God-Spell

[Resource Manager]

The Empire of David and Solomon

 

CHAPTER XV

 

SOLOMON THE GREAT

 

THE truth expressed in the end of the previous chapter is emphasised in the account of the accession of the new king. “Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king instead of David his father, and prospered.”³⁶ The fact that the throne was the Lord’s is inherent in the whole story.

 

One of Solomon’s first acts was to deal with the abortive attempt of Adonijah and Joab to interfere with the succession. It was hastened by Adonijah himself, who, working through Bathsheba, sought to marry Abishag the Shunamite, the young virgin who had ministered to David. When the request was made known to Solomon, he gave instructions for Adonijah and Joab to be put to death. Others who had been concerned with various risings of his father’s reign were also dealt with.

 

The wisdom of God

 

Early in his reign Solomon went to Gibeon where the tabernacle was pitched, though the ark was still in its tent in Jerusalem. While there God appeared to him in a vision, saying, “Ask what I shall give thee.” Solomon’s request was a wise one. “Give me now wisdom and knowledge that I may go out and come in before this people.” In reply, God said to Solomon, “Because this was in thine heart and thou hast not asked riches, wealth honour, nor the life of them that hate thee, neither yet hast asked long life . . . wisdom and knowledge is granted unto thee, and I will give thee riches and wealth and honour, such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee, neither shall there any after thee have the like.” This reply furnishes the key to Solomon’s position in the Bible; he was the wise man who wrote wise things, though he did not always practise them.

 

Solomon organised the kingdom on sound lines. Officers were appointed to look after various matters. He built largely, including fortresses and strong­holds in various parts of the country. His out­standing work was the construction of the temple which his father had designed. It was a wonderful building for the times, and seven years were occupied in its construction. It was built on the pattern of the tabernacle, but larger; the measurements being doubled. There was a court, a holy place, and a most holy place. There were the same kind of accessories, altars, lavers, lampstands, a mercy-seat and the ark, most of them on a larger scale, though the original ark was placed in the inmost sanctuary.

 

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³⁶ In later times Jeremiah (3, 17), speaking of a future time of rejoicing, spoke of Jerusalem as “the throne of the Lord.”

[Resource Manager]

Dedication of the temple

 

A great dedication service was held in which the king occupied the foremost place. In his prayer he referred to the Lord God of heaven as one Who keepeth covenant and mercy, and asked for the Divine compassion to be shown to all who prayed to God in or toward the house he had built. He finished with the words, “That all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord, he is God; there is none else. Let your heart therefore be perfect with the Lord our God to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments as at this day.”

 

In addition to the temple Solomon built a palace for himself much more splendid than his father’s, store cities and fortified cities, and many fine build­ings. He was a great king, but during his magnificent reign the seeds were sown that resulted in the division of the kingdom.

 

One of the events of his reign was a visit from the Queen of Sheba, who sent to Jerusalem to see if all that was said of Solomon was true. She gave the king rich presents and asked him many questions. Before she returned to her own land she said, “It was a true report that I heard in mine own land . . . howbeit I believed not the words until I came, and behold, the half was not told me; thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard.”

 

Solomon was not only a ruler, he was also a great trader. With the help of the Phoenicians he fitted out a fleet to carry on trade with Tarshish and Ophir. It brought back gold and other eastern produce, such as silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks. Other trading activities also brought him much gain. Civilization and luxury made immense strides in the kingdom, but they brought disadvantages as well as advantages.

 

Solomon’s weakness

 

Solomon’s principal weakness was his desire for women. He had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines, women of all peoples, and in the end they “turned away his heart.” He tried to mix the worship of the gods of his wives with that of the God of Israel. The two ideas would not mix, and the result was disastrous. Once more the Lord appeared to Solomon, not to bless but to threaten. Because he had not kept the covenant of his God, God said, “I will surely rend the kingdom from thee and will give it to thy servant.” Yet for David’s sake there was an exception, two tribes were to be made sure to the house of David.

 

Towards the end of Solomon’s reign adversaries began to arise. There was Hadad of Edom who had fled to Egypt during the reign of David, where he gained the favour of the Egyptian king. Later Hadad returned to his home where the people were ready to stir up trouble with Israel when opportunity offered.

 

There were other sources of trouble, the principal one being Jeroboam. He was an energetic young man, and Solomon had noted him for preferment. One day he was met by a prophet, who seizing his mantle, tore it into twelve pieces, and said, “Take thee ten pieces, for thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Behold I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give ten tribes to thee.” Though the incident took place when Jeroboam and the prophet were alone, Solomon heard of it, and Jeroboam had to flee; he too went to Egypt to await the time for the fulfilment of the prophecy.

 

So the forty years of the reign of Solomon came to an end. The strength of the kingdom had been drained by the exactions of the king whose wisdom was mixed with much folly in his dealings with the people.

 

Solomon was a great writer. He wrote three thousand proverbs, and “his songs were a thousand and five. He spoke of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that springeth out of the wall; he spoke also of beasts and of fowls, of creeping things, and of fishes.” Much of his writing is found in our Bible, though much of it has perished. The Book of Proverbs is the outstanding example of his literary work.

[Resource Manager]

CHAPTER XVI

 

THE DIVIDED KINGDOM THE WORK OF ELIJAH

 

THE death of Solomon brought a crisis in the kingdom. Rehoboam, his son, went to Shechem, not Jerusalem, where Israel had gone to make him king. The fact is significant; it implies that the posi­tion was already precarious; Israel were prepared to accept Rehoboam as king, but only on conditions. They required a relaxation of the burdens that had been placed upon them by Solomon. He took three days to consider, their request, which he placed before the men who had been associated with his father, and before the younger men who had been brought up with him. The former counselled con­cessions; the latter advised the rejection of the appeal. On the appointed day the people came again, led by Jeroboam. With haughty indifference to the sufferings of the people Rehoboam replied, “My father did lade you with a heavy yoke; I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.” It was a foolish saying, but it was overruled of God. The division of the kingdom had been foretold by the prophet, and it had to take place.

 

Ten tribes threw off allegiance to the house of David, and established a separate kingdom under Jeroboam. Rehoboam refused to recognise the division, and sent his officers to collect the usual tribute, but their leader was stoned and Rehoboam hurried off to Jerusalem to gather the men of Judah to fight against the other tribes. A prophet commanded him to refrain as the thing was from the Lord.

 

Political ambition

 

In the North Jeroboam did what he could to strengthen himself. He established his court at Shechem, a place hallowed by its association with Abraham, Jacob and Joshua. He saw that his greatest danger was a religious one. Israel had learned to look upon Jerusalem as the place which God had chosen to be the religious centre of the nation. If his subjects went there every year, the sight of the old familiar things might cause them to accept the rule of Rehoboam. To prevent such a thing happen­ing, he set up two calves, one in Dan and the other in Bethel, and issued a proclamation saying that Jerusalem was too far away and adding “Behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.” A new priesthood was installed, and new feasts instituted; the cleavage between the North and South was complete.

 

It is not to be supposed that Jeroboam intended to repudiate the worship of Yahweh; his object was political, not religious, he desired to prevent his people coming into contact with those of the south. There were protests against the king’s policy. In the presence of Jeroboam a prophet from Judah predicted that the altar he had set up would be delied by a member of the house of David whose name should be Josiah. He announced that the altar should be rent and its ashes scattered, and this actually happened. Jeroboam stretched out his hand to seize the bold prophet, but his hand dried up so that he could not take it back again. At the inter­cession of the prophet it was healed.

 

The miracle so impressed Jeroboam that he invited the prophet to stay, but he replied that he had been commanded to eat no bread and drink no water in Bethel. As he went on his way he was overtaken by an old prophet who invited him home to partake of food, saying that an angel had told him to invite the man of Judah to his house. It was a lie, but the prophet was persuaded to go with him. Suddenly in the midst of the meal the old prophet exclaimed, “Thus saith the Lord, Forasmuch as thou hast been disobedient unto the mouth of the Lord, and hast not kept the commandment which the Lord thy God commanded thee, thy carcase shall not come into the sepulchre of thy fathers.” It must have been a dramatic moment. The man of Judah had listened to the voice of a false prophet and had to pay the penalty. On his way home a lion met him and slew him. It is a strange story but it has its moral—a command from God must be obeyed.

 

Jeroboam continued his evil course, but when his son fell sick he told his wife to go to Shiloh, where lived the prophet who had foretold that he should be king. She went disguised, but on the threshold of the prophet’s house she was greeted by the words, “Come in thou wife of Jeroboam, why feignest thyself to be another?” It was foolish to think she could deceive a prophet. If he could foretell the future he could certainly be assured of the facts of the present. He gave her a heavy message. “Get thee to thine own house, and when thy feet enter into the city the child shall die.”

