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Reflections

Looking Back to Look Forward

Reflections

BibleProject

God, Spirituality, Jesus, The Bible Project, Tim Mackie, Theology, Bibleproject, Meditation, Religion, New Testament, Bible, Mindfulness, Religion & Spirituality, Bible Study, Cheree Hayes, Christianity, Old Testament, Reflection

51.3K Ratings

🗓️ 11 August 2021

⏱️ 13 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In English Bibles, the books of 1-2 Chronicles follow Samuel and Kings, but in the ancient Hebrew ordering of the Scriptures, Chronicles is the final book of the Old Testament. So what is the significance of this? The book of Chronicles ends with a decree to build a temple. This is the same decree that is told in the book of Ezra-Nehemiah. But Ezra and Nehemiah have already built the temple. So the fact that the whole Hebrew Bible ends on this note tells us that there must be another return from exile, another temple that will be built up and a better leader to come—a Messiah who will lead the people back to communion with God. The Hebrew Bible ends in anticipation for all that’s to come.

Transcript

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0:00.0

The book of Chronicles feels like a rerun of stories that we've already been told.

0:05.0

How does it help us understand where the story of the Bible leads?

0:09.0

Hey, this is Sheree at Bible Project. In this episode, we're closing our reflections on the Old Testament.

0:32.0

That's right, if you've been following us since episode 1, you've reflected on portions of every genre from the entire Hebrew Bible.

0:40.0

Today, we're looking back on past biblical stories through the eyes of the chronicler.

0:45.0

This perspective helps us look forward to the future with new anticipation.

0:50.0

Listen in.

0:54.0

Hi, this is Karissa at Bible Project, and today we're reflecting on the book of Chronicles.

0:59.0

In English Bibles, the books of first and second Chronicles follow Samuel and kings,

1:04.0

but in the ancient Hebrew ordering of the scriptures, Chronicles is the final book of the Old Testament.

1:09.0

As the conclusion of the Hebrew scriptures, it has a significant message, and one that you might not expect.

1:15.0

When you read Chronicles, you might be thinking, wait, this is just recounting the events of Samuel and kings. Why is this material here again?

1:23.0

This is exactly what makes this book so interesting.

1:26.0

Because the author retells events recorded in Samuel and kings, we can compare these books to Chronicles to see the differences,

1:34.0

what is not there and what is added, and this helps us to understand the unique message of Chronicles.

1:40.0

Even though it might sound like a straightforward historical book, Chronicles is prophetic,

1:45.0

it's pointing forward to God's glorious kingdom and His Messiah, King.

1:50.0

It's helpful to remember that whenever a person or author tells of an event they're selective,

1:56.0

they choose what to include or not include based on what they think is important for the message they're communicating.

2:02.0

So what's important to the author of Chronicles? How does it differ from Samuel and kings?

2:08.0

Chronicles was written after some of the exiles returned to the land with cerebral, Ezra, and Nehemiah by the decree of the Persian king Cyrus the Great.

2:17.0

The book points to a glorious future for God's people, but it does so by talking about the past.

...

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