1. 1 Chronicles – Friday Night Genesis, Friday, February 1, 2013
Does anyone know what this is? It is a passport from a country that no longer
exists. It is a passport from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and as a
child I used to have one. Today, the territory that was once Yugoslavia is home
to 6 different countries and a few more administrative regions. Those of you who
follow the news may also remember that we didn’t exactly shake hands and wish
each other luck as we went our separate ways. And so today my documents list
my place of birth as Croatia, a country I have never been to, despite the fact that
I was born and spent the first 6 years of my life on its territory. I speak the local
language in the Serbian dialect and have a distinct Belgrade accent, since that is
where I grew up and where I went to school. What makes the waters even
murkier for me is that my mother is British. Not too long after the start of the war I
was shipped off to continue my education in England, and as my parents retired
they joined me and now live there to this day. Since Yugoslavia no longer exists,
the only passport I have, the only nationality I can officially claim is British. Since
I spent 11 years of my life there, I have, to a certain extent, also been assimilated
into that culture.
In many ways, I feel like the Jews and the Israelites must have felt after the exile
– a resident alien. You integrate into life and culture around you. Still you’re
different. When you return to your country of origin, you find that life has gone on
and many things have changed. Your identity, your world view, your culture, your
experiences – they all differ from the people around you. This raises fundamental
questions: who am I? Who do I identify with? What set of values do I adopt?
Where do I belong?
This is where books like 1 and 2 Chronicles come in. We ended 2 Kings with
Israel already dissolved by the Assyrians in 722 BC. Assyrians were then
conquered by Babylon which completely mixed everything up and scattered the
10 tribes all over the place, never to be fully reunited. The kingdom of Judah
lasted until 586 BC when it too was conquered by Babylon and most of its
inhabitants taken into exile. They spent 70 years in exile. During those 70 years
Babylon was conquered by the Medo-Persians and it was the Medo-Persian
kings who issued decrees for all who were willing to return to Jerusalem,
rejoin the small remnant who were not taken into exile and rebuild first the
temple and then the entire city. This small group was led by Nehemiah the
administrator and Ezra the Priest.
As the Sunday School lady pointed out at the beginning, even though the book of
1 Chronicles takes us clear back to Adam, it is believed, although by no means
confirmed, that it was Ezra who wrote 1 and 2 Chronicles during that period
following the exile, in other words, the books were written after the events of 2
Kings.

2. Understanding this setting will help us to understand why we get to go through all
those endless genealogies and why we get to repeat so much of what we have
already covered in previous books. The first part is very pragmatic – they were
trying to organize their society once again. In Israel of old, land was given as an
inheritance to a clan and would stay with that clan. Land could not change hands
between different clans – it had to be passed down the generations within the
same clan. The genealogies were especially important when it came to the
services in the temple. In the Old Testament you didn’t become a priest because
you went to the Seminary and got a degree. You became a priest because you
were a descendant of Aaron. Likewise with all the other services, you served at
the temple because you were from the tribe of Levi. What exactly your service
consisted of depended on which one of the sons of Levi you descended from.
And so they had to revisit the genealogies to figure out who was who and what
they were supposed to do.
The second reason for writing Chronicles was much more foundational. Most of
this small group that returned had lived, and many were most likely born and
grew up in foreign countries. Chronicles were necessary for them to reacquaint
themselves with their heritage, their history and their culture. It was there to help
them once again establish their national identity. Most importantly it told them
that they belonged. Even though many of them were like myself – mutts who had
lived everywhere and belonged nowhere, they were now getting the message –
this is where you belong – this is your home. You have a rich historic and cultural
heritage. More than that, you have an awesome God who has set out before you
the right way to go and promised to do for you what He did for your ancestors
and restore your fortunes if you follow His way.
I was listening to the book of 1 Chronicles on my iPod as I was driving my big
truck across the country. In hind sight, this may not have been the best idea I’ve
ever had…but I didn’t fall asleep and I didn’t crash so it’s all good. Still, as the
genealogy started up with Adam and continued to branch out, I got a distinct
feeling that in all of this there was a message, not just for the returning Jews of
the 5th century BC, but also for us in 21st century AD. That message is that we
are all connected, and we all belong to God’s family. As you read the beginning
of the genealogies you find many instances where so and so had sons and from
this son came this nation and from the other son that nation. You realize very
quickly that all these nations had a common source tracing back to Noah and his
sons, then further to Adam and finally to God. When Luke traced the genealogy
of Jesus in Luke 3:38 he makes this full connection: “the son of Enosh, the son of
Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.” (Luke 3:38).
My mother in law enjoys doing genealogy and has a wall in her dining room filled
with pictures of the family ancestors. Should you ask her, she could tell you many
things about the people in those pictures. Knowing something about our past and
where we came from gives us a foundation and a sense of identity. Chronicles is
like my mother in laws wall, telling the stories of the ancestors, but most

