A Positive View of History

David’s throne will soon be back in Jerusalem. To attain God’s Kingdom, we must focus on Jerusalem, David’s throne and the land of Judah (called Israel today). If we get away from that, we are like the 10 tribes of Israel, which left the structure that God established. Instead, we must be sons of Zadok who focus on David—just as Christ, the Root and Branch of David, did. If we use God’s Holy Spirit and have the key of David vision, we will not go astray.

1 Chronicles 10-29 consists of 20 chapters about David’s reign. It includes a lot of history, but the main purpose of the book is a positive spiritual message: the key of David (Revelation 3:7).

What makes Chronicles and this section on King David so unique is that Ezra gives such a positive history. Ezra left out almost all the problems the kings had. In some cases, if they themselves were a big problem, he just left the kings out!

Ezra wanted to get people’s minds on a positive vision. They had just come back from captivity in Babylon, and it was a terrible time, much like the time we live in today. We are in a fierce warfare, and the Church has been devastated just as Jerusalem and Judah had been. The mistakes those kings made were already canonized in Samuel and Kings. The people now needed a positive message, and Ezra almost completely overlooked those mistakes because he wanted to emphasize what Paul says in Philippians 4: Focus on the good and virtuous, and realize that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.

We need to know about the problems and the difficulties—but we need our emphasis on the positive!

Chronicles was written long after all the history it records had already happened. Looking back, Ezra could see the whole picture, and he knew what was needed most of all. Spiritually, Chronicles has to be one of the most inspiring books in all the Bible, because Ezra really knew it was time to lift the people up. Most of all, though, this message is for us today, because we are raising the ruins spiritually—as ancient Judah was doing physically.

The Jews had to raise the ruins, but Chronicles was written after they had already done so. That fact also shows that this message is for us today.

This book teaches us how to raise the ruins and how to build a spiritual wall around spiritual Jerusalem and continue God’s Elijah work. At the same time, we have to expect fierce warfare. By studying the great leaders like David, we can see how to win this spiritual war.

The Positive Law

There is a theme woven throughout all of these books. 2 Chronicles 17 talks about Jehoshaphat giving instruction in the law. He sent teachers all over the nation to teach the law. Nehemiah 8:4 and 9:4 talk about the priests and the Levites who promulgated the law; and Nehemiah 8:12-13 talk about reading the law during the fall holy day season. Today, Christ sends men all over the world to preach the law.

Why did ancient Judah go into captivity? Because it was breaking God’s law!

The nations of Israel today have had a history with God and are held accountable. America, Britain and the Jewish nation are prophesied to make the same mistake that ancient Judah made.

It’s time for each one of us to wake up!

We must learn to be positive about God’s law. This world looks upon it very negatively and is literally falling apart as a result. I heard a lawyer say he was visiting his psychologist because he was so negative. He said that when you get into law, you meet a lot of negative people. He said that in any other profession, you find mostly positive-minded people, but that’s not true in law. Do you realize why that is? It is because people in that field so often try to free people from the law! Even if people are guilty of murder or some other terrible crime, lawyers look for loopholes in the law and any way to get around it. They are negative people for a reason. They are trampling all over the law of happiness and hope!

We need to understand how positive and how precious the law of God is! “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he” (Proverbs 29:18). This whole world is about to keep God’s law, and it will make people happy!

Ezra did not try just to give a good balance in Chronicles; you can get the balance by reading Kings and Samuel. He wanted to give people a very positive outlook and really get their minds on building and raising the ruins. He wanted them to focus on Jerusalem and why God had brought them back to Judah! He wanted to show them that it is through the law that we solve our problems and become unified and joyful!

We have to learn to build the way God does. Paul told us to think on positive things. He also said, What you have heard, what you have seen, what you have learned in me, do! (Philippians 4:8-9). That is a strong, positive statement. Paul was setting a positive example for those people. In his second epistle to the Corinthians, he described how he once came to the people in a negative way, then said he would never do that again because it made the very people who had inspired and uplifted him feel negative; that dragged him down as well. He really wanted to be a helper of the brethren’s joy! (2 Corinthians 1:24). Paul was a great builder for God.

