All right. Good morning, everybody. I'll go ahead and grab a seat We'll start a few minutes early for the simple reason that we do have a lot a big lesson to get through today So we'll want to try to make sure we get through get through it. I Had a few extra handouts from last week. I think those have already been given out So if you happen to grab an extra we might just see if anyone else needs one, but I didn't print anymore. I and I'm pretty sure that Gary gave out the last one, is that right? Okay, so no handouts if you weren't here last week, so sorry about that. But we are moving into part two of our study in the Book of Chronicles. Last week we looked at the first study, and just to remind you of a little bit of context, the Book of Chronicles was compiled or written by, most likely by Ezra. And the important thing that we emphasized a whole lot as we talked about that was that it was compiled or written after they had returned from exile, from the Babylonians. So because of that, a lot of the same history is recounted in the Chronicles that we find in 2 Samuel and also the Book of Kings. But that was written while they were in exile. And Chronicles is written after the fact. So with that in mind, it's really important as you read through it that Ezra has a very different purpose, a very different goal in recounting this history for the people of Israel as they are now back in the land, back in Jerusalem. The temple's been restored. It's not to the same glory that it once was, but that's when the book of Chronicles is given. And so that's a really important point as we proceed. Last week we also did spend a little bit of time looking at the first nine chapters, which catalog the long genealogy. We called it the roots of the post-exilic community. And what we saw when we looked at that genealogy was that every person that's listed, it was all there to show God's faithfulness to his promise that David's line would be preserved and ultimately that we see that the Messiah would come from this line. So we spent a little bit of time talking about that and the importance of genealogies for the Israelite people because it's through those genealogies that the promises did did flow. So a real important thing for us to consider last week. And today we are going to, probably in your handout, I don't even think I have one. You have an extra one? Okay. Maybe give that one to Ryan if you have an extra one. I know I have one in here somewhere. There it is. I knew it was in there somewhere. So all that's by way of review. And if you take your handout, just to remind you on the back, you have a big study outline. And these really do cover the main subjects that we're looking at. So last week, we looked at bullet I, or number one, the genealogical presentation of the tribes of Israel. Today we're going to take two and three, the United Kingdom of David and Solomon, and then the Kingdom of Judah down through the exile. And that's a way, just an outline for you as you're reading the book of Chronicles for you to follow along. But inside your handout, if you look, we're starting, just turn the page, we'll be on bullet number two, 1 Chronicles 10 through 2 Chronicles 9. and we'll go through the end of our time. So let's pray and then we can go ahead and dig in. Father, thank you for this day and I'm grateful for just really not quite the conclusion, but almost the conclusion of a really long and I hope rich study for everyone who participated. Thank you, Lord, for just encouraging us by seeing how you work through time and through your people to preserve, Lord, a seed that would give rise to Father, the Son of God taking on human flesh and accomplishing salvation for men. What a glorious thing to see how that works all the way from Genesis all the way through to the Chronicles. And Father, we pray that as we study this morning that we would again see that message clear. And Father, that as we do Old Testament Bible reading on our own that you would just help us to be good and faithful Old Testament Bible interpreters and recognize, Lord, the places where Christ is being revealed. So thank you for this time. Guide us, we pray, in Christ's name, amen. All right, so 1 Chronicles 10. through 2 Chronicles 9, that's the section we're gonna take right now, and it's called the United Monarchy, the Messianic Hope for the Post-Exilic Community. So the United Monarchy. So this next major section covers the United Monarchy under David and also Solomon. We're gonna actually turn to a few places, so get ready to flip back and forth, but if you turn to 1 Chronicles 17, 11 through 13, You'll see the reason why David in particular features so prominently in the book. If you're reading through Chronicles, there's no doubt about it that David is kind of front and center through much of it. So 1 Chronicles 17, 11 through 13, this is what it says. When your days are fulfilled to walk with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. Okay, so really key passage. We actually have talked about this before when we were looking in 2 Samuel. In this passage, God makes a covenant with David. Yes, one of David's sons will build a house for God. When you think that, think temple. Okay, that's gonna happen. But God himself, the text seems to indicate, will build a house for David. So think maybe like a dynasty from whom the eternal king will come. So this text and also the one in 2 Samuel, there's a little bit of a play on words here where maybe David's thinking about building a house for the Lord, the temple, and then the Lord responds, yes, I will build a house for you, it'll be a royal house, and think more in terms of a dynasty here. So really key verse, and one reason why David features so prominently in the book, because it's teaching how God established David's house, such that once he died, his son would take over, and then you see this succession of kings, all the way through the exile, and all the way through when Christ would come. So it's this promise