[Resource Manager]

Trouble in the south

 

Rehoboam took steps to strengthen himself by building fortified cities on his northern border. All through his reign there was a desultory war between him and Israel, in which the advantage generally remained with Judah, though neither side gained any real success. The religious life of Judah was not much better than that of Israel though many of the Levites who had lived in the North sought a home in the south. The principal trouble of the reign was an invasion of Palestine by Shishak, king of Egypt. It affected both Judah and Israel, though Judah bore the brunt of it, for Shishak’s chief spoil was taken from the temple in Jerusalem.

 

Rehoboam was succeeded by his son Abijam who only reigned three years. During his reign the war­fare against Jeroboam continued. Before one of the battles Abijah of Judah addressed the army of Israel; “Now ye think to withstand the kingdom of the Lord in the hand of the sons of David.” He recognised that Judah was still the Kingdom of God.

 

Abijam was succeeded by his son Asa, who inaugurated a period of reformation and success. The religious evils that had crept in were ended; he removed his own mother from her position in the court because she had set up an abominable image. He added to the treasures that were dedicated to the Lord, and increased the number of fortified cities in the kingdom.

 

In the north Jeroboam was succeeded by his son Nadab who, after a reign of two years was murdered by Baasha one of his captains, who killed the whole family of Jeroboam in fulfilment of a prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite. Baasha established himself in Tirzah instead of Shechem. He continued the warfare with Asa of Judah, who relied on alliances, and used the treasures of the temple to purchase the assistance of Benhadad, the king of Syria. This king had been in alliance with Baasha, but in response to Asa’s application he broke the league and invaded Israel. Asa took advantage of the respite, and, conscripting the whole man power of Judah, destroyed the city of Ramah, which Baasha was converting into a fortified city, and used the materials to strengthen two of the cities of Judah. During the reign of Asa Judah was invaded by an immense army of Egyptians led by Zerah, an Ethiopian. Asa gained a notable victory over the invaders, a victory which deeply impressed the surrounding peoples with the power of Judah. The latter part of his reign was spoilt by his neglect of God and his reliance on others, yet his reign was one of marked progress which must be attributed to the principle expressed in the words of the record, “Asa did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, as did David his father.” After a reign of forty-one years he died, greatly lamented by his subjects.

 

Baasha’s reign of twenty-four years drew to a close, and the end of his house was announced by a prophet, a member of a class of men who were beginning to occupy an ever greater position in the land. Baasha was succeeded by his son Elah, but after two years his servant Zimri murdered him as he was “drinking himself drunk” in the house of his steward. Zimri destroyed the whole of the house of Baasha, but he had only reigned a week when a part of the army besieged him in Tirzah. The city fell, Zimri shut himself in the royal palace, set it on fire, and perished. Another aspirant for power rose up in the person of Omri, but the people were divided, some following Omri and others following Tibni. The party of Omri prevailed, and in the words of the Story, “Tibni died and Omri reigned.”

 

The Bible has little to say about Omri who was, however, a strong and capable king. The great feature of his reign was his decision to found a new capital. Shechem and Tirzah were not suitable sites for the capital of a country having numerous enemies. Omri chose the hill of Samaria. Lying at the head of two valleys, it was a strong site, easily defended, and near enough to the main roads of the country to make it a suitable centre for trade. The later history of Samaria furnished a full justification for Omri’s choice.

 

Omri was succeeded by Ahab, the greatest of all the kings of the ten tribes. His religious life was unsatisfactory, but his political outlook was that of a far seeing statesman. He married Jezebel, the daughter of Eth-baal, king of the Zidonians and high priest of Baal. Ahab’s principal idea seems to have been to reconcile the worship of Yahweh with that of Baal. Such an attempt was bound to fail, and the resulting condition of the country brought forth the man of the time.

[Resource Manager]

Elijah the prophet

 

With dramatic suddenness the interest of the Bible Story centres in one man, Elijah the Tishbite, whose personality dominates the whole of the reign of Ahab. Of his past nothing is known, his whole being is merged in his career as a prophet of Yahweh. As a retribution for the religious evils of the reign of Ahab a famine came upon Israel through the failure of the rains. The brooks dried up, the grass withered, and the harvests were scanty. Through the first part of the famine Elijah was sustained by ravens until the brook Cherith dried up. Then he was told to go to Zarephath, in Sidon, lodge there with a widow and her son. There also the famine was severe, and when he arrived the widow was gathering a few sticks to bake a small cake for herself and her child, with the last of her meal and her oil. It was a severe test for the woman, but when the prophet said to her, “Fear not, go and do as thou hast said; but make me thereof a little cake first. . . . 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”, she did as Elijah had said, and the meal and the oil lasted until rain once more fell on the parched land.

 

While Elijah was lodging with the woman her child fell sick and died. In her grief she went to Elijah, crying, “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!” Elijah took the child to his own room, and prayed; then stretch­ing himself on the body of the child, said, “O Lord, my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again.” His prayer was heard, and Elijah gave the child back to his mother, saying, “See, thy son liveth.”

 

God or Baal?

 

Over three years had passed since the famine began when Elijah was told to show himself to Ahab, for rain was coming. He showed himself to Obadiah, the governor of the house of Ahab, and told him to go and tell his master that he was there. When Ahab reached Elijah he asked, “Is it thou, the troubler of Israel?” Elijah answered, “I have not troubled Israel; but thou and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and followed the Baalim.” Then he issued a challenge. Let Ahab bring the prophets of Baal to Mount Carmel for the purpose of an ordeal by fire. Ahab accepted the challenge and a great assembly of priests and people gathered together. Elijah addressed the people, “How long halt ye between two opinions?” or rather “How long hop ye from one idea to another?” It was a telling description of the con­dition of Israel at the time. All Ahab’s children whose names we know had names which incorporated that of Yahweh;³⁷ yet Baal worship was rampant in the land. The king and the people were trying to carry on two worships and loyalties. Elijah’s object was to stop the “hopping,” “If the Lord be God, follow Him; but if Baal, then follow him.”

 

In the presence of the multitudes the prophets of Baal prepared their altar, and in accordance with the terms of the challenge put no fire under the sacrifice. Then they called on the name of their god from morning to noon, but there was no response. “O Baal hear us,” they cried. Elijah mocked them. “Cry aloud,” he said, “either he is musing, or he is gone aside, or peradventure he sleepeth.” Still they cried and cut themselves with lancets till the blood pushed forth. It was no use, Baal did not respond.

 

At last Elijah took his turn. It was the time of the evening sacrifice. He repaired the altar and placed on it a bullock with the necessary wood. He commanded the attendant to fill four buckets from a perennial spring near by, and to pour the water over the sacrifice. This was done three times, until both the altar and the sacrifice were drenched, and the water ran round the trench. Then, the voice of Elijah was heard. “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. . . . Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that the people may know that Thou Lord, art God.” Suddenly the fire descended; it consumed the stones of the altar as well as the sacrifice, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. The effect was instantaneous. “Yahweh is the God,” shouted the people, and, at the command of Elijah they proceeded to slay the prophets of Baal.

 

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³⁷ They are Ahaziah, Yahweh owns; Jehoram, exalted by Yahweh, and Athaliah, constrained by Yahweh.

[Resource Manager]

Elijah encouraged

 

Ahab had looked on, now Elijah turned to him and said, “Get thee up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of abundance of rain.” The long drought was to end, and its end coincided with Israel’s recognition of Yahweh as their God. Elijah sent a lad to look over the sea. Six times he returned with the report that there was nothing to be seen. On the seventh occasion there was a little cloud about “as small as a man’s hand.” Then Elijah sent his servant to Ahab urging his instant departure, “Get thee down, that the rain stop thee not.” As the thick clouds blotted out the sky, and the howling winds told of the rain that was about to fall, Ahab drove to Jezreel and Elijah girded up his loins, and ran before his chariot to that place.

