Theme: 

I.       Introductory considerations

A.      

The large corpus of material related to the Temple and the Levites suggests a Levitical or priestly author.  There are also many similarities in language and style between the book of Ezra and the books of Chronicles.[1]  Many conservatives have concluded, therefore, that Ezra authored Chronicles.[2] 

B.      

The reference to the edict of Cyrus (II Chron. 36:22-23) clearly establishes a postexilic date for Chronicles.  More precisely, I Chronicles 3:24 refers to Anani, a Davidic descendant who is a seventh-generation descendant of Jehoiachin.  Jehoiachin was taken captive to Babylon in 597 BC.  If a generation is 25 years in length,[3] Anani must have been born between 450-425 BC.  Assuming that the Chronicler recorded the latest descendant of David, conservative scholars have dated the writing of Chronicles at 450-425 BC.

Approximately 100 years of postexilic history pass before the writing of Chronicles.  The spiritual temperature of the postexilic community was lukewarm at best.  Their spiritual resume includes the following:  misplaced priorities (Hag. 1:1-11), intermarriage with surrounding foreigners (Ezra 9:1-10:44; Neh. 13:23-27), a sparsely inhabited, unfinished Jerusalem (Neh. 1-3; 7:4), exacting usury from fellow countrymen (Neh. 5:4-11), foreigners in the Temple (Neh. 13:4-9), neglect of the Temple and the Levites (Neh. 13:10-11), and breaking the Sabbath (Neh. 13:15-18).  In addition, Malachi, who ministers about the same time that Ezra writes Chronicles, excoriates the people and priests for their empty, lifeless  religion.  No wonder Ezra was burdened to teach in Israel statutes and judgments (Ezra 7:10).

C.      

The book of Ezra begins where Chronicles ends—the edict of Cyrus (compare Ezra 1:1-3a with II Chronicles 36:22-23).  This may suggest that Chronicles is a companion volume to the book of Ezra.  Ezra and Nehemiah, a contemporary of Ezra, labored toward the reform of the postexilic community.  In calling his people to a heartfelt return to the Law of God and the covenant promises, Ezra may have decided to compose a historical review that provided the historical-theological basis for the work of reformation encouraged by him and Nehemiah.

D.     

1.        Lengthy genealogical material (I Chron. 1-9)

2.        Focus on the Davidic dynasty (Southern Kingdom)

3.        Focus on the Temple, the Temple worship, and the Levites/priests

4.        A stronger emphasis upon “divine retribution”

II.    Central theological purpose and message

In summary, Ezra is writing to the late post-exilic community.  He is writing to a community that has demonstrated inconsistent religious affections.  He is writing to the community who has inherited the opportunity given in the last two verses of II Chronicles (36:22-23) and has been under the reforming influence of him and Nehemiah.  This historical setting, coupled with the differences from Kings, suggests that Ezra desires to underscore the continuity of the divine promises, purposes, and principles in the covenant community.  He wants to minimize the gap between the pre- and the post-exilic community.  His goal is to encourage.  In fact, his burden is to highlight the basic principles that brought prosperity to the pre-exilic covenant community.  As an extension of this covenant community, the same principles apply to the present (postexilic) community.  His desire is for his people to grasp the reality of this continuity and to adhere to those promises, purposes, and principles that will bring divine blessing and prosperity to the covenant community.  Each of the four differences from Kings suggests an area of continuity singled out for the postexilic community’s admonition.

A.      

Unlike Kings, Chronicles begins with nine chapters of genealogical material.  The genealogies trace OT history from Adam to Anani (a fifth-century BC descendant of David).  In a sense, Chronicles is the summation of all of Old Testament history.  The genealogies serve a twofold purpose.  First, they suggest the racial solidarity of the chosen people.  Despite a 70-year Captivity in Babylon, the solidarity of the nation continues.  Second, they show the continuity of God’s redemptive purpose through the nation—that is, the redemptive plan begun in Adam culminates in His chosen people Israel, especially in the tribe of Judah and the line of David (which receives great emphasis in the genealogies).  The genealogical record “legitimizes the Israelites as the lineal descendants of the chosen people of God and indicates that they are the center of God’s plan of salvation for the world with other peoples or tribes being grafted into those chosen by God.”[4]

God has chosen the Jews, and especially the line of Judah, as the channel of His redemptive purposes.  They must be careful to maintain their racial and religious purity.[5]

B.      

1.        The emphasis of the genealogies

The genealogical records focus upon the tribes of the Southern Kingdom, especially the tribe of Judah and the line of David.  Most of three chapters (100 verses) are devoted to Judah and David (I Chron. 2-4).

2.        Chronicles’ focus on the Southern Kingdom

Kings divides its attention between the Northern Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom.  Chronicles, on the other hand, devotes itself almost entirely to the Southern Kingdom and the Davidic dynasty.  Brief references to the Northern Kingdom occur only as they impact or relate to the Southern Kingdom.  The death of King Saul is briefly rehearsed (I Chron. 10) in order to introduce King David, whose reign and successors will become the focus of Chronicles. 

