Sing unto my Lord with cymbals: {106}
Sing unto him psalm and praise:
Exalt him, and call upon his name.
For the Lord is the God that breaketh the battles:
For in his armies in the midst of the people
He delivered me out of the hand of them that persecuted me.
Asshur came out of the mountains from the north,
He came with ten thousands of his host,
The multitudes whereof stopped the torrents,
And their horsemen covered the hills.
He bragged that he would burn up my borders,
And kill my young men with the sword,
And throw my sucking children to the ground,
And give mine infants for a prey,
And make my virgins a spoil.
The Almighty Lord brought them to nought by the hand of a woman.
For their mighty one did not fall by young men,
Neither did sons of the Titans smite him,
Nor did great giants set upon him:
But Judith the daughter of Merari made him weak with
the beauty of her countenance.
For she put off the apparel of her widowhood
For the exaltation of those that were distressed in Israel,
She anointed her face with ointment,
And bound up her hair,
And took a linen garment to deceive him.
Her sandal ravished his eye,
And her beauty took his soul prisoner,
The scimitar passed through his neck.
The Persians quaked at her daring,
And the Medes were daunted at her boldness.
Then my lowly ones shouted aloud,
And my weak ones were terrified and crouched for fear: {107}
They lifted up their voice, and they were turned to flight.
The sons of damsels pierced them through,
And wounded them as fugitives' children;
They perished by the battle of my Lord.
"I will sing unto my God a new song:
O Lord, thou art great and glorious,
Marvelous in strength, invincible.
Let all thy creation serve thee:
For thou didst speak, and they were made,
Thou didst send forth thy spirit, and it builded them.
And there is none that shall resist thy voice.
For the mountains shall be moved from their foundations with the waters,
And the rocks shall melt as wax at thy presence:
But thou art yet merciful to them that fear thee.
For all sacrifice is little for a sweet savor,
And all the fat is very little for a whole burnt offering to thee:
But he that feareth the Lord is great continually.
Woe to the nations that rise up against my race:
The Lord Almighty will take vengeance on them in the day of judgment,
To put fire and worms in their flesh;
And they shall weep and feel their pain for ever."
{108}
{109}
TALES OF ELIJAH AND ELISHA
{110}
{111}
ELIJAH AND ELISHA
PERSONS OF THE STORY.
_Elijah, Elisha,. Prophets_.
_Ahab, King of Israel_.
_Jezebel, his wife_.
_Joram, son of Ahab_.
_A widow in Zarephath, her son_.
_Obadiah, an officer of the king_.
_Naboth, a Jezreelite_.
_A woman of Shunem, her husband and son_.
_Naaman, captain of the hosts of Syria_.
_A little Hebrew captive maiden_.
_Gehazi, servant of Elisha_.
_Ben-hadad, King of Syria_.
_A King of Israel_.
_An officer of the King_.
_Jehu, a captain of the Hebrew army, afterward king_.
_Priests of Baal, courtiers, soldiers, servants_.
PLACES OF THE STORY.
_Samaria, the brook Cherith, Zarephath, Mount Carmel, Mount Horeb,
the Jordan, Shunem, Damascus_.
{112}
[Illustration]
Map showing Elijah's Travels,
by E. R. Hooker.
[End illustration]
{113}
ELIJAH AND ELISHA.
STORIES OF THE WONDERFUL DEEDS PERFORMED BY TWO
MEN OF GOD WHO LIVED IN ISRAEL.
_How Elijah Pronounced the Doom of Drouth. How He Was Entertained by a
Poor Widow, and How He Paid for His Hospitality_.
(In the Northern kingdom of Israel, a very wicked king named Ahab came
to the throne. This very wicked king married a woman named Jezebel,
who was even more wicked than himself, and they both did continually
that which was evil in the sight of God. They worshiped idols, and
they cruelly put to death those who worshiped God. Then there arose a
prophet named Elijah, and one day he came to the court of the wicked
king and queen, and spoke these words):--
"As the Lord, the God of Israel, liveth, before whom I stand, there
shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word."
This made the king very angry, and he would have killed Elijah, but he
escaped, for the word of the Lord came to him, saying, "Get thee
hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith,
that is before Jordan. And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the
brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there."
So he went and did according unto the word of the Lord: {114} for he
went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And the
ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh
in the evening; and he drank of the brook. And it came to pass after a
while, that the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.
And the word of the Lord came to him, saying, "Arise, get thee to
Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have
commanded a widow there to sustain thee."
So he arose and went to Zarephath; and when he came to the gate of the
city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks: and he called to
her, and said, "Bring me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel,
that I may drink."
And as she was going to bring it, he called to her, and said, "Bring
me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand."
And she said, "As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an
handful of meal in the barrel, and a little oil in the cruse: and,
behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for
me and my son, that we may eat it, and die."
And Elijah said unto her, "Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but
make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it forth unto me, and
afterward make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the Lord, the
God of Israel, 'The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the
cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the
earth.'"
{115}
And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and
he, and her house, did eat many days. The barrel of meal wasted not,
neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord,
which he spoke by Elijah.
And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the
mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that
there was no breath left in him. And she said to Elijah, "What have I
to do with thee, O thou man of God? thou art come unto me to bring my
sin to remembrance, and to slay my son!"
And he said to her, "Give me thy son."
And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into the chamber,
where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. And he cried to the
Lord, and said, "O Lord my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the
widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?"
And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried to the
Lord, and said, "O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul
come into him again."
And the Lord hearkened to the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the
child came into him again, and he revived. And Elijah took the child,
and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered
him to his mother: and Elijah said, "See, thy son liveth."
And the woman said to Elijah, "Now I know that thou
art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy
mouth is truth."
{116}
_How the Prophets of Baal Were Tested, and Failed-- How the Lord
Answered Elijah in Fire--How the Great Drought Was at Last Broken_.
And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the Lord came to
Elijah, in the third year, saying, "Go, show thyself unto Ahab; and I
will send rain upon the earth."
And Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. And the famine was sore in
Samaria. And Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household. (Now
Obadiah feared the Lord greatly: for, when Jezebel cut off the
prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them
by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.) And Ahab said
to Obadiah, "Go through the land, to all the fountains of water, and
to all the brooks: perhaps we may find grass and save the horses and
mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts."
So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it: Ahab went
one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. And as
Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah met him: and he knew him, and
fell on his face, and said, "Is it thou, my lord Elijah?"
And he answered him, "It is I: go, tell thy lord, 'Behold, Elijah is
here.'"
And he said, "Wherein have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy
servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me? As the Lord thy God liveth,
there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek
thee: and when they said, 'He is not here,' he took an oath of the
kingdom and nation, that they found thee not.
{117}{118}
[Illustration]
ROCK OF ELIJAH'S ALTAR ON MOUNT CARMEL AND OUTLOOK
NORTH OVER PLAIN OF ESDRAELON.
Copyright by Underwood & Underwood and used by special permission.
But it is as sanctuary that the long hill of Carmel is best remembered
in history. In its separation from other hills, its position on the
sea, its visibleness from all quarters of the country; in its
uselessness for war or traffic; in its profusion of flowers, its high
platforms and groves with their glorious prospects of land and sea,
Carmel must have been a place of retreat and of worship from the
earliest times. It was claimed for Baal; but, even before Elijah's
day, an altar had stood upon it for Jehovah. About this altar--as on a
spot whose sanctity they equally felt--the rival faiths met in that
contest, in which for most of us all the history of Carmel consists.
It is not without interest to know that the awful debate, whether
Jehovah or Baal was supreme lord of the elements, was fought out for a
full day in face of one of the most sublime prospects of earth and sea
and heaven. Before him, who stands on Carmel, nature rises in a series
of great stages from sea to Alp: the Mediterranean, the long coast to
north and south, with its hot sands and palms; Esdraelon covered with
wheat, Tabor and the lower hills of Galilee with their oaks,--then,
over the barer peaks of Upper Galilee and the haze that is about them,
the clear snow of Hermon, hanging like an only cloud in the sky. It
was in face of that miniature universe that the Deity who was
Character was vindicated as Lord against the deity who was not. It was
over all that realm that the rain swept up at the call of the same God
who exposed the injustice of the tyrant and avenged the wrongs of
Naboth.
[End illustration]
{119}
"And now thou sayest, 'Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here.' And
it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the spirit
of the Lord shall carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come
and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me: but I thy
servant fear the Lord from my youth. Was it not told my lord what I
did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the Lord, how I hid an hundred
men of the Lord's prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread
and water? And now thou sayest, 'Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is
here': and he shall slay me."
And Elijah said, "As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I
will surely show myself to him to-day."
So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him: and Ahab went to meet
Elijah. And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to
him, "Is it thou, thou troubler of Israel?"
And he answered, "I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy
father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord,
and thou hast followed Baal. Now therefore send, and gather to me all
Israel to Mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and
fifty, and the prophets of the Asherah four hundred, who eat at
Jezebel's table."
So Ahab sent to all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets
together to Mount Carmel. And Elijah came near to all the people, and
said, "How long halt ye {120} between two opinions? if the Lord be
God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him." And the people
answered him not a word.
Then said Elijah to the people, "I, even I only, am left a prophet of
the Lord; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men. Let them
therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for
themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, and put no
fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on the
wood, and put no fire under. And call ye on the name of your god, and
I will call on the name of the Lord: and the God that answereth by
fire, let him be God."
And all the people answered and said, "It is well spoken."
And Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, "Choose you one bullock for
yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name
of your god, but put no fire under."
And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it
and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying,
"O Baal, hear us."
But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped about
the altar which was made. And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah
mocked them, and said, "Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is
musing, or he is gone aside, or he is in a journey, or perhaps he
sleepeth, and must be awaked."
And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with
knives and lances, till the blood gushed out {121} upon them. And when
midday was past, they prophesied until the time of the offering of the
evening sacrifice; but there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor
any that regarded.
And Elijah said unto all the people, "Come near unto me"; and all the
people came near unto him.
And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was thrown down. And Elijah
took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons
of Jacob. And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the
Lord; and he made a trench about the altar. And he put the wood in
order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid it on the wood. And he
said, "Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt
offering, and on the wood."
And he said, "Do it the second time"; and they did it the second time.
And he said, "Do it the third time"; and they did it the third time.
And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also
with water. And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the
evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, "O
Lord, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known
this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and
that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O Lord, hear
me, that this people may know that thou, Lord, art God, and that thou
hast turned their heart back again."
Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt {122} offering,
and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water
that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on
their faces: and they said, "The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is
God."
And Elijah said to them, "Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of
them escape." And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the
brook Kishon, and slew them there. And Elijah said unto Ahab, "Get
thee up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.';
So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of
Carmel; and he bowed himself down upon the earth, and put his face
between his knees. And he said to his servant, "Go up now, look toward
the sea."
And he went up and looked; and said, "There is nothing."
And he said, "Go again seven times."
And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, "Behold, there
ariseth a cloud out of the sea, as small as a man's hand."
And he said, "Go up, say to Ahab, 'Make ready thy chariot, and get
thee down, that the rain stop thee not.'"
And it came to pass in a little while, that the heaven grew black with
clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went
to Jezreel. And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah; and he girded up
his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
{123}
_How Elijah, Threatened by Queen Jezebel, Lost Courage.
How He Made a Long Journey to Hear God Speak_.
And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had slain
all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto
Elijah, saying, "So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make
not thy life as the life of one of them by to-morrow about this time."
And when he heard this, he arose, and fled for his life, and came to
Beer-sheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there. But
he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat
down under a juniper tree: and he prayed that he might die; and said,
"It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better
than my fathers."
And he lay down and slept under a juniper tree; and behold, an angel
touched him, and said unto him, "Arise and eat."
And he looked, and, behold, there was at his head a cake baked on the
coals, and a cruse of water. And he ate and drank, and laid him down
again. And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and
touched him, and said, "Arise and eat; because the journey is too
great for thee."