3. importantly, telling the story of the One in whom we all have our beginning –
God.
Yes, we are all children of God. And that makes a difference. Whether we are left
without a country to call our own, whether we are left without even a family to call
our own, there is One Person to whom we still belong – God. It also makes a
difference in how we view the world and those around us. Yes, we don’t get to
choose our family and sometimes we can get stuck with some difficult people.
But as you wonder why God doesn’t just zap that monster, it is helpful to step
back and realize that God also regards them as His child just like He regards you
as His child. In the family of God that person is your sibling. And God has room
at the table for all of His kids.
Now wait a minute, you may say, doesn’t God make a note of who’s naughty and
who’s nice and only hangs out with the nice ones? He may appear to hang out
more with the nice ones, only because they want to hang out with Him. But as far
as God is concerned, He wants to be with all of His children. Listen to what Paul
says in 1 Timothy 2:3,4 “This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all
people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” Elsewhere the
Bible tells us, and our experience confirms that God sends the rain and the sun
on the good and the bad alike.
This is the story that Chronicles tell. They trace our family tree back to God, and
then show us God’s interaction with His children over the centuries. They show
us a God who is interested and involved in the affairs of His children. And yes, as
Chronicles show us, this involved not just coddling but also a good deal of
discipline, just as any earthly parent has to do to set their kids on the right path
for life. Apostle Paul understood this: “Endure hardship as discipline; God is
treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?
If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not
legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we have all had human
fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should
we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as
they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may
share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later
on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who
have been trained by it.” (Hebrews 12:7-11)
Bill Cosby once famously said “Humans beings are the only creatures on earth
that allow their children to come back home.” We learned that one from our
Heavenly Father. Because one of the things that we shall see throughout the
books of Chronicles is that God will not only accept us when we return to Him,
but He wants us to return to Him. When the Israelites were hell bent on leaving
and going their own way, He let them, and also let them experience the
consequences. This was all part of learning and discipline. However, whenever
they figured out it was better with God and showed even the smallest hint that

4. they wanted to return to Him, He rushed to bring them back. He even went all out
to get them out of the mess that they had gotten themselves into.
Chronicles were written for the Jews returning from exile, looking to help them
establish their own identities. But they also have a clear message for us today.
We are all God’s children, we are all a part of His family, we all belong to Him. If
you feel all alone, a misfit, an outcast, without a country to call your own, without
a family to call your own or maybe even a family that you would prefer not to call
your own. If you feel like you don’t belong anywhere on this earth, there is one
place where you do belong – in the family of God. You were made by God, you
belong to God and you are loved by God. Even if you have decided to leave God,
and you feel like you have done terrible things, maybe things that even your own
earthly family is not prepared to forgive you, God still wants you to come back to
Him. You still belong to God, you are still His child. Listen to this wonderful
message that God sent through prophet Jeremiah to the Israelites in exile: “At
that time,” declares the LORD, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and
they will be my people.” This is what the LORD says:
“The people who survive the sword
will find favor in the wilderness;
I will come to give rest to Israel.”
The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying:
“I have loved you with an everlasting love;
I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.
I will build you up again,
and you, Virgin Israel, will be rebuilt.
See, I will bring them from the land of the north
and gather them from the ends of the earth.
Among them will be the blind and the lame,
expectant mothers and women in labor;
a great throng will return.
They will come with weeping;
they will pray as I bring them back.
I will lead them beside streams of water
on a level path where they will not stumble,
because I am Israel’s father,
and Ephraim is my firstborn son. (Jeremiah 31:1-4,8,9)
Isn’t that a beautiful picture? After all that they had done, after the way that they
betrayed Him, God was still looking forward to being reunited with His people,
sending a message of hope: I will be the God of Israel and they will be my
people, I am Israel’s father, I will build you up again.
This is not just a message of hope for the Israelites in exile. This same message
of hope is repeated for all people in Revelation 21. John the revelator says:
“Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first

5. earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy
City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a
bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the
throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will
dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and
be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more
death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed
away.” (Revelation 21:1-4)
No matter how alone or out of place you may feel, regardless of whether this is a
result of your own actions or merely the circumstances you have found yourself
in, one fact remains. You are a child of God, you still belong to God. God loves
you and wants you in His family. Whatever mess you have gotten yourself into,
no matter how badly your last encounter with God may have ended, however
badly you have been hurt, your Heavenly Daddy is waiting for you with open
arms and wants to make it all better. He wants to gather all His children around
Him once again, because there are no orphans of God.
Song: Orphans of God (Avalon)

6. earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy
City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a
bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the
throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will
dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and
be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more
death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed
away.” (Revelation 21:1-4)
No matter how alone or out of place you may feel, regardless of whether this is a
result of your own actions or merely the circumstances you have found yourself
in, one fact remains. You are a child of God, you still belong to God. God loves
you and wants you in His family. Whatever mess you have gotten yourself into,
no matter how badly your last encounter with God may have ended, however
badly you have been hurt, your Heavenly Daddy is waiting for you with open
arms and wants to make it all better. He wants to gather all His children around
Him once again, because there are no orphans of God.
Song: Orphans of God (Avalon)