Together, 1 and 2 Chronicles have ruined more attempts to read the Bible in a year than any other force on Earth. And we can understand why: the Bible's retelling of the rise of the monarchy in the tenth century BCE to the end of the Babylonian exile in 539 BCE covers much of the same ground as 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings, minus the cinematic bits.
Gone is the battle between David and Goliath. Gone is the showdown between Elijah and the prophets of Baal. And King Manasseh, whose wickedness provoked the Babylonian exile? In 1 and 2 Chronicles, he's not that bad.
In place of high-drama scenes featuring highly questionable but undeniably compelling heroes, 1 and 2 Chronicles gives us genealogies. And extensive descriptions of temple building. And a God who gives second chances.
Wait, what?
If you've ever wondered how the Bible's ancient stories might inform a modern faith, you are not alone. If you've ever struggled to reconcile biblical portrayals of God with your own understanding of God, you are not alone. If you've ever wanted to rewrite bits of the Bible for the times you live in, you are not alone. The writers of 1 and 2 Chronicles have been there, too.
Set aside everything you think you know about 1 and 2 Chronicles and join Dr Aaron Higashi as he shows us why the most boring books of the Bible aren't actually all that boring. That they are, in fact, among the most bold and daring books in the Bible.
