Teaching Notes

TH1051: I CHRONICLES

As we move into I and II Chronicles, understand that we are not just repeating the events of I and II Kings. Yes, it is the same time period in Jewish history, covering from II Samuel all the way to II Kings, but it is looking at this period of time from a different perspective.

I and II Kings was a history of both the Northern Kingdom of Samaria and the Southern Kingdom of Judah. In Kings it is more of a political history of the nation while in Chronicles we see more of the religious history. And Chronicles gives us more of the details of the events that occurred during this period of time. If you remember in Kings we read over and over again the phrase, "Is it not written in the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel?"

Now I and II Chronicles only gives us the events of the Southern Kingdom of Judah, we do not have the Chronicles of the Northern Kingdom of Samaria. Why? I think the reason is that the focus is the Messianic line, which came from the tribe of Judah, the lineage of David, who's descendants ruled in the Southern Kingdom of Judah.

Also, in the Jewish mind, genealogies were extremely important. That is how you would prove that you were the firstborn of the family and entitled to a double portion of the inheritance. Also, that is how the land was portioned out, first by tribe, and then by family. And you could never sell it, for it was to remain in your family as an inheritance. For the Levite, he had to prove that he was from this line to minister in the temple, and to be a priest, you had to be a descendant of Aaron.

And through these genealogies, Jesus proved that He was the Messiah and had a right to sit on the throne of David. Don't think for a minute that the religious leaders of His day did not go and check the records to see if He really was a descendant of David, for if He wasn't, they would have exposed Him as a fraud. By their silence, it tells me they could not disprove His claim to His lineage.

In the Hebrew, I and II Chronicles were all one book, and the title in Hebrew means "the events of the times." Again, a historical record looking at the Southern Kingdom from a spiritual perspective.

Many scholars feel that Ezra the Scribe wrote I and II Chronicles, and that seems very possible. You see, II Chronicles flows very smoothly into the book of Ezra. Also, the time frame that this was written is said to be between 450 to 430 BC.

Now the first 9 chapters of I Chronicles covers the genealogies starting way back with Adam and branching out from there. Now some feel that this section is very dry, and yet, God does not place anything in His word that is not important. I can't tell you why every name is in here, but I will share with you some of the treasures that I have seen in this section of Scripture. Remember, some of the greatest treasures are found in the driest places. So lets begin digging to see what God has for us in this section.

I CHRONICLES 1

VERSES 1-4

1. This takes us back to the very beginning, to Adam, as we will trace the genealogy of the Messiah. That is the primary focus. Yes we do see some other genealogies, but they are only carried for a few verses and then they are dropped. And remember, it is the son's of Noah that will repopulate the earth after the flood.

2. Now in these first 4 verses is the Gospel message, and if you don't see it, I'll show it to you. You see, when you look at the meaning of each of their names, the Gospel comes shinning through.

ADAM = MAN

SETH = APPOINTED

ENOSH = SUBJECT TO DEATH

CAINAN = SORROWFUL

MAHALALEEL = FROM THE PRESENCE OF GOD

JARED = ONE COMES DOWN

ENOCH = DEDICATED

METHUSELAH = DYING HE SHALL SEND

LAMECH = TO THE POOR BROUGHT VERY LOW

NOAH = COMFORT OR REST

Thus, we have: Man, appointed subject to death, sorrowful, from the presence of God one comes down dedicated, dying he shall send to the poor brought very low, comfort or rest. That is the Gospel message way back in the book of Genesis!

VERSES 5-7

1. Japheth - they settled in the area of the North, the old USSR, and to the west, Europe.

VERSES 8-16

1. Ham - They settled in the area of the continent of Africa.

2. In verse 10 we read of Nimrod who began a rebellion against the Lord. The Jerusalem Targum, which is a paraphrase of the Old Testament, said this regarding these verses in Genesis 10:8-12. "He was powerful in hunting and wickedness before the LORD, for he was a hunter of the son's of men. And he said to them, `Depart from the judgment of the LORD, and adhere to the judgment of Nimrod!' Therefore it is said: `As Nimrod the strong one, strong in hunting, and in wickedness before the LORD.'" Nimrod began the false religious system at the tower of Babel and this false system has continued on through the ages with its culmination and destruction in the book of Revelation.

