What is the purpose of First and Second Chronicles?

The Books of Chronicles give us the history of the same period under another aspect (that is, that of blessing and of the grace of God); and, more particularly, they give us the history of the house of David with respect to which this grace was manifested. We shall see this verified in a multitude of instances.

These Books, written or drawn up after the captivity (see 1 Chron. 6:15), preserve God's history of His people, recorded by the Holy Ghost, as He loved to remember it, exhibiting only such faults as require to be known in order to understand the instructions of His grace.

The omissions and additions we find in the Chronicles in comparison with the books of Samuel and Kings are not the marks of an imperfect human hand. They are the marks of inspiration. We found that the books of Kings contained the history of God's government in Israel . Kings omits much of the history of the house of Judah and only touches upon that which relates to the connection of Judah with the house of Israel during that period.

"The books of the Chronicles give us the history of the same period under another aspect, that is, that of blessing and of the grace of God: and, more particularly, they give us the history of the house of David with respect to which this grace was manifested. We shall see this verified in a multitude of instances.

In chapter 11 David is anointed king over Israel, according to the word of the Lord, by Samuel. The events which intervened between the death of Saul and David's accession to the throne are not here recorded, for the kingdom is looked at, in this book, as "ordained of God in blessing, rather than the historical account of all that took place, excepting so far as was necessary to furnish this picture. There is not perfection here; but there is the order which God appointed. The faults and the sufferings of David, whether before or after he was made king, are consequently passed over in silence." These sentences give, in fact, the key to the understanding of the Chronicles, and fully explain, at the same time, what has so often perplexed the natural mind, viz., the seeming want of agreement between the records in the Books of the Kings and of the Chronicles. The kingdom being established, the list and the feats of the mighty men are then narrated.

1 Chronicles is occupied mainly with David's reign because David is an outstanding type of Christ as king. 2 Chronicles begins with Solomon's reign. These two books differ greatly from the books of Samuel and Kings, for they emphasize the grace of God rather than His government, as do Samuel and Kings. David's great sin in connection with Bathsheba and her husband is not mentioned in 1 Chronicles, and Solomon's grave failure and disobedience is passed over also in 2 Chronicles, because the Lord here emphasizes the truth that David and Solomon are types of Christ, in whom there is no failure. Those things that demonstrate the grace of God in enabling the kings to do God's work are prominent in this history; therefore, Chronicles speaks more largely of the evils of the ten tribes and their kings rather than of the failure of Judah, though in 2 Chronicles the history of Judah and her kings is prominent, and their failures declared too, while the ten tribes spoken of only in their connection with Judah, for only Judah had a true succession of kings of the line of David.

The books of Chronicles are not a repetition of the books of Kings. God pursued a special purpose with the writings of the Chronicles. We may see this already in the long genealogies of Israel and especially of the house of David, which commences with Adam, the first man. The books of Chronicles give a divine retrospect over Israel's history and the history of mankind as well as God's ways with men. One would think of comparing the Chronicles with Deuteronomy, which is no repetition of the preceding books either.

The Chronicles describe especially the kingdom of Judah. The books of Kings describe mostly the northern kingdom of the ten tribes (Israel). The Chronicles only mention Israel when it comes into contact with Judah.

The kingdoms of David and Solomon as well as their successors are the main subject of the Chronicles. Both David and Solomon form a joint picture of Christ as rejected, suffering, glorified and reigning king. Therefore David and Solomon's trespasses (David's adultery with Bathsheba and his murdering Uriah and Solomon's idolatry) are not mentioned. The books of Kings give more moral teachings and stress the human responsibility. The Chronicles however contain more typical teachings in connection with the grace of God.

A further main subject is the erection of the temple. The building of the temple takes up much more space in the Chronicles than in the first book of Kings. In 1 Chron. we see David's interest for the temple (God's dwelling-place amidst His people) in chap. 21-29, and in 2 Chron. 2-7 the building and inauguration of the temple under King Solomon. Later on, the restoration of worship in the temple is mentioned several times (Josiah, Hezekiah). The Chronicles show the spiritual side of life in Judah and therefore bear a priestly character. The books of Kings however bear a prophetic stamp.

