So the Lord put [Saul] to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.
1 Chronicles 10:14b (NIV)

I enjoy reading the book reviews every Saturday in the Review section of the Wall Street Journal. I’ve found a lot of great books to add to my library and to my wish list. One book that made it on my wish list recently is entitled The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson. It focuses on the months between the election of Abraham Lincoln and his inauguration, and how those months contributed to the eventual secession that led to the Civil War.

I’ve noticed when reading critical reviews of books about history, the critic will often talk about what the author chose to include and exclude. For example, the reviewer of Erik Larson’s book lauded Larson for including “neglected figures” as well as for diminishing his attention to Abraham Lincoln as he is “so familiar a figure.”

In today’s chapter, the Chronicler finally switches from nine chapters of genealogies to the actual narrative of Israel’s history. What’s immediately fascinating is that he picks up the story with the battlefield suicide of mad King Saul, King David’s predecessor.

Back the truck up.

What’s fascinating about this is that the story of Saul is a huge part of King David’s backstory. I would argue that one does not have a true understanding and appreciation for who King David was without the years he spent on the lam from the mad King, refusing to take Saul’s life just to fulfill God’s prophetic anointing as the next King.

At the time the Chronicler is writing his retelling of history, the books of Saul and Kings are well-known. The story of Saul and David is well-known. Much like Mr. Larson, who chose not to tell the history of the entire Civil War, but only the fateful months preceding secession, the Chronicler is being selective in his retelling. He cuts directly to the start of David’s reign. The Chronicler already tipped his hand when he gave precedence to the genealogy of Judah and David in the opening chapters. His focus is on the story of King David’s reign and the reign of David’s dynastic line.

As I meditated on this in the quiet this morning, I found my thoughts floating down two rivers of thought.

Along my life journey, I’ve observed that most people are selective when it comes to which parts of the Great Story they take time to read and study. The four books dealing with Jesus’ life and teaching always make it to the top of the popularity charts and with good reason. The letters of Paul are always popular, as well. They’re quick reads packed with helpful spiritual truth and instruction, much like Proverbs which along with Psalms, You get where I’m going here. The ancient laws of Leviticus and the prophecies of Habakkuk aren’t “go-to” reading for most people. It’s not unusual for the Chronicler to be selective in his retelling, we all do it. What I’m curious to learn is which bits of history he selects to include and exclude, and what lesson there might be in that.

The other river of thought my mind wanders down in the quiet this morning is the reality that if I am endlessly selective in the bits of the Great Story I read and study, I will never fully understand or appreciate those bits and how they connect into the much larger Great Story that God is telling from Genesis to Revelation, from the Alpha-point to the Omega-point, from the beginning to end.

Last year, our local gathering selectively studied seven “I Am” statements that Jesus made in John‘s version of Jesus’ story. I was tasked with unpacking three of them. In each of my lessons, I sought to unpack how “Bread,” “Gate,” and “Resurrection” are recurring themes throughout the Great Story. With each metaphor, Jesus was saying “I Am the entire Story in bodily form.”

But I don’t fully appreciate each metaphor unless I know the entire Great Story, and how everything is connected.

FWIW: Here are links to those three messages:

“I Am the Bread of Life”
“I Am the Gate”
“I Am the Resurrection and the Life”

Having floated down two rivers of thought, I found that they converged in the words of the Teacher of Ecclesiastes: There is a time to be selective, and there is a time to be exhaustive. The Chronicler has chosen to be selective. Great, I’ll go with the flow, and try to learn from his selectivity.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.