Through the Bible - 1 Chronicles

So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it; And inquired not of the LORD: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse. (1 Chronicles 10:13–14)

Two themes run through Chronicles—the king and the temple—and both turn on a single question: where is the heart?

The Genealogy and the Principle of Inclusion

The books of 1 and 2 Chronicles cover much of the same history we already saw in Samuel and Kings. How many of us actually read every word of the first nine chapters? It's a tough one, because those chapters are a genealogy—a long list of hard-to-pronounce names. Yet genealogies in the Bible are always there for a reason, and even from these names God can teach us something important.

The genealogy begins with Adam—the very first word of the book. But notice: in Genesis, Adam's first sons were Cain and Abel. Here it says "Adam, Seth," with nothing about Cain and Abel. As you read these nine chapters, certain people are excluded. That's the principle to watch—inclusion and exclusion. Why are certain names dropped?

From Adam the line runs through Seth to Noah, who had three sons—Shem, Ham, and Japheth. A few names are listed from Ham and Japheth, but the focus narrows to Shem. Then it continues to Abraham, who had Ishmael—but Ishmael is excluded, and the focus goes to Isaac. Isaac had Esau and Jacob, but Esau is excluded and the line follows Jacob, whom God renamed Israel.

The King and the Temple

Israel had twelve sons who became twelve tribes, yet the book narrows down to just two: Judah and Levi. Why these two? Levi were the priests; Judah was the line of King David and ultimately of Christ. So the book moves from Adam down to two tribes because it is fundamentally about the king and the priesthood—the king and the temple.

We already looked at 1 and 2 Kings, which dealt with many kings—the nation divided into ten northern tribes and two southern tribes, with king after wicked king (only five good ones in all). But 1 Chronicles looks at one king, the true king, David. And 2 Chronicles will focus on David's line, from which the King of kings would come. So the spotlight is on David, the man after God's own heart, and on Levi, the priests.

Why God Excludes: It Is the Heart

Why this exclusion and inclusion? The answer is in 2 Chronicles 16:9: "the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him." God searches the whole earth for a heart that is loyal, completely given to Him. Acts calls David a man after God's own heart. That is why a person is included in God's work.

The clearest example of exclusion is Saul. The book of 1 Samuel is largely devoted to his life, yet 1 Chronicles gives him only fourteen verses, ending in chapter 10: "So Saul died for his transgression... therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David." God does not choose and exclude by rolling dice. Since the Reformation there has been great debate over election—some even teaching that God elects people to hell. But look at Jeremiah 17:

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. (Jeremiah 17:9–10)

God chooses those whose hearts are loyal to Him—still desperately wicked hearts, yes. David committed murder and adultery; he was not a perfect man, but he was a man whose heart was perfect toward God. Saul, by contrast, was filled with transgression and would not keep God's word. Esau, though his brother Jacob was a deceiver, was a profane man given to the passions of this world; he sought the blessing bitterly with tears but found no place for repentance. His heart was against the Lord.

It is like a bowl of cherries or grapes at the end of the night—a few gross ones are left on the bunch. You chose the good ones, the ones you knew would be fruitful, and left the ones whose condition you could see. God searches the heart. He knew Saul and Esau would reject Him, yet He reached out to them again and again. His patience is everywhere in their stories. What determines whether anyone is included in God's work has everything to do with the heart.

God Overlooks Weakness When the Heart Is His

Even when there are weaknesses within a person, God overlooks them when the heart is given to Him. David clearly had weaknesses, reported plainly in Scripture—none of us would want our weaknesses published in the eternal bestseller. But notice: 1 Chronicles never mentions David's sin with Bathsheba or his murder of Uriah. The timing is there—Joab going out to battle while David stayed home—but the sin itself is absent, because this book is about the king after God's own heart.

I take comfort in that. We have done and will do many things, yet the Lord knows our heart. When you sin, conviction comes; you desire to confess and repent. We see that in David's Psalm 51. If you can identify with Psalm 51, then on the testimony of Scripture all those sins are removed as far as the east is from the west, because Christ dealt with them on the cross. But if we are like Esau, refusing repentance, we abide under judgment.

David Reestablishes Worship

From chapter 11 on, the focus is entirely on David. What was his first act as king over all Israel? After ruling Judah seven years and then ascending the throne of all Israel, he reestablished worship—bringing the ark of the covenant back to Jerusalem. There is something vital in that. Consider Jesus' letter to Ephesus in Revelation 2: a church that looked great on the outside but had left its first love. Jesus says, "Repent, and do the first works." When David became king, he led the nation back to its first love—back to basics, back to worship. Under Saul they had forgotten the ark; it sat for years in a small town near the Philistines, almost out of mind, until the man after God's own heart said, "We've got to bring the ark back."

