Day 351: 1 Chronicles 16-18 | 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) Family, welcome to day 351. We are trekking through chronicles, aka first chronicles because we've split it into two because of the modern English translations. But anyway, first chronicles chapter 16, 17, and 18 is on the docket today. If you've done the reading, then you're gonna understand everything that I'm gonna say on today's episode. If you have another reading, this is my gentle nudge to stop the video, pause the audio. Go get the reading done. Read first chronicles chapters 16 through 18. I think that it'll add a lot of value to you as you engage with God's word. And like every day, I've got so much content. I've got a lot to say today. I'm gonna give you some context. And to be honest, the context is pretty easy. And so I'm gonna take this opportunity to kind of go back and give you some context that I should have given you a couple of days ago. But the context of these chapters

is the exact same as yesterday, all right? This is the continuation of the procession of the ark into Jerusalem. And it is being set up in the tent that David has provided. It is then the context of seeing the ark in the new tabernacle that inspires David's temple dream. Okay, he wants to build for God a permanent house. Okay, so everything that happened yesterday or on yesterday's episode in first chronicles chapters 13 to 15, those are all the events that are the context for today's episode, okay? So because the ark has been brought back into Jerusalem because there is now a central place of worship, now that is causing David to, in chapter 16, begin to say these words. They brought the ark of God and set it inside a tent that David had pitched for it. And they prepared burnt offerings, the fellowship offerings, okay? And David is gonna appoint Levites. And he's gonna appoint singers and he's gonna sing a psalm. And then in chapter 17 says this, after David was settled in his palace, he said to Nathan the prophet, here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under a tent. Okay, so this is a great place to just remind everybody that in the Bible, when we say the word tabernacle, that word just means tent, okay? So the tabernacle that Moses received the instructions for,

the tabernacle was a temporary dwelling. It was a tent set up, tear down, you could move it anywhere. The temple will be a fixed building, a fixed structure, the exact same architectural designs, but one is temporary, one is permanent, okay? So it'd be like taking a mobile home, like a trailer, like a double wide trailer and taking the exact same architectural designs, but making it permanent, okay? So we're just going from something that's a mobile to something that is a hundred percent a building, a fixed structure, that's it. Same exact function, same exact dimensions, same exact architectural layout, all right. So that's the context. So the context for today is pretty, pretty easy, which gives me the opportunity to kind of go back a couple of days and talk just a little bit more about genealogies, okay? So if you remember the first three days of chronicles, we spent on genealogies from chapters one, all the way to chapter nine, we just talked about genealogy. So I've got four big ideas that I want us to know about genealogies, okay? And these ideas, I mean, I think they're pretty well organized, they may feel a little bit all over the place. So the first one may feel like a little bit of a curve ball, but number one, the purpose of a genealogy is to give identity, okay, identity.

Now, you may or may not be familiar with the fact that black Americans in the United States of America, predominantly, like have a genealogical crisis. Like some, because we were an enslaved group of people, there are gaps in records for like who a dad was or a grandfather or a great-grandfather. And so there can be lineage, like just issues, families got split up because of the institution of slavery and family units were completely destroyed. And so because there's a genealogy issue, there's this unique susceptibility that black Americans have to what I would call black identity cults. cult. And there are differences between a religious cult and identity cult. Jehovah's Witness or Mormon, that's a religious cult. And this is just my observation as just being an American who's Black who lives in the United States of America, is that I think our white counterparts typically struggle with religious cults, whereas Black Americans typically stumble into identity cults. So Black Hebrew Israelites are essentially saying Black people are Jews, right? So these people stole our identity and we are them. You know, it's like that Spider-Man meme where everybody's pointing at each other. And so Black Hebrew Israelites are going to claim that modern-day Jews are literally not Jews, that the Jewish people of the Bible were African, were Black, okay? And that Jewish people today stolen their identity. Okay, that's an identity cult. Now, of course, it's an identity religious cult, but it's still an identity cult. The thing that Black Hebrew Israelites are preying on is Black people, generally speaking, feeling of like, I don't know who I am or who I belong to. I don't have this family tree that's like thoroughly mapped out. I can't go back 10 generations and know who my people's people's people's people's people's were. And because of holes in our genealogical records, it makes us susceptible to identity cults. Another identity cult would be the nation of Islam. I don't know if you realize this, but all throughout the 50s and 60s, you have people like Malcolm X or Muhammad Ali who would do away with

