of what worked and what didn’t-from Rehoboam to Zedekiah
· Be like David, not like Ahab
· God calls His people to Himself-even form Israel after the Northern Kingdom’s fall
· Listen to the warnings God offers-the role of prophets as told in Chronicles
Chronicles 28:20
“Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord my God, is with you.”
o Chronicles ends with a sense of pregnant anticipation-waiting to see what will happen next…
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