VERSES 17-27

1. Shem - the people of the Middle East and of course, the Messianic line.

2. In verse 19 it speaks of the earth being divided in the days of Peleg. There are two schools of thought on this verse. The first is that during the time of the tower of Babel, God divided the languages and thus the people. This can also mean, which I tend to lean towards, that the land mass was divided during the days of Peleg. Today many scientists believe that all the continents at one time were all one land mass, and that some time in the past they split apart. There is much evidence to support this, including the continents fitting together like a puzzle. The scientists say this occurred over millions of years, I tend to believe that it happened in the days of Peleg, just as God has said.

VERSES 28-31

1. In these verses we see the descendants of Ishmael, the son of Abraham through his Egyptian maidservant, Hagar. Since this is not the Messianic line we only see a few of his descendants and then his line is dropped.

VERSES 32-33

1. Abraham's wife, Sarah, died at 127 years of age and Abraham lived on for some 40 more years. Thus, Abraham has 6 more sons from his concubine, Keturah. Abraham died at the age of 175. Just a little footnote, when Abraham was born, Shem, Noah's son, was still alive!

VERSE 34

1. The Messianic line would come from Abraham's son Isaac, and not from Ishmael. And then Isaac has two sons, Jacob (who is called Israel) and Esau.

VERSES 35-42

1. Here are the descendants of Esau, and as I said, not of the Messianic line, and thus will be dropped shortly.

VERSES 43-54

1. The descendants of Esau settled in the area of Edom, and were known as the Edomites.

I CHRONICLES 2

VERSES 1-2

1. Jacob had his name changed by God to Israel. It went from "heel-catcher" to "governed by God" but it was not until Jacob was broken, in despair, that he cried out to God. It was then that God changed his name. It was from the 12 sons of Jacob, or Israel, that the 12 tribes would come, and thus the nation of Israel.

VERSE 3

1. It was from the tribe of Judah that the Messiah would come, and yet we see that Judah's first two sons, Er and Onan were killed by the Lord for their wickedness, (Genesis 38).

VERSES 4-9

1. Perez is born out of an incestuous relationship between Tamar and her father-in-law Judah. If you remember, Tamar's husband Er was killed by the Lord and his brother Onan was given to Tamar to raise up a son for his dead brother, to keep his name from dying out. But he refused and he too was killed by the Lord. Judah, not wanting his only remaining son to have the same fate as his first two sons, refuses to give to Tamar, Shelah. So Tamar pretends to be a prostitute and Judah comes into her and she becomes pregnant by him. And Judah, for a temporary payment till he could come up with cash, gave her his signet ring, his cord, and his staff. Remember, Judah has no idea that this is his daughter-in-law. 3 months pass by and Judah finds out that Tamar is pregnant and he is ready to put her to death. Her defense was this, "By the man to whom these belong, I am with child." And she said, "Please determine whose these are; the signet and cord, and staff." So Judah acknowledged them and said, "She has been more righteous than I, because I did not give her to Shelah my son." And he never knew her again. Genesis 38:25-26. Through this relationship she had twins, Perez and Zerah, and it is through Perez that the Messianic line would come.

2. In verse 7 we read of Achar, or Achan. He was the one who took the firstfruits of the victory at Jericho, when God had said that the firstfruits were His, and not to take any plunder from this victory. But Achan took the best for himself and God judged him for that. We too must be careful to give our best to the Lord, the firstfruits of our time, our money, whatever that might be. Achan's life was summed up in one phrase, "the troubler of Israel." What can your life be summed up as? "Man of God?" "Prayer warrior?" "Lover of God?" Listen how king Saul's life was summed up He said, "Indeed I have played the fool and erred exceedingly." I Samuel 26:21.

