2 Ch. 1: Solomon's in Charge

2 Chronicles 1:15 "The king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills."

This is the story of where Solomon asks God for wisdom, and then God grants it to him, and then some. A similar narrative to that of 1 Kings 3 (entry).

Its interesting that Solomon is described as walking according to that statutes set forth by David, but Solomon continues to use the high places. And God still speaks to Solomon, and is willing to come to him in spite of this. And what was wrong with the multiple high places? Couldn't it be like, Temple of God: Gibeon campus...and so on? Did it give the appearance that there was more than one God?

Solomon is given incredible wealth and wisdom, and it is described fairly well here in 2 Chronicles 1. But I can't get over the description in verse 15. He made silver and gold as common as stones. Can you imagine? Not being able to walk down the street without tripping over gold nuggets? Had to be an amazing time to be an Israelite. But my mind, with it's rudimentary understanding of economics, realizes that with an increased supply comes decreased demand, and a devaluing of the ... gold. Is it cynical to think that this is an allegory for the dissatisfaction with physical riches? Or is it a wondrous description of the wealth God chooses to bestow on those who love Him and keep His commands?

1 Ch. 29: The Giving Tree

1 Chronicles 29:9 "The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the LORD. David the king also rejoiced greatly."

David, even in his final moments as king is leading by example. He knew he couldn't take it with him. "It" being a loooooooooot of stuff. Gold and silver, precious stones and...iron. He gave it all for the temple as his last act. He also gave up the pride and credit that would have come with the construction of the temple. He gave that up.

The people, seeing David's giving, gave of themselves freely and generously too, in response to David's challenge in verse 5. 

There is a great recognition by everyone here that these things that they gave - the precious metals and jewels - came from God, and it was by His grace that He gave them ("we have given you only what comes from your hand"). I suppose that speaks to the wealth of the people of the time...everyone just had all this gold and silver and precious jewels...God must have made them very rich. It's incredible to think of the spiritual health of the people that God would have rewarded them according to his covenant, and that the people would have praised God for it.

David is described as having lived to a "good old age," and having "enjoyed long life." I don't see how long his life was, but this suggests that a long life is a good thing with ear to the LORD. Some people don't want to get old. I don't know...I'm only 30ish, and I have no concept of what a long life is. Long life doesn't appear to be enjoyable. Maybe for kings.

1 Ch. 28: Prepare to Launch

1 Chronicles 28:10 "Consider now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a temple as a sanctuary. Be strong and do the work."

David calls an assembly. Whenever the leader of Israel calls for an assembly, it's big time. The last time all of Israel assembled, it was when David was bringing the ark back home. So whats the big deal here? Transfer of power. David was by my estimation the greatest and most revered king of Israel, and he was here now to pass the lampstand to Solomon. 

And David issues a challenge to Solomon, a challenge passed from good leaders to their progeny. "Be careful to follow all the commands of the LORD your God, that you may possess this good land and pass it on as an inheritance to your descendants forever." David has prepared everything...the materials, the manpower, and then the son who will put it in motion. Solomon has everything he needs for a successful reign on the throne, and his first act will be to build the temple of the LORD. That is kind of noteworthy. How many people before Solomon went to war first, and established their power that way? Here Solomon is charged with the temple. A complete reversal, and establishment of a new system. 

The situation here evokes images of a person carefully launching his boat in the water, or releasing a dove.

1 Ch. 27: Who's In Charge?

1 Chronicles 27:23 "David did not take the number of the men twenty years old or less, because the LORD had promised to make Israel as numerous as the stars in the sky."

This chapter lists all the stuff David put people in charge of. First we have the divisions of the army. How many? Guess. No peeking. Oh yeah. 11. No. Wait. 1, 2, 3...12. 12 Divisions of 24,000 men. 12 months. And the system they had for figuring these divisions was that each serviceman would serve one month at a time. Each monthly division had its own line of command, as expected.

Month 1 - Jashobeam son of Zabdiel

Month 2 - Dodai the Ahohite

Month 3 - Benaiah son of Jehoiada

Month 4 - Asahel (brother of Joab), the runner guy.

Month 5 - Shamhuth the Izrahite

Month 6 - Ikkesh the Tekoite

Month 7 - Helez the Pelonite

Month 8 - Sibbecai the Hushathite

Month 9 - Abiezer the Anathothite

Month 10 - Maharai the Netophathite

Month 11 - Benaiah the Pirathonite

Month 12 - Heldai the Netophathite

Neat huh?