And he arose, and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food
forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God. And he came
thither to a cave and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord
came to him, and he said to him, "What doest thou here, Elijah?"
{124}
And he said, "I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts;
for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down
thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword: and I, even I
only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away."
And he said, "Go forth; and stand upon the mount before the Lord."
And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the
mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord
was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord
was not in the earthquake: and after the earthquake a fire; but the
Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. And,
when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out,
and stood at the entrance of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice
unto him, and said, "What doest thou here, Elijah?"
And he said, "I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts;
for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down
thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I
only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away."
And the Lord said to him, "Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of
Damascus: and when thou comest, thou shalt anoint Hazael to be king
over Syria: and Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king
over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah shalt thou
anoint to be prophet in thy stead.
{125}{126}
[Illustration]
THE WILDERNESS OF THE BROOK CHERITH
Copyright by Underwood & Underwood and used by special permission.
It was in this wild country that Elijah stayed while the drought was
wasting the land. The exact location of the "brook Cherith" is not
known.
Of this region the following description tells: "When you realize
that this howling waste came within reach of nearly every Jewish
child; when you climb the Mount of Olives, or any hill about
Bethlehem, or the hill of Tekoa, and, looking east, see those
fifteen miles of chaos, sinking to a stretch of the Dead Sea, you
begin to understand the influence of the desert on Jewish
imagination and literature. It gave the ancient natives of Judaea, as
it gives the mere visitor of to-day, the sense of living next door
to doom; the sense of how narrow is the border between life and
death; the awe of the power of God, who can make contiguous regions
so opposite in character. 'He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and
water springs into a thirsty ground.' The desert is always in the
face of the prophets, and its howling of beasts and its dry sand
blow mournfully across their pages the foreboding of judgment."
[End illustration]
{127}
"And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth from the sword of
Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu
shall Elisha slay. Yet will I leave me seven thousand in Israel, all
the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath
not kissed him."
So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was
plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth:
and Elijah passed over unto him, and cast his mantle upon him. And he
left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, "Let me, I pray thee,
kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee."
And he said unto him, "Go back again; for what have I done to thee?"
And he returned from following him, and took the yoke of oxen, and
slew them, and made a feast of their flesh, and gave to the people,
and they did eat. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered
unto him.
_How the Wicked King and Queen Did an Evil Deed, and
How They Were Rebuked by Elijah_.
And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a
vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of
Samaria. And Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, "Give me thy vineyard, that I
may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near to my house; and I
will give thee for it a better vineyard than it: or, if it seem good to
thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money."
{128}
And Naboth said to Ahab, "The Lord forbid it, that I should give the
inheritance of my fathers to thee."
And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word
which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said, "I
will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers."
And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would
eat no bread. But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said to him, "Why
is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread?"
And he said to her, "Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite, and
said to him, 'Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if it please
thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it': and he answered, 'I
will not give thee my vineyard.'"
And Jezebel his wife said unto him, "Dost thou now govern the kingdom
of Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry: I will
give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite."
So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal,
and sent the letters to the elders and to the nobles that were in his
city, and that dwelt with Naboth. And she wrote in the letters,
saying, "Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people: and
set two men, base fellows, before him, and let them bear witness
against him, saying, 'Thou didst curse God and the king.' And then
carry him out, and stone him to death."
And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who dwelt in
his city, did as Jezebel had sent to them, {129} according as it was
written in the letters which she had sent to them. They proclaimed a
fast, and set Naboth on high among the people. And the two base
fellows came in and sat before him: and bore witness against him, even
against Naboth in the presence of the people, saying, "Naboth cursed
God and the king."
Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him to death.
Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, "Naboth is stoned, and is dead."
And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and
was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, "Arise, take possession of the
vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for
money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead."
And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab
rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take
possession of it.
And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, "Arise,
go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who dwelleth in Samaria: behold,
he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to take
possession of it. And thou shalt speak to him, saying, 'Thus saith the
Lord, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession?' and thou shalt
speak unto him, saying, 'Thus saith the Lord, In the place where dogs
licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.'"
And Ahab said to Elijah, "Hast thou found me, O mine enemy?"
And he answered, "I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to
do that which is evil in the sight of {130} the Lord. Behold, I will
bring evil upon thee, and will utterly sweep thee away: and I will
make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like
the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith
thou hast provoked me to anger, and hast made Israel to sin."
And of Jezebel also spoke the Lord, saying, "The dogs shall eat
Jezebel by the rampart of Jezreel. Him that dieth of Ahab in the city
the dogs shall eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the birds of
the air eat."
And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his
clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in
sackcloth, and humbled himself. And the word of the Lord came to
Elijah the Tishbite, saying, "Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself
before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the
evil in his days: but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his
house."
_How God Took Elijah in a Chariot of Fire_.
And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elijah by a whirlwind
into heaven, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. And Elijah said
to Elisha, "Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me as far
as Beth-el."
And Elisha said, "As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will
not leave thee."
{131}{132}
[Illustration]
THE GREAT ROAD GOING DOWN FROM JERUSALEM TO JERICHO.
From a photograph taken by Prof. David G. Lyon of Harvard
University, and used by his kind permission.
This road is the shortest from Jericho to Jerusalem, and therefore
the usual pilgrim route in both directions. Pereans and Galileans
came up to the temple by it; it was the path of our Lord and his
disciples, "when he set his face steadfastly toward Jerusalem"; and
from then till now it has been trodden in the opposite direction by
pilgrims from all lands to the scene of his baptism. When taken
upwards a more hot and heavy way it is impossible to
conceive--between blistered limestone rocks, and in front the bare
hills piled high without shadow or verdure. There is no water from
Jericho till you reach the roots of the Mount of Olives.
[End illustration]
{133}
So they went down to Beth-el. And the sons of the prophets who were at
Beth-el came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, "Knowest thou that
the Lord will take away thy master from thee to-day?"
And he said, "Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace." And Elijah said to
him, "Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to
Jericho."
And he said, "As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not
leave thee."
So they came to Jericho. And the sons of the prophets that were at
Jericho came near to Elisha, and said to him, "Knowest thou that the
Lord will take away thy master from thee to-day?"
And he answered, "Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace." And Elijah said
unto him, "Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to
Jordan."
And he said, "As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not
leave thee."
And they two went on. And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went,
and stood over against them afar off: and they two stood by Jordan.
And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the
waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two
went over on dry ground. And it came to pass, when they were gone
over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, "Ask what I shall do for thee,
before I be taken from thee."
And Elisha said, "I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be
upon me."
And he said, "Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see
me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee: but if not, it
shall not be so."
{134}
And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold,
there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, which parted
them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And
Elisha saw it, and he cried, "My father, my father, the chariots of
Israel and the horsemen thereof!"
And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent
them in two pieces. He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell
from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan. And he took
the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and
said, "Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?" and when he also had
smitten the waters, they were divided hither and thither: and Elisha
went over.
And when the sons of the prophets which were at Jericho over against
him saw him, they said, "The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha."
And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before
him. And they said to him, "Behold now, there be with thy servants
fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest
perhaps the spirit of the Lord hath taken him up, and cast him upon
some mountain, or into some valley."
And he said, "Ye shall not send."
And when they urged him till he was wearied, he said, "Send." They
sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him
not.
And they came back to him, while he tarried at Jericho; and he said
unto them, "Did I not say unto you, 'Go not'?"
{135}{136}
[Illustration]
THE VILLAGE OF SHUNEM
The little village of Shunem nestled on the slopes of one of the
hills which surround the plain of Esdraelon, the scene of so much
stirring life and so many battles. Looking across the plain one sees
Mount Gilboa, where the great disaster befell the army of Israel
when King Saul and sons went down in the tide of defeat which rolled
over the host. It is supposed that the Philistine army was encamped
at Shunem before the battle. The town was very familiar to Elijah,
who often visited it on his travels
[End illustration]
{137}
_How Elisha Healed the Waters_.
And the men of the city said to Elisha, "Behold, we pray thee, the
situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is
bad, and the land is unfruitful."
And he said, "Bring me a new jar, and put salt therein." And they
brought it to him. And he went forth to the spring of the waters, and
cast salt therein, and said, "Thus saith the Lord, 'I have healed
these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or
unfruitfulness.'"
So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the word of
Elisha which he spoke.
_How Elisha Helped a Poor Woman to Pay a Debt_.
Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the
prophets to Elisha, saying, "Thy servant my husband is dead: and thou
knowest that thy servant feared the Lord: and the creditor is come to
take my two children to be bondmen."
And Elisha said to her, "What shall I do for thee? tell me; what hast
thou in the house?"
And she said, "Thine handmaid hath nothing in the house, save a jar of
oil."
Then he said, "Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbors,
even empty vessels; borrow not a few. And thou shalt go in, and shut
the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and pour out into all those
vessels; and thou shalt set aside that which is full."
So she went from him, and shut the door upon her {138} and upon her
sons; they brought the vessels to her and she poured out. And it came
to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, "Bring
me yet a vessel."
And he said to her, "There is not a vessel more." And the oil stayed.
Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, "Go, sell the oil,
and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy sons upon the rest."
_How Elisha Brought to Life a Boy Who Had Died_.
And it happened one day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a
woman of wealth; and she persuaded him to eat bread. And so, as often
as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread. And she said to
her husband, "Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God,
who passeth by us continually. Let us make, I pray thee, a little
chamber on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table,
and a seat, and a candlestick: and, when he cometh to us, then will he
turn in thither."
And it happened one day, that he came thither, and he turned into the
chamber and lay there. And he said to Gehazi his servant, "Call this
Shunammite."
And when he had called her, she stood before him.
And he said to him, "Say now to her, 'Behold, thou hast been careful
for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee? wouldest thou
be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host?'"
And she answered, "I dwell among mine own people."
And he said, "What then is to be done for her?"
{139}{140}
[Illustration]
ELISHA RAISES THE SHUNAMMITE'S SON.
One of the most touching stories of the Old Testament is that of the
rich woman of Shunem, who made a little chamber for the stern
prophet Elisha, with a "bed and a table and a seat and a
candlestick." Richly did the good man repay this hospitality, when
he gave the dear little lad, the mother's only child, who was
sunstruck in the hot sunshine of the harvest days, alive and well
again back to her arms.
[End illustration]
{141}
And Gehazi answered, "Verily she hath no son."
And he said, "Call her."
And when he had called her, she stood in the door. And he said, "At
this season, when the time cometh round, thou shalt embrace a son."
And she said, "Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie to thine
handmaid." But, as Elisha had said to her, a son was born.
And when the child was grown, it happened one day, that he went out to
his father to the reapers. And he said to his father, "My head! my
head!"
And he said to his servant, "Carry him to his mother." And when he had
taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till
noon, and then died. And she went up and laid him on the bed of the
man of God, and shut the door upon him, and went out. And she called
to her husband, and said, "Send me, I pray thee, one of the servants,
and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come
again."
And he said, "Wherefore wilt thou go to him to-day? it is neither new
moon nor Sabbath."
And she said, "It shall be well."
Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, "Drive, and go
forward; slacken not the riding, except I bid thee."
So she went, and came to the man of God to Mount Carmel. And it came
to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi
his servant, "Behold, yonder is the Shunammite: run, I pray thee, now
to meet {142} her, and say to her, 'Is it well with thee? is it well
with thy husband? is it well with the child?'"
And she answered, "It is well."
And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught hold of
his feet. And Gehazi came near to thrust her away; but the man of God
said, "Let her alone: for her soul is vexed within her; and the Lord
hath hid it from me, and hath not told me."
Then she said, "Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say, 'Do not
deceive me'?"
Then he said to Gehazi, "Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine
hand, and go thy way: if thou meet any man, salute him not; and if any
salute thee, answer him not again: and lay my staff upon the face of
the child."
And the mother of the child said, "As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul
liveth, I will not leave thee."
