Today’s passage: 1 Chronicles 13:1-14

Helpful thoughts:

• We will be what might feel a little harsh on David and Israel today in order to learn what we can from this passage.  When we think critically about the actions of the people in the Old and New Testaments, we shouldn’t walk away thinking we are better than them, but that we can and should learn from their actions, just as we would want others to learn from our own sins.  All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
  • There are detailed instructions for Israel on how to take care of the Ark (Numbers 4).  These instructions were not followed because the people did not know them.
    • The Kings of Israel were to write their own copy of the law when they began their rule (Deuteronomy 17:18-20).
  • The ark was to be carried with poles by a specific line of priests.  It was not to be touched.
  • David did put a bunch of effort into consulting with people, and planning a big celebration, but he did not do any of this with a knowledge of God’s Word.
  • David was angry with God for Uzzah’s death.  In Numbers 4:15, God stated this would happen.
  • David’s fear of God initially led him to divert God away from himself.
• When we reflect on these passages, it’s important to hold grace, progressive sanctification, and our pursuit of holiness with the right balance.

Questions to consider:

1. What is the only way to know what the Word of God says?  What things can you do that help you to internalize the truth of God’s Word?  What motivates people to be in God’s Word and to strive to learn it?
2. Did David’s and Israel’s motives to bring the Ark to Jerusalem negate them from the responsibility to do things according to God’s commands?  We might say, “Well, their heart was right…”  But, if our hearts are right and we know God is holy and worthy of all obedience, won’t we also want to know what He has said, seeking to grow in doing the things He’s commanded the way He commanded us to do them?
3. Knowing that God is interested in (And holds all authority and justice over) not only what we do, but also why and how we do it, how good is it to know that Christ’s sacrifice was sufficient for all our sin?  If you and I were responsible to make a list for all the things we needed Jesus to die for, would we successfully write an exhaustive list?  How can this inability on our part result in greater praise and thanksgiving toward God?

Today’s passage: 1 Chronicles 12:1-40

Helpful thoughts:

• The ambidextrous men who came to David’s aid when he was a fugitive from King Saul were Saul’s own family!
• The Holy Spirit clothing Amasai would be a similar thing to the episodes where the Spirit empowered Samson for some of his major military victories.  This is different from the indwelling of the Spirit in the life of a believer today.
  • Here is a quick helpful article on the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
• By the time David was king in Hebron, before he was king over all Israel, he had an army from all of Israel who were ready to go to war to make him the king.  God had made his choice, and the people were getting behind him.

Questions to consider:

1. Knowing what David did concerning God’s decreed will to make him king, what would David be seeing as all these men came to fight for him in Hebron?  Who was putting this army together?
2. From the perspective of those loyal to the line of King Saul, what would all these people be considered?  Whose labels and identifications matter to the children of God?  Who must we remain faithful to through all the ebbs and flows of cultural change in this life?
3. How did God fight for our loyalty and participation in His kingdom?  What does the indwelling of the Spirit tell us concerning whose side we are on (Romans 8:12-17)?

Today’s passage: 1 Chronicles 11:1-47

Helpful thoughts:

• In today’s reading, David becomes king over all Israel.  For more info on this time, including a short time of civil war, see the first five chapters of 2 Samuel.
• Jerusalem did not become the capital city of Israel until David’s reign.  Jerusalem came to be known as the City of David.
• Perhaps the most shocking inclusion in the list of David’s Mighty Men is found in verse 41, Uriah the Hittite (2 Samuel 11).

Questions to consider:

1. Why might it make sense for a chronicle of Israel’s history, written after a nation’s return from exile, start to be written in greater detail at the beginning of King David’s reign?
2. What highlights do you notice where the Lord was acknowledged as being involved?  Where all was the Lord truly involved?  Who did Israel call the Lord in verse 2?  Whose God?
3. What was most important for each person in the nation of Israel, that David’s God blessed them as a country, or that the Lord became their God as well?

Today’s passage: 1 Chronicles 10:1-14

Helpful thoughts:

• Saul didn’t want the Philistines to get the credit for killing him, so he killed himself.  Ultimately, he didn’t have the control over his own life he wanted.  His death was the Lord’s judgment.
• The Philistines had to send messengers throughout their territory to let their idols know that Saul had died.  Their gods needed messengers.  The one true God is all-knowing and everywhere-present.
• Saul chose not to obey the Lord, and then when the Lord would not give him what he wanted, he turned to paganism.
  • The Lord is sovereign.  He does not answer to us.  He alone is worthy of our praise, adoration and obedience.

Questions to consider:

1. As a “chronicle” of the reign of King Saul, what does this short chapter convey about Israel’s first king?  What is the major takeaway from this short chapter?  Israel wanted a king just like all the other nations, how did that go?
2. What is the great irony of the Philistines sending messengers to their idols?  The Philistines would have given credit or thanked their fake idols for this victory, but who was in complete control?
3. When Saul chose to disobey God, or when Saul was dissatisfied with God’s choices and went to a medium, who was Saul demanding God serve?  Who was the true king of Saul’s life and how is this answer truly at the root of our choices to sin?  How can this reality give us an even greater appreciation for God’s grace in giving us Christ for our salvation?

Today’s passage: 1 Chronicles 9:1-44

Helpful thoughts:

• Congratulations!  When you finish the reading today, you will be done with the genealogical portion of 1 Chronicles!
  • Today’s lists include those who were returning from exile.
• There were people from the northern 10 tribes that moved south to Judah after the kingdoms divided.  So, even though the kingdom of Judah was primarily made of the southern tribes, “All Israel” was represented in the return from exile.
• Saul’s family is listed one more time in preparation for the account of his rule ending and the transition to the Davidic line.