Each of the 12 tribes had their own "officer." I don't know if that means military officer (with the context, that sounds right) or representative...senator...I don't know for sure.

The number of the people, as ordered by David, led to the problems described in 2 Samuel 24, where God was upset at the counting. Later on in 1 Chronicles, it talks about how Joab's heart wasn't in it, and he didn't even finish the counting. He knew it was a bad idea.

Then its interesting that God had David put overseers over just about everything from the fields, to the fig and sycamore trees to the storehouses to the king's own sons. Everything had a person in charge of it to make sure things were going well, and to be an extension of the king. It's delegation.

1 Ch. 26: Gatekeepers and Treasurers

1 Chronicles 26:5 "Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh and Peullethai the eighth. (For God had blessed Obed-Edom.)"

Well, another list of names. These are the guys who guarded the gates, and were responsible for the treasury. But I don't want to skip over verse 5. It says God blessed Obed-Edom. You'll remember that this is the fella who took the ark into his home, after David freaked out. At that time, I wondered just how Obed-Edom was blessed. Children apparently are a blessing. They are treasured enough to be a blessing. A promise. Probably not just so you have more guys to work the field, but also that they are a miracle of creation.

The scripture also suggests that gatekeepers were chosen not by birthright, but because they were capable men (v. 6-8). Guarding the temple (or the city?) was no job for slackers or the incompetant. It was an important job, and these men were probably selected. Nobody backed into the role.

Since there were only a couple guys on each of the gates, it was probably for security purposes. No invading army would have any trouble with a couple of guards.

So what's the point? Is this a sort of establishing of the system for how church is supposed to go? People all have their roles...

1 Ch. 25: Temple Musicians

1 Chronicles 25:1 "David, together with the commanders of the army, set apart some of the sons of Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun for the ministry of prophesying, accompanied by harps, lyres and cymbals."

Music was very important. So important that David had the army help him divide them up and put them in place. Music accompanied prophesying. Its interesting that there were 288 people with the responsibility. That's 12+12x12. Did it "happen" to be that way? Or did they decide to have that number? 

Harps, lyres and cymbals...strings and percussion! Yes!

1 Ch. 24: The Number of the Priest

1 Chronicles 24:3 "With the help of Zadok a descendant of Eleazar and Ahimelech a descendant of Ithamar, David separated them into divisions for their appointed order of ministering."

Ministering at the temple was a big responsibility, and it needed a big staff. There were 24 families ready to serve, and they drew lots for an order of service. Then there's a genealogy of the priests, which is important. It's good to know who did what. Why? I'm not sure. But there are the names.

1 Ch. 23: Gershon, Kohath and Merari

1 Ch. 23: "the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the articles used in its service."

David's winding it down, and making some more preparations for the temple. The Levites, who had been responsible for the care and transportation of all the elements that made up the tabernacle, were numbered. They were part of three distinct groups, sons of Levites: The Gershonites, the Kohathits, and the Merarites. In verse 3, it says Levites age 30 and older were counted, while in verse 24, it talks about Levites age 20 and older. Contradiction? I thought so at first, but there's a distinction...Those 30 and older were counted from the entire tribe, numbering 38,000. Those 20 and older were those who served in the temple. At least that's how I read it.

Now that the tabernacle was done away with, and a permanent temple was in place, the Levites could cross that off their list...the hassle with the takedown and assembly of the tent all the time. But they still had their responsibilities to serve inside the temple. It was a new thing for them. 

The wandering tabernacle days were over. This temple is where God would be always.

1 Ch. 22: Build Here, Build Now

1 Chronicles 22:8 "But this word of the LORD came to me: 'You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight."

Because of David's fear of the angel of the LORD at Gibeon, he decides to place the temple right there on the threshing floor of Araunah.

But God told David it wouldn't be his job to build the temple. Of course. And my impression from previous readings (2 Sa 7, entry) was that David had accomplished what God had him to do, according to God's will. David was not going to get the entirety of the glory. It was essentially a "because I said so" type of thing. While that may not be incorrect, it's not the whole story. 1 Chronicles 22 reveals that God does give a more concrete reason, at least one understandable by man. The reason is that David has shed much blood on the earth in God's sight, at least that is what he tells Solomon. 

