In this book we will read a summary of all of the Jewish Scripture - it is an important book filled with the most important themes in the story of God. This was originally also written as one book, which is divided in our Bibles into two parts: as 1st and 2nd Chronicles. 

For a broader view of this book of the Bible, we encourage you to watch this video: 

Bible Journaling Tip: In the majority of the Bibles worldwide there is not a lot of space left open for making notes - but that does not mean that you cannot Bible journal. Some creative ideas are to use different colors for highlighting, bookmarks that you write notes on, and add a few pages to the back of your Bible for a quick and easily accessible place to note down an idea. If your preference is to Bible journal online, or Bible journal electronically - JournalOwl's modern interactive eReader gives you the ability to inject rich media into the digital margins of your Bible. For example, you can record a quick prayer video for yourself, or mark it as public for others to see - and then tag it to a specific verse/scripture. You can also record audio prayers, and thoughts, or even make comments in the digital margins of JournalOwl's modern interactive eReader for 21st-century Bible journalers.

LOOK UP:
(information)  -  encounter God through the Scripture 

Author:

The author has been called “the chronicler” by scholars, but he is still not identified. Some have suggested Ezra as a possible author. What is clear is that this author wrote the book a few centuries after the return from the Babylonian exile. It is a book that reflects on the past and uses that to write a beautiful message of hope for the future. 

Audience:

The initial order of the Bible, the Jewish traditional ordering of the Bible, had Chronicles at the very end. It summarizes all of the Jewish scriptures, so it could have been written as the finale of the story. The order is not so important, but it is helpful for us to understand this as the summary it was intended to be. The audience is pointed towards the future when a Messianic king will come that will rule the nations with peace and justice - the text points to Jesus. 

History:

What is unique about this book of Chronicles in comparison to the rest of the books we have journaled about is that this is actually not following directly on the previous book. Still, we will be able to draw parallels to what we have read before. Our story that ended in 2nd Kings will pick up again in the book of Ezra.  

Genre:

Chronicles is a historical work that looks back, while at the same time being an encouraging and prophetic work that looks forward. See if you can mark with an arrow on the page where the text looks forward and where it looks backwards.

LOOK IN:
(revelation)  -  contemplate / reflect on our own lives

Key verse:

Inspiration:

In this Psalm of David we read about thankfulness. Have you heard about a gratitude diary? It is a notebook where one makes a list of all the things that you are thankful for. Some people start the discipline of writing down 5 things they are thankful to God for at the end of every day. It could look like: - the sunrise on the way to work, - when my friend brought me coffee, - the birds in the trees, - food to eat, - music.

What are three ways that you can add more gratitude into your life this week? 

LOOK OUT:
(transformation)  -  respond with creative worship action  

Drawing prompt:

A large section of this book focuses on the life of David, with some stories that we have read about before being repeated - but we also find some new accounts here that we have not seen before. David is cast in a very positive light by the writer of Chronicles because the aim is to show how the Messianic King will come from David’s bloodline. 

Draw a one-line non-stop artwork depicting all the scenes in David’s life that you read about in the book of Chronicles. You might need several pages to show the bigger picture of David’s life. Under these story plot sections of your line-artwork write down characteristics of God that can be seen in David - Where was he Faithful? Just? Trustworthy? 

Bible Journey with JournalOwl:

Here are some questions / prompts provided by the JournalOwl community. 

• Who was the firstborn son of Israel, and what did he do that dishonored his name? (I Chronicles 5:1)
• Who were unfaithful to God and worshiped false gods? (I Chronicles 5:24-26)

Follow this link to dive into this book with an online Bible Study group.

 Writing prompt:

In the first nine chapters we read endless genealogies. But don’t skip over these - highlight the names that you have heard about before and make your own family tree to show the story unravels with the characters and stories that you know.
Example: 
Adam & Eve! - - -  Noah’s ark - - -  Abraham and God’s promise - - - Abraham offers Isaac

Prayer:

God, I want to thank you for this first part of the book of Chronicles where we get to read a summary of the story between you and the Israelites. Give me wisdom to also have understanding for the parts of the text that speaks about your kingdom that will one day be established on earth. Let my response to this text be worship unto you!