Recap

So far in 1-2 Chronicles, we’ve read through the introductory genealogies and started king David’s reign. While separate books in our Bible 1-2 Chronicles tell one story, giving a recap of the Old Testament from Adam to the Jews' return from exile.

We read through the opening chapters of the book dedicated to the genealogies of God's people. This started with Adam and followed his descendants down to Jacob. Then, from Jacob, we explored the genealogies of each of the twelve tribes focusing on Judah, the tribe of the royal family, Levi, the tribe of the priests, and Benjamin, the tribe of the first king Saul. There were genealogies of the people who returned from exile, and then the genealogy of Saul the first king.

As we moved into the section of the book focused on David, we saw the author use David as a model for what an ideal future king will look like. David was described as a shepherd of God's people, and a military ruler who united the tribes and led them to defeat their enemies. He claimed Zion, God's holy city, and built it up. David sought God's will every time before he went into battle.

Unfortunately, we also saw David give into his pride and temptation of Satan by holding a census. This angered God and resulted in many Israelites dying. But even then David showed himself to be a true king, wanting to take the suffering on himself to spare his people. And while David gave in to the temptation of Satan, it highlights that the ideal king would resist the temptation of Satan.

David brought God's presence into the city and served, in part, as a priest. David wanted to build a temple for God, but it was decided that one of David's sons would be the one to do it. God would make this future king as his own son, and would his establish his reign forever. So David began preparations for the temple. He laid out the designs, prepared the materials, and organised the priests and Levites in their work.

The writer here intentionally compared David to Moses. Moses laid out the design for the Tabernacle, gathered its resources, and organised the Levites and the priests. Now David is doing the same for the temple. Moses encouraged Joshua to take courage and lead well, and David does the same to Solomon. The king is a Moses like people that leads the people out of captivity and into God's promises.

1 Chronicles 25-29

The next set of roles that David organises is the musicians. Much like today, music played a key role in worship. Like the priests and the Levites, they were organised by families and were given different roles according to the lots each family drew.

As a side note, the most prominent family here, the sons of Heman (1 Chronicles 25:4), never returned from exile, like the other families did. The fact that the writer gives them so much significance in this passage is likely to highlight to his post-exilic readers that 'look, this is something that used to be part of our worship, but now isn't. While we're back from exile, there's still something missing'.

Then comes the role of the gatekeepers. This was a bit of a catch-all role. These men didn't just guard the gates into the temple, they were responsible for much of the mundane runnings of the temple that didn't neatly fit under any of the other roles. Then there are the treasurers, the officers, and the judges.

Moving on from the temple, David decides to prepare the whole nation for Solomon to take over as king. He splits the army into twelve divisions, each one responsible for maintaining the peace and bringing order to the nation for a different month. Next, he identifies the key leaders, those who were responsible for each tribe, to allow for clear lines of communication.

With everything in place, the only things left to do are to announce the changes and close off his reign as king. First, David tells the people of Israel the plan. Solomon would be stepping as king, and he will be building God a temple. David challenges the people to be faithful to God and obedient to his ways.

Next, David turns to Solomon and challenges him with all that he will need to do. He is to build God's temple. David hands over all the preparation; the designs, the plans for the roles, the resources. He encourages to Solomon to 'be strong and courageous', the people have been organised. They are prepared and willing. They will do what Solomon tells them to do.

Then, turning back to the people, David leads by example, making an offering to this new temple out of his personal wealth, and encouraging others to do the same. Once the people had brought their offerings, he prays for them and has Solomon anointed as king. Then, shortly after, he passes away.

In 1 Chronicles, we've recapped how we got from Adam to David. We've also seen David used as a model of what a king should be and, at times, what a king shouldn’t be. Going into 2 Chronicles, we will be recapping how Israel went from this high point in their history to being exiled.

Psalm 68

This psalm is attributed to king David and falls into the category of praise psalm. Psalms 65-68 are often grouped together as a mini-cluster. They are all communal praise psalms that talk about ‘we’ and ‘us’.

Psalm 68:1-3 - God shall rise, scattering the wicked and lifting the righteous

Psalm 68:4-6 - Praise to the God of the marginalised

Psalm 68:7-10 - The presence of God

Psalm 68:11-14 - The mighty military God

Psalm 68:15-18 - The mountain of God vs the mountain of Bashan

Psalm 68:19-23 - Bless be the Lord of salvation and judgement

Psalm 68:24-27 - The people enter God’s sanctuary

Psalm 68:28-30 - Request for God’s power

Psalm 68:31-35 - Bless the Lord all the nations

The psalmist opens with a celebration of God. He scatters those who hate him so that they can’t stand before him. But the righteous will stand and rejoice in God.

The psalmist then praises God for how he supports the marginalised. From the orphan and the widow to the lonely and imprisoned. God protects them and causes them to flourish, while he drives out the rebellious.

Next, we get a description of God’s presence going out in mighty power. The earth quakes and the heavens pour down rain. And this rain causes flourishing amongst God’s people.

From there, we get praise for God’s military power. He causes kings to flee and creates so much bounty from defeating his enemies that the women who didn’t even fight have to be brought in to help count it.

Next up is the comparison between God’s mountain and the mountain of Bashan. Mount Bashan, along with mount Hermon, is a mountain in the north that is often associated with the demonic and forces of darkness. Talking about the mountain of God and the mountain of Bashan is a way to talk about the war of the forces of darkness against God.

But while the forces of darkness look on with hatred, God’s army is bigger and he will ultimately defeat them and take them captive.

The psalmist then turns back to God. He is a God of salvation and justice, just as the forces of Bashan are the opposite. God will strike them down and let his people have victory over them.

Next is the procession into God’s temple. Just as a victorious king has a procession back to their palace after a great campaign, the people gather and celebrate as they march back to God’s temple after his great victory. All the people will be gathered and they will offer gifts to God.

And so the psalmist asks God to step in. What the psalmist has spoken of so far is an ideal future where God will defeat his enemies and his people will flourish. Here the psalmist is asking that God bring about this future. May God defeat his enemies, and trample the wicked so all the nations of the earth can return to him.

Finally, the psalmist calls all people to praise God, the God of Israel, for his power and might.

In Psalm 65-68 we’ve seen the praise of God’s people build. We’ve praised God for his salvation, his justice, and his provision. And this has all built towards this future vision of a world where God has ultimately defeated his enemies and the forces of darkness so that all the earth can rejoice and celebrate in him.

Again, even here in the Old Testament, we get the people casting vision of an entire world united and flourishing in God.