In terms of number of words, Proverbs is somewhere in between Nehemiah and Daniel in size. Like psalms, it is poetry and is best read as lines. Think about the relationship between the two lines in a verse in order to understand the truth the verse is communicating. Much of Proverbs is antithetical parallelism, contrasting the path of wisdom with that of the foolish. The Hebrew word “proverb” comes from a verb that means “to represent” or “to be like.” Thus, the proverbs in Proverbs often employ comparisons or contrasts in order to make their point.

The book of Proverbs has six sections.

Section One - Proverbs 1:1-7
Its brief preface (1:1-7) explains the purpose of the entire book and emphasizes that the fear of the Lord is necessary to the acquisition of any true knowledge (v. 7). The fear of the Lord is a central theme in Proverbs (1:7; 2:5; 9:10; 10:27; 14:26-27; 15:16, 33; 16:6; 19:23; 22:4). Proverbs classifies people’s attitude towards the wisdom of fearing God as essentially threefold: the simple, the wise, and the fool. The wise are the most responsive to a book like Proverbs, even though they are already wise. The fool is most in need of Proverbs but it is high unlikely he or she will listen. The simple is the person not yet fully decided as to whether they will choose the path of wisdom or the path of the fool.

Section Two - Proverbs 1:8-9:18
The next nine chapters (1:8-9:18) extol wisdom with the goal of convincing the reader to make wisdom a chief pursuit in his or her life. If the simple will heed these chapters, they have a chance of becoming wise. What emerges in these chapters is that walking in the path of wisdom is a protection, a shield from the evil that can so easily destroy you. These nine chapters are also full of words for way, path, or road. Underline every such word you come to as you read these chapters. I count 52 occurrences. How many do you come up with? Proverbs 9 sets forth clearly the two ways, each with a woman beckoning the traveler. The traveler must choose between Lady Wisdom or Lady Folly. Which will be your choice?

Section Three - Proverbs 10:1-22:16
The remaining chapters of Proverbs set forth what the path of wisdom and the path of folly look like in everyday life. These chapters contain the short, pithy, true-to-life maxims for which Proverbs is primarily known. Proverbs 10:1-22:16 contain 375 proverbs, virtually all one-verse in length. Even in these chapters we see the word way or path repeated. There is a way to life and a way to death, as different from each other as Cain from Abel. The way you think is right may actually be the way to death. You cannot “follow your heart”; you must follow the pathway Proverbs maps out as wisdom. Every aspect of life is impacted by which pathway you choose: your speech, work ethic, choice of companions, business ethics, spending practices, behavior toward kings, treatment of the poor, discipline of children, and response to insults. Wisdom is the skill of choosing what pleases God in all of these areas and more, and the consequences for making the wrong choices are severe (14:12).

Section Four - Proverbs 22:17-24:34
The next section of Proverbs is two collections of wise sayings, probably compiled and edited by Solomon (22:17-24:34), that break out of the one-verse proverb pattern of Proverbs 10:1-22:16. Proverbs 25-29 is another collection of Solomon’s proverbs, put together in Hezekiah’s day. (Remember that Solomon composed and/or amassed some 3,000 proverbs.) Note the repeated use of picturesque similes in chapters 25-26. Reflect on the simile to catch the point being conveyed.

Section Five and Six - Proverbs 30-31
Two appendices (chs. 30-31) close the book, each written by an unknown figure. Our assumption is that Solomon recognized the merits of their respective wisdom and chose, under inspiration, to include it with his other proverbs. Proverbs 31:10-31 is an acrostic—the virtuous woman from A to Z.
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So  . . . are you wise? Test yourself as you read through Proverbs. Where you see a weakness in a certain area of your life, do a topical study of all that Proverbs says on that topic. Proverbs should challenge you, not discourage you. One key difference between the righteous and the wicked is not that the former never falls but that he gets back up again when he does (24:16). After all, wisdom is a skill, and a skill improves with experience, knowledge, effort, and a teachable spirit. The willingness to be corrected (in order to improve) is a sign of a wise person. Teach a wise man and he acquires knowledge (21:11). Proverbs will make you wiser if you will heed it.

There are several unique features in Psalms 101-150, but let me begin our discussion by suggesting a strategy for reading the psalms and any other biblical poetry.

Poetic Lines
Biblical poetry is best read as lines. A Bible version with poetic layout is a great help in this regard. Take Psalm 115:3, with its two lines, as an example:

“But our God is in the heavens;
All He desires He does.”

Typically a verse will have two and maybe three lines. Read each verse and ask yourself: what is the relationship of the line below to the line above it? The relationship is typically one of three options:

1. Synonymous—where the second line restates the first but with some variation in order to highlight a detail (e.g., 117:1)
2. Antithetical—where the second line gives a contrast to the first line (138:6)
3. Developing—where the second line develops the first in some way

Psalm 123:1 is an example of a “developing relationship,” where the second line explains who “you” is in the first line. In Psalm 115:2, the second line gives the content of what the nations say. Psalm 115:3, our example above, is also “developing”: the result of God’s living in the heavens is that He is unfettered by earthly limitations.

