END OF THE HOUSE OF JEHU AND THE TIME OF UZZIAH.
Condition of Judah--The Earthquake and the Famine--Uzziah's
Rule--Overthrow of Neighbouring Powers--Fortification
of Jerusalem--Navigation of the Red Sea--Jeroboam's
Prosperity--The Sons of the Prophets--Amos--Prophetic
Eloquence--Joel's Prophecies--Hosea foretells Ultimate
Peace--Denunciation of Uzziah--Zechariah, Shallum,
Menahem--Last Years of Uzziah--Contest between the King and the
High Priest--Uzziah usurps the Priestly Functions--Uzziah's
Illness.
805-758 B. C. E.
After the violent death of Amaziah, the kingdom of Judah or house of
Jacob had become so excessively weakened, partly through internal
dissensions and partly through foreign warfare, that it was a by-word
among the nations. A contemporary prophet called it "the crumbling
house of David," and oftentimes repeated, "Who will raise Jacob, seeing
that he is so small?" And yet from out of this weakness and abasement
Judah once more rose to such power that it inspired the neighbouring
peoples with fear. First the internal dissensions had to be set at
rest. The entire nation of Judah rose up against the nobles that had
committed regicide a second time and created confusion. The young
prince Azariah, or Uzziah, was made king. This king--who was only
seventeen years old, and who, like his contemporary, King Jeroboam,
enjoyed a long reign--possessed energy, determination and caution,
which enabled him to restore the crumbling house of David. His first
care was to transport the corpse of his father from Lachish, where it
had been buried, to Jerusalem, where it was interred with the remains
of the other kings of the house of David. Whether Uzziah punished
the murderers of his father cannot be ascertained. He then proceeded
to heal the wounds of his country, but the task was a difficult
one, for he not only had to contend with enemies within the state
itself and among the neighbouring nations, but also against untoward
circumstances. The very forces of nature seemed to have conspired
against the land, which was devastated by a succession of calamities
calculated to reduce the staunchest heart to despair and apathy. In the
first place, an earthquake occurred in Uzziah's time, which terrified
the inhabitants of Palestine, who were unused to such occurrences. The
people took to flight, shrieking with terror, expecting every moment
to be engulfed in an abyss beneath the quivering earth. The phenomena
accompanying the earthquake increased their terror. The sun was hidden
by a sudden, thick fog, which wrapped everything in darkness, and the
lightning flashes which, from time to time, illuminated it, added to
the prevailing terror. The moon and stars appeared to have lost their
light. The sea, stirred up in its depths, roared and thundered, and its
deafening sound was heard far off. The terrors of the earthquake were
intensified when the people recalled the fact that a prophet, belonging
to the kingdom of the Ten Tribes, had predicted the event two years
before. The fulfilment of this awful prophecy filled all hearts with
consternation; the end of the world seemed at hand.
Hardly had this terror subsided when a fresh misfortune broke upon
them. The periodical falls of rain failed, no dew quickened the fields,
a prolonged drought parched all vegetation, the springs dried up, a
scorching sun transformed the meadows and pasture lands into a desert,
man and cattle thirsted for refreshment and food, whilst wild beasts
wandered panting about in the forest thickets. Inhabitants of cities
in which the water-supply was exhausted set out for the nearest place,
hoping to find a supply there, but were unable to satisfy their
thirst. The drought, affecting extended areas of land, reached also
the lava districts of Hauran in north-eastern Palestine, which are not
unfrequently infested with swarms of locusts. In search of nourishment,
these locusts now flew across the Jordan to the kingdom of the Ten
Tribes, and devoured all that had not been withered by the dry rot. In
heavy swarms which obscured the sun, they flew onward, and suddenly
the vines, fig and pomegranate trees, the palms and the apple-trees
were laid bare. These devastations by the locusts continued throughout
several years.
In the land of Judah, which had been brought to the verge of
destruction by the reverses of war, the consternation was deep. It
seemed as though God had deserted His heritage, people, country and
Temple, and had given them over to degradation and ruin. Public
mourning and pilgrimages were instituted in order to avert the evil.