 

When Jezebel heard of the fate of the prophets of Baal she threatened to kill Elijah, who fled to Beersheba, some eighty miles to the south, into the wilderness, where he requested that he might die. As he lay asleep an angel touched him and said, “Arise and eat.” Again he slept and was awakened with the same words, to which the angel added “the journey is great.” In the strength of the food which had been provided he went for forty days to Mount Horeb, where he took refuge in a cave. There God spoke to him. “What doest thou here, Elijah?” He asked. Yes, what? The desert was no place for a prophet of the Lord. Such a man must speak for God, and there was no one to speak to in the desert. Elijah answered that he was the only one left of the prophets of the Lord, and that his life was threatened. He was told to go to the Mount. As he stood there a tremendous wind blew, dislodging rocks and breaking them in pieces. Then an earthquake shook the mountain and after that a fire broke out. In these phenomena Elijah saw no indication of the presence of God, but when he heard “a sound of gentle stillness,” he recognised the evidence of the presence of God. The gentle stillness spoke of Him rather than the wind, the earthquake, and the fire. Again the question was put. “What doest thou here Elijah?” and the same answer was given. Then he was told to anoint Hazael to be king of Syria, Jehu to be king of Israel, and Elisha as a prophet to succeed himself. He was also assured that there were seven thousand in Israel who had not bowed the knee to Baal. Thus encouraged Elijah returned, and anointed Elisha to be a prophet of the Lord. Elijah never anointed Jehu, that was done by his successor. There is no record of the anointing of Hazael.

 

The story now returns to Ahab. Ben-hadad, king of Syria, gathered an army together to besiege Samaria. He sent insulting messages to Ahab, who called his counsellors together and told them what had happened. They urged him to resist, and a prophet encouraged him with the assurance that the Syrians should be defeated. Ahab returned a reply to Ben-hadad, “Let not him that girdeth on his armour boast as he that putteth it off.” It seemed a hopeless conflict. The armies of Syria were large and that of Samaria very small. Ben-hadad was confident of victory, and he and the subject kings who were with him were drinking themselves drunk in the pavilions. When he was told that a number of men had come out from Samaria, he gave instructions that they were to be taken alive. He had badly blundered, for the result was an overwhelming victory for Ahab.

 

Next year Ben-hadad tried again. He thought the gods of the Israelites must be gods of the hills, and determined to fight on the plains. But the result was exactly as before, and the Syrians fled. Ben-hadad was forced to submit, and sent messengers to Ahab to make peace. Ahab received them graci­ously and granted easy terms. In so doing he was acting as a statesman. Assyria was rising and Ahab foresaw that a united Syria was the only possible way by which an Assyrian advance could be stopped. The prophets looked at matters differently, and one of them, in an acted parable, rebuked the king for saving alive a man whom God had appointed for death. Ahab could not bear rebuke; he returned to Samaria heavy and sore displeased.

[Resource Manager]

Naboth’s vineyard

 

Ahab had some estates in Jezreel. Adjoining them was a vineyard belonging to a man named Naboth. Ahab thought the acquisition of the vineyard would round off his estates, and offered to buy it. but Naboth declined to sell the inheritance of his fathers. Disappointed and sulky, Ahab went to his house, and refused to eat. When Jezebel heard the reason she said, “Dost thou govern Israel? Arise and eat, I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth.” She wrote letters in the king’s name and commanded the elders of the city to proclaim a fast, set up Naboth, and charge him with blaspheming God and the king, then stone him and transfer his estates to the king. The programme was carried through and Ahab went down to Jezreel to take possession of the vineyard.

 

There Elijah met him. The king sensed that the meeting boded no good to him, and asked, “Hast thou found me, O my enemy?” “I have found thee,” replied Elijah, and pronounced the king’s doom. His house should perish like those of Jeroboam and Baasha, and Jezebel should be eaten by dogs by the wall of Jezreel. Ahab was not utterly bad; he rent his clothes, put on sackcloth, and “went softly.” So the evil was postponed until the days of his son.

 

Ben-hadad did not carry out the terms he had made with Ahab; he did not hand over the city of Ramoth-gilead, so Ahab took steps to secure the fulfilment of the treaty. He asked Jehoshaphat, who was then king of Judah, to accompany him. Before setting out he consulted his prophets, all of whom foretold success. Jehoshaphat was not satisfied. “Is there not here a prophet of the Lord, besides?” he enquired. Ahab replied that there was one Micaiah, but said he hated him for he never prophesied good but only evil. However he sent for him, and Micaiah also foretold victory. There was something in his voice or manner that aroused Ahab’s suspicions. “How many times,” he asked, “shall I adjure thee that thou speak unto me nothing but the truth in the name of Yahweh?” Micaiah replied, “I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills as sheep that have no shepherd.” Then Micaiah told how he had seen a vision in which the Lord had asked how Ahab might be enticed so that he might fall at Ramoth-gilead, and a spirit had volunteered to do this by being a lying spirit in the mouth of his prophets.

[Resource Manager]

Ahab’s death

 

Ahab refused to be warned, but he disguised himself, while Jehoshaphat wore his royal robes. The Syrians attacked Jehoshaphat thinking him to be the king of Israel, but he escaped. Yet the decrees of God could not be evaded. A man drew a bow at a venture, and the arrow, speeding on its way, struck Ahab between the joints of his armour, and he fell fatally wounded. He was carried to Jezreel, where he died. The defeat became a rout, and victory was with the Syrians.

 

Ahab had been a great king. He built much in Samaria, including an ivory palace (probably a house decorated with ivories), and his military achievements were considerable. His fatal mistake was his marriage to the idolatrous Jezebel, to which all the evils of his reign may be traced. Unequal yoking was his ruin, a fact of much importance even to-day, for Paul has said, “Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers, for ... what portion hath a believer with an unbeliever?”³⁸

 

In the south Asa had been succeeded by Jehosha­phat, of whom something has been told already. He was a good man and a good king, and organised a religious reformation. He placed a deputy on the throne of Edom, and received homage from the Philistines and the Arabians. He tried to imitate the trading activities of Solomon, but his ships were broken in the home port, and the idea came to nothing.

 

Ahab was succeeded by Ahaziah who only reigned two years, during which time Moab cast off their allegiance to Israel and refused to pay their annual tribute of lambs, rams, and wool, but his short reign gave no opportunity for him to deal with the rebellion. The king fell through a lattice and was severely injured. He sent messengers to Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, to enquire what were the chances of recovery. His messengers were met by Elijah who told them to tell their master that he should die. Ahaziah recognised from the description they gave that it was Elijah who had met them, and sent a captain with fifty men to arrest him. Fire from heaven fell on them and they were consumed. A similar fate overtook a second captain and his fifty. A third was sent, and he begged Elijah to spare his life and the lives of his men. Elijah then went with them to the king, giving him the same message he had given the messengers. As Elijah had foretold the king died and was succeeded by his brother Jehoram.

 

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³⁸ 2 Cor. 6:14-16.

[Resource Manager]

CHAPTER XVII

 

ELISHA THE PROPHET AND DECLINE AND FALL OF ISRAEL

 

THE time came when Elijah was to be succeeded by Elisha. The two journeyed from Gilgal to Bethel and thence to Jericho. There was something unusual in their movements. Twice they were met by a company of prophets who said to Elisha, “Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to-day?” Three times Elijah said to Elisha, “Tarry ye here, I pray you,” to which Elisha replied, “As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.” When they reached the Jordan, Elijah took his mantle and smote the river with it, the waters receded so that they were able to cross on dry ground. As they stood on the eastern bank Elijah asked Elisha what should be done for him before he, Elijah, was taken away. Elisha responded, “I pray thee let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.” It was a great request, but Elijah told him that if he saw him as he was taken away it should be granted. Suddenly a chariot of fire with horses of fire appeared, and Elijah was taken away by a whirlwind to heaven. Elisha saw it and cried, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof.” He had seen, and a double portion of spirit rested on him. He rent hi clothes, took up the mantle that had fallen from Elijah, and went to the Jordan. He smote the river as Elijah had done and the waters parted so that he crossed on dry land. The prophets, who were waiting for him, asked permission to send a number of men to search for Elijah. At first he refused, but later consented. For three days they searched without result; Elijah was gone. The opening of Elisha’s ministry was marked by a number of miracles such as the healing of the waters of Jericho, and the death of a number of young lads who mocked him.

 

Jehoram, the new king of Israel continued the worship that had been introduced by Jeroboam though he was not a Baal worshipper. He decided to punish the king of Moab who had rebelled in the reign of his brother, and, assisted by Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom, invaded Moab. The route led the army through a wild and dreary country where there was no water, and they were in sore distress. Jehoshaphat asked if there were a prophet of whom guidance might be sought. Elisha was sent for but when he arrived he said that if it were not for the presence of Jehoshaphat he would not give any information. A minstrel was called for, and, as he played, the spirit of the Lord came upon him and he said, “Thus saith the Lord, Make this valley full of ditches.” They did so, and when the morning broke the ditches were full of water, which in the glow of the rising sun looked like blood. The Moabites thought the three kings had fallen out and had been fighting between themselves. Crying, “Now Moab to the spoil,” they rushed forward, to be met by the combined forces of the three kings. The Moabites fled followed by the allies, who killed them in the rout, threw stones on the arable land, and stopped the wells of water. When the king of Moab saw what had happened, he took his eldest son, and offered him up as a burnt offering. “And there was great wrath against Israel; and they departed from him and returned to their own land.” From the Moabite Stone³⁹ it appears that the rebellion was ultimately successful, and the domination of Moab by Israel was ended.

