There are a lot of geneologies in the book of Chronicles and there is overlap with the books of Kings and Samuel. So why is this book important and who decided it should be in the Canon of Scripture? Today we talk a little about this before we experience the depths of Psalms.

Today's Reading: 1 Chronicles 1-2 + Psalm 43, 45, and 49

Scripture Read or Referenced:

Psalm 43

Psalm 49

Artwork of Jerome with His Lion: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/336229

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Welcome to The Dwelling Place from Entrusted Ministries.

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I'm Stephanie Hickox.

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Today we're covering First

Chronicles chapters one and

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two in Psalms 43, 45 and 49.

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At this point, you know, I'll be

pretty honest with you, right?

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When I first read through those

chapters and Chronicles for

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today, I thought, oh yeah, great.

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Two chapters of genealogies.

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And I thought that maybe this would be

a good time to talk a little bit about

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why certain books are in scripture.

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Because Chronicles does have a lot of

genealogies and it does have repetition

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from the books of Samuel and Kings.

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Let's talk about what made it

into the canon of scripture.

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Canon means something straight,

like a measuring stick.

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And it should be the

guide for everything else.

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Every book of the Bible is there

with intention and has a purpose.

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Every word is inspired by him.

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Let's go back to the fourth century ad.

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There was a ruler named

Dian persecuting believers.

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He was on a mission to destroy all

the writings that Christians held

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dear, beginning in 3 93 bc some of

the early church fathers met in Hippo.

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Maybe you've heard of Augustine of Hippo.

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This is where he served, these church

fathers met there to decide which of these

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books are worth giving our lives for.

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I really love the way Linda LaCour.

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Hobar says it.

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It wasn't a matter of man deciding

what books went into the Bible,

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but it was up to man to discover

the books that God had inspired.

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And Josh McDowell, the famous author and

apologist, explains that there were five

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criteria in determining what should be

considered the Bible and the word of God.

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Number one was the book written

by one of God's prophets.

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Number two, did the book contain

miracles to affirm God's Acts?

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Number three, did the book

tell the truth about God?

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Number four, was the book powerful

enough to be life changing?

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And number five, did the early

Christians accept the book?

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Once they had those determined, they

protected these writings dearly.

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And it was about this time

that a man named Jerome.

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I wanted to provide the word of God

for more believers At this point, most

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of scripture was written in Greek,

but not everyone could read that.

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So Jerome translated the Bible

into Latin and it was called

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the Vulgate, which means common.

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He wanted the common man to

have access to the word of God.

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This might remind you.

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Of some others that came about a

thousand years later, like Martin

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Luther, William Tindale, and John Kelvin.

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I've read that Jerome so seriously

pursued holiness that he could be

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pretty hard on himself and on others.

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But when he was young, he intended

to be a lawyer, so he became adept at

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speaking and reading many languages.

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But then he felt the Lord calling him

to translate scripture into Latin.

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His grasp on the Hebrew and Greek

languages were certainly an asset.

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He devoted 23 years to

translating scripture.

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One of the oldest copies of his

Latin Vulgate weighs over 75 pounds.

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It's been told that he even

decided to live in a cave that

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many believed was the birthplace of

Jesus and he would work diligently.

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He believed God called him

to a life of simplicity.

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so he lived amongst monks.

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Legend has it that one day a

lion began to approach him and

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the other monks around him.

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The others flatten fear, but Jerome held

his peace as the lion approached, noticing

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that he was favoring one of his paws.

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Jerome examined the paw, realizing

there was a thorn causing the lion pain.

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Jerome carefully removed it, and as

the lion healed, it's said to have

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stayed by his side, lying beside his

desk while he translated scripture.

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I'll link an image of a famous piece

that the artist dur created of this.

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It's because there are so many people

that have devoted their lives to

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making sure that we could have the

word of God, that it was protected

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and translated into our languages.

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If you look around your home,

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you might have many Bibles

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and we can access.

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God's word on our phones and on

our computers, but it's a treasure.

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And amidst all the distractions

you have coming at you, God is

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pleased that you haven't forgotten.

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The transformative power of

his word surpasses everything.

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And as we look at the Book of

Chronicles, I want us to value it

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for why it is included in scripture.

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And not see it as an afterthought.

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In fact, did you know that the Greek

translators originally named it?

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Meaning the things omitted.

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They considered this to be

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kind of a little add-on to

Samuel and Kings, and because

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Chronicles comes after them.

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In our Bibles, people often treat

it that way, but Jerome gave

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it the Title Chronicles because

he felt it deserved more honor.

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The chapters we find contained in

Chronicles are theological history.

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They tell us what happened to

the nation of Israel, and also

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how God sovereignly ordained it.

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But at the heart is an encouragement

to stay faithful to the Lord,

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and a warning from turning away.

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It is his goodness that he doesn't bless

any path that leads us away from him.

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Jewish tradition says that Ezra,

the priest and Scribe, probably

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wrote the books of Chronicles.

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In fact, the last verses of second

Chronicles are almost identical to

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the beginning of the book of Ezra.

