At first glance, 1 and 2 Chronicles are extremely similar to 1 and 2 Kings, but with an important difference—the same period in history is told from an entirely different perspective. The books of Kings highlighted the failures of the Kingdom leading to it’s downfall and ultimately sending the Israelites into exile. In contrast, the books of Chronicles were written after the people returned from exile, and were now living subject to foreign overlords, occupying only a fraction of the land compared to the kingdom before exile. Remembering God’s covenant with David would have then raised a lot of questions for the people regarding their place in God’s purpose and plan. Chronicles was written to show that throughout their history, obedience to God always led to blessing and disobedience only created problems. Therefore, the Kingdom is not dependent on a king, because it is spiritual in nature. Instead of focusing on failure like Kings, Chronicles focuses on future hope in God’s promise and plan, by helping Israel live out his plan in the present. The book begins with a series of genealogies. While we may think today that genealogies are a boring way to give people hope, it was vital for the Israelites to remember that they were still in the long line of God’s chosen people, tracing their heritage back to Adam, then through the Davidic kings and Levites, and finally to their present community. Thus, they are still God’s people and can still live out God’s purpose for all of humanity.