Day 348: 1 Chronicles 7-9 | Read The Bible In A Year | Bible Study & Commentary by Dr. Manny Arango

Welcome to the Bible Department podcast powered by ARMA. We are walking through the entire Bible in a year. You can go to the description or thebaldapartment.com to download a reading plan and join the journey. (upbeat music) - La Familia, let's go. Welcome to day 348. Here on the Bible Department, we're diving into first chronicles, aka just chronicles, 'cause in the original tenok, there's no second chronicles. Anywho, first chronicles chapters seven, eight and nine. If you haven't done the reading, then scram. Get out of here. Now I'm just joking. Stop the video, pause the audio, go get the reading done. You may get some inspiration for like a kid's name or something, probably not. But anyway, first chronicles chapters seven, eight and nine is on the docket today. And my job, like every day, is to give you context clues, some nerdy nuggets and a timeless truth so that you can not just hear the word, not just know the word, but apply the word of God to your life. I'm excited for the timeless truth today, but no further ado, let's dive in.

So for our context today, I'm actually gonna give you an overall structure for the entire book of chronicles, first and second chronicles, okay? Knowing how the structure of the book works, Axie allows us to see a massive theme. And again, the more contextual information that we have, the better interpretations we can make. Again, we're still in the genealogy phase of first chronicles, but this genealogy is coming to a climactic point and we will talk about that in our nerdy, in our final nerdy nugget of the day. So let's look at structure, okay? Overall 30,000 foot structure, what is going on in chronicles, okay? Now, first chronicles, chapters one through nine, as you've already seen, is genealogies. You're walking through those genealogies right now. First chronicles, chapters 10 to 21, is gonna focus on David's reign. First chronicles, chapters 22 to 29, is going to talk about we're gonna discuss preparation for Solomon to succeed David, okay? Then second chronicles, chapters one through nine, is gonna focus on Solomon's reign. And then the real, like, I mean, kind of the meat of the book is gonna be second chronicles, what we know of as second chronicles, is gonna be chapters 10 to 36, is gonna focus on the house of David.

Now, this means the kings of Judah, the house of David. By house, we mean dynasty, okay? David as a person has obviously died, but we're gonna focus on his house, his lineage, his descendants, his, you know, like for anyone who may have watched Game of Thrones, house Lannister, house Stark, right? Okay, we're gonna focus on David's house. Now, second chronicles, chapter 10 to 36, goes through the story of David's dynasty. And in it, you can observe a cycle of the temple's decline and reform. So, what's gonna happen is Raya Bohem, the temple's gonna go into decline. Then you're gonna get Asa and Jehosaphat, and the temple's gonna go into reform. And then we're gonna get Jehoram and Ahaziah, the temple's gonna go into decline. And then you're gonna see Joash, the temple's gonna come into reform. And then you're gonna see Yuziah and Ahas, the temple's gonna go into decline. And then you're gonna get Hezekiah, the temple's gonna come into reform. And then you're gonna get Manasseh, the temple's gonna decline. Quality of the temple, the centralization of the temple, the importance on the temple, okay? The temple's gonna decline. Then Josiah, we're gonna get temple reform.

And then we're gonna get Josiah's sons. And what's gonna happen? Temple decline. So, what we're gonna see from chapters 10, all the way to 36, is cycles of decline and reform, decline and reform, decline and reform, decline and reform. Okay, it's important that you kind of understand, yesterday we teed this up, that if you look at Luke chapter 11 verse 51, Jesus is going to say from the beginning, from the blood of Abel to Zechariah, which is His way of saying from the beginning to the end, from the first to the last. Okay, from Abel to Zechariah, the innocent blood of the prophets is gonna be on your heads this generation. You're gonna be responsible for it, okay? Now, when Jesus is saying that, we obviously needed to go to second Chronicles chapter 24 verses 20 to 22 to see who Zechariah even is. Well, He's the last prophet of the temple. chronicles works as the last book of the Hebrew Bible is by showing you that chronicles in and of itself gives you a complete overview of everything that has already happened in the Bible. So, if you go to 1 Chronicles chapter 1, okay, 1 Chronicles chapter 1 verse 1. Adam, I mean how, how much more Genesis can we get? Adam, the reason that this genealogy starts at Adam is because chronicles, 1st and 2nd Chronicles, is showing you that it's re, almost like recapping the entire history of everything that has happened in the entire Bible up into this point. And how's it going to end? Okay, 2 Chronicles chapter 36, starting in verse 20, it's going to say he carried into exile to Babylon, the remnant. So, we're going to get all the way to exile, okay, the remnant, and we're going to focus on that word remnant in a couple of minutes on this episode,

