Bible 101 - 1 Chronicles Chapters 10-17

Presented April 18, 2005 by Phyllis Gilbert

Review: As we saw last week, genealogies are important to Israel's history, and those lists making up ch. 1-9 serve to place figures within tribal and family groups. We also begin to see where God's focus in these two books will be since the tribes of Judah and Levi get the most attention. Judah is the line from which David, and ultimately, the Messiah come; the Levites are the priestly tribe. In Dr. McGee's introduction, we learned that these two books written are from God's point of view, and as such emphasize the altar and the Temple rather than, as I/II Samuel and I/II Kings, the palace and the throne. At the end of ch. 9, the genealogy of Saul is presented; he's of the tribe of Benjamin, and his father's name was Kish. In I Samuel, we're given quite a bit of his appearance and personality: he was handsome, but timid; he had the looks of a warrior and led Israel into successful battles, but he didn't take advice well (Samuel would have continued to be his mentor and teacher), and he failed to wait for God. He loses the throne because he doesn't see that he has been placed there by God, and because Saul is unable to understand this, God chooses David to replace him. Tonight we read of Saul's death - and nothing of his reign.

I Chronicles 10: In a brief narrative, we're told of the battle between Israel and the Philistines in which Saul is wounded. Saul asks his armor-bearer to kill him so that the Philistines won't take him and torture him. The armor-bearer can't, so Saul falls on his own sword. The armor bearer, thinking he'll be blamed for Saul's death, then takes his own life. At the end of I Samuel and the beginning of II Samuel, we're given more details; namely, we see an Amalekite go to David and tell him that he found Saul wounded, Saul asked him to kill him, and he did. Then the Amalekite took from Saul his crown and bracelet, bringing both to David. The messenger expected praise; David kills him because of his lack of respect for "God's anointed." The conflicting accounts of Saul's death leave us with a question: did Saul commit suicide or did he die by the enemy's hand? You can decide. The Chronicler makes it suicide because the point of view is God's - Saul was a failure; in effect, he took his own life when he ignored God.

In I Chron. 10, we also read that Saul's three sons died in battle, and that the death of all the royal family caused the Israelite army to flee. The Philistines took Saul's and his sons' bodies to make a public display of them; the men of Jabesh-Gilead, whom Saul had rescued early in his reign, went at night and took the bodies down and buried them. The chapter concludes: "Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord. . . So the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David, son of Jesse."

Why so little about Saul? Remember the Chronicler is filling in blanks, not retelling the entire story of the kings. And the spotlight now falls on David, the ideal king from God's standpoint. About David, there is much more detail, probably to say that he is the kind of king Saul could have been had he trusted in God.

I Chronicles 11: We know from I Samuel 16, that Samuel was told to anoint David king when he was still a shepherd, the youngest of Jesse's sons. David didn't become king, however, for another 12-15 years, and for 10 of those years, he was on the run from Saul. All of that is omitted from the account in Chronicles. Instead, ch. 11 begins with the leaders going to David at Hebron (where he was king for the first 7 years of his 40-year reign) and inviting him to be king over the entire nation. He is anointed by these leaders, and they go to Jerusalem where David and his army defeat the Jebusites who'd been there for generations. Now Jerusalem is in Israel and it becomes David's capital city - the center of government and the spiritual life of the nation.

I Chronicles 11:10: Before the other events of David's reign are presented, we read of his mighty men. David's most loyal and devoted core group of officers had been gathering about him during his 10 years as a mercenary soldier hiding out from Saul's threats. Their names and exploits are recounted here. One incident showing much about their loyalty and David's respect for their lives is in vv. 15-19. David, hiding in a cave near an encampment of Philistines, was chatting with his men, and said "boy, how I'd love a drink from the well in Bethlehem!" He's been away from home for years, but he remembers the sweetness of this water, and the innocence of his life there. Three of his men risked their lives, going through enemy lines, got the water and brought it back. David was appalled that they would take as a "wish" made without a serious thought that it would be granted, as a "command." He poured out the water saying that to drink it would be to drink their blood. We read other names and other exploits, the general effect of which is to convince us that David was surrounded by the best of the best of warriors. And because he fought with them, they honored him with their courage and tenacity.

I Chronicles 12: More names of David's mighty men are listed, and with their names are their ranks and we're told, "the weakest was worth a hundred normal troops, and the greatest was worth a thousand" (v. 14). They were pros. And notice that they came from all over Israel, not just from the tribe that claimed David as a member.

I Chronicles 12:23: Here begins a list of numbers - recruits from various tribes, all eager to see David made king, we're told. Together, they number 337,100, a formidable force. And because they came together, in battle array, they made clear that it was their purpose to make David king. Feasting marked their celebration. And then David spoke to them.

