OUTLINE OF 1st CHRONICLES

By Gene McCarty

    The books of Chronicles are written to add to the information recorded in the early books of history. The authorship of the books is often credited to Ezra, but we truly do not know who wrote these works. 
    The prime purpose of this book is to give complete accounting of the generations beginning with Adam and taking us to the time of the kings. While this may not seem significant to us it is very important to the Jewish mind. The Jews had need to show their right to possess the portion of property that they lived on and were very interested in tracing their lineage to the Messiah. In doing the latter they would prove the faithfulness of their God to them as a nation, and of course they wanted to be able to identify the Messiah when he appeared. 
    In addition to the record of the generations, the book also pauses to give us  additional information about the history of the time. The reign of David becomes the chief subject for the first book. 

1. The genealogies begin with Adam in chapter 1 and continue with little interruption thru chapter 9. The descendants of Israel are the focus of the listings. It is interesting that the Edomites are included in this genealogy. Careful work is done to provide information about each clan of Israel and often the property that they possessed is also recorded.
    

2. Chapter 10 records the account of king Saul taking his own life. Chapter 11 begins a major interruption as record is given of David becoming king. The rest of the book details the events of his reign.
    

3. David shows his spiritual strength in chapter 13 by proposing that the Ark of the Covenant should be returned to Israel. Chapters 15 and 16 detail the events of bringing the ark to Jerusalem and placing it in the tent prepared for that purpose. The latter part of chapter 16 is the psalm of praise that David offers to God to celebrate this event. Also in verse 7 we learn a little about the collection of the psalms.
    

4. In chapter 17 we find the record of the extension of the covenant to include the building of the temple and the promise of protection for the nation that will faithfully worship Jehovah. The tragedy is that those who built the house soon forgot why they built it.
    

5. Chapters 18 thru 20 tell of some of the victories of king David’s reign. The picture is that of a great king, and it soon appears that David himself is convinced of his greatness as he begins to number his people in an apparent attempt to chronicle his success. Take note of the way this event is described in the early part of chapter 21.
    

6. Chapters 24 thru 27 turn back to the genealogies of the priest, singers, gatekeepers and the army of Israel.
    

7. Chapter 28 is the account of the covenant being passed on to Solomon. Verse 9 is most interesting.
    

8. The final chapter of the book is the final chapter of David's life and is generally an account of the collection of materials for the construction of the temple that is to house the Ark of the covenant.