The prophet Joel, the son of Pethuel, exhorted the people publicly in
these days of trouble, and was largely instrumental in raising their
sinking courage. His stirring exhortations could not help leaving a
deep impression. Their effect was especially felt when the destruction
caused by the drought and the locusts ceased. Once more field and
garden began to burst into blossom, the brooks and cisterns were
filled, and scarcity was at an end. The young king immediately availed
himself of this auspicious change, in order to chastise the enemies
of Judah. He first turned his arms against the Idumæans, who had laid
his land waste. He defeated them, possibly because they were no longer
aided by the Egyptians, and reduced Edom to subjection. The town of
Elath, on the shore of the Red Sea, he re-annexed to Judah, and the
maritime trade with Arabia and Ophir (India) could thus be renewed. The
Maonites or Minites, who occupied a small territory in Idumæa, around
the city of Maon (Maan), were subjugated by Uzziah, and compelled to
pay tribute. He punished the Philistines for their hostile attitude
towards Judæa during his minority, when they had delivered over the
Judæan refugees and emigrants to the Idumæans. He conquered the towns
of Gath, Ashdod, Jabneh, which lay nearest to the land of Judah, and
razed their walls. In other portions of Philistia, which he annexed to
his own territory, he erected fortified cities.
He especially devoted himself to the task of fortifying Jerusalem,
which, owing to the destruction of 400 yards of the northern wall at
the time of the war between his father and Jehoash of Israel, could
offer no resistance to an invading enemy. Uzziah, therefore, had
the northern wall rebuilt, and undoubtedly rendered it safer than
before against attacks. He must have established friendly relations
with Jeroboam II., or he would not have been able to commence the
fortifications without risking a war. Uzziah had three towers built,
each 150 yards in height, at the corner gate in the north, at the gate
leading to the valley of Hinnom in the south, and at the gate Hananel;
on the gates and on the parapets of the walls were placed machines
(Hishbonoth), by means of which heavy stones could be hurled to great
distances. Uzziah, in general, displayed great energy in making warlike
preparations, the warriors being provided with shields, armour and
spears. He also employed cavalry and war-chariots, like those brought
from Egypt in Solomon's time.
Uzziah appears, in all respects, to have taken Solomon's kingdom as
his model. The navigation of the Red Sea, from the harbour of Ailat,
which Solomon had obtained from the Idumæans, was again resumed, and
great vessels (ships of Tarshish) were fitted out for the purpose.
Altogether, Uzziah attained a position of predominance over the
neighbouring nations.
The kingdom of the Ten Tribes, at the same time, became possessed
of great power under Jeroboam II., who was as warlike as Uzziah.
In the latter part of his long reign he was engaged in continual
warfare with the Syrians. He conquered the capital, Damascus, and
pressed victoriously to the city of Hamath, which also fell before
him. The nationalities which inhabited the district from Lebanon to
the Euphrates, and which till then had paid allegiance to the kingdom
of Damascus, became tributary to the king of Israel in consequence
of these victories. Jeroboam had no longer any rival in his vicinity
to contest the supreme power with him. The Phœnicians had become
considerably weakened through dissensions between the city of Tyre
and the descendants of King Ethbaal. During Jeroboam's government a
civil war appears to have broken out in Tyre, in consequence of which
the whole of Phœnicia lost the influential position which it had been
occupying for a considerable time. The rich booty of war, and, perhaps,
the renewed impulse to trade, brought wealth to the entire country
of Samaria. Not only the king, but even the nobles and the wealthy
classes, lived in luxury surpassing that of Solomon's time. King
Jeroboam possessed a winter and a summer palace. Houses of broad-stone,
adorned with ivory and furnished with ivory seats, became very common.
In contemplating the increase of power in the two kingdoms, one might
have been tempted to believe that the times of Solomon were not yet
over, and that no change had occurred, except that two kings were
ruling instead of one--that no breach had ever taken place, or that the
wounds once inflicted had been healed. Jeroboam and Uzziah appear to
have lived on terms of perfect peace with one another. Israelites were
permitted to make pilgrimages to Beersheba. No doubt some of them also
visited the Temple in Jerusalem. But it was only the last glimmer of
a politically happy period. The corruption which prosperity helped to
develop in the kingdom of Judah, and still more conspicuously in the
kingdom of the Ten Tribes, soon put an end to these happy days, and
hastened the decadence of both states.
