Bible Study

Just for your thoughts.

1 Chronicles Book
Bible Study – 15
Passage for Meditation: 1 Chronicles 17:16–19

This is a passage dearly loved and often read by God’s children. These verses are also widely meditated upon during New Year services.

Yet, there are deep truths mentioned here that we often overlook. Let us now explore them.
When we read this passage in connection with verses 11–14 in this chapter, we can clearly understand the depth of David’s words.
In the NKV verse 19 is rendered as:
“

O LORD, for thy servant's sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all this greatness, in making known all these great things.

— 1 Chronicles 17:19
If someone reads this casually, they may think David is praising God only for the earthly blessings God had given him.
But that is not what David was saying.
David said:

“Who am I, O LORD God, and what is my house, that you have brought me this far?”
— 1 Chronicles 17:16
David was a great king:
A mighty warrior
An excellent military leader
A courageous man
Anointed as king at the age of 15
The one who defeated Goliath
The one who subdued enemies and brought peace to the nation
The one who established the greatest kingdom for Israel
The one who restored the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem after it had been missing for 60 years
God had given such great blessings to the shepherd boy who once wandered behind sheep.

But David did not say these words by meditating on these blessings.
He was thinking about a wonderful promise!
In the NIV translation 1 Chronicles 17:19 reads like this


”Lord. For the sake of your servant and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made known all these great promises.
In other words, God gave David an eternal covenant:

“I will raise up one of your descendants, and I will establish his kingdom forever.”
— 1 Chronicles 17:12
–14
This was not a promise concerning any earthly kingdom.
This was the promise of the Kingdom of the Messiah.
The promise given:
To Abraham,
In the Garden of Eden,
To the tribe of Judah —
All these were fulfilled in Jesus Christ, born from the lineage of David.
That is why David bowed down in deep humility and exclaimed:
“Who am I?”
When compared to this eternal promise, all the earthly blessings he received appeared to David as nothing.
Our Meditation
Earthly blessings last only for a time.

ButWe have a place in Heaven This is an eternal promise.
It is this promise that gives us true joy.
Before this, every worldly blessing is small.
If we truly are David’s spiritual descendants,
if we consider it a privilege that such great spiritual blessings are given to us who are unworthy,
and if we can say every day:
“Who am I, Lord?”
— then that is the most beautiful and meaningful essence of this meditation.