"Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel."--_2 Kings 10:28._
WHEN that fierce soldier, Jehu, was made king, the men of Israel cut
off the heads of all Ahab's sons and grandsons, and made them up into
two heaps at the city gates; and all the people who worshipped Baal
were shut up in his temple, and every one of them killed. It is very
sad and terrible; but God had commanded that people who prayed to
idols should not live, because they taught the rest of the Israelites
to be wicked too. When we hear about it, we must recollect that it is
a fearful thing to turn away from serving God, and that He is sure to
punish those who will not worship Him.
You are not likely to pray to an idol; but I hope you do say your
prayers night and morning, and mind them as you say them. Not saying
our prayers, and not going to church, is turning away from God; and it
would be very sad and ungrateful to do that, for God has done much more
for us than He did for the Israelites, and we know more about Him than
they did.