Psalm 110--a purely Messianic psalm
In our discussion of Psalms 1-50, we listed five primary psalm types: praise, lament, thanksgiving, confidence, and wisdom. In treating Psalms 51-100, we suggested the additional psalm type of Zion songs or psalms of worship. Psalms 101-150 provides a good opportunity to bring up messianic psalms since Psalm 110 is the psalm most quoted in the New Testament and possibly the most purely Messianic of all the psalms. Royal or messianic psalms often use words like David, king, or anointed. Because David is a type of Messiah, these psalms often anticipate the “Greater than David” who will someday reign on earth. Psalm 110 is a Davidic psalm in which David calls the Messiah “my Lord.” Jesus seizes upon the unexpected nature of David’s calling one of his sons “my Lord” in His conversations with the religious leaders of His day (Matt 22:42-45). See if you can spot another psalm in our reading for today that repeats the name David four times.

Psalm collections
Psalms 101-150 contain a number of important collection of psalms. The first is Psalms 113-118, sometimes referred to as the “Egyptian Hallel” or as simply “The Hallel.” Hallel is the Hebrew word for “praise.” These psalms praise God for His deliverance of Israel and are read at various Jewish yearly festivals. Psalm 118:22 contains an important Messianic prophecy to which Jesus (Matt. 21:42) and Peter (Acts 4:11; 1 Peter 2:4, 7) alluded in the New Testament. Psalms 120-134 are all titled “songs of degrees” or “songs of ascent.” These songs were sung by pilgrims as they ascended to Jerusalem for worship. Psalms 146-150 all begin and end with the words Hallelu-Yah or “Praise Yahweh,” creating a crescendo of praise that brings the book of Psalms to a dramatic close. “Let everything with breath praise Yahweh” (150:6).

The acrostic of Psalm 119
Psalms 101-150 also contains the longest psalm in the entire psalter. Psalm 119 is long, in part, because it is an acrostic employing the entire Hebrew alphabet of 22 letters. That’s why the psalm has 22 sections. Many Bibles will include a Hebrew letter before each of the 22 sections. That Hebrew letter is the letter with which each of the eight verses in that section begins. So, for example, in the section titled zayin (vv. 49-56), every verse begins with the letter zayin. Because the Hebrew word “remember,” begins with the letter zayin, it is easy to understand why the word “remember” occurs only here in all of Psalm 119 (vv. 49, 52, 55). Psalm 119, of course, is a prayer that expresses the psalmist’s relationship to God’s Word. It is as if he has organized his prayer from A to Z!

Examples of poetic artistry
Psalms 101-150 contain many other examples of poetic artistry beside the acrostic of Psalm 119. Psalm 136’s pithiness becomes more apparent when you recognize its brevity of expression. This is the psalm in which every verse ends with the refrain “for His enduring loyalty is forever.” In Hebrew, this refrain is three words with a total of six syllables--ki le‘olam chasdo—creating a short, staccato-like response to everything the psalm says about God. Psalms 101-150 also contain much imagery. Psalm 114 personifies the sea as being afraid and the mountains as skipping (vv. 3-4). “The net is broken and we have escaped” (124:7) dramatically pictures Israel’s harrowing escape from her enemies. Children are not just declared a blessing; they are likened to arrows (Ps. 127:4). Artistry also appears in the way the psalmist will use semantic rhyme (rhymes of meaning) to develop a theme. In Psalm 118:10-12, he interchanges the words “surrounded” and “destroyed” in order to make his point. In vv. 15-16, note the triple repetition of “right hand.”

Two themes in Psalm 101-150
Psalm 101-150 reiterate a couple of important themes. One is God’s willingness to bless not just Israel but all those who fear Him. Fearing God becomes a term for a genuine follower or worshiper of God (115:11; 118:4; 119:74, 79; 128:1, 4; 135:20; 145:19; 147:11). Another phrase unique (at least in the Hebrew formulation of it) to Psalm 101-150 is God as “Maker of heaven and earth” (115:15; 121:2; 124:8; 134:3; 146:6). Only the One who makes heaven and earth is God. His name is Yahweh, and the help He offers His people is invaluable and impenetrable.

We continue today our reading of the book of Psalms by reading Psalms 51-100.

Once again notice how each psalm is a stand-alone composition that introduces a theme, develops it, and then concludes it. As you read each psalm, look for refrains and repeated words or phrases that suggest the thematic emphasis of that psalm. Examples of psalms with refrains are Psalm 56, 57, and 80.

A number of psalms have repeated words or phrases:

• Psalm 59 - Refuge (vv. 9, 16-17)
• Psalm 62 - God alone (vv. 1-2, 5-6)
• Psalm 69 - Reproach (vv. 7, 9, 10, 19, 20)
• Psalm 70 - Hurry (vv. 1, 5)
• Psalm 71 - Youth v. old age (vv. 5-6, 9, 17-18)
• Psalm 76 - God to be feared (vv. 7, 11-12)
• Psalm 97 - Words for rejoicing (vv. 1, 8, 11-12)
• Psalm 98 - Shout (vv. 4, 6, 12)
• Psalm 99 - He is holy (vv. 3, 5, 9)

These repeated words or phrases reflect a psalm’s unique emphasis. For example, no other psalm uses the word refuge (misgab) more than Psalm 59, and reproach occurs more times in Psalm 69 than in any other.