VERSES 10-16

1. Remember our study in the book of Ruth. Boaz and Ruth had a son named Obed, he was the grandfather of David.

2. David's sister, Zeruiah, had 3 sons, Abishai, Joab and Asahel. Both Abishai and Joab were strong warriors but they also were loose cannons who were difficult to control. Asahel was killed by Abner and it was for this reason that Joab went and killed Abner, even after David had made a peace treaty with Abner. It was because of this incident, that David finally had enough and removed Joab from being his general. But during the battle for the city of Jebus, Joab is the only one who scales the wall and opened the doors of the city, and so David re-installed him. As I said, Joab was a great warrior, but you could not trust him.

VERSE 17

1. Amasa, David's nephew, sided with Absalom for a period of time and thus was rebelling against David.

VERSES 18-55

1. In verse 18 we see the name Caleb, who was one of the 12 spies who went into the promised land to check it out. And it was only Caleb and Joshua who came back with a favorable report. The rest were terrified of the inhabitants and these 10 spies got an entire nation to fear, which caused them to wander in the wilderness for 40 years because of their unbelief.

I CHRONICLES 3

VERSES 1-9

1. Remember that David first reigned in Hebron for 7 1/2 years while Ishobsheth, Saul's son, reigned over Israel for 2 years. Only Judah followed David at this time. But then the kingdom was once again united and David reigned 33 years in Jerusalem, over all of Israel.

2. In verse 5 we read of Nathan and Solomon being born to David's wife Bathsheba. Nathan's lineage goes to Mary, the mother of Jesus, which links Jesus to the lineage of David, (Luke 3). Solomon's lineage goes to Joseph, who was the adopted father of Jesus, and links Jesus to the royal line, but without the blood curse from Jehoiachin, (Matthew 1).

VERSES 10-24

1. In verses 10-16 we read of all the kings of Judah, descendants of David, up to Zedekiah, the last king in Judah before they were completely taken away captive to Babylon.

I CHRONICLES 4

VERSES 1-8

1. Remember Hezron was the father of Caleb, from the tribe of Judah, but not from the Messianic line. That would come from Perez.

VERSES 9-10

1. Jabez is an interesting man. He was in pain, and he sought the Lord, and his prayers were answered. God blessed this man.

VERSES 11-43

1. In verses 39-43 we see the Simeonites try to enlarge their boarders. They felt restricted, their families had grown as well as their flocks and herds, and they needed more room. Thus, they wipe out the enemy and enlarge their boarders. May that be the desire of our heart, to see the boarders of our ministry enlarged. It is when we become comfortable that we, as soldiers, become vulnerable to the attack of the enemy, for we are not on guard. Be sensitive to what God wants to do and pray that God would enlarge your boarders, just as Jabez prayed.

I CHRONICLES 5

VERSE 1

1. We are told that Reuben, who was the firstborn, lost that right of the double portion of the inheritance, because he slept with Bilhah, his fathers concubine. Thus, the right of the firstborn was given to the son's of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim.

VERSE 2

1. The birth right belonged to Joseph, but the Messianic line was to come from Judah. In Genesis chapter 49, Jacob is giving his blessings to his sons before he dies. And in speaking of Judah he says in Genesis 49:10, "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people."

Shiloh is a word from which Shalom comes from. And Shalom speaks of peace. Thus, this is speaking of the prince of peace, the Messiah. When the Romans took over Israel they also took away their right of capital punishment. That is why they had to go to the Roman leadership to have Jesus executed, for they could no longer put anyone to death. The scepter speaks of a king who has the right to execute capital punishment, he holds a persons life in his hands. He decides who will live and who will die. When this right was taken away from Israel, the Rabbis walked through the streets of Jerusalem wearing sack cloth and ashes, weeping, because in their hearts and minds they believed the word of God had been broken. For some 400 years God had been silent, as the Old Testament closed and the New Testament begun, and now this, God had forsaken them, they thought. You see, the scepter had been taken away before the Messiah had come, and thus, God's word failed, they thought. They did not know that only some 70 miles to the north, in a town called Nazareth, there was a young boy working in his fathers carpenter shop, by the name of Jesus. You see, Messiah had come before the scepter had departed. And yet He was not revealed to them as yet.

