1 Chronicles 1-9
The Books of Chronicles are much more fragmentary than those of Kings. At the same time they are more bound up with what follows, for this very reason that they look at the line of promise and purpose, and hence, therefore, are occupied with David and those that inherited the kingdom of David's race. The Books of Kings, on the other hand, look at the kingdom of Israel as a whole, and therefore show us the continuation of Samuel much more closely—show us the history of the kingdom viewed as a matter of responsibility. Hence, we have the failure of the ten tribes detailed at great length in the Kings and not in the Chronicles, because there it is not purpose, but responsibility; and we have, therefore, the contemporary kingdoms from the time of Jeroboam and Rehoboam till the extinction of the kingdom of Samaria, and then the history of the kingdom of Judah until the captivity. But the Books of Chronicles look only at the history of God's kingdom in the hands of David and of his race. For that reason we here at once are connected with the whole of God's purposes from the beginning. We have the genealogy. Indeed all the early chapters are filled with genealogy for a reason which I shall afterward explain; but we begin with the beginning— “Adam, Sheth, Enosh” and so on, down to Noah, a line of ten from the beginning, followed by the various sons of Noah and their posterity—seventy nations springing from the sons of Noah. Then again we have Abraham as a new stock and commencement. Just as Adam in verse 1, so Abraham and his sons, in verse 27, are brought before us, with also a list of seventy tribes or races that spring from Abraham and his posterity.
It is clear, therefore, that the Spirit of God purposely presents these things. They are not done in any way loosely or arbitrarily. There is a purpose. We can readily see this in the ten names that come before us first of all—the ten forefathers of the human race and the seventy nations branching out from the sons of Noah. Then again, we can see the seventy tribes branching out from Abraham and his family. But there is another thing, too, in this, as showing not only the general way of God here but the principle of God throughout scripture “first that which is natural, afterward that which is spiritual.” We find it just the same here. Japheth and Ham with their sons are brought before us previously to the introduction of Shem, and the line of God's promise in Shem. He is the Lord God of Shem. So in the same way even with Abraham. Although we come to the man that was called out, still, even there, “first that which is natural.” Hence, therefore, we have Ishmael and his posterity, and even the sons of the concubine, and, last of all, “Abraham begat Isaac.” But even in looking at the sons of Isaac, as the rule the sons of Esau are put first, as in the 35th verse. These are pursued, and even the allusion to the kings before there were any over the children of Israel: God's purposes ripen latest. God lets the world take its own way, and he exalts men in the earth. God means to exalt the Man that humbled Himself.
We see, therefore, a common principle everywhere throughout scripture. Thus, this genealogy, even if we only look cursorily at the first chapter, is not without spiritual fruit. There is nothing in the Bible without profit for the soul—not even a list of names. Then we have the rapid rise of Esau's posterity, as I have already remarked. We have duke this and duke that; and, finally, in the 2nd chapter, we enter upon the called and chosen—Israel. “These are the sons,” not merely of Jacob, but “of Israel.” It is the purpose of God that appears. Here, too, they are mentioned merely in their natural order first of all — “Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah, Issachar and Zebulun, Dan, Joseph and Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher” (2:1) But the sons of Judah are very particularly brought before us in this chapter, not of Reuben nor of Simeon. The object of the book is purpose. Judah being a tribe first of all chosen for the kingdom, and that too with a view to the Messiah, we can understand why his sons should be first traced out at great length. This is brought before us, down to even the captivity, and after it; and most interesting notices there are every here and there, some alas who transgressed in the thing accursed, but others who were strengthened of God. Such is the history of man. However, at the end of the chapter the Spirit of God singles out Caleb's family, for he was the man who, of all Judah in these early days, answered