Sometimes themes recur across multiple psalms. For example, in today’s reading look for references to God’s people Israel as the sheep of His pasture (74:1; 79:13, 95:7; 100:3). God as the just Judge of all the earth occurs in several psalms (67:4; 75:2, 7; 82:1, 8; 94:2; 96:13; 98:9). Since Psalms 93-99 so emphasize God’s reigning (93:1; 96:10; 97:1; 99:1), they are sometimes viewed as a collection of kingship or royal psalms. While some psalms are decidedly Jewish (Ps. 83, 78), the kingship psalms broaden the scope to include all nations: “Sing to Yahweh a new song; sing to Yahweh all the earth” (96:1). All the earth, not just Israel, is included in God’s kingship and all will give account to Him as judge (96:13).

Many other psalms in our reading today are significant for other reasons.

• Psalm 51 is the best-known of the penitential psalms—the psalms that lament one’s sinfulness and beg for pardon.
• Psalm 73 is a premiere example of wrestling with why the wicked prosper and the righteous seemingly do not.
• Psalm 79 presents a post-exilic viewpoint of Jerusalem in smoking ruins.
• Psalm 72 prays for the Davidic king in terminology that reminds of David’s forever king, Messiah (vv. 7-9).
• Psalm 89 reminds God of His promised faithfulness to the Davidic Covenant.
• Psalm 90, the oldest of all the psalms, is written by Moses and, fittingly, reminds us of God’s eternality and man’s brevity.
• Psalms 76, 84, and 87 are sometimes classified as worship psalms or Zion psalms, as they bring up Zion or God’s dwelling place as a place of deliverance, worship or pilgrimage.

As you read the psalms, keep in mind that they are short lyric poetry. That is, short musical poems in which the poet offers personal reflections or expresses deep emotions. In poetically expressing these emotions, the biblical poets use the standard “paint brushes” of virtually all poets: brevity, imagery, and artistic techniques native to the culture or language in which they are writing. For examples of the artistry of Hebrew poetry, note how the psalmist incorporates the imagery of “shooting arrows” in Psalm 74 and employs semantic “rhyming” in Psalm 57:6-10.

Psalm 100, the last psalm in our reading today, closes with a rather common refrain of Israel: “God is good and His covenant loyalty endures forever” (v. 5a). David appointed special singers and musicians to sing this refrain before the Lord (1 Chron. 16:34). As the singers repeated this refrain in Solomon’s day, the glory of God filled the Temple like a cloud (2 Chron. 5:13-14). Even after the Babylonian Exile, The priests and the Levites still echo this refrain (Ezra 3:10-11).
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The Hebrew word translated “covenant loyalty” above is chesed, an important term for God’s unfailing, loyal love, especially as seen in His dealings with Israel. However, all the earth should celebrate God’s forever-enduring chesed because while Israel may be the special showcase of God’s chesed, God never intended them to be His only trophy. God’s dealings with Israel are the lens through which the world can see that Yahweh is a God of chesed. This should offer hope to all people that if they too will enter into a relationship with Yahweh, they will experience this same chesed.

Here are some observations to keep in mind while reading the Psalms and especially for reading Psalms 1-50.

First, the Psalms are divided into five books: chapters 1-41, 42-72, 73-89, 90-106, 107-150.

• Book One - Psalms 1-41
• Book Two - Psalms 42-72
• Book Three - Psalms 73-89
• Book Four - Psalms 90-106
• Book Five - Psalms 107-150

If you have never noticed this before, flip to the end psalm in each of the five books and notice how it ends in a doxology (41:13; 72:18-20; 89:52; 106:48; 150:1-6 [the whole psalm functions as a doxology]).

Second, virtually all the psalms in the first “book” of psalms (Ps. 1-41) are Davidic. Only three do not claim to be Davidic, and the New Testament confirms that one of those (Psalm 2) was written by David. It could be that all 41 are Davidic.

Third, reading Psalms is unique from reading other books of the Bible because each chapter, with only a few exceptions (such as Psalms 42-43), is a stand-alone composition. While in other books of Scripture, a flow of thought extends through the book from start to finish, each chapter in the Psalms has its own internal development. Thus, in each psalm, the author introduces a theme, develops that theme, and then concludes it, all within the framework of that psalm.

Fourth, in reading the Psalms you will feel, at times, like you are reading a Jewish book of prayer. You are! Thus, you will read of divine deliverances for Jacob (44:4), references to Jerusalem (Ps. 15, 46, 48), and encouragements for the Davidic king (Ps. 18, 20-21). Psalm 37 gives advice for dwelling in the land of Israel. “How happy is the nation whose God is Yahweh” may have some application to any nation, but it specifically applies to Israel—“the people He has chosen for His inheritance” (33:12). At the same time, the psalms are for all peoples because God is a great King over all the earth (47:2, 7, 8-9), and all peoples need to heed the advice given in the psalms (49:1). Think of it this way: Jacob’s God invites you to praise Him for what He has done for Israel and to discover in Him that same praiseworthiness for yourself.