Why would that be the reason? God charged David to shed that blood (blood that was not innocent), gave him the go-ahead. Wouldn't it sort of be a self-fulfilling prophecy? Did God (in addition to using David as an extension of His hand of judgment) intend for that to be a reason? From what I have read about God, there are no accidents. Why would God, a God of redemption by blood, not want David building the temple? What was the purpose of the temple going to be? A place where God would come and meet Israel, personally. The temple would reflect God's holiness and perfection. Bloodshed is violent, dirty and a different mindset. Perhaps it was this difference in purpose and mindset that exempted the Levites from military service so they could focus on the priesthood. David was a military leader, and a Judahite, and therefore was unfit for priestly things. I don't recall Solomon having a military record, and in fact, his reign was rather peaceful. It was cosmically not David's role. How could it be?

In spite of David's not being allowed to build the actual temple, he still goes ahead with making the preparations for materials and labor, citing Solomon's inexperience in these matters. David basically set up everything, short of laying the cornerstone. All Solomon had to do was set it in motion. Was Solomon offended? I don't know. He seems like a humble guy at first. He realized he didn't know anything, which was his reason for asking God for wisdom at the start of his regin in 1 Kings 3. But you could see how he would be. "My dad doesn't think I can handle it, so he set it all up for me." But David wasn't like that. David's blessings on his son at the end of the chapter reveal that David believes in Solomon, and has everything he could possibly give his son.

1 Ch. 21: Censory Overload

1 Chronicles 21:8 "Then David said to God, "I have sinned greatly by doing this. Now, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing."

Here's an in-game reset of 2 Samuel 24 (entry).  Its the story where David is instructed to number Israel, but instead, he counts the fighting men. I think David knew...was aware...that he was going to be disobeying God with this act. Even Joab, who has his own moments of being unsavory knew it wasn't right, and didn't even count from Levi (who didn't have to enlist), and Benjamin because he thought it was such a bad idea. This note isn't in 2 Samuel.

So what? I think the surface lesson is to not count your own strengths in battle. But I think also, David needed a bit of humbling, maybe. He has been scoring victory after victory, and, like anyone, it could have gone to his head.

David's misjudgment results in a plague on Israel. He takes the punishment on his own head to preserve the plague-stricken nation. It was his fault, and I love his "negotiation" with Araunah. He makes this statement that is very striking. "I will not make a sacrifice to God that costs me nothing." Isn't that amazing? How much do we allow ourselves to think we give up to God. When have I sacrificed anything for God?

That Keith Green song "To Obey is Better than Sacrifice" was pretty close to target, but in the end, he sort of elevates sacrifice. So I'm not sure that applies perfectly, but there's a line where it says "I don't need your money, I want your life." David is giving up his money here, but does he give up his life? We shall see.

1 Ch. 20: Ammonite Shyamalan

1 Chronicles 20:6 "In still another battle, which took place at Gath, there was a huge man with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot—twenty-four in all. He also was descended from Rapha."

David conquers the Ammonites some more, and then the Philistines. Still fighting those giants. You'd think the Goliath incident would have made the descendents of Rapha think twice before taking on the giants.

Plus anytime you defeat someone with polydactyly, that's awesome.

I guess I would point to the symbolism of David taking the crown from another king, and putting it on his own head. It was a transfer of power. Of wealth. Is this a microcosm of Israel? The crown is the reward. The land was a reward promised to Israel. And David comes, and with God behind him, takes the reward.

1 Ch. 19: Jew Moon

1 Chronicles 19:18 "But they fled before Israel, and David killed seven thousand of their charioteers and forty thousand of their foot soldiers. He also killed Shophach the commander of their army."

I guess what I'm curious of here, is why David sent this envoy of peace to extend condolences to Hanun, king of the Ammonites, whose father Nahash died. I'm sure David did it with complete sincerity, but that was certainly not how it was received. What did David expect? It was a nation in mourning. There was massive upheaval, and I'm sure they thought that another nation would strike them while they were weak. 

God did not command this delegation, but God endowed David with wisdom, and a good heart...hmmm...curious.

Of course it led to war and great victory for David, so maybe the pot was being stirred...

1 Ch. 18: David Wins

1 Chronicles 18:6 "He put garrisons in the Aramean kingdom of Damascus, and the Arameans became subject to him and brought tribute. The LORD gave David victory everywhere he went."

This is an in-game reset of 2 Samuel 8 (entry).  There's a little less detail, such as the killing of 1 of every 3 Moabites is not mentioned here.

