Okay, I have a question for everyone who is reading or has read the Bible from Genesis through 2Chronicles.
Come to think of it, I wondered this the last time I tried to read the Bible.
Are you ready? Here it is:
We just covered the stories of Saul, David & Solomon. The battles, the moving of the Ark, the building of the temple, etc. I thought the timeline & events were very clear the first time.
So does anybody know why we are reviewing it again in the books of 1&2 Chonicles?
Now, I am not by any means criticizing or questioning the Lord in a prideful manner. It's His story, and I am happy to let Him tell it in whatever way He wants to.
But. I'm confused. Because I also know that He doesn't seem to do anything, big or small, without a very specific reason.
As I read this morning, I caught myself saying, "Yes, I already know that David made Joab count all the fighting men in Isreal, & that this displeased the Lord. I just read about it, like, three days ago. Why to we have to go over it again?"
And, then I realized that there must be a reason for all this review. And, then I became mildly frustrated (with myself, not God) because I can't Imagine what that reason could be. It seems a silly question, because I know the answer must be very obvious...
So, I present the silly question to you wise women.
Why all the review?
My understanding is that the Bible as we see it, isn't in chronological order. So if you read it straight through you will be jumping backward and forwards in time. There are Bible reading programs out there that put it in a more chronological order (our church is reading through the Bible in a year this way) :)
ReplyDeletedifferent authors of the books.
ReplyDeleteWe know that Chronicles are probably written by Ezra. As for the Samuels and Kings, nobody really knows. The whole point is to verify the historical truth of the stories from different view points. Similar to the synoptic gospels which tell the gospel of Jesus in slightly different ways.
I asked my husband (hope you don't mind). Here's his take:
ReplyDeleteThe View in Kings is a matter-of-fact historical record with some obvious applications. But Chronicles in generally considered a "spiritual view" of the kings of Israel. Think about the teaching that Jesus is the inheritor of the regal lineage (thru Mary) and the legal baton of kingship (thru Joseph). So Chronicles gives us a rosy view of the line of Christ, as if God is looking at his people through the eyes of grace.
Secondly, the records will be very important one day, I believe, for establishing Jesus' authority during his 1000 year reign on earth (aka "The Millenium"). Remember that the Bible is eternally important, so some of its passages don't mean much right now, but will mean a great deal at other times past or future. Not all of scripture is story, or parable, or instruction. Some of it is genealogical records for God's chosen people or, in Chronicles, lines of royal descendency.