Fifth, the psalms fall into at least five major kinds or types:

• praise
• thanksgiving
• lament 
• confidence
• wisdom

It is not uncommon for a psalms to be a mix, such as Psalm 22 which begins as a lament and ends in praise. A praise psalm extols God for who He is or what He has done. A thanksgiving psalm, like Psalm 34, thanks God for some specific deliverance or answer to prayer. In a lament psalm, the psalmist works through a difficult situation by taking his problem(s) to the Lord. Of the 61 lament psalms (by my count), 20 are found in the first “book” of the Psalms. Confidence psalms, of which Psalm 23 is a prime example, express a confident trust in God. Wisdom psalms reminds those listening of the blessedness of fearing God and what fearing God looks like (e.g., Psalm 1, 37). Virtually every possible human emotion is expressed in the psalms. Identifying a psalm’s type is a guide to the kind of emotion being expressed in the psalm and gives an idea of how to use the psalm in your own communion with God.

Sixth, communion with God really is the purpose of the psalms. The psalms should be sung and prayed more than taught or preached. If reading the psalms does not move you to pray or sing, you have failed to appropriate what you read. After all, psalms are songs! Allow the psalm to move you to the kind of prayer or communion with God that it exemplifies. Lament psalms demonstrate how to commune with God when the bottom falls out of life. Praise psalms help you articulate the greatness of God. Wisdom psalms call you back to the way that leads to life. Let the psalmist’s words and emotions stir up similar responses of your own. Have none of your own? Pray the psalmist’s until you develop your own worship vocabulary.
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Much of Scripture is an inspired record of God’s words to His people. The psalms are different in that many of them are an inspired record of God’s people’s words to Him. That should tell us something. If communion with God is important enough to preserve for us inspired patterns of it, God must greatly desire the prayers, petitions, praise, and thanksgiving of His saints. Jesus truly does stand at the door and knock, wishing fellowship with any believer who will open the door for Him (Rev. 3:20).

​In the book of Job, God is the major figure in the spotlight, not Job. The chess game is between God and Satan; Job is just a pawn caught in the match between them. Satan aims not to destroy Job but God—to prove to all cosmic watchers that God’s followers remain loyal to Him only because He pays them well. Job’s stubborn refusal to turn from God and determination to worship Him is a vindication of the greatness and glory of God.

To be honest, though, the book of Job takes us even deeper than a cosmic chess match between two unequal players, God and Satan. Satan never makes a reappearance after Job 2, but God and His ways are on trial throughout the book as Job, his three friends, and the younger Elihu try to make sense of what God is doing in Job’s case. None came up with the right answer.

The three rounds of conversations that comprise the bulk of Job build to a climax. Feeling the rising tension as you read will enable you to appreciate the book’s conclusion. The book of Job begins with two chapters of prose introduction, to the principal characters of the story: Job, God, Satan, and Job’s three friends. Job loses everything but refuses to blame God in any way.

Round One (Job 3-31)
Job 3 is where Round One of the conversations begin. Job opens the conversation, not by questioning God overtly, but by lamenting his own existence. Such a complaint implies that Job has not received fair treatment from God, an implication the three friends pounce upon. As the conversation cycles, the three friends stick to their guns: God punishes the wicked and blesses the righteous. If you are experiencing trouble, then you must be wicked. Repent and your life pathway will smooth out again. Initially, the friends treat Job rather kindly as they press their theology on him, but as the conversation continues they get increasingly harsh.

Job also stays his ground: he is not suffering because of any specific sin he has committed. He avers unswerving loyalty to God. But Job does have questions—lots of them—for God. God has unfairly made him the target of His wrath, and Job would like a chance to argue his case with Him. Job even denies, on occasion, that one can tell a person’s moral standing before God just by their prosperity or lack thereof—a proposition his friends find intolerable—but Job does believe fearing the Lord is wisdom (28:28). The lengthy conversation with the three friends ends by Job’s making a final defense of his integrity (chapter 31). Round One is over.

Round Two (Job 32-37)
Round Two brings Elihu into the ring with Job. He is upset with Job’s friends because they failed to silence Job, and he is upset with Job because Job justified himself instead of God. Elihu has a valid point (that Job justified himself more than God) and correctly views chastisement as a way for God to open our ears to His instruction (36:15), but even he comes short of the mark in putting his finger on why Job is suffering.

Are there any other answers out there as to why Job has suffered the loss of fortune, family, and reputation?

Round Three (Job 38-41)
In Round Three, God speaks and provides the answers that have been needed all along. But He answers by not giving an answer at all. Both His speeches (chs. 38-39, 40-41) are almost nothing but questions.

Questions for Job.

Questions that reveal that Job knows nothing about running the universe and that Job is powerless to control creatures--like Behemoth and Leviathan--that God created and, therefore, easily controls. Although God provides Job with no answers as to the why of his suffering, Job, remarkably, walks away fully satisfied. He confesses his ignorance, realizes he has spoken rashly, and repents.

In the prose conclusion to the book (ch. 42), God accepts Job’s repentance, commends Job before Job’s three friends, and blesses Job with double what he had enjoyed before.

The key point that emerges from these three rounds of conversations (although Rounds Two and Three are more monologues than conversations) is that we do not have and we do not need answers to life’s greatest enigmas.  We need rather trust that the sovereign God--who runs our universe and everyone and everything in it--is wise, good, all-knowing, and all-powerful.