We're talking here about David's military victories over Philistines and Edomites et al. 

As the LORD gave David victory over these nations, David gave glory to God, and turned over all the booty to the LORD. It was as if God was extracting tribute from these other nations through Israel. Right?

1 Ch. 17: I'm Not The One

1 Chronicles 17:25 "For you, my God, have revealed to your servant that you will build a house for him. Therefore your servant has found courage to pray before you."

David's desire to build a house for God was first covered in 2 Samuel 7, entry. David tells Nathan what he wants to do, and Nathan, before consulting God, says, "Yeah, do whatever seems right to you." Nathan, who had observed David and repeatedly saw how God gave him amazing power and wisdom, assumed that David was the obvious choice for a builder of the temple of God.

Even Nathan, who was a direct conduit to God himself, made a mistake. He's human. Nathan jumped the gun. God, of course, told David it wasn't going to be him who establishes the temple. God doesn't directly say why He wouldn't have David do it, and what the answer boils down to is that God will do what He wills. God has a plan set aside for David, and that building a temple is not part of it. 

And actually, God has something greater in store for David, in not letting a lamp for David go out in Israel's royal line. The Davidic line would amount to something special. We already know that in spite of the numbskulls that occupied the throne following David, that lamp would not go out.

David's response is pretty heartening. Humble. David recognizes that God will do His will, and that it is perfect and right.

It's disappointing when we get these ideas of what we could possibly do for God, as though God would say, "that's a good idea, Jon. I would have never thought of that." This serves the purpose of reducing our own glory, and elevating God's glory, which is apparently why creation exists to begin with. Assuming that's true, it makes sense.

1 Ch. 16: Sing A Song

1 Chronicles 16: "Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done."

David establishes a place for the ark to dwell and then puts some Levites in charge of it. Then he passes out cakes to every Israelite, which I imagine is no small task.

Following that is David's song of praise to the LORD, a well from which Chris Tomlin and Michael W. Smith and others have drawn inspiration from modern praise songs. And they added a rockin' beat. I believe this is the first time this song is recorded in the Bible. It is a pretty interesting read. 

I tried to go through without singing the tune of familiar P/W songs, but it was kind of hard at times. David appears to have set a standard here ripe for imitation. Generally I find praise music rather bland, because of the repetitiveness and the common buzzwords. Do modern P/W "artists" try to be David? Probably not. They'd probably be the first to admit it. Its also interesting to go through and see ideas and concepts David thought were important that don't translate to modern P/W. Like in verse 12, remembering the judgments he has pronounced. No one wants to sing about judgment. Unless you are hardcore band. All the gods of the nations are idols (v.26)? That's not very joyful and inclusive.

And there is another reference to the land praising God. The land, creation, expressing emotion. Very interesting to me, that. Not in a weird new-agey mystical way, but I never really saw "creation," as a living, glorious created thing. I wonder what spiritual connection there is between creation, that is, non-humans, and the LORD.  

1 Ch. 15: All Singing, All Dancing

1 Chronicles 15:15 "And the Levites carried the ark of God with the poles on their shoulders, as Moses had commanded in accordance with the word of the LORD."

The ark was coming back to Jerusalem from Obed-Edom's crib, and David was going to do it right this time. He made sure he didn't repeat the same mistakes as last time, and was going to deal with the ark the way it was intended, by having the Levites carry it with the poles. David had an intense encounter with God's holiness, and probably had a newfound respect for it.

I wonder how Obed-Edom must have felt. The ark's time with him led to great blessing and prosperity. He must have known that it wasn't going to last forever. Would the blessings continue after the ark departed? Would God remove the blessings? Why would he?

So...David gets the music fired up too. Worship is a celebration. Joyful songs as well as horns, strings and...gasp...percussion were used to accompany the party. I imagine it was quite the scene. What songs did they sing? Did they make them up on the spot? I wonder how it all sounded, what was the structure of music a million years ago? Did they do verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus-coda? 

Verse 17 mentions that Heman, the Master of the Universe, played the cymbals, along with Asaph and Ethan. Interesting that he had time to stop battling Skeletor and come over from ... ok, enough of that.

The lead singer of this whole deal was Kenaniah. Minor thus far, as characters go, but immortalized in the great eponymous Petra song. I wonder what he sounded like? Deep rumbling baritone? Soaring tenor? I don't know. But if the Levites appointed him, he must have had what it takes to be the next Americ...to lead the entire nation in song.