who escaped from the sword and they became servants to him and his successors until the kingdom of Persia came to power. The land enjoy its sabbath rest all the time of its desolation it rested until the 70 years were completed and fulfillment of the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah. In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing. So, this is now the return of the exiles. So, in one verse 20 and 21, we get the exile and then in verse 22, we get the return of the exiles. And what is the verse that the entire book of Chronicles is going to end on? Verse 23, this is what Cyrus king of Persia says, the Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. And he of his people among you may go up. Keywords go up and maybe and may the Lord their God be with them done. The book is done. So, what is Chronicles doing? It's starting with Adam and then going all the way up to the present moment. Okay, that's it. That's in what is in what is this verse charging everyone to do? Keep going up to the temple. Remember, we talked about this in Psalms when we're looking at the Psalms of ascent. The reason that people from all around Israel could go up to Jerusalem is because it doesn't matter where you are in order to go to Jerusalem, you got to go up, right? Because it's nestled in the hills. So, the Chronicles as a whole is ending with a let's go up. And what are we going up to? We're going up to the temple to do what? To wait for the Messiah. To wait. Because I know we're all in the habit of just kind of saying, yeah, you know, there's 400 silent years from Malachi to Matthew. And really, there's not. There's 400 silent years from Chronicles to Matthew, because the book of Chronicles is actually the thing that's supposed to get you to the edge of the, it's the cliffhanger. Okay? So, it leaves on a cliffhanger. You can feel it. That's the last verse of the entire book that we're studying right now. This is what Cyrus, King of Persia, says, the Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. And he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up and may the Lord, their God, be with them. Done. Like that's it. So, we start first Chronicles chapter 1 with Adam. That's the beginning. Ezra is going to recount the entire history of the Jewish people. And he's going to recount the entire history of the Jewish people all the way to the exile. We're going to get two verses on the exile. Then we're going to get a couple of verses on the return of the exile. And then we've got a

cliffhanger. And what should we be anticipating when we get to the end of that cliffhanger? Going up to to going up to Jerusalem to be in the temple. And we're believing that the Lord God will be with them. Okay? We'll be with them. My name is Emmanuel. And it means the Lord be with you. Okay? God is with us. And so, how does Matthew start? I'll say exactly how Matthew starts. It starts. How does Luke start? How does the New Testament start? It starts with this couple, Simeon and Anna, waiting, where? Waiting exactly where Cyrus, King of Persia, set them up to the temple. They're waiting in the temple. And what are they behold? The beauty of They're waiting, they're doing exactly what the Old Testament has commissioned them to do. Go up to the temple and may the Lord your God be with you. And who is the Lord their God, Jesus. And what does Jesus do? As a baby, he's walked right into the temple so that he can be with them. Matthew is gonna pick up on this exact theme. And what is the name that's given to this baby by Mary and Joseph Emmanuel, may God be with you to the incarnation. So the cliffhanger of Chronicles is to set you up to go wait in the temple and wait for the incarnation. And so I just want you to get this 30,000 foot idea that the Bible is the narrative arc of the Bible is not from Genesis to Malachi. The way that we have read the Bible is actually how it was designed to go. Not from Genesis to Malachi. Not the way that your English translations are organized, but rather from Genesis to Chronicles. And this last verse of second Chronicles,

