After emerging from the fire swamp of nine chapters of genealogies, the story in 1 Chronicles really gets started. Chapter 9 ends the genealogy with Saul and his family. Israel’s first king functions as a literary foil or mirror to highlight David’s good qualities. First Chronicles records Israel’s history in such a way to invite us to experience the same blessings God’s people experienced under the reign of King David.

But the story begins by urging us to avoid Saul’s spiritual disaster. We worship by saying together,

“We will not commit the unfaithfulness of Israel’s first king.”

We know this is the focus because of the narrator’s key comment in 1 Chronicles 10:13-14 “So Saul died for his breach of faith. He broke faith with the Lord…”

So, while the story ultimately shows us how David became Israel’s king, it also directs our faith.

You can show your congregants a gruesome picture of the results of disbelief and disobedience in 10:1-12.

As I said above, then you can show the root cause of all spiritual defeat (10:13-14). In his commentary on 1 & 2 Chronicles, Pratt defines a breach of faith as, “attitudes and actions which constituted flagrant violations of Israel’s covenant with God.”

And, finally, the remedy is simple: faith in God’s ability to deliver us from evil and bring us His best gifts. This is a good time to show how the writer of Hebrews repeatedly warned his readers to listen carefully to the Word of God (1:1; 2:1-3a; 3:7-19; 4:1-3, 5-7, 11-16; 6:4, 11-12, those terribly difficult warning passages!).

The story will go on to show how David was not like Saul. Where Saul consulted the dark side for help in the battle, David sought the Lord God.

Ultimately we follow David’s example of faith by placing our faith in the Son of David, our Savior. The new covenant He instituted with His blood provides us opportunities to experience the blessing of spiritual victories over the enemies of our souls.

May you preach such OT narratives so God receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal