| HOPE IN A TIME OF SORROW |
| A people starting over need to know God's promises |
| "Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?" 17:16 |
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| First Chronicles was written for Israelites living centuries after David. In those years Israel had gone through tremendous sorrow. None of the kings who followed David had matched him. Israel had deteriorated until God let Babylon capture and destroy Jerusalem, carrying its population into exile. After half a century as captives, a small proportion of the Israelites returned to their former home. They had lost, in those beaten-down years, their own sense of identity. They were no longer self-governing. They had no king to follow in David's footsteps. Their relatives were scattered all over the Middle East. Chronicles was written to help them get in touch with what Israel had once been and could become again. After devoting nine chapters to genealogies, 1 Chronicles tells the life of David. In keeping with its goal of encouragement, Chronicles leaves out stories of David's personal sin and failure. Nor does it tell of David's life before he became king. Instead it concentrates on the accomplishments David left behind for future generations. The Importance of Worship David emphasized worship as the foundation of Israel. As soon as he conquered Jerusalem, he brought the ark of the covenant there. He made preparations to build the temple and organized the priests and Levites to serve there. He established large corps of musicians to praise God. In response, God promised that a line of leaders would descend from him (17:10-14). David's days were the high point of Israelite history: prosperous, secure, and, above all, devoted to God. How could the returned exiles recapture that grandeur? What resources could they use to begin again? First Chronicles |