The Book of 1 Chronicles, Chapter by Chapter

We want to take you through the book of 1 Chronicles chapter by chapter. If you have read our studies from Genesis through 2 Kings a lot of this book will sound familiar. Because Chronicles tells the story again. It starts with Adam and goes all the way to the end of the exile. But it tells it from a different point of view. We will tell you what each chapter is about and how it fits into the message of the book. And how it points us to the one God that is revealed in Jesus Christ.

2 Kings ended with the people in Babylon. The temple was burned. The king was in prison. Chronicles was written after the people came back from Babylon. They were trying to rebuild. They needed to know who they were. Were they still God’s people. Was God still keeping his promise to David. Did the temple still matter. Chronicles answers those questions. Yes. Yes. And yes.

There are three things we want you to take away from this study. 1 Chronicles is about the people of God. The long lists of names at the start tell the returned exiles that they belong to a family that goes all the way back to Adam. 1 Chronicles is about worship. More than half the book is about the ark and the Levites and the singers and getting ready to build the temple. And 1 Chronicles points to Jesus Christ. The son of David who would sit on “the throne of the LORD” (29:23). We will explain these points as we go through the book. But we want you to keep them in mind as we begin.

1 and 2 Chronicles were one book in the Hebrew Bible. Just like Samuel and Kings. The Hebrew name is Divre hayyamim. Which means the words of the days. Or the events of the times. The Greek Old Testament called it the things left out. Because it has things Samuel and Kings do not. The Jews believed Ezra wrote it.¹ The book ends with the decree of Cyrus letting the Jews go home (2 Chronicles 36:22–23). And the family line of David goes on for several generations after the exile (3:17–24). So it was written after the people came back. In the Hebrew Bible Chronicles is the very last book.

The writer knew his readers had Samuel and Kings. So he does not tell everything again. He leaves out David’s sin with Bathsheba. He leaves out Absalom. He leaves out almost everything about the northern kingdom of Israel.² He is not hiding those things. His readers already knew them. He is focusing on what the returned exiles needed. David the king who prepared for the temple. The Levites who led worship. And God’s promise that David’s throne would last.

1 Chronicles has two parts. The genealogies (1–9). And the reign of David (10–29). We will break it down a little further than that. Adam to Jacob (1). The tribes of Israel (2–9). The death of Saul (10). David and his mighty men (11–12). The ark comes to Jerusalem (13–16). The covenant with David (17). David’s wars and the census (18–21). And preparing for the temple (22–29). Just like in our other studies we will be using the KJV for our scripture quotations. And we will let you know where you can find the work of the scholars we reference.

1 Chronicles 1: Adam, Sheth, Enosh

The book starts with three words. “Adam, Sheth, Enosh” (v.1). No introduction. No story. Just names. Most people skip these chapters. But they are there for a reason.³ The returned exiles had lost almost everything. Their land had been taken. Their temple was burned. Their king was gone. The writer starts with Adam to tell them that their story goes back to the beginning. God did not start with them in Babylon. He started with them in the garden.

Chapter 1 runs through Genesis in a few verses. Adam to Noah (vv.1–4). The sons of Noah and the nations that came from them (vv.5–23). We saw this list in Genesis 10. Then Shem to Abraham (vv.24–27). Then Abraham’s sons. Ishmael and the sons of Keturah and Isaac (vv.28–34). Then Esau and the kings of Edom (vv.35–54). Notice the order. The writer always covers the side lines first. Then he comes back to the main line. Ishmael before Isaac. Esau before Jacob. The whole world is in view. But the story is narrowing down to one family.

Luke gives us a family line for Jesus that goes all the way back to Adam. “Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God” (Luke 3:38). Jesus is not just the son of David. He is the son of Adam. He came for the whole human race. Paul calls him “the last Adam” (1 Corinthians 15:45).

1 Chronicles 2–4: Judah First

“These are the sons of Israel; Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah” (2:1). The 12 sons are listed. Then the writer starts with Judah. Not Reuben the firstborn. Judah. Because Judah was the tribe of the king. He tells us about Judah and Tamar (2:4). And he mentions “Achar, the troubler of Israel” (2:7). That is Achan from Joshua 7. Even in a list of names the writer reminds us that sin hurts the whole family.