The Death of Uzzah and the Right Way to Approach God

But David didn't do it right at first. The reason for his disobedience is in 1 Chronicles 13:1—"David consulted with the captains of thousands and hundreds, and with every leader." He consulted the leaders, but he did not consult the Lord. They decided to carry the ark exactly as the Philistines had—on a cart. But David, the man after God's own heart, should have known how to handle the ark.

As they carried it, the cart apparently hit a bump, and a man named Uzzah reached out to steady the ark. "The anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah, and he smote him... and there he died before God." David's first response was displeasure—he was angry at God. Have you ever been there, trying to do right, things not working out, and you grow upset with God? Then verse 12: "And David was afraid of God that day, saying, How shall I bring the ark of God home to me?" That is the question he should have asked from the start—approaching the ark with reverence and fear. If he had started in verse 1 the way he ended in verse 12, Uzzah would likely still have been alive that day.

It reminds me of the disciples asking Jesus to teach them to pray (Luke 11). He says, "Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name." We approach God first with a reverence of His holiness. David instead went to the polls, so to speak. There is wisdom in the multitude of counselors (Proverbs)—it is good to ask those who are older in the Lord—but if you do not inquire of the Lord first and foremost, you will be in trouble.

Doing It Right the Second Time

David doesn't touch the ark again until chapter 15, and now everything changes. He assembles the children of Aaron and the Levites—not the captains of thousands and hundreds, but the priests. He tells them in verse 13, "the LORD our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not after due order." So the Levites sanctified themselves and bore the ark upon their shoulders with the staves, "as Moses commanded according to the word of the LORD." The second time, they did it right.

That's often how our lives go—we get it right the second time. Think of Jonah: "the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time." I'm thankful for that verse. David was just like us, not perfect, going through the same difficulties, yet this time he went before the Lord and asked, "What am I supposed to do?"

Paul warns in 2 Timothy 3:5 of those "having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." David's men had the appearance of godliness—they had the ark itself, the very representation of God's presence—yet they denied the power, and it was dangerous. There are people who "play church," who, as one man said, sow their wild oats on Saturday and pray for a crop failure on Sunday. Paul says turn away, because judgment will come.

Following the Word Precisely

This account is perhaps the best illustration in the Bible of following precisely what the Word of God says. David knew this. In Psalm 138:2 he wrote that God has "magnified thy word above all thy name." Isaiah 9 says "the zeal of the LORD" performs His word; Isaiah 55 says His word will not return void but accomplishes what He sends it to do. Revelation warns of judgment on those who tamper with His word. Yet in a moment of zealous joy David disobeyed by carrying the ark on a cart, and a man died. We must take this seriously when we serve the Lord.

From Tabernacle to Temple

In chapter 15 Israel brings the ark to Jerusalem with great joy—but notice David brings it not to the tabernacle (then in Gibeon) but to the city of the king. In the wilderness God's house had to be a tabernacle—mobile, like an RV—because the people were moving. But in the Promised Land there was no longer need for wandering. God intended His people to stay in the land, with His name dwelling in a settled place. (Interestingly, the geography of Jerusalem, with its three valleys, resembles the Hebrew letter shin, which represents Shaddai—the very letter that stands for God marks the city He chose for His name.)

"You Cannot Build Me a House—I Will Build You One"

Seeing the ark under a small tent while he lived in a palace, David tells Nathan he wants to build God a temple. Nathan says, "Do all that is in thine heart." But God tells Nathan that night that David has spoken too quickly. In chapter 17, God says David—a man of blood and war—cannot build the house; instead, "the LORD will build thee an house." God promises to establish David's name and raise up his son Solomon to build the temple.

When Solomon finally dedicates the temple, he says something amazing (1 Kings 8:17–18): it was in David's heart to build the house, and the Lord said, "Whereas it was in thine heart... thou didst well that it was in thine heart." This amazes me. I meet people all the time who longed to do something for the Lord—a mission field, a building, a ministry—and the door never opened. I remember Pastor Josh, when we did youth ministry together, planning an outreach trip that fell through. He was discouraged, and I was reminded of this verse: God said, in effect, "It was in your heart—you did well." God searches our hearts (Jeremiah 17:10) and is pleased with desires that are toward Him.

In chapters 18, 19, and 20 we see God fulfilling His promise—subduing David's enemies, the Philistines, the Moabites, the Ammonites—because God is true to His word. And He would use Solomon to build the temple David longed to build. That is a comfort: sometimes our desires are fulfilled through someone else, and we should rejoice. This year I told Pat I planned to go to China, but the door closed and Josh, Kelly, and Terry went instead. Kelly's first words when she got back were, "You missed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!" My honest reaction wasn't pure—jealousy can rise up; it's a work of the enemy—but at lunch I told her I was simply blessed that they got to go. Oh, that the Lord would give us that heart.

