Daily Devotional from 1 Chronicles 12--Verse 1Now these are the men who came to David at Ziklag, while he could not move about freely because of Saul the son of Kish.What a laundry list of God’s provision in David’s life! It’s so cool to revisit these stories from the perspective of the chronicler and catch so many different details than before. God knew exactly what and who David needed in order ...  Read More

Daily Devotional from 1 Chronicles 11--Verses 18 & 19Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and took it and brought it to David. But David would not drink it. He poured it out to the Lord and said, “Far be it from me before my God that I should do this. Shall I drink the lifeblood of these men? For at the...  Read More

Daily Devotional from 1 Chronicles 10--Verse 14He did not seek guidance from the Lord. Therefore the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.If God places you in a position of leadership, do not take it lightly. This might be a leadership role on the job, in the church, in a volunteer position, or in your family. If you are a parent, or an older sibling, you are...  Read More

Daily Devotional from 1 Chronicles 9--Verse 27And [The Sons of Korah] lodged around the house of God, for on them lay the duty of watching, and they had charge of opening it every morning…When the Israelites were allowed to return to Israel after the Exile, a specific clan of Levites was given the duty of guarding the Temple and leading in the preparation of the Sabbath. The Sons of Korah were ess...  Read More

Daily Devotional from 1 Chronicles 8--Verse 33Ner was the father of Kish, Kish of Saul, Saul of Jonathan…There’s a lot of pressure these days to erase (or at least heavily censure) historical figures we consider problematic. However, we don’t see that in the genealogies. Chronicles was written centuries after Saul, and the House of Saul was, in many ways, a blemish on Israel’s story. And while the...  Read More

Daily Devotional from 1 Chronicles 7--Verse 20The sons of Ephraim: Shuthelah, and Bered his son, Tahath his son, Eleadah his son, Tahath his son.Sometimes keeping track of people in the Bible can be difficult, especially when they have the same name. Consider the name Mary. There is Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary the sister of Lazarus, and Mary Magdalene to name a few. Joash was a name given to di...  Read More

Daily Devotional from 1 Chronicles 6--Verse 64So the people of Israel gave the Levites the cities with their pasturelands.When the Israelites took possession of the Promised Land, and the land was portioned out among the tribes, every tribe except Levi received an allotment of land. Was this a punishment to their tribe for some reason? Not at all. God required the other tribes to provide cities fo...  Read More

Daily Devotional from 1 Chronicles 5--Verses 25 & 26But they broke faith with the God of their fathers, andwhored after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them. So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, the spirit of Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and he took them into exile.The children of Israel continued to forget the blessings ofGod an...  Read More

Daily Devotional from 1 Chronicles 4--Verse 10Jabez called on the God of Israel. The name Jabez means pain. Apparently, his mother wanted her son to have a constant reminder that he caused her pain on the day of his birth. How is that for a stigma!? “You cause pain.”“You make me sad.”“You will never bring joy to anyone’s life.” Most of us know about the devastating effects our words can have on a ...  Read More

Daily Devotional from 1 Chronicles 3--Verse 9These were all the sons of David, besides the sons of the concubines. And Tamar was their sister.The first 8 scriptures list 19 sons born to David. Then the Bible admits there were sons of concubines, though they are not listed by name or number. Not every person in David’s family line was included in the Chronicles Hall of Fame.I have often wondered wh...  Read More

Daily Devotional from 1 Chronicles 2--Verse 3The sons of Judah: Er, Onan and Shelah…Now Er, Judah's firstborn, was evil in the sight of the Lord, and He put him to death.”This account may give us pause. How do we understand this? How do we reconcile God’s justice with His mercy? One pastor whose comments I read said we don’t:“…because they are not enemies, they are friends who are not in conflict ...  Read More

Daily Devotional from 1 Chronicles 1--Verse 34Abraham fathered Isaac. The sons of Isaac: Esau and Israel.Reading these genealogies is like a recap of all we’ve read this year. As you read, stop at the names you remember from past reading and reflect on their story. These first two chapters of 1 Chronicles remind me of learning about my own family history. As a kid, I loved hearing my grandparents’...  Read More