1 and 2 Chronicles (originally one book) contain a lot of repeat content from the books of Samuel and Kings. So there is a temptation to skip over them. But they are unique and important in the Bible. In the traditional Jewish ordering of the Bible Chronicles actually comes last, summarising all of the Jewish Scriptures. Written some time after the Israelites returned from exile when they were struggling to rebuild their land, the unknown author reproduces the great stories of the kings of the past in order to provide a message of hope for the future. He focuses on two clear themes: the hope of the Messianic King and the hope for a new Temple.