The Bible Story Part 214

And he said, "Take them alive."

And they took them alive, and slew them at the pit of the shearing house, even two and forty men; neither left he any of them.

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And when he was departed thence, he came upon Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him: and he saluted him, and said to him, "Is thine heart right, as my heart is with thy heart?"

And Jehonadab answered, "It is."

"If it be, give me thine hand." And he gave him his hand; and he took him up to him into the chariot.

And he said, "Come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord,"

So they made him ride in his chariot. And when he came to Samaria, he smote all that remained unto Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed him, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke to Elijah.

And Jehu gathered all the people together, and said unto them, "Ahab served Baal a little; but Jehu shall serve him much. Now therefore call unto me all the prophets of Baal, all his wors.h.i.+pers, and all his priests; let none be wanting: for I have a great sacrifice to do to Baal; whosoever shall be wanting, he shall not live." But Jehu did it in subtlety, to the intent that he might destroy the wors.h.i.+pers of Baal.

And Jehu said, "Sanctify a solemn a.s.sembly for Baal." And they proclaimed it.

And Jehu sent through all Israel: and all the wors.h.i.+pers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left that came not. And they came into the house of Baal; and the house of Baal was filled from one end to another.

And it came to pa.s.s, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guard {398} and to the captains, "Go in, and slay them; let none come forth." And they smote them with the edge of the sword; and the guard and the captains cast them out, and went to the city of the house of Baal. And they brought forth the pillars that were in the house of Baal, and burned them. And they broke down the pillar of Baal, and broke down the house of Baal, and defiled it, unto this day. Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel.

Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, wherewith he made Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from after them, to wit, the golden calves that were in Beth-el, and that were in Dan.

And the Lord said unto Jehu, "Because thou hast done well in executing that which is right in mine eyes, and hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all that was in mine heart, thy sons of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel."

But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord, the G.o.d of Israel, with all his heart: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, wherewith he made Israel to sin.

In those days the Lord began to cut Israel short: and Hazael smote them in all the coasts of Israel; from Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Mana.s.sites, from Aroer, which is by the valley of Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan. And Jehu died: and they buried him in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son reigned in his stead. And the time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty and eight years.

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JEHOAHAZ.

(The kingdom of Israel was nearly blotted out by the raids of the Syrians during the weak reign of Jehoahaz.)

In the three and twentieth year of Joash the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned seventeen years. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, wherewith he made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and into the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael, continually.

And Jehoahaz besought the Lord, and the Lord hearkened unto him: for he saw the oppression of Israel, how that the king of Syria oppressed them. And the Lord gave Israel a saviour, so that they went out from under the hand of the Syrians: and the children of Israel dwelt in their tents, as beforetime. Nevertheless they departed not from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, wherewith he made Israel to sin, but walked therein: and there remained the Asherah also in Samaria.

And there were left to Jehoahaz of the people only fifty hors.e.m.e.n, and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen; for the king of Syria destroyed them, and made them like the dust in thres.h.i.+ng. And Jehoahaz died; and they buried him in Samaria: and Joash his son reigned in his stead.

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JOASH.

(The oppression of the Syrians continued into the reign of Joash, but in the later days of the reign, Joash gained the ascendency over his foes in three great battles, according to the prophecy of Elisha when he was about to die, as is told in the "Stories of Elijah and Elisha"

in another chapter of this volume.)

And Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz.

But the Lord was gracious unto them, and had compa.s.sion on them, and had respect unto them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, neither cast he them from his presence as yet. And Hazael king of Syria died; and Ben-hadad his son reigned in his stead. And Joash the son of Jehoahaz took again out of the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael the cities which he had taken out of the hand of Jehoahaz his father by war. Three times did Joash smite him, and recovered the cities of Israel.

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JEROBOAM II.

(Jeroboam II. was an evil king, but as a soldier he was one of the greatest in the history of Israel. He extended the territory of the people in every direction. The country was prosperous in a commercial sense as it never had been before. The rich people lived in the most luxurious houses and spent their time in idleness and dissipation. But there was another side to the picture. The poor were terribly oppressed, and there was no such thing as justice. The people wors.h.i.+ped idols and indulged in all kinds of evil practices. We know most about the reign through the prophet Amos, who sternly denounced all this wickedness.)

In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel began to reign in Samaria, and reigned forty and one years. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord: departing not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, wherewith he made Israel to sin. He restored the border of Israel from the entrance of Hamath unto the sea of the Arabah, according to the word of Jehovah, the G.o.d of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was of Gath-hepher. For the Lord saw the affliction of Israel, that it was very bitter; for there was none shut up nor left at large, neither was there any helper for Israel. And the Lord said not that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven; but he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash.

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ZECHARIAH.

(After the splendid but utterly corrupt reign of Jeroboam II., came a succession of little kings, ruling by virtue of the a.s.sa.s.sin's knife.

The first was Zechariah. He reigned only six months before a conspirator, Shallum, slew him.)

In the thirty and eighth year of Azariah king of Judah did Zechariah the son of Jeroboam reign over Israel in Samaria six months.

And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, as his fathers had done: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, wherewith he made Israel to sin. And Shallum the son of Jabish conspired against him, and smote him before the people, and slew him, and reigned in his stead.

This was the word of the Lord which he spoke unto Jehu, saying, "Thy sons to the fourth generation shall sit upon the throne of Israel."

And so it came to pa.s.s.

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SHALLUM.

(Shallum's reign was shorter still. He was on the throne only one month before the swift fate overtook him, and he fell before a successful rival, Menahem.)

Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign in the nine and thirtieth year of Uzziah king of Judah; and he reigned the s.p.a.ce of a month in Samaria. And Menahem the son of Gadi went up from Tirzah, and came to Samaria, and smote Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samaria, and slew him, and reigned in his stead.