In the latter, the bull-worship was not only continued in Bethel and
Dan, but even assumed greater proportions, when additional images of
the bull were erected in Samaria and in Gilgal. Jeroboam appears to
have elevated Bethel to the rank of a capital. Here the chief sanctuary
was established. A sort of high priest, named Amaziah, ministered
there, and appears to have been very jealous of his office. Unlike
the Aaronites in Judah, he enjoyed a rich prebend in the possession
of fields around Bethel. Either this perverted form of worship was
not yet low enough to satisfy the cravings of its devotees, or the
voluptuousness consequent upon the accession of wealth may have
demanded new departures; at all events, the hideous worship of Baal and
the immoral cult of Astarte were again introduced. It is extraordinary
that this idolatry, which had been extirpated with so much energy by
Jehu, was again promoted, and received fresh encouragement under his
grandson. The idolatry thus newly re-introduced brought in its train
every species of wickedness and corruption. In order to gratify the
senses, all thoughts were bent on acquiring riches. The wealthy made
usury their business, and pursued their debtors with such severity
as to make slaves of their impoverished debtors or their children.
Usurious trade in corn was especially prevalent. In years of famine
the rich opened their granaries, and sold the necessaries of life on
credit, not always without employing false weights and measures; and
when the poor were unable to return what had been lent to them, they
heartlessly took their clothes or even their persons in pledge. When
these unfortunates uttered their complaint against such injustice in
the national assemblies they found no ear to listen; for the judges
were either themselves among the evil-doers, or had been bribed and
made deaf to the voice of justice. The treasures thus extorted were
wasted by their owners in daily revelry. The contemporary prophet Amos
pictures in gloomy colours the debauched life of the rich and noble
Israelites residing in the capitals in Jeroboam's time.[20] The wives
of the nobles followed the bad examples of their husbands, and urged
them to be hard-hearted to the poor, demanding of them, "Bring, bring,
and let us drink."
The people itself could not, however, be so much influenced by the
moral depravity of the nobles as to allow it to obtain full sway.
Morality, justice and pure worship of God still had followers, who
protested more and more strongly against the vices practised by
the great, and who, though in humble positions, knew how to obtain
a hearing. Although almost a century had passed since the prophet
Elijah, with flowing hair, declaimed against the sins of Ahab and
Jezebel, the prophetic societies which he had founded still existed,
and acted according to his spirit and with his energy. The young, who
are generally readier to receive ideal impressions, felt a disgust at
the increasing moral ruin which came on them, and assembled round the
prophetic disciples in Bethel, Gilgal and Jericho. The generation which
Elisha had reared and taught adopted the external symbols of prophecy,
pursuing the same abstentious mode of life, and wearing long-flowing
hair; but they did not stop at such outward signs, but raised their
voices against the religious errors, against luxury and immorality.
Sons became the moral judges of their fathers. Youths gave up drinking
wine, whilst the men revelled in the drinking places. The youthful
troop of prophets took the place of the warning voice of conscience. In
the presence of king and nobles, they preached in the public assemblies
against the worship of Baal, against immorality and the heartlessness
of the great. Did their numbers shield them from persecution, or were
there amongst the ranks of the prophets sons of the great, against whom
it was impossible to proceed with severity? Or was King Jeroboam more
patient than the accursed Jezebel, who had slaughtered the prophets'
disciples by hundreds? Or did he disregard and ignore their words? In
any case, it is noteworthy that the zealous youths remained unharmed.
The revellers merely compelled them to drink wine and forbade them to
preach; they derided the moral reformers who exposed their wrongdoings,
but they did not persecute them.
One of the prophets in the kingdom of the Ten Tribes made use of
this freedom of speech; he was the first of a succession of prophets
who combined great and poetic thought with evenly flowing rhythm of
diction, and made kings and grandees as well as the people wince
under their incisive words of truth. It was Amos of Tekoa. Amos did
not belong to the prophetic guild, he was no prophetic disciple, and
probably neither wore a garment of haircloth, like Elijah, nor let his
hair grow long, but was a simple herdsman and planter of sycamores.
