Chapter 27: The Old Testament Comes to a Close
We have reached the end of the Old Testament, and just like the Old Testament does, we need to recap and review the story before delving into the New Testament. We will do this by following the outline of the books of 1 and 2 Chronicles. But doesn't our Old Testament end with the book of Malachi? Yes, however, that wasn't always the case. In the Jewish Canon, the Old Testament ends with the book Chronicles. When the order of the books in the Bible was under debate, what happened is that the Christians at the time grouped the books by type, so the minor prophets were all grouped together, and since Malachi was the last of these books, it became the final book in the Old Testament. The books of Chronicles were bundled together with the books of Kings since they seem at first glance to deal with the same subject matter.
However, the reason Chronicles was written was very different from the books of Kings. Kings was written as a history book of the reign of the different kings of Israel and Judah. Chronicles was written as a theological reflection on the history of Israel. It is more interested in the overall story God is writing through the people of Israel, than in describing the events as history. Part of the reason it is the last book in the Jewish Canon is that it summarizes and reflects on the entire story of Israel. It also lays the foundation for the New Testament to begin. So what is it all about?
Genealogy:
Chronicles starts with Adam and lays out the genealogy of Israel. The opening chapters of the book detail the family tree of Adam, through Abraham, to Jacob and the twelve tribes of Israel. From here the author zooms in on the descendants of Judah and especially on the family line of King David. This is deliberate. Remember the covenant God made with Abraham: That the whole world would be blessed through his offspring. Later God clarifies that this would happen through a king from the tribe of Judah, one of David’s descendants who would sit on the throne eternally. The author of Chronicles is hinting that this book is going to focus on the fulfillment of this promise.
From here the genealogy zooms out and surveys the rest of the tribes of Israel, noting the land and locations where they were living. This section concludes in 1 Chronicles 9:1, where the author sums up, saying:
“All Israel was registered in the genealogies that are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel.”
However, more important is the second half of that verse, where he reminds his readers:
“But Judah was exiled to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness.”
The genealogy continues by recounting the people who came back to Jerusalem after the exile. This concludes the genealogy section: it is a stark reminder of the thousands of Israelites who had turned their back on God, following after other gods, with the result being destruction and exile. The story now moves from the failure of the people to the failure of the kings.
The returned exiles need a righteous king like David.
The story now focuses on the history of Israel’s kings. Starting with King Saul in chapter 10, where Saul’s reign is summarized in v13 as follows:
Saul died for his unfaithfulness to the LORD because he did not keep the LORD’s word. He even consulted a medium for guidance, but he did not inquire of the LORD. So the LORD put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David, son of Jesse.
The author spends the next several chapters describing the rule of David. However, when you read David’s story it becomes pretty obvious that he is being held in extremely high esteem and a number of his failures were glossed over. Chapters 11-21 describe David’s successes as a king, noting his great military successes, the strength of his armies, his spiritual victories, and the way he was blessed by God. They also describe how David arranged for the Ark of the Covenant to be brought to Jerusalem, and the close relationship David had with God. The only negative note the author makes about David’s reign is that David took a military census of his people to determine how strong his army was. This was a sign that David started trusting in the strength of his army, rather than in the Lord. However, there is no mention of David’s sin with Bathsheba, arguably his most famous error.
The reason for this is not that the author is trying to hide David’s sins. Indeed, anyone who wanted to would be able to read of David’s great sins in the books of Kings. What the author is doing is laying the foundation that a new king like David, but better, would one day come to deliver Israel. The rest of 1 Chronicles continues in much the same theme: David is exalted as a great king and makes arrangements for Solomon, his son, to become king after him. He lays the foundation for the Lord’s Temple to be built, and in the final analysis, David’s life is summarized as follows:
1 Chronicles 29:26-28.
David son of Jesse was king over all Israel. The length of his reign over Israel was forty years; he reigned in Hebron for seven years and in Jerusalem for thirty-three. He died at a good old age, full of days, riches, and honor, and his son Solomon became king in his place.
The theological point the author is making is that when Israel is ruled by a righteous king, a king like David, then things go well. If Israel is to be the blessing to the nations, then Israel needs a new king like this.
The returned exiles need a priestly, interceding king like Solomon.
The story now shifts to Solomon and the building of the Temple. As with David, Solomon’s life story is largely edited to take the bad stuff out. Again this is not to hide Solomon’s significant flaws, but rather to highlight the type of king that was needed. 2 Chronicles starts with Solomon’s famous prayer for wisdom. The chapters that follow describe the arrangements Solomon made for the Temple to be built, the completion and dedication of the Temple, and Solomon’s prayer to the Lord at the dedication of the Temple. The prayer is recorded in full, and in his prayer, Solomon prays that the Lord will forgive the sins of his people, that He would restore them spiritually and that the Lord would forgive their sins. The type of king the returned exiles now need is a king who would pray for them, who would intercede for them before God.
The returned exiles need a king from Judah.
From here the story focuses on the split between the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. As the author works through the various kings, he pauses at and highlights the spiritually significant rulers. We are told about the great spiritual revival that happened under King Asa; however, Asa ended up making an alliance with the king of Aram instead of trusting in the Lord. We hear about how King Jehoshaphat arranged for all the towns in Judah to be educated in the law of the Lord and the miraculous ways the Lord supported Jehoshaphat when battle was being waged against Judah. However, Jehoshaphat was also castigated by one of the Lord’s prophets because he “helped the wicked and loved those who hate the Lord” (2 Chronicles 19:2). We learn about Joash, the boy king who served the Lord and repaired the temple. Unfortunately, Joash gave up serving the Lord toward the end of his life. We read of Uzziah, who sought the Lord and whom God gave great success. However, Uzziah became proud and violated the sanctity of the Temple and was struck down with a terrible skin disease. Hezekiah is the greatest of the kings of Judah, who cleansed the Temple and revived temple worship and reinstituted the Passover. He trusted the Lord when Jerusalem was under attack and ended his reign having served God his entire life. Unfortunately, the worst of Judah’s kings, Manasseh, followed, and because of his sin, Jerusalem is ultimately destroyed with her people being carried off into exile.
As we read this section of Chronicles, the author is making the point that the Messianic King will come from Judah; however, by showing the failures of several even good kings, he reminds the readers that none of the kings who had yet come from David’s line was that Messianic king.
The books of Chronicles end with King Cyrus’ decree that the exiles could return home. In fact, the book ends halfway through Cyrus’ decree – the book actually ends halfway through Cyrus’ sentence.
This is highly significant. The point is, the promised messiah is coming from the line of David, but he hasn't come yet. For that, the exiles had to wait… God was still committed to his promises to Adam, to Abraham and to David. Who will this messianic king be? This person who comes from the line of David, who was a righteous king, a priestly interceding king like Solomon, a king like the kings of Judah, but without flaw? Who will this be? We need to turn the page to the first page of the New Testament to find out...