 

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³⁹ A cast of this is in the British Museum.

[Resource Manager]

Naaman the leper

 

For a time Elisha is the principal figure in the Story. He performed many miracles. A woman of the sons of the prophets who was in financial distress had her oil multiplied. Another, who had provided him with a room in her house, had her son raised from the dead. In a time of dearth, when the prophets had gathered gourds to cook, and had included a poisonous one, Elisha healed the contents of the pot, whilst on another occasion he fed a hundred men with a few cakes of bread and a few ears of corn. He also caused an iron axe-head to float.

 

The principal miracle of Elisha was the healing of Naaman the Syrian. In one of the wars between Israel and Syria a little maid had been carried captive to Syria, where she served in the household of Naaman, who was a leper. One day she remarked, “Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria.” The words were repeated and reached the Syrian king, who wrote a letter to the king of Israel, requesting him to cause Naaman to be healed

of his leprosy. The king of Israel regarded it as a attempt to seek a quarrel with him, but Elisha, who had heard of the letter, sent a message saying, “let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.”

 

Naaman went to the prophet’s house, and Elisha sent him a message, “Go and wash in Jordan seven times.” Naaman was angry, he thought the prophet should have come out to him. He was indignant at being told to wash in such a river as the Jordan. “Are not Abana and Pharpar better than all the waters of Israel?” he said. He turned his steps homeward, still a leper. There was evidently some­thing good in him, for his servants reasoned with him. “My father,” one of them said, “if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing wouldest thou not have done it?” Of course he would; and he saw the point. He went down to Jordan, dipped seven times, and his leprosy was cleansed. Simple obedience had effected his cure.

 

He returned to Elisha and pressed upon him great rewards, but Elisha declined them. Then Naaman preferred a strange request. He desired to be given two mules’ burden of earth from the land of Israel, saying, “Thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offerings, nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto Yahweh.” He realised the anomaly of his position; as a great man in Syria he had to accompany the king into the house of the Syrian god, Rimmon. What should he do? “The Lord pardon thy servant,” he said, “when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon.” Elisha’s only response was, “Go in peace,” and the two parted. Elisha had a servant named Gehazi. He thought it absurd that his master should refuse the present which had been offered him. So he followed Naaman, and told him that two young men had just arrived, and requested that he might have a talent of silver and two changes of raiment for them. Naaman pressed him to accept two talents, and Gehazi returned home with his booty. When he went in to his master Elisha asked, “Whence comest thou, Gehazi?”

 

“Thy servant went no whither,” he replied.

 

“Went not my 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 olive yards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and men servants and maid servants? The leprosy of Naaman shall cleave unto thee and unto thy seed for ever.” Gehazi went out from Elisha’s presence a leper, white as snow.

[Resource Manager]

Elisha and Israel

 

In the various troubles between Israel and Syria Elisha gave valuable information to the king of Israel. The failure of his plans caused the king of Syria to suspect treachery on the part of his officers, until one of them told him that Elisha was able to tell the king of Israel the very words that he himself spoke in his bed chamber. He sent an officer with a band of men to take Elisha, and they encamped round the city where the prophet was. In the morning Elisha’s servant saw them, and cried, “Alas my master, how shall we do?” “Fear not,” said Elisha, and then, “Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes that he may see.” When his eyes were opened he saw the amazing sight of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. In response to the prophet’s prayer the Syrians were stricken with blindness, or dazzlings, and Elisha offered to lead them to the man they required. He led them to the palace of the king of Israel. There the dazzlings ceased and they saw they were trapped. At Elisha’s com­mand they were supplied with food and drink and sent to their own land. The incident cured the king of Syria for a time of any desire to invade Israel.

 

When he did at last invade Israel again and be­sieged Samaria the people were reduced to such straits that at least one woman ate her own child. When the king of Israel heard of this he exclaimed, “God do so, and more also, if the head of Elisha shall stand on him this day.” He sent for the prophet as he was seated among the elders of the city. When the messenger appeared Elisha made the startling announcement that to-morrow a measure of fine flour should be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for the same amount. It sounded absurd, and one of the courtiers derided the idea. “Thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof,” said Elisha.

 

In the morning twilight the Lord caused a noise to startle the Syrians. It sounded like the rushing of an army. They were seized with panic and fled, thinking the king of Israel had hired help from the kings of the Hittites and of the Egyptians. A company of lepers discovered that the Syrians had gone, and reported it to the watch, who sent the news to the king. When he found it was as the lepers had reported he sent and gathered of the spoil the Syrians had left, placing the courtier who had derided the words of Elisha in charge of the gate. The people were too excited to be restrained by him, and he was trodden under foot and died. He saw the plenty but did not eat of it.

 

In Elisha’s journeys he went to Damascus, where the king of Syria was sick. Hearing that Elisha was in the town he sent one of his officers, Hazael, to enquire whether he would recover. “Say unto him,” said Elisha, “thou shalt certainly recover, howbeit the Lord hath showed me that he shall surely die.” Hazael was puzzled, and Elisha wept. In response to Hazael’s question why he wept the prophet replied, “Because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel,” and added, “The Lord hath showed me that thou shalt be king over Syria.” Hazael returned to his master and told him the first part of what the prophet had said. On the following day he took a thick cloth, dipped it in water, and spread it on Ben-hadad’s face, and suffocated him.

 

The reigns of Omri and Ahab had completely altered the positions of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel. Before then the southern kingdom had been the stronger of the two, but by the end of Ahab’s reign the position was reversed, and Jehoshaphat of Judah recognised Ahab as his suzerain.

 

False religion

 

One of Jehoshaphat’s principal tasks was the reorganisation of the country and the improvement of the defences of Jerusalem. Towards the end of his reign he associated his son Jehoram with him in the rule. The latter was a very different kind of man from his father; he had married a daughter of Ahab, and was influenced by the false religion of the northern kingdom. When he reigned alone he slew all his brethren and a number of the princes of the realm. The kingdom sank lower and lower and when Jehoram died he was succeeded by Ahaziah who only reigned one year. The two royal houses were now closely related, for Ahaziah was the son of Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab.

[Resource Manager]

Jehu’s work

 

Elisha had sent a prophet to Ramoth-gilead to anoint Jehu, as king of Israel. Jehu was sitting with a number of officers, and the messenger said, “I have an errand to thee, O captain,” and followed Jehu into the house, where he anointed him. He told Jehu that the house of Ahab should be destroyed like those of Jeroboam and Baasha, and that the dogs should eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel. Then opening the door the prophet fled. The whole incident looked strange to those who waited without, and when Jehu came to them they wanted to know what “that madman” had said to him. When Jehu told them they placed their garments on the top of the stairs, and, with a flourish of trumpets, proclaimed Jehu king.

 

Jehoram the son of Ahab had gone to Jezreel to be healed of wounds he had received of the Syrians. With him was his nephew, Ahaziah of Judah. Jehu made for Jezreel with some of the conspirators. When the watchman at Jezreel saw men coming he reported the fact and Jehoram ordered a horseman to go and enquire their errand. Jehu received him but did not permit him to return. A second horse­man was sent and was similarly treated. This time as the watchman reported the fact he said, “The driving is like that of Jehu, the son of Nimshi, for he driveth furiously.” Jehoram and Ahaziah then went out and met Jehu by the vineyard of Naboth. As they met Jehoram asked, “Is it peace, Jehu?” “What peace so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel, and her witchcrafts are so many?” Jehu replied. Jehoram and Ahaziah turned to flee, but Jehu drew a bow at his full strength, and the arrow pierced the heart of Jehoram. It was a fitting place for such a tragedy, and Jehu recalled the words of Elijah, uttered some years before, “I will require the blood of Naboth in this plat.” Retribution may sometimes be slow but it is certain. Ahaziah fled, followed by Jehu, and was slain.

 

Jehu then made his way to Jezreel. When Jezebel heard what had happened she said to Jehu, “Is it peace, thou Zimri, thy master’s murderer?” Jehu did not parley with her. He called on the attendants to throw her down from the window where she was standing. They did so and her blood was sprinkled on the wall and on the horses. Then Jehu went in to eat and to drink. Later on he sent to have Jezebel’s remains buried, but there were none left but her skull, the feet, and the palms of her hands. The prophet’s words, “the dogs shall eat Jezebel” had been literally fulfilled.