David's wife Michal looked disapprovingly upon this whole situation, David dancing freely, intensely, celebrating before God. She thought it was unbecoming of a king to go that nuts before the LORD. 2 Samuel 6, entry.

1 Ch. 14: David Established as King

1 Chronicles 14:17 "So David's fame spread throughout every land, and the LORD made all the nations fear him."

Hiram the king of Tyre's help for Solomon was well documented, and here now it talks about how he sent messengers a generation earlier to help David build a palace. David presumably would have used the same stuff to build the temple, had God allowed it. But that was not for him.

David had a bunch of sons, by a bunch of different women. Good, bad? Was David a lothario? A ladies' man? Was this sin? Winked at? I don't believe it was sin. Marriage was not yet established as the union of one woman and one man. I don't know. I think we have a habit of looking back at things in the Bible, and wanting to ask God, "Well, what about this inconsistency?" "Why would someone do that?" And this before we actually read and understand the text.

David routs the Philistines when God tells him to. Even when God told him to, the text says God went ahead and killed the Philistines. So the Israelite army was ancillary to what God was doing. Israel was the vessel of God's judgement on them. 

1 Ch. 13: Return of the Ark

1 Chronicles 13:12 "David was afraid of God that day and asked, 'How can I ever bring the ark of God to me?'"

Review: 2 Sa. 6, entry

I can't really say much more here than what I said back in July. They loaded up the ark wrong, and it cost a well-meaning man his life. 

I guess I'd like to consider David's timidity before God. He was so filled with what I can only guess is fear, and at the very least, a feeling of being unworthy. When you are riding high, celebrating victory, and then celebrating the ark's return to it's rightful place back home in Israel, Uzzah's death, and the way he died.

How quickly can our own closeness with God dissolve when something unexpected happens. For Uzzah and David, it only took a moment. Panic. Not thinking. And lives, situations change completely. How do we react? David turns tail, and in fear of the ark, has the family of Obed-Edom handle it. 

Who was this Obed-Edom? The text says David "took it aside (the ark)" and brought it to them. Did they volunteer? Was there some sort of system set up? What is Obed's role here? He handles  something a king would/could not. It was not the original intent that Obed-Edom would take the presence of God into his home. But here he was. And his household is blessed because of it. God made a wonderful thing happen for someone who took something as awesome and risky into his own life. Could I do that?

1 Ch. 12: David's Warriors

1 Chronicles 12:22 "Day after day men came to help David, until he had a great army, like the army of God."

The content of this chapter is new to me, as far as I know. I don't remember reading this in depth about David's exile to Ziklag during Saul's reign in 1 Samuel 27 (entry). The thing about these men is that they are all Benjamites. Like Saul. Why would Saul's kinsmen defect to his enemy? Saul generally became a clown after his anointing. He abused his office, and was a jerk. 

So what's with these guys? They all have impressive attributes like physical strength and skills. They could handle their weapons very well. Being able to throw a stone or shoot an arrow with either hand was probably important. I'm no ancient combat expert, but the strong hand would be the first target I'd take out. These guys could switch and be just as deadly. Can you imagine the dedication that would go into perfecting a skill on your weak side? 

So powerful were these men, that amazingly, in verse 14, of the Gadites, the wussiest guy was match for a hundred, and the he-man a match for a thousand. 100 on it's own is staggering. Can you imagine the razzing? "Ah, that Macbannai, he only killed 114 Philistines."

I find verse 22 amazing. The army of God. I would not want to oppose anything that bore a comparison to such a thing. I imagine the army of God being in formation farther than the eye can see, but necessitating only one person.

Verses 23-37 describe the number of fighting men that joined David at Hebron to go against Saul. The numbers are impressive, but I don't see Saul's army anywhere. Do you think it was just as big? Even the Levites, who didn't have to enlist were so loyal they offered their services to David. 

1 Ch. 11: David Might

1 Chronicles 11:18 "So the Three broke through the Philistine lines, drew water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem and carried it back to David. But he refused to drink it; instead, he poured it out before the LORD."

Here's a pretty basic review of some of David's exploits, including his establishment as king, his conquering of Jerusalem, and then a roll call of his mighty men. 

David, you'll remember became king because he followed God, and the LORD was with him when Saul sent him out on military missions. David won the hearts of the people, because of this, and it caused a rift with Saul. - See 2 Samuel 5, entry.

