Q:Why is all the boring lineage of the Old Testament taking up so many pages when we only have one Bible? It seems like God would have much more important information for us that would be more relevent to our lives. What is there for us to learn from I & II Kings and I & II Chronicles?

A:We have to remember that our God intervened in the world throughout history. An example of that is the information about Jesus' birth in Luke 2, where we read about Caesar Augustus, who issued a decree, etc. In this way the reader can learn some historical facts related to Jesus' birth. We also cannot forget that the Bible contains many history books: out of the 39 books in the Old Testament, 12 are history books and of the 27 books in the New Testament, 1 is historical in nature (Acts).

There are many things we can learn in these books, especially the mighty acts of God and how He was always there to help His people and rescue them from their mistakes, disobedience, and sin. For example, the book of Kings discusses different kings - ones who were faithful to God, and ones who were not, and the consequences of their acts. When Israel was obedient, God brought peace to the land, but when the people were disobedient and worshipped idols, the land of Israel suffered wars and others disasters. The Chronicles were written for the exiles who had returned to Israel after the Babylonian captivity to remind them that they were from the royal line of David and were God's chosen people. The main theme in Chronicles is that God is always faithful to His covenant.

What is there to learn from these books? Well, that people in the Bible are not superheroes, but that they are people like us, made of flesh and bones - they are human! They have committed mistakes and sinned in their lives and if it were not for God's grace and mercy, they would have been without hope and salvation, like us too! In all of these books (as well as throughout the entire Bible) we can see God's faithfulness, the fulfilling of His promises, the rescuing of His people, and the redeeming of His people through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ (Galatians 4:4-5). What is there for us to learn from these books? The apostle Paul answers that question well: "for everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope." (Romans 15:4)