“The sons of Shelah the son of Judah were Er the father of Lecah, Laadah the father of Mareshah, and the families of the house of the linen workers of the house of Ashbea; also Jokim, the men of Chozeba, and Joash; Saraph, who ruled in Moab, and Jashubi-Lehem.

Now the records are ancient.

These were the potters and those who dwell at Netaim and Gederah; there they dwelt with the king for his work.” (1Ch 4:21-23)

Unless you do some sort of daily bible reading that takes you through the entire bible, it’s unlikely you’ve read 1 & 2 Chronicles recently, if ever. And if you are reading them, you might be tempted, as I am, to skim through the endless genealogies. After all, much of 1 & 2 Chronicles is repeated elsewhere in the bible. And what does it have to do with me, anyway?

Honestly, it depends on your perspective. If you’re looking for a practical application for daily life, the broken dishwasher, flat tire, or strained relationships, they probably aren’t worth your time. However, if you are interested in building a foundation of faith, there is a gem or two to be mined here.

Chronicles, or in the Hebrew, dibrey’ hay-yamim’ means “words (or acts) of the days.” The information was collected, by divine direction, from journals, annals, public and authentic records, after the captivity. When the Jews returned from Babylon.

They are books of Paraleipomenon – of things left, or overlooked.

Unlike the “endless genealogies” Paul mentions in 1 Timothy 1, what is written here points us to Christ. And that is where we find the value for us. For what points us to Christ is always worth our time.

1 Chronicles gives us more details about David’s preparations for the temple. How he organized the Levites and the Priests. The gatekeepers and musicians. All these things were a shadow, a pattern, of what we have in Heaven with Christ as our High Priest.

2 Chronicles gives us a more detailed account of the long and happy, impious and infamous reigns of the kings. We experience through these accounts the consequences of a broken covenant with God. (Ex 24; Deut 28)

But we also see hope in God’s promises to David, which echoes His promises to Abraham. Pointing back to God’s unconditional covenant of Genesis 12:1-3 and ahead to the fulfillment of that promise in Luke 1:26.

“Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

Luke 1:30-33

“And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Matthew 1:21

Read from the perspective of the cross, these acts of the days reveal God’s hand working in the lives of His people. Even at the height of Israel’s rebellion, God never stopped loving them.

Through the acts of our days, He never stops loving us.

Shalom.