to God's purpose. On that I need not now dwell. We see it in Numbers, in Joshua—the peculiar place that Caleb and his daughter had, the father confident in the purpose of God to give Israel the land. Let the strength of their cities be what they might, let their men be ever so valiant, let Israel be ever so feeble, the point of difference was this—that God was with Israel and against the Canaanites. So here we find the result, for faithfulness is fruitful even in this world—much more to life everlasting. Then comes the 3rd chapter—the grand object, the genealogy of David. “Now these were the sons of David” (ver. 1)—himself singled out from among all the line Judah; and as with Caleb from the earliest days of the planting in the land, so David from the time that the kingdom became evident as the purpose of God. Saul is entirely passed by. David though later in fact, was before Saul really in purpose, and even during the days of Saul was actually anointed by Samuel the prophet. So we find here the sons of David. Here again, too, “that which is natural” —these born in Hebron. They never came to the throne. “And these were born unto him in Jerusalem, Shimea and Shobal and Nathan and Solomon” —Solomon the last of these “four of Bath-shua (or Bath-Sheba) the daughter of Ammiel,” as the Spirit of God takes care to say. No flesh shall glory in His presence. The last becomes the first. The purpose of God alone triumphs. Solomon the last of the four, of her that was the wife of Uriah-Solomon is the man chosen to the throne. Others are mentioned too. “These were all the sons of David, beside the sons of the concubines, and Tamar their sister” (ver. 9).
And then the line of Solomon. “Solomon's son was Rehoboam.” All this is traced down to the end of the chapter.
This is the first great division of these genealogies. The purpose of God is traced down first from nature in Adam, down to the kingly purpose in David and his line. Such was God's intention for the earth. It had come under a curse but God always meant to reconcile, as we know, all things, so the Jew is given here to understand. Here is the certainty that God would recover the kingdom; he would restore the kingdom to Israel. Yet the time they misunderstood. The disciples did the same. They thought they were sure of it when the Lord died and rose. Not so. Times and seasons the Father keeps in His own power. Still He will restore the kingdom to Israel. And we have now this line continued as far as it was given them then to trace.
And this is another thing we have to bear in mind: the Books of Chronicles are fragmentary. They bear the impress of the ruin that had come in to Israel. In a time of ruin it would falsify if everything were in due order. The attempt to produce order now as a complete thing is a fallacy, and would be a lie if it were made apparently true. Hence we see the utter folly of the religious world in this respect, because this is their effort. We know very well it is utter disorder when judged by the word of God, because in point of fact even the very foundations are forgotten and supplanted. But supposing the theory were true, it would be a falsehood in its moral purpose, because God will make us feel in a time of ruin that we are in ruins. It is not but what His grace can interfere and abound. “Where sin abounded grace did much more abound.” But it is a wholly different thing to assume that things are right, and to wear an appearance that only deceives.
Hence, therefore for the truth is a very practical one — when men complain of weakness, and when they talk about power, in the present state of things, there is danger—very great danger. We ought to feel our weakness. We, ought to feel that things are ruined. We ought to mourn over the state of the church. We ought to feel for every member of the body of Christ. When persons make themselves comfortable in a little coterie of their own, and imagine that they are the church of God, they are only deceiving themselves. The whole state is contrary to the mind of God. The truth is that God and His grace perfectly suffice; but it is as to a remnant. Whenever we lose the sense that we are a remnant we are false. Whenever we take any other ground than that of being those whom grace has, by the intervention of God himself, recalled—but recalled in weakness, recalled out of ruin, we are off the ground of faith. This gives no license to disorder—not the least. We are thoroughly responsible—always responsible, but at the same time we must not assume that we have everything, because God gives us that which grace alone has secured.