And he arose, and followed her. And Gehazi passed on before them, and
laid the staff upon the face of the child; but there was neither
voice, nor hearing.
Wherefore he returned to meet him, and told him, saying, "The child is
not awaked."
And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead,
and laid upon his bed. He went in therefore, and shut the door, and
prayed to the Lord. And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put
his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands
upon his hands: and he stretched himself upon him; and the flesh of
the child became warm. Then he returned, and walked in the house once
to and fro; and went up and {143} stretched himself upon him: and the
child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.
And he called Gehazi, and said, "Call this Shunammite."
So he called her. And when she was come to him, he said, "Take up thy
son."
Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the
ground; and she took up her son, and went out.
_How a Great Soldier Was Healed of Leprosy_.
Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man
with his master, and honorable, because by him the Lord had given
victory to Syria: he was also a mighty man of valor, but he was a
leper. And the Syrians had gone out in bands, and had brought away
captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on
Naaman's wife.
And she said to her mistress, "Would God my lord were with the prophet
that is in Samaria! then would he heal him of his leprosy."
And one went in, and told his lord, saying, "Thus and thus said the
maid that is of the land of Israel."
And the king of Syria said, "Go now, go, and I will send a letter to
the king of Israel."
And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six
thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment. And he brought
the letter to the king of Israel, saying, "And now when this letter is
come to thee, behold, {144} I have sent Naaman my servant to thee,
that thou mayest heal him of his leprosy."
And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that
he rent his clothes, and said, "Am I God, to kill and to make alive,
that this man doth send to me to recover a man of his leprosy? but
consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me."
And, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had rent
his clothes, he sent to the king, saying, "Wherefore hast thou rent
thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a
prophet in Israel."
So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariots, and stood at the
door of the house of Elisha. And Elisha sent a messenger to him,
saying, "Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come
again to thee, and thou shalt be clean."
But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, "Behold, I thought, 'He
will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the
Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leper.'
Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all
the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean?" So he
turned and went away in a rage.
And his servants came near, and spoke to him, and said, "My father, if
the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have
done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, 'Wash, and be
clean?'"
{145}{146}
[Illustration]
SHUNAMMITE BOY
Photograph taken by Mrs. Frank L. Goodspeed of Springfield, Mass.,
and used by her kind permission.
This is a charming picture of a modern Shunammite boy. Just so must
have looked the son of the wealthy Shunammite of Elisha's day as he
left her in the morning to follow his father in the harvest fields.
[End illustration]
{147}
Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according
to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like the
flesh of a little child, and he was clean. And he returned to the man
of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he
said, "Behold now, I know that there is no God in all the earth, but
in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a present from thy
servant."
But he said, "As the Lord liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive
none." And he urged him to take it; but he refused.
And Naaman said, "If not, yet I pray thee let there be given to thy
servant two mules' burden of earth; for thy servant will henceforth
offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but to the
Lord. In this thing the Lord pardon thy servant; when my master goeth
into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand,
and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, when I bow myself in the
house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon thy servant in this thing."
And he said to him, "Go in peace." So he departed from him a little
way.
But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, "Behold, my
master hath spared this Naaman the Syrian, in not receiving at his
hands that which he brought: as the Lord liveth, I will run after him,
and take something from him."
So Gehazi followed after Naaman. And when Naaman saw one running after
him, he alighted from the chariot to meet him, and said, "Is all
well?"
And he said, "All is well. My master hath sent me, {148} saying,
'Behold, even now there are come to me from the hill country of Ephraim
two young men of the sons of the prophets; give them, I pray thee, a
talent of silver, and two changes of raiment.'"
And Naaman said, "Be pleased to take two talents."
And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two
changes of raiment, and laid them upon two of his servants; and they
bore them before him.
And when he came to the hill, he took them from their hand, and stowed
them in the house: and he let the men go, and they departed. But he went
in, and stood before his master.
And Elisha said to him, "Whence comest thou, Gehazi?"
And he said, "Thy servant went nowhere."
And he said to him, "Went not mine heart with thee, when the man turned
again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and
to receive garments, and oliveyards and vineyards, and sheep and oxen,
and menservants and maidservants? The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall
cleave to thee, and unto thy seed for ever."
And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.
_How Elisha Returned Good for Evil_.
Now the king of Syria warred against Israel; and he took counsel with
his servants, saying, "In such and such a place shall be my camp."
And the man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying,
"Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are
coming down."
{149}{150}
[Illustration]
LEPERS AT THE LEPER HOSPITAL, JERUSALEM
From a picture by Prof. D. G. Lyon and used by his kind permission
Leprosy was one of the terrible diseases in the days of the Old
Testament. It was much more prevalent then than now, and it spared
neither king nor commoner. "To be a leper was to be treated as dead--to
be excluded from the city as a corpse: to be spoken to by the best
beloved and most loving only at a distance: to dwell with none but
lepers; to be utterly unprivileged: to be denied the rites of the
temple and the synagogue: to go about with rent garments and covered
mouth, except when crying 'Unclean! unclean!' to find home in the
wilderness or in abandoned tombs; afraid to die, yet without hope
except in death."--_Gen. Lew Wallace in "Ben Hur"_
[End illustration]
{151}
And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him
and warned him of; and he saved himself there, not once nor twice. And
the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he
called his servants, and said to them, "Will ye not show me which of us
is for the king of Israel?"
And one of his servants said, "Nay, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the
prophet who is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou
speakest in thy bedchamber."
And he said, "Go and see where he is, that I may send and fetch him."
And it was told him, saying, "Behold, he is in Dothan." Therefore sent
he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by
night, and compassed the city about. And when the servant of the man of
God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host with horses and
chariots was round about the city. And his servant said to him, "Alas,
my master! what shall we do?"
And he answered, "Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they
that be with them."
And Elisha prayed, and said, "Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he
may see."
And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold,
the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, and said,
"Smite {152} this people, I pray thee, with blindness." And he smote
them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.
And Elisha said to them, "This is not the way, neither is this the city:
follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek." And he led
them to Samaria.
And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said,
"Lord, open the eyes of these men that they may see."
And the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were in
the midst of Samaria. And the king of Israel said to Elisha, when he saw
them, "My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them?"
And he answered, "Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite those
whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set bread
and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their
master."
And he prepared great provision for them: and when they had eaten and
drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the bands
of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.
_How the City of Samaria Was Sorely Besieged, and How
It Was Wonderfully Delivered_.
And it came to pass that Ben-hadad king of Syria gathered all his host,
and went up, and besieged Samaria. And there was a great famine in
Samaria: and after they had besieged it for a long time, so that the
city was in desperate straits, Elisha said, "Hear ye the word of the
Lord: thus saith the Lord, 'To-morrow about this time shall a{153}
measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley
for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.'"
Then the captain on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God,
and said, "Behold, if the Lord should make windows in heaven, might this
thing be?"
And he said, "Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not
eat thereof."
Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate: and they
said one to another, "Why sit we here until we die? If we say, 'We will
enter into the city,' then the famine is in the city, and we shall die
there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and
let us go over to the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we
shall live; but if they kill us, we shall but die."
And they rose up in the twilight, to go to the camp of the Syrians: and
when they were come to the outermost part of the camp of the Syrians,
behold, there was no man there. For the Lord had made the host of the
Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the
noise of a great host: and they said one to another, "Lo, the king of
Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of
the Egyptians, to come upon us."
Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and
their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for
their life. And when these lepers came to the outermost part of the
camp, they went into one tent, and did eat and drink, and carried thence
silver, and gold, and raiment, and went and hid it; and they came back,
and entered into another tent, and {154} carried thence also, and went
and hid it. Then they said one to another, "We do not well: this day is
a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the
morning light, punishment will overtake us: now therefore come, let us
go and tell the king's household."
So they came and called unto the porter of the city: and they told them,
saying, "We came to the camp of the Syrians, and, behold, there was no
man there, neither voice of man, but the horses tied, and the asses
tied, and the tents as they were."
And he called the porters; and they told it to the king's household
within. And the king arose in the night, and said to his servants, "I
will now show you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we
are hungry; therefore are they gone out of the camp to hide themselves
in the field, saying, 'When they come out of the city, we shall take
them alive, and get into the city.'"
And one of his servants answered and said, "Let some take, I pray thee,
five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city, and let us
send and see."
They took therefore two chariots with horses; and the king sent after
the host of the Syrians, saying, "Go and see."
And they went after them as far as Jordan: and, lo, all the way was full
of garments and vessels, which the Syrians had cast away in their haste.
And the messengers returned, and told the king.
{155}{156}
[Illustration]
RUINS OF SAMARIA
Samaria was splendidly situated to resist assault. On a hill 300 to
400 feet above the broad fertile valley, its battlements were beyond
bowshot of archers who might be stationed on near-by hills, and on no
side could catapults or towers be advanced. But the best situated
fortress may be starved out, and Samaria was in terrible distress when
one of those blind, unreasoning panics fell upon Ben-hadad's army, and
it fled away in the night with the city almost in its power.
[End illustration]
{157}
And the people went out, and plundered the camp of the Syrians. So a
measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley
for a shekel, according to the word of the Lord. And the king appointed
the captain on whose hand he leaned to have the charge of the gate: and
the people trampled upon him in the gate, and he died as the man of God
had said, who spoke when the king came down to him. And it came to pass,
as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, "Two measures of
barley for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour for a shekel, shall be
to-morrow about this time in the gate of Samaria"; and that captain
answered the man of God, and said, "Now, behold, if the Lord should make
windows in heaven, might such a thing be?" and he said, "Behold, thou
shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof": it came to
pass even so upon him; for the people trampled upon him in the gate, and
he died.
_How Elisha Anointed a New King in Israel, and How a Terrible Fate
Overtook the Wicked House of Ahab_.
(Ahab the wicked king died, but his son Joram, who was just as wicked as
his father, reigned in his stead, and he was helped on in his wicked
deeds by the wicked old queen mother Jezebel. But no matter how
prosperous and powerful evil men may be, there always comes a time of
retribution. Vengeance was now following fast on the footsteps of the
wicked members of the house of Ahab. King Joram lay dying of a wound he
had received in battle. Elisha saw that the time had come. He anointed
privately as king, Jehu, a brave, headstrong young general of the army.
Jehu did not wait for Joram to die, but made a bold dash for the throne.
This story tells of the wild ride he took (we say, "he drives like
Jehu," to the present day), of the way in which he beat down all
obstacles in his path, and of the terrible fate which came to the house
of Ahab.)
{158}
And Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets, and said
unto him, "Gird up thy loins, and take this vial of oil in thine hand,
and go to Ramoth-gilead. And when thou comest thither, look out there
Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi, and go in, and make him
arise up from among his brethren, and carry him to an inner chamber.
Then take the vial of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, 'Thus saith
the Lord, I have anointed thee king over Israel.' Then open the door, and
flee, and tarry not."
So the young man, even the young man the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead.
And when he came, behold, the captains of the host were sitting; and he
said, "I have an errand to thee, O captain."
And Jehu said, "Unto which of us?"
And he said, "To thee, O captain."
And he arose, and went into the house; and he poured the oil on his
head, and said to him, "Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, 'I have
anointed thee king over the people of the Lord, even over Israel. And
thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may avenge the
blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of
the Lord, at the hand of Jezebel. For the whole house of Ahab shall
perish. And I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the
son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah. And the
dogs shall eat Jezebel in the rampart of Jezreel, and there shall be
none to bury her.'"
{159}
And he opened the door, and fled. Then Jehu came forth to the servants
of his lord: and one said unto him, "Is all well? wherefore came this
mad fellow to thee?"
And he said to them, "Ye know the man and what his talk was."
And they said, "It is false; tell us now."
And he said, "Thus and thus spoke he to me, saying, 'Thus saith the
Lord. I have anointed thee king over Israel.'"
Then they hasted, and took every man his garment, and put it under him
on the top of the stairs, and blew the trumpet, saying, "Jehu is king."
So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against
Joram. ( Now Joram kept Ramoth-gilead, he and all Israel, because of
Hazael king of Syria: but King Joram was returned to be healed in
Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him, when he fought
with Hazael king of Syria.)
And Jehu said, "If this be your mind, then let none escape and go forth
out of the city, to go to tell it in Jezreel."
So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went to Jezreel; for Joram lay there. And
Ahaziah king of Judah was come down to see Joram. Now the watchman stood
on the tower in Jezreel, and he spied the company of Jehu as he came,
and said, "I see a company."
And Joram said, "Take an horseman, and send to meet them, and let him
say, 'Is it peace?'"
So there went one on horseback to meet him, and said, "Thus saith the
king, 'Is it peace?'"
{160}
And Jehu said, "What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me."
And the watchman told, saying, "The messenger came to them, but he
cometh not again."
Then he sent out a second on horseback, which came to them, and said,
"Thus saith the king, 'Is it peace?'" And Jehu answered, "What hast thou
to do with peace? turn thee behind me."
And the watchman told, saying, "He came even up to them, and cometh not
again: and the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi;
for he driveth furiously."
And Joram said, "Make ready." And they made ready his chariot.
And Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his
chariot, and they went out to meet Jehu, and found him in the field
which had belonged to Naboth the Jezreelite. And it came to pass, when
Joram saw Jehu, that he said, "Is it peace, Jehu?"
And he answered, "What peace, so long as the evil deeds of thy mother
Jezebel and her witch crafts are so many?"
And Joram turned his hands and fled, and said to Ahaziah, "There is
treachery, O Ahaziah."
And Jehu drew his bow with his full strength, and smote Joram between
his arms, and the arrow went out at his heart, and he sunk down in his
chariot.
Then said Jehu to Bidkar his captain, "Take him up, and cast him into
the field of Naboth the Jezreelite: for {161} remember how, when I and
thou rode together after Ahab his father, the Lord laid this burden upon
him; 'Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of
his sons,' saith the Lord; 'and I will requite thee in this field,'
saith the Lord. Now therefore cast him into this piece of ground,
according to the word of the Lord."
But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the
garden house. And Jehu followed after him, and said, "Smite him also in
the chariot": and they smote him on the way. And he fled to Megiddo, and
died there. And his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and
buried him in his sepulcher with his fathers in the city of David.
And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted
her eyelids, and adorned her head, and looked out at the window. And as
Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, "Is it peace, thou Zimri, thy
master's murderer?"
And he lifted up his face to the window, and said, "Who is on my side?
who?" And there looked out to him two or three servants.
And he said, "Throw her down."
So they threw her down: and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall,
and on the horses: and he trampled her under foot. And when he was come
in, he ate and drank; and he said, "See now to this cursed woman, and
bury her: for she is a king's daughter."
And they went to bury her: but they found no more of her than the skull,
and the feet, and the palms of her {162} hands. Wherefore they came
again and told him. And he said, "This is the word of the Lord, which he
spoke by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 'In the rampart of
Jezreel shall the dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel.'"
_How Elisha Had a Last Talk with the King_.
Now after many days Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he
died: and Joash the king of Israel came down to him, and wept over
him, and said, "My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and the
horsemen thereof!"
And Elisha said to him, "Take bow and arrows": and he took unto him bow
and arrows.
And he said to the king of Israel, "Put thine hand upon the bow": and he
put his hand upon it.
And Elisha laid his hands upon the king's hands. And he said, "Open the
window eastward": and he opened it.
Then Elisha said, "Shoot": and he shot.
And he said, "The Lord's arrow of victory, even the arrow of victory
over Syria: for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have
consumed them."
And he said, "Take the arrows": and he took them. And he said to the
king of Israel, "Smite upon the ground": and he smote thrice, and
stopped.
And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, "Thou shouldest have
smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst
consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice."
And Elisha died, and they buried him.
{163}
TALES OF SUCCESS AND FAILURE
{164}
{165}
THE STORY OF JONAH.
THE STORY OF A PROPHET TO WHOM GOD TAUGHT IN A WONDERFUL WAY THE LESSON
OF OBEDIENCE.
_How Jonah Reluctantly Brought a Message of Repentance and Salvation to
Nineveh_.
Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
"Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their
wickedness is come up before me."
But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord; and
he went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid
his fare and went aboard, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence
of the Lord.
But the Lord sent out a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty
tempest on the sea, so that the ship was likely to be wrecked. Then the
sailors were afraid, and cried every man to his god; and they cast forth
the cargo of the ship into the sea, to lighten it. But Jonah was gone
below: and he lay, and was fast asleep. So the captain came to him, and
said to him, "What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if
so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not."
{166}
And they said, everyone to his fellow, "Come, and let us cast lots, that
we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us."
So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. Then said they unto him,
"Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; what is
thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of
what people art thou?"
And he said unto them, "I am an Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of
heaven, who hath made the sea and the dry land."
Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said to him, "What is this
that thou hast done?"
For the men knew that he had fled from the presence of the Lord, because
he had told them. Then said they to him, "What shall we do to thee, that
the sea may be calm?" for the sea grew more and more tempestuous.
And he said to them, "Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so
shall the sea be calm; for I know that for my sake this great tempest is
upon you."
Nevertheless the men rowed hard to get them back to the land; but they
could not: for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them.
Wherefore they cried to the Lord, and said, "We beseech thee, O Lord, we
beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us
innocent blood: for thou, O Lord, hast done as it pleased thee."
{167}{168}
[Illustration]
JAFFA, THE ANCIENT JOPPA, LOOKING FROM THE SEA.
From a photograph belonging to Dr. W. J. Moulton
and used by his kind permission.
The city did not look just like this when Jonah came down to its
wharfs to escape from the command of the Lord. But it was a great
seaport, bustling with commerce in the days when the prophet found a
"ship" (about as large probably as a good-sized modern fishing boat)
bound to Tarshish, and "paid his fare" and took passage. Jaffa has the
only inside harbor between Egypt and Mount Carmel. At best the space
for shipping is very small. The entrance is very narrow and in high
seas very dangerous to enter.
[End illustration]
{169}
So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea
ceased its raging. Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly; and they
offered a sacrifice to the Lord, and made vows. And the Lord prepared a
great fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish
three days and three nights.
Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish's belly. And he
said,--
"I called by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord,
And he answered me;
Out of the belly of hell cried I,
And thou heardest my voice.
For thou didst cast me into the depth, in the heart of the seas,
And the flood was round about me;
All thy waves and thy billows passed over me.
And I said, I am cast out from before thine eyes;
Yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.
The waters compassed me about, even to the soul;
The deep was round about me;
The weeds were wrapped about my head.
I went down to the bottoms of the mountains;
The earth with her bars closed upon me for ever:
Yet hast thou brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God.
When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord:
And my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.
They that regard lying vanities
Forsake their own mercy.
But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving;
I will pay that which I have vowed.
Salvation is of the Lord."
And the Lord spoke unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry
land.
{170}
And the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, "Arise,
go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I
bid thee."
So Jonah arose, and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord.
Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city, of three days' journey. And
Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and
said, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown."
And the people of Nineveh believed God; and they proclaimed a fast, and
put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.
And the tidings reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his
throne, and laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth and
sat in ashes. And he made proclamation and published through Nineveh by
the decree of the king and his nobles.
A PROCLAMATION.
_Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything: let them
not feed nor drink water: but let them be covered with sackcloth, both
man and beast, and let them cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn
everyone from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their
hands. Who knoweth whether God will not turn and repent, and turn away
from his fierce anger, that we perish not?_
And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God
repented of the evil, which he said he would do unto them; and he did it
not.
But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.
And he prayed to the Lord, and said, "I pray thee, O Lord, {171} was not
this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I hasted to flee
to Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and full of
compassion, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy, and repentest thee of
the evil. Therefore now, O Lord, take, I beseech thee, my life from me;
for it is better for me to die than to live."
And the Lord said, "Doest thou well to be angry?" Then Jonah went out of
the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a
shelter, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would
become of the city. And the Lord God prepared a gourd, and made it to
come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head. So Jonah
was exceeding glad because of the gourd. But God prepared a worm when
the morning rose the next day, and it ate the gourd, that it withered.
And it came to pass, when the sun arose, that God prepared a sultry east
wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and
requested for himself that he might die, and said, "It is better for me
to die than to live."
And God said to Jonah, "Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd?"
And he said, "I do well to be angry even unto death."
And the Lord said, "Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for which thou
hast not labored, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night,
and perished in a night: and should not I have pity on Nineveh, that
great city; wherein are more than sixty thousand persons that cannot
discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much
cattle?"
{172}
SAMSON.
THE STORY OF A MAN WITH A STRONG BODY, WHO OFTEN YIELDED TO TEMPTATION,
AND WHO FELL BECAUSE HE WAS NOT STRONG IN SPIRIT.
_How Samson Slew a Lion and Made a Riddle_.
(There was a man of the tribe of Dan, whose name was Manoah, and he and
his wife had a son whose name was Samson, and Samson had strength of
body above all other men of his time.)
And Samson went down to Timnah, and saw a woman in Timnah of the
daughters of the Philistines. And he came up and told his father and his
mother, and said, "I have seen a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the
Philistines: now therefore get her for me to be my wife."
Then his father and his mother said to him, "Is there not a woman among
the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest
to take a wife of the Philistines?"
And Samson said to his father, "Get her for me; for she pleaseth me
well."
But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the Lord; for he
sought an occasion against the Philistines. Now at that time the
Philistines had rule over Israel.
Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnah, and
came to the vineyards of Timnah: {173} and, behold, a young lion roared
against him. And the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he
tore him as he would have torn a kid, and he had nothing in his hand:
but he told not his father or his mother what he had done. And he went
down and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well. And after a
while he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of
the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the
lion, and honey. And he took it into his hands, and went on, eating as
he went, and he came to his father and mother, and gave unto them, and
they did eat: but he told them not that he had taken the honey out of
the body of the lion.
And his father went down unto the woman: and Samson made there a feast;
for so used the young men to do. And it came to pass, when they saw him,
that they brought thirty companions to be with him. And Samson said to
them, "Let me now put forth a riddle for you: if ye can declare it unto
me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give
you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of raiment: but if ye
cannot declare it to me, then shall ye give me thirty linen garments and
thirty changes of raiment."
And they said to him, "Put forth thy riddle, that we may hear it." And
he said to them,--
"Out of the eater came forth food,
And out of the strong came forth sweetness."
And they could not in three days declare the riddle.
{174}
And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said to Samson's
wife, "Entice thy husband, that he may declare to us the riddle, lest
we burn thee and thy father's house with fire: have ye called us to
impoverish us?"
And Samson's wife wept before him, and said, "Thou dost but hate me,
and lovest me not: thou hast put forth a riddle unto the children of
my people, and hast not told it me."
And he said to her, "Behold, I have not told it to my father nor my
mother, and shall I tell it to thee?"
And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted: and
it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her, because she
pressed him sore: and she told the riddle to the children of her
people.
And the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun
went down, "What is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger than a
lion?" And he said unto them,--
"If ye had not plowed with my heifer,
Ye had not found out my riddle."
And the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he went down to
Ashkelon, and smote thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave
the changes of raiment unto them that declared the riddle. And his
anger was kindled, and he went up to his father's house.
{175}
_How Samson Burned the Cornfield and Slew His Enemies_.
At another time, Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took
firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst
between every two tails. And when he had set the brands on fire, he
let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up
both the shocks and the standing corn, and also the oliveyards.
Then the Philistines went up, and camped in Judah, and spread
themselves in Lehi. And the men of Judah said, "Why are ye come up
against us?"
And they said, "To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he hath
done to us."
Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of
Etam, and said to Samson, "Knowest thou not that the Philistines are
rulers over us? what then is this that thou hast done to us?"
And he said to them, "As they did to me, so have I done to them."