Then the line goes from Judah through Pharez to Boaz and Obed and Jesse. The same list at the end of Ruth. Then “David the seventh” son of Jesse (2:15).⁴ Chapter 3 lists David’s sons born in Hebron and in Jerusalem. And then it follows Solomon’s line all the way through the kings of Judah to the exile. “And the sons of Jeconiah; Assir, Salathiel his son” (3:17). Then Zerubbabel (3:19). The man who led the first group back from Babylon. Matthew follows this same line to Jesus. “Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel” (Matthew 1:12). The returned exiles could see that the line of David did not end in Babylon.

In the middle of chapter 4 there is a list of names. And then there is a man named Jabez. “And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow” (4:9). Jabez sounds like the Hebrew word for pain or sorrow.⁵ He started life with a name that meant sorrow. But he prayed.

Notice what he asked for. Not just more land. He asked for God’s hand to be with him. And to keep him from evil. The returned exiles had been through a lot of sorrow. Jabez showed them that your past does not have to decide your future. Call on the God of Israel.

1 Chronicles 5: The Birthright

Reuben was the firstborn. “But, forasmuch as he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph” (5:1). We saw this in Genesis 35:22 and 49:4. “For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler; but the birthright was Joseph’s” (5:2). Joseph got the double portion. Judah got the throne. Jacob said “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah” (Genesis 49:10). And from Judah came Jesus. “The Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David” (Revelation 5:5).

The tribes east of the Jordan fought the Hagarites. “For they cried to God in the battle, and he was intreated of them; because they put their trust in him” (5:20). But later they “went a whoring after the gods of the people of the land” (5:25). So God stirred up the king of Assyria and they were carried away (5:26). Trust God and win. Turn away and lose. That is the message all through Chronicles.

1 Chronicles 6: Levi

Chapter 6 is the longest list in these chapters. It is about Levi. The writer cares a lot about the priests and Levites. He lists the high priests from Aaron all the way to the one who was carried away to Babylon (6:3–15). Then he lists the singers. “These are they whom David set over the service of song in the house of the LORD, after that the ark had rest” (6:31). Heman and Asaph and Ethan. Some of the Psalms have their names on them. And notice that Samuel is listed as a Levite (6:28, 33). Then the chapter lists the 48 cities the Levites lived in (6:54–81). Just like we saw in Joshua 21.

1 Chronicles 7–8: The Other Tribes

We will cover these chapters together. They list Issachar, Benjamin, Naphtali, Manasseh, Ephraim and Asher. In Ephraim’s line we find “Non his son, Jehoshua his son” (7:27). That is Joshua the son of Nun. Chapter 8 goes back to Benjamin. And it ends with the family of Saul (8:33). Notice that Dan and Zebulun are not listed. We are not told why. We will not go into that here.

1 Chronicles 9: The Ones Who Came Back

“So all Israel were reckoned by genealogies; and, behold, they were written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah, who were carried away to Babylon for their transgression” (9:1). There it is. The reason for the exile. Their transgression. Then the writer lists the people who came back and lived in Jerusalem. Priests and Levites and porters who kept the gates (9:2–34). The returned exiles could read this and find their own families. They belonged. The chapter ends by listing Saul’s family again. That leads into the story of Saul’s death.

1 Chronicles 10: Saul Died for His Transgression

Chronicles does not tell us anything about Saul’s life. It skips straight to his death on mount Gilboa. It is almost the same as 1 Samuel 31. The Philistines killed his sons. Saul fell on his sword. The men of Jabeshgilead buried his bones. But then the writer adds something Samuel did not say.

Notice the word transgression. It is the same word used in 9:1 for why Judah went to Babylon. The writer is telling the returned exiles that Saul lost the kingdom the same way they lost the land. He did not keep the word of the LORD. He went to a witch. “And enquired not of the LORD.” Notice also who did it. “He slew him.” The Philistines killed Saul. But God was the one behind it. And God “turned the kingdom unto David.”

1 Chronicles 11: King Over All Israel

Chronicles skips David’s years running from Saul. It skips the 7 years David reigned over Judah alone. It goes straight to “all Israel” coming to Hebron (v.1). “And they anointed David king over Israel, according to the word of the LORD by Samuel” (v.3). The writer loves the phrase all Israel. He uses it over and over. The returned exiles were a small group. But they were still all Israel in God’s eyes.

The first thing David did was take Jerusalem. He said whoever struck the Jebusites first would be chief captain. Joab went up first (v.6). “And David waxed greater and greater: for the LORD of hosts was with him” (v.9). Then the chapter lists David’s mighty men. Like 2 Samuel 23. Three of them broke through the Philistines to get him water from the well of Bethlehem. David poured it out to the LORD. “Shall I drink the blood of these men that have put their lives in jeopardy?” (v.19). Uriah the Hittite is in this list too (v.41).

