Our title this week is what Michelangelo supposedly said when asked how he sculpted the infamous statue of David. Whether Michelangelo said this or not, this is exactly what the author of Chronicles has done with the history of Israel. 1 and 2 Chronicles occasionally feel like a re-run of the Samuel and Kings texts and, at times, are an exact extraction.

If there is a good God who is in control over all the cosmos then why is there so much destruction and devastation? An obvious place to look for answers is the Word of God; therefore, the above scripture had gained so much traction.

Reading 1 and 2 Chronicles as someone this side of the New Testament, I cannot help but see a beautiful thread of the promise of God to David and Solomon, and His faithfulness to His people. This beautiful golden thread that the author is portraying shows how God was faithful even when the people and kings of Judah were not. Time and time again when the new king of Judah is introduced, just like in the story of the Book of Kings, you hold your breath in the hope that this one will do right in the eyes of the LORD.

Chronicles is written to remind the Israelites in the time of Ezra what a kingdom ruled with the correct balance of Levites (worship) and Law looked like. For the Jews, that was the kingdom of David. Throughout the text, you are going to hear much more about the role of the Levites within the community of God. With this correct balance of law, worship and obedience to God, David established peace in the kingdom (2 Samuel 7:1).