Whilst tending his herds, the prophetic spirit came mightily upon
him, and he could not refrain from appearing in public. "God spake to
him, and in him, how should he not prophesy?" The prophetic spirit
urged him to repair to Bethel, and there, in the temporary capital
of King Jeroboam II., he declaimed against the perversions and vices
of the nobles, and opened their eyes to the consequences of their
evil deeds. That a countryman, clad in shepherd's garb, dared speak
publicly, could not help creating sensation in Bethel. A high degree
of culture must have prevailed in those days in Samaria, when a
shepherd was able to speak in beautiful, rhythmic utterances, and was
understood, or at least expected to be understood, by the people. The
speeches of Amos and those of his successors combine the eloquence and
comprehensibility of prose with the metre and the rhythm of poetry.
Metaphors and imagery lend additional solemnity to their diction. It
is therefore difficult to decide whether these utterances should be
classed as prose or as poetry. In place of a more suitable description,
they may be designated as beautifully formed poetic eloquence. The
orations of Amos, however, did not fail to betray his station. He
used similes taken from his shepherd life. They showed that, while
tending his flocks, he often listened to the roaring of the lion, and
studied the stars in his night-watches. But these peculiarities only
lent a special charm to his speeches. Amos came to Bethel before the
earthquake occurred, and he predicted the event in words of prophetic
foresight. The earthquake thereupon followed, with all its accompanying
terrors, and carried desolation everywhere. The subsequent plagues of
drought, sterility, and locusts afflicted the kingdom of the Ten Tribes
equally with the kingdom of Judah. Amos, and with him all right-minded
people, expected that these visitations would effect a reform,
putting an end to the hideous excesses of the wealthy and their cruel
oppression and persecution of the poor. But no improvement took place,
and Amos inveighed against the impenitent sinners in the severest
terms. He reproved the men who ridiculed his prophetic utterances. He
denounced those who, relying on their power or their piety or their
nobility of descent, felt themselves unassailable. (Amos v. 4-15, vi.
1-8.)
Against such daring speeches, directed even against the royal house,
the high priest of Bethel, Amaziah, felt it his duty to take measures.
Either from indifference or out of respect for the prophet, King
Jeroboam seems hitherto to have allowed him unlimited sway; but even
now, when Amaziah called his attention to the prophet's dangerous
upbraidings, he appears to have remained unmoved. At all events, the
prophet was not interfered with, except that the high priest, probably
in the king's name, said to him, "Go thou, haste to Judah; eat thy
bread and prophesy there, but in Bethel thou mayest not remain, for it
is the sanctuary of the king, and the capital of the kingdom." Amos did
not permit himself to be interrupted in his preaching further than to
say, "I am no prophet and no prophetic disciple, but only a shepherd
and planter; but the Lord spake unto me, 'Go, prophesy unto my people
Israel.'" In the strongest language, he concluded with a threat of
punishment. It is noteworthy that he did not protest against the evil
deeds in Judah with the same energy, but rather displayed a certain
leniency towards the kingdom governed by the house of David. He entered
into no particulars concerning the sins which were rife there, but only
spoke of them in general terms. He predicted a happy future for the
kingdom of Judah, while predicting woe to Israel.
"Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom,
and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving
that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the
Lord."
When contemplating in his prophetic vision the new plagues which would
descend upon the land, he interceded with prayer in behalf of Judah,
exclaiming, "Lord God, cease, I beseech thee; how shall Jacob rise,
since he is so small?" (Amos vii. 2, 5.)
The state of weakness into which Judah had fallen since the death of
Amaziah, and from which it had not yet recovered in the first years
of Uzziah's reign, filled the prophet Amos with compassion. He did
not wish to discourage the nation and the court still further, but
prophesied the future reunion of the tribes under the house of David.