And they said to him, "We are come down to bind thee, that we may
deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines."
And Samson said unto them, "Swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon
me yourselves."
And they spoke unto him, saying, "No; but we will bind thee fast, and
deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will not kill thee."
And they bound him with two new ropes, and brought him up from the
rock. When he came unto Lehi, the {176} Philistines shouted as they
met him: and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and the
ropes that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire,
and his bands dropped from off his hands.
And he found a fresh jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and
took it, and smote a thousand men therewith. And Samson said,--
"With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps,
With the jawbone of an ass have I smitten a thousand men."
_How Samson Carried Off the Gates of Gaza_.
And Samson went to Gaza. And it was told the Gazites, saying, "Samson
is come hither." And they surrounded him, and laid wait for him all
night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying,
"Let be till morning light, then we will kill him."
And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and laid hold of
the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and plucked them
up, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up
to the top of the mountain that is before Hebron.
_How Samson Was Betrayed by His Own Weakness Into
the Hands of His Enemies_.
And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of
Sorek, whose name was Delilah. And the lords of the Philistines came
up to her, and said unto her, {177} "Entice him, and see wherein his
great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him,
that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee everyone of
us eleven hundred pieces of silver."
And Delilah said to Samson, "Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great
strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee."
And Samson said to her, "If they bind me with seven green withes that
were never dried, then shall I become weak, and be as another man."
Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withes
which had not been dried, and she bound him with them. Now she had men
lying in wait abiding in the inner chamber. And she said unto him,
"The Philistines be upon thee, Samson."
And he broke the withes, as a string of tow is broken when it toucheth
the fire. So his strength was not known.
And Delilah said to Samson, "Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me
lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound."
And he said to her, "If they only bind me with new ropes wherewith no
work hath been done, then shall I become weak, and be as another man."
So Delilah took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him,
"The Philistines be upon thee, Samson."
And the men who were lying in wait were abiding in the inner chamber.
And he broke them from off his arms like a thread.
And Delilah said to Samson, "Hitherto thou hast {178} mocked me, and
told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound."
And he said to her, "If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with
the web in the loom." And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto
him, "The Philistines be upon thee, Samson." And he awaked out of his
sleep, and plucked away the pin of the beam, and the web.
And she said to him, "How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine
heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast
not told me wherein thy great strength lieth."
And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and
urged him, that his soul was sorely vexed.
And he told her all his heart, and said to her, "There hath not come a
razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazirite unto God from my
birth: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall
become weak, and be like any other man."
And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and
called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, "Come up this once,
for he hath told me all his heart."
Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and brought the
money in their hand. And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she
called for a man, and shaved off the seven locks of his head; and his
strength went from him.
And she said, "The Philistines be upon thee, Samson."
{179}{180}
[Illustration]
THE VALLEY OF SOREK
From a photograph taken by Prof. D. G. Lyon
and used by his kind permission.
The valley of Sorek, a narrow gorge at its upper end, broadens out
into the lowlands of Judah at its lower end, and here in the
foothills overlooking the Philistine country was the home of Samson.
It was up this valley that the Philistines often made their
frequent raids against Jerusalem and the highlands of Judah. It was
here that the battle was fought when Israel was defeated under the
leadership of Eli's wicked sons, and "the ark of God was taken." The
modern railway from Jaffa to Jerusalem follows this valley.
[End illustration]
{181}
And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, "I will go out as at other
times, and shake myself free."
But he knew not that the Lord was departed from him. And the
Philistines laid hold on him, and put out his eyes; and they brought
him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and they made
him grind in the mill in the prison house. Howbeit the hair of his
head began to grow again after he was shaven.
_How Samson Had His Revenge_.
And the lords of the Philistines gathered together to offer a great
sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, "Our
god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand."
And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said,
"Our god hath delivered into our hand our enemy, and the destroyer of
our country, which hath slain many of us."
And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said,
"Call for Samson, that he may make us sport." And they called for
Samson out of the prison house; and he made sport before them: and
they set him between the pillars.
And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, "Suffer me
that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house resteth, that I may
lean upon them."
Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the
Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three
thousand men and women, that {182} beheld while Samson made sport. And
Samson called unto the Lord, and said, "O Lord God, remember me, I
pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that
I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes."
And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house
rested, and leaned upon them, the one with his right hand, and the
other with his left.
And Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines." And he bowed
himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and
upon all the people that were therein.
So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he
slew in his life.
{183}
DANIEL.
STORIES OF THE MAN WHO WOULD RATHER DIE THAN DO WRONG.
Daniel is the great Jewish hero of that long period of exile
when the nation was captive in a strange land. This was the
gloomiest and most distressful time in the nation's history, and
afterward in other dark days these stories were told to cheer the
people and give them courage.
_How Daniel and His Three Friends Refused to Eat the Food of Princes_.
In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to Jerusalem, and besieged it. And the
Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the
vessels of the house of God. And the king spoke to Ashpenaz, that he
should bring in certain of the children of Israel, even of the royal
family and of the nobles; youths in whom was no blemish, but well
favored, and skillful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and
such as had ability to stand in the king's palace; and that he should
teach them the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans.
And the king appointed for them a daily portion of the king's food,
and of the wine which he drank, and that {184} they should be
nourished three years; that at the end thereof they might stand before
the king. Now among these were, of the children of Judah, Daniel,
Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. And the king's officer gave names unto
them: unto Daniel he gave the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah,
of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abed-nego.
But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with
the king's food, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he
requested of the king's officer that he might not defile himself. Now
God made Daniel to find favor and compassion in the sight of the
king's officer. And he said to Daniel, "I fear my lord the king, who
hath appointed your food and your drink: for why should he see your
faces worse looking than the youths which are of your own age? so
should ye endanger my head with the king."
Then said Daniel to the steward, whom the king's officer had appointed
over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: "Test thy servants, I
beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water
to drink. Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and
the countenances of the youths that eat of the king's food; and as
thou seest, deal with thy servants."
So he hearkened to them in this matter, and tested them ten days. And
at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer, and they
were fatter in flesh, than all the youths which did eat of the king's
food. So the steward took away their food, and the wine that they
should drink, and gave them pulse. Now as for these four {185} youths,
God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and
Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. And at the end of
the days which the king had appointed for bringing them in, the king's
officer brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. And the king communed
with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah,
Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood they before the king. And in
every matter of wisdom and understanding, concerning which the king
inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the
magicians and enchanters that were in all his realm.
_How Daniel Made Known and Interpreted the King's Dream_.
And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar
dreamed dreams; and his spirit was troubled, and his sleep was broken.
Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the enchanters, and
the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, to tell the king his dreams. So they
came in and stood before the king. And the king said to them, "I have
dreamed a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream."
Then spoke the Chaldeans to the king, "O king, live for ever: tell thy
servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation."
The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, "The thing is gone from
me: if ye make not known unto me the dream and the interpretation
thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a
dunghill. But if {186} ye show the dream and the interpretation
thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honor:
therefore show me the dream and the interpretation thereof."
They answered the second time and said, "Let the king tell his
servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation."
The king answered and said, "I know of a certainty that ye would gain
time, because ye see the thing is gone from me. But if ye make not
known unto me the dream, there is but one law for you: for ye have
prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be
changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can
show me the interpretation thereof."
The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, "There is not a man
upon the earth that can show the king's matter: forasmuch as no king,
lord, nor ruler, hath asked such a thing of any magician, or
enchanter, or Chaldean. And it is a rare thing that the king
requireth, and there is none other that can show it before the king,
except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh."
For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to
destroy all the wise men of Babylon. So the decree went forth, and the
wise men were to be slain; and they sought Daniel and his companions
to slay them. Then Daniel returned answer with counsel and prudence to
Arioch the captain of the king's guard, who had gone forth to slay the
wise men of Babylon; he answered and said to Arioch the king's
captain, "Wherefore is the decree so urgent from the king?"
{187}
Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel. And Daniel went in, and
desired of the king that he would appoint him a time, and he would show
the king the interpretation.
Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah,
Mishael, and Azariah, his companions: that they would desire mercies
of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his
companions should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a vision of the night.
Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered and said,
"Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might
are his: and he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings,
and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to
them that know understanding: he revealeth the deep and secret things:
he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him. I
thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given
me wisdom and might, and hast now made known unto me what we desired
of thee: for thou hast made known unto us the king's matter."
Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had appointed to
destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him:
"Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and
I will show unto the king the interpretation."
Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus
unto him, "I have found a man of the {188} children of the captivity
of Judah, who will make known unto the king the interpretation."
The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar,
"Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and
the interpretation thereof?"
Daniel answered before the king, and said, "The secret which the king
hath demanded can neither wise men, enchanters, magicians, nor
soothsayers, show unto the king; but there is a God in heaven that
revealeth secrets, and he hath made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar
what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy
head upon thy bed, are these: as for thee, O king, thy thoughts came
into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he
that revealeth secrets hath made known to thee what shall come to
pass. But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom
that I have more than any living, but to, the intent that the
interpretation may be made known to the king, and that thou mayest
know the thoughts of thy heart. Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a
great image. This image, which was mighty, and whose brightness was
excellent, stood before thee; and the appearance thereof was terrible.
As for this image, his head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms
of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his
feet part of iron, and part of clay.
"While thou wast looking a stone was cut out without hands, which
smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and broke
them in pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver,
and the gold, broken {189} in pieces together, and became like the
chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away,
that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image
became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
"This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof unto
the king. Thou, O king, art king of kings, unto whom the God of heaven
hath given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory;
and wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and
the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made
thee to rule over them all: thou art the head of gold. And after thee
shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee; and another third
kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the
fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in
pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that crusheth all these,
shall it break in pieces and crush. And whereas thou sawest the feet
and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, it shall be a
divided kingdom; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron,
forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with clay. And as the toes of
the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be
partly strong, and partly weak. And in the days of those kings shall
the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed,
nor shall the sovereignty thereof be left to another people; but it
shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall
stand for ever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that a stone was cut out
{190} of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the
iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God
hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the
dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure."
Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshiped Daniel,
and commanded that they should offer sacrifice and sweet odors to him.
The king answered Daniel, and said, "Of a truth your God is the God of
gods, and the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou
hast been able to reveal this secret."
Then the king made Daniel great, and gave him many great gifts, and made
him to rule over the whole province of Babylon, and to be chief governor
over all the wise men of Babylon. And Daniel requested of the king, and
he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, over the affairs of the
province of Babylon: but Daniel was in the gate of the king.
_How Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego Refused to Bow Down and Worship
before the Image of the King, and How They Were Cast Into the Burning
Fiery Furnace_.
Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was
threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in
the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar the
king sent to gather together the satraps, the deputies, and the
governors, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs,
and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the
image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
{191}{192}
[Illustration]
MEN PRAYING ON A HOUSETOP
From a photograph taken by Prof. D. G. Lyon
and used by his kind permission
In the East the time and posture of prayers by the faithful are
strictly prescribed. In Daniel's day the form was a part of a duty
to be performed, and was as important as the words, but Jesus taught
us to regard the thought and attitude of the soul rather than the
posture of the body
[End illustration]
{193}
Then the satraps, the deputies, and the governors, the judges, the
treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the
provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image
that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the
image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
Then the herald cried aloud, "To you it is commanded, O peoples,
nations, and languages, that when ye hear the sound of the cornet,
flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye
fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king
hath set up: and whoso falleth not down and worshipeth shall the same
hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace."
Therefore at that time, when all the peoples heard the sound of the
cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of music, all
the peoples, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshiped
the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Wherefore at
that time certain Chaldeans came near, and brought accusation against
the Jews. They answered and said to Nebuchadnezzar the king, "O king,
live for ever. Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that
shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery,
and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the
golden image: and whoso falleth not down and {194} worshipeth, shall
be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. There are certain
Jews whom thou hast appointed over the affairs of the province of
Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men, O king, have not
regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image
which thou hast set up."
Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abed-nego. Then they brought these men before the king.
Nebuchadnezzar answered and said unto them, "Is it of purpose, O
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, that ye serve not my god, nor
worship the golden image which I have set up? Now if ye are ready when
ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and
dulcimer, and all kinds of music, to fall down and worship the image
which I have made, well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the
same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that
god that shall deliver you out of my hands?"
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, "O
Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer thee in this matter. If it
be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning
fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But
if he does not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve
thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up."
Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and his face hardened against
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego: {195} therefore he spoke, and
commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than was
usual to heat it. And he commanded certain mighty men that were in his
army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, and to cast them in to
the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in all their
garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
Therefore because the king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace
exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. And these three men, Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abed-nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning
fiery furnace. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose
up in haste: he spoke and said unto his counselors, "Did not we cast
three men bound into the midst of the fire?"
They answered and said unto the king, "True, O king." He answered and
said, "Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and
they have no hurt; and the aspect of the fourth is like a son of the
gods."
Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery
furnace: he spoke and said, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ye
servants of the Most High God, come forth, and come hither."
Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, came forth out of the midst of
the fire. And the satraps, the deputies, and the governors, and the
king's counselors, being gathered together, saw these men, that the
fire had no power upon their bodies, nor was the hair of their head
{196} singed, neither were their garments burned, nor had the smell of
fire come on them.
Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his
servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and
have yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any
god, except their own God. Therefore I make a decree that every
people, nation, and language, which speak anything amiss against the
God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, shall be cut in pieces, and
their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other god
that is able to deliver in this way."
Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, in the
province of Babylon.
_How Daniel Interpreted Another Dream of King Nebuchadnezzar_.
"Nebuchadnezzar the king, to all the peoples, nations, and languages,
that dwell in all the earth; peace be multiplied unto you. It hath
seemed good unto me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High
God hath wrought toward me. How great are his signs! and how mighty
are his wonders! his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his
dominion is from generation to generation.
"I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in mine house, and flourishing in my
palace. I saw a dream which made me afraid; and the thoughts upon my
bed and the visions of my head troubled me. Therefore made I a decree
to bring {197} in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they
might make known unto me the interpretation of the dream. Then came in
the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers: and
I told the dream before them; but they did not make known unto me the
interpretation thereof. But at the last Daniel came in before me,
whose name was Belteshazzar, and in whom is the spirit of the holy
gods: and I told the dream before him, saying, 'O Belteshazzar, master
of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is
in thee, and no secret troubleth thee, tell me the visions of my dream
that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof. Thus were the
visions of my head upon my bed: I saw, and behold a tree in the midst
of the earth, and the height thereof was great. The tree grew, and was
strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight
thereof to the end of all the earth. The leaves thereof were fair, and
the fruit thereof much, and in it was food for all: the beasts of the
field had shadow under it, and the birds of the heaven dwelt in the
branches thereof, and all flesh was fed of it. I saw in the visions of
my head upon my bed, and, behold, a holy messenger came down from
heaven. He cried aloud, and said thus. Hew down the tree, and cut off
its branches, shake off its leaves, and scatter its fruit: let the
beasts get away from under it, and the birds from its branches.
Nevertheless leave the stump of its roots in the earth, even with a
band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it
be wet with the dew of heaven, and let its portion be with the beasts
in the grass of the earth: let its {198} heart be changed from man's,
and let a beast's heart be given unto it; and let seven times pass
over it. The sentence is by the decree of the holy messenger: that the
living may know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and
giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the lowest of
men. This dream I King Nebuchadnezzar have seen: and thou, O
Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation, forasmuch as all the wise
men of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me the
interpretation; but thou art able, for the spirit of the holy gods is
in thee.'"
Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was perplexed for a while,
and his thoughts troubled him. The king answered and said,
"Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation, trouble
thee."
Belteshazzar answered and said, "My lord, the dream be to them that
hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine adversaries. The
tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height
reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth; whose
leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was food for
all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose
branches the birds of the heaven had their habitation: it is thou, O
king, that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown,
and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth.
And whereas the king saw a holy messenger coming down from heaven, and
saying, 'Hew down the tree, and destroy it; nevertheless leave the
stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even with {199} a band of
iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet
with the dew of heaven, and let its portion be with the beasts of the
field, till seven times pass over it'; this is the interpretation, O
king, and it is the decree of the Most High, which is come upon my
lord the king: that thou shalt be driven from men, and thy dwelling
shall be with the beasts of the field, and thou shalt be made to eat
grass as oxen, and shalt be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven
times shall pass over thee; till thou know that the Most High ruleth
in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. And
whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy
kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that
the heavens do rule. Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable
unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine
iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if there may be a lengthening
of thy tranquillity."
All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of twelve
months he was walking in the royal palace of Babylon. The king spoke
and said, "Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for the royal
dwelling place, by the might of my power and for the glory of my
majesty?"
While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from
heaven, saying, "O King Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken: the
kingdom is departed from thee. And thou shalt be driven from men, and
thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field; thou shalt be made
to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee; until
{200} thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and
giveth it to whomsoever he will."
The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was
driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with
the dew of heaven, till his hair was grown like eagle's feathers, and
his nails like birds' claws.
"And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto
heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the
Most High, and I praised and honored him that liveth for ever; for his
dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom from generation
to generation: and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as
nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and
among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say
unto him, 'What doest thou?' At the same time mine understanding
returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and
brightness returned unto me; and my counselors and my lords sought
unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent greatness
was added unto me. Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honor the
King of heaven; for all his works are truth, and his ways judgment:
and those that walk in pride he is able to abase."
{201}
_How Daniel Read the Writing on the Wall at Belshazzar's Feast_.
Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and
drank wine before the thousand. Belshazzar, while he tasted the wine,
commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar
his father had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that
the king and his lords, and the women of his palace, might drink
therein. Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of
the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king
and his lords, and the women of his palace, drank in them. They drank
wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron,
of wood, and of stone. In the same hour came forth the fingers of a
man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of
the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand
that wrote. Then the king's countenance was changed in him, and his
thoughts troubled him; he trembled, and his knees smote together. The
king cried aloud to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the
soothsayers. The king spoke and said to the wise men of Babylon,
"Whosoever shall read this writing, and show me the interpretation
thereof, shall be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about
his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom."
Then came in all the king's wise men: but they could not read the
writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation. Then was King
Belshazzar greatly troubled, {202} and his countenance was changed,
and his lords were perplexed. Now the queen by reason of the words of
the king and his lords came into the banquet house: the queen spoke
and said, "O king, live for ever; let not thy thoughts trouble thee,
nor let thy countenance be changed: there is a man in thy kingdom, in
whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father
light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was
found in him: and the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say,
thy father, made him master of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans,
and soothsayers; forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and
understanding, interpreting of dreams, and showing of dark sentences,
and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king
named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the
interpretation."
Then was Daniel brought in before the king. The king spoke and said to
Daniel, "Art thou that Daniel, who art of the children of the
captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Judah? I
have heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that
light and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in thee. And now
the wise men, the enchanters, have been brought in before me, that
they should read this writing, and make known unto me the
interpretation thereof: but they could not show the interpretation of
the thing. But I have heard of thee, that thou canst give
interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now if thou canst read the
writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt
be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and
shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom."
{203}{204}
[Illustration]
DANIEL IN THE LIONS' DEN
By Vernet
[End illustration]
{205}
Then Daniel answered and said before the king, "Keep thy gifts to
thyself, and give thy rewards to another; nevertheless I will read the
writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation. O
thou king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father the
kingdom, and greatness, and glory, and majesty: and because of the
greatness that he gave him, all the peoples, nations, and languages
trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew, and whom he
would he kept alive; and whom he would he raised up, and whom he would
he put down. But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was
hardened that he dealt proudly, he was deposed from his kingly throne,
and they took his glory from him: and he was driven from the sons of
men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with
the wild asses; he was fed with grass like oxen, and his body was wet
with the dew of heaven: until he knew that the Most High God
ruleth in the kingdom of men, and that he setteth up over
it whomsoever he will.
"And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though
thou knewest all this; but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of
heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee,
and thou and thy lords, and the women of thy palace, have drunk wine
in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass,
iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God
in whose hand thy breath is, and {206} whose are all thy ways, hast
thou not glorified: therefore the part of the hand was sent by God,
and this inscription was written. And this is the inscription which
was written:--
_Mene, Mene, Tekel, Apharsin_
"This is the interpretation of the thing:--
_Mene_, God hath numbered thy kingdom, and brought it to an end.
_Tekel_, Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.
_Peres_, Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians."
Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with purple, and
put a chain of gold about his neck, and made proclamation concerning
him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. In that night
Belshazzar the Chaldean king was slain. And Darius the Mede received
the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.
_How Daniel Was Cast into the Lions' Den_.
It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty
satraps, which should be throughout the whole kingdom; and over them
three presidents, of whom Daniel was one; that these satraps might
give account unto them, and that the king should have no loss. Then
this Daniel was distinguished above the presidents and the satraps,
because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set
him over the whole realm. Then the presidents and {207} the satraps
sought to find occasion against Daniel in regard to the kingdom; but
they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful,
neither was there any error or fault found in him. Then said these
men, "We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we
find it against him concerning the law of his God."
Then these presidents and satraps assembled together to the king, and
said thus unto him: "King Darius, live for ever. All the presidents of
the kingdom, the deputies and the satraps, the counselors and the
governors, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and
to make a strong decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any
god or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast
into the den of lions. Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the
writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and
Persians, which altereth not."
Wherefore King Darius signed the writing and the decree. And when
Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house (now
his windows were open in his chamber toward Jerusalem); and he kneeled
upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before
his God, as he did before. Then these men assembled together, and
found Daniel making petition and supplication before his God. Then
they came near, and spoke before the king concerning the king's
decree; "Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that shall make
petition unto any god or man within thirty days, save unto thee, O
king, shall be cast into the den of lions?"
{208}
The king answered and said, "The thing is true, according to the law
of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not."
Then answered they and said before the king, "That Daniel, which is of
the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king,
nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three
times a day."
Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased, and set
his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he labored till the going down
of the sun to rescue him. Then these men assembled together unto the
king, and said unto the king, "Know, O king, that it is a law of the
Medes and Persians, that no decree nor statute which the king
establisheth may be changed."
Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into
the den of lions. Now the king spoke and said unto Daniel, "Thy God
whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee."
And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the
king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords;
that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. Then the king went to
his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of
music brought before him: and his sleep fled from him. Then the king
arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of
lions. And when he came near unto the den to Daniel, he cried with a
lamentable voice: the king spoke and said to Daniel, "O Daniel,
servant of the living {209} God, is thy God, whom thou servest
continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?"
Then said Daniel unto the king, "O king, live for ever. My God hath
sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, and they have not
hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also
before thee, O king, have I done no harm."
Then was the king exceeding glad, and commanded that they should take
Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and
no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he had trusted in his
God. And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had
accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their
children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and
broke all their bones in pieces, before they came at the bottom of the
den.
Then King Darius wrote unto all the peoples, nations, and languages,
that dwell in all the earth; "Peace be multiplied unto you. I make a
decree, that in all the dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear
before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and steadfast for
ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his
dominion shall be even unto the end: he delivereth and rescueth, and
he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth; who hath
delivered Daniel from the power of the lions."
So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of
Cyrus the Persian.
{210}
BABYLON
Pause in this desert! Here, men say, of old
Belshazzar reigned, and drank from cups of gold;
Here, to his hideous idols, bowed the slave,
And here--God struck him dead!
. . . . Where lies his grave?
'T is lost!--His brazen gates? his soaring towers,
From whose dark tops men watched the starry hours?
All to the dust gone down! The desert bare
Scarce yields an echo when we question "Where?"