In the book of Chronicles, Ezra spends a lot of time discussing the temple and building. God wants us to get our minds on building because that is our future for eternity. Building God’s house today has really set the minds of God’s people on the positive. We know this is a type of another temple that will be built when Christ returns. Then after the Millennium, new Jerusalem will come down and we will have new heavens and a new Earth. When you think about that, you don’t get gloomy thoughts. It fills you with unending wonder! If we get our minds on that, we will build and build and build! This building program is going to go on forever and ever!

In this gloomy, gloomy age, we need that positive perspective. There is bad news everywhere you look. As the times of the Gentiles approach, we have to see past the storm and be inspired! God is showing us how! There have never been times like this time, and there never will be again! God wants His people to be inspired. And He wants His ministry to be like Paul—to be able to say, “What you’ve seen in me, do!”

Never have we lived in a world with so many deadly problems. That fills the world with negative thinking. At the same time, God has us building as we will be when Christ returns. This building program gives us an inspiring vision. The process also prepares us to raise the ruins and build for God forever! This keeps our minds from drifting toward destructive thinking and rotten deeds. In the most dark and gloomy age ever, we have a dynamic message of eternal hope.

1 Chronicles 10-29 are about royalty. The whole book is about outstanding kings and their outstanding works, and outstanding priests and their outstanding works. In this end time, with so much revealed truth, God wants us to get the standard as high as possible! He holds us accountable for all He has given us—more than anybody ever on Earth. To whom much is given, of him shall much be required. We are kings and priests, after all.

God goes to great lengths to help us understand who we are and the most exalted calling we have received.

The Promise of 2 Samuel 7

Lange’s Commentary has this wonderful insight: “[T]he author of Chronicles confines his attention to David and the kingdom founded on the promise made to him in 2 Samuel 7.” That gives you an excellent idea of what Chronicles is really about: Ezra confined his attention to David because God was focusing him on the key of David message for us today!

What was that promise made to David in 2 Samuel 7?

At the beginning of that chapter, David became inspired to build God a house. God was very moved by David’s love for Him. He told the Prophet Nathan to give this promise to David: “And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever” (2 Samuel 7:12-13).

Even the authors of Lange’s Commentary could understand that Chronicles is based on this key of David message in 2 Samuel 7. Those commentators might not have believed this—but that chapter clearly states that this is an eternal promise!

God continued: “I will be his father, and he shall be my son” (verse 14). This is a family throne! Read Luke 1:30-33 and you see what kind of throne this is. It’s a throne that the Father and Son are opening up in order to build their Family!

We are sons of God, and He is dealing with us on the highest level with the most honored positions in His Family!

The commentary writer knew Ezra confined his interest to David and his throne, but he didn’t know why. We must know why! The carnal mind so often stops probing when the wondrous vision is about to unfold! People miss out on truth that is so sublime and noble! Ezra was writing the last book of the Old Testament. He knew the New Testament had to come, and that the New Testament would continue right on with the throne of David and that wonderful vision God has given us. The last book of the Old Testament leads right into Luke 1.

The quote from Lange’s Commentary provides us with a profoundly important principle. The author received a much deeper understanding of Chronicles than most Bible scholars do. The deeper we dig into our Bible study, the more we consume the endless depth of the Scriptures. Lange could have probed much deeper on the letter-of-the-law level. He knew that Chronicles was based on 2 Samuel 7, but he didn’t know why, because he didn’t have God’s Holy Spirit to take him deeper into God’s truth and answer the big questions. Before that happens, mankind must become more humble, childlike and repentant.

If we are perceptive, we should be able to see that man is seriously lacking in the ability to answer the big questions in life and to solve his problems.

We can send a man to the moon, but we can’t get along with our neighbor. Why?

God wants to teach us, but mankind continues to reject God’s message. Man is going to suffer until he is willing to be taught.

So what does it mean if Ezra built Chronicles around a promise made to David in 2 Samuel 7? Since the book of Samuel is one of the former prophets, a book of prophecy—mainly for this end time—then Chronicles is clearly a prophetic book. It is dual—there was a letter-of-the-law fulfillment, and it is also for us today spiritually, which makes it very prophetic as well. You can’t discuss the key of David without discussing prophecy, since it is the most inspiring prophecy in the Bible.

