What Are the Purposes and Themes of 1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles?

As noted above, Chronicles was written using the Deuteronomistic history as a source and a guide for the “pure history” of the nation. That is, the Chronicler was not trying to rewrite the history but to give his generation a perspective on that history that would encourage and sustain them in difficult times. The genealogies were meant broadly to ensure the legitimacy of his generation’s claim to the covenant promises (to Abraham and David) and specifically the legitimacy of the Levitical institutions that had been revived in his day. In both of these the legitimacy is proven by the continuity of the generational lines. In effect he was saying to his generation, “We are the legitimate heirs of those promises and institutions.” His history was selective for the same reasons. He expected his readers to know the DH, and he selected those parts of the narrative that would support the claims of legitimacy and continuity with the nation’s past—particularly the history of the Davidic dynasty based as it was on the Davidic covenant.

The Chronicler was not shy about his predilection for the Davidic dynasty. Throughout the entire work—from the genealogies to the accounts of the last kings of Judah—the Chronicler demonstrated his concern for the dynasty of David. He consistently sought to present a positive view of David and the descendants of David who sat on his throne after him, going so far as to omit accounts from Samuel and Kings that are unfavorable (e.g., David’s sin with Bathsheba; the negative influences of Solomon’s many foreign wives). Even where he had to acknowledge sin and apostasy, he was quick to interpret the matter in a providentially positive manner (i.e., David’s census in 1Ch 21) or to offer a mitigating turn of events (i.e., Manasseh’s repentance in 2Ch 33).

The Chronicler emphasized that God had chosen (elected) David and given him and his descendants the covenant (1Ch 17:1-15) that ensured a kingdom forever (17:14). That note would have had singular significance for the Chronicler’s readers. This covenant was an extension of the Abrahamic covenant (Gn 17:6-8). In that covenant God had promised Abraham “kings will come forth from you” (17:6), and that “all the land of Canaan” would belong to his descendants “for an everlasting possession” (17:8). The Chronicler wanted his generation of Jews, those whose great-grandparents had come back into the land after the captivity, to know that the Lord was still faithful to those promises. His message was, “In accord with the promises He made to the Fathers, the Lord has chosen, made promises to, and preserved the Davidic dynasty through the tumultuous decades before the captivity. Therefore, we can be sure that He can be trusted to be faithful to those promises in our day.” The Davidic dynasty was God’s instrument for nurturing and preserving the promises and for maintaining the temple and its services as the place and means for the nation to experience the blessings of those promises.

The Chronicler was also devoted to the temple and took a keen interest in the worship and services of the temple. The temple was the locus of God’s presence with His people. Proper worship was the outward evidence of a genuine inward faith in the Lord; proper worship was “seeking the Lord” and failure in proper worship was “forsaking the Lord.” In this emphasis, the Chronicler was not advocating mere formalism, but he was concerned about true worship from the heart; the term “heart” appears some 30 times in Chronicles (Payne, “1 Chronicles,” 318). For the Chronicler the temple was inextricably tied to the Davidic dynasty. The king was to establish and preserve the temple (as in the case of David and Solomon), and if need be restore it (as did Hezekiah and Josiah) and its proper services. For the Chronicler one of the main reasons for God’s choice of David’s line was to build, care for, and safeguard the temple. Part of this entailed the appointment of the proper functionaries in the temple—for example, the Levites, the priests, and the musicians (see 1Ch 23–26). For the Chronicler, when the kings took an interest in the temple it was a tangible expression of their faith and confidence in the promises the Lord made with David (1Ch 17).

The Chronicler was concerned to include “all Israel” in the restoration of the nation after the exile. All who will “seek the Lord” and who will acknowledge the temple as the only legitimate locus of worship are included in the blessings of the national relationship with the Lord. Accordingly, in his history the Chronicler downplayed the issues that divided the nation between northern and southern kingdoms and highlighted those institutions (David’s regnancy 1Ch 11:1; Solomon’s regnancy, 2Ch 1:2; the temple, 2Ch 6:3) and events (Hezekiah’s restoration of Passover, 2Ch 30:1; Josiah’s restoration of Passover, 2Ch 35:18) that brought “all Israel” together.

The Chronicler was concerned about the issues of faithfulness (“seeking the Lord”) and apostasy (“forsaking the Lord”). These expressions appear regularly in his narrative—ideal Davidic kings “seek the Lord,” and apostates “forsake the Lord.” Failure to do the former while pursuing the latter brought the chastisement of the Lord. This was a key lesson from the nation’s history that the Chronicler sought to teach his generation. It explained why the nation had gone into captivity and how those who returned could experience God’s blessings. The Chronicler was very clear about retribution— the notion of “whatever man sows that shall he also reap.” Yet he was equally interested in restoration—the notion that humble repentance and renewed obedience will restore a sinner (and the nation) to fellowship and blessing (see 2Ch 7:12-18). The experience of several later kings bore out this principle, and it was the message the Chronicler’s generation needed to hear.

The Chronicler believed in prayer. Those who pray—from Jabez (1Ch 4:10) to David (17:1) and Solomon (2Ch 1:8; 6:12), to Rehoboam (12:6), Asa (14:11), Abijah (13:14), Jehoshaphat (18:31; 20:6-12), Hezekiah (32:20-21; 32:24), and even Manasseh (33:12-13, 18)—find that God hears and answers with blessing and forgiveness. The Chronicler was urging his generation to pray for God’s blessing. This emphasis on prayer is a part of the general theme, noted several times already, of “seeking the Lord.” The Chronicler was urging his generation to “seek the Lord” as David and his descendants had—through proper worship, through repentance, through prayer, and through obedience to the Word of God. The dangers of “forsaking the Lord” are also vividly (if minimally) noted by the Chronicler, not to warn of impending calamity (the perspective of the DH), but to encourage his generation to “seek the Lord” who is faithful to His promises (1Ch 16:11; 22:17; 28:9; 2Ch 15:2; 17:4; 30:9, 18b-19; 33:12, 19; 34:3).

The Chronicler was a man of hope and optimism, but this was not based on a superficial view of human nature or human history—a vague notion of “progress” and “prosperity.” His hope was in the promise of God, in the covenants the Lord had made with Abraham and David. His hope was “Messianic” and will be vindicated when the Greater Son of David—the Lord Jesus Christ—fulfills those promises fully, literally, and forever.