Lord Jesus Christ, your light shines within us.
Let not my doubts nor my darkness speak to me.
Lord Jesus Christ, your light shines within us.
Let my heart always welcome your love. Amen.
The Assyrians took the northern kingdom of Israel into exile in 722 B.C., and 125 years later (597 B.C.) the Babylonians took the southern kingdom of Judah into exile. There was a remnant of people left in each kingdom. The Samaritans were descendants of the settlers in (what was) the northern kingdom, but the northern kingdom never really formed again. What was the southern kingdom of Judah does get repopulated with the Jews returning from their exiles, and that becomes the united nation of Israel.
2 Kings ends with Israel and Judah in exile, and we think 1-2 Kings were written during the exile. 1-2 Chronicles were written much later – after the return from exile. Today’s reading is primarily lists of genealogies from Adam to the return from exile.
2 notes about this seemingly uninteresting reading:
First, 1-2 Chronicles are the last books in the Hebrew Bible. The Hebrew Bible has all the same books our Old Testament has, but several appear in a different order. This genealogy traces God’s faithfulness from Adam to after the exile. This would be a very encouraging thing to a remnant of people post-exile – knowing God’s continued faithfulness to them.
Second, the greatest detail in these lists is devoted to Judah (at the beginning of the list), Benjamin (at the end of the list) and Levi (in the middle). The ESV Study Bible interprets this placement this way: “it indicates that Judah and Benjamin (the core of the old southern kingdom, along with Simeon, whose territory was merged with Judah’s) enclose or enfold Israel, while the Levites provide its spiritual heart.” The northern kingdom of Israel will never be formed as a separate kingdom again. God’s covenant with all 12 tribes will continue through those united in this small group.
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