Wednesday – History

Reading – 1 Chronicles 7-9

Highlight Verses:

”The first of the exiles to return to their property in their former towns were priests, Levites, Temple servants, and other Israelites. Some of the people from the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh came and settled in Jerusalem.“
‭‭1 Chronicles‬ ‭9‬:‭2‬-‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Today’s reading caps off a rather comprehensive genealogy of Israel and is completed with the return from exile.

The first 9 chapters give reference material for all the historical stories given in the rest of the book.

Where the genealogy leaves off sets the date of writing this sometime after the return of Israel and Judah to the promised land.

Most likely this was written shortly after the return of the remnant to Jerusalem. Tradition and some evidence points to the author being Ezra. It is written from the perspective of someone who lived in that time period.

This was a time of great repentance and restoration and that is reflected in the book.

The author clearly wants to see the restored Israel to see the importance of obedience to God, that the restoration may be permanent.

If you had lived in the time of the restoration of Jerusalem, would you be eager to teach people the importance of obedience?
Would you be inclined toward fighting to protect the faith of Israel or would you rather be the one writing down the history of Israel?