1 Chronicles Bible study guide

Group study · 7 sessions

Work through 1 Chronicles in order

Read each passage aloud before discussion. The questions begin with observation, then move toward interpretation and faithful response.

1. Session 1 · 133 verses

   1 Chronicles 1-3

   People and terms: Caleb, Hezron, Jerahmeel, Abraham, Cush, David

   • Before anyone explains it, walk through what actually happens here. Who does what, in what order?
   • What does the writer repeat? Repetition is usually the point, not a habit.
   • What surprised you, or what did you have to read twice?
   • Jerahmeel turns up in this section. What does the passage actually show, as opposed to what you already assumed?
   • The word abram is doing real work here. What did you assume it meant, and does the passage agree?
   • What did the writer choose to include here, and why that detail?
   • Where does this cut against something you already believe or already do?

2. Session 2 · 150 verses

   1 Chronicles 4-6

   People and terms: Kohath, Merari, Aaron, Bashan, Gilead, Ahimaaz

   • Tell the story back in your own words. What is easy to skip over?
   • Who is being addressed here, and what do they already know that we do not?
   • What is assumed rather than argued? Those assumptions are often the real claim.
   • Read this section from where Ahimaaz was standing. What changes?
   • Define cities from this passage alone, without reaching for what you already know.
   • This is a story, not a lesson with a moral attached. What is it showing rather than telling?
   • What would actually be different this week if you took this seriously?

3. Session 3 · 138 verses

   1 Chronicles 7-10

   People and terms: Saul, Jerusalem, Jonathan, Philistines, Bela, Kish

   • What happens in this section that you would struggle to explain to someone who has never read it?
   • Which single verse carries the weight of this section?
   • What is left unsaid that you expected to be said?
   • What does the writer tell us about Jonathan, and what is deliberately left out?
   • Where else have you heard wife used, and is it being used that way here?
   • Whose perspective are we given, and whose are we denied?
   • Who do you know who needs to hear this, and what stops you saying it?

4. Session 4 · 118 verses

   1 Chronicles 11-14

   People and terms: David, Philistines, Saul, Joab, Hebron, Uzzah

   • Read it once more, slowly. What do you notice the second time that you missed the first?
   • Where does the tone shift, and what causes it?
   • What question does this section answer that you had not thought to ask?
   • What would this section sound like if Uzzah were telling it?
   • The word ark is doing real work here. What did you assume it meant, and does the passage agree?
   • What would you have written differently if you wanted to make a point?
   • What is the hardest thing in this passage to accept, and why that one?

5. Session 5 · 135 verses

   1 Chronicles 15-19

   People and terms: David, Hadadezer, Ammonites, Asaph, Joab, Hanun

   • If this were the only part of the book you had, what would you conclude about Jesus?
   • What does the writer repeat? Repetition is usually the point, not a habit.
   • What surprised you, or what did you have to read twice?
   • Hadadezer turns up in this section. What does the passage actually show, as opposed to what you already assumed?
   • Define ark from this passage alone, without reaching for what you already know.
   • What did the writer choose to include here, and why that detail?
   • If this is true, what have you been getting wrong?

6. Session 6 · 120 verses

   1 Chronicles 20-24

   People and terms: David, Ornan, Aaron, Jerusalem, Joab, Solomon

   • Where does the pace change here, and what is the writer slowing down for?
   • Who is being addressed here, and what do they already know that we do not?
   • What is assumed rather than argued? Those assumptions are often the real claim.
   • Read this section from where Ornan was standing. What changes?
   • Where else have you heard angel used, and is it being used that way here?
   • This is a story, not a lesson with a moral attached. What is it showing rather than telling?
   • What would you want to be reminded of from this section in six months?

7. Session 7 · 148 verses

   1 Chronicles 25-29

   People and terms: David, Solomon, Asaph, Heman, Levites, Ahithophel

   • Before anyone explains it, walk through what actually happens here. Who does what, in what order?
   • Which single verse carries the weight of this section?
   • What is left unsaid that you expected to be said?
   • What does the writer tell us about Ahithophel, and what is deliberately left out?
   • The word month is doing real work here. What did you assume it meant, and does the passage agree?
   • Whose perspective are we given, and whose are we denied?
   • Where does this cut against something you already believe or already do?

Deep study

Keep the book in context

For fuller background, use the companion 1 Chronicles commentary and the Bible dictionary as you work through each session.