I Chronicles

Only one chapter is given to King Saul. It tells how God removed him from power because of his sinful ways.

I Chronicles 10:13-14
"So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the Lord, even against the word of the Lord, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it; and enquired not of the Lord: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse"

I Chronicles 21:1-2
"And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel. And David said to Joab and to the rulers of the people, Go, number Israel from Beer-sheba even to Dan; and bring the number of them to me, that I may know it."

This can be interpreted as David's pride at the number of his people. Whatever the reason, David provoked God's anger and a plague was inflicted upon the Israelites

I Chronicles 20:6-8
"And yet again there was war at Gath, where was a man of great stature, whose fingers and toes were four and twenty, six on each hand, and six on each foot: and he also was the son of the giant. But when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea David’s brother slew him. These were born unto the giant in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants"

I Chronicles 29:20-21
"And David said to all the congregation, Now bless the Lord your God. And all the congregation blessed the Lord God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and worshipped the Lord, and the king. And they sacrificed sacrifices unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings unto the Lord, on the morrow after that day, even a thousand bullocks, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, with their drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel"

When the Jews came back from captivity in Babylon they started to rebuild the Temple. The genealogies were used to prove whether people were Israelites, Levites and who should be priests.

I Chronicles 9:2-3
"Now the first inhabitants that dwelt in their possessions in their cities were, the Israelites, the priests, Levites, and the Nethinims. And in Jerusalem dwelt of the children of Judah, and of the children of Benjamin, and of the children of Ephraim, and Manasseh"

When Saul's daughter saw David dancing and singing she hated him, but he was singing a psalm to God. The last lines of the psalm are:

I Chronicles 16:34-36
"O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good;
for his mercy endureth for ever.
And say ye, Save us, O God of our salvation,
and gather us together,
and deliver us from the heathen,
that we may give thanks to thy holy name,
and glory in thy praise.
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel for ever and ever"

David warned his son against turning his back on God and urged him to serve God faithfully.

I Chronicles 28:9-10
"And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever. Take heed now; for the Lord hath chosen thee to build an house for the sanctuary: be strong, and do it"

I Chronicles 22:14
"Now, behold, in my trouble I have prepared for the house of the Lord an hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver; and of brass and iron without weight; for it is in abundance: timber also and stone have I prepared; and thou mayest add thereto."

100,000 talents of gold is roughly 3,000 tons, and 1,000,000 talents of silver is 30,000 tons! To give an idea of the scale, an African elephant weighs approximately 5 tons

The book shows a list of Adam's descendants, through Noah, Abraham and Jacob to King David, and then through David's descendants until their return from captivity to Israel, led by Zerubbabel. It then lists some of Zerubbabel's descendants

I Chronicles 17:13-15
"I will be his father, and he shall be my son: and I will not take my mercy away from him, as I took it from him that was before thee: but I will settle him in mine house and in my kingdom for ever: and his throne shall be established for evermore. According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David"