I Chronicles 13: His first task for this loyal crowd, eager to fight for him and with him, was to bring the ark back from Kiriath-jearim where it had been in storage from the time the Philistines captured it and then sent it back to Israel. David decides that it belongs in Jerusalem as evidence that the city will be the religious capital of the nation. So off they go. A new cart is made ready, and the ark is brought from Abinadab's house with a great parade of music and dancing surrounding it. On the way back to Jerusalem, one of the oxen pulling the cart, stumbled, and a man reached out to steady the ark. God struck him dead. David was outraged - how could God do that? Wasn't he and weren't the people bringing the ark back reverently and with joy? Weren't they doing it to honor God? Wrong; they were not obeying the law in transporting it. Remember that in Numbers, God had assigned tasks to the clans of the Levites, and the Kohathites were the group whose job it was to carry the ark and the other Tabernacle furnishings. The ark, specifically, was to be carried on the shoulders of the men, not on a cart. David wisely decides to find out the proper way to get the ark to Jerusalem and so once again, leaves it outside the city until he learns from God what to do.

I Chronicles 14: The ark waits three months in Obed-edom's home, and in ch. 15, it's brought properly to Jerusalem, the Levites carrying it. But this chapter interrupts the narrative to tell us about Hiram, king of Tyre, who became David's friend. Hiram sends carpenters and wood to David to help him build a palace, and David establishes himself and his family in the city that ever since has been the center of Jewish worship and history. We read that David marries more wives and has more sons now that he is at home in Jerusalem.

I Chronicles 14:8: Israel's enemies do not go away; the Philistines, a constant threat to Saul, continue to cause problems. So David asks God: "shall I go and fight them?" and God tells him to go ahead and that he, God, will give them the victory. Twice this happens, and twice, God fights with David's army, and they defeat the Philistines.

I Chronicles 15: Now we see where Solomon got the idea for building palaces: David, we're told, builds "several" for himself. But he also erects a new tabernacle so that the ark will have a home. And so the ark is brought to Jerusalem. But this time, David makes sure that the Levites have responsibility for carrying it on their shoulders. And he organizes the musicians, priests and Levites into groups and tasks. He tells them to "sanctify themselves," meaning to engage in the purification rites prescribed in Leviticus. Once they are ready for this important task, they carry the ark to a musical accompaniment, David leading the celebration. A great number of animals is sacrificed in thanksgiving for the ark's homecoming. Notice how much music is in this chapter; the only other knowledge we've had of David as musician was his playing for Saul during his troubled sleep, and his hymns contained in the Psalms. But David was a man of music all through his life, it seems, and he thus emphasized the musical dimension to worship. I'm glad he did; music is communication that reaches the deepest part of us.

I Chronicles 16: the celebration to welcome the Ark continues and David gives presents of food to everyone there. Many had a long trip back home; his gifts would sustain them. But in addition, they were made aware that their king understood their human needs. It also looks a bit like an ancient communion service, doesn't it? Notice, too, evidence that I/II Chronicles are from God's point of view: we've had two chapters devoted to the Ark and its transport to a new home, but in ch. 14, only a few verses describing battles with the Philistines.

I Chronicles 16:4: David doesn't end his worship of God with having brought the Ark to a Tabernacle in Jerusalem. Concerned that all things be done according to the law and in respect for God, he assigns the Levites to offer "praise and thanks" to God in addition to the sacrifices that symbolized giving to him. And musicians are named here - the first choir director was Asaph. His name is on many of the Psalms, incidentally; Psalms 73-89 are attributed to him, many with an inscription relating to music. David's psalm of thanks follows, parts of which are also found repeated in the book of Psalms. In this hymn of praise, David gives God all the thanks and glory. He begins with praise (vv. 8-11) and then exhorts the people to remember what God has done for them (vv. 12-22). We praise God and God alone; we're told that he will not share his glory ("I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another, or my praise to idols." Isa. 42:8). David makes that clear in this hymn, but he also reflects on how God has manifested his glory to his people: with a covenant like no other, with salvation, with a country to call their own. We, too, must remember what God has done and praise him for it. In the next section, vv. 24-33, all of us are invited to "sing to the Lord" and to see his greatness in the heavens and in all of creation. We are to bring sacrifices, offerings, rejoicing. And then, the hymn ends as it began with thanks (vv. 34-36). In these four sections, a unity of praise to God, we see a pattern for prayer: thanking God, acknowledging who God is, and what he's done for us, and offering him ourselves as "living sacrifices," as Paul tells us in Romans 12. Much of this hymn reminds me of the "Great Thanksgiving" in the communion service.

I Chronicles 16:37: The chapter ends with David making more provisions for worship in all its aspects: music, sacrifice and prayer. David is organizing the priests and Levites not only for their work in Jerusalem at the Tabernacle, but eventually, for their duties at the Temple which Solomon will build. We'll read more later about David's interest in worship in ch. 22-25.

I Chronicles 17: Here we read again of David's desire to build a temple for the Lord; recall that this scene was in II Sam. 7. So this chapter repeats David's request to build, God's rejection of his request, but God's promise that David's descendants would be established as kings, and ultimately, it is God's son, Jesus the Messiah, who will take David's throne. (Jesus humanly speaking is a descendant of David.) David, overwhelmed by God's promise, pours out his thanks in a beautiful prayer.

Next week, we'll see more of David the warrior.

Homework for those who want to go deeper:

Let's close in prayer.