that the Chronicle wants to impress upon his readers, We can see how he does that through two important ways. His account differs from David, his account differs from David and Solomon and Samuel and Kings. We talked about that a little bit last week. What the Chronicler gives us in some ways does look very different. The first way, the first way is different. So let's think about Samuel and Kings. So again, we studied this a long time ago. And if you remember, here's just an example. So what Chronicles does is he presents a vision of what the Messiah will be by highlighting the positive aspects of David and Solomon. So if you read through the book of Chronicles, read through the book of 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings, you see that Chronicles tends to paint a much more positive picture of David and Solomon than the earlier books do. So one example of that, turn back to 2 Samuel 11. verses 1 through 2, just to illustrate this point. 2 Samuel 11, 1 and 2, it reads like this. In the spring of the year, the time when the kings go out to battle, David sent Joab and his servant with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. It happened late one afternoon when David arose from his couch that he was walking on the roof of the king's house, and he saw from the roof a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful. So you know where that story ends up, David committing adultery and then murder. Second Samuel reminds us that David is far from perfect. Now turn to First Chronicles 20, one through two, We'll read Ezra's account. First Chronicles 21 through two. In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, Joab let out the army and ravaged the country of the Ammonites and came and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. And Joab struck down Rabbah and overthrew it. And David took the crown of their king from his head. He found that it weighed a talent of gold, and it was precious in stone, and it was placed on David's head." A little bit of a different kind of story there, a little bit of a different twist maybe. You might want to be tempted to talk about whitewashing history a little bit, but there's nothing recorded about the adultery, nothing recorded about the murder. And I think this gets to that very point that we made earlier on, that the two authors are making very different points. And so they're compiling these narratives in order to emphasize those points. In Samuel, David is exposed as a sinner. In Chronicles, he's wearing a crown of victory. Okay, this is one of many instances in Chronicles where David is described as the king par excellence. Was the chronicler trying to cover up the facts? Say no, because David's sins have already been recorded in the book of Samuel, precisely so that people wouldn't forget them. And interestingly enough, the Chronicler does include the account where David numbers the people, which is a great sin in the book of Samuel. That does show up in the book of Chronicles. So he's not trying to cover anything up. The Chronicler just has a very different agenda. By portraying David in an overwhelmingly positive light, he's painting a picture of the sort of king the post-exilic people would hope for, this kind of idealized king. And it's really the same when we get to Solomon. His sin of idolatry, which we read about so much in the Book of Kings, you can read about that in 1 Kings 11, is really noticeably absent in the Chronicles. The chronicler describes these two kings of the past in such a way as to give a preview of the king of the future. I think that's the point that Ezra's trying to make. He's trying to arrange these stories and present this to teach the people of the kind of king that they are to anticipate in the future. So for us today, we can marvel now We can marvel how the history of David and Solomon teach us so much about Jesus. What are some examples? How does David and Solomon, what are some examples of how they teach us about who Jesus is? Any ideas? Okay, Jesus is a king who rules in justice. Do we see that with David and Solomon in some measure? Okay, Jesus is the warrior who brings us victory over sin, Satan and death. Jesus is the shepherd of our hearts who leads us to worship and pray to God. Jesus is the owner of all wealth, riches, and splendor. Jesus is the supreme wisdom of God, which we see through the life of Solomon. So read of David and Solomon in this book and delight at how much they foreshadow the greatest king of all. All these were shadows. These were things that were there that were really there to show how great this coming king will be. The second thing to note in this section that unlike in Kings, in Chronicles, the account of David and Solomon revolve around the temple of God, revolves around the temple of God. So 1 King 5 verse 7, Hiram, the king of Tyre, praises God for Solomon's wisdom. This is what he says. He says, blessed be the Lord this day who has given to David a wise son to be over this great people. That's the king of Tyre in 1 Kings. So in 2 Chronicles 2.12, Hiram is again quoted, blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who made heaven and earth, and who has given King David a wise son, who has discretion and understanding, and who will build a temple for the Lord and a royal palace for himself. Okay, so you see the first, in the first instance, In Kings, wisdom is for ruling. That's really what the focus is there, it's for ruling. In Chronicles, it's for building, building the temple. So as you read this section, you can't help but notice how much attention is given to the temple, how much attention the temple receives. You just scan your finger along 1 Chronicles 22 through 26, you see the amount of space given to David's preparations for the temple that Solomon would build. It's pretty vast. From the organization of the priests to the assignment of the musicians and gatekeepers, and all this continues into 2 Chronicles. So just think about where Ezra's writing