I’ve mentioned here my approach to reading the Bible this time through, and the practicality of my decision is paying off in ways I hadn’t really expected. This morning I was blessed enough to have the patience to read through the entire book of Second Chronicles. While I may have realized it at some time in the past, I saw even more today the flow of the book as it gave the history of Judah’s kings from David to the exile in Babylon.
In the previous books (1 & 2 Kings and 1 Chronicles) I was seeing the history of Israel from a broader perspective. But today something clicked for me when I read of the death of Solomon and the succession of the throne to his son Rehoboam. For some reason, in my past readings the story of Jeroboam’s return from Egypt to reconcile with Israel was just another story in the line of “things the kings did (and messed up).” If you haven’t read it, it’s really quite interesting. I mean, where else are you going to hear such phrases as “my little finger is thicker than my father’s thighs”? What on earth that means would be hard to figure out, but for the context of what the speaker says next: “Whereas my father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, bit I will discipline you with scorpions.” Ah, so having a thicker little finger than your father’s thighs means you’re going to be an even bigger jerk than your dad.
And apparently that’s how you divide a nation too.
Reading these past several times (chronologically), that didn’t really jump out at me. I just got to a point where, hey, these “kings of Israel” were doing evil in the sight of the Lord, usually in contrast to the decent work that the kings of Judah were up to.
But reading Second Chronicles this morning as I did really helped me see the picture more clearly. While earlier I had to read the entire story in a timeline intertwining the kings of Judah with those of Israel (e.g. “In the second year of Joash the son of Joahaz, king of Israel, Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, began to reign.”), this time I was able to see the clear progression of the kings of Judah alone. This was fascinating to me for some reason, and a good part that was thanks to the continuity of sitting down and reading it all right through.
So there you have it. A better way? Not always. I’ll always advocate for the chronological reading of the Bible as a wonderful way to see the story unfold from beginning to end. But there is something to be said for a straight-through and uninterrupted reading too. Being able to read through with the same author, theme, and style keeps the flow. You may find yourself reading the same stories a few days apart, but the benefits of seeing them within the context of the books within which they were written is as valuable as any chronological reading.
But to tell you the truth, I can’t see a downside whichever way you do it.