His conquering of Jerusalem was in spite of the mockers, who shouted that David couldn't even conquer a city of the lame or blind. David goes for it anyway, and gets it all done. This exploit also led to Joab being commander-in-chief of the Israelite army.

David's mighty men were originally enumerated in 2 Samuel 23 (entry). Not much new is revealed here, except that the huge Egyptian in 2 Samuel becomes a 7.5 foot tall Egyptian in 1 Chronicles. These mighty men served as David's bodyguard, and inspired fear throughout the land, and brought terror to his enemies. They protected David, and generally caused a ruckus for him. Of course they were probably endowed with the strength of God to kill 300 men, and kill a lion in some snow and all that.

1 Ch. 10: Saul's Death Reset

1 Chronicles 10:13 "Saul died because he was unfaithful to the LORD; he did not keep the word of the LORD and even consulted a medium for guidance..."

Here's an almost note-for-note retelling of 1 Samuel 31 (entry). I guess the first thing I look for is if there is anything different between the passages, if there are any new details revealed. Secondly, I guess I wonder what is the point of retelling this? 

Well, there's not much added in this case. 1 Samuel, by a word or two is slightly more thorough, but they are basically interchangeable. 1 Chronicles reveals more, by saying Saul's head was put on display in the temple of Dagon. Gross. Can you imagine for a moment what that temple must have felt like? Was it a temple of darkness, or a temple of glory? What was the vibe in a place where the heads of conquered enemies are put on display to rot. At least the bloodshed at the Temple of the LORD was kept outside.

Since the telling in 1 Chronicles is a bit more after-the-fact, it can pause the play-by-play and include editorials such as in verse 13, where it talks about why Saul died, and his kingdom ended. He didn't inquire of the LORD.

1 Ch. 9: The Benjamin Gate

1 Chronicles 9:1 "All Israel was listed in the genealogies recorded in the book of the kings of Israel."

This chapter describes where some of the tribes of Israel settled back on their own property after the exile. Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim and Manasseh were the main four. Their numbers are counted. So...were these places that Nebuchadnezzar gave to them to live in, or is this completely post-exile. I'unno. It was after a time of the scattering. Anyway, they are all numbered.

The Levites are listed next. In addition to serving in the house of God, the tent, they had to be the gatekeepers and guard the place. Phinehas was in charge of the gatekeepers at one point, and you may remember Phinehas from this awesome episode. This guarding was serious business. But guarding is only necessary if you care about something. 

Next we have the genealogy of Saul. Curiously, in 1 Samuel, we have Abiel being the father of Kish, while in Chronicles, Ner is the father of Kish. Perhaps there was some half-brothering going on, or Abiel or Ner were higher up in the family tree than the other. I'unno. 

1 Ch. 8: Saul's Folks

1 Chronicles 8:33 "Ner was the father of Kish, Kish the father of Saul, and Saul the father of Jonathan, Malki-Shua, Abinadab and Esh-Baal."

We got the geneaology of Saul in here, from Benjamin himself, on through the sons of Ulam. They were archers, which is neat. You gotta have archers.

1 Ch. 7: Geneaologies Continue

1 Chronicles 7:40 "All these were descendants of Asher—heads of families, choice men, brave warriors and outstanding leaders. The number of men ready for battle, as listed in their genealogy, was 26,000."

The genealogy winds its way through the remaining tribes: Issachar, Benjamin, Naphtali, Manasseh (t'other half), Ephraim and Asher.

For some reason, the genealogy for Issachar and Benjamin  and Asher lists fighting men. Not sure why that is...where they the goons of Israel? The heavies? I don't know. 

What's up with Naphtali? No grandchildren?

Zelophehad, who died with no sons, and had the daughters instead descended from Manasseh, by the way.

1 Ch. 6: Levi's 501 Descendants

1 Chronicles 6:49 "But Aaron and his descendants were the ones who presented offerings on the altar of burnt offering and on the altar of incense in connection with all that was done in the Most Holy Place, making atonement for Israel, in accordance with all that Moses the servant of God had commanded."

Levi, of course, is the freak tribe. They had no inheritance. They had no land. They had to be the mediators between God and Israel. A lot of descendants here are listed, much more than the previous tribes listed. Included are Azariah, the priest at the building of the temple, and Jehozadak, the priest when Israel was exiled. 

So not only are their genealogies listed here, there's also an accounting of the land they received. Woo hoo!