3.        The frequent references to Yahweh’s covenant with or promises to David (I.17:3-14; II Chron. 1:9; 6:10, 15, 42; 7:18; 13:5; 21:7; 23:3)[6]

The postexilic community was living under the thumb of Persian hegemony.  The glorious days of the Davidic monarchy were over.  The natural conclusion would be to assume that the Davidic covenant had ceased.  However, as Ezra’s focus on David and his dynasty suggests, the divine promises made to David continue.  The series of Old Testament covenants climaxed in the covenant God made with David.  That covenant was still at work.  The hope of the covenant community was to continue looking for that Seed of David who will sit on the Davidic throne.[7]  Thus, Jerusalem remained God’s chosen city and the capital of the future Messianic Kingdom.[8]

C.     The necessity of returning from the heart to the                          established under David and his son Solomon. [9]

1.        The account of the preparation and building of the Temple stands at the center of the book of Chronicles (I.22, 28-29; II.2-7).[10]

2.        The Levites and the priests receive repeated attention[11]

a.        “Levi,” “Levite,” or “Levites” occurs 113x in Chronicles; 2x in Kings

b.        Lengthy genealogy of Levi’s descendants (I Chron. 6:1-81)

c.        Other lists (I Chron. 9:10-34; 15:2-27; 16:4-6; 23:2-26:32)

d.        The Levites’ role in music (The word root shiyr [“to sing,” “song,” or “singer”] occurs 31x in Chronicles; only 2x in Kings).

3.        When discussing the reigns of the “good” kings, the Chronicler focuses on their work in furthering the worship of the Temple or in furthering the work of the Levites:  David (I.15:2-27; I.16:4-6; I.22-26, 28-29); Solomon (II.2:1-7:10; 8:12-16); Asa (II.15:1-15); Jehoshaphat (II.17:5-9; II.19:8-11; cf. II.20:14-21); Hezekiah (II.29:3-31:21); and Josiah (II.34:3-35:19).

Ezra sets forth the worship at the Temple established by David and completed by Solomon as the only true worship.  The postexilic covenant community can only experience God’s blessing as they mimic the spiritual fervor and heartfelt worship that characterized the covenant community under David and Solomon.  Thus, Chronicles legitimates the efforts of men like Ezra and Nehemiah to return people to the Law of God and to the Temple and its worship.  The covenant community must renounce the hypocrisy, inconsistency, and halfheartedness that characterized their worship in the days of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Malachi.  Since the same divine promises and purposes apply, the postexilic covenant community can experience no blessing apart from the worship of Yahweh as practiced at the Jerusalem Temple.[12]

D.     

Key Principle:  In every generation, Yahweh prospers those who humble themselves and seek Him, but He punishes all those who forsake Him in unfaithfulness. 

This principle is illustrated, developed, and implied by Ezra in his history of the pre-exilic community.  By seeing this principle fleshed out in the lives of their earlier countrymen, the community of Ezra’s day, it is hoped, will recognize the ongoing continuity of this divine principle and will live accordingly.[13] 

How does Ezra develop this principle?

1.        Key words that describe one’s relationship with Yahweh

a.        “unfaithfulness”; ma‘al (17x in Chron.; never in Kings):  I Chron. 2:7; 5:25; 9:1; 10:13; II Chron. 12:2; 26:16, 18; 28:19, 22; 29:6, 19; 30:7; 33:19; 36:14

b.        “humble yourself”; kana’ (36x in OT; 19x in Chron.; 3x in Kings):  II Chron. 7:14; 12:6-7, 12; 13:18; 30:11; 32:26; 33:12, 19, 23; 34:27; 36:12[14]

c.        “to seek” or “to inquire”; darash (41x in Chron.; 13x in Kings)

Seeking Yahweh becomes the “plumb line” according to which kings are measured in Chronicles (NIDOTTE, I:9970):  I Chron. 10:13-14; 13:3 (did not seek after the ark during the reign of Saul); 15:13 (did not seek Yahweh concerning the proper method to transport the ark); 16:11; 21:30; 22:19; 28:8-9; II Chron. 1:5 (Solomon); 14:4, 7; 15:2, 12-13; 16:12 (Asa); 17:3-4; 18:4, 6-7 (Jehoshaphat sought after Yahweh even with Ahab); 19:3; 20:3; 25:15, 20 (Amaziah sought after the gods of Edom); 26:5 (Uzziah); 30:19; 31:21 (Hezekiah); 34:3, 21, 26 (Josiah).

Note also the phrase to “prepare [kwn] the heart to seek Yahweh” (II Chron. 12:14; 19:3; 30:19; cf. Ezra 7:10).  Also note Jotham, who walked steadfastly [kwn] before Yahweh (II Chron. 27:6).[15]

d.        “to prosper”; tsalech (13x in Chron.; 2x in Kings):  I Chron. 22:11, 13; 29:23; II Chron. 7:11; 13:12; 14:7; 18:11, 14; 20:20; 24:20; 26:5; 31:21; 32:30.

2.        Examples of this principle in the genealogies:  Achar (I.2:7); Jabez (I.4:9-10); Reubenites, Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh (I.5:18-22); half tribe of Manasseh (I.5:25-26); exile of the Southern Kingdom (I.9:1).

