Week 20 1 Chronicles 3
It’s hard to think of any other nine-consecutive-chapter section of the bible that’s less interesting than 1 Chronicles 1-9. But one paragraph catches my attention: the descendants of Solomon were Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, Ahaziah, Joash, Amaziah, Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, and Josiah. The sons of Josiah were Johanan, Jehoiakim, Zedekiah, and Jehoahaz. Jehoiakim was succeeded by his son Jehoiachin; he, in turn, was succeeded by his uncle Zedekiah.
The section registers with me because I’ve just been reading the stories of these kings in 1 & 2 Kings. (Of course in the Kings the writer’s constantly jumping back and forth across the border…alternating between north & south – Israel’s King A was doing this but meanwhile Judah’s King B was doing that. It’s a long bewildering frustrating & demanding 37-chapters to read. Elijah & Elisha excepted.)
Anyway I’ve got a master list of the kings of Judah that I copied from a book. I compare it with the list in 1 Chronicles 3 for accuracy. They match up. These seven verses list the kings of Judah from the start of the divided kingdom (1 Kings 11) to the exile in Babylon (2 Kings 25). Rehoboam to Zedekiah.
I page forward. In about a week I’ll be reading about these same kings all-over-again in 2 Chronicles 10-36. It’s a shorter history and isn’t cluttered up with any kings of Israel (it’s a relief to know the chronicler’s not interested in them).
Note: quote from 1 Chronicles 3:10-16 (NLT)