As you read Job, look for these five themes:

1. How Job’s speeches often turn into prayers as he takes his frustrations to the Lord
2. How the three friends insist that calamity is an infallible sign of divine displeasure
3. How Job insists on his righteousness (6:10; 9:21; 24:4-5)
4. How suffering is an issue of divine sovereignty and not Satanic power (1:21; 2:3, 10; 42:11)
5. How God’s questions affirm His omniscience, sovereignty, wisdom, and power

 

Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther relate events during the postexilic period. The postexilic period is the time after the return from Babylonian exile when God used various individuals to bring physical and spiritual reformation to His people. Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther tell four parts of the story of the postexilic period. Here are those four parts in chronological order.

Ezra 1-6. The “First Return” and the rebuilding of the Temple
The book of Ezra begins where the book of 2 Chronicles ends. Ezra’s first six chapters tell the story of those who went up from Babylon to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple. It covers a roughly 23-year period of time from the first year of Persian King Cyrus (538 BC) to the eventual completion of the Temple (by March or April or 515). These six chapters actually take place before the life of Ezra himself. The key leaders during this first return from Babylon were Sheshbazzar, Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Haggai, and Zechariah. As you read these chapters, note how opposition caused the Temple rebuilding to cease and how God’s stirring them up through His prophets re-energized the Temple rebuilding project, enabling the postexilic community to finish. Opposition to every effort to restore Jerusalem and Judah is a recurring theme in Ezra and Nehemiah. Ezra 4:6-23, in fact, contains a historical parenthesis that highlights opposition faced at various points during the postexilic period.

Esther 1-10. God’s providential protection of the Jews
Chronologically, the story of Esther fits in between the First Return (Ezra 1-6) and the Second Return (Ezra 7-10). King Ahasuerus, Esther’s royal husband, is the King Xerxes of Persian history. The book of Esther never uses the name of God and even seems in places to deliberately avoid a direct reference to God. Esther will mention fasting but never prayer, rejoicing but never praise to God. Pagans do not turn to God they “become Jews” (8:17). Clear throughout the book, though, is the invisible hand of God delivering His people from one of the greatest dangers they ever faced as a nation. When heaven seems most silent, God may actually be most present. As you read Esther, take note of the way God quietly orchestrates events along the way.

Ezra 7-10. The “Second Return” and spiritual reformation
Ezra 7 introduces us to Ezra himself, the diligent scribe in the Law of God and direct descendant of Aaron the high priest. Ezra leads a return from Babylon during the reign of the Persian King Artaxerxes, about 80 years after the first return (458 BC). Ezra worked to bring his people back to obedience to the law of God and was especially concerned about Jews who had intermarried with the pagan peoples of the land Such intermarriage would lead to the very idolatry that had landed them in exile in Babylon in the first place. A repeated expression in Ezra 7-10 (and in Nehemiah) is the good hand of God at work on their behalf as the chief reason for every success achieved (7:6, 9, 28; 8:18, 22, 31). Note also how often reference is made to the house of God. Ezra’s work of calling the Jews back to the Law is inseparably connected with the worship at the Temple.

Nehemiah 1-13. The “Third Return” and rebuilding the walls
Thirteen years after Ezra’s return from Babylon, Nehemiah led a return back to Jerusalem from Susa, where he was serving as cupbearer to King Artaxerxes. His chief burden in returning was to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem that had recently been damaged again, but he also did much to restore Temple worship (see 10:32-38). Nehemiah and Ezra were contemporaries and their efforts converge in Nehemiah 8, where Ezra reads the words of God to the people. Fresh comprehension of God’s words brought joy and was part of a series of events that led to a much-needed repopulating of the city (see 7:4-5; 11:1-3).

Nehemiah was a vigorous leader who could get quite confrontational at times (see Neh. 13:25) but who also had discernment in dealing with the many attempts to stop the work of rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls. Above all he was a man of prayer, and as you read of what he accomplished, note how many times he prays. He worked unremittingly, but he also prayed without ceasing. His prayers often use the word remember, as he petitions God to be mindful of what he has attempted to do for Him, what others are doing to oppose his work, and what God Himself has promised (1:8; 5:19; 6:14; 13:14, 22, 29, 31).                               

In 1 Chronicles, Ezra suggested the following guiding principles for the post-exilic community to whom he was writing:

• David was the one God chose to make a forever covenant with 
  
• Jerusalem was the place where He chose to put His name
  
• The Temple there was where He chose to be sincerely and exclusively worshiped

These guiding principles are the formula for Israel’s success in the land God had given to their ancestors. If they want to continue in the land, shepherded by Davidic descendants and serve the God whose Temple is in their midst, they must remain faithful to Him. 2 Chronicles proves these guiding principles by showing how those kings who held to them—especially those who remained faithful to God and labored for His Temple—prospered, while those who did not experienced chastisement. 2 Chronicles gives honor to those kings who honored God’s house and exposes the guilt of those who did not.

Two key words in 2 Chronicles are “abandon” and “humble.” (Only Jeremiah uses the word “abandon” more than 2 Chronicles.) The two words go together. 2 Chronicles warns against abandoning the Lord as early as God’s response to Solomon’s prayer. If Israel turns away from the Lord and abandons obedience to Him, the consequences will be severe. They will be uprooted from their land and from the Temple and banished from God’s presence (7:19-22).  But if or when chastisement comes for abandoning the Lord, the needed response is to humble oneself before the Lord. This is the point of perhaps the most famous verse in 2 Chronicles: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (7:14).