this. So why would Ezra, writing after the exile, and writing in a context where the temple was already built spends so much time highlighting the glories of Solomon's temple. Why do you think he might would do that? They have the temple back, right? So why would he spend so much time highlighting all the detail and the magnificence of Solomon's temple again for them? Any ideas? I think it's the same reason why he wanted to highlight the great kingliness of David and Solomon and all these other kings, to show that there's a greater temple yet to come, that what they've achieved by coming out of exile and being back in Jerusalem, that there's still something more that they need to anticipate. There's something that has a greater glory that's yet to come. All right, another thing, so maybe another reason why this focus on the temple It's not to get the people to hope in a mere building. That's not really the point. Solomon's prayer in 2 Chronicles 6 admits that God doesn't himself need a physical place to dwell. No, all this attention on the temple reminds us that in order to enjoy a reconciled relationship with God, the returning exiles must respond to God in repentance and faith. So the Chronicler focuses on the temple because the temple where the atonement sacrifices were made represents God's willingness to forgive all who seek Him with a repentant heart. So you can see this if you turn over to 2 Chronicles 6, verse 24, it says this. If your people Israel are defeated before the enemy because they have sinned against you and they turn again and acknowledge your name and pray and plead with you in this house, then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them again to the land that you gave them and to their fathers. So you saw that there, and turn again and acknowledge your name. and pray and plead with you in this house. So you see this idea of turning. So to approach God at the temple was to approach him humbly, pleading for forgiveness. And this is the approach that God, the approach to God that these returning exiles is still in need of. We talked about that when Jake was teaching on Ezra and Nehemiah, that there's still this sin issue that has gone unresolved. And this is highlighting that point. So 2 Chronicles 10 through chapters 36. So this is the remainder of our section here. So the rest of the Chronicles gives a record of the kings of Judah presenting the nation's descent into sin, division, and then finally exile. We've already walked through all this by looking at some of the other books. To understand the significance of this final section of the story, we need to look at a crucial passage. 2 Chronicles 7, 13 through 15. Go ahead and turn there, because it is an important one. 2 Chronicles 7, 13 and 15. So before I read, do you remember how we use Solomon's prayer of dedicating the temple in 1 Kings as a kind of a, we did this, it's been a long time, so probably you've forgotten, but we kind of use it as a Rosetta Stone, right? Or something to discern the entire kind of meaning of what the book of Kings was. We can do the same with Chronicles, specifically by looking at what's been added in. So Solomon has just dedicated the temple to God, and now God appears to Solomon and speaks. This happens in Kings 2, but the chronicler includes something that God says that is absent from the book of Kings. And that's always, whenever you see that, that's an interesting thing, that Ezra is deciding not to recount this exactly the same way as it was recounted before, but there's something added in. And that, as you're studying these books particularly together, that should signal that there's something here worth paying attention to. All right, so he's highlighting something special. So here is the text. says this, when I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain or command the locusts to devour the land or to send pestilence among the people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and I will forgive their sin and I will heal their land. Now my eyes will be opened and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. Okay, so Solomon's prayer in Kings highlights that the downfall of the nation is really a working out of the Deuteronomical curses that we found in the book of Deuteronomy, with also hope for God's mercy kind of built in. But God's words here, in the corresponding section of Chronicles, shows us a focus on this plea for repentance. In that sense, verse 14 really is a theme verse for the whole book of Chronicles. So if there's one verse that could be kind of a theme verse for the whole book, it's gonna be verse 14. Chapters 10 through 36 of 2 Chronicles covers 19 different kings. From Rehoboam to Zedekiah, all of them are evaluated by how they live up to that verse. Do they humbly seek God and turn from sin? Or do they stubbornly rebel and serve idols and nurse their pride? This verse establishes an important concept that the chronicler wants communicated to the post-exilic community. It's this idea of immediate retribution. So immediate, think it happens right then. Retribution, think God's punishment. Okay, you see that as you read through this. It's immediate retribution for king after king. You might imagine, since so many generations were sinful and wicked because the people went into exile, that the returning exiles might think, well, we can do what we want. God, you know, won't punish us right away. Some sense he waits. In some cases, other times, you know, not so much. And that kind of complacency would be a real danger for them. But the chronicler fights really strong against this kind of mindset. So throughout this section, he points out how when the kings and the people sinned, they experienced the consequences for their sin right then in their own generation. But when the kings and the people obeyed and sought God like the verse instructs them, He heard from heaven, he forgave their sin, and he healed their land. Okay, so that verse does become kind of a key as