David Prepares for the Temple

See the heart of David: when God said his son would build the temple, David dedicated the rest of his life to preparing for it. He gathered the plans, the building materials, and the workmen, so that all Solomon had to do was, in a sense, show up and put the pieces in place. Much of the rest of the book is David preparing for the temple.

David's Census and the Threshing Floor

The one dark point is chapter 21: "Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel." In 2 Samuel 24 we read that God moved David to do it. How do we reconcile that? Consider 1 Kings 22, where the prophet Micaiah describes the Lord asking who will persuade Ahab to fall at Ramoth-gilead. A spirit comes forth and offers to be a lying spirit in the mouths of Ahab's prophets, and God says, "Go forth, and do so."

What the enemy uses to tempt you, God uses to test you. We see it plainly with Job: Satan claims Job only serves God for blessing, and God allows the trial. The enemy intends temptation; God intends a test. So with David—the census was a temptation from the enemy and a test from God.

Joab, of all people, becomes David's way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13 says God provides one). Joab says, in effect, "May the Lord multiply this kingdom a hundredfold, but why are you doing this? Why will you be a cause of trespass to Israel?" David himself wrote, "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God" (Psalm 20:7)—yet here he wants to count his fighting men to know his own strength. "Nevertheless the king's word prevailed against Joab." Joab obeyed, though "the king's word was abominable to Joab," and he refused even to count Levi and Benjamin. David failed the test.

God was displeased and sent a pestilence. David's heart breaks again with the Psalm 51 cry: "I have sinned greatly... do away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly." The prophet Gad offers three judgments, and David says, "Let me fall now into the hand of the LORD; for very great are his mercies." Seventy thousand men fell. As the destroying angel stretched out his sword over Jerusalem, the Lord relented—"It is enough." David, like Moses before the golden calf, pleads: "Even I it is that have sinned... but as for these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand... be on me, and on my father's house." That is a heart wholly given to God.

Then David, at Gad's word, buys the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite—refusing to offer to God that which cost him nothing—pays six hundred shekels of gold, builds an altar, and the Lord answers by fire from heaven and stays the angel's sword. And here is the beautiful turn: Romans 8:28—God works all things together for good. That very piece of land becomes the site of the temple. David declares, "This is the house of the LORD God, and this is the altar of the burnt offering for Israel." From his sin, God brings the place where worship would be established forever.

"Arise Therefore, and Be Doing"

From chapter 22 to the end, David gathers the strangers, the masons, the gold, silver, and stone, and organizes the Levites for service. His charge to Solomon is powerful (22:11–13): "Only the LORD give thee wisdom and understanding... that thou mayest keep the law of the LORD thy God. Then shalt thou prosper... be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed."

David tells Solomon he has prepared gold, silver, brass, iron without weight, timber, and stone—then adds, "and thou mayest add thereto." Underline that. Sometimes we look at the house of God, see everything running smoothly, and think, "They don't need my help." But God wants to use you too. "There are workmen with thee in abundance... Arise therefore, and be doing, and the LORD be with thee." There is a work for you to do. That exhortation is mine to you as well.

In chapter 28 David gives the work over to Solomon: "And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts... if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever." There again is the theme of the whole book—inclusion and exclusion, turning on the heart. "Take heed now; for the LORD hath chosen thee to build an house for the sanctuary: be strong, and do it."

That is a great place to end. God sees the heart of man and is pleased with a heart given to Him. The eyes of the Lord look to and fro to find a heart loyal to Him. Like living stones (1 Peter), we are built up into His house. So David's word to Solomon is His word to us: you have been chosen to be part of His work—be strong, and do it.

Closing Prayer

God, I thank You for the exhortation of 1 Chronicles. Thank You for this book that so clearly shows the king and the temple. Lord, I pray that we would recognize You as our King, and that You have made us Your temple. How awesome it is, Lord, to be the temple of the Holy Spirit. Help us to be yielded to You. Just as David exhorted Solomon to be strong and do it, Lord, there is a work You've called us to—we can add to what's going on in Your kingdom; we can be used in it. All we have to do is be strong and do it, and You are the One who gives us strength, just as Paul said in 2 Corinthians: when we are weak, then You are strong in us. So be strong in us and help us to do the work, for as Paul said in Philippians 2, it is You who works in us both to will and to do Your good pleasure. God, work in us this week, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.