Summary

Finally, along with the eight kings, there is a list of eleven chiefs, and based on their placement in the list, they appear to have succeeded the kings.¹ Genesis 36:40–43 indicates that these chiefs spring from Esau. Allen Ross provides the following about Esau, that he was thus a great and powerful overlord, the father of the Edomites (Genesis 36:43), ruling over clans and regions (Genesis 36:40), with 11 clan leaders who descended from him.²

At this point we must ask why the Chronicler devotes so much time and space to the kings and chiefs of Edom. It is quite obvious that Edom was very much in mind because the Chronicler devotes twenty verses to Edom, descendants of Esau (1 Chronicles 1:35–54). He seems to be saying, Let us trace the history of Esau’s family before we trace the history of Israel’s family. The two were brothers, after all, and so the point is that the outcome of Israel is compared with those who rejected the Lord. The focus is going to be on the Davidic monarchy situated in Jerusalem, and it seems that the Chronicler pauses to compare it with the parallel institution in Edom. And here is where the statement in 1 Chronicles 1:43 becomes so significant: These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the people of Israel. The writer is not simply copying and pasting from Genesis 36:31. In his writings the Chronicler is inclined to take old history and give it a contemporary application. And the reader is to take note of this tendency. The Davidic dynasty lasted from generation to generation by God’s sovereign design; Edom had a chaotic series of unrelated kings.³ The house of David ruled from Jerusalem, the holy city; the Edomite kings had no less than three capitals (1 Chronicles 1:43, 1 Chronicles 1:46, 1 Chronicles 1:50). The Chronicler seems to have interpreted 1 Chronicles 1:51–54 as a sequel to the monarchy, following on the death of Hadad (1 Chronicles 1:51). In other words, the monarchy came to an end. It should not be forgotten, though, that the house of David was swept away into exile, which brought the earthly monarchy to an end, and so the comparison with Edom does have its limits. But David was told by the prophet Nathan that his kingdom would be an eternal kingdom (2 Samuel 7:13, 2 Samuel 7:16), and so the Chronicler looks deeper into the purposes of God and finds a Davidic king who would yet rule over Israel.⁴

If indeed the comparison of the house of David with the Edomite monarchy underlies 1 Chronicles 1:43–54, then it would be very interesting to test the preceding forty-two verses of 1 Chronicles to find out whether the same applies there. It is most interesting to note that no less than seventeen of the names mentioned in chapter 1 come up later on in the writer’s coverage of David and Solomon as subject to their control or influence. Tarshish (1 Chronicles 1:7) was the faraway place reached by Solomon’s navy and from which exotic imports came, such as ivory, monkeys, and apes (2 Chronicles 9:21). Sheba is mentioned three times (1 Chronicles 1:9, 1 Chronicles 1:22, 1 Chronicles 1:32), reminding the diligent reader of the Arabian queen who brought tribute of gold, fabulous spices, and precious stones (2 Chronicles 9:9).⁵ The Philistines of 1 Chronicles 1:12 were one of the most important conquests of David (1 Chronicles 1:12; 1 Chronicles 18:11; 1 Chronicles 20:4–8). It is from Sidon (1 Chronicles 1:13) that David ordered the cedar wood for the construction of the temple (1 Chronicles 1:22). The Jebusite, Amorite, and Hivite in 1 Chronicles 1:14–15 were subject to forced labour by King Solomon (2 Chronicles 8:7. And so, one could go on. One particular name in relation to the house of David is Nimrod (1 Chronicles 1:10), described as the first one on earth to be a mighty man. The comparison with David is striking: it was to him that the Lord promised, I will make for you a name, like the name of the great ones of the earth (1 Chronicles 17:8). The Chronicler seems to be suggesting that the mantle of Nimrod eventually fell on David, a king reigning in the kingdom of God and not in the evil empires of this world.

The first chapter of Chronicles resounds with references to Israel’s early monarchy. This chapter clearly points out that the kingdom of David and Solomon extended beyond the borders of Israel. Old Testament theology saw in the Davidic and Solomonic kingdom an earthly manifestation of a theocracy where David and Solomon ruled as God’s appointed representatives or regents. Since the God of Israel is the God of the entire universe, it would be logical to conclude that their rule far surpasses the arena of human politics. It was a foretaste of what was to come. The Davidic kings received as their portion the divine promises: Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession (Psalm 2:8), and “May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands render him tribute; may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts! (Psalm 72:10). Compare these texts with 1 Chronicles 1:7 and 1 Chronicles 1:9. David and Solomon were the models for a kingdom that God himself would establish. God had promised that he would establish their throne…forever (1 Chronicles 17:14). The prophets spoke of a Davidic king who would come, and he shall be great to the ends of the earth (Micah 5:4).

If the Chronicler looked forward to and envisioned a worldwide kingdom embracing all nations, what do we or should we see? We see with the eyes of faith a time when every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:10–11). If in light of 1 Chronicles 1:43–54 the world is portrayed in negative terms, as a total failure of human systems of rule, then by contrast we see the church marching relentlessly onward toward the ultimate goal as stated by the apostle in Revelation 11:15: The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. And may we add our Amen! Come Lord Jesus! (Revelation 22:20).