chapter 36 is leaving on a cliffhanger. And everyone in the 400 year gap is in that cliffhanger waiting for the Lord to be with them as they wait in the temple. And that honestly is a lot of the context that we need in order to get through this book. All right, I'm gonna fly through our nerdy nuggets today. What if I told you that what you're learning in this video was just the tip of the iceberg? The Bible department is actually powered by Arma. What is Arma? I'm so glad you asked. Arma is an online subscription based platform that we designed to help people. Everyday people learn the Bible for themselves. We started Arma so that anybody anywhere could have access to trustworthy and entertaining Bible and theology content. In addition to this podcast, we have over 60 courses on individual books of the Bible, on theology topics, and on some hot topics, like homosexuality, tithing, and women in ministry. But really, Arma is a community. A community of people that I've gotten to know, a community where thousands of people are currently finding family, asking questions, and nerding out on the Bible together. If you want a community to read the Bible with you this year, or if you wanna dive into some deeper theological content, or if you want more exclusive access to me

and the entire Arma team, how about you go to the Bible department.com, I'll be sure to post the link in the description of this video. Let's make this your year to become a Bible nerd. What you obviously need to know is that from first Chronicles one verse one to second Chronicles 36 to 23, these two books, a.k.a. one book, cover the entire history of the Jewish people and sets us up for the New Testament. It sets us up perfectly for the second temple period. I'm gonna fly through these nerdy nuggets, okay? First Chronicles chapter seven versus one through five is gonna focus on the tribe of Visicar. First Chronicles chapter seven versus six through 12 is gonna focus on Benjamin. Now, the reason that Benjamin gets a massive focus because Benjamin as a tribe has been loyal to David. It's gonna be key. If you're loyal to David, you get rescued, you get restored. Now, here's the context in Genesis. Context that we have in the book of Genesis. If you remember all the way back in the ending of Genesis, the situation was beginning with the actual brothers themselves. Judah swore both to Jacob and to Joseph that he would give his own life and freedom as a surety for his two imprisoned brothers, Simeon and Benjamin. He protected them as his brothers.

And Judah as a tribe still had Simeon and Benjamin under their protection, okay? So what we're gonna see is playing out in these genealogies, but it plays out through all the pages of scripture is that what happened with the actual brothers, okay, the 12 brothers that create the 12 tribes, what actually happened with those 12 brothers is then gonna get played out with the 12 tribes. So Simeon and Benjamin are gonna be insanely like closely associated and related to Judah, all right? And that's what this part of the genealogy is communicating to us. First Chronicles 7, 13, we're gonna get a focus on naphthali, just one verse, and then first Chronicles 7, 14 and 19. We've already looked at the eastern half of Manasseh, which didn't get into the Promised Land, but these nine verses, sorry. chapter 20 to 29 we're going to get a big focus on ephraim okay now you may not realize this but ephraim is a huge tribe okay this is the most important tribe other than juda okay ephraim this is of course a southern juda focused genealogy and story okay so ephraim will not get the space its size and importance should get okay it was the tribe that dominated the northern kingdom of israel and its territory was samaria and it remained the center of the north so much so that in scripture israel the northern kingdom of israel as opposed to the southern kingdom of juda the northern kingdom of israel in its territory was samaria sorry it was referred to as ephraim okay the northern kingdom of israel just referred to as ephraim and outside of scripture as well remember there's a siro ephraimatic war why is it called ephraimatic well the the war is actually with israel but ephraim is synonymous with israel because it's the dominant tribe in the north if the roles were reversed and this was the story of the northern tribes return from exile then ephraim would have the most space it would be juda it is the north's version of juda but it was jerebohm of the tribe of ephraim who led the northern tribes in rebellion against the house of david