At this time another prophet arose in Jerusalem, named Joel, the son
of Pethuel. Most of the prophets were of obscure origin, and returned
to obscurity without leaving a trace of their individuality, which
was entirely merged in their deeds or works. Joel appeared at a time
when all minds had been terrified and driven into a condition of
despair bordering on stupor, by the repeated attacks of the Idumæans
and neighbouring nations, and the subsequent plagues of earthquake,
drought and locusts. The inhabitants of Jerusalem and the country were
wearing themselves away in long fasts and lamentations; they tore their
garments as a sign of mourning, and assembled around the Temple with
cries and supplications to avert Divine anger, and the priests were
equally despondent. Joel, therefore, had a different task from that
of Amos; not to censure and blame the people was his mission, but to
raise and cheer up the despondent, and to arouse those whom despair had
stupefied. He did not openly denounce, but merely hinted at the sins
and errors of the nation, alluding to the drunkards now left without
wine, pointing to the external repentance which contented itself with
torn garments and left the heart untouched, and scorning the popular
notion that the Deity could not be appeased without sacrifices. Joel
had to exert the whole power of his eloquence in order to convince the
nation that God's mercy had not departed from them, that Zion was yet
His holy mountain; that He would not deliver up His people to disgrace;
that He was long-suffering and full of mercy, and would relieve them
from their misfortunes without their burnt-offerings and fasts.
Joel's oratorical power was, perhaps, even greater than that of Amos.
His highly coloured description of the ravages of the locusts and
the accompanying calamities is a stirring picture; the reader feels
himself to be an eye-witness. The extant production of Joel's prophetic
eloquence, with its rhythm and metre and even a certain strophic
structure, also occupies the middle between poetry and prose. The only
speech of his which has been preserved is divided into two halves; in
the one half he describes the misfortunes of the nation, blames their
perverted ideas, and points out wherein their conversion must consist;
and in the other, he seeks to fill their hearts with a joyous hope
for the future. Joel endeavoured to carry his trembling, wailing and
despondent hearers, who had collected on the Temple Mount, beyond the
narrow boundaries of their present sorrow to a higher view of life. He
told them that God had sent the plagues as forerunners of a time full
of earnestness and awe, of a day great and fearful, destined to purify
them and lead to a higher moral order. The sorrows of the present would
pass away and be forgotten. Then the great day of the Lord would dawn.
Joel also predicted political changes, when the enslaved Jews of
Judah and Jerusalem, whom Philistines and Tyrians had sold to the
slave-trading Ionians, who again on their part had scattered them far
and wide, should again return. The peoples who had committed acts of
cruelty would be severely punished in the Valley of Justice (Emek
Jehoshaphat), where God would pronounce judgment on all nations.
Then Egypt and Idumæa would become deserts, because they had shed
the innocent blood of the Judæans; but Judah and Jerusalem would be
inhabited throughout all generations. Then a higher moral order would
begin, and all creatures would be filled with the divine spirit of
prophecy.
"And it shall come to pass afterwards that I will pour out my
spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall
prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall
see visions. And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids
in those days will I pour out my spirit." (JOEL iii. 1-2.)
The wish which has been attributed to Moses (Numbers xi. 29) will,
according to Joel's prophecy, be realized at some future time. Not
only Israelites born in the land, but also the strangers, who lived as
slaves in their families, would have a share in this kingdom of God,
and would become worthy of the gift of prophecy. Thus the prophetic
vision began to roam beyond the national barriers.
Hosea, son of Beeri, the third prophet of Jeroboam's and Uzziah's
times, spoke yet more decidedly against the kingdom of the Ten Tribes,
and in favour of the house of Jacob. Nothing is known of his life
and actions; we are not even told in which kingdom he delivered his
speeches. It is, however, probable that the scene of his activity was
Bethel or Samaria. Whilst Amos made moral corruption the main object of
his rebuke and scorn, Hosea declaimed against the religious defection
of the kingdom of the Ten Tribes, which had returned to the worship
of Baal. He did not possess the wealth of expression nor the metrical
evenness of his two contemporaries. His eloquence comes nearer the
form of common prose; it is more amplified, more fluent, but also more
artificial; it likes the interweaving of allegorical names, in which
Hosea probably followed the style of the prophetic school from which he
appears to have come. He started from one simile, which he applied in
a twofold manner. He represented the introduction of the Baal worship
in the Ten Tribes as the conduct of a faithless wife, and compared
the future return of the people to God, which he predicted, to the
return to the path of duty of a repentant and abashed adulteress. This
his theme he premised with an introduction. In a prophetic vision, he
said, he received the command to take to himself an adulterous wife.