This message of David embedded in Chronicles is for God’s Church today!

The message continues: “And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever” (2 Samuel 7:16). This is an amazing promise that can be revealed only by the Spirit of God. Here you see what mankind doesn’t see: their incredible connection to eternal bliss! This verse shows the future of all mankind, if they will repent. Men with a carnal perspective look at it negatively—but it is pure, pure joy when you understand it and see it through God’s eyes!

When you really understand what Ezra is talking about in Chronicles, it is a most inspiring message. It is just filled with good news. And we need to understand it! Ezra’s Chronicles message is really for New Testament times, and specifically for the last era of God’s Church.

Satan has a hot hatred because he knows his time is about up, and he knows Christ has qualified to replace him. When he sees prophecies being fulfilled and God’s message going out, he knows he is about to lose his power! Since that is all he has to live for, he hates what we are doing, and he fights fiercely against it!

We are at war with the devil. He is trying to destroy the royal gospel about Christ forever ruling on David’s throne with His Bride! (see Revelation 19:7 and Isaiah 9:6-7). We HAVE to conquer the devil as Christ did. That is actually what qualifies us to SIT on David’s throne at headquarters!

Our message is the good news of the coming Family of God that will administer the government of God. We are going to rule from that special throne here on the Earth, from where the government of God will emanate throughout the Millennium for all of humanity. God is preparing His people to teach the entire world the key of David message. That is why we are called out of season! There is a work that has to be done, an open door we have to walk through.

We must have the faith to do this job! We must overcome. As you understand this message, you have to say, I’m going to have to grow beyond where I am in order to do this job! That’s what God wants us to see.

David thanked God profusely for the opportunity to be a part of this. He was so stirred, he wanted to build a house for God. God didn’t allow him to build the temple because of his bloody history, but He allowed him to prepare for it. And David rejoiced and just thanked God that he could be a part of that project.

David’s Example of Courage

In 1 Chronicles 10, Ezra briefly covers the history of Saul, simply as a way of introducing David.

Chapter 11 begins, “Then all Israel gathered themselves to David unto Hebron, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh.” They were really unified. God’s people should be so unified with the leadership Christ has put into His Church today!

The people were strongly supportive of David, and they anointed him king “according to the word of the Lord by Samuel” (verse 3). For the first seven years, he ruled from Hebron, but then he went into Jerusalem and stormed the castle of Zion, where the Jebusites were. He made that his home, and that area—where we have been helping in archeological digs in recent years—became his headquarters, known as the City of David (verses 2-8). “So David waxed greater and greater: for the Lord of hosts was with him” (verse 9).

A strong nation must have a strong military. But the lesson here is also for a church. If we are going to conquer for God—conquer Satan and overcome—then we have to be powerful spiritual warriors like those in David’s army. David was a very courageous man, and Ezra focused on how he battled and how his marvelous leadership inspired his men and the whole nation of Israel.

Here is one terrific instance of David’s inspirational example. Verses 15-18 tell of a time when the Philistines occupied Bethlehem, and David was hiding in a nearby cave. David wanted a drink from a well near the gate, and when he mentioned this, three of his men just got up, broke through the enemy lines, drew some water from the well and brought it back for their commander! They would do anything to please David!

Amazingly, though, King David refused to drink that water! He would not drink it because it was brought at the risk of his men’s lives. He didn’t want them making such risky moves unnecessarily just for his personal benefit. So he poured the water out on the ground as an offering to God.

Notice the scope of David’s leadership and his men’s loyalty. He loved his men—and his men loved him.

Verses 22-23 describe “Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of Kabzeel, who had done many acts; he slew two lionlike men of Moab: also he went down and slew a lion in a pit in a snowy day. And he slew an Egyptian, a man of great stature, five cubits high; and in the Egyptian’s hand was a spear like a weaver’s beam; and he went down to him with a staff, and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and slew him with his own spear.”

