Living the Word: Kings vs Chronicles

I am not sure what you call January 26^th. Some people call it Australia Day, while others call it Invasion Day. For some it is a commemoration of white settlement. For others it marks the commencement of theft, oppression, persecution and death. 

In our Reconciliation Action Plan, we say  

We know that we are the successors to the Church of England whose clergy and members arrived when the region was colonised. They led and participated in actions which have created multi-generational trauma among Indigenous peoples. … The majority of clergy and parishioners, employees and volunteers, and people we support are asking for a meaningful Reconciliation Action Plan in which Newcastle Anglican seeks to understand and respond to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ aspirations and needs. 

To do this, we must hone our capacity to hear stories that are expressed in different ways, and to examine them carefully in order to discern deeper truth. 

We are doing something similar in our engagement with the scriptures. The books of Kings and Chronicles recount overlapping events in Israel’s history, but they tell those stories in different ways. 

The Bible is a collection of books that have been written, edited, and shaped over time. One way of taking the Bible seriously is to attend closely to how these texts have been presented to us in their final form. The tensions, differences, and even contradictions within scripture can be received as invitations from God to attend more deeply to God’s call and command. 

I hope you are encouraged by the reflections and invitations to prayer. 

Every blessing, 

+Peter Stuart

Anglican Bishop of Newcastle

By Bishop Sonia

As I drive, I often listen to podcasts.  Included on my favourites list are some current affairs programs.  I find it helpful to listen to the different perspectives offered by various reporters as they analyse the events of the day.   Listening in this way, to what I think of as trusted news sources, helps to develop a deeper understanding of current events.  I also note on these programs that they speak of other news outlets and the audiences they broadcast or write for.  The bottom line?  One event can be viewed from a number of angles. 

This is also true in the Scriptures.  While it is our understanding that all Scripture is inspired by God¹, we also understand that the Bible is the work of various authors, inspired by God in their work.  The result of this is that there are places in the Bible where we hear slightly differing accounts of events as the Biblical authors compose their texts for differing audiences. 

Should this trouble us?  No, not at all.  As Richard S. Dietrich wrote,  

Why did not the various editors remove the contradictions?  We tend to think in terms of orderliness and logic. This is not a characteristic of the Hebrew mind. It is not that the ancient Hebrews were not intelligent enough to notice these things.  Rather, they were able to be comfortable with them, able to see the value of looking at the same thing form different points of view…. The editors often did not think it was right to set themselves up as judges, getting rid of a form of the story or forcing some pattern upon the different traditions to make then say the same thing. They simply included the different forms, and thereby saved for us accounts which give us a richer picture and deeper meaning that we would otherwise have had.² 

As we read in our opening reflection today, this enables us to “hone our capacity to hear different stories that are expressed in different ways… discern deeper truths.”   

These two volumes books of Kings and Chronicles are examples of histories that overlap, but do not sit entirely ‘tidily’ next to each other.   

Both sets of books cover essentially the same historical era, and have much common material.  But they are products of different times in the history of Israel (exilic v post-exilic), and as such they seek to communicate different through complementary truths.   

1 and 2 Kings are essentially a theological reflection on what the author’s first audience already knew of Israel’s history.  They give an account of the faithfulness – or not – of the Kings of Israel and Judah to God.  They formula in these books, after King Solomon’s death, is generally, “King X reigned for Y years.  He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord….”    The point the author is making is that many of the Kings in this period were not faithful to God.  This lens is used to assess the worth or not of their reign.  Only Kings Asa, Hezekiah, and Cyrus are commended in these books, because of their faithfulness.   

So, the books of Kings are the story of God and His people, of unfaithful leaders and their failed Kingdoms, which ultimately leads to exile.  It is the kings who are front and centre in these books. 

1 and 2 Chronicles are written much later and with a different purpose.  These are post exilic books and so are generally more positive in tone, reflecting the more positive times of the people.  They are also much more concerned with the worship of the people.   

Lawrence Boadt writes,

Because of the changed world of Israel after the exile, the priestly leaders felt the need for an updated version of Israel’s history. They took up and rewrote the…history found in the Books of Samuel and Kings from their own perspective.  No doubt one important reason was to explain the proper role of the kings over Israel in the past now that they were gone for good. Another was to emphasise the temple for religious worship.”³ 

The table below lists some key distinctions of Kings and Chronicles⁴.

It is true that the books of Kings and Chronicles recount overlapping events in Israel’s history, telling the story in different ways as they seek to communicate the story of God and their people.  None of this should disturb us, however.  Rather this gives us a richer lens with through which to reflect on both the history of our faith as well as our own encounters with God as we engage seriously with our Scriptures.   

In the service for the Ordination of Deacons we read: 

Do you wholeheartedly accept the canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, as given by the Spirit to convey in many and varied ways the revelation of God which is fulfilled in our Lord Jesus Christ?⁵ 

This is our central truth. 

¹1Tim 3.16. 

²Richard S. Dietrich, EFM Volume 1, 1984. 

³Lawrence Boadt, Reading the Old Testament, 1984. 

⁴Comparison of 1-2 Chronicles with 2 Samuel and 1-2 Kings, ESV.org 

⁵The Ordinal, Ordination of Deacons, APBA

By Father Rod

As we approach the 26^th January let us pray for those who understand these events form different perspectives. 

• We pray for First Nations people who live with the effects of colonisation.
• We pray for a harmonious multicultural multifaith Australia.
• We pray for our elected leaders, that we may be well governed.
• We pray that we may all be good and loving neighbours.

As schools return, we pray for the students, teachers and staff of:

• Lakes Grammar – An Anglican School
• Scone Grammar School
• Bishop Tyrrell Anglican College
• Manning Valley Anglican College
• All schools, both public and independent within the Diocese.

As traditional international relationships continue to evolve, we pray for:

• Wise and courageous leaders
• Deepening understanding of each other
• Patience and humility.

The Suscipe (Latin for “receive” or “take”) is a foundational prayer of surrender written by St. Ignatius of Loyola. It goes something like this: 

Take, Lord, and receive all my freedom, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, all that I have and possess. You have given it all to me. I return it to you. It’s all yours, do with it as you will. Give me only your love and grace, for that is all I need. Amen. 

In the context of seeing things from different angles, the Suscipe reminds that there is always another prayerful step. 

That of surrendering even our understanding to God, it is one of the last things we cling to.

True freedom comes from letting go of the attachment to our own understanding.  

We would love to hear your stories of prayer. Please send them to communications@newcastleanglican.org.au