The lonely herdsman seeks in vain the spot;
And the black wandering Arab knows it not.
No brick, no fragment, lingers now, to tell
Where Babylon (mighty city!) rose--and fell!
O City, vast and old!
Where, where is thy grandeur fled?
The stream that around thee rolled
Still rolls in its ancient bed!
But where, oh, where art thou gone?
O Babylon! O Babylon!
The giant, when he dies,
Still leaveth his bones behind,
To shrink in the winter skies,
And whiten beneath the wind!
But where, oh, where art thou gone?
O Babylon! O Babylon!
Thou liv'st!--for thy name still glows,
A light in the desert skies;
As the fame of the hero grows
Thrice trebled because he dies!
But where, oh, where art thou gone?
O Babylon! O Babylon!
{211}
BELSHAZZAR
Belshazzar is king! Belshazzar is lord!
And a thousand dark nobles all bend at his board:
Fruits glisten, flowers blossom, meats steam, and a flood
Of the wine that man loveth runs redder than blood:
Wild dancers are there, and a riot of mirth,
And the beauty that maddens the passions of earth;
And the crowds all shout,
Till the vast roofs ring,--
"All praise to Belshazzar, Belshazzar the king!"
"Bring forth," cries the monarch, "the vessels of gold,
Which my father tore down from the temples of old;--
Bring forth, and we'll drink, while the trumpets are blown,
To the gods of bright silver, of gold, and of stone;
Bring forth!"--and before him the vessels all shine,
And he bows unto Baal, and he drinks the dark wine;
Whilst the trumpets bray,
And the cymbals ring,--
"Praise, praise to Belshazzar, Belshazzar the king!"
Now what cometh--look, look!--without menace, or call?
Who writes, with the lightning's bright hand, on the wall?
What pierceth the king, like the point of a dart?
What drives the bold blood from his cheek to his heart?
"Chaldeans! Magicians! the letters expound!"
They are read,--and Belshazzar is dead on the ground!
Hark!--the Persian is come
On a conqueror's wing;
And a Mede's on the throne of Belshazzar the king!
--_Barry Cornwall_.
{212}
NEHEMIAH.
THE STORY OF THE BRAVE MAN WHO PREFERRED HARDSHIPS IN HIS NATIVE LAND,
TO PLEASURE AND PLENTY IN THE KING'S PALACE.
(Nehemiah is one of the finest characters of which we are told in the
Old Testament. He was a true patriot, brave, patient, persevering,
fearing God, and not man. He had an important and profitable position
in the royal court, but when he heard how his countrymen were
suffering, how the walls of the city of his fathers were in ruins, he
did not hesitate, but gaining the permission of the king, he set out
to serve his country in its sore distress. How he heard of the need of
the city, how he went to its relief, and how the people under his
splendid leadership took courage and rebuilt the walls, he himself has
told in these words:)--
_The Need and the Man_.
"Now it came to pass in the month Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I
was in Shushan the palace, that Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he
and certain men out of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews
that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning
Jerusalem. And they said unto me, 'The remnant that are left of the
captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach:
the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are
burned with fire.'
"And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that {213} I sat down
and wept, and mourned certain days; and I fasted and prayed before the
God of heaven, and said, 'I beseech thee, O Lord, the God of heaven,
the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy with them
that love him and keep his commandments: let thine ear now be
attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hearken unto the
prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee at this time, day and
night, for the children of Israel thy servants, while I confess the
sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee:
yea, I and my father's house have sinned. We have dealt very corruptly
against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes,
nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses. Remember,
I beseech thee, the words that thou commandedst thy servant Moses,
saying, If ye trespass, I will scatter you abroad among the peoples:
but if ye return unto me, and keep my commandments and do them, though
your outcasts were in the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I
gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I
have chosen to cause my name to dwell there. Now these are thy
servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power,
and by thy strong hand. O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be
attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy
servants, who delight to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy
servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.' (Now
I was cupbearer to the king.)
{214}
"And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of
Artaxerxes the king, when wine was before him, that I took up the
wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in
his presence. And the king said to me, 'Why is thy countenance sad,
seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart.'
"Then I was very sore afraid. And I said to the king, 'Let the king
live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city,
the place of my fathers' sepulchers, lieth waste, and the gates
thereof are consumed with fire?'
"Then the king said unto me, 'For what dost thou make request?' So I
prayed to the God of heaven.
"And I said unto the king, 'If it please the king, and if thy servant
have found favor in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah,
unto the city of my fathers' sepulchers, that I may build it.'
"And the king said to me (the queen also sitting by him), 'For how
long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return?'
"So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time. Moreover I
said to the king, 'If it please the king, let letters be given me to
the governors beyond the river, that they may let me pass through till
I come unto Judah; and a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king's
forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the
castle which appertaineth to the house, and for the wall of the city,
and for the house that I shall enter into.'
"And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon
me. Then I came to the governors beyond the river, and gave them the
king's letters. Now the king had sent with me captains of the army and
horsemen.
{215}{216}
[Illustration]
OUTSIDE EAST WALL OF JERUSALEM, GOLDEN GATE AT LEFT
This is on the east side of the city and overlooking it. There were
many gates in the wall of Jerusalem to allow the coming and going of
trade. Some were used for special branches of trade, which would
center there in booths for the merchants. Some of the gates in
ancient times were, "The Fish Gate," "The Horse Gate," "The Sheep
Gate," "The Gate of Potsherds," "The Gate of the Spring," "The Water
Gate," "The Gate of the Guard."
[End illustration]
{217}
"And when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the
Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly, because there was
come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel. So I came to
Jerusalem, and was there three days."
_The Right Man in the Right Place_.
"And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I
any man what my God put into my heart to do for Jerusalem: neither was
there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon. And I went
out by night by the valley gate, even toward the dragon's well, and to
the dung gate, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken
down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire. Then I went on to
the fountain gate and to the king's pool: but there was no place for
the beast that was under me to pass. Then went I up in the night by
the brook, and viewed the wall; and I turned back, and entered by the
valley gate, and so returned. And the rulers knew not whither I went,
or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the
priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that
did the work. Then said I to them, 'Ye see the evil fortune that we
are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned
with fire: come and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be
no more a reproach.'
{218}
"And I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also
of the king's words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, 'Let us
rise up and build.'
"So they strengthened their hands for the good work. But when
Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and
Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised
us, and said, 'What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against
the king?'
"Then answered I them, and said unto them, 'The God of heaven, he will
prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye
have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.'"
_Enemies Threaten_.
"But it came to pass that, when Sanballat heard that we builded the
wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews.
And he spoke, before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said,
'What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they
sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones
out of the heaps of rubbish, seeing they are burned?'
"Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, 'Even that which
they build, if a fox go up, he shall break down their stone wall.'
"Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn back their reproach
upon their own head, and give them up to spoiling in a land of
captivity: and cover not their iniquity, {219} and let not their sin
be blotted out from before thee: for they have provoked thee to anger
before the builders.
"So we built the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto
half the height thereof: for the people had a mind to work.
"But it came to pass that, when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the
Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the
repairing of the walls of Jerusalem went forward, and that the
breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth; and they
conspired all of them together to come and fight against Jerusalem,
and to cause confusion therein. But we made our prayer unto our God,
and set a watch against them day and night, because of them. And Judah
said, 'The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is
much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall.'
"And our adversaries said, 'They shall not know, neither see, till we
come into the midst of them, and slay them, and cause the work to
cease.'
"And it came to pass that, when the Jews which dwell by them came,
they said unto us ten times from all places, 'Ye must return unto
us.'"
_Watchful and Ready_.
"Therefore set I in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in
the open places, I even set the people after their families with their
swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked, and rose up, and
said to the nobles, {220} and to the rulers, and to the rest of the
people, 'Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, who is great and
terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons and your daughters,
your wives and your houses.'
"And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto
us, and God had brought their counsel to nought, that we returned all
of us to the wall, everyone unto his work. And it came to pass from
that time forth, that half of my servants wrought in the work, and
half of them held the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the coats
of mail; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah. They that
builded the wall and they that bare burdens laded themselves, everyone
with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other held his
weapon; and the builders, everyone had his sword girded by his side,
and so builded. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me.
"And I said to the nobles, and to the rulers and to the rest of the
people, 'The work is great and large, and we are separated upon the
wall, one far from another: in what place soever ye hear the sound of
the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us; our God shall fight for us.'
"So we wrought in the work: and half of them held the spears from the
rising of the morning till the stars appeared. Likewise at the same time
said I unto the people, 'Let everyone with his servant lodge within
Jerusalem, that in the night they may be a guard to us, and may labor in
the day.'
"So neither I, nor my brethren, nor my servants, nor the {221} men of
the guard which followed me, none of us put off our clothes, everyone
went with his weapon to the water."
_Statesman as Well as Soldier_.
"Then there arose a great cry of the people and of their wives against
their brethren the Jews. For there were that said, 'We, our sons and
our daughters, are many: let us get corn, that we may eat and live.'
Some also there were that said, 'We are mortgaging our fields, and our
vineyards, and our houses: let us get corn, because of the dearth.'
"There were also that said, 'We have borrowed money for the king's
tribute upon our fields and our vineyards. Yet now our flesh is as the
flesh of our brethren, our children as their children: and, lo, we
bring into bondage our sons and our daughters to be servants, and some
of our daughters are brought into bondage already: neither is it in
our power to help it; for other men have our fields and our
vineyards.'
"And I was very angry when I heard their cry and these words. Then I
consulted with myself, and contended with the nobles and the rulers,
and said unto them, 'Ye exact usury, everyone of his brother.'
"And I held a great assembly against them. And I said to them, 'We
after our ability have redeemed our brethren the Jews, which were sold
unto the heathen; and would ye even sell your brethren, and should
they be sold unto us?'
{222}
"Then held they their peace, and found never a word. Also I said, 'The
thing that ye do is not good: ought ye not to walk in the fear of our
God, because of the reproach of the heathen our enemies? And I
likewise, my brethren and my servants, do lend them money and corn on
usury. I pray you, let us leave off this usury. Restore, I pray you,
to them, even this day, their fields, their vineyards, their
oliveyards, and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money,
and of the corn, the wine, and the oil, that ye exact of them.'
"Then said they, 'We will restore them, and will require nothing of
them; so will we do, even as thou sayest.'
"Then I called the priests, and took an oath of them, that they should
do according to this promise. Also I shook out my lap, and said, 'So
God shake out every man from his house, and from his labor, that
performeth not this promise; even thus be he shaken out, and emptied.'
And all the congregation said, 'Amen,' and praised the Lord.
"And the people did according to this promise. Moreover from the time
that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from
the twentieth year even unto the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes
the king, that is, twelve years, I and my brethren have not eaten the
bread of the governor. But the former governors that were before me
were chargeable unto the people, and took of them bread and wine,
beside forty shekels of silver; yea, even their servants bore rule
over the people: but so did not I, because of the fear of God.
{223}{224}
[Illustration]
JERUSALEM, A PART OF THE WALL AND THE MOSQUE OF OMAR.
Jerusalem, like all ancient cities, was protected by walls. The
first of these walls was built by David and Solomon and the later
kings. This wall was broken down and overthrown when the people of
the city were carried into captivity, and was rebuilt again by
Nehemiah. In the time of Josephus, three walls encircled the city,
the oldest being the ancient wall and the others additions
necessitated by the enlargement of the boundaries. Parts of these
walls have been traced, and some portions still exist. These
existing portions are in places 150 feet high, and the ancient
towers at the corners were probably 250 feet high. They were built
of immense stones very solidly put together to resist the attack of
battering rams in times of war.
[End illustration]
{225}
Yea, also I continued in the work of this wall, neither bought we any
land: and all my servants were gathered thither unto the work.
