Today we come in our journey along Route 66 to the book of 1 Chronicles...
Author
Rabbinic tradition ascribes authorship of part, but not all, of Chronicles to Ezra the scribe; medieval Jewish commentators differed over the scope of the Ezra material. Modern scholarship is divided over the book’s relationship to Ezra. There are similarities in terms of language, outlook, and theology between the books of Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah. Thus, some scholars refer to the author of all three as “The Chronicler”. But most scholars now reject this position. Most scholars now use the term “The Chronicler” just to refer to the author of Chronicles. Furthermore, some scholars, like Richard Elliott Friedman, believe that the author of Chronicles was an Aaronid priest.[1]
Date
Though there is agreement that Chronicles was written during the postexilic period, the book’s more precise date of composition has been a matter of great debate. Some have dated the book as early as 500 BCE, in line with Ezra as the author. Others date the book as late as the 2nd century BCE. The most likely time of composition probably lies somewhere between these two extremes. The Chronicler was, most likely, writing in Jerusalem, and it is possible that the author was familiar with all the Torah, and most of the prophets and writings of the Hebrew Scriptures as they stand for us today.
Themes
A Valley of Dry Bones?
The long list of names that confronts us at the beginning of 1 Chronicles could deaden the enthusiasm of the keenest reader, and some lists are even repeated, as if once were not enough! Long descriptions of the temple and its worship seem to us to be of antiquarian interest at best. When the storytelling does get underway, events in the northern kingdom of Israel, where so much of the action was, are practically ignored, and even the colorful wickedness of the Davidic kings in the south is tidied out of the way.
A common question is this: is any of this relevant to us today? The whole world we read about in Chronicles is long dead. We should remember that the world described in 1 Chronicles was equally dead for the first readers of the book. Chronicles, which consists of two volumes in our Bibles but was originally one book, was written for descendants of those Israelites who had been restored to their homeland in Judah after the deportations of the sixth century. The people in the Chronicler’s narrative were all dry bones to the original readers, just as they are to us.
However, the Chronicler would probably have looked at his readers as a valley of dry bones who needed to be brought to life by the message from the past that he had to bring to them.
Alternative History?
What seems at first glance to be a re-telling of Samuel and Kings turns out to be something more than that. Indeed, there are considerable differences between the two histories. The Chronicler covers quite a sweep of history, going back to the beginning of humanity. Where the Chronicler does cover the same history as the books of Samuel and Kings, he uses them as a source. But he does so with great freedom, adding as much as he omits.
Still, the book is more than just an alternative history. It is, in a way, like a sermon. The author’s goal seems to be the fostering of a right relationship between God and his people. The Chronicler sees the overall pattern of history as one of failure and judgment followed by grace and restoration. With an eye to those events in Israel’s history that highlight this pattern, he selects his material and then he proclaims.
When comparing Chronicles to Samuel and Kings, it is interesting to note that Samuel/Kings was preferred by ancient Jews. This is reflected in the fact that only a handful of copies of Chronicles have been uncovered among the literary finds of the Second Temple community at Qumran (the Dead Sea Scrolls). Furthermore, the Rabbis of antiquity produced no systematic commentary on Chronicles. In fact, one medieval Jewish scholar confessed that he had never read Chronicles prior to composing his commentary on Samuel (Isaac Abravanel’s Introduction to Samuel).
Popular Morality?
Comparing Chronicles to the Psalms yields some interesting insights. In the Psalms we have two different emphases. Psalm 1 emphasizes that the good prosper and the wicked perish. Psalm 73, on the other hand, seems to suggest that sometimes the wicked are at ease and increase in riches, whereas the good are stricken. The Chronicler tends to emphasize the first pattern more than the second. His goal is to demonstrate that divine justice cannot fail.
The Chronicler also makes the point that God’s grace cannot fail. The kingship, particularly in the south, goes to those whom God has chosen by his grace. Even the seemingly dull lists of names are all about the binding together of God’s people into one under their covenant-keeping God.