The pattern of abandoning the Lord and then humbling oneself before Him is a major theme in 2 Chronicles. Rehoboam abandons the Law of the Lord (12:1) but then humbles himself when chastisement came (12:7). Abijah asserts as a reason why God will help Judah in battle is that they did not abandon the Lord like Jeroboam had done in the Northern Kingdom (13:10-11). God through Azariah the prophet promises Asa that as long as they seek God, God will be found by them, but if they abandon Him He will abandon them (15:2). Sadly, Asa does abandon his sole dependence on God and refuses to humble himself (16:7, 12).

God shows Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is perfect toward Him (16:9). But those who abandon Him and His ways face terrible consequences, as seen in the lives of kings Jehoram (21:10), Joash (24:18, 20, 24), and Ahaz (28:6), whereas godly kings like Hezekiah realize the wrath such abandonment caused and call Israel to turn back to Yahweh (29:6-10). In fact, Judah’s abandonment of the Lord to burn incense to idols will bring sure judgment upon the nation (34:24-25). The Temple was not intended to be a good luck charm or a monument to architectural ability, but rather the place where His people would worship Him solely. Manasseh provides a fascinating example of a king who abandoned the Lord, worshipping everything else but Him, but received singular grace and help from the Lord when he humbled himself (33:12). Amon followed his father’s sin but not his father’s humility (33:23).

2 Chronicles gives extended treatment and commendation to those kings who worked for the good of the Temple. 2 Chronicles begins with Solomon and the majority of the chapters (chs. 1-9) devoted to his reign focus on his building the Temple. Work on his own palace is given only passing mention. Jehoshaphat, despite his compromise with Ahab’s house, did much good by sending Levitical “teaching teams” to instruct Judah in the law of the Lord (17:9). Jehoshaphat labored to bring Judah back to the Lord God of their fathers (19:4) and himself demonstrated confidence in the Lord when up against an innumerable foe (see ch. 20). Even though Joash finished his life and reign poorly, his work to repair the Temple is noted (24:4). Hezekiah and Josiah receive extended treatment and implied praise in 2 Chronicles as stand-out examples of two men who restored the worship of Yahweh at the Temple. Both called Israel to Passover celebrations virtually unparalleled in the nation’s history (30:25-26; 35:18).

Judah’s abandonment of the Lord and refusal to humble themselves before His prophets (36:12) brought the nation to a point of no remedy (36:17). Just as God had warned, He took them into exile, the Temple articles were carried into Babylon, and the Temple itself was burned (36:7, 10, 18-20).

But God in His covenant mercy to His people and in faithfulness to His promise to David will not utterly abandon His people nor His Temple, which is the note of hope on which 2 Chronicles ends: “Yahweh, the God of heaven . . . has commissioned me to build Him a house in Jerusalem . . . who among you from all His people may Yahweh His God be with him and let him go up” (36:23).

No book of the Bible covers more time than 1 Chronicles: the first word of 1 Chronicles is Adam, and the last verse of the book is about David. In addition, Chronicles, originally viewed as one book, is the last book in the Hebrew Bible and, arguably, the last OT book to be written.

​Ezra, the probable author of Chronicles, is not just repeating the stories of Samuel and Kings. He stands at the end of the Old Testament, looking back on what has befallen Israel. What is at the core of being Israel? What binds them together as a people, as an entity, and as a nation? What is central to their successful future? Ezra’s answer is essentially twofold: God’s forever covenant with David, and the worship of Yahweh at the Jerusalem Temple.

In reality, these two emphases merge: David is not only the man to whom God gives the kingdom of Israel, but he is also the man who does all in his power to establish a true worship of God at Jerusalem and to prepare for the Temple that his son Solomon will build there.

 Genealogies? 
 1 Chronicles opens with 9 chapters of genealogies. All Scripture is profitable, but genealogies? Key to an Israelite knowing his or her place in the nation was knowing to whom they were related. This was especially true for the Davidic line, as the ruling family, and the priests and Levites, whose opportunities for Temple work were determined largely by their lineage. 

The Kingdom Becomes David’s
The genealogies quickly give way to the reign of David. Ezra summarizes the entire reign of Saul in about 12 verses and then gets to his main point: “Therefore, He [Yahweh] put him [Saul] to death and turned the kingdom over to David, the son of Jesse” (10:14). The rest of 1 Chronicles charts the course of David’s reign but written in a way to spotlight David’s heart for the house of the Lord. Priests and Levites--not prophets-- dominate the pages of Chronicles.

