After the Chronicler listed the genealogies, he switched gears and began to make note of those who returned to Israel after their exile (1 Chr. 9:1-2). Judah was carried away into Babylon for their transgression of the Law. The landscape of Israel certainly changed since their exile. Both Israel and Judah had been raided and destroyed. The twelve tribes’s populations had been decimated. Monarchies were no longer in authority. Things had certainly changed since the Davidic reign.
Chapter nine is important because a large part of the chapter is spent on the priesthood and their duties. Now that God’s people were returning to their land, they weren’t going to be rebuilding the pagan altars and high places. That’s what got them evicted from the Promised Land in the first place. Additionally, Israel’s kingship wouldn’t be restored, but true worship would be revived.
One thing was needful in Israel, and that was devotion to Jehovah. Everything else was subservient to that main cause. Israel’s deviation from the Lord led to their demise. If they were going to bear any resemblance as God’s people, then they were going to have to get worship right.
Jesus said, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Mt. 6:33). Putting God in His rightful place in our life will allow everything else to fall in its rightful position. The Chronicler could have put these genealogies and Temple information at the end of his books. Instead, he placed them first to show how Israel got to be in the position they were in, and what it looked like to get finally get it right.