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And upon studying it, scholars have

decided there's such consistency among

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the book that it was written by one

author and that he was intimately

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aware of the temple practices.

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That means he was probably

part of the tribe of Levi.

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It was most likely written between four

50 and four 30 bc and we can tell that

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because of how far the genealogies extend.

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The book was written to the Jewish

people that had come back after the exile

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and were living in the Promised Land.

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And the author of Chronicles wanted

to warn the people to not forsake the

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Lord, but to stay faithful to him.

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So with that preamble, I'm

encouraging us to really press in.

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As I've said before, I'll say it again.

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whenever I read detailed genealogies and

scripture, I think this is real, if I

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were ever making something up or writing a

story for entertainment purposes, I would

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not begin with nine chapters of genealogy.

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But the author does and it has a purpose.

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In chapter one, he carefully explains

the genealogies from Adam to Esau.

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And chapter two explains

David's tribe and family.

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And this is setting us up for

the legitimacy of Jesus to

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be laid out in chapter three.

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But for today's reading,

let's look at the Psalms.

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Chapter 43 really resonated with

me because my kids have had some

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circumstances recently where some adults

mocked them for their faith in Christ.

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Vindicate me, oh God, and defend

my cause against an ungodly people

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from the deceitful and unjust man.

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Deliver me for you are the

God in whom I take refuge.

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Why have you rejected me?

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Why do I go about mourning?

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Because of the oppression of the enemy,

send out your light and your truth.

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Let them lead me.

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Let them bring me to your Holy

Hill and to your dwelling.

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Then I will go to the altar of

God to God, my exceeding joy.

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And I will praise you with the liar.

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Oh God, my God.

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Why are you cast down?

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Oh my soul, and why are

you in turmoil within me?

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Hope in God for I show again.

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Praise him, my salvation and my God.

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Chapter 25 is a love song.

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Some might say that there are echoes

of Solomon here, but there are parts

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that are undeniably about Christ

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beginning in verse four.

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In your majesty, write out

victoriously for the cause of truth

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and meekness and righteousness.

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Let your right hand

teach you awesome deeds.

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Your arrows are sharp in the

heart of the king's enemies,

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the peoples fall under you.

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Your throne, oh God, is forever and ever.

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The scepter of your kingdom

is a scepter of uprightness.

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You have loved righteousness

and hated wickedness.

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Therefore, God, your God has

anointed you with the oil of

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gladness beyond your companions.

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Jesus was no stranger to sorrow and

trials on this earth, but he also

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had the joy of restoring people

to a right relationship with God?

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Chapter 49 reminds us how fruitless

it is to live life for ourselves.

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Hear This All peoples Give ear,

all inhabitants of the world,

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both low and high, rich and poor.

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Together my mouth shall speak wisdom.

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The meditation of my heart

shall be understanding.

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I will incline my ear to a proverb.

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I will solve my riddle

to the music of the liar.

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Why should I fear in times of

trouble when the iniquity of

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those who cheat me surrounds me?

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Those who trust in their wealth and boast

of the abundance of their riches, truly

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no man can ransom another or give to God.

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The price of his life for the ransom

of their life is costly and can

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never suffice, that he should live

on forever and never see the pit.

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For he sees that even the wise die.

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The fool and the stupid alike must perish

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and leave their wealth to others.

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Their graves are their homes forever.

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Their dwelling places to all generations.

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Though they called lands by their own

names, man and his pomp will not remain.

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He is like the beast that perish.

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This is the path of those

who have foolish confidence.

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Yet after them, people

approve of their boast.

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Like sheep, they're appointed for sheel.

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Death shall be their shepherd,

and the upright shall rule

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over them in the morning.

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Their form shall be consumed in

sheel with no place to dwell.

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But God will ransom my soul from the

power of Sheel, for he will receive me

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being not afraid when a man becomes rich,

when the glory of his house increases.

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For when he dies, he

will carry nothing away.

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His glory will not go down after him.

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For though while he lives, he counts

himself, blessed, and though you

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get praised when you do well for

yourself, his soul will go to the

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generation of his fathers who will

never again see light man and his pomp.

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Yet without understanding is

like the beast that perish.

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Lord, we thank you for

every detail in your word.

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I pray that we would treasure every

verse that was translated for our

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benefit that believers die to protect.

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May we not take it for granted help us

to hide it in our hearts so it transforms

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who we are and corrects our thinking.

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We pray.

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We would hope in you that when our soul

is cast down or in turmoil, that we would

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praise you knowing you are our salvation.

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Let your light and your

truth lead us to your altar.

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That we would experience

your exceeding joy.

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Thank you, Jesus, that you are

victorious, and that you rule in

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truth and meekness, and my prayer

for this time of social unrest.

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For us as moms and for our kids

is that our mouths would speak

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wisdom and that the meditation of

our hearts would be understanding

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and not fear in times of trouble,

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prevent us from looking to

the treasures of this earth.

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As things that would give us joy,

help us to live for your glory alone.

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It's in your name we pray, Jesus.

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Amen.