you read through this long list of kings in these chapters to understand what the measuring rod, right, of their faithfulness, how that worked out. Now, 714 is an important verse for Chronicles, but we should note that it's often a terribly misapplied verse today. Okay, we actually made reference to this a few months ago. It's a verse that's given to God's national people, Israel, the people who were set aside by God to display his character and to give birth to the Messiah. You may hear folks apply this verse to the nation of America today, but that misapplication really does rip this verse very much out of its context. America is not the chosen land of God. It carries none of the redemptive historical significance that the ancient land of Israel did. So when the Messiah came, God concluded his work of a special people and a special place. We moved into a different era. But the pattern of repentance and blessing that we see here, this will endure. and instructs us that God's people can continually turn from our sin and seek the Lord. So having firmly established this principle of immediate retribution, it's also important for Chronicles, that's so important for the book of Chronicles, let's look at some examples of how this principle works out in the final section. Here's a few positive examples. Look at chapter 17, verses nine through 10. 17, nine through 10. This is where King Jehoshaphat dispatches teachers of God's word. Okay, so that's the story here, 17, nine through 10. And they were taught in Judah, having the book of the law of the Lord with them. They went throughout all the cities of Judah and taught among the people. And the fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah. And they made no war against Jehoshaphat. So you see, you have this recounting of this immediate blessing that comes. The king and his people listen to God, and then they enjoy peace. Consider another good king, King Hezekiah. Near the end of his life, he does sin. And look at what happens in chapter 32, 25 through 26. 32, 25 through 26. But Hezekiah did not make return according to the benefit done to him, for his heart was proud. Therefore wrath came upon him and Judah and Jerusalem." There's that immediate retribution. But Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah." So you see kind of both operating there. But unfortunately, as we go through the book, the bad does outweigh the good in Chronicles. And let's look at some of those examples. In 12, 1 through 2, The rule of Rehoboam says this, this is 12, one through two. When the rule of Rehoboam was established and he was strong, he abandoned the law of the Lord and all Israel with him. In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, because they had been unfaithful to the Lord, Shishak, King of Egypt, came up against Jerusalem. However you pronounce that. So you see the pattern here. Okay, the nation abandons Yahweh and then suffers the immediate consequences are recounted for us. Another example, Amazah. I don't know how you say that either. I should have looked these up before I stood up here and tried to pronounce them. Chapter 25, verse 27. Amaziah, is that how you would say that? Probably that's more likely. Chapter 25, 27. From the time when he turned away from the Lord, they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish. But they sent after him to Lachish and put him to death there. So as soon as he leaves the ways of God, Amaziah is killed by his own people. Okay, so again, you see this immediate retribution recounted for us by Ezra. So the book is full of examples like these, both positives and negatives, where each generation is judged for its own behavior. Well, if we fast forward to the end of the book, we'll see where this sort of disobedience eventually led. Let's read 2 Chronicles 36, 15 through 20. 2 Chronicles 36, 15 through 20. says this, "'The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by His messengers, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising His words and scoffing at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord rose against His people, until there was no remedy. Therefore he brought up against them the kings of the Chaldeans. Now jump down to verse 19. And they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem and burned all the palaces with fire and destroyed all the precious vessels. He took into exile in Babylon those who had escaped by the sword. Okay, so remember, Ezra's writing this after the Babylonian exile, but this is him recounting the Babylonian exile, how it came about. But thankfully, that's not where the book of Chronicles ends. In verses 22 through 23, God moves a foreign king, we've talked about him quite a bit, Cyrus of Persia. God moves a foreign king, Cyrus of Persia, to free the people to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. But the principle of immediate retribution still stands. If these people, like their fathers, refuse to seek God, they will reap the bitter fruit of their rebellion. And though they're back in the land, their hearts are really no better than the hearts of their ancestors. That continues to be the main problem that, up to this point, has not been fully addressed. Any questions? I feel like I've just ran through this at breakneck speed, and just want to make sure if there's any questions or any comments that you all have time to give them. If not, we'll proceed. So even though they're back in the land, their hearts are no better than the hearts of their ancestors. So let's go and start moving towards a little bit of a conclusion. So at the end of Chronicles, is there no hope for God's people? What do y'all think? Is there no hope for God's people? No, of course not, right? The genealogies show how David's seed is still very much alive. That was the whole point of Ezra including him in that way. The focus of the temple reminds the people that God will build his house. All the focus on the temple, that's reminding the people of that. The