Questions to consider:

1. What helpful things did we learn over the last 9 chapters through these genealogies?  Even though they might not be as action-packed as other passages of scripture, why are they also important?
2. Why was Israel exiled (Verse 2)?  Why did God bring them back?  What was He doing?  What would He do through this people in this land for the purpose of making a sacrifice for our breaches of faith, or our sin?

Today’s passage: 1 Chronicles 8:1-40

Helpful thoughts:

• Today’s genealogy turns back to the tribe of Benjamin in order to point to the first king of Israel, King Saul.
• This tribe would have also been taken captive along with Judah.  The returning remnant from exile would have been primarily from the tribes of Levi, Judah and Benjamin.
• The name for Saul’s son in verse 33, “Eshbaal” is the same son as “Ishbosheth” from 2 Samuel 2:8.
  • He was named, Son of Baal or Son of Shame and was crowned king after Saul died.  He was David’s adversary until the uniting of Israel under David’s reign.
  • All of these sons with “Baal” in their name convey an unfaithfulness of Saul’s family to the Lord.

Questions to consider:

1. What would the chronicler want Israel to remember as they read these details about Saul’s family as they reenter the Promised Land?  What mistake had they made (1 Samuel 8:4-9) and how would that error continue to bring consequences should they continue in it?
2. In what way do we see this desire to be “Just like all the other nations” coming to pass in their names? (Remember, Baal was a pagan god worshipped by the people groups in and around Israel).
3. Should the church desire to be just like the nations (John 17:14-19)?  Why should we not concern ourselves with trying to “fit in”?  What have we been called to do? (Matthew 5:13-16)

Today’s passage: 1 Chronicles 7:1-40

Helpful thoughts:

• Today’s genealogies cover the tribes of Issachar, Benjamin, Naphtali (Barely, but they weren’t to be left out), the western half of Manasseh (Who lived on the western side of the Jordan River), Ephraim and Asher.
• A unique theme in chapter 7 is the repeated reference to those who were fit for military service in each tribe.  This has been attributed in commentaries as a result of the chronicler using a military census as a resource.
• Joshua, son of Nun (Verse 27), is the man who took over leadership of Israel after Moses’ death as they entered into the Promised Land.

Questions to consider:

1. As we look back through chapters 4-7, how were the tribes arranged?  Judah and Simeon were in the southern region.  Reuben, Gad and Eastern Manasseh were east of the Jordan.  The Levites were scattered all over.  What part of Israel do the tribes listed in this chapter comprise?
2. Given the varying treatment each tribe has received in these four chapters (With different features, different details, different efforts at specificity), are these genealogies just being written for the sake of keeping records?  Is this writer just really into ancestry or is there a story being told?  What features or highlights seem to be rising to the surface?
3. If the chronicler is coming back from exile and only has an old military census to work with, what might that tell us of northern Israel’s involvement in what was transpiring in the history of Israel at that point?  What was the condition of Israel?  When will Israel again have her King and truly be blessed by God (Romans 11:25-32)?

Today’s passage: 1 Chronicles 6:1-81

Helpful thoughts:

• Today, we read about the Levites, including the High Priests, musicians, and where the Levites lived throughout Israel.
  • Today’s reading is longer than usual for these devotionals, but still shorter than the average chapter in any book you would read.  You can do this!
• Hilkiah (Verse 13) was the High Priest who “discovered” the written law during Josiah’s reign (2 Kings 22:8-13).
• The Levites did not have their own allotment of land in Israel but were instead given cities throughout.  They served as priests, therefore “the Lord was their inheritance” (Deuteronomy 18:1-2).

Questions to consider:

1. In what way would the Levites have been privileged and benefactors of God’s graciousness in being given these wonderful responsibilities within Israel?  In what ways would their people have felt slighted without having their own territory?  What would have to be true of their walk with the Lord to swing them toward either perspective?
2. Were these leaders godly men simply by birth?  What has to be true of any heart to be a true child of God? (Romans 2:29)
3. Whether before Christ came, or in our present day, who does a person belong to the family of God (Romans 4:1-5, 9:6-8)

Today’s passage: 1 Chronicles 5:1-26

Helpful thoughts:

• Today’s tribes: Reuben, Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh (Joseph’s son).
  • These are the tribes that settled on the east side of the Jordan River.
• Reuben lost the birthright due to his sin.
  • Jacob’s blessing for Reuben (Or the lack thereof) is recorded in Genesis 49:2-4.
  • The blessing was split between Joseph’s sons Ephraim and Manasseh.
  • Judah’s blessing is recorded in verses 8-12.
• The account of these eastern tribes’ commitment in Joshua 22:10-34 is quite different than the report we find near the end in today’s chapter.

Questions to consider:

1. How does our understanding of the history of Jacob, Joseph, the tribe of Judah to the line of King David, etc. help us appreciate the history we read about this this chapter and it’s genealogy?
2. What was so good about the tribe of Gad’s cry to God in verse 20?  What situation in your life calls for this kind of trust?  When we trust the Lord in the midst of our hardships, what must we also entrust to Him?
3. What did Israel turn to when they refused to trust in the Lord (Verse 25)?  What are we prone to turn to in our day?  Why is God’s will and provision better than anything the world could offer?