1 Chronicles 12: Men Who Came to David

Chapter 12 is not in Samuel at all. It lists the men who came to David while he was still running from Saul. Men from Benjamin. Saul’s own tribe. They could sling stones and shoot arrows with the right hand and the left (v.2). Men from Gad “whose faces were like the faces of lions, and were as swift as the roes upon the mountains” (v.8). When some men from Benjamin and Judah came David was not sure if he could trust them. Then “the spirit came upon Amasai” and he said “Thine are we, David, and on thy side, thou son of Jesse: peace, peace be unto thee” (v.18). In Hebrew it says the Spirit clothed Amasai. The same word we saw with Gideon in our Judges study.

Then the chapter lists the men from every tribe who came to Hebron to make David king. The men of Issachar “had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do” (v.32). The men of Zebulun “were not of double heart” (v.33). “All these men of war, that could keep rank, came with a perfect heart to Hebron, to make David king over all Israel” (v.38). They ate and drank 3 days. “For there was joy in Israel” (v.40). This is what the writer wanted his readers to see. All Israel. One heart. One king.

1 Chronicles 13: The Cart

Notice what David did first after he became king. He talked with his captains and the whole congregation about the ark. “Let us bring again the ark of our God to us: for we enquired not at it in the days of Saul” (v.3). Saul did not care about the presence of God. David did. They put the ark on a new cart. Uzza reached out to steady it when the oxen stumbled. And God struck him and he died (vv.9–10). We covered this in our 2 Samuel study. David was afraid and left the ark at the house of Obededom 3 months. “And the LORD blessed the house of Obededom, and all that he had” (v.14).

1 Chronicles 14: David’s House

Before the writer tells us how the ark finally came to Jerusalem he puts this chapter in between. Hiram built David a house. David had more sons. The Philistines came against him twice. Both times David asked God. Both times God gave him the victory. “And David perceived that the LORD had confirmed him king over Israel” (v.2). “And the fame of David went out into all lands; and the LORD brought the fear of him upon all nations” (v.17). While the ark was at Obededom’s house God was blessing David too. The writer wants us to see that God blesses those who seek him.

1 Chronicles 15: The Due Order

This time David did it right. “Then David said, None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites: for them hath the LORD chosen to carry the ark of God, and to minister unto him for ever” (v.2). He told the Levites what went wrong the first time. “For because ye did it not at the first, the LORD our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not after the due order” (v.13). David was not wrong to want the ark. He was wrong in how he did it. “And the children of the Levites bare the ark of God upon their shoulders with the staves thereon, as Moses commanded according to the word of the LORD” (v.15).

David also appointed singers and musicians. Heman and Asaph and Ethan with cymbals. Others with psalteries and harps. Chenaniah was in charge of the song “because he was skilful” (v.22). They brought up the ark “with shouting, and with sound of the cornet, and with trumpets, and with cymbals, making a noise with psalteries and harps” (v.28). Michal saw David dancing and playing and despised him in her heart (v.29). Doing it God’s way did not mean doing it quietly.

1 Chronicles 16: A Psalm of Thanks

They set the ark in the tent David pitched for it. David offered and blessed the people and gave everyone bread and meat and wine (vv.1–3). He appointed Levites “to record, and to thank and praise the LORD God of Israel” (v.4). Then David gave Asaph a psalm. It is made from parts of Psalm 105, 96 and 106.⁶ “Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people” (v.8).

“All the gods of the people are idols.” The word for idols means nothings. Worthless things. There is one God who made the heavens. Notice also that we are to give him “the glory due unto his name.” Singular. His name. The psalm ends “O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever” (v.34). We will hear that line again when the temple is dedicated in 2 Chronicles 5:13.

Notice something else. The ark was in a tent in Jerusalem. And Asaph and his brothers ministered before it “continually, as every day’s work required” (v.37). But the tabernacle of Moses and the altar were still at Gibeon. Zadok the priest was there offering the burnt offerings (vv.39–40). For a while there were two places. Sacrifice at Gibeon. Praise before the ark in Jerusalem. Many have pointed out that the prophet Amos said God would “raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen” (Amos 9:11). And James quoted it at the council in Jerusalem when the Gentiles were coming in to the church (Acts 15:16–17).⁷ We will not go into all of that here. But what started in David’s tent was a picture of what God would do. People from every nation calling on his name.

