Word of Encouragement (10/29/2024)
Say also: "Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather and deliver us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise. 36 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting!" Then all the people said, "Amen!" and praised the LORD. (1 Chron. 16:35-36)
The prayer, on which we have been reflecting, was offered when David brought the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem and set it in the tent he had prepared for it (v. 1). This is the final part of the prayer.
The content is somewhat unexpected. By this time, David had united the kingdom of Israel and defeated the surrounding nations: “And the fame of David went out into all lands, and the LORD brought the fear of him upon all nations” (14:17). Why this prayer for salvation—“Save us, O God of our salvation...”? Under David’s leadership, Israel at that time was in the position of power and domination. And why this petition—“...and gather and deliver us from among the nations” as if the Israelites were scattered throughout the world?
Here, we must keep in mind that 1 & 2 Chronicles were written after the Jews came back from the Babylonian Exile, which started around 538 B.C. David reigned around 1000 B.C. When these Chronicles were written, Judah (which was the southern kingdom) was still under the occupation of Persia. Also, not all the Jews returned to the land of Canaan. Some of you might have noticed that the Chronicles deal with the roughly same period as the Samuels and the Kings. They contain a lot of the same materials. Why?
It may be that they serve as a double witness regarding Israel’s covenant relationship with the LORD. The Bible is a covenantal document. (So, the two parts of the Bible are called the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Five Books of Moses are called the Law (Torah). They were the constitution of Israel. The historical books of the Old Testament served as the evidence, which the prophets used to indict Israel’s covenant unfaithfulness to the LORD for violating the Law. Since two or three witnesses were needed to establish the guilt of a defendant, two witnesses were presented—the Samuels and the Kings as one and the Chronicles as another.
But these two historical witnesses were not mere duplicates. The former (the Samuels and Kings) was written before the Return and the latter (the Chronicles) was written after the Return. So, they were written to different audiences in view and, therefore, had different angles and tones: the former was written to justify God’s judgment on Israel and Judah; the latter was written to encourage the post-exilic community. So, this last portion might have been added by the Chronicler (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) to give hope to the Jews despite their discouraging circumstances.
Because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our perspective on life cannot be negative and hopeless. We are not under God’s condemnation wrath but His favor and love. God promised to cause all things to work together for our good. Let us reflect on this glorious truth so we can view all that is happening in our lives through the lens of a living and heavenly hope.