Let’s just be honest: some books of the Bible are hard to read through. Really hard.
In fact, some parts of the Bible can be downright boring. (Is that wrong to say? Well, it’s too late to take it back now.)
The books of Chronicles
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Leviticus gets a bad reputation for killing a lot of Bible-in-a-Year plans by the end of February. But the past few weeks, I read through 1 and 2 Chronicles — probably the toughest books in the Bible for me. They start with nine straight chapters of genealogies. Nine. Straight. Chapters.
And then you get a few stories, but it’s not long before you’re plunged into another long list, this time of David’s mighty men. And then a list of the Levite families and their orders of service in the Temple. And a list of musicians and the instruments they play in Temple worship. And the divisions of the gatekeepers, and then the treasurers, and lists of various offerings that people brought to the Temple.
And that’s all before you get to the even lengthier book of 2 Chronicles.
But there’s a question we always ask ourselves as we read our Bibles: “What does this mean to me?” It’s a fair question. Application is important. “What does this mean to me?” is a question we all ask either consciously or subconsciously as we’re reading through Scripture. We want some kind of takeaway, some kind of relevance to our lives right now.
And that question can make this portion of the Bible even more of a chore to read through. These books in particular are characterized by lists of objects we’ll never see, names of people we’ll never meet, and numerical values that have no meaning to us today.
The question that changes everything
As I neared the end of the book, I found myself unsatisfied with uncovering any practical applications. There seemed to be no great answers to the question of “What does this mean to me?”
So, I decided to change the question. Instead of asking what 1 and 2 Chronicles mean to me, I decided to ask: “What do these books mean to God?”
And reflecting on that question opened a whole new perspective on this book. 1 and 2 Chronicles represent divine record-keeping. God kept painstaking detail on which individuals served in His Temple. He kept a record of when they were there. He kept a record of what they gave in tithes and offerings.
These minutiae from thousands of years ago might not have any direct impact on my day-to-day life. They might not matter to me personally. But they obviously matter to God. They matter enough that He shows us that He keeps records of it all.
The books of your life
And that fact does show me something about my day-to-day life: God keeps a record of the details pertaining to me, too. He keeps a book of my life. Many passages of Scripture testify to this fact.
Malachi 3:16: “Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name.”
Just like God remembers the actions taken by ancient Israelites in His Temple, the actions we took in service to the Lord have a record kept in Heaven. That includes whether you attended church last Sunday; if you played on the praise team or served in your church somewhere else this week; how you honored and blessed those around you.
Though these things can become routine — even forgettable to us — these details are not minor to God. He keeps track.
Eternal rewards
1 Corinthians 5:10: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.”
Every one of us will be judged someday for our works. This is not a judgment of our salvation, which is by grace through faith. But we will be granted (or suffer loss of) eternal rewards based on the actions we took while on this earth.
Daniel 7:9-10: “As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat … the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened.”
God will judge fairly and comprehensively. When we stand before Him, every individual action (and its motive) will be laid bare.
Matthew 10:42: “And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”
Whatever we do, no matter how small, matters to God — and has eternal ramifications.
Ask the right question of Scripture
When you’re struggling through a tough passage of Scripture — wondering what it’s doing in the Bible — frustrated with what it could possibly mean to your life today — perhaps change the question.
Asking what a passage means to God can unlock a whole new dimension of your Bible reading. Now, as I read through 1 and 2 Chronicles, I will reflect on God’s specific focus on our service to His Kingdom. And it will bring even more meaning to the individual things I do for Him.
It may be a while before I make it back around to reading these two books again, but I’m already looking forward to it.
Luke Taylor is an ordained minister with the Assemblies of God. He is the host of the “Weird Stuff in the Bible” podcast and recently launched a website (WeirdStuffInTheBible.com) to further answer peoples’ questions about the strange things in Scripture.