3.        “Positive reinforcement” of this principle:  Chronicles focuses on those kings who because of their heart for Yahweh enjoyed prosperity.

Fifty-five chapters in Chronicles cover the Davidic monarchy (I Chron. 11-II Chron. 36).  Chronicles devotes 38 of those 55 chapters to five of the 19 Davidic kings:  David (I.11-29); Solomon (II.1-9); Jehoshaphat (II.17-20); Hezekiah (II.29-32); Josiah (II.34-35).  The remaining 17 chapters tell the stories of the other 14 Davidic kings.

This, very probably, is the reason that Chronicles “omits” the sins of David and Solomon.  He emphasizes to the postexilic community the joy and prosperity that characterized their reigns because of their heart for Yahweh.

4.        The inclusion of events or speeches, not in Kings, that emphasize this principle

a.        I Chron. 15:13 (David’s comments about the ark)

b.        II Chron. 7:1-3 (glory of the Lord filling the Temple)

c.        II Chron. 15:2 (Azariah the prophet to Asa)

d.        II Chron. 16:9 (Prophet Hanani to Asa)

e.        II Chron. 19:2 (Jehu the prophet to Jehoshaphat)

f.         II Chron. 21:12-15 (Letter from Elijah to Jehoram)

g.        II Chron. 24:20 (Zechariah’s denunciation of Joash’s unfaithfulness)

5.        “Editorial statements” included with various narratives that give the theological reason for an event or circumstance:  Saul (I.10:13-14); David (I.14:17); Solomon (I.29:25); Rehoboam (II.12:2, 5, 12, 14); Abijah (II.13:18); Asa (II.14:6, 14; 15:15); Jehoshaphat (II.17:3, 5, 10; 20:30); Jehoram (II.21:10, 18); Ahaziah (II.22:7); Joash (II.24:24); Amaziah (II.25:20, 27); Uzziah (II.26:5, 16); Jotham (II.27:6); Ahaz (II.28:19, 23); Hezekiah (II.31:21; 32:25-26); Manasseh (II.33:12-13).

This principle extends not only to the overall life of a man, but to the individual acts within a man’s life.  In other words, a man who has received prosperity from the Lord can by an act or acts of unfaithfulness remove from his life the hand of God’s blessing.  On the other hand, a man whose life has been characterized by unfaithfulness and disobedience can, by humbling himself, experience the goodness and prosperity of the Lord.

Although Ezra applies this principle primarily to the kings of Judah, the principle still applies to every individual.  One individual (Achan), by his defection from the command of Yahweh, troubled Israel (I Chron. 2:7).  And yet another individual’s “claim to fame” is that out of all his brethren, he called upon Yahweh for blessing and Yahweh heard him (I Chron. 4:9-10).  Truly, “if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever” (I Chron. 28:9) and “The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you” (II Chron. 15:2).

----

[1] G. F. Hasel, “Chronicles, Books of,” in ISBE, rev. ed (1979), 1:667.

[2] Hasel, 670-71; J. Barton Payne, “1, 2 Chronicles,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, 4:304-306; and S. J. Schultz, “Chronicles, Books of,” ZPEB, 1:809.

[3] Hasel, 670.  Jehoiachin’s son, Pedaiah, was apparently born about 595 BC.

[4] Hasel, 669.

[5] Payne, 313.

[6] Note also the slight change between the account of the Davidic covenant in I Chron. 17 and that in II Sam. 7—“thine house and thy kingdom” (referring to David; II Sam. 7:14-16) become “mine house” and “my kingdom” (referring to God) in I Chron. 17:14.

[7] See Eugene Merrill, “1 Chronicles,” Bible Knowledge Commentary:  OT, 591.

[8] The importance of Jerusalem perhaps explains the listing of Jerusalem’s inhabitants in I Chronicles 9:1-34.

[9] There is a strong link, in Chronicles, between the Davidic covenant and the Temple worship at Jerusalem.  Martin Selman, 1 Chronicles, pp. 45, 57. 

[10] Incidentally, the only sin of David recorded in Chronicles relates to the Temple.  David’s sin in numbering the people ends with the purchase of Mt. Moriah, which becomes the location for the Temple (I.22:1).

[11] Selman, 57-58.

[12] “It was the strong conviction of the writer that the whole future prosperity of his countrymen was bound up with the preservation of the Temple service, with the proper maintenance of the priests and Levites, the regular establishment of the ‘courses,’ and the rightful distribution of the several ministrations of the Temple among the Levitical families.”  F. C. Cook, ed., Barnes’ Notes:  Exodus to Esther, 312.

[13] See C. F. Keil, “1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles,” vol. 3 in Commentary on the Old Testament by C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, 379-382.

[14] An instructive use of this word occurs in II Chron. 28:19.  Because of Ahaz, God brought Judah low (kana’).

[15] The idea of kwn is to fix or to establish.  It is used, for example, in the Psalms:  “My heart is fixed” (Ps. 57:7; 108:1; cf. Ps. 112:7).  It is also used of the earth.  The earth is fixed or established and, therefore, cannot be moved (Ps. 93:1; 96:10).