 

Jehu proceeded to do the other things that were necessary to fulfil the command of Elijah. Seventy of Ahab’s sons were killed. As if in explanation, Jehu said, “Know now that there shall fall unto the earth nothing of the word of the Lord which the Lord spake concerning the house of Ahab.” He proceeded to destroy all the members of Ahab’s house, all the great men, his kinsfolk and his priests. As he went to Samaria he met some of the brethren of Ahaziah, who, not knowing what had happened were on their way to Jezreel. They too were slain. When he reached Samaria a further massacre of the supporters of Ahab took place. Jehu was a brutal soldier and a man of blood. Later he announced his intention to hold a great feast to Baal. He said, “Ahab served Baal a little, Jehu shall serve him much.” It was a ruse, yet it was quite true that Ahab was not a whole-hearted worshipper of Baal, though Jezebel was. Like Israel he had “hopped” between two opinions, trying to harmonise Baal and Yahweh worship.

 

On the day of the sacrifice the house of Baal was crowded from one end to the other. When the sacrifice was over the doors were closed and a band of soldiers entered the temple. They had orders to kill every soul in the building. The image of Baal was destroyed, and the place was defiled. It was not that Jehu had a true conception of the God of Israel. Before his dynasty passed away the prophet Hosea denounced the bloodshed and cruelty of Jehu. “Yet a little while,” he said, “and I (the Lord) will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu.”⁴⁰ There was no excuse for the cold blooded cruelty of the new king, though, for a time, he cleared the kingdom of Baal-worship. Ahab had raised Israel to a high position among the surrounding peoples. In the reign of Jehu the Lord “began to cut Israel short.”

 

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⁴⁰ Hosea 1:4.

[Resource Manager]

Jehoiada and Joash

 

The death of Ahaziah caused a change of ill omen to Judah. His mother was Athaliah, a daughter of Jezebel, who had all her mother’s zeal for the worship of Baal. When she saw that her son was dead she slew “all the seed of the kingdom,” and seized the throne for herself. Only one member of the royal family escaped, Joash the young son of the dead king. He was taken by Jehosheba, the sister of the late king, and wife of Jehoiada, the high priest, and hidden in a bedchamber, and, later, in the temple.

 

For six years Athaliah reigned as queen, then Jehoiada took steps to get rid of her and make Joash king. He took advantage of the fact that at the time of the changing of the guard, there were considerably more men than usual in the temple. A hasty corona­tion ceremony took place, and shouts rang through the temple court, “Let the king live!” Athaliah heard and came to see what had happened, but Jehoiada gave instructions for her to be taken out­side the temple precincts and killed. Baal worship, which she had introduced into Jerusalem, was abolished, and its high priest slain.

 

The new king was only seven years of age, and the government was in the hands of Jehoiada. There was plenty of zeal in Judah, and arrangements were made for money to be collected for the repair of the temple. Twenty years afterwards nothing had been done, and the king, now of man’s estate, wanted to know why. A new beginning was made. Instead of the money being handled by the priests, the king’s scribe and the high priest took possession of it, and used it to pay builders and carpenters who were engaged in the work on the house of God. Yet the kingdom was not in a healthy state. Hazael of Syria invaded the land as far south as Gath, and Joash had to take the treasures from the house of the Lord to give to him as tribute. The king’s action was unpopular, and he was murdered by some of his servants, and was succeeded by his son Amaziah.

 

North of the border

 

In the north things were going badly. Jehu was succeeded by his son Jehoahaz. He was a poor king, and when Hazael invaded the land much suffering was caused. In the following reign, that of Jehoash, Elisha, who was dying, sent for the king, who was sincerely troubled. The dying prophet told the king to open the window and shoot an arrow out of it. When he had done so, Elisha said, “The arrow of the Lord’s deliverance,” and told the king to smite on the ground. The wondering king did so three times and then stayed. He probably thought the whole thing was absurd. But it was real to the prophet. “Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times,” he said, “then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it.” Three victories were gained by Jehoash, and the cities which had been taken by Syria were recovered. Yet Hazael proved to be a great scourge to the country. Later the Lord sent Israel a saviour in the person of Jeroboam II, the son of Jehoash who succeeded him on the throne.

 

Under Amaziah the fortunes of Judah improved somewhat. He defeated the Edomites, and, encour­aged by his success, challenged Jehoash of Israel to battle. Jehoash tried to dissuade him, but without success. Judah was invaded and a portion of the wall of Jerusalem was broken down. The people blamed the king for their sufferings, and a conspiracy was formed against him, and he was slain.

 

When Jeroboam II ascended the throne of Israel the fortunes of the country were at their lowest ebb. He proved to be a wicked, but capable, king, and raised Israel once more to prosperity. His conquests reached as far north as Damascus and Hamath. In his days Hosea one of the earliest of the prophets, whose writings are included in the Bible, commenced his ministry. He was mainly a preacher of doom, but looking into the distant future he saw a brighter picture. The two ideas are included in his saying, “The children of Israel shall abide many days with­out king, and without prince, and without sacrifice, and without pillar, and without ephod or teraphim; afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and David their king; and shall come with fear unto the Lord and to His good­ness in the latter days.”⁴¹

 

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⁴¹ Hosea 3:4-5.

[Resource Manager]

The beginning of Isaiah’s work

 

In the south Azariah, or Uzziah, became king at the age of sixteen, and reigned for fifty-two years. He carried on wars against the Philistines, the Arabians, and others. He reorganised the fighting forces of the country, and provided engines of war for the protection of Jerusalem. He built exten­sively, and “was marvellously helped till he was strong.” Then pride brought about his fall. He usurped the duties of the priesthood, and was stricken with leprosy. He could do nothing then, and the affairs of the kingdom passed into the hands of his son Jotham.

 

The most important event of Uzziah’s reign was the call of Isaiah, who says, “In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. . . . And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send? and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I, send me.”⁴² It was the beginning of a wonderful career, of which more will be heard as the Story is unfolded.

 

Another event is not recorded in the history at all; we only know of it from the statements of two prophets. “The words of Amos, which he saw concerning Israel, in the days of Uzziah king of Judah . . . two years before the earthquake.”⁴³ He draws a dreadful picture of a terrible calamity that was to overwhelm the land from Tyre in the. north to Edom in the south. There had been a number of earthquakes on a small scale, but little notice had been taken. Now Israel was exhorted to prepare to meet her God, for sudden destruction would come; God would touch the land and it should melt; it should rise up wholly as a flood, and should tremble, and should be cast out and drowned as by the flood of Egypt. Earthquakes and tidal waves were to spread death and desolation through all the country. Two hundred and fifty years afterwards the memory of the dreadful visitation remained, and Zechariah, speaking of the time when the Lord shall stand upon the Mount of Olives, said, “ye shall flee like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah.”⁴⁴

 

Like Hosea, Amos was mainly a prophet of doom, yet he too could take the long view and see the distant future under the coming Messiah. It was in such a spirit that he said, “In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old; that they may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the nations, which are called by My name, saith the Lord of hosts that doeth this. Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that the plowman shall over­take the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed. . . . They shall be no more plucked up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God.”⁴⁵

 

The last days of Israel present a sorry picture. Zechariah, the son of Jeroboam II, succeeded to the throne after an interval of internecine strife, during which the land was without a ruler. He had only reigned six months, when he was slain by Shallum, who retained the throne for just a month and was then slain by Menahem, who occupied it for ten years. In his reign a new enemy appeared upon the scene. The Assyrians under Pul, or Tiglath-pileser, invaded the land and Menahem had to exact money from all the men of wealth to satisfy their demands.

 

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⁴² Isa. 6:1-8.

⁴³ Amos 1:1.

⁴⁴ Zech. 14:1-5.

⁴⁵ Amos 9:12-15.

[Resource Manager]

Assassinations in Israel

 

His son Pekahiah succeeded him and reigned for two years, when he was murdered by Pekah, one of his captains, who reigned over the distracted kingdom for twenty years. He too had to meet an invasion of Assyrians under Tiglath-pileser, who carried great numbers of the people into captivity. By this time the kingdom of Israel possessed very little territory outside the immediate surroundings of Samaria. Then another conspiracy took place; Hoshea murdered the king, and, after an interval, seized the throne.

 

Judah warned about idolatry

 

When Uzziah died Jotham took sole control of the land of Judah and ruled it for sixteen years’. He built considerably in Jerusalem and Judah, erecting fortresses and towers at suitable points. In his reign the voice of prophecy became more insistent. Isaiah was joined by Micah, and together they sustained the faith of the southern kingdom. Rezin, the king of Syria, and Pekah of Israel, formed a league against Judah, but it was not until the next reign that events came to a head.

