This week, we shall continue the
study of 1 Chronicles in the Old Testament.
The
reiteration of the cities allotted to the Levites back in the days of their
entrance into the Promised Land (Jos. 21, see Note below) serves a practical
purpose as follows:
- It affirmed the rights of the Levites who have returned from exile so that they could re-occupy the land of their ancestors, and
- It encouraged the Levites who chose not to move to their ancestral cities especially around Jerusalem to move back to perform their duties (Neh. 11:3-4).
It is helpful to use the following chart that focuses on the Kohathites as a guide to follow the record in this chapter:
Three Sons of Levi1. Gershon
2. Kohath: His descendants are-
-Ram (Amram) - Aaron (the priesthood line) and Moses
– Ishar
– Hebron– Uzziel
3. Merari
(1) The allotment to the Kohathites—their record is divided into two parts vv. 54-61 and vv. 66-70.
a. Aaron’s descendants:
- Why does the Chronicler emphasize that the first lot came out for the Kohathites? (v. 54; Jos. 21:4)
- Of the 13 towns given to Aaron (v. 60), why was Hebron not given to them entirely? (v. 55-56; Jos. 14:14)
- From which tribes do the descendants of Aaron receive their dwelling place? (vv. 57-60; Jos. 21:4)
b. Rest of the Kohathites:
- How many towns do the rest of the Kohathites (including the descendants of Moses) get? (v. 61)
- From which tribes do the rest of the Kohathites receive their dwelling place? (vv. 61; 66-70)
(2) The allotment to the Gershonites (vv. 62, 71-76)
a. How many towns do the Gershonites get? (v. 62)
b. From which tribes do the Gershonites receive their dwelling place? (vv. 62; 71-76)
(3) The allotment to the Merarites (vv. 63, 77-80)
a. How many towns do the Merarites get? (v. 63)
b. From which tribes do they receive their dwelling place? (vv. 63; 77-80)
(4) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Note:
The “Levites were not the sole possessors of these towns, but simply received the number of dwelling houses which they actually required, with meadow land for their cattle in the suburbs of the towns, while the rest of the space still belonged to the different tribes” (K&D, Joshua, 154).
After the genealogy of the Levites, the Chronicler now continues with the rest of the tribes. It is helpful to bear in mind the following:
- This record of genealogy differs from all previous ones in that it has an ad-hoc purpose to help the returnees from exile to re-establish their lives on a much smaller piece of land than their ancestral land before their exile.
- Many of the original families of the twelves tribes have either dwindled or ceased to exist or their descendants have not chosen to return (such appeared to be the case with the Transjordan ½ tribe of Manasseh; see 5:26). Therefore their descendants are either omitted or casually mentioned.
- When compared to the genealogy of Numbers 26, it is obvious that many so-called “sons” are grandsons or great grandsons who had become important family heads with significant descendants so that they are also listed as “sons”.
(1) Issachar (vv. 1-5)
a. Refer to a Bible map to see where the land originally allotted to this tribe was (south of the Sea of Galilee, west of the Jordan River).
b. Look up the genealogy in Numbers 26:23-25. How many of those over 20 years of age were counted then?
c. How many were counted in the time of David? (vv. 2, 5)
(2) Benjamin (vv. 6-12)
a. Please check with your Bible map and locate the land of Benjamin (immediately north of Judah, west of the Jordan River).
b. Look up the genealogy in Numbers 26:38-41. How many of those over 20 years of age were counted then?
c. How many were counted in the time of David? (vv. 7, 9, 11. Greater details of his genealogy are expanded in chapter 8.)
(3) Naphtali (v. 13)
a. Please check with your Bible map and locate the land of Naphtali (one of the northern-most tribes of Israel).
b. Look up the genealogy in Numbers 26:48-50. How many of those over 20 years of age were counted then?
c. Why does the Chronicler give only a one-sentence genealogy to Naphtali without referring to their number counted in the time of David?
d. Why does the Chronicler call them “the descendants of Bilhah”? (see Gen. 30:7-8)
e. Which other tribes next to Naphtali (geographically) are omitted in this record of genealogy by the Chronicler?