1 Chronicles 17: Mine House and My Kingdom

This chapter is almost the same as 2 Samuel 7. David wanted to build God a house. God said no. God would build David a house. “I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build me an house, and I will stablish his throne for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son” (vv.11–13). We covered this in our 2 Samuel study. We will not go into it again but the same principles apply.

But notice a few differences.⁸ In 2 Samuel God said “thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever” (2 Samuel 7:16). In Chronicles God says this.

Mine house. My kingdom. It is God’s kingdom. The son of David would sit on it. Also notice that Chronicles leaves out “If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him” (2 Samuel 7:14). That part was about Solomon. Chronicles is looking past Solomon to the Son of David whose throne would last forever. The angel told Mary “the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David” (Luke 1:32).

David went in and sat before the LORD and prayed. “O LORD, there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears” (v.20). David said this same thing in 2 Samuel 7:22. One God. None beside him. And that one God promised David a son who would reign in God’s own kingdom forever.

1 Chronicles 18–20: Victory on Every Side

We will cover these chapters together. They follow 2 Samuel 8–10 and part of 12 and 21. David beat the Philistines and Moab and Zobah and Syria and Edom. “Thus the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went” (18:6). He dedicated the silver and gold he took to the LORD (18:11). Later Solomon would use it to make the brass sea and the pillars of the temple (18:8). The Ammonites shamed David’s servants and hired the Syrians. And they lost (19).

Chapter 20 starts “at the time that kings go out to battle … David tarried at Jerusalem” (20:1). That is how 2 Samuel 11 starts too. But Chronicles does not tell us about Bathsheba. It goes straight to the taking of Rabbah. The readers already knew that story. The writer was focused on something else. Then it tells us about the giants of Gath. “Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite” (20:5). This is the verse that helps us understand 2 Samuel 21:19.

1 Chronicles 21: Ornan’s Threshingfloor

“And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel” (v.1). 2 Samuel 24:1 says the LORD moved David. We have dealt with this in our 2 Samuel study. But basically God allowed Satan to tempt David. Just like in Job. Both are true.⁹

Joab did not want to do it. “Why will he be a cause of trespass to Israel?” (v.3). But David made him. God sent a plague and 70,000 men died. Then “David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the LORD stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem” (v.16). David and the elders fell on their faces in sackcloth. David said “Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned … but on thy people, that they should be plagued” (v.17). He asked God to put the punishment on him instead.

The angel told Gad to tell David to build an altar on the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite. Ornan offered to give it all to David for free. David said “I will verily buy it for the full price: for I will not take that which is thine for the LORD, nor offer burnt offerings without cost” (v.24). He paid 600 shekels of gold for the place (v.25).¹⁰ He built an altar and offered. “And he answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt offering” (v.26). Just like at the tabernacle in Leviticus 9:24. And just like Elijah on Carmel. “And the LORD commanded the angel; and he put up his sword again into the sheath thereof” (v.27).

Then the writer explains why this matters. The tabernacle and the altar of Moses were at Gibeon. But David was afraid to go there because of the angel’s sword (vv.29–30). So the next verse says this.

The place where judgment stopped became the place of the temple. 2 Chronicles 3:1 tells us it was mount Moriah. Where Abraham offered Isaac. We saw this in our 2 Samuel study. God provided the place. And one day near that place he would provide the Lamb.

1 Chronicles 22: A House Exceeding Magnifical

David knew he could not build the temple. But he could get everything ready. “Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be builded for the LORD must be exceeding magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore now make preparation for it” (v.5). He gathered stones and iron and brass and cedar “in abundance” (v.3). Then he told Solomon why he could not build it. God told him “Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build an house unto my name” (v.8).

But God told David he would have a son who would be “a man of rest” (v.9). “For his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days.” The name Solomon comes from shalom. Peace. David told Solomon “Now, my son, the LORD be with thee; and prosper thou, and build the house of the LORD thy God” (v.11). And he told the leaders “Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God” (v.19). Jesus is the “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). And he is building a house that cannot be destroyed. “Upon this rock I will build my church” (Matthew 16:18).

1 Chronicles 23–27: Getting Everyone Ready

We will cover these chapters together. David was old. He made Solomon king (23:1). Then he organized everyone who would serve in the temple. The Levites from 30 years old and up were 38,000 (23:3). He divided them into groups. Some to oversee the work. Some to be officers and judges. Some to be porters. And 4000 to praise the LORD with instruments (23:5). Their job was “to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD, and likewise at even” (23:30).