in the house of yahweh so in many ways the blame for the loss of the ten tribes and how they are removed from history and this story lies at the feet of the tribe of ephraim okay so where benjamin is who has been loyal to david okay ephraim has been the opposite of loyal to david i'll say it another way okay in the eternal war between the sisters leah and rachel it is leah who wins again it was her son and her heir that survived to lead israel juda not rachels her heir was joseph and his heir was ephraim and though this tribe in the north was important ultimately this tribe was lost and we'll talk about why this tribe was lost as we unpack the word remnant okay so then chapter seven verses 30 to 40 we get a focus on asher notice how the tribes of dan and zebulan are missing but that's because there's a theological point that these genealogies are making every tribe doesn't need to be included that's not the point chapter eight we're going to get another focus on benjamin because we're going to get sol's line and the sons of benjamin so benjamin is going to make another appearance and then in chapter nine okay we are going to get content regarding the very first return okay and here's what it says chapter nine so all israel was recorded in genealogies and these are written in the book of the kings of israel and juda was taken into exile and babylon because of their breach of faith the entire story which will be revisited much later in the book in one line and then straight away here's what we get now the first to dwell again in their possessions in their cities where israel the priests the leviets and the temple servants then the next two paragraphs okay so the people are backed and there's a massive theological point being made that these people that have come back these are the remnant so the whole point of the genealogy is to essentially show you a before and after okay look at how many hundreds of thousand people there were and now only this small little bit is coming back if the story started at chapter nine and just showed you who came back you'd have no appreciation for whether it's a lot of people or a small amount of people you'd have nothing to compare it to so the first eight chapters are not just telling you the story of the tribes and their importance but they're also telling you how robust of a nation israel is and now how lean of a nation israel is but this isn't to be like discouraging it's actually to say the remnant is where it's at like like the remnant is gonna become a badge of honor okay i was actually in a youth group growing up called the remnant and our senior pastor shut that down he was like the reason the youth ministry only 30 kids it went from like 600 kids to 30 kids and he's like because you named it the remnant like remnant literally means the leftovers and he's like you got you can't name

the thing the remnant like and think it's gonna grow like and we had a badge of honor but those kids are like smoking weed and having sex. And we're like, I kid you not. Like in terms of quality, we were strong. In terms of quantity, not so much. So remnant, I mean, may not be a fantastic name if you're trying to grow in quantity, because it does mean those that have gone through the fire and come back. And so that is what we are dealing with in chapter nine. Okay, all that the genealogies are all the context for the people that have returned to the land. There were 12 tribes, many clans and families, but now only these remain, okay? This is thus the true Israel, loyal to Yahweh, and they have survived the refining fires of exile. So exile is gonna be seen as a refining fire that the goal of exile was to burn off the extra, okay? So that's why remnant is a badge of honor because we survived the fire, okay? But now these are the, sorry, loyal to Yahweh that have survived the refining fires of exile. The remnant is pure and so the lists and more significant because it shows them to be the true Israel returning from exile in contrast to the people of the land. Okay, remember we dealt with this before, the people of the land. When we were in Ezra and Nehemiah. These are the opponents. So we're gonna get the true Israel coming back from exile

as the remnant purified, okay, by fire, refined versus the people of the land. Why does Ezra have an issue with the people of the land? Let's say exactly why. The people of the land, they are the descendants of those who did not go through exile and married in a pagan families. They cannot serve, they cannot claim the promised land. They are not pure, exile has not refined them. They are not a part of the remnant. This list ends with mention of the revival of what we will soon read. The choir singing day and night that David set up for the temple. This is chapter nine, verses 33 to 34. It says this, now these the singers, the heads of fathers, houses of the Levites were in the chambers of the temple free from other service for they were on duty day and night. These were heads of fathers, houses of the Levites according to their generations, leaders, these lived in Jerusalem. So when the Bible in chronicles chapter nine, verse 33 and 34 talked about revival. It's saying, no, the remnant, this refining fire of going through the exile has now produced Levites who are in the temple free from any other service on duty day and night singing before God. This is revival, okay? And then chapter nine, verse 35 to 44