David’s Heart for the House of the Lord
As you read through 1 Chronicles, note how many times 1 Chronicles links an event in David’s life to the temple or temple worship in some way. While Israel did not even inquire of the Lord during the reign of Saul (13:3), David makes bringing the Ark of God to Jerusalem a priority. When David wins a battle, he dedicates the spoils for the Temple’s construction (18:7-11). David identifies the place where the Temple will be built (22:1). David prepares the stones and other materials for the Temple and encourages Solomon to be courageous to build it: “I with great trouble have prepared for the house of Yahweh . . . rise and do it and may Yahweh be with you” (22:14a, 16b). Essentially, David says to Solomon: Get that Temple built! All of chapters 22-29, except chapter 27, relates in some way to the Temple and the worship Israel would offer there. David creates a priestly rotation that was still in effect over one thousand years later (1 Chron. 24; see Luke 1:5). David appoints gatekeepers, treasures, and musicians. He gives Solomon the construction plans for the Temple (28:11-12). He contributes personally for the Temple and urges all Israel to do so as well in 1 Chron. 29—the willingness of all to give becomes the refrain of the chapter (vv. 6, 9, 14, 17).

God’s Covenant with David
Central to all that David was and did was God’s covenant with him in 1 Chronicles 17. David delighted in God’s house, and God delighted in his house. David does not get build the Temple, but God establishes David’s “house” forever. In fact, God calls David’s kingdom “My kingdom” (17:14). And David’s son Solomon will have the privilege to build the Temple where God will put His name forever. 

A Warning
But there is a warning clause in God’s contract with David. David knows it and he issues a caution to Solomon that, if he would have heeded it, would have changed the course of Israel’s future. “But as for you, Solomon, my son, know the God of your fathers and serve Him with a whole heart and with a willing soul. For Yahweh searches all hearts and pays attention to every intention of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found of you but if you abandon Him He will reject you forever” (28:9). Will Solomon and Israel continue in the path of worship and loyalty that David has blazed for them? 2 Chronicles will give us the answer.

2 Kings is a continuation of 1 Kings. King Ahaziah, with whose reign 2 Kings begins, is actually introduced at the end of 1 Kings. 2 Kings takes us from Ahaziah of Ahab’s dynasty to the fall of both Israelite kingdoms, first the Northern Kingdom in chapter 17 and then the Southern Kingdom in chapter 25. The fall of both kingdoms was a direct result of their sins and the fulfillment of God’s words of judgment.

As in 1 Kings, 2 Kings reiterates that all that happened to Israel’s kingdoms—even their downfall and captivity—was according to the word of the Lord. The dogs eating Jezebel (9:36), the extermination of Ahab’s house (10:10), the restoration of Israel’s borders during the reign of Jeroboam II (14:25), the fall of Jehu’s dynasty in the fourth generation (15:12), and Josiah’s defiling the altar at Bethel (23:15-16) all happen just as God predicted. He had spoken, and “so it was” (15:12).

The prominence of the prophets continues in 2 Kings. The expression “My [His] servants, the prophets” is a distinctive of 2 Kings and Jeremiah (2 Ki. 9:7; 17:13, 23; 21:10; 24:2; Jer. 7:25; 25:4; 26:5; 29:19; 35:15; 44:4). Virtually unique to 2 Kings is the use of the term “sons of the prophets.” These are not literally prophets’ children but rather a growing number of men who belong to the class of prophets—prophetic guilds. At least one of these prophetic “guilds” was located at Bethel, the center of Jeroboam’s idolatrous worship (2:3). 2 Kings records the transition from Elijah to Elisha, and Elisha dominates the first nine chapters of 2 Kings. He performs roughly double the number of miracles that Elijah did, and many of his miracles are on behalf of the true followers of Yahweh who live in the growingly apostate Northern Kingdom. 2 Kings 4:1-8:15 feature Elisha but curiously have no clear chronological connection to the other events in 2 Kings. While the prophets still act as royal advisors in 2 Kings (e.g., Isaiah to King Hezekiah in chapters 19-20), we also see their role in calling Israel back to the law of Moses (17:13) and in warning of coming disaster (21:10; 24:2).

Ahab’s evil poisons Judah and nearly destroys it. The seemingly innocent statement at the end of 1 Kings that “Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel” (22:44) had huge ramifications. Jehoshaphat married his son Jehoram to Ahab’s daughter, Athaliah. She influenced her husband Jehoram to do evil. Their son Ahaziah also did evil and after his untimely death, Athaliah herself seized the throne and attempted to kill every remaining descendant of David (2 Kings 11:1). As someone has said, the Davidic dynasty hung by a thread and, humanly speaking, nearly came to an end. Even years after, Ahab’s religious influence is still being felt in Judah (16:3; 17:19).

The Kingdom of Israel comes to an end in chapter 17, largely because of Jeroboam’s calf worship that virtually every king of the northern kingdom clung to (vv. 21-22; see also 3:3; 10:29, 31; 13:2, 6, 11; 14:24; 15:9, 18, 24, 28). The Kingdom of Judah continues to the end of 2 Kings, not because of the righteousness of her kings but because of God’s commitment to David (8:19; 19:34; 20:6). King Manasseh’s wickedness was the final straw, though, and after him, God would not turn away from His decree to punish the kingdom of Judah (21:10-15; 23:26; 24:3). God would be unjust to not punish His people when they have rivaled or exceeded the sins of the nations He cast out before them (16:3; 17:8, 15; 21:2, 9).

2 Kings also sees the ascendancy of foreign nations like Aram (“Syria,” KJV), Assyria, and Babylonia. Earlier threats like Philistia, Moab, and Ammon pale in comparison to these three. Even Aram cannot hold a candle to the other two—Assyria’s Tiglath-pileser and Babylon’s Nebuchadnezzar are world-class monarchs!