(4) Manasseh (vv. 14-19)
a. Please check with your Bible map and locate the land of Manasseh (west of Jordan).
b. Look up the genealogy in Numbers 26:29-34. How many of those over 20 years of age were counted then?
c. Why is there no number given about their count in the time of David? What does it say about the purpose of this genealogy by the Chronicler?
d. Also, read Joshua 17:1-2 and compare the names of the sons of Manasseh to those of Numbers 26 and the Chronicler’s genealogy to get a sense of the way “sons” or descendants are recognized.
(5) Ephraim (vv. 20-29)
a. Please check with your Bible map and locate the land of Ephraim (sandwiched between Manasseh and Benjamin, west of Jordan).
b. Look up the short genealogy in Numbers 26:35-37. How many of those over 20 years of age were counted then?
c. Although the Chronicler does not mention their number in the time of David, he does provide greater details of their descendants:
- Who stands out as one of the most important descendants of Ephraim? (v. 26)
- Based on its geographical location, what might be the purpose of detailing the exact location of their land in vv. 28-29? (see Neh. 8:16; 12:39 as well)
(6) Asher (vv. 30-40)
a. Please check with your Bible map and locate the land of Asher (along the coast line south of Tyre).
b. Look up the genealogy in Numbers 26:44-47. How many of those over 20 years of age were counted then?
c. How many were counted in the time of David?
d. Although their number has dwindled over the years, what does the Chronicler say about these heads of families? (v. 40)
(7) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
This appears to be a supplementary genealogy to that of 7:6-12. Again, this genealogy appears to be of an ad-hoc nature in that
- Apart from the first-born of Benjamin being Bela, the rest of the “sons” of Benjamin do not jive perfectly with that of Genesis 46:21 (except Ashbel), Numbers 26: 38-41, nor the earlier record of 7:6-12.
- This rather detailed record (comparable to that of Judah and the Levites) proves that it is meant for the returnees from exile because the majority of them were led by “the family heads of Judah and Benjamin and the priests and Levites” (Ezr. 1:5).
As we read this chapter of Benjamin’s leading descendants who presumably are more relevant to the returnees from exile, let’s simply take note of the following:
(1) Who are listed here as the sons of Benjamin? (vv. 1-2)
(2) The “sons” of Bela (vv. 3-28): The following appear to be the important heads of the families under the lineage of Bela and they include:
a. The sons of Bela (vv. 3-5): It is helpful to list their names out for reference.
b. The other descendants of Bela (vv. 6-28):
c. The Chronicler states clearly where all of these families resided: Where was it? (v. 28)
d. What practical purpose does the above genealogy serve?
(3) Other descendants of Benjamin who lived near Jerusalem (vv. 29-40):
a. The descendants of Jeiel (vv. 29-32)—I am not sure from whom Jeiel was descended, but his descendants were listed for at least two reasons:
- They too lived near Jerusalem, the most important place of their re-settlement (v. 32), and
- He was the forefather of King Saul and thus it is really the genealogy of Saul.
b. Jeiel was the father of Gibeon who was the father of Ner who was the father of Saul (v. 33).
c. The descendants of Jonathan (vv. 34-40): The genealogy is now confined to the line of Jonathan who died along with his father, Saul:
- From Meribaal to Micah (Meribaal is called Mephibosheth in 2 Sam. 4:4)
- From Micah to Ahaz
- From Ahaz to Jehoaddah to Zimri to Moza to Binea to Raphah to Eleasah to Azel and Eshek and their descendants (vv. 35-40)
- The sons of Ulam, son of Eshek received special praise as “brave warriors”.
(4) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
The record
of Jerusalem’s former inhabitants: It is
helpful to bear in mind the following:
- Ezra 1 gives a brief summary of the first returnees from exile (B.C. 538); but it does not mean they all lived in Jerusalem (Ezr. 1).
- Nehemiah 11 records the inhabitants of Jerusalem after his own return in B.C. 445. He successfully rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem and used his political power to make the returnees cast lots to have “one of every ten” move into Jerusalem (Neh. 11:1) because “the city was large and spacious, but there were few people in it” (Neh. 7:4). This record could well represent the inhabitants at the end of the twelve year period of Nehemiah’s work (i.e. B.C. 433).
