Though 1 Chronicles is just as vitally the Word of God as are all other scripture books, we pass over this now because, being largely composed of genealogies and many names, it is not suited to general Sunday school study. Personal study might yield great blessing to one who applies himself to it, for every name has meaning, and is actually for our benefit if we can discern it.
1 Chronicles is occupied mainly with David's reign because David is an outstanding type of Christ as king. 2 Chronicles begins with Solomon's reign. These two books differ greatly from the books of Samuel and Kings, for they emphasise the grace of God rather than His government, as do Samuel and Kings. David's great sin in connection with Bathsheba and her husband is not mentioned in 1 Chronicles, and Solomon's grave failure and disobedience is passed over also in 2 Chronicles, because the Lord here emphasises the truth that David and Solomon are types of Christ, in whom there is no failure. Those things that demonstrate the grace of God in enabling the kings to do God's work are prominent in this history. Therefore, 1 Chronicles speaks more largely of the evils of the ten tribes and their kings rather than of the failure of Judah, though in 2 Chronicles the history of Judah and her kings is prominent, and their failures declared too, while the ten tribes spoken of only in their connection with Judah, for only Judah had a true succession of kings of the line of David.