This is all important, we shall find, both in our work and also in the church of God. Here we find it in these collections of testimonies of God that are brought together in the Book of Chronicles. They are fragmentary: they are meant to be fragmentary. God could have given a completeness to them if He pleased, but it would have been out of His order. God Himself has deigned and been pleased to mark His sense of the ruin of Israel by giving only fragmentary pieces of information here and there. There is nothing really complete. The two books of Chronicles savor of this very principle. This is often a great perplexity to men of learning, because they, looking upon it merely with the natural eye, cannot understand it. They fancy it is altogether corrupted. Not so: It was written, advisedly and deliberately so, by the Spirit of God. So, I am persuaded, the provision by the grace of God for His people at this present time looks very feeble, looks very disorderly, to a man with a mere natural eye; but when you look into it you will find that it is according to the mind of God, and that the pretension of having all complete would put us out of communion with His mind—would make us content with ourselves instead of feeling with Him for the broken state of His church. The Book of Chronicles, therefore, really is a mass of fragments—these two books. We shall have more reason, perhaps, to see this as we go along, but I merely make a remark just now. They are only the fragments that remain. God Himself never gave more. In the Books of Kings we have a more complete whole; but Chronicles has a character and beauty of its own, and a moral propriety, beyond anything, because it takes up and shows that in the ruin of all else the purpose of God stands fast. That is what we have to comfort ourselves with at this present time There is a ruined state in Christendom, but God's purposes never fail, and those who have faith settle themselves and find their comfort in the sure standing of the purpose of God.
The 4th chapter begins a somewhat new section, not that we have not had Judah before. And this is another peculiar feature of Chronicles, we have occasional repetition even where nothing is complete; but never a mere repetition. In the former section Judah is introduced in order to bring in David and the royal line. Her Judah is brought forward because he is leader among the tribes of Israel. And this section is not a question of David. We have had that. That closes with the 3rd chapter. Here we have Judah again merely in his place among the different tribes. Hence we have his line in a general way carried on as before, only with a view to the people, and not the kingdom. This is the 4th chapter, with some strikingly encouraging words of the Spirit of God interspersed, on which I need not now dwell, After Judah there is Simeon (verse 24).
Then in chapter 5 comes Reuben, for, having had before us the purpose. of God, we are not taken back merely to the line of nature. Reuben falls into the second place. “Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler; but the birthright was Joseph's” (v. 2). This is given as a kind of parenthetical explanation of why Judah is first among the tribes, and Reuben sinks into a secondary place. Reuben, however, is now pursued; and in chapter 6, come the sons of Levi, after the half tribe of Manasseh, too, had been introduced in the verses before. We can understand why the sons of Levi are brought thus forward. Further, we have Issachar and Benjamin all brought before us in this, section—Benjamin not merely in the 7th chapter, but, also in the eighth, answering a little to Judah. Thus we have a repetition. The reason is plain. Benjamin and Judah are repeated because they were each connected with royalty—Benjamin with Saul—Judah with David; and as Judah is mentioned first in relation to David, and next to the people, so Benjamin is first brought in in relation to the people, and then in relation to Saul. This is why we have Benjamin again in the 8th chapter. We have the connection with the king, but the king after the flesh. Then there is another reason why Benjamin is brought in, and that is that he had a particular connection with Jerusalem; and we shall find that this is also a grand point in the Chronicles. It is not merely the land, but Jerusalem and Zion, as I hope to show later, all being connected immediately with the purpose of God.
“So all Israel were reckoned by genealogies”
(9). Now, it is well to make a remark or two of a general kind as to the importance of these genealogies. First of all they were even more important after the kingdom than before, at least after David came to the throne; and for this simple reason. David altered, as we shall find later on in the book, the whole system of religious worship and its appurtenances. It was he that brought the ark to Zion; and it was in the city of David that the temple was subsequently built by king Solomon. But David ordered everything with a view to the great center of the land. This was not the case before. Nothing of the kind was found during the judges, nor even during king Saul's reign. The priests and Levites were all scattered up and down the land. After David came to the throne, and was inspired of God to bring in a great change, we find this the occasion of it. The king became the central thought. The king was the one on whom, according to purpose, all hung. The reason was that the king was the type of “the great King” that is coming. Impossible that the Son of God, the Messiah; should be the King, without being the One on whom all depends for blessing. God knew from the very first that there was no way to secure blessing but by that One.
(To be continued)