Week Fifteen Reading Assignment:
2 Kings 9 - 1 Chronicles 7

"Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation."

(The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion, 1563)

This Week's Teaching Video: Alphabetizing Old Testament History:  L&M

Charting our Progress

Deja Vu

Perhaps you know the experience of driving along in an unfamiliar town or neighborhood, trying to find your way.  And then, as you keep looking around you, you see something familiar.  "Wait a minute," you say to yourself or your passenger.  "Haven't we seen that before?"

Passing by the same thing twice is usually a bad sign when you're driving.  It is often an indication that you're going in circles.  And it usually means that you're lost.  

As we turn the page this week from 2 Kings to 1 Chronicles, we'll find ourselves driving by some familiar material.  And we'll wonder: "Haven't we seen this -- read this -- before?"  Well, you have.  For the writer of Chronicles goes back to the beginning and re-tells much of the history that we have already read.

So what's a person to do with such unsolicited repetition?  

First, enjoy it.  The fact is that every student needs a review of the material from time to time, and the writer of Chronicles offers us that sort of oppor-tunity.  Chances are we didn't absorb everything we read up until this point, and so the review will be helpful to us.

Second, differentiate it.  As we read, we discover that the earlier material is reviewed, but it is not verbatim.  The writer of the Chronicles makes very specific choices about what to include, what to exclude, and what to emphasize.  So, in addition to enjoying the review, watch to see what is different about this reporting of the history from what we read earlier.

And, finally, appreciate it.  Once you recognize the differences in the repeated material, you catch a glimpse into the heart and faith of the writer, as well as the needs of his generation.  And that is a special kind of insight to have as we read any book of the Bible.  

The Divided Monarchy:
The First Two Centuries 

After the death of Solomon, the twelve tribes of Israel divide into two separate kingdoms: the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah.  The reading from that point on toggles back and forth between the two kingdoms and their various kings.

The new era is known as the "divided monarchy" (as opposed to the "united monarchy" when all twelve tribes were ruled by a single king -- first Saul, then David, and finally Solomon).  Roughly the first two centuries of the divided monar-chy is the "M" period in our alphabetized Old Testament history.  

The charts below reflect the order of the kings in each kingdom during the "M" period, as well as the probable years of their reigns.  The other symbols are meant to give a quick analysis of what kinds of kings they were.  A down arrow indicates some negative thing said about that particular in the text, while a star indicates some positive thing.  
Scholars debate the exact dates of certain kings, and the biblical record is not always entirely clear. The dates employed here represent the chronology published by the American Bible Society in the Good News Bible (c) 1976. 

Is My Name Written There
​(Part 1)

I am acquainted with a family that holds a unique, annual, family reunion.  It lasts a week, and it includes worship services every morning and every evening.  And they've been doing it for more than a century now.  

The family is so large and the family tree so complex that the folks there generally refer to one another simply as "cousin."  But that doesn't mean they're sloppy about the genealogy.  When the Sunday morning service rolls around, they bring the babies born during the past year to be baptized.  And as each one is introduced, he or she is not only named, but also traced back to the family's common, original patriarch. 

​This is the sort of attention to family line and connection that characterized the ancient nation of Israel.  We may not be naturally drawn to the material that makes up the early chapters of 1 Chronicles, but we should at least marvel at it.  And, more than that, we can be thankful for it, for it is a certain proof of the carefulness of the people who gave us this book! 

Eugene Peterson on the lists of names in 1 Chronicles

"Holy history is not constructed from impersonal forces or abstract ideas; it is woven from names -- persons, each one unique. Chronicles erects a solid defense against depersonalized religion."
"Scripture will help you to become a better person. It will help you to discover both your strengths and your weaknesses. It clarifies the meaning of sin. It will help you determine what to avoid and what to do. With its guidance, you can perceive the most subtle activities of temptation."

(Richard Rolle)
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