Good morning 365 Bible Challenge Readers.  Whew, 1 & 2 Kings was quite a disaster – we saw the destruction of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and a good explanation of why (2 Kings 17), and then we saw the fall of the Southern Kingdom/Jerusalem/Judah and its people sent into exile (2 Kings 25).  We will catch up with those in exile in a bit, but for now we start in the books of 1 & 2 Chronicles.

The Chronicles overlap quite a bit with 1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Kings… let me explain why.  The Chronicles were written for the exiles who were returning to Jerusalem.  The Chronicles explain “this is who we are and this is our heritage” to a bunch of scraggly displaced people who are trying to rebuild a nation in Jerusalem.  And so it looks like this:

1 Chronicles 1-9:  The family tree from Adam to Israel in exile

1 Chronicles 10-29: The reign and legacy of David, especially the organization of the kingdom (but leaving out Goliath and Bathsheba)

2 Chronicles:  Solomon, the temple, and the Southern Kingdom (especially the good kings of Judah).  Remember that the Northern Kingdom was completely destroyed and no remnant remained, so the Chronicler only tells the story of the Southern Kingdom of Judah (to which the returning exiles belonged).

As you read the Chronicles, note the theme that “worship of the true God had made Israel strong”.  Of the kings who did right, what made them successful?  What lessons of faith can we learn from them?

Also, keep your chart of the kings handy!