Following this command, he married a woman of evil repute, who bore him
three children--a son, Jezreel, a daughter, whom he called "Unloved"
(Lo-Ruchamah), and a second son, named "Not-My-Nation" (Lo-Ammi). The
prophet explained these metaphorical names; thus, Jezreel meant two
things--in the first place, that God would visit on the house of Jehu
the blood that their forefather had shed in Jezreel; and further,
Jezreel denoted that God would destroy the armies of Israel in the
Valley of Jezreel. The name of the daughter meant that God would no
longer care for the house of Israel; and, lastly, the name of the
second son denoted that the God of Israel had deserted the nation,
and would no longer be its God. After this introduction and its
interpretation, the prophet began his address:
"Contend with your mother, contend,
For she is not my wife,
And I am not her husband;
Let her put away her prostitution from her face,
And her adulteries from her bosom." (HOSEA ii. 4-6.)
Then the prophet depicts the entire extent of the faithlessness of the
house of Israel,--that adulteress who pursues her lover (Baal), in the
belief that her riches and her plenty had come from him, forgetting
that God had endowed her with the corn and wine, the silver and gold
which she was wasting on the idol Baal; God would therefore deprive
her of everything, and not leave her even sufficient clothes to cover
her body. In her need she would be overcome by repentance, and say,
"I will return to my first love, for then it was better with me than
now." The prophet then pictures the return of the faithless wife, who
would remorsefully recognise the whole extent of her past wickedness,
and, turning to her husband, would call him "My husband," for the name
"lord" (Baal) would have become hateful to her. (Hosea ii.)
Reconciled with his betrothed (the nation), the Lord would again show
mercy to her, as in the days of the exodus from Egypt; from the desert
he would again lead her to her land, and she would once more sing
psalms of praise as in the time of her youth, and in the days when she
went forth from Egypt. The renewed covenant between her God and her
would shield her from the wild beasts, and bow and sword and war would
be no more. Jezreel, the ominous name, would receive an auspicious
meaning (_planted in the land_); the "Unloved" would be once more the
"Beloved," and "Not-My-Nation" would again become "My-Nation" and would
acknowledge his God.
In unrolling a glowing picture of the future of the Ten Tribes, Hosea
did not desire to mislead his hearers into the belief that such a time
was close at hand. In a second oration, which has probably not been
fully preserved, he predicts that many unhappy days would intervene
before the return of the Ten Tribes and their expiation. This speech
he also introduced with the account of a vision. God had commanded him
again to take a much-beloved, yet faithless wife. She was not to bear
him children, but he was to keep himself apart from her, nor permit her
to associate with other men. This vision denoted that, though God loved
the Israelitish nation, she had, forgetting all ties of honour and
duty, given her love to other gods. And it denoted further, that the
sons of Israel would remain long without a king or a prince, without
an altar or columns, without an ephod, as well as without house-gods
(Teraphim); till at last, purified by severe trials, she would return
to her God--in the latter days. Hosea prophesied the total destruction
of the kingdom of the Ten Tribes. On the other hand, he laid even more
stress than his contemporaries on the continuance of the house of David
and the kingdom of Judah, at the same time reproaching King Uzziah for
the importance which he attached to his warlike preparations.
Corruption in the one kingdom and misfortunes in the other brought
from the hidden depths the precious ore of prophetic eloquence, which
was destined to obtain wide-reaching influence. The sins of Ahab and
Jezebel aroused Elijah; the evil deeds of Jeroboam II. and his nobles
drew Amos away from his flocks, and brought Hosea out of his quiet
life into publicity, to communicate in a fascinating form the thoughts
which possessed their souls. Their fears and hopes, their thoughts
and convictions, became thenceforth the common property of the many
whom they inspired and ennobled. Anxiously listening disciples of
the prophet imprinted these prophetic lessons on their memories or
recorded them in writing. They formed the first pages of that prophetic
literature, which was destined to stir up the indolent nations of the
earth. By picturing, though only in dim outlines, the prospect of
a better future, the prophetic wizards, Amos, Hosea and Joel, have
insured the permanence of the nation from which they sprung; for a
nation which looks confidently forward to a happy future is safe
against destruction, and does not permit itself to be crushed by the
most terrible trials of the present. One of these prophets--Joel or
Hosea--pictured an ideal of the future, to which the noblest minds have
clung, and to which they still hold fast. (Isaiah ii. 2-4.)