names that they would consider to be slave names, names that were given to them by masters and take on Middle Eastern names, names like, you know, Muhammad Ali. But again, this is a group of people who are not Arabic, essentially saying we're Arabic. So not only. So now there's a whole group of people, Black Hebrew Israelites are saying, we're Jews. It's like, no, you're not. You're Black. You're not a Jew. You're not a Jew. You're not a Jew. But you don't know who you are. And so here's a group telling you who you are. So you believe it. The same is true with the nation of Islam. It's like we're Muslims. No, you're not. And what happened with Malcolm X is he finally went to Mecca and realized we are not Muslim. And then he actually converted to true Islam, like actual Islam. But again, on the surface, this looks like a religious cult, but really, it's an identity cult. Why is this appealing to a group of people that came out of slavery? It's appealing because if you don't know who you are and someone begins to say, we're Muslims. It's like fantastic. I'd rather be a Muslim than confused. I'd rather be a Jew than confused. And so I'm Black. So my people really do, we fall into these identity cult pitfalls. Whereas Mormonism is not an identity cult. It's just a religious cult. But you can see the difference between Mormons are building a religious idea around doctrine. Whereas Hebrew Israelites and nation Islam are building religious ideology around identity, around race, around ethnicity, around nationality, around language. It's very, very, very different. All right, genealogies are really, really important, especially in the Bible, because the Jewish people are coming out of Egyptian slavery and bondage. And so God's solution, when people are coming out of hundreds of years of oppression and slavery, is not just for them to wander around and start to find different identities. It's to give them genealogy, because in the genealogy, you begin to get a narrative about your values and about your culture and about who you are. And so I think it's really powerful. I actually think Christianity is the best option for everybody, but it's the best option for anyone that's coming out of a historical context where there's been enslavement, where there's been a wiping away of genealogy. I think it's important to say, no, I have a spiritual heritage. Okay, that's just the first idea. Number two, when I said that genealogies have to do with rights, here's two practical examples. Because in Joshua, each tribe got land allotments, you could not buy land if you were from the tribe of Benjamin, you couldn't buy land from So you could only sell land to someone who was of your same tribe.

So, in order to buy land in ancient Israel, you had to have your genealogy. You had to be able to prove, "Yeah, I'm from the tribe of Visicar." And this land right here was given to the tribe of Visicar. Or, "I'm from the tribe of Dan or Naftali." You had to be able to prove your tribe in order to sell land to someone or buy land from someone. So that's just when I say genealogies have to do with rights, that's a practical example of what I mean. And three or four days ago, you may have been thrown off guard like, "What is he talking about?" Three. In order to serve as a priest, you had to be able to prove that you're a Levite. You had to be able to prove that. And in the book of Ezra, what's happened is that there are all these Levites that because of the exile, they've lost their genealogical record. And they're serving in the temple, okay? This is before, this is as the rubble is coming back and before Nehemiah has come back. And one of the things that Ezra has to do is go through all the people who are serving in the temple and demand their genealogies. And if you can't prove beyond the shadow of the doubt that you're actually a Levite, you don't have the right to serve as a Levite because only Levites can serve in the temple, okay? And then fourth, this is actually most important. You couldn't claim to be the Messiah unless you had a genealogy done. With no genealogical record, you could not claim to be the Messiah, which is why. Let's think about this. The entire Old Testament is going to end with second chronicles, which has nine chapters of genealogy. And how does Matthew start? You guessed it, a genealogy, okay? And if you compare the genealogy that we have in chronicles to the genealogy that we have in Matthew, the author of Matthew, aka Matthew, is a hundred percent proving through the genealogy that Jesus is the Messiah, because that's what genealogies are designed to do. So the genealogy in chronicles is going to go from creation to kingdom to captivity, okay? So that's why it goes from Adam, okay? To David, David is the establishment of the kingdom up to captivity and then exile.