Musical Consideration - "Take Me In" Petra

1 Ch. 5: Trans-Jordan Genealogy

1 Chronicles 5:18 "The Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh had 44,760 men ready for military service—able-bodied men who could handle shield and sword, who could use a bow, and who were trained for battle."

After Judah and Simeon comes Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh. These were part of Israel who were taken into captivity by Pul, the king of Assyria. Anytime these clans are mentioned, or there is detail mentioned, I find myself wanting to consider the blessings Jacob bestowed on them in Genesis 49. I'm always curious as to how they have come true, and what is meant by the words Jacob said.

Viewed as a sign of strength, Reuben, of course is infamous for bedding one of Jacob's wives, this offense led to the promise that he would no longer excel. Because of Israel's general disobedience to God, Reuben's tribe was exiled anyway.

Gad, was he attacked by a band of raiders? In 2 Kings, it appears most tribes were, but Gad was specifically singled out as attacking back. They must have had a busy, well-trained army. Verses 19-22 describe a great victory they had over the Hagrites. Must have been a long time ago. I don't know. Towards the end of the time before the exile, it doesn't sound as though Israel was given much military victory.

Manasseh didn't have a great recount here. They had great numbers and were famous, but gave in to prostituting themselves to gods of nations that God went ahead and overthrew. God went ahead and destroyed these nations, but their gods were still worshipped. Kind of sadly ironic.

1 Ch. 4: The Mantra of Jabez

1 Chronicles 4:10 "Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, "Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain." And God granted his request."

Jacob's sons' lines, those of Judah and Simeon are listed here. And it's just a long list of names...weird sounding names. With a couple of little bits here and there.

The first such diversion is that of Jabez. He is mentioned in this scripture as being more honorable than his brothers. And this verse blew up into the much ballyhooed "Prayer of Jabez" phenomenon that swept Christendom 5-10 years ago. I never read any of those books/calendars/keychains/cds/journals/whatever. So I don't know what the big deal with the book was. But I do remember it saturating the market, which always makes me skeptical. First of all, who wouldn't pray something like this? Maybe someone who didn't believe in God, as Jabez apparently did. I don't know if he lived during a fallen time, or during a time of high belief in God, the former being more reason to call him out, I suppose. But God saw fit to grant Jabez his wish. So, I wonder what Jabez did with a life of rich blessing and no pain. What would you do?

Simeon's family (as well as Judah's for that matter) increased greatly. The large numbers, through the lens of the covenant agreement, point to Israel's devotion to God at this point. Good food, rich pasture, military victory...the land was cooperating, which points to a pretty good, solid relationship between God and his people. We'll see if the numbers dwindle as we get on into the kings.

1 Ch. 3: David's Folk

1 Chronicles 3:17 "The descendants of Jehoiachin the captive: Shealtiel his son."

The narrative moves ahead of where we were at least...with Jehoiachin's offspring. 

1 Ch. 2: Israel's Line

1 Chronicles 2:1 "These were the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad and Asher."

More genealogy. They're all here, from Israel's (Jacob's sons) up through the descendants of Salma. There are some kings here that are familiar, that are kind of passed over in the "so-and-so begat so-and-so" fashion. 

No other nation is given a similar genealogy.

Some of these names I haven't heard before. Is it because I missed them? Maybe. There are a lot of names. Who can keep track of them? Anyway, that's not the nature of this study. And some names I haven't gotten to yet, probably. I'm only a fraction of the way through the Bible, but if these names are significant, I'll get to their vignettes soon, I'm sure.

Why a genealogy? What is the point of this record? Why is this history so important? How accurate is it? How many more are coming?

Who begat who? Its here. Who descended from who? That's here too. I guess its kind of interesting to see who was who's peer, and to get a perspective of how far apart in the Bible certain characters were.

1 Ch. 1: Adam - Edom; Edom - Adam

1 Chronicles 1:51 "Hadad also died."

What do you do in a book called 1 Chronicles? You chronicle stuff, I suppose. This chapter starts at the beginning, with Adam, and ends up with the death of Hadad, and the chiefs of Edom, who descended from Esau at the fooling of Isaac. Basically its a list of the important people. Not much to it here...everyone's here, up to Jacob and Esau. I guess the main thing to take here is that there was some history from Esau to Edom, which more or less disppears from view during the times of the conquest, save for some battles here and there against Edom. Bela, son of Beor is probably the most ... infamous? I guess we'll see what happens to Israel later.

It's a pause in the action.