Names in Chronicles

It has been a few weeks since I posted on Bible reading, but I continue with it every morning. The two books of Kings finished Thursday and Chronicles started Friday morning. Some parts of the Bible are easier to read than others, but this is the area I find most challenging.

First and Second Chronicles primarily repeat the information given in First and Second Kings. Chronicles was written about the time Israel returned from captivity in Babylon to their home land. One difference between the books is that 1 Chronicles starts off with names, a lot of names.

The first chapter begins with genealogies from Adam, through Israel, and the kings of Israel. After several chapters of reading who had what sons, the book lists various positions held in the kingdom and who had them. Reading lists of names that sound very unfamiliar for several days gets challenging to stay awake, but they have a purpose.

God saw it as important to record each of these individuals, who lived in history, in a way that they would be remembered for thousands of years after they died. Very few people in the last 1,000 years get to have that recognition, let alone a large number of people as recorded in Chronicles. The genealogies also serve to record the ancestry from Adam, the first man, to Jesus. While I read each name recorded in this book of the Bible, it reminds me of more books that God has told us about.

In Revelation, and elsewhere, we read about judgement at the end of time. Books will be opened that have recorded our activities while we lived. Anyone whose name is not found listed in the book of life will be thrown into the lake of fire, where there will be everlasting torment, weeping, and gnashing of teeth.

While it may be difficult to sit and read through so many names, it should remind us that our name has been written down as well. Just as the people recorded in Chronicles have been written for all generations, so have our names been recorded for all of history. Every person needs to repent of sin and trust in Jesus alone for salvation and be written in the book of life. It is one record that will have eternal benefit, and always be remembered.