Remember when Israel cowered before Goliath? A young David was the only one who would stand up to the giant in faith and courage. But by this time, his example had caused many others to follow his courage and rise up to become giant-slayers! King David had real warriors!

Most of these men had grown very tough by sticking with David while he was running from Saul. They came to love David more and more. And they did mighty deeds for their leader. How rare are men like this today!

God used Ezra to emphasize the incredible warriors David had. These were courageous soldiers! We are soldiers battling for spiritual salvation (2 Timothy 2). Do we have such courage? Today, we must fight even more fiercely for God—spiritually. A great church must have strong spiritual warriors. We are called sons of Zadok today because we remain loyal to David’s throne from the beginning to the end. We are like David’s warriors, spiritually.

It takes great soldiers to take spiritual Jerusalem. It takes mighty men to complete this Work. That is the kind of effort the ministers must expend to get the job done and lead God’s people. God’s very elect will follow such warriors.

1 Chronicles 12 describes the heroes supporting David as “men of war fit for the battle” (verse 8). These were the men who exalted him in Hebron and had tremendous loyalty to him. Those warriors were only a type of the kind of spiritual warriors we must have today.

That is where Ezra wanted to put the focus. There is almost nothing here about Saul’s rule. He was a pathetic warrior and king.

A recent leader of the Jewish nation said, “We’re tired of fighting.” That attitude is an omen of the nation’s death in this evil world! It lacks the will to even survive!

God’s own Laodicean Church is dying today because the people were “tired of fighting” the spiritual war. Ninety-five percent of them left God. They lost the fighting spirit of David.

What a horrendous warning that is for us today!

The Ark

1 Chronicles 13-16 are about the ark. So much is recorded about the ark because it was a symbol of God’s throne. God spoke to His people from the ark! It was where God dwelled in spirit. We must vividly know where God dwells and speaks today, or we will lose everything.

David wanted to bring the ark back to Israel. At first, he and his servants put it on a cart, which God had commanded against. When one of the men transporting it, Uzza, reached out to steady it, God struck him dead.

At first, David did not understand why Uzza was killed. He became very upset and confused. But then he realized something valuable about the pure way to worship God. He knew that the problem was not God’s, but his. He was sorry for what he had done and repented and changed! He began to learn some lessons.

“Then David said, None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites: for them hath the Lord chosen to carry the ark of God, and to minister unto him for ever” (1 Chronicles 15:2). David became very concerned about doing things exactly as God had commanded! He explained to the men who were to do this job,
“[T]he Lord our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not after the due order” (verse 13). David had come to understand that there is a due order—a certain organization we must have to implement God’s Word!

We can see that God was preparing David to get everything in order to build His temple and to rule over the 12 tribes of Israel forever in God’s Kingdom.

“And he appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord, and to record, and to thank and praise the Lord God of Israel” (1 Chronicles 16:4). Before the symbol of the throne of God, there was a positive, specific organization. Is everything organized in our churches to the best of our ability to thank and praise our great God?

Preparing to Build

We saw in 2 Samuel 7 how David wanted to build God a house. Ezra included this in his book of Chronicles, and even added a lot of remarkable detail to this history.

David deeply desired to build the temple; God told him to prepare for it instead. And David prepared!

Chronicles is full of detail about how David did that. “Then David said, This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of the burnt offering for Israel. And David commanded to gather together the strangers that were in the land of Israel; and he set masons to hew wrought stones to build the house of God. And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails for the doors of the gates, and for the joinings; and brass in abundance without weight; Also cedar trees in abundance: for the Zidonians and they of Tyre brought much cedar wood to David. And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be builded for the Lord must be exceeding magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore now make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death” (1 Chronicles 22:1-5).

We were unable to build a house for God as magnificent as the one built by Mr. Armstrong. But we did all we could with our fabulous auditorium to give the living God fame and glory throughout the world!

We built and dedicated this house, not for the glory of men, but to exalt God’s great name to the largest audience possible.

When it says “David prepared abundantly,” this gives you an idea of just what that means: David said, “Now, behold, in my trouble I have prepared for the house of the Lord an hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver; and of brass and iron without weight; for it is in abundance: timber also and stone have I prepared; and thou mayest add thereto” (verse 14). David just gave everything to God!

