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Day 225 – Thru the Bible
Today we complete First Chronicles. Well done!
1 Chronicles 25 – 27 – Recall from yesterday, chapters 23–27 at first glance the detailed recounting of David’s organization of the temple (chapters 23–26) and civil administration (chapter 27) appears odd and perhaps out of place to modern readers. In fact, one might even wonder what relevance this type of information would have had for the post-exiled community living hundreds of years after the events recorded. How should we understand this information in light of the work of Jesus and the new covenant?
We should remember the focus of the genealogies in chapters 1–9. In those genealogies, two tribes garnered special attention, Judah and Levi. These tribes represented the royal and priestly families in Israel. Thus, the emphasis at the beginning of 1 Chronicles is the same as the emphasis at the end of 1 Chronicles—the worship of Yahweh, and His reign through an earthly, Davidic king. The significance of worship and Yahweh’s royal dominion over His people are two themes that span both the Old and New Testaments. What the author of Chronicles sets before us in these chapters was succinctly summarized and thereby affirmed by Jesus hundreds of years later, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33).
From the garden of Eden in Genesis 2 to the city of God in Revelation 21, we are reminded of the significance and centrality of Yahweh’s kingship and our worship of Him. It is good for us to remember that from the beginning of time, and then stretching into eternity, the centrality and significance of these two biblical themes will never change or fail to satisfy God’s people.
1 Chronicles 28 – Note the strong emphasis placed on the obedience of the king, who should have been exemplary and representative for the people. Because of their failure fully to assume these roles, both Saul and David experienced the severe consequences of sin with consequent impact on their families, kingdom, and people. Likewise, the book of 1 Kings records that Solomon’s life was overtaken by sin, eventually leading to the tearing apart of the kingdom in 922 b.c.
It was not until almost 1,000 years later that a King would arrive whose obedience would overcome the failure of previous generations, “so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 5:21).
1 Chronicles 29 – At the height of his power, and at the peak of national security, David makes the astonishing confession that he remains a stranger and alien in the land (Psalm 119:19) and that his days on this earth are fleeting. In this way, David joins himself to the patriarchs of old, especially Abraham, who “was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:10).
We often think that God’s people in the Old Testament focused only on earthly and temporal blessings. Yet these earthly blessings always pointed beyond themselves to the promised eternal blessings of the coming kingdom of God. Abraham, David, and ultimately Jesus lived as aliens and strangers on this earth, confident of a better kingdom coming in the future. And so we too now join in this temporary procession of life (1 Peter 2:11) as we wait for the consummation of the kingdom and the satisfaction of all things.
I often have to remind myself (and others) that this world is temporary – how does this truth comfort you today?
What other thoughts or questions does today’s reading bring up?
Some of these notes are from the ESV Gospel Transformation Bible study notes. We highly recommend this study Bible.
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