Only recently have Old Testament scholars stopped regarding Chronicles as a poor relation to Samuel and Kings. There has been a new appreciation of the post-exilic period of Judah's history, when the Chronicler lived, and so a greater endeavor to understand his message and to differentiate it from the earlier messages of Samuel and Kings. Dr. Allen writes, "The heartbeat of Chronicles is a concern for spirituality. In this respect its key word is to 'seek' God, a term which is continually contrasted with its polar opposites, to 'forsake' God and to 'be unfaithful' to Him. Pastors and teachers who are diligent in studying Chronicles will find that Its exegesis flows smoothly into exposition and that its spiritual pulse beats in time with their own."