VERSES 3-26

1. Here we see the genealogy of Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh who settled on the east side of the Jordan River. In verses 18-22 we see these 2 1/2 tribes go against the enemy and they are victorious, not because of their own strength. It says "they cried out to God in battle." You see, they put their trust in the Lord after they cried out to him, and they were victorious against the enemy. God gave them the victory. We must remember that lesson, that our victory will not be won in the flesh, but as we surrender ourselves to God's Spirit and allow Him to conform us into the image of God. CRY OUT TO HIM AND THEN TRUST IN HIM!

2. In verses 25-26 we see these 2 1/2 tribes, located on the east side of the Jordan River, taken captive by the king of Assyria, Tiglath-Pileser (or Pul). They were defenseless and cut off from their brethren on the west side of the Jordan River. What happened to them? I think one reason they were the first to go into captivity is that they did not cross the Jordan River. The Jordan River means "judging" and speaks of or symbolizes the death to self, the death of the flesh. Because of that, not crossing over the Jordan River, the enemy took them away captive. For us, if we refuse to die to self and live that carnal Christian life, not desiring to walk in the spirit, we too will be the first to go into captivity. The flesh will cause us to be in bondage. God is calling for us to die to self, cross over the Jordan River, and enter into the promised land, the life of the spirit.

I CHRONICLES 6

VERSES 1-30

1. The sons of Levi were given specific duties in the care of the tabernacle.

A. GERSHONITES: They were responsible for the fabrics of the tabernacle, the

coverings, tents, clothes, curtain's, cords and-so-on.

B. KOHATHITES: They were responsible for the ark, table of showbread, the oil

burning lamp, the altars of burnt offering and incense, the

sacred vessels, the veil and-so-on. This was the priestly line

which Aaron came from.

C. MERARITES: They were responsible for the boards, sockets, walls, floors,

and-so-on.

2. God has given each us each specific duties or responsibilities with in the body of Christ in general and the church. The problem arises when we don't fulfill those responsibilities or we want to be something that God has not called us to be. First of all, if we don't exercise our gift, then the body suffers. In I Timothy 6:18-19 we read, "Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life."

Secondly, it is always a disaster when someone tries to be something they are not. What a mistake and what a problem. Remember the rebellion of Korah in Numbers 16. They were rebelling against the leadership of Moses, they wanted to do what he was doing. And for their rebellion, God caused the earth to swallow them up. Also, do you ever see a foot saying "I am tired of being a foot, I am always stuck in this dirty, smelly shoe! I want to be a hand. I want people to notice me!" If our body acted like that there would be utter chaos and we would not be able to function. The same is true in the body of Christ, use the gifts that God has given to you.

VERSES 31-48

1. Here we see David hire professional worship people, for David was truly a man of worship. Can you imagine going by the Temple day or night and hearing the worship of God being sung out. May we never lose sight of how important worship is. And let me say this, these guys were not wimps that sang these worship songs. They were not weaklings. Verse 33 tells us that one of the singers was HEMAN!

VERSES 49-81

1. It was the descendants of Aaron that were the priestly line. Remember that the Levites did not inherit any land, the Lord was their inheritance. Thus, throughout Israel there were 48 cites for these Levites to live in and to minister to the people from. That meant that no one was more than a days journey from one of these cities.

I CHRONICLES 7

VERSES 1-40

1. In this chapter we see some of the families of the 12 tribes of Israel, we see Naphtali, Manasseh, Ephraim, and Asher. One thing to note from the tribe of Ephraim was a man named Nun, who had a son named Joshua, who was a great warrior and loved the Lord. He truly had the heart of a servant.

I CHRONICLES 8

VERSES 1-40

1. Again we are looking at the families of the 12 tribes of Israel, specifically the genealogies of Benjamin, from which Saul, the first king of Israel came from.