1 and 2 CHRONICLES

Again these two books are really one that is continued in the stories of Ezra and Nehemiah. Chronicles covers genealogies (1 Chronicles 1-9), David as king (1 Chronicles 9-29), Solomon as king (2 Chronicles 1-9), and Judah to its destruction by Babylon and restoration under the Persian king Cyrus (2 Chronicles 10-36).

It was written for exiles who had returned to Israel after the Babylonian captivity to remind them of God’s faithfulness. Much of it echoes the information in 1 and 2 Samuel as well as 1 and 2 Kings, but it’s interesting to see what was emphasized here to reinforce the author’s themes.

EZRA, NEHEMIAH

Once more we encounter two books that were originally one in the Hebrew Bible. They cover a shift in world events—Assyria and Babylon have diminished while Persia has grown into a vast power that will rule the area for the next 200 years.

Because Persia had a different philosophy of ruling, the rulers were inclined to let conquered people who had been displaced by the previous powers go back to their native lands. So, in 537 B.C. Israelites under the leadership of Zerubbabel went back to the promised land to start rebuilding their temple (see Ezra 1-6).

Later, Ezra and Nehemiah led a group who returned to Israel in 458 B.C. to begin rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and restoring the city (see Ezra 7-10 and Nehemiah 1-13). One interesting aspect of this return to the land is the fate of the northern ten tribes which had been carried away by Assyria. They were so dispersed and so much time had gone by before the Persians came on the scene that they never came back as a group to their land. This story of the “lost tribes of Israel” fed a great deal of speculation as to their fate.

Meanwhile, the Jews who did return (mostly from the tribe of Judah) encountered difficulties back in their land, so the leaders pushed for Jewish exclusivism—no Gentile customs or Gentile people were to be accepted by the group. This helped keep a Jewish national and religious identity intact. The key question of the returned exiles was simple—were they still the chosen people of God who could rely on his promises and who could still depend on him as had past generations?