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March 2009 A word
The books of Chronicles
“Everything comes from you, and it is only of your gifts that we give to you” (1 Chron. 29:14). Many of us are familiar with these words from the Chronicles, which we hear in the Church’s worship. These books focus intentionally on Jewish worship in the Jerusalem temple. They depict the people of God as, above all, a liturgical community. God has called them to join each other (an ecclesia) in His worship. On the surface, we have a retelling of the story from Adam to the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple in 587 BC. This seems redundant, until we read below the surface and realize that what we have is a “presentation of the past which is boldly revisionist” (Brueggemann, Introduction to the Old Testament, The Jews spent 50 years in exile in Babylon. Then Cyrus the Great of Persia allowed the people to return to Jerusalem and become part of the great Persian Empire. The Jewish leaders Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah oversaw the rebuilding of the temple and repair of the city walls. The people settled in and attempted to live their faith as a small community in the larger world. Scribes put the part of the Bible called the Torah into its complete and finished form, and the people made living by that Law their goal. They took to heart Jeremiah’s teaching that disobedience to the Torah and worshipping other gods caused the catastrophe of 587 BC. About 200 years after Jerusalem’s restoration, the author of Chronicles wrote the book with the theological perspective the people had developed over this period. He deals with the “history” in a manner that is highly stylized. The theology holds sway. The book begins by tracing genealogies from Adam (the earthling) to David. The author’s point is that, for the sake of humankind, the God of all creation is doing something special with the Jews. The book moves quickly to David’s rise to power and reign. While it talks about the past, its concern is for the future — God’s purpose for the Jews. Chronicles takes David’s kingship as normative and the pattern for the future. David is not quite flesh and blood. The author idealizes him and remembers none of his sins, weaknesses, or struggles. He does not mention a restored monarchy. He portrays David more as high priest than as king. According to Chronicles, God’s future government of his people is thoroughly bureaucratic. The author spells out the roles of leaders, including the temple personnel. The book provides for and regulates every detail of the community’s life. Its theology stresses God’s sovereignty and rule over all people and every facet of life. The book’s centerpiece is the building of the temple. Solomon oversees the construction, but David has already served as architect and building contractor. In this account, David is central. The final chapter of 1 Chronicles deals with Solomon’s succession to the throne. David prepares his way by leading the people in prayer and speaking to them as their king. The liturgical statements quoted at the beginning of this article come from David’s prayer in chapter 29 of 1 Chronicles. Second Chronicles deals with the glories of the temple’s dedication, Solomon’s prayer and God’s response, and Solomon’s wisdom and wealth. On the eve of the dedication of the temple, God asks Solomon what gift he would like to receive. Solomon responds: “‘You have shown great and constant love to David my father. And you have made me king in his place … now grant me wisdom. And knowledge that I may lead this people.’ God said to Solomon,‘Because you have not asked for wealth or possessions or honor … wisdom and knowledge are granted to you’” (2 Chron. 1:8-12). What follows is a description of Judah’s kings after Solomon, up to the rulers at the beginning of the exile in 587 BC. The book concludes by telling how God used Cyrus in his plan for Judah. Interpreting Judah’s story centuries after the facts, the Chronicler gives us a summary of the past preparing for a glorious future. What are some of the major points of this theology? The people of God will survive in history. We forget how amazing this is. “They were the only people in antiquity exiled from their homeland and national religion who maintained their religious and social identity in captivity” (H. Farr, Chronicles, p. 510). Brueggmann adds, “Jewishness may suffer but it has not been defeated, due to the capacity of Yahweh to move empires on behalf of Judaism” (Introduction to the Old Testament, p. 381). Judaism is not primarily a nation or way of life but membership in a distinct community called to worship God and study the Torah. “The exercise whereby Yahweh governs chaos is liturgical” (Brueggemann, ibid.). The anticipated new age exists in the present and the future. Faith is based on what God has done, is doing, and will do. Faith does not exist without hope. No new act of God is expected. The future is the perfection of the present. No single language must be used in relation to God. The Chronicler wrote in a Syrian form of Hebrew. Chronicles’ exaltation of the Levites speaks to the gap between priests and people. The Levites can now do things that only priests could do before, which parallels somewhat the restoration of the diaconate in the Christian Church. For example, the priest presides as the chief liturgical officer, but the Levites (deacons) provide music for the liturgy and do most of the administrative work. The Chronicler’s work concludes with a theological perspective on history and of Judah’s place among the nations. God’s partner in all this is Cyrus the Great, who is called God’s servant. The future for Judaism depends on both God and the great powers of the world. There is no sacred/secular dichotomy. In the mouth of the Persian, “the God of heaven,” who governs all nations, wills Judah’s restoration. The decree of
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ost Christians know little, if anything, about the books of Chronicles, which began as one book. It is the final book in the Hebrew Bible, included in the canon in AD 90 amidst great controversy.