Summing up, Chronicles does not present the history of responsible kingship, but of kingship according to God's counsels in grace, counsels that will not be completely fulfilled until the crown is set on Christ's head. Therefore Chronicles never fails to record God's ways in grace to remedy the faults of the kings who succeed one another upon the throne up until the appearance of the great King. This is also why the divine account silently passes over faults committed as much as possible. The Spirit of God, as we have said, omits David's serious sins and their consequences; He also omits those of Solomon.

Summing up, Chronicles does not present the history of responsible kingship, but of kingship according to God's counsels in grace, counsels that will not be completely fulfilled until the crown is set on Christ's head. Therefore Chronicles never fails to record God's ways in grace to remedy the faults of the kings who succeed one another upon the throne up until the appearance of the great King. This is also why the divine account silently passes over faults committed as much as possible. The Spirit of God, as we have said, omits David's serious sins and their consequences; He also omits those of Solomon.

God traces the genealogy of the people from Adam, and when He gets to David you find king Saul is left out, and in David's history there is no mention of any failure. So also in Solomon's life. God is giving us thus the history from His side of view. He is presenting to us what these men are typical of David is the victor, Solomon is the peaceable king who reigns in righteousness. You will find that so far as He can, God omits the failures in this book. The whole ten tribes are left out as having left the place of responsibility and testimony before God. Most prominently do we find the prophet coming in all the way through — the divine witness, God speaking with man. Now all of that has instruction, and it is to show us that when God gives us His history, He does it with a purpose, to make everything centre about His blessed Son. Everything in Chronicles centres about the glory and the kingdom of David and Solomon, Christ in the two-fold thought of Victor and peaceable King. And the later history gives the account of how the people departed from that submission, and that subjection to God which marked the reigns of David and Solomon. But there is a very touching close to that book, and that is when at last we have the account of the captivity of the people. We find in the order of the Gentile king of Persia, Cyrus, that the people should go back to the land of Judea, and should rebuild their temple. That shows God's complete power over the authority of the Gentiles, making even the wrath of man to praise Him.

That there is a purpose in the book of Chronicles, now divided into two, distinct from that which runs through the preceding books of Kings, is unquestionable. No "And" connects their beginning, as before. But the Septuagintal title of Παραλειπόμενα, "Things deficient or omitted," fails to describe it adequately. A great deal is repeated though not without characteristic differences, while very much is fresh with notable omissions of a markedly homogeneous kind. The introductory genealogy from man's existence on the earth ought to have shut out the notion of a mere supplement, and prepared for a special design of God; Who here points out, in the midst of general ruin, His sovereign mercy and blessing bound up with the house of David and the tribe of Judah, whatever His chastenings because of their sins. They were a spiritual retrospect, like Deuteronomy, which also is not in continuity with its predecessors, though to the believer undoubtedly of Moses, as the Chronicles in all probability of Ezra, both admitting of a little inspired addition to complete them. But there is no such ground to insist on Ezra here, as on Moses there, who claims the book with unusual precision; so that one must accept this, or treat it as a fraudulent romance and risk the consequence both now and before the judgment-seat of Christ.

Like the Gospel of John among the Gospels, so these books among the historical books of the O.T. have a special character. John goes back to the 'beginning,' when the Eternal Word was with God: the Chronicles go back to the beginning of man's history: "Adam, Sheth, Enosh," in order to develop that history in the chosen line of promise and grace. The peculiarities of the Chronicles have been a stumbling block to some of the learned critics. It is evident from 1 Chr. 6:15 and 2 Chr. 36:22-23 that they date after the captivity of Judah, the writer compiling the records of the chosen line according to grace — grace which restored them from their captivity. It may be asked, Why omit so many things found in the books of Samuel and the Kings? and why add events not in those early books? There is design in the differences, God being the author of them. One fact should help the elucidation, namely, that after the division of the kingdom, the history of Judah only is given. Therefore more is said of David, and of his preparations and pattern for the Temple, and the history of David's line is traced, with which the mercies of God for Israel were connected in the aspect of grace and of the blessing and ways of God with that people.

Like Deuteronomy, the Chronicles rehearse and show blessing to be consequent on obedience. The history in Samuel and Kings is far more general, and gives the history of the nation to whom the testimony of God was confided in the midst of other nations.