1 & 2 Chronicles
Introduction
The books of Chronicles are basically a recap of Israel’s history before Christ, including detailed descriptions of rules for government and religious responsibilities. So this lesson will focus mainly on the temple and its location, which is important in the study of Bible prophecy. Please refer to these resources as well: this commentary, the NETS Bible, and this LXX Interlinear.
1 Chron.
The first nine chapters of 1 Chronicles are comprised of genealogies, though not always with the same details as the ones up to the time of the Exodus. There are a few brief mentions of battles, and ch. 9 lists those who returned to Jerusalem after the first exile. There is also a repeated section about David’s warrior elite in ch. 11.
In the following chapters we also see the detailed instructions set up by David concerning the orders of priestly service, which for now doesn’t seem to be of much interest, but which will come in handy when we get to the New Testament and determine the time of year Jesus was likely born. The main point is to know that this data exists so it can be referenced as needed, rather than that we must trudge through it out of a sense of duty.
In ch. 25 there is a list of organized groups of musicians to lead Israel in worship or celebration, rather than to entertain. In ch. 26 we see the divisions of gatekeepers and storehouse supervisors, and in ch. 27 the lists of army commanders and government officials. And that’s pretty much the gist of 1 Chronicles.
2 Chron.
2 Chronicles begins with details of Solomon’s temple construction, and 3:1 states the location as Mt. Moriah in Jerusalem, where God had appeared to David. We should know that Jesus said not one block of the temple would be left on top of another, so the present-day “wailing wall” cannot be part of that temple. The real location is 1000 feet south of the Dome of the Rock, the details of which you can study here. The rest of 2 Chronicles is more recap of events already covered in earlier lessons.
The question remaining, as far as prophecy is concerned, is whether the Tribulation temple will be where scripture says God’s temple should be, or whether it will be nearer the Dome of the Rock since it will be illegitimate. But we do know that the Millennial temple will be where it belongs.