 

Ahaz was the next king. He was only twenty when he succeeded to the throne, and the times required a man of experience. He re-introduced idolatrous practices and the worst ceremonies of Baal worship. Early in his reign the confederacy between Syria and Israel came to a head and Judah was invaded. Knowing what Tiglath-pileser had done to the northern kingdom, Ahaz sent to him for help, stripping the gold from the temple to pay for it, and acknowledging him as his overlord. The prophet Isaiah tried to dissuade him from such a course. He told him not to be afraid of the allied kings, for their power should soon be broken. He offered to give the king a sign, but Ahaz refused to ask for any. When he refused, Isaiah, speaking to the “house of David,” said, “The Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

 

He told the king that the Assyrians, whose help he had invoked, would invade his land, which he spoke of as “Immanuel’s land.” Continuing his prophecy he said, “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light. . . . For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” He did not finish there, but added, “Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with judgment and with righteousness from henceforth, even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts shall perform this.”⁴⁶ Thus while the king refused to listen to the prophet’s words, the hopes of the faithful were sustained by the growing revelation of the coming of the Messiah. But Ahaz preferred the immediate prospect of Assyrian help. He died soon afterwards, and Hezekiah his son became king.

 

The end of the kingdom of Israel

 

In the north things rapidly moved to a climax. Hoshea occupied the precarious throne for nine years. He was practically a nominee of the Assyrians, but he made a conspiracy with Egypt, and refused to pay the usual tribute. Shalmaneser, the king of Assyria, marched to Samaria and for three years the city was besieged. During the siege Shalmaneser died and Sargon seized the throne of Assyria. He pressed on the siege and Samaria fell; the inhabitants, with the principal people of the surrounding country, were carried into captivity. The kingdom of Israel was at an end, and the land was occupied by men of Babylon and other parts, who were placed there to prevent the residue of the Israelites, who were but the poorest of the land, from rising against Assyria.

 

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⁴⁶ See Isaiah 7; 8; 9, and page 224.

[Resource Manager]

CHAPTER XVIII

 

FROM HEZEKIAH TO THE CAPTIVITY

 

THE reign of Hezekiah was one of the most thrilling periods in the history of Judah. He ascended the throne six years before the fall of Samaria, when the future of his country seemed very uncertain. He was a man of high character, with a religious outlook on life. He removed the tokens of idolatry from the land, and did all he could to guide Judah aright; he even sent messengers to the remnant in the North and endeavoured to bring them back to the worship of Yahweh. For a time he reigned quietly, then trouble broke out. Sennacherib, the son of Sargon, had succeeded to the throne of Assyria. Hezekiah refused to pay tribute, and the Assyrians invaded the land. Hezekiah felt that he could do nothing and submitted, using the treasures of the temple to satisfy the demands of Sennacherib. For a time there was a respite, then the threat was renewed. Feverish preparations were made for the defence of the capital. The waters which had been allowed to run down the valley were diverted through a tunnel which Hezekiah caused to be cut through the rocky hill of Ophel to a point within the city walls. Many houses in Jerusalem were pulled down to provide material for the repair of the walls of the city. Then the officers of Sennacherib came to Jerusalem. When they approached the city they tried to frighten the people who thronged the wall by boasting of the power of their master, before whom no king and no god had been able to stand what, therefore, could Hezekiah and Yahweh do?

 

Saved from the Assyrians

 

News of what was happening came to the king. Hezekiah rent his clothes, went into the Temple and sent to the prophet Isaiah. The prophet gave him an assurance that the king of Assyria would depart from Jerusalem without doing any damage. So it was for when Sennacherib heard that the king of Egypt was advancing, he marched southward to meet him. He sent a letter to Hezekiah threatening what he would do to Jerusalem. Hezekiah laid the letter before the Lord in the Temple, and prayed, “O Lord our God, save Thou us, I beseech Thee, out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that Thou art the Lord God, even Thou only.” Isaiah brought the answer. “Thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor set a mount against it. ... for I will defend this city to save it, for Mine own sake, and for My servant David’s sake.” And so He did, for “the angel of the Lord went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred and eighty-five thousand”—probably by some terrible plague. Sennacherib returned in shame to his own land where two of his sons murdered him.

 

In his prophecies Isaiah used the circumstances of the times to enforce a greater lesson. The Assyrians, he said, were the rod of God to chastise the nation for unfaithfulness. The work they had done had been God’s work. Yet when that work was finished Yahweh would punish the king of Assyria. He would lop the bow with terror and throw down the men of high stature.” Then he passed to the lone view. “And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots shall bear fruit; and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and under­standing, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord . . . and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears, but with righteousness shall he judge the poor ... for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea,” for the time should come when “the Lord of hosts shall reign in Mount Zion and before His ancients gloriously.”⁴⁷

 

In the same reign Micah spoke words of doom and hope. “Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest. But in the latter days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills, and peoples shall flow unto it. And many nations shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord . . . and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. . . . And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks, nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”⁴⁸ Thus Micah joined Isaiah in looking for the coming of Immanuel.

 

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⁴⁷ Isaiah 11:1-9; 24:23.

⁴⁸ Micah 3:12; 4:1-3.

[Resource Manager]

Hezekiah’s sickness

 

Half way through his reign Hezekiah was taken with a grievous illness. It troubled him greatly for he had no son to succeed him. It looked as if the great promise that had been made to David must fail for lack of an heir. Hezekiah wept sore and prayed for a prolongation of his life. In response to his prayer Isaiah came with a message from God, promis­ing him another fifteen years of life. As a sign that the promise would be fulfilled the shadow on the dial of Ahaz moved backward. Hezekiah recovered, and gave expression to his praise in a song, in the course of which he said,

 

The grave cannot praise Thee, death cannot cele­brate Thee;

They that go down into the pit cannot hope for

Thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise Thee, as I do this day;

The father to the children shall make known Thy truth.

⁴⁹

 

Three years afterwards an heir to the throne was born.

 

The wonder that had occurred caused a petty king of Babylon, Merodach-baladan, to send an embassy to Hezekiah. He was a deadly enemy of the Assyrians, and wanted to know the strength of Judah as a possible ally in his designs against them.

 

Hezekiah welcomed the messengers and showed them all the riches and power of his country. It was a niece of natural pride, but it was a great mistake. Judah had no community with any Gentile kingdoms; it was the kingdom of God, Gentile kingdoms were parts of the kingdoms of men. The prophet Isaiah visited the king with the message, “Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house . . . shall be carried to Babylon, . . . and of thy sons which shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”⁵⁰ Vainglory is never any good, and the people of God have nothing to do with diplomacy. These are the lessons to be derived from this incident in the life of Hezekiah.

 

Prophecy was coming more and more to the fore in the land. Isaiah and Micah were contemporaries of Hezekiah, and both were essentially prophets of the Messiah. The former in a telling prediction spoke of a time when God would “destroy in this mountain the face of the covering that is cast over all peoples, and the veil that is spread over all nations.” Visualising this time he continued “He hath swallowed up death for ever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the reproach of His people shall He take away from off all the earth.” Though death was a stern reality (Old Testament writers knew nothing of the theory of the immortality of the soul, they knew that death was a state of utter unconsciousness) Isaiah looked beyond the grave, and said, “Thy dead shall live; my dead bodies shall arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust . . . the earth shall cast forth the dead.” In a later chapter he said, “Behold a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment,” when, “Judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness shall abide in the fruitful field. And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and confidence for ever.”⁵¹

 

Micah was encouraging the nation with similar hopes; he spoke of the Messiah who was to be born in Bethlehem, and who should “stand and feed, (or rule), in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God; and they shall abide; for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.” He finished his prophecies with a reminder of the old promises, “Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which Thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.”⁵²

 

When Hezekiah died, after a reign of twenty-nine years, he was succeeded by his son Manasseh, who was only twelve years old. His mother’s name was Hephzibah, a name which Isaiah applied to the land of Israel in the great future he foretold for it as Immanuel’s land. Hephzibah means “My delight is in her.”⁵³

 

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⁴⁹ Isaiah 38:18-19.

⁵⁰ Isaiah 39:6-7.

⁵¹ Isaiah 25:7-8; 26:19; 32:1; 32:16-17.

⁵² Micah 5:4; 7:20.

⁵³ See Isaiah 62:4.

