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I Chronicles 9-12
We are in the Nation Stream reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible.
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Commentary by Dr. Drake Travis
God you are exciting, Your plans are exciting, your world is exciting, your future (with us in it) is exciting. Amen.
9 – This is the last chapter of successive genealogies. It covers the return from Exile in Babylon. And with these records being kept, this made it possible to return to Israel and they would know which people were to go back to which land. These nine chapters of genealogy walk us through the streams, via the names, of all the biblical history that has happened so far. The generation to generation run down ties the national family together through time and this deeply authenticates the Hebrew story. And no one is trying to kid anyone here – what is more enchanting? walking around a quaint city or sitting in a hotel room in that city while reading that same city’s phonebook? duh! This first nine chapters of Chronicles has been a bit like reading the phonebook. It is the truth. It IS this same city but it doesn’t inspire like some of the stories that teach and get us dreaming and praying while making our spirit soar to new heights! So after reading the first part of Chronicles … read the read of the Bible! 🙂
The next three chapters are dedicated to the process of David becoming King. The matching narrative is seen in II Samuel which begins at Saul’s death. which in turn passed the kingdom to David. I.e. I Chron. 11-29 and the book of II Samuel are parallel stories with each having a distinctive focus. I Chron. is a little more focused on the ritual of worship that was so vital to David.
10 – This is the tale of Saul’s finale~ He was a base man; practically secular, though he had a spiritual calling (by default). His death is gory and pathetic as his sons are killed with him. The Bible is specific to state why he was taken out the way he was. “He was unfaithful…he did not keep God’s Word, he resorted to witchcraft, he did not seek the Lord.” So God put him to death in a way that makes all of the future souls that have even a vague sense of observation to read of Saul and vow to not live like that apostate man.
11 – David is anointed king and he wastes no time in taking Jerusalem. One of the things that is easily missed is that it has been nearly 400 years since the Israelites came into this promised land. And after taking Jericho, had they stayed on track, they certainly would have been able to take Jerusalem within a generation or so. It was only 13 miles away! But 400 years had rolled by and Jerusalem was still occupied by a pagan people. A brief review of Judges 2:7-13 gives a clear explanation as to why they got sidetracked for 300+ years. Ridiculous isn’t it? But David took Jerusalem and it is dedicated to God. David was dedicated to God and dedicated to the core of his soul. And God was with David. The man became unstoppable. The takes of the valiant deeds of the men dedicated to him are impressive. They are the scenes of blockbuster movies. When God is in a movement, fear nor failure are matters that are not even pondered, much less experienced.
12 – This is a ‘by the way’ chapter that jumps back a bit and gives the story and numbers of people who jumped to David’s side even before he was the full-fledged king with Saul out of the way. It is a marvel to see the ground swell that arises around David; the gathering that surrounded him with aid and comfort and defense at all costs. The skills, the speed of these men, their heart/soul dedication, the valiancy that they all have for DAvid’s cause! Good heavens. The gathering at Hebron had to be a sight. Y’can almost hear David exclaim 3000+ years later, “aww, you should have been here!!” This is just under 341,000 men hearts like lions, tough as leather, trained as Marines, ready to serve a God who is called a consuming fire and mighty in battle. And they ate and drank and reveled in what God had brought on for three days! It says, “and there was joy in Israel!” Forgive the modern-day insertion here but can you imagine the catering bill for well over 3Million meals for robust hungry soldiers who do NOT just pick and nibble, but scarf and eat and eat and eat?!