Long gone are the days when the Kingdoms of David and Solomon held political sway far beyond their own borders. Is all that gone forever? Significant in 2 Kings is not just what God says but what God does not say. God did not say that He would “annihilate the name of Israel under heaven” (14:27). Yes, “Judah went into exile from her land” (25:21), but the last scene in 2 Kings is Jehoiachin’s exaltation in Babylon (25:27-30). God still has a plan for David’s line and for the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (13:23).

1 Kings was, along with 2 Kings, originally one book, written most likely by the prophet Jeremiah (compare 2 Kings 25:27-30 with Jeremiah 52:31-34). 1 Kings tells the story of Israel’s monarchy from the death of David to the deaths of King Jehoshaphat (Southern Kingdom) and King Ahab (Northern Kingdom).

Five significant events occur during this time period:

1. David’s dynasty established.
1 Kings 1-2 especially recount how God established Solomon on the throne of David, and Solomon sees in his accession the faithfulness of God to his father (3:6).

2. Solomon’s building of the Temple in Jerusalem.
Events related to the building of the Temple occupy the majority of chapters 5-8. Building the Temple was not just a whim of Solomon’s but the fulfillment of a promise God had made to David (2 Samuel 7:13; 1 Kings 8:10-21).

3. The beginning of Israel’s Divided Monarchy.
Solomon’s weakness for foreign women and his worship of their gods tragically results in a divided kingdom with Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, reigning over the Southern Kingdom of Judah and Jeroboam I becoming king over the northern ten tribes (1 Kings 12).

4. Jeroboam I’s golden calf worship at Bethel and Dan.
This spiritually devastating decision of Jeroboam’s was motivated by an unnecessary fear that he would lose his kingdom (12:26-30). God had promised Jeroboam an enduring dynasty like David’s if he chose obedience to Him (11:38), but Jeroboam refused to believe the divine promise, choosing instead to lean upon his own understanding. 

5. The ongoing role of the prophetic office as an advisor to the monarchy.
The prophets functioned as royal advisors even in the monarchy’s earliest days—Saul had Samuel; David, Nathan and Gad. But the prophets’ role in advising and directing the kings of Israel becomes more prominent in 1 Kings. The prophets almost seem to run the kingdom at times. Nathan oversees the plan that lands Solomon safely on David’s throne (1:11-27). The prophet Ahijah awards the ten tribes to Jeroboam (11:29-39) and later announces the doom of Jeroboam’s entire house. Shemaiah prevents Rehoboam from warring against Jeroboam. Elijah tells Ahab when it will rain, when he should ride his chariot down Mount Carmel, and how he and his wife Jezebel will die.

Elijah towers over any other prophetic figure in 1 Kings, but many, many others faithfully do their part as well. Note especially how Elijah and other men of God “interfere” with Ahab’s agenda to go it alone apart from Yahweh, the one true God: unnamed prophets direct Ahab’s war efforts (see chapter 20), and Micaiah foretells his death in battle (22:17). Those pesky prophets of Yahweh!

Woven in and out of these and other events of 1 Kings are the following recurring four themes:

1. David as God’s standard of spiritual excellence.
God repeatedly holds David up before future kings as the king who followed Him with a perfect heart (3:14; 11:4, 33-34; 15:3-5, 11). David’s flesh was as weak as any man’s, but his heart was unusually God’s.

2. The multigenerational impact of Jeroboam’s golden calf worship.
Virtually every king of the Northern Kingdom “walked in the way of Jeroboam” (15:26, 34; 16:2, 19, 26, 31; 22:52), even Zimri who reigned for only ten days (16:19).

3. Dynastic continuance conditioned upon obedience.
The Davidic monarchy would continue uninterrupted if each king obeyed God (2:4; 3:14; 8:25). God would perpetuate His dwelling in the Temple if Solomon walked in His statutes (6:11-13). The continuance of Jeroboam’s dynasty also hinged upon an “if clause” (11:38).

4. Events unfold exactly as God has said, especially what He has declared through His prophetic messengers.
This theme dominates 1 Kings. At least eighteen times, 1 Kings records that something God said came to pass (2:27; 8:53-56; 12:15; 13:5, 26; 14:18; 15:29; 16:12, 34; 17:6, 16; 18:45; 20:21, 26, 29, 36; 22:36, 38). The full formula is something like this: “it happened according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by the hand of His servant [the prophet’s name].” Moses, Joshua, Ahijah, Jehu, Elijah, and Micaiah, among others, all spoke words of God that came to pass. In chapter 20, unnamed prophets make five predictions, and all five happen. The bizarre death of the disobedient man of God from Judah, who died just as God said he would, confirmed the future fulfillment of the prophecies he had uttered against the altar at Bethel (13:21-32).

Solomon learned the hard way that not just all God’s good words (8:56), but even His words of judgment come to pass. Harassed by enemies raised up by the Lord as chastisement (11:14-26), Solomon ends up on the wrong side of the very promises he had himself repeated back to God in prayer (8:25).
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The books of Samuel reminded us that God reigns sovereign over the kingdoms of men. 1 Kings makes clear how: God rules over men by means of His words. All He says will come to pass. Mankind has only two choices: heed those words or reap the consequences of not doing so.