Moreover there were at my table of the Jews and the rulers an hundred
and fifty men, beside those that came unto us from among the heathen
that were round about us. Now that which was prepared for one day was
one ox and six choice sheep; also fowls were prepared for me, and once
in ten days store of all sorts of wine: yet for all this I demanded
not the bread of the governor, because the bondage was heavy upon this
people. Remember unto me, O my God, for good, all that I have done for
this people."
_In Spite of Foes, the Walls Are Built_.
"Now it came to pass, when it was reported to Sanballat and Tobiah,
and to Geshem the Arabian, and unto the rest of our enemies, that I
had builded the wall, and that there was no breach left therein
(though even unto that time I had not set up the doors in the gates);
that Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, 'Come, let us meet
together in one of the villages in the plain of Ono.'
"But they thought to do me mischief. And I sent messengers to them,
saying, 'I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why
should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?'
"And they sent to me four times after this sort; and I answered them
after the same manner. Then sent Sanballat his servant to me in like
manner the fifth time with an open letter in his hand; wherein was
written, 'It is {226} reported among the nations, and Gashmu saith it,
that thou and the Jews think to rebel; for which cause thou buildest
the wall: and thou wouldest be their king, according to these words.
And thou hast also appointed prophets to preach of thee at Jerusalem,
saying, There is a king in Judah: and now shall it be reported to the
king according to these words. Come now therefore, and let us take
counsel together.'
"Then I sent to him, saying, 'There are no such things done as thou
sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine own heart.'
"For they all would have made us afraid, saying, 'Their hands shall be
weakened from the work, that it be not done.' But now, O God,
strengthen thou my hands.
"And I went to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of
Mehetabel, who was shut up; and he said, 'Let us meet together in the
house of God, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the
temple: for they will come to slay thee; yea, in the night will they
come to slay thee.'
"And I said, 'Should such a man as I flee? and who is there, that,
being such as I, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not
go in.'
"And I discerned, and, lo, God had not sent him: but he pronounced
this prophecy against me: and Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. For
this cause was he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin,
and that they might have matter for an evil report, that they might
reproach me. Remember, O my God, Tobiah and Sanballat {227} according
to these their works, and also the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of
the prophets that would have put me in fear.
"So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month
Elul, in fifty and two days. And it came to pass, when all our enemies
heard thereof, that all the heathen that were about us feared, and
were much cast down in their own eyes: for they perceived that this
work was wrought of our God."
_The People Celebrate the Great Event_.
"And when the seventh month was come, the children of Israel were in
their cities. And all the people gathered themselves together as one
man into the broad place that was before the water gate; and they
spoke unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses,
which the Lord had commanded to Israel. And Ezra the priest brought
the law before the congregation, both men and women, and all that
could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh
month. And he read therein before the broad place that was before the
water gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men
and the women, and of those that could understand; and the ears of all
the people were attentive unto the book of the law. And Ezra the
scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the
purpose.
"And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people (for he was
above all the people); and when he {228} opened it, all the people
stood up: and Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people
answered, 'Amen, Amen,' with the lifting up of their hands: and they
bowed their heads, and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the
ground. And the Levites caused the people to understand the law: and
the people stood in their place. And they read in the book, in the law
of God, distinctly; and they gave the sense, so that they understood
the reading. And Nehemiah, which was the Tirshatha, and Ezra the
priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said to all
the people, 'This day is holy unto the Lord your God; mourn not, nor
weep.' For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law.
"Then he said unto them, 'Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the
sweet, and send portions unto him for whom nothing is prepared: for
this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye grieved; for the joy of
the Lord is your strength.'
"So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, 'Hold your peace, for
the day is holy; neither be ye grieved.' "And all the people went
their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make
great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared
to them.
"And on the second day were gathered together the heads of fathers'
houses of all the people, the priests, and the Levites, unto Ezra the
scribe, even to give attention to the words of the law. And they found
written in the law, how the Lord had commanded by Moses, that the
children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh
month: and that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities,
and in Jerusalem, saying, 'Go forth to the mount, and fetch olive
branches, and branches of wild olive, and myrtle branches, and palm
branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is
written.'
{229}{230}
[Illustration]
JERUSALEM
This view shows the city from the Mount of Olives. The present wall
surrounding the city can be plainly seen. Very differently it
looked when Nehemiah saw it, with broken walls and ruined houses,
swept by the fierce tides of war. The modern city of Jerusalem,
connected with the coast by a railroad, is growing very rapidly in
size and importance
[End illustration]
{231}
"So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves
booths, everyone upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and
in the courts of the house of God, and in the broad place of the water
gate, and in the broad place of the gate of Ephraim. And all the
congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made
booths, and dwelt in the booths: for since the days of Joshua the son
of Nun until that day had not the children of Israel done so. And
there was very great gladness.
"Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the
book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the
eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the ordinance."
_The Vows of the People and the Dedication Ceremonies_.
"The people entered into an oath, to walk in God's law, which was
given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the
commandments of the Lord our Lord, and his judgments and his statutes.
"And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the
Levites out of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, to keep
the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgivings, and with
singing, with cymbals, psalteries, {232} and with harps. And the sons
of the singers gathered themselves together, both out of the plain
round about Jerusalem, and from the villages. Then I brought up the
princes of Judah upon the wall, and appointed two great companies that
gave thanks and went in procession; with the musical instruments of
David the man of God; and Ezra the scribe was before them: and by the
fountain gate, and straight before them, they went up by the stairs of
the city of David, at the going up of the wall, above the house of
David, even unto the water gate eastward. And the other company of
them that gave thanks went to meet them, and I after them, with the
half of the people, upon the wall, above the tower of the furnaces,
even unto the broad wall.
"So stood the two companies of them that gave thanks in the house of
God, and I, and the half of the rulers with me: and the priests with
trumpets. And the singers sang loud. And they offered great sacrifices
that day, and rejoiced; for God had made them rejoice with great joy;
and the women also and the children rejoiced: so that the joy of
Jerusalem was heard even afar off."
_How Nehemiah Enforced the Law_.
(After the walls were built, and the city brought into a state of law
and order, Nehemiah went back to his post in the Persian court. After
he went away, trouble arose. The people began to disobey the laws.
Nehemiah knew that law abiding people are as necessary to national
greatness as stout walls and great armies, so he came back, and
enforced the laws with a strong {233} hand. How he made the people
keep the Sabbath, he tells as follows:)--
"In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine-presses on the
Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses therewith; as also
wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought
into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day: and I testified against them in the
day wherein they sold victuals.
"There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, which brought in fish, and all
manner of ware, and sold on the Sabbath to the children of Judah and
in Jerusalem. Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said to
them, 'What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the Sabbath
day? Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this
evil upon us, and upon this city? yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel
by profaning the Sabbath.'
"And it came to pass that, when the gates of Jerusalem began to be
dark before the Sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut,
and commanded that they should not be opened till after the Sabbath:
and some of my servants set I over the gates, that there should no
burden be brought in on the Sabbath day. So the merchants and sellers
of all kind of ware lodged without Jerusalem once or twice.
"Then I testified against them, and said to them, 'Why lodge ye about
the wall? if ye do so again, I will lay hands on you.'
"From that time forth came they no more on the Sabbath. And I
commanded the Levites that they should {234} purify themselves, and
that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the Sabbath day.
"Remember unto me, O my God, this also, and spare me according to the
greatness of thy mercy."
(The story of Nehemiah's life, told by himself, breaks off abruptly,
but we know that he lived and died in high honor. Josephus, the Jewish
historian, says of him, "He was a man of good and righteous character,
and very ambitious to make his nation happy; and he hath left the
walls of Jerusalem as an eternal monument of himself.")
{235}
THE STORY OF A DIVIDED KINGDOM
{236}
THE KINGS OF ISRAEL AND JUDAH
SAUL, 1037 B. C. 20 years
DAVID, 40 years
SOLOMON, 40 years
JUDAH 937 B. C. ISRAEL
King Length of Reign King Length of Reign Prophet
REHOBOAM, 17 years JEROBOAM, 22 years
ABIJAH, 3 years
ASA, 41 years
NADAB, 2 years
BAASHA, 24 years
ELAH, 2 years
ZIMRI, 7 days
OMRI, 12 years
AHAB, 22 years ELIJAH
JEHOSHAPHAT, 25 years
AHAZIAH, 2 years
JORAM, 11 years
JEHORAM, 8 years
AHAZIAH, 1 year
ATHALIAH, 7 years JEHU, 28 years ELISHA
JOASH, 40 years
JEHOAHAZ, 17 years
JOASH, 16 years
AMAZIAH, 29 years
UZZIAH, 52 years JEROBOAM II., 41 years AMOS
ZECHARIAH, 6 months
SHALLUM, 1 month
MENAHEM, 10 years
JOTHAM, 16 years HOSEA
AHAZ, 16 years PEKAHIAH, 2 years
PEKAH, 20 years
HOSHEA, 9 years
HEZEKIAH, 29 years CAPTIVITY. 721 B. C. ISAIAH
MANASSEH, 55 years MICAH
AMON, 2 years
JOSIAH, 31 years
JEHOAHAZ, 3 months
JEHOIAKIM, 11 years
JEHOIACHIN, 3 months
FIRST CAPTIVITY. 597 B. C.
ZEDEKIAH (regent), 11 years
_Destruction of Jerusalem and_
SECOND CAPTIVITY. 586 B. C.
The dates given in this table are only approximate. It is impossible
to give the exact dates of many of the events in Bible history. In
many cases no date is given in the Bible itself, and many times the
date is in round numbers or is obscure. Accuracy in the matter of
dates was not thought to be so necessary in those days as it is now.
{237}
THE KINGDOM OF THE SOUTH.
REHOBOAM.
_How a Foolish Young King Lost the Best Part of His Kingdom_.
(Under the great King Solomon, the kingdom of Israel rose to the
zenith of its power and glory. Its territory stretched from sea to
sea, its commerce was world-wide. Jerusalem with its great temple and
its luxurious palaces became a magnificent city. But even during the
reign of Solomon there began to be mutterings of discontent. Solomon
was a great king, but his very magnificence laid heavy burdens upon
the people. Taxes must be raised, very burdensome taxes, and a great
number of servants and slaves must be kept. Solomon was strong enough
to prevent an open rebellion in his own day, but as soon as he died
the smoldering fire burst into flame. His son Rehoboam was an arrogant
and very foolish young man. The people petitioned for a redress of
their grievances and a lightening of their burdens. The elders whom
the king consulted advised him to listen to these reasonable requests.
But he gave heed instead to the advice of young men as willful and as
inexperienced as himself, and replied that he would lay heavier
burdens yet upon the people.
Then the old cry of protest, "To your tents, O Israel," was raised.
The people of the North seceded, and under the leadership of a man
named Jeroboam, set up a kingdom of their own. This division became
permanent, and was the source of endless war. Even in the time of
Christ, the Samaritans, who were the {238} descendants of the people
of the old Northern kingdom, and the people of the South hated each
other, and had no dealings with each other.)
After the death of Solomon, Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel
were come to Shechem to make him king. And Jeroboam and all the
assembly of Israel came, and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, "Thy father
made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service
of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and
we will serve thee." And he said unto them, "Go away for three days,
then come again to me." And the people departed.
And King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, that had stood before
Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying, "What counsel give ye
me to return answer to this people?" And they spoke to him, saying,
"If thou wilt be a servant to this people this day, and wilt serve
them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be
thy servants for ever."
But he forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him,
and took counsel with the young men that were grown up with him, that
stood before him. And he said unto them, "What counsel give ye, that
we may return answer to this people, who have spoken to me, saying,
'Make the yoke that thy father did put upon us lighter'?"
And the young men that were grown up with him spoke to him, saying,
"Thus shalt thou say to this people that spoke to thee, saying, 'Thy
father made our yoke heavy, {239} but make thou it lighter unto us';
thus shalt thou speak unto them, 'My little finger is thicker than my
father's loins. And now whereas my father did load you with a heavy
yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but
I will chastise you with scorpions.'"