David was being prepared to build forever!

Why did David want to build God’s house? “Let it even be established, that thy name may be magnified for ever …” (1 Chronicles 17:24). This is talking about David’s palace, where David’s throne was located, but the same principle applies to the house for God as well. Why was David eager to build it? To magnify the name of God forever!

When Judah was obedient to God, the temple was the center of worship for the whole nation. That is why David was so dedicated and excited to build God’s house. Everything in the nation was supposed to revolve around it. The purpose and work of that nation emanated from the temple. Today, the very elect are God’s temple. That is where you will find God’s truth and Work today.

Building God’s house today is not a selfish act. It is to magnify the name of God as we will do throughout eternity!

Shouldn’t we magnify His name forever after all He has done for us? This is the God who took a chance on losing His only begotten Son! Shouldn’t we magnify Him forever? He just keeps on giving and giving and giving. Probably the single best tangible way to magnify our Father is to build Him a house, a place for Him to live. He has promised to come and be here with us in spirit.

God wanted David’s son, Solomon, to build the temple. But Solomon only had to implement the plan David had laid out for him! That is the fruit of really working to organize for God!

God said of Solomon, “He shall build an house for my name …” (1 Chronicles 22:10). Our building project is not for us; it is for the living God!

The Ministry

Chronicles also comprehensively describes how David arranged and structured the jobs of the priests and Levites. Ezra really focuses our attention on these details, putting great emphasis on the ministry and the temple.

Lange’s Commentary brings out how Chronicles gives prominence to the tribe of Levi, its ordinances, divisions, offices and functions. Chapter 27 of 1 Chronicles discusses the military and civil offices under David. Ezra also recounts the arrangements David made shortly before his death in a great assembly of the people (chapters 28-29). It was all done “[t]o make sure everything was going in a predominantly spiritual direction and the spiritual state of the kings,” Lange’s says of the priests and the Levites.

So Ezra is talking about both kings and priests, which also shows that this message is mainly for us. All the priests and the Levites were organized very carefully. Like David, God’s ministers must be extremely well organized in order to ensure we get the maximum out of this worship of God and that we are ready to rule church and state when Christ returns! If ministers do not do their jobs, disasters will result! Today, 95 percent of God’s people have turned away from Him—probably the greatest disaster ever to strike God’s Church! Satan has taken them captive because they were not able to preserve God’s truth.

Lange’s also notes that “Ezra was showing the magnitude of the festivals.” Why was this important? Because Israel went into captivity for breaking the Sabbath and polluting God’s holy days.

God’s Church must make sure those holy days are organized. Those festivals picture God’s master plan, and they have so much depth that we will never get to the bottom! We must never allow them to become mere rituals, or a major catastrophe will always strike!

What causes righteous nations and churches to go astray? The Sabbath and holy days become ritualistic; the ministers’ messages become dull, boring and meaningless. We must never let that happen. Ministers are there to make the holy days deeper and more meaningful every year.

Ezra was showing the Jews why they went into captivity. It revolved around polluting and profaning the Sabbath and holy days.

Ezra was pounding home the basics. God’s people have had a terrible, terrible track record in this age. At the end of his life, Mr. Armstrong grew upset with and even pleaded with the ministers, saying, You men need to talk more about the Sabbath! That was stunning—yet look at what happened when they failed to heed that admonition and got away from the basics.

After hearing Mr. Armstrong say that, I went home and prepared a sermon on the Sabbath. I could tell that God helped me more with that sermon than any other in quite a while. Why? Because I was heeding the government in the Church—and also because it is such a vital subject!

If a minister sees that such a basic subject is really needed, he should prepare and deliver it and see if God doesn’t give him special help—even if people respond to it negatively. The minister is not up there to impress somebody or make himself look good. He is there to try to give God’s people what He wants them to have. God always backs that, even if it is the most basic subject you have ever heard in your life. If it’s what they need, that is what God’s minister should give!