[Resource Manager]

Wickedness in Judah

 

Manasseh fell into the hands of evil counsellors, and the good influences of Hezekiah’s reign were forgotten. Idolatry was re-established, including the worship of Baal, and the inhuman practice of passing children through the fire of sacrifice. The worshippers of Yahweh were persecuted, and innocent blood was freely shed. In after years the reign of Manasseh was regarded as one of the principal causes for the down-fall of the state. The prophets protested in vain; their voices were silenced by death, and the kingdom came to the brink of ruin. Then the Assyrians invaded the land and carried Manasseh to Babylon. (Esarhaddon the Assyrian king was particularly partial to Babylon as a place of residence and built a palace there). Manasseh repented, and called upon the God of his father. Yahweh heard him, and reinstated him in his kingdom.

 

Restored to his own land Manasseh did what he could to counteract the evils of the past. He re-established the temple services, and repaired the walls of Jerusalem. But though he had changed, the people had not, they continued to worship in shrines of heathen origin. Things were going from bad to worse, when, after a reign of fifty-five years (the longest in the history of the people) Manasseh died leaving his son Amon to succeed him.

 

Amon only reigned two years during which he reintroduced the worse features of the earlier portion of his father’s reign. He died as the result of a palace conspiracy, and “the people of the land” put the conspirators to death and made his son Josiah king.

 

Josiah’s reform

 

Josiah was then only eight years old, and he reigned for thirty-one years. From a moral and religious point of view his reign was one of the best in the history of Judah. At the age of sixteen he commenced a work of reformation. The pagan emblems were removed from Jerusalem, and pagan altars were defiled by burning bones upon them. In his reforming zeal he also sent to the remnant of the Israelites who still lived in the north. Ten years afterwards, he put in hand the great task of cleansing and restoring the temple in Jerusalem. In the course of this work the high priest found a copy of the book of the law which had been given through Moses. He told the king’s scribe, and he in turn carried the news to the king. The king sent for this ancient relic of the past, and it was read before him. The reading caused a severe shock to Josiah. He recognised that for a long time Judah had not kept the law and that the curses of the law were hanging over them. In deep anxiety he sent his counsellors to Huldah, a prophetess, saying, “ Go ye, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, concerning the words of the book that is found; for great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book.” The discovery, and the reformation, had come too late, and Huldah answered, “Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Tell ye the man that sent you unto me, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah hath read. . . . My wrath shall be kindled against this place, and shall not be quenched.” A personal message was sent to Josiah. He was not to see the evil that was to come upon the people and the land; but should be removed before the final evils came.

 

The knowledge that any reform was too late to prevent the evils foretold did not turn Josiah from inaugurating a reform in the religious and moral affairs of the nation. Princes, priests, prophets, and people were gathered together to hear the law read from the ancient book. Then they entered into a covenant with God, and broke down all the emblems of idolatry in the land. Everything that was combustible was burned; and the houses that had been used for idolatrous purposes were broken down. The Valley of Hinnom (Gehenna) which had been the place of Baal worship was defiled and became the place where the refuse of the city was destroyed.⁵⁴ A similar process was carried out in the cities of Samaria; indeed, the whole land was cleared of everything connected with idol worship. Then a great passover was held in accordance with the instructions given in the book of the law. It is recorded of Josiah that “there was no king before him that turned to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might.”

 

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⁵⁴ Gehenna is the Greek name for the Valley of Hinnom; it is used in the New Testament in places where “hell fire” is referred to. In the light of its origin it obviously indicates the final destruc­tion of all who are consigned to it.

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Jeremiah prophesies

 

In his reforming zeal Josiah must have been influenced by a young prophet of Anathoth, a village about three miles from Jerusalem. Jeremiah com­menced his mission about five years before the great reformation. He was very young; for he speaks of himself as only a child. It was no easy task that was before him, but he was encouraged to endure.

 

Josiah met his death in warfare. War had broken out between Assyria, and the Babylonians and Medes. In the conflict that ensued strange altera­tions of policy took place, and Egypt, which had suffered severely from Assyrian invasions, marched to the help of Assyria. Josiah joined in the conflict challenging the march of Pharaoh Necho who tried to dissuade him from doing so, but in vain. Probably Josiah thought the king of Egypt desired to estab­lish a new Empire in Syria. He met the Egyptians at Megiddo where he was killed. It was an evil day for Judah, it definitely marked the beginning of the end. Jeremiah especially lamented his death and wrote a lamentation over him; not the book in the Bible called The Lamentations, which was written about a quarter of a century afterwards.

 

Another prophet beside Jeremiah ministered in the days of Josiah, for Zephaniah, a descendant of Hezekiah, also appeared in his reign. He announced an impending day of judgment, in which the whole land should be devoured by the fire of Jehovah’s wrath. But like the other prophets he did not speak only of the immediate future; he saw beyond the troubles to a time of final restoration, when a changed and reformed Israel should inhabit the Promised Land, and should feed and lie down and none should make them afraid. Looking forward to that time he said, “Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all thy heart, O daughter of Jerusalem . . . . The king of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee, thou shalt not fear evil any more.” At that time Israel will be made “a name and a praise among all the peoples of the earth.” Zephaniah foretold some­thing more of great import. He said, “Then will I (the Lord, Yahweh) turn to the peoples a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one consent.” The Messianic hope was ever deepening as the days grew darker, a universal religion was to take the place of the divided religious loyalties of the past and present.

 

On the death of Josiah the people of the land made Jehoahaz, a younger son of Josiah, king, probably Eliakim, his elder brother, had Egyptian sympathies, and was passed over on that account. Jehoahaz had only reigned three months, when Necho deposed him, and imposed a fine of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold on the country; He set up Eliakim, the elder brother as king, chang­ing his name to Jehoiakim. Jehoahaz was taken to Egypt where he died.

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Captives taken to Babylon

 

Jehoiakim had a troubled reign of eleven years. The country was impoverished, but he had no con­sideration for the troubles of the people. He built for himself a palace with spacious chambers, ceiled with cedar, and adorned with bright colours. It was all done by forced labour, and Jeremiah de­nounced the king for his injustice and oppression, and announced the coming of the king of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar was not likely to overlook the little kingdom of Judah, ruled over by a king who was a nominee of Egypt, and when Egypt had been defeated at the battle of Carchemish,⁵⁵ he threatened Judah. Jehoiakim was compelled to accept him as his suzerain and pay tribute. It was at this time that a number of the princes of the royal house including Daniel, were carried into captivity and became eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon as Isaiah had foretold. For three years Jehoiakim paid tribute; then he withheld it. A time of confusion ensued; Chaldeans, Syrians, Moabites and others invaded the land, and signs of the impending dissolution became marked. In vain Jeremiah appealed to king, princes, and people, to reform; they turned a deaf ear. In the midst of the troubles’ Jehoiakim died, and his young son, Jehoiachin, became king of the unhappy country. Nebuchadnezzar would not recognise a king who had been set up without his consent, and sent an army against Jerusalem. It was useless for the Jews to oppose the Babylonians and Jehoiachin, with his mother, servants, princes, and officers, went out to them. They and the treasures that remained in the Temple were carried to Babylon, together with considerable numbers of smiths, craftsmen, and soldiers. The country was denuded of its most capable inhabit­ants, and was nothing but an appanage of the King of Babylon.

 

Mattaniah, an uncle of Jehoiachin, was made king by Nebuchadnezzar, who changed his name to Zedekiah. He had a troubled reign. There were two parties in the country, one that looked to Egypt for help and another which counselled submission to Babylon. Among the latter was Jeremiah; who pointed forward to a long distant future for the restoration of the people of the land, though he also spoke of a more immediate restoration after a period of seventy years. But his words were not regarded; false prophets prevailed, and Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

 

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⁵⁵ Jer. 46:1-12.

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The end of the Kingdom

 

Away in Babylon, another prophet Ezekiel, realised the position and as Nebuchadnezzar’s troops marched he raised his warning voice. Addressing Zedekiah he said “And thou, O deadly wounded wicked one, the prince of Israel, whose day is come in the time of the iniquity of the end; Thus saith the Lord God; Remove the mitre and take off the crown, this shall be no more the same; exalt that which is low and abase that which is high. I will over­turn overturn, overturn it; this shall also be no more until he come whose right it is, and I will give it him.”⁵⁶ Thus Ezekiel gave expression to the old hope of Shiloh whom Jacob had said should come, connecting it with the promise made to David that one should occupy his throne for ever, and Isaiah’s prophecy of a rod out of the stem of Jesse, (the father of David) who should also be the son of a virgin, Immanuel, and should reign upon David’s throne for evermore.

 

In Jerusalem, Jeremiah spoke of similar things. He too, took the long view, and said, “Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute judgment and justice in the land. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely, and this is his name whereby he shall be called, The Lord is our Righteousness.” So sure was the future, that Jeremiah said “Thus saith the Lord, If ye can break My covenant of the day, and My covenant of the night” (the everlasting covenant made with Noah) “that there should not be day and night in their season, then may My covenant be broken with David, My servant.”⁵⁷ The promise of a son to David was shown to have a deep significance, not only was he to be the Son of God, but his name was to be Immanuel, God with us, and Yahweh is our Righteousness. As the darkness increased the light of the prophecy grew brighter.