is gonna give us genealogies about Saul's line. So all these genealogies, all these lists are actually ultimately culminating or climaxing in first chronicles chapter nine, okay? It's a before and after. It's funny, you know, one time I was on the road and a gentleman was, you know, hosting me. And I just thought to myself, not in like a rude or offensive way, I just thought to myself, yo, like he's a big dude. And then he actually told me, he's like, man, I'm down 200 pounds, you should see my before picture. And I was like, show me the before picture. And of course, I then looked at him and realized, oh, wow, yeah, you've definitely lost like 200 pounds. It's funny how once I saw the before picture, I looked at him in reality way different. I was thinking to myself, well, that's a big guy. And now I was thinking to myself, that's a small guy because I put him in context to who he used to be. So chapter nine is showing us who Israel is right now. You need to be thinking to yourself, oh man, they're a big country, they're a big nation. But then the genealogies, which is chapters one, two, three, four, five, six, seven and eight is actually showing you the before picture, telling you, no, this is just a fraction of who Israel was. But this is just a fraction of who Israel has been. This is only the remnant, okay?

So that's what the first nine chapters are doing. Let's get to our timeless truth for the day, okay? I'm gonna read Philippians chapter three, verse five to you. And you may be thinking to yourself, why are we going all the way to New Testament? Well, it's because in this original genealogy, which is first Chronicles chapter seven, verses six through 12, we focus on Benjamin, okay? This is the tribe of Saul. And the tribe that Saul comes from is gonna go through a lot of ups and downs. which is Saul's tribe is actually going to get brought to the forefront of ministry and change the entire legacy of this entire tribe. Philippians chapter three verse five, it says this, "If someone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more. Circumcised on the eight day of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, the Hebrew of Hebrews, in regards to the law of Pharisee, as for Ezekiel persecuting the church, as for righteousness based on the law, false." This is Paul, or rather Saul, who we know as Paul, okay? Paul is his Latin name. Saul is his Hebrew name. At no point does God convert his name from Saul to Paul. People preach that all the time. It always makes me glitch a little bit because the Bible didn't say that. But anyway, whereas the original Saul, the Benjaminite, was full of pride and arrogance. There's a new Saul who's going to redeem the name of his tribe, and that is the apostle, the apostle that we know as Paul, a Latin name, Paul, Hebrew name, Saul, or Saul. So, if yesterday I talked about legacy, the flip side of legacy is restoring your family or your tribe's name and/or honor. For some of us, we are in the positions to create great legacy. But for some of us, creating great legacy is coming on the heels of restoring a damaged family name. Much of today's reading is dominated by Benjamin. Benjamin's story and scripture is one of redemption, of how the past, even a terrible one, does not always have to shape the future. There's a roller coaster ride for the tribe of Benjamin. Benjamin became one of the most hated tribes in the book of Judges, but then it rose to the top with King Saul, only to fall again when its most famous son, aka Saul, who became king, was such a failure. If then became a psychic,

Judah, a buffer zone between Ephraim and Judah, but through Judah, it survived the exile. But because of Judah, its identity was swallowed up. And Benjaminite became Jews, okay? Benjaminites became Jews. Remember, Jews just means from Judah. But the story was not yet over. King Saul would not be their most famous son, a thousand years after King Saul. Another Saul would be born to the tribe of Benjamin, known more by his Roman name, Paul. Paul, the Benjaminite, who was probably who has probably done more than any other person to shape Christianity, our religion in the fulfillment of Judaism than any other human being on the planet has forever changed the world. And man, talk about redemption. Okay, being from the tribe of Benjamin, you should not be a bag of honor, but because of Saul and his life as an apostle of Jesus, it became an honor. And that's not just true for the folks in the Bible. That's true for me and you. It's a timeless truth. All right, tomorrow we got day 349. We're going to be diving into first Chronicles chapters 10, 11, and 12. I can't wait to see you right here on tomorrow's podcast episode. I love you. I'm proud of you, especially if you're on a streak. See you tomorrow. Let's go. Thanks so much for joining us on the Bible Department podcast. If this episode was helpful, how about you leave a comment, share with a friend, and subscribe so that you never miss an episode. To learn more about the show, head to thebobledepartment.com. We'll see you right back here tomorrow.