The Last Book of the Bible?
Most people today would never think of Chronicles as the last book of the Bible, unless they were reading in Hebrew, because Chronicles closes the canon of the Hebrew scriptures. There is no agreement among scholars today as to why Chronicles stood in this position in the Hebrew Bible. However, it seems to be an appropriate placement. The Chronicler’s selectivity is not unlike the writer of the last of the Gospels (John) who reflected on numerable memories of the earthly life of Christ and made new selections from those memories to teach, in a fresh way, the old fundamental truths. Like John, and like Revelation, Chronicles rounds off an entire section of Scripture by saying in effect, “This is what life is really about. This is what it has always been about, what it always will be about.”[2]
Structure
- The genealogical tables (1 Chronicles 1-9)
- The reign of Saul (1 Chronicles 10)
- The reign of David (1 Chronicles 11-29)
Key Concept—Blessing
There are so many different things I could focus on as key concepts in 1 Chronicles, but I only have time for one. Therefore, I would like to focus the rest of our time on just one verse. In 1 Chronicles 16:43 we read,
Then all the people left, each for his own home, and David returned home to bless his family.
The reason I have chosen this verse is because the whole idea of “blessing” is a pervasive one in Scripture. Forms of the word appear some 389 times throughout the Bible, 301 times in the Hebrew Scriptures, 88 times in the New Testament.
The Hebrew word for bless in 1 Chronicles 16:43 is לְבָרֵ֥ךְ (lə·ḇā·rêḵ). And the root word has to do with kneeling. Obviously, sometimes we kneel to bless the Lord, to worship the Lord.
In the Greek translation of 1 Chronicles 16:43, the word is εὐλογῆσαι, from which we get our English words, eulogy and to eulogize. It means to speak a good word. So, this gives us an idea of the broader meaning of “blessing”. Whenever we speak a good word about God or human beings, we are blessing.
The context of this verse in 1 Chronicles, is that David has just brought the Ark of the Covenant into the Tabernacle in Jerusalem for the first time. The procession of the Ark itself up to Jerusalem has been accompanied by much worship. In fact, according to 2 Samuel, David disrobes and dances and leaps before the Ark on its way up to Jerusalem. David’s wife Michal despises him for what she thinks is a shameless act. But the Chronicler leaves out this negative note. And after David spends time blessing the Lord in the Tabernacle, he returns home to bless his family.
I believe there is a lesson for us in this. We need both aspects in life. We need to spend time blessing the Lord, worshipping the Lord, speaking well of the Lord. That should be our number one priority. But we also need to spend time blessing human beings, especially our families. I see in this verse a special lesson for pastors. After we have spent time blessing others in and through the church, we must not forget our responsibility to return home and bless our families.
Think how vital blessing is to our children. My friend, Douglas Gresham, is often asked, “What is it like to live in the shadow of your famous stepfather, C. S. Lewis?” His response is always, “My stepfather did not leave a shadow. He left a glow. And I am privileged to bask in it.” Isn’t that beautiful? I feel the same way about my famous father. He didn’t leave a shadow. He left a glow. And I am privileged to bask in it. That’s a blessing.
Think about some of the blessings we read about in the Bible. In Genesis 12 we read God’s words to Abraham…
“I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.
Abraham was blessed to be a blessing to others. I believe that is true of all of us. God blesses us, in part, so that we can turn around and share that blessing with others.
We have a different kind of story about blessing in Genesis 27. Jacob tricks his older brother Esau out of his birthright. And then, at his mother’s instigation, Jacob tricks his father Isaac into giving him the blessing of the firstborn as well.
When Esau comes along later and finds out that his brother Jacob has stolen his blessing, Esau says to Isaac, “Bless me—me too, my father!”
But Isaac says, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.”
Then Esau responds, “Isn’t he rightly named Jacob? This is the second time he has taken advantage of me: He took my birthright, and now he’s taken my blessing!” Then he asked, “Haven’t you reserved any blessing for me?”