Preparations for Worship

David did not leave the job of preparing for the temple to somebody else; he did it personally. God knew David was the man for the job. Chronicles goes into great detail about his arrangements for the temple (chapters 22 and 29), the furnishings for the temple (chapter 22), and the division of the Levites and priests (chapters 23 and 26). 1 Chronicles 24:1-19 describe 24 courses of priests!

1 Chronicles 25:1-31 list 24 courses of singers, and their names are repeated twice! Singing was truly important in God’s house! It is important in God’s house today as well. All of this takes good organization both in the field and at headquarters, which Ezra emphasizes.

1 Chronicles 6:31-33 also mention musicians. You’ll find descriptions of the singers in 2 Chronicles and even into Ezra and Nehemiah.

1 Chronicles 15:5, 8-11 and 17-24 talk about the Levites, the priests and the musicians who assisted in the removal of the ark, which was important to God and David.

1 Chronicles 23:1 talks about David making Solomon king just before he died. Then notice what he did: “And he gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites. Now the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and upward: and their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty and eight thousand. Of which, twenty and four thousand were to set forward the work of the house of the Lord, and six thousand were officers and judges: Moreover four thousand were porters; and four thousand praised the Lord with the instruments which I made, said David, to praise therewith” (verses 2-5).

Under God’s inspiration, David assigned 4,000 people just to praise God with instruments! In a limited way, those are the kind of plans we need to have for the house for God today.

Verses 28-30 say that the Levites and the sons of Aaron praised God twice a day; they were to “stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord, and likewise at even.”

“Moreover David and the captains of the host separated to the service of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps …” (1 Chronicles 25:1). They prophesied with harps, and most of that prophecy was for today. We feel it is a wonderful honor to prepare and perform music and singing in God’s house today. Won’t it be wonderful to prepare for Christ’s rule and for a much more exceedingly magnificent temple when He gets here? Then all of that talent will be used on this Earth to glorify and praise God, decently and in order, and everybody will love it!

At the end of his life, David was able to say, “Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God …” (1 Chronicles 29:2). Ezra made sure all the detail was recorded to help us see just how true that statement was!

“Moreover … I have set my affection to the house of my God …” (verse 3). It wasn’t even built yet! But this is what David was doing to make sure it was built properly and was exceedingly magnificent. That’s what God wants from us. This is an example Ezra recorded for us to imitate.

David prayed, “Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name. But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee” (verses 13-14). Who are we, after all, to have this honor to give and build a house for God? What an unparalleled honor!

To do this, we have to prepare and organize and do everything we can to set our affections on God’s house.

A Carefully Crafted Work

Notice the next to last verse in 1 Chronicles. “Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer” (1 Chronicles 29:29). Here were three of Ezra’s sources. He had books that are unavailable to us today. Ezra wanted to add more to the account of David. God inspired him to give a full account of the mighty deeds of David. This helped the people to get their minds on David’s throne, which kept them stable.

But all that research was mainly for our sake. Only we today really understand Ezra’s message. The Jews never understood the depth of what he taught them.

God has given us The United States and Britain in Prophecy, by Mr. Armstrong. It was one of the first messages destroyed in the 1970s, when God’s Church rebelled. After Mr. Armstrong died, again that truth was quickly cast to the ground.

Satan knows that if he can get our minds off the key of David vision, we will forsake God.

God has also given us The Key of David book and other literature to keep David’s throne dynamically alive in our thinking. It keeps Jerusalem’s history and future in our thinking.

Ezra was an intelligent, God-inspired scholar. He was a studier and a researcher. He worked very hard in putting this masterpiece together that is the book of Chronicles.

Naturally the kings had records and histories of themselves. 2 Chronicles 25:26 mentions the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 2 Chronicles 27:7; 9:29 and 32:32 talk of other sources, as does 2 Chronicles 33:18. Then 2 Chronicles 33:19 talks about the sayings of the seers. In 2 Chronicles 26:22, Ezra even quoted Isaiah.

Ezra knew what he was doing! He used as many great sources as he could get his hands on to tie everything together in this masterpiece of spiritual architecture! He labored intensively so God could show him what he needed to include in this message, the very last book of the Old Testament. The book of Chronicles was carefully crafted! We need to learn what Ezra has put together here, inspired by the living God!