house of David's son, okay, the one that was promised who would come as the Lord established this dynasty in David's name through the Davidic covenant. And in 2 Chronicles 21.7 says, yet the Lord was not willing to destroy the house of David because of the covenant that he had made with David. And since he had promised to give a lamp to him, excuse me, and to his sons forever. So you see that Chronicles does lead us directly to Christ, the fulfillment of all of God's promises. Jesus is the one who will rescue his people from the spiritual exile that the people still remain in. They still have hearts that are uncircumcised. They're still having to repeat these sacrifices over and over again, which may return them to the covenant community, but the blood of bulls and goats does nothing to take away sin, right? So there's still this spiritual exile that the people are waiting to be delivered from. And he is the promised son of David, and he is the true temple. And so the end of Chronicles is not a question mark. There's not a question mark of doubt about the people's future. It's really more, think of it more like a giant arrow pointing to the king of kings, the one who heals the land of God's people in the most ultimate of senses. So because Chronicles points us to Jesus, it's a wonderfully encouraging read. And here are a few ways that you might be able to apply it as we start wrapping up our time. First, I'd encourage you to not read Chronicles as a mere history. It is that, but it's more than that. But really it's a treasure trove as it points you to Him who is to come. Think about Ezra writing in the context he's writing, all these things are being reported and given to the people that they might anticipate the greater fulfillment that is to come. And that greater fulfillment is found in Christ. So read it and look for that, and I think you'll be encouraged by what you see. We should use Chronicles to boister our trust in Christ as we see the centuries old promises that he's fulfilled. That's exactly, that's good. So second, as we read Chronicles, we might be able to sympathize a little bit with the post-exilic people of God. Well, what do I mean like that? What do I mean by that? Well, just like them, we live kind of in the middle of this, you know, we hear the term already, not yet. They kind of lived in that, too, if you think about it. They've returned from exile. The temple is restored. There's a kingly figure there. The priests are kind of back. You kind of see this this budding fulfillment for them. And they're seeing that there, but they know this isn't everything. We're not done. There's still more here. And in a similar sense, we're there as well. In what ways are we there? How do we share in that condition? Yeah, we're waiting for the consummation. We're waiting for the second coming. Christ came. We kind of also live in this period of fulfillment, but we know that there's still more yet to come. And so in that way, you know, we can read about the people as they are in this time, and you might be able to kind of identify with them a little bit and what they're, you know, walking through. Just like them, we also live in the middle of an already not yet, waiting for Christ's return. So like the chronicler, was instructing these people, our hope shouldn't be in how optimistic our circumstances may make us. It doesn't come from earthly rulers or great church leaders. It comes from God's word of promise, right? Just like them, we need to look back to redemption history so we can have confidence that God will make good on His future promises. That's the point. We know that God's going to make good on His promises, and we see that fleshed out very much in the book of Chronicles. Any other comments or questions about that? Lastly, the last point that we want to leave you with, we should let the chroniclers focus on immediate retribution. The idea of this king did this, and then this was the consequence, and how he just illustrates that over and over again. This focus on immediate retribution, let it direct us to the cross. If we sinfully choose disobedience instead of God's ways, we will reap what we sow. Sin always has consequences, but praise God that if we are in Christ, Jesus has absorbed God's judgment against us at the cross. Knowing and savoring the gospel truth, that gospel truth will help us flee sin and embrace the repentant life that honors the Lord, which is so much of what the Chronicler was trying to spur the people to as well. Repentant life that honors the Lord as we recognize that the Son of God was the one who absorbed in His body the judgment that was due, that was our due. Any final questions or comments? I got through this way faster than I thought I would. Probably talked too fast. Sorry about that. What we're going to do next, just to let you all know, is Chopo is going to be here next week. And we're going to do something with him during Sunday school. I'll probably do an interview with him. So that'll be fun. We'll just do it in here. hear about their ministry, talk about some things, what they're dealing with, and pray for him. So it'll be a rich time. He's from Zambia, if y'all want to know Chopo. And then we'll have two weeks before we start our official summer missions kind of focus. And what I want to do is use those two weeks to kind of, because this is literally the last study in our entire Old Testament survey. So we have started in August and we conclude today, okay, with the Book of Chronicles. And what I want us to do next is kind of spend the next two weeks after CHOPO and do a little bit of an overview and just remind, you know, try to sum it all up in one kind of way, because it's been a long time since we started. So we'll do that for a few weeks, and then we'll jump into our summer missionary update series, which will be the first Sunday in May. So that's where we're going. Hope it's been edifying and helpful to you. I'm going to have Jake close us in prayer, if that's OK. Thanks.