- However, it is unsure what is meant by “first to resettle” in this chapter (v. 2) as some of the names of the heads of the families correspond to those of Nehemiah 11, but most do not, and certainly all the numbers given are different. Since the numbers given in 1 Chronicles 9 are greater, it appears that many have since (their first resettling) moved away from Jerusalem and some were made to move back by Nehemiah by lots.
(1) Source of genealogy (v. 1)
a. What is the source of the genealogy used by the Chronicler in the last few chapters?
b. What is the purpose of the Chronicler in pointing out his source of information?
(2) The people from Judah (vv. 4-6)
a. Descendants of all three sons of Judah were represented: Perez, Zerah and Shelah (2:3-4). How many people were from Judah in total? (v. 6)
b. How many were there from Judah after Nehemiah’s forced resettlement? (Neh. 11:6)
(3) The people from Benjamin (vv. 7-9)
a. Although the names of a few family heads are mentioned, how many people from Benjamin moved back to Jerusalem in the beginning? (v. 9)
b. How many were there from Benjamin after Nehemiah’s forced resettlement? (Neh. 11:8)
(4) The priests (vv. 10-13)
a. The priests were those who ministered directly in the temple: How many were there in the first resettlement?
b. How many were counted subsequently by Nehemiah? (Neh. 11:12-14)
(5) The Levites (vv. 14-16)
a. The Chronicler is more interested in recording the names of the families and not their numbers. What might be the reason?
b. How many were there in the time of Nehemiah? (Neh. 11:18)
(6) The gatekeepers (vv. 17-27)
a. Why does the entrance to the dwelling place of the Lord need to be guarded?
b. Whose names does the Chronicler invoke in affirming this important role of the gatekeepers? (vv. 20, 22-23; see Num. 25:7-13).
c. How many gatekeepers were counted compared to Nehemiah’s time? (v. 22 and Neh. 11:19)
(7) Duties of other priests and Levites (vv. 28-34)
a. What was the duty mentioned in v. 28?
b. What were the duties mentioned in v. 29?
c. What was the duty mentioned in v. 30?
d. What were the duties mentioned in vv. 31-32?
e. Why were the musicians exempt from these duties of the common Levites? (v. 33)
(8) In general, who were the first re-settlers from exile? (v. 2)
(9) Who were the ones who resettled in Jerusalem itself? (vv. 3, 34)
(10) Repeated record of Saul’s genealogy (vv. 35-44)—This is an exact repetition of 8:28-38, the purpose of which seems to be to establish a link between this section of genealogy to the next section of the history of God’s people from the close of the reign of King Saul.
(11) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
After nine long chapters of genealogy, the Chronicler now turns to the historical lessons that the returnees from exile should learn, beginning with the death of King Saul. Since this reintroduction of the narrative seems a bit sudden, it is helpful to reflect on this incident based on some previous incidents in the book of 1 Samuel:
(1) This was a battle not only with the well-trained and well-equipped Philistines, but also without the presence and blessings of the Lord (1 Sam. 28:19) — the result was predictable. Have you ever experienced a time when you felt that you were facing life’s battle all on your own, without God’s blessings? What did you do or what could you have done?
(2) The tragedy of this battle began with the killing of the three sons of Saul, including Jonathan. How do you feel about the death of Jonathan, being one who remained faithful to the one truly anointed by the Lord till the end? Should he have died for the sin of his father?
(3) Saul eventually had to face his destiny which was known to him and yet he fought against it till the very end. Let’s spend some time to reflect on his life:
a. He was a son who cared about his father (1 Sam. 9:5) and yet turned into someone who had no regard for his people, forcing them to fight on in spite of their extreme fatigue (1 Sam. 14:24). What had happened?
b. He also began as a humble person, feeling unworthy to be chosen as king by the Lord (1 Sam. 9:21), and yet turned into someone who would do everything to maintain his power, even pursuing the life of David whom he knew was appointed by God to replace him (1 Sam. 24:20). What had happened?
c. His pride grew from the offering of sacrifice on his own (1 Sam. 13:9), to sparing the Amalekites against God’s clear instruction (1 Sam. 15:9), to the annihilation of God’s high priest and his family (1 Sam. 22:17-19). What had happened?
(4) If you were to write the epitaph for Saul, what would you say?
(5) Compare the death of Saul as recorded here, to the death of Eli as recorded in 1 Samuel 4:17-18:
a. In what ways did the two men resemble each other?
b. Who led a more pitiful life? Why?
c. What lessons might you learn from their deaths?
