History of the Jews, Vol. 1 (of 6)

Jezebel, however, who was made of sterner stuff, did not look with equal unconcern on this scene. On receiving information of what had occurred, she threatened Elijah with a similar fate, if he should ever fall into her hands. He was, therefore, obliged to flee in order to save himself. In the desert near Mount Horeb he had a vision, in which it was revealed to him that the kingdom would pass away from the house of Ahab, whose descendants would be utterly destroyed, and that Jehu was to be anointed as king over Israel. Elijah himself was instructed to return on his way to the wilderness of Damascus, appoint a successor, and retire from the scene of action. The intemperate zeal which had led him to direct the slaughter of the priests of Baal was severely condemned on Horeb.

During Elijah's long absence there appears to have been a sort of truce between the royal house of Omri and the followers of the Tishbite. Ahab, who had been an eye-witness of the events at Carmel, had probably become more indifferent towards the worship of Baal, and as far as lay in his power had put a stop to the persecution of the prophets of the Lord. The latter, on their part, also seem to have become less aggressive. Associations of prophets were formed in Jericho, Bethel and Gilgal, in which places they were permitted to dwell unmolested.

One prophet or disciple, however, remained inimical to Ahab – namely, Michaiah, son of Imlah. As often as the king sought out Michaiah to learn his prospects of success in some enterprise, the prophet foretold evil. Ahab, however, did not attempt his life, but merely imprisoned him. The ruler of the kingdom of the Ten Tribes had misfortunes enough to serve him as forewarnings. The king of Aram, Ben-hadad II., became daily more powerful, more presuming, and more eager for conquest. Besides his own horsemen and chariots, he had in his train thirty-two conquered vassal kings. With their assistance he attacked Ahab – doubtless in the hope of profiting by the famine and the discord which were weakening his kingdom. Ben-hadad subdued entire districts of the kingdom of the Ten Tribes, and besieged Samaria (904). In his distress, Ahab sued for peace, but Ben-hadad imposed such hard and disgraceful conditions that Ahab was forced to continue the contest. Finally, Ahab was victorious, and the Aramæan king, forced to surrender, was ready to promise anything in order to secure peace. The former enemies became friends, made a treaty and ratified it by many oaths, soon to be forgotten. This hastily-formed alliance was rightly condemned by one of the prophets, who predicted that Ahab had thereby created a fresh source of danger.

Ben-hadad, in fact, had no desire to fulfil the conditions and promises of the treaty. He restored, it is true, the captured town of Naphtali, but the Transjordanic cities, especially the important town of Ramoth-Gilead, he refused to cede, and Ahab was too indifferent to press the matter. The longer he delayed, the more difficult it became for him to insist on his claim, as Ben-hadad meanwhile was recovering his strength. Perhaps it would have been impossible for Ahab alone to regain possession of Ramoth-Gilead by force of arms. Just at this time he formed an alliance with King Jehoshaphat of Judah (918–905), and together with this king, he ventured to proceed against Ben-hadad. This alliance was a surprising one, seeing that Jehoshaphat detested the idolatrous perversions of Ahab and Jezebel, and could not approve of the forcible introduction of the Baal-worship into Samaria, nor of the cruel persecution of the prophets. Nevertheless, he formed an intimate connection with the house of Omri, and, guided by political reasons, even permitted his son Jehoram to marry Athaliah, the idolatrous daughter of Ahab.

When Jehoshaphat paid his visit to Samaria, in order to strengthen himself by an alliance with its king, Ahab probably solicited his royal guest to aid him in recovering Ramoth-Gilead; and the king of Judah promised the help of his nation and soldiery. Thus, after a long separation, the kings of Israel and Judah fought side by side. After crossing the Jordan with Jehoshaphat, Ahab was mortally wounded by an arrow as he stood in his war-chariot, but he possessed sufficient presence of mind to order his charioteer to drive him out of the turmoil of the battle. The soldiers were not informed of the king's condition, and fought until evening. Not until after the king had bled to death did the herald announce "Let each return to his own country and to his own town." The Israelitish and Judæan armies then recrossed the Jordan, and the Aramæans remained in possession of the mountain city of Ramoth-Gilead. Ahab's corpse was brought to Samaria and interred. But his blood, which had filled the chariot, was washed out at a pool and licked up by dogs.