Guess what? If you look at that pattern, you're going to see that in the book of Matthew, Matthew, chapter 1, verse 17. Thus, there were 14 generations in all from Abraham to David, 14 generations from David to the exile that would be captivity to Babylon and 14 generations from captivity to the Messiah. So what chronicles is saying is that we went from Adam to Abraham, Abraham to David, David to the captivity, and then captivity, here we are. Now we're back in eggs, we're back from exile, our left kind of at a cliffhanger. And then Matthew literally picks up and he goes, and guess what? Now the cliffhanger is done because we've completed the last piece of the genealogical puzzle. So genealogies, super, super, super important. Like, mad important. Like, if you skip them while you're reading, you're essentially kind of just like not getting, you're missing the plot. And the genealogies are huge. All right, now let's get into some nerdy nuggets. All right, 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 want to 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. Number one, the number one thing that is very, very clear, especially is that David is gonna revolutionize worship forever, okay? So, first Chronicles chapter 16, verses four, five, and six, okay? It says, "David appointed some of the Levites "to minister before the Lord, "to extol, thank, praise the Lord, the God of Israel." And then it lists all the people that he does that to. It's the musicians and singers. This right here, like this moment in history, changes what we know is worship forever. Prior to this moment, no one is singing while offering sacrifices. This moment right here, David changes the job description of what it means to be a Levite forever, period. Prior to this, Levites weren't, you know, it says that Asaph, the chief, and next to him in rank was Zechariah and Jezil, Shamioth, Jehil, Jhil, Matathiah, Eliab, Baniya, Obadaydum, Jael, they were to play the lives and harps. Asaph was to sound the symbols in Baniya and Jehil, the priests were to blow the trumpets regularly before the ark of the covenant. That is just not what anyone was doing. Like that, that is not that day, David first appointed Asaph and his associates to give praise to the Lord in this manner. That's not what Levites were commanded to do.

Like by Moses or Aaron or anybody else. This is David's idea. It's David's idea to say, "Let's add some singing." Like, let's add some music to this. It's like essentially how I feel about musicals. I'm like, so instead of talking, they're just singing, you know, David is like, "Ah, let's take this movie "and make it into a musical." Okay, that's David's idea. And guess what? We've kept it. We've kept it for 3,000 years. David is 1,000 BC, he has 1,000 years before Christ. And we've been, we're now in 2,000 years post Christ. We've kept David's system for worship for 3,000 years. Like one dude completely revolutionized what we think about when we think about worship. Abraham said to his servants, me and Isaac are gonna go up that mountain, we're gonna worship, we're gonna come back. David did not mean I'm gonna go sing songs at the top of that mountain. That's not what David meant. He meant, "I'm gonna go kill my son." That's what I'm gonna do. So forever worship was sacrifice. And then worship was service, okay? It's taking care of the articles of the tabernacle. And it's David that adds singing. So if you wanna know the triple S,

service, sacrifice and singing, David adds that. And he leads by example. First Chronicles chapter 16, verse 23 to 34, actually has a whole, well, right here in verse eight actually, he breaks out into Psalm, but at verse 23, it's almost like there's a new Psalm that starts, sing to the Lord all the earth, proclaim this salvation day after day. What we have right here in first Chronicles chapter 16 verses 23 to 34, we're gonna find that in Psalm 96, Psalm 105 and Psalm 106. So not only is David gonna revolutionize worship by delegating the task of singing to Levites, he's going to lead by example, which is gonna get me into my timeless truth of the day. But then first Chronicles chapter 17, mirrors second Samuel chapter seven. David is thinking to himself, man, God lives in a tent. It's great that we've brought the Ark of the Covenant here to Jerusalem, but God's living in a tent. I live in a house, this is ridiculous. You can tell that when he tells Nathan his idea, Nathan agrees, okay, because David's ideas are good idea and Nathan makes a terrible mistake as a leader, as a prophet, as a voice of God. Nathan gut reaction just goes, you should do that. That sounds freaking great, okay? chapter 17 verse two, Nathan replied to David, "Whatever you have in mind, do it, for God is with you."

But that night the word of the Lord came to Nathan saying, "Go and tell my servant David, this is what the Lord says, you are not the one to build me a house of dwelling." Which means sometimes as leaders, we can agree and then assume to speak for God when God has not agreed, okay? And this is, you have to be careful. Nathan clearly personally thinks, this is a fantastic idea. Also, God isn't like anti, he just says, "David, you're not the one." Like it's not you. Now, if we go all the way back to Deuteronomy chapter 12, verse five, okay, there was always this inkling or this seed of an idea that God would, at one point, not just be in a tent, but would set up shop, like in a building, okay? It says this in Deuteronomy 12, five. that Yahweh, your God will choose, okay? So Yahweh will choose it, but you're gonna seek it. I want you to seek the place that I'm gonna choose. So you can even see right there, a symbiotic relationship between us and God. You seek it, but I'm gonna choose it. That right there, that equation is so helpful for our spiritual reality, faith and works. You seek, but God chooses. This right here is a key for how you should interpret your relationship with God. You should seek a wife, but God should choose the person. Like, it's not just like, "God, tell me who to marry."