And Isaac answers Esau, “I have made him lord over you and have made all his relatives his servants, and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. So, what can I possibly do for you, my son?”
And Esau says to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!” Then Esau wept aloud.
These verses in Genesis 27 speak to us of the longing of a son for his father’s blessing. And of course, in our context today, fathers are not limited to one blessing they can hand out to one son or daughter. Fathers who are rightly connected to God through his son Jesus Christ have continual blessings they can pour out on their children.
Furthermore, this ministry of blessing is not limited to fathers. Mothers can give a great blessing to their children. And grandparents can bless their grandchildren in so many ways.
Edith Schaeffer expands the circle of blessing even more when, in her book A Way of Seeing, she writes, “No one is free from influencing children in some way—whether it is the children next door, the children coming into the store or the library, or the children coming to one’s class in school.”
So, how are we to bless our children and grandchildren? I believe Jesus gives us a good example to follow. In Mark 10:13-16 we read…
People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.
A form of the same word is used here in Greek that is used in the Greek translation of 1 Chronicles 16:43. When Jesus enfolded the children in his arms he eulogized them, he spoke good words, he spoke well of them, he praised them. Notice the many-faceted ways in which Jesus blessed the children in this one instance.
First, he took time to be with them. When his disciples thought he didn’t have time for children, Jesus took time. That’s how children spell love. They spell it T-I-M-E.
Secondly, Jesus touched the children. Literally, he wrapped his arms around them. Sadly, we live in a time when so many people have touched children inappropriately that we are fearful of anyone outside of family touching our children, and even within the family circle we are more careful than ever. And then the recent pandemic has made touch even more taboo. But children need to be touched in a good way.
Family therapist Virginia Satir once said, “We need four hugs a day for survival. We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth.” While that may sound like a lot of hugs, it seems that many hugs are better than not enough.
An online article on Healthline points out the medical benefits of hugging, not just for children, but for people of all ages. Hugs reduce stress, protect against illness, boost your heart health, make you happier, reduce your fears, reduce pain, and help us communicate.[3]And yet, when we get to a certain age, usually the teen years, we start receiving fewer hugs—just when we may need them the most.
Jesus was obviously a hugger. He communicated blessing to children, and to others, by hugging. And he set us a good example.
Thirdly, Jesus blessed the children by the words he spoke. He spoke life words to the children.
Proverbs 18:21 says, “The tongue can speak words that bring life or death.” There are words that give us permission to be and to live, and then there are words that clearly communicate we are not wanted in this world.
I have mentioned before that when I was in college, I took a class on self-esteem at La Jolla Presbyterian Church from psychologist Dr. Mary Geckeler. We utilized a book entitled, Self-Esteem: A Family Affair by Jean Illsley Clarke. In the book, the author provides numerous affirmations that children need to hear throughout their growing years. Some of these affirmations are ones we need to hear throughout our lives because many of us did not hear these blessed words when we were young. Here are some of my favorite affirmations that we might call words of blessing…
- You have every right to be here.
- Your needs are ok.
- You don’t have to hurry.
- You don’t have to do tricks to get approval.
- You can think about what you feel.
- You can be powerful and still have needs.
- You don’t have to act scary or sick or mad or sad to get taken care of.
- You can trust your feelings to help you know.
- You can be a sexual person and still have needs.
- It’s ok to know who you are.
- You’re welcome to come home again.
- I love you.
Now, I do not know which affirmations, what words of blessing, David spoke to his family, or that Jesus spoke to the children in his arms. But I am sure that they spoke words that were uplifting and encouraging. If we follow Jesus’ example, we will bless others, not just children, by giving of our time, by giving positive touch, and by speaking life words that uplift and encourage.
God has blessed each one of us with so many things, but especially with his love through his Son Jesus Christ. And we are blessed to be a blessing. I hope you go forth from here today to share the blessing with others…
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