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The Bible Year

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Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Apr 6, 1916

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 93, No. 17.

Read the full edition

The Bible Year

Assignment for April 9 to 15

Supplementary Study

Review First and Second Samuel. Make a brief outline of the lives of Samuel, Saul, and David, as presented in these books.

The Books of the Chronicles

“The title of the books is taken from the Hebrew, the title in the Septuagint being ‘The Things Omitted,’ implying that the books are intended to supply what was left out of the books of Samuel and the Kings. In the course of the books twelve other histories are named as the author’s source of information. This author may have been Ezra—a supposition made probable by the fact that the closing passage of Second Chronicles is identical with the opening passage of Ezra. There are four divisions of the books: genealogies, and the histories of David, Solomon, and the remaining kings of Judah. Everywhere a knowledge of the preceding books of the Bible is taken for granted, and many new and important facts are given. Scarcely anything is said about the northern kingdom, or about the sinful acts of David and Solomon. The great number of genealogies is accounted for by the need of such records that would be felt after the exile, when the land came to be assigned to its hereditary owners, and the temple service to be taken up by those whose hereditary duty it was.”—Amos R. Wells.

A Review of Sacred History

“CONTENTS.—The books of Chronicles were originally one. The narrative begins with Adam, and is brought down to the time of the restoration of Judah from the captivity. It is the history of all that has gone before, briefly rewritten.
“PLAN AND FORM.—Up to this time the books have fitted one into the other, and beginning with Genesis, the books have recorded a continuous history. Now the connection is broken, and the author goes back to Adam for his starting point.
“SPECIAL FEATURES.—There are a number of marked contrasts between these and the preceding books that call for notice:—
“The genealogical tables. We here find the ancestry of tribes and families traced back to the earliest times; this does not arise from a mere fancy of the writer, but from a real necessity. The tribes or a remnant of them had returned from captivity, and in order that the land might be properly allotted, the temple services maintained, the officials have their proper places, the tithes rightly paid, ‘there must be strict legal proof of hereditary descent.’ This proof these tables furnished.
“The narrative follows the line of Judah. The writer does not mention Israel, except where he is obliged to do so. The kingdom of Israel or the portion that had been taken away into captivity disappeared, and the people who had taken the place of the Israelites were hostile to Judah upon the return from captivity. The line of the Messiah is through David.
“The narrative is written with a religious purpose, probably by the priests. God’s care for his people and his purpose to save them is the theme from beginning to end. ‘Divine favor is represented as dependent on the faithfulness of rulers and people to the original covenant, and divine punishment as the natural result of unfaithfulness.’ The religious purpose of the writer is seen very clearly in the first nine chapters of Second Chronicles, where, in describing the glorious rule of Solomon, six chapters are given to the story of the building of the temple and its services, and only three to recounting other matters pertaining to this reign. The names of the kings who served God and put away idolatry are made very prominent. Thus these books are made the beginning of an ecclesiastical history which extends through the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.
“The attitude of faith and hope. Hardships, wars, pestilences, and captivities had done what could be done to destroy the divine seed; and here at the very last it was showing signs of a new and vigorous life in the Land of Promise. No wonder the returning captives, heirs of such a history and promises, were enthusiastic in their devotion to the law.
“These books reveal in a very plain way that God had for this people a particular purpose and mission which must be accomplished.”—H. T. Sell, in “Bible Study by Books.”