(6) Of all the people in Israel, why would the people of Jabesh Gilead risk their lives to retrieve the body of Saul, give him a proper burial, and even fast for him for seven days? (See 1 Sam. 11)
(7) What is the main message to you today, and how may you apply it to your life?
11:1-9—The Coronation of David—The history lesson quickly jumps from the death of Saul to the coronation of David.
(1) The Chronicler says the anointing of David by all Israel was done “as the Lord promised through Samuel” (v. 3). Do you have any idea how long David had waited for this promise to come to pass? (He was anointed by Samuel at his father’s house when he was a boy—1 Sam. 16:13, and was crowned king in Hebron at age 30—2 Sam. 5:4.)
(2) What lesson can you learn from this long time of waiting?
(3) What does the Bible attribute David’s success to? (v. 9)
11:10-47—David’s Mighty Men
A list of mighty men who were famous and contributed to the success of David’s kingdom was given in three groups: The “Three”, namely Jashobeam, Eleazar and Shammah who was not named here, but was named in 2 Samuel 23:11; the “Two”, namely Abishai and Benaiah and the “Thirty”. The first three obviously gained the highest respect of David and his men.
Vv. 11-19—The “Three”
(4) How special was Jashobeam?
(5) How special was Eleazar?
(6) Information was given about the third, Shammah in 2 Samuel 23:11-12—How special was he?
(7) While the Bible says the three in this story were part of the “Thirty”, it would be odd that the names of these three mighty men were not mentioned. And since this story follows immediately the introduction of the “Three”, it is safe to assume that this was a story of the three greatest men among all the warriors. From the location given, the feat mentioned here took place in the war with the Philistines described in 2 Samuel 5:17ff:
a. Since David eventually did not drink the water brought back by the three, do you think he was totally without water, or did he simply yearn for the water from the well occupied by the enemies (probably known as the Well of David later on)? Why?
b. Why did the three risk their lives in response to David’s words?
c. What really distinguished these Three from the rest of the mighty men of David?
Vv. 20-25—The “Two”—Though Abishai was mentioned as the chief of the “Three”, most commentators believe it refers to being the chief of the “Thirty”:
(8) How special was Abishai?
(9) How special was Benaiah?
Vv. 26-47—The rest—or the “Thirty” (see Note below)
(10) Although, we do not really know who these thirty men were, except their names, what might be the purpose of listing them here?
(11) What does the inclusion of Uriah, the Hittite (v. 41) signal to you?
(12) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Note:
“Thirty” appears to be a general term or a round number used to denote this special elite group of mighty men, because while 2 Samuel 23 listed under the “Thirty” some 31 men, 1 Chronicles listed 16 more and still calls them the “Thirty” (1 Chr. 11:25).
This is a more detailed account of how these mighty warriors joined David:
12:1-7—The Benjaminites
(1) What was David doing in Ziklag? (see 1 Sam. 27:1-7)
(2) Why would these Benjaminites, being relatives of Saul, defect to join David?
(3) How special then were these Benjaminites?
(4) How much did their defection mean to David?
12:8-15—The Gadites
(5) When did these Gadites decide to defect to David? (v. 8)
(6) How does the Bible describe their unusual bravery and might? (v. 8)
(7) How does the crossing of the Jordan (they were from the Transjordan region east of the river) signify their unusual might? (v. 15)
12:16-18—Other Defectors to David
(8) Obviously, there was no way for David to know if these defectors were genuine: what did he say to them? (v. 17)
(9) How did they reply (through Amasai)? (v. 18)
(10) Why does it signify that Amasai’s words were inspired by the Holy Spirit?
12:19-22—The tribe of Manasseh
(11) With the defection of these people from the tribe of Manasseh, the Bible adds that
a. “Day after day men came to help David”: As a fugitive on the run, how would David feel about the promise of God?
b. “Like the army of God”: In what way was it like the army of God?
12:23-40—Others joining David at Hebron
(12) Why don’t you do a quick calculation to see how many fighting men David had in total at Hebron?
(13) They appeared to be joining David only after Saul’s death:
a. Does it make their joining David less genuine? Why or why not?
b. What kind of a scene is depicted by vv. 39-40?
(14) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life