Chronicles

1. What do you see in this book that tells you about the original reader?
   
   
   Because Chronicles only talks about the Kings of Judah we know that it was written to the people of Judah. And the last verse in 2 Chronicles, 36:23 is a quote from the King of Persia, so we know that the books are written to the people who lived after that time.
   
   
2. What do you see in this book that tells you about the author?
   
   
   The author is well-versed, knows what the people are needing to hear/remember/learn from. It's likely that he's a scribe or a compiler, someone with an education and has access to resources. He wouldn't just know the details of all of these stories, so it's likely that he had access to a library where he could get the older texts and older books such as The Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah (I, 16:11), The Commentary of Iddo the Prophet (I, 13:22), Book of Laments (II, 35:25), The Record of the Seers (II, 33:19), The Vision of the Prophet Isaiah Son of Amoz (II, 32:32) and other texts.
   
   
3. What are the main themes, and repeated ideas in this book, and what is a one sentence summary of the “main idea?”

The main theme in Chronicles is the Lord's faithfulness to the Israelites- it endures forever!

(II 5:13, 7:3,6, 20:21). Despite all the things the Israelites did wrong He remained incredibly faithful to the people. He sent prophets to them to try to get them back on track, He was faithful to those who called on Him. Even though the people of Israel and Judah were banished from their lands, there was a promise to the line of Judah and they returned to their land under new rule.

The first nine chapters of 1 Chronicles are genealogies, showing the people exactly where they came from, to validate their origins, who they are and the journey that the Lord has had them on.

The command to give God their whole hearts was a very common theme throughout Chronicles, most likely because the division of their hearts is what lead them away from God in the first place (I, 28:9-10, II, 17:9, 19:9). We also see that God responds to repentance, the turning of a heart back to Him. Even the worst king in the history of the Israelites moved the heart of God through repentance (II, 11:7-8, 30:1-11, 33:12-13). Chronicles doesn't focus as much on the disobedience, but rather shows how simple obedience and actions from a heart sold out to love leads to blessings. There were many times that advice was given, most of the time from prophets. There's a lesson to be learned from those who listened to advice and those who didn't, and also who the advice was from! (I, 14:10, II, 10:8, 25:7-9, 18:13-26, 17:1-6)

And we see the people responding with worship and praise a lot more in Chronicles than in past books (I, 6:31-32, 13:8, 16:42, 25:7, II, 20:22, 29:28-30, 30:21).

One Sentence- In Chronicles we see the life, the exile and the redemption of the Israelites in a more spiritual sense.

4. What is the primary reason this book was written?
   
   
   I believe this book was written for the purpose of giving the Israelites something to look back on. To re-cap them on all the bad that happened, but to focus on the good parts! To see where they've come from, look at what God has done and all that they've learned. Rejoice in the pain, give praise and CHANGE for real. It's probably best seen as an encouragement to the returning exiles.
   
   
   
   
5. What does this book show about the character and nature of God?
   
   
   In Chronicles we see that God is a God of redemption (I, 17:7-14, 20, 22, II, 25:7-9). We that He's persistent in speaking to His people and trying to bring them back to Him (II, 24:19, 33:10, 36:15) and He responds to the people's actions. When they're in accordance with His will and faithful to Him there's blessing, when they turn to their own ways and and disregard Him there's punishment. (I, 24:20, II, 7:22, 16:8-9, 26:5, 30:9) and He's a God of peace (I, 23:25, 22:9,18). He fights for us, we only need to follow His direction, step into the places He has for us and allow Him to do the work (II, 20:15-17).
   
   
   
   
   6. What does this book show about God's redemptive plan for mankind?
   God was so after these people and longing to redeem them, He continually sent the prophets (II, 24:19, 36:15) to wake them up and gave words to show them that they needed to turn back to Him, but they refused. He gave Solomon the permission to build the new temple so that they would be able to worship Him rightly again and said, “Then if my people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek my ace and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heave and will forgive their sins and restore their land”(II, 7:14). At the end of Chronicles (36:23), through King Cyrus, the people are allowed to go back into Judah and rebuild the temple and live according to His will again. 
   
   
   The book of Chronicles focuses all on the genealogies and history of Judah. Judah is the line Jesus came from. We see the whole entire history of his family line, how crazy and off-kilter they were, how far they strayed away from God but He still redeems them- by using one of their own!   

7. Personal Application:

There's nothing too big or too small for the Lord. There's nothing we can't take to Him and get guidance and counsel on. David did it all the time! When He gives us a direction and a promise for our lives He wants us to seek Him in all of it. It's His calling, it's His promise, it's not ours to control. We are His vessels, His chosen ones and it's not ours to control! It's His! Why would we want to try to control it on our own when it's been ordained by Him. We are to honor Him with every decision and every action we make. He gives the strategy, we're faithful in obedience.

Too many times in my life I've walked out the things He's asked me to do with my own strength, failing to really truly look to Him for all that I need. I think I am, but my mind is still fogged with questions, concerns and fears. I don't give those to Him. He asks for ALL of it. He doesn't give me something to do and then expect me to know how to do it or figure it out on my own. He puts things in front of me in order that I would draw closer to Him and learn more about Him through the process. I am refined and transformed, grown and made more and more whole with each opportunity that is given to me and I'm doing His work in the process. What an awesome God He is. To chose to use me, a messed up human who does more damage than good to His plans, who fails to look to Him, who gets overwhelmed and cries out in agony, who doesn't always trust that He's faithful... but He still chooses me and He still pours out grace and mercy over me. Whoa.

8. Point of Passion: Family.

Part of the intro to 2 Chronicles says, “The central principle on display here is that 'the eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him'. To pursue God is wisdom; to abandon him is foolishness. This is true not only for individual leaders, but also for a whole people. A nation that honors God will see success; one that does not will experience devastation.”

“A nation that honors God will see success...”, what about a family that honors God? All throughout Chronicles we see the focus is on Judah and the ways they did and didn't do the right things, but what if there were families that stood in the gap and stood firm. The power of the individual is strong, the power of a family is even stronger. As families we have the power to influence our generation, but also all the generations to come. What will we stand for? How will we change our hearts and lives now to effect our families and the generations to come. With David, He followed God and did all he could do to live a righteous life, and yes he failed, but he passed down truths to His son, and His son failed, too. But God still rewarded them for trying! I see the beauty and power in family doing their best to cling to the truths of the word. Seeking after Him together with great delight and holy reverence. It's not about doing things perfectly, but building a legacy of love for Jesus and worship through obedience out of that.