That grand picture of everlasting peace--to be founded on the teachings
of Israel--which will transform the deadly instruments of war into
implements of life-giving labour, excels all works of art that will
ever charm the eyes and hearts of mankind. The Israelitish prophets
have predicted that this high morality of the nations of the earth will
be the outcome of the law which will go forth to them from Zion.
The hostile attitude which the two prophets of the kingdom of Israel
assumed towards the house of Jehu was not without effect. Just as
Elisha and his disciples raised up an enemy against the Omris, so were
the attempts against the last of the Jehuides probably the outcome of
Amos's and Hosea's fiery opposition.
Jeroboam II. died in peace, at an advanced age and after a long and
happy reign, but no sooner had his son Zechariah ascended the throne
(769), than a conspiracy was formed against him. The ringleader was
Shallum, son of Jabesh, who killed the fourth descendant of Jehu in
Ibleam. Zechariah reigned only a few months. His murderer, following
the example set by Jehu in dealing with the house of Ahab, destroyed
the house of Jeroboam II., sparing neither women nor children. Shallum
then went to Samaria in order to take possession of the throne and
kingdom, but he maintained his position only one month. A conspiracy
was also instituted against him by Menahem, the son of Gadi, a former
inhabitant of the capital Tirzah. He proceeded towards Samaria, and was
admitted into the capital without difficulty. He killed Shallum (768),
but no doubt met with greater opposition than he expected. Although
the capital opened its gates to him, other towns did not immediately
submit. The town of Tiphsah (Tapuach) shut its doors against him.
Menahem, however, was more daring than his predecessor, and united
with his courage the utmost hardness of heart. He laid siege to the
rebellious city, and, having compelled it to surrender, he executed
the entire population--men, women, and children, not even sparing
pregnant women. After this massacre he proceeded to Samaria, where he
seized upon the throne of the Jehuides. A chief who displayed cruelty
such as this could hardly expect to win all hearts. Menahem appears to
have abolished the worship of Baal. The worship of the bull, however,
was still continued. During his reign the fate of the Ten Tribes was
influenced by a powerful kingdom which was destined to put an end to
the house of Israel.
If the better elements of that house might have felt inclined to
follow the intimations of the prophet, and turn to the house of Judah
for remedy, they met here with conditions equally repulsive. Internal
dissensions broke out under Uzziah, which, it appears, were purposely
ignored. Uzziah's aim was wholly and solely directed to military
affairs--the acquisition of bows, shields, and spears. Spiritual
interests were far from his mind, or perhaps were even distasteful to
him. To the Aaronides he undoubtedly gave frequent offence, the former
harmony between royalty and priesthood having received a severe shock
in the latter days of his grandfather Joash. Any endeavour on the part
of the king to extend his sway over the Temple would have met with the
opposition of the anointed high priests, whose authority rested on
claims equal to those of the descendants of David. It is certain that
in the latter years of Uzziah's government conflicts arose between
him and the high priest Azariah, similar to those between King Joash
and Zechariah. In order to deprive the high priest of his prestige,
Uzziah took a bold step. He entered the sanctuary and began to light
the incense-burner on the golden altar, an act which was the especial
privilege and duty of the high priest. The indignation of the Aaronides
ran high. The high priest, Azariah, who together with eighty priests
hastened after the king into the sanctuary, angrily reproved him,
saying, "It is not for thee, O Uzziah, to bring incense, but only for
the anointed priest of Aaron's family. Leave the sanctuary: thou art
guilty of desecration, and it will not be for thy honour from the Lord."
What followed is wrapt in obscurity. Uzziah in the latter years of his
reign was attacked by leprosy, and had to be kept in a special house
for the rest of his days. The nation considered this illness as a
divine punishment for his daring to perform the rites of the priesthood.
In this contest between the sacerdotal and royal houses the former was
triumphant, for it possessed the law as its weapon, and this was of
greater avail than the sword. But another spiritual power was soon to
enter the contest against the priesthood.