Chapter 24 divides the priests into 24 courses. Each one served in the temple for a week at a time. Notice the 8th course. “The eighth to Abijah” (24:10). Luke tells us about a priest named Zacharias “of the course of Abia” (Luke 1:5).¹¹ He was serving in the temple when the angel told him his wife would have a son. John the Baptist. The system David set up was still running a thousand years later. And God used it to announce the one who would prepare the way of the LORD.

Chapter 25 sets apart the singers. The sons of Asaph and Heman and Jeduthun “who should prophesy with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals” (25:1). Notice the word prophesy. Their worship was a word from God. There were 288 of them “that were instructed in the songs of the LORD” (25:7). Chapter 26 lists the porters who kept the gates and the treasuries. And chapter 27 lists the army. 12 divisions of 24,000 men. One for each month (27:1–15). Then the leaders of the tribes and the king’s officials. Everything was in order. Paul says “Let all things be done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40).

1 Chronicles 28: The Throne of the Kingdom of the LORD

David gathered all the leaders of Israel. He told them God chose Judah. And out of Judah he chose David. “And of all my sons … he hath chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel” (v.5). Notice what David calls his throne. The throne of the kingdom of the LORD. It was never David’s throne. It was God’s throne. David and his sons just sat on it.

This is the heart of Chronicles. Seek him and he will be found. Forsake him and he will cast you off. Then David gave Solomon the pattern for the temple. “And the pattern of all that he had by the spirit” (v.12). “All this, said David, the LORD made me understand in writing by his hand upon me” (v.19). David did not design it himself. God gave it to him. Just like God gave Moses the pattern for the tabernacle (Exodus 25:9). Then David said what Moses said to Joshua. “Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee” (v.20).

1 Chronicles 29: Thine Is the Kingdom

David gave his own treasure. 3000 talents of gold and 7000 talents of silver (vv.3–4). Then he asked “who then is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the LORD?” (v.5). The leaders gave. “Then the people rejoiced, for that they offered willingly, because with perfect heart they offered willingly to the LORD: and David the king also rejoiced with great joy” (v.9). Then David blessed the LORD.

Jesus taught us to pray “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever” (Matthew 6:13). David prayed it first. Then he said “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee” (v.14). We do not give God anything that was not already his. “For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow” (v.15).

Then they made Solomon king the second time. “Then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king instead of David his father” (v.23). The throne of the LORD. Again. In Revelation we see “the throne of God and of the Lamb” (Revelation 22:1). Notice it is one throne. Not two. And the next verses say “his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads” (Revelation 22:3–4). Him. His face. His name. Singular.¹² The one God on the throne is the Lamb who was slain. The Son of David sits on the throne of the LORD because he is the LORD come in the flesh.

“And he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and honour: and Solomon his son reigned in his stead” (v.28). David reigned 40 years. The book ends by telling us his acts are written in the book of Samuel the seer and the book of Nathan the prophet and the book of Gad the seer (v.29).

We have gone through 1 Chronicles chapter by chapter. Here is what we can conclude. First 1 Chronicles is about the people of God. The book starts with Adam and works its way down to the people who came back from Babylon. Every name mattered. Even Jabez. The returned exiles were a small and broken group. But they were part of a family God had been working with since the beginning. They were still all Israel. And the line of David was still alive.

Second 1 Chronicles is about worship. Saul “enquired not of the LORD” (10:14). David’s first act as king was to bring back the ark. He learned to seek God “after the due order” (15:13). He set up the singers and the musicians and the priests and the porters. He gave the best of his treasure. And he taught the people to give willingly with a perfect heart. “If thou seek him, he will be found of thee” (28:9). The returned exiles were building a new temple. Chronicles told them that worship was the center of everything.

Third 1 Chronicles is monotheistic. “All the gods of the people are idols: but the LORD made the heavens” (16:26). “There is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee” (17:20). “Thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all” (29:11). One God. And the throne David sat on was not David’s. It was “the throne of the kingdom of the LORD” (28:5).

And 1 Chronicles points to Jesus Christ. The son of Adam (Luke 3:38). The Lion of the tribe of Judah who came from the chief ruler (5:2). The son of David through Zerubbabel (Matthew 1:12–13). The one whose way was announced to a priest of the course of Abijah. The Prince of Peace who builds the house of God. And the one who sits on the throne of the LORD. Because he is the LORD. 1 Chronicles ends with Solomon on the throne. The next book tells us how he built the temple. And what happened to the kings that came after him. That is where 2 Chronicles begins.