Ahaziah, his son, succeeded Ahab, this being the first occasion on which the kingdom of the Ten Tribes descended in a direct line to a grandson. He reigned only a short time (901–900) and but little is known of his character. In spite of all warnings, he followed in the evil ways of his parents. Falling from the window of his room, he took to bed, and sent to Ekron to consult the oracle of the reputed idol Baal-Zebub (Bel-Zebul). By this time Elijah had returned from his sojourn on Mount Horeb, but in accordance with the commands laid upon him, he had remained in seclusion, probably on Mount Carmel. He no longer interfered with the course of events, but had chosen as his successor Elisha, son of Shaphat, who lived near the Jordan. The manner of choice was characteristic of Elijah. While Elisha was ploughing a field with a yoke of oxen, Elijah approached, threw over him his dusky mantle (the distinctive garb of the prophets), and went away. If Elisha was indeed worthy to succeed him, he would understand the sign. Elisha ran after him and begged him to wait until he had taken leave of his parents. "Go! return!" said Elijah curtly. Elisha understood that a faithful prophet of God must leave father and mother, and sacrifice the wishes of his heart and the habits of his life. Without returning to his father's house, he followed Elijah at once, and became his attendant, or, in the language of the time, "poured water on his hands." Only once again did Elijah take part in public affairs. He accosted the messenger whom Ahaziah had sent to Baal-Zebub, and said to him, "Say to the king who sent thee, Is there no God in Israel, that thou sendest to Ekron in order to consult Baal-Zebub concerning thine illness?" The messenger returned to Samaria and related what he had heard of the extraordinary man. From the description Ahaziah recognised Elijah, and dispatched messengers for him. After a long delay, Elijah went fearlessly to Samaria, and announced to Ahaziah that he would not again leave his sick bed. As the king died without leaving any children, he was succeeded by his brother Jehoram (Joram, 899–887). Elijah also disappeared from the scene at about the same time. His disciples and followers could not believe that the mortal frame of so fiery a soul could crumble into dust, and the belief arose that he had ascended to heaven in a storm-wind. His constant follower, Elisha, seeing that his master desired to avoid him, followed him the more closely. Elijah visited Gilgal, Bethel and Jericho, followed by Elisha, who did not venture to ask him whither he was going. At length they crossed the Jordan on dry ground, and then the teacher was withdrawn from his disciple's vision in a fiery chariot with fiery horses, which conveyed the prophet to heaven. The untiring activity of Elijah in preserving the ancient law under the most unfavorable circumstances, amidst ceaseless strife and persecution, surrounded by the idolatry and wickedness of the Baal and Astarte worship, could only be explained as the result of miracles. The greatest marvel, however, which Elijah accomplished, consisted in founding a circle of disciples who succeeded in keeping alive the teachings of the ancient law, and who raised their voices against the perversions of the mighty ones of the land. The members of the prophetic school founded by the prophet lived by the work of their own hands. After Elijah's disappearance, the disciples being without a leader, Elisha placed himself at their head. In the beginning of his career he followed closely in the footsteps of his master, keeping aloof from all men, and living chiefly on Mount Carmel. Gradually, however, he accustomed himself to mix with the people, especially after he had succeeded in rousing an energetic man to destroy the house of Omri, and put an end to the worship of Baal.

Jehoram, the third of the Omris, was not as fanatical in his desire to spread idolatry as his mother Jezebel, but nevertheless Elisha felt so profound an aversion for him that he could not bear to meet him face to face. After his brother's death, Jehoram undertook a war against King Mesa (Mesha) in order to punish him for his secession, and to reduce him to subjection. Together with his brother-in-law, Jehoshaphat, he determined to proceed through Idumea, whose king was also to supply auxiliary forces, and south of the Dead Sea, towards Moab. By taking this route Jehoram passed Jerusalem, where the heads of the houses of Israel and Jacob met in a friendly way. But it was merely an alliance of the chiefs. By the advice of Jehoshaphat, Elisha, as the successor of Elijah, was summoned to foretell the issue of the war. On seeing Jehoram, the prophet said to him, "Were it not out of consideration for King Jehoshaphat, I would not look at thee. Go thou to the prophets of thy father and thy mother." He nevertheless prophesied a favorable result. Mesa, king of Moab, who was awaiting the attack of the allies on the southