began reigning after Israel’s fall Refer to outside sources for a discussion of this question What view does Chart 45 represent? 13 and Chronicles: Judah During the Years of Monarchy The two books of Chronicles focus primarily on the religious foundations and fortunes of Judah, the covenant people of Jehovah, during the years of the kings Their content is solid history, but the selective character of that content reveals a thoroughgoing theological and spiritual purpose in all the books’ pages Of that purpose Gleason Archer writes that the books were composed with a very de nite purpose in mind, to give to the Jews of the Second Commonwealth the true spiritual foundations of their theocracy as the covenant people of Jehovah This historian’s purpose is to show that the true glory of the Hebrew nation was found in its covenant relationship to God, as safeguarded by the prescribed forms of worship in the temple and administered by the divinely ordained priesthood under the protection of the divinely authorized dynasty of David Always the emphasis is upon that which is sound and valid in Israel’s past as furnishing a reliable basis for the task of reconstruction which lay ahead Great stress is placed upon the rich heritage of Israel and its unbroken connection with the patriarchal beginnings (hence the prominence accorded to genealogical lists).1 If the books of Chronicles were written after the Babylonian Captivity was over, one can see why the writer emphasized such things as heritage, covenant, Temple, dangers of apostasy, and Messianic hopes in the Davidic line For now that the Jews had returned to their homeland under Ezra’s leadership, they needed every encouragement and persuasion to rebuild the theocracy that had collapsed over a hundred years earlier The books of Chronicles are a “clear warning to the people never again to forsake the temple and the worship of the living God.”2 I PREPARATION FOR STUDY Review the general contents of Samuel and the two books of Kings, since much of their reporting is duplicated in Chronicles (More than half of the content of Chronicles is included in Genesis, Samuel, and Kings.) Despite the duplication, not consider your study of Chronicles as a repeat exercise Like all other books of the Bible, and Chronicles serve a distinct function in ... During the Years of Monarchy The two books of Chronicles focus primarily on the religious foundations and fortunes of Judah, the covenant people of Jehovah, during the years of the kings Their... give to the Jews of the Second Commonwealth the true spiritual foundations of their theocracy as the covenant people of Jehovah This historian’s purpose is to show that the true glory of the Hebrew... safeguarded by the prescribed forms of worship in the temple and administered by the divinely ordained priesthood under the protection of the divinely authorized dynasty of David Always the emphasis