No, no, no, no. You seek, God gives a stamp of approval on it. God confirms, okay? But you shall seek the place that Yahweh, your God will choose out of all your tribes. So, it becomes clear, not every tribe is gonna have the temple, okay? To put his name and make his habitation, habitation of his dwelling place, his house. There you shall go. So Deuteronomy 12 verse five, all should let everybody know. David's not just like out of God's will, okay? David is seeking a place where God should habitate. And God then says, okay, I will say yes to this place, but you're not gonna build it, which gets us to, why did God say yes to the place? He actually said yes to the place because he's saying yes to David. David's heart is what he's been looking for. God really wants to make his dwelling place right here in your heart. And finally, God finds a man by the name of David, who while he's in a house, thinks to himself, why is it God in a house? And so David's request pleases the Lord. But even though God is pleased, God will never be manipulated. So he doesn't change his answer just because what David says pleases him.

David's heart is what he's been looking for. He chooses David. And now God says, but I'm gonna build you a house. And it's a double entendre. What he means is I'm gonna build you a dynasty. I'll build you a house so that his house can build Yahweh's house. And this is probably the greatest no from God ever. God says no, but God, Lee, God, one-upped the ante. He's like, you're not gonna build me a house. But I'm gonna build you a house and your house will build me a house. I'll build you a dynasty. And your dynasty is gonna be the thing that will build me a house, which gets me into my timeless truth. If there's one thing I wanna hear from God in my lifetime, it's this. I wrote it down in my notebook. No, not you, but your son. No, not you, but your son. Oh man, that's my heart as a dad. I've got so many ideas for the Bible department, for armor, for many regal ministries, for books, for albums, for the garden, for businesses, oh my gosh. And I wanna be the kind of person that always inquireses the Lord. God, do you want us to do seven campuses? God, do you want us to expand outside of Texas?

God, do you want the garden to be a church that spans from West Coast to East Coast? God, do you want us to do that? God, do you want us to do that? God, do you want us to do TV? God, do you want us to do this? God, do you want us to do this? God, yeah, yeah, yeah. And my biggest dream is one day God says, no, not you, but your son. Oh, that's a father's dream. And if I could be vulnerable, it's like me and my wife struggled with infertility for five years. Doctor said we would never get pregnant. And then one day I heard Joel Osteen preaching and he was talking about his father and the Holy Spirit said to me, "Are you willing to be John Osteen?" Who some people know, but not a lot of people know, so that your son could be Joel Osteen, someone who everybody knows. And I had this like, I hope I could be honest on the podcast, had this moment of jealousy over a child that wasn't even born yet. I'm like, I don't want to be freaking John Osteen, man. I want to be Joel. And the Lord said, all right, then I, thanks for your honesty,

but your honest answer has now just prolonged your infertility journey. And I remember a couple of years later, I was at Hillsong Conference and Brian Houston was on stage and his son Joel Houston was on stage. And again, God's saying, "Do you want to be Brian Houston? "Do you want to be Joel Houston?" And my heart had finally changed. And I said, man, I don't care. 'Cause so often people know Hillsong's music, they don't know who the senior pastor of the church is. And I said, yeah, I don't care. I'd rather be anonymous. And then the third example was Wendell Smith and Judas Smith. That's most people don't know who Wendell Smith is, but he's the foundation of Judas Hall Ministry. And everybody knows who Judas Smith is. He's Justin Bieber's pastor. He's, you know, he's a celebrity pastor. I don't care about being well-known or successful. I care about my son. I care about my son fulfilling the call of God on his life and I would love to just be the foundation. I would love to be David who just buys the land and buys all the stuff and then Solomon gets the credit for building the temple. I Actually think that's the test of every dad. Do you have enough vision? To push the boundaries so much that God will eventually say no Not you but your son. That is a good father's dream and that wasn't always my dream But today that's my dream and I don't think that's just relevant for David or for Solomon or for Ezra I think that's relevant for you and for me. I think it's a timeless truth tomorrow

We've got day 352. We're gonna be looking at first Chronicles chapters 19 through 21. I'll be right here Ready to continue our trek through Chronicles. I love you. I'm proud of you. Especially if you're on a streak. I'll see you tomorrow. Peace 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 thebobbledepartment.com. We'll see you right back here tomorrow.