I found more verses in these books than I expected! The Chronicles can sometimes seem like a repeat of the books of Sameul, and Kings. And in some ways, they tell a lot of the same stories. And there are a lot of similar verses! But nothing is in the Bible without a reason. So, if it’s in there twice, you’d better pay attention! But Chronicles also takes a bit of a closer look at some of the Kings of Israel and Judah and the lives they lived. With highlighting out some of my favorite verses, some of the context is lost. I encourage you to at some point read through these stories in their entirety!
1 Chronicles 5:20 – And when they prevailed over them, the Hagrites and all who were with them were given into their hands, for they cried out to God in the battle, and he granted their urgent plea because they trusted in him.
We face many battles in our own lives – not physical ones like in this verse – but spiritual. The devil is a prowling lion, and he is always on the move, trying to get us off track. Trying to defeat us in our weak spots. Make us snap at our siblings, yell at our kids, talk back to our parents. He uses small things to gain access to bigger things. When we are facing battles in our daily lives – whether large or small – we can know that God is always right there – and he hears every plea. And we know that He is victorious, and every battle WILL be won if we cry out for His help.
1 Chronicles 16:8-13, 23-25, 27-31, 33-34, 36 – Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works! Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice! Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually! Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles and the judgments he uttered, O offspring of Israel his servant, children of Jacob, his chosen ones! Sing to the Lord, all the earth! Tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and he is to be feared above all gods. Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his place. Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength! Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him! Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth; yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved. Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice, and let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!” Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting!” Then all the people said, “Amen!” and praised the Lord.
In chapter 16, right after David brings the ark back to Jerusalem and places it in the tent, he sings this song of thanksgiving to the Lord. It’s a beautiful passage and I picked out some of the verses here. There are so many aspects of this passage that could be drawn out – but the main theme I see is in the first couple of verses. ‘Make known his deeds among the peoples!’ ‘Tell of all his wondrous works!’ ‘Tell of his salvation from day to day.’ We are continually reminded and implored to recount what the Lord has done for us. When we share with others what the Lord has done, and is doing in our personal lives, it not only reminds our own souls of His faithfulness, but it encourages other believes when they may feel like the Lord is not moving clearly in their own lives. We, humans are so fickle! God has done so much for us and yet we so often forget. We constantly need to be reminded of His love. This is why it is soooo important to be telling and sharing of what He is doing. Something I definitely need to do more of!
1 Chronicles 29:1-2 – And David the king said to all the assembly, “Solomon my son, whom alone God has chosen, is young and inexperienced, and the work is great, for the palace will not be for man but for the Lord God. So I have provided for the house of my God, so far as I was able, the gold for the things of gold, the silver for the things of silver, and the bronze for the things of bronze, the iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood, besides great quantities of onyx and stones for setting, antimony, colored stones, all sorts of precious stones and marble.
God loves to chose young and inexperienced people to carry out his work! Yet he promises that we will not be left to do that work on our own. God is always with us and He provides everything we need to carry out the task!
1 Chronicles 29:10-19 – Therefore David blessed the Lord in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: “Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name. “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you. For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding. O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own. I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you. O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people, and direct their hearts toward you. Grant to Solomon my son a whole heart that he may keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes, performing all, and that he may build the palace for which I have made provision.”
Another beautiful prayer! I bolded what jumped out to me in this section. We are strangers, sojourners, our days are like a shadow. This can be both encouraging and terrifying. As believers we rejoice for soon our pains and sorrows will come to an end and we will live forever with Jesus. For unbelievers this causes great trepidation. It is a reminder of how lost they are. They have no place to call home – their lives are one big aimless journey, and it only leads to death. I have to think of Hebrews 11:13 – These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. This world is not our home! The pain we face here on earth will lead to everlasting joy in heaven! While this is a reason for rejoicing, also allow it to be a warning. Our days on earth are numbered. Do not waste them. May your days on earth be marked by complete devotion and surrender to Christ. May your life be marked not by what you did to make yourself great but what you gave for others in the name of Jesus.
2 Chronicles 1:10 – Give me now wisdom and knowledge to go out and come in before this people, for who can govern this people of yours, which is so great?”
Two verses ago we learned that Soloman was young and inexperienced. Here we see him crying out to God for wisdom and knowledge. Now you may not be governing a kingdom as great as Soloman’s but maybe you are teaching a group of little youngsters. Or maybe it’s just you and you are learning to govern your life. That’s just as important. We see in Soloman a man who governed his kingdom well, but utterly failed in governing his own life (ex. 700 and counting wives). A well governed home begins with a well governed body. Lord, give me wisdom to govern my thoughts and actions according to your will and your truth!
2 Chronicles 6:14 – and said, “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven or on earth, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart,
Steadfast love is mentioned 196 times in the Old Testament! This is a theme God doesn’t want us to miss. May we be always growing into a deeper knowledge and understanding of His steadfast love.
2 Chronicles 6:18 – “But will God indeed dwell with man on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less this house that I have built!
And yet, God came! We see his presence come throughout the Old Testament, with many parameters. He is so holy that nothing unholy can be in his presence. So, when he came in the Old Testament, only certain people could enter his presence and only after sacrifices and rituals. But then, in the New Testament, we see Jesus coming to earth, in the weakest, most vulnerable human form, as a tiny, helpless baby. Still 100% God, and yet 100% human too. He came to a world completely unworthy of Him. So lost and hopeless in our sin. He came to defeat sin so he could purify His people. His death bridged the gap between us and God. Jesus left His throne in heaven, to make a home in our hearts. How unworthy we are of his presence, and yet, He came!
2 Chronicles 7:13-14 – When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
This is a very common verse, but I wanted to touch on it because it just struck me anew. And this is a very incomplete and not thoroughgoingly expounded upon thought, so bear with me. He is a God who truly desires his children to be a part of what he is doing. He is completely capable of healing without our prayers, but he calls us to prayer – for our own good. So that we may be apart of the great work God is doing in our lives, our families, our churches, our nations. Our prayers don’t change the course of His plans – trust me, he already knows what he is going to do – and yet we know that the prayers of believers are powerful and seem to move the Lord to respond. Something we may never fully comprehend. We know that the posture of humility and prayer is important. God brings judgment on nations to cause us to turn back to Him.
2 Chronicles 15:4 – but when in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found by them.
If you seek, you shall find. This is a theme Jesus touches on again and again during his ministry. Since the beginning, God has given us free will. That means we have freedom to make choice for ourselves. This is what makes us different from robots. We are handed the choice. God doesn’t want people who love because they forced to. He wants people who love because they have seen their worthlessness and Christ’s worthiness and choose to surrender their entire lives over to the One who sacrificed all for them. Because of our free will, God can’t force himself on us. He doesn’t come where he isn’t invited. Therefore, we must seek him out. But God promises that IF you seek Him, you WILL find Him! He is always waiting for us. He WANTS to be found by us. But we have to go SEEKING.
2 Chronicles 20:15, 17 – And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s. You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.”
The battle belongs to God! Whatever battles we face in our lives, we know that the Lord is with us. Fighting on our behalf. We have no need to fight. Only stand firm, hold your position and see the salvation of the Lord!
Is there anything that the Lord revealed to you through these verses? I’d love to hear! Comment below.
Bursting Through The Darkness 