 

Nothing could stay the progress of the Babylonians though Jerusalem held out for two years before Zedekiah attempted to escape. It was useless; he was caught and brought before the king of Babylon, who showed a fiendish cruelty towards a captive king who had put up a brave fight against over­whelming odds. The sons of Zedekiah were put to death in his presence, and then his eyes were put out, and he was taken to Babylon. It was a horrible and vindictive piece of cruelty which shows the littleness of mind that may characterise a great conqueror. The temple was despoiled of all its treasures and the land was bereft of all its inhabit­ants except the very poorest.

 

Over that feeble remnant Gedaliah was made governor. Jeremiah, who was given permission to stay or to go as he preferred, elected to stay. A few months afterwards a member of the royal family, Ishmael, came to the land and murdered Gedeliah. The treacherous action brought a complete end to the little state. No king could let such an action pass unpunished, but the remnant did not wait for anything further; they fled to Egypt, taking Jeremiah with them. Thus the kingdom came to an end.

 

The dark days of the closing years of the kingdom were illuminated by the words of the prophets who spake the words of Yahweh. Among them was Habakkuk who, looking to the distant future, added his words to those of the earlier prophets, and spoke of a time when “the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” It was a long view; it has not yet been realised, but it will be remembered that Moses said something very like it, and said that it would come to pass as truly as the Lord (Yahweh) lived.

 

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⁵⁶ Ezek. 21:25-27.

⁵⁷ Jer. 23:5-6; 23:33; 23:20, 21.

[Resource Manager]

CHAPTER XIX

THE CAPTIVITY

 

OF the period of the Captivity little is recorded. At first it was a time of despondency, and is well illustrated by a Psalm of the period.

 

By the rivers of Babylon,

There we sat down, yea, we wept

When we remembered Zion.

Upon the willows in the midst thereof

We hanged up our harps.

For there they that led us captive required of us songs,

And they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying,

Sing us one of the songs of Zion.

How shall we sing the Lord’s song In a strange land?

If I forget thee, O Jerusalem,

Let my right hand forget her cunning.

Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth,

If I remember thee not;

If I prefer not Jerusalem

Above my chief joy.⁵⁸

 

One thing the captivity did, it showed that Jeremiah and Ezekiel were true prophets; the false prophets were confounded. Ezekiel now began to speak messages of hope. He told of a time when One Shepherd should be set up, who should feed the people rightly. Canaan should again become God’s land and “a plant of renown” should grow up there. The mountains of Israel would shoot forth branches the cities would be inhabited. Such a future was to be “for Yahweh’s holy name’s sake.” Speaking of a great future he declared, “A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit will I put within you.” “I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be builded, and the land that was deso­late shall be tilled ... and they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden.” Under the type of a valley full of dry bones the resurrection of the nation was foreshadowed, while another symbol represented the union of the two peoples, Israel and Judah. “I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel, and one king shall be king to them all, and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all ... And My servant David shall be king over them ... and they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob My servant ... Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting cove­nant with them, and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set My Sanctuary in the midst of them for ever more.”⁵⁹ Thus the old covenants of promise were called to mind for the comfort of the people in captivity.

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58 Psalm 137.

⁵⁹ Ezek., chapters 34, 36 and 37.

 

 

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Nebuchadnezzar’s dream

 

Amongst those who had been carried to Babylon were Daniel, and three of his friends. They determined they would not defile themselves by partaking of the king’s meat, which probably had been offered to the Babylonian gods. After a trial, the prince of the eunuchs permitted them to car pulse instead of meat.

 

Daniel rose to fame by his ability to recall, and to interpret, a dream that Nebuchadnezzar had seen and had forgotten. The  dream was one of a great image composed of various metals, which was struck on the feet by a “little stone cut out of the mountain without hands.” Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar that it foretold that Babylon would be succeeded by three other dominions, which history has shown to be Persia, Greece, and Rome. Then a divided state of affairs should follow, represented by the mixed com­position of the feet and toes of the image (iron and clay), and answering to the divided state of the Old World since the fall of Rome. Finally Daniel said, “The God of heaven shall set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed ... but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.” The Davidic hope and promise were therefore extended until they embraced the whole of the earth, ruled by the Shepherd of whom Ezekiel had spoken, the Davidic king, Immanuel.

 

A great trial fell upon Daniel’s three friends. Nebuchadnezzar set up an image, and issued a decree that at a given signal all  the people were to fall down and worship it on pain of being cast into a fiery furnace. The three Jews refused to do this, and when brought before the king said, “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 not be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods.” In a rage Nebuchadnezzar ordered the heat of the furnace to be increased seven-fold and the three men were cast into it. So fierce was the heat that those who threw them in were destroyed by it. Suddenly the king looking toward the furnace saw four forms walking in it, one of them was like unto a “son of the gods.” Approaching as near as he dared he called for the men to come forth. Not a hair of their heads had been singed; there was not even the smell of fire upon them.

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God is in control

 

Later Nebuchadnezzar had another dream. He saw a great tree which was cut down and bound with a band of iron and brass. Daniel told him that the tree represented him, i.e. Nebuchadnezzar, and that a time of madness should overtake him, during which he should dwell with the beasts of the earth. The purpose of the dream was to teach him, and all others, that the Most High rules in the kingdoms of men. The madness of the king followed as Daniel had foretold. When Nebuchadnezzar recovered, he issued a decree that all peoples should worship the God of heaven, who was able to raise up kings and put them down as He willed.

 

The years passed by. Nebuchadnezzar died and Nabonidus ascended the throne of Babylon. He was an antiquarian rather than a king, and left the affairs of the kingdom to his son Belshazzar. At the beginning of the latter’s viceroyalty Daniel had a dream. He saw four beasts rise up out of the Great Sea. There was a lion, a bear, a leopard, and a great unnamed beast. There are obvious parallels between this vision and that which Nebuchadnezzar had seen, especially in the numbers four and ten (ten toes to the image and ten horns to the fourth beast). Ignor­ing details, the outcome of either dream is the same, for it was said to Daniel “The kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; His kingdom is an ever­lasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.”

 

In the last year of Belshazzar’s regency he gave a great feast to all the nobles of the kingdom. It was probably a religious festival, for outside the city the armies of Media and Persia were pressing on the siege. In the course of the feast Belshazzar sent for the vessels that had been brought from the temple at Jerusalem, and in them he pledged the gods of Babylon. As he did so a hand appeared against the white wall of the great throne room, and inscribed the words, “Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin.” Sobered by the sight, Belshazzar sought to understand the meaning of the words, but his wise men either could not, or would not, interpret them. At the suggestion of the Queen Mother Daniel was sent for, and told that if he would interpret the words he would receive great honours and be made the third ruler in the kingdom. It was the highest dignity Belshazzar could offer, for he him­self was the second in the kingdom. Daniel declined any honours, but he gave the interpretation of the words. Mene: God hath numbered thy kingdom and brought it to an end. Tekel: Thou art weighed in the balances and found wanting. Peres: (Upharsin is a plural form of this. word). Thy kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians. The fulfilment followed, “In that night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was slain, and Darius the Mede received the kingdom.”

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Fame and persecution

 

Before dealing with the events that affected the land of the Bible Story it will be well to review the things that happened to the Jews in Babylon and Persia. Under Darius Daniel was promoted to one of the highest positions in the State. He was then an old man, but that did not save him from the jealousy of the other officers of the kingdom, who took steps to bring about his fall. There was only one way to do this, and that was to get a decree issued to which Daniel would not, because he could not, conform. They placed before Darius a decree that any one who preferred a request to any king or god, other than Darius himself, during a period of thirty days, should be cast into the den of lions. The issue of the decree made no difference to the custom of Daniel. He had been in the habit of praying to his God, and he did not cease to do so. With his windows opened towards Jerusalem he kneeled down and prayed as usual. Exulting in the success of their stratagem, the lords denounced him to the king. Too late, Darius saw through their designs, and tried to save Daniel. But the decree could not be ignored and Daniel was cast into the den of lions.

 

Nothing is too hard for God, and He sent His angel to close the mouths of the lions and Daniel was unhurt. Early next morning the king went to the entrance of the den and called to Daniel. With intense relief he heard Daniel reply that God had sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths. Daniel was drawn up from the den, and Darius gave instruc­tions for all his accusers and their families to be cast in. There was no restraint on the lions now; their native ferocity broke forth, and the men and their families perished.