Have you ever read
Chronicles? Not the Chronicles of Narnia, the Biblical books of I and
II Chronicles. If you did Year of the Bible with us a few years back, you
would have. If you have ever tried to read straight through the Bible you
probably didn't get to Chronicles, or it may have been the book that
frustrated and slowed you down if it didn't stop you outright.
Chronicles starts with nine
chapters of almost solid lists of unpronounceable names, the genealogies of
important people in
Israel
's history. Chronicles is one of those books that keeps people from being
liturgists because they are afraid I might give them one of those lists. The
Life Transformation Group of which I am a part is trying to read Chronicles.
We have a rule, everyone has to finish the reading by the next meeting, or
everyone reads it over again. We have been reading Chronicles for a while now.
It is really a wonderful book, and
I will continue to refer to it as one book rather than two since it is a
whole, it just wouldn't fit on a single scroll. It is like the Cliff's
Notes of
Israel
's history with quick summaries of stories we find in Kings and Samuel. It was
written after the exile as the people were trying to reclaim what it meant to
be God's people. They had been off in captivity learning how serious God was
about his unique claim on his people, that “thou shalt have no other gods”
stuff. So when you get down to it, Chronicles is a summary of where
Israel
went wrong and why God had to discipline them. That is pretty unique for an
historical account considering that all around them in
Egypt
and
Assyria
they wrote their history not for accuracy but to glorify the king.
So when I read Chronicles I don't
read about godlike leaders who celebrate their wisdom and power, I read about
people pretty much like me. I read about sinners, people who made some bad
mistakes, some who loved God and some who ignored God. In Chronicles I find
the human experience presented through the filter of wisdom gained through
years in captivity. I find people who are trying to understand their history
and their God, and God trying to reach out to his people. In Chronicles I find
hope.
So there is hope in the Bible.
That's hardly news. There are books that are more accessible and from which it
is easier to find hope and wisdom. But Chronicles is like life. Wisdom is not
always as near as we would like, or as comforting as we might hope. And hope
sometimes seems far away. In life sometimes we have to sort through the
garbage, wait a while, sit on the edge of our seat, wonder, hope, get
frustrated, wait some more and occasionally feel like giving up. But we don't
and find that God has been with us all along. And God is in every word of
Chronicles. Like eating crawfish, perhaps it is a lot of work for the meat
that you get, and you probably wouldn't want it every day, but the reward is
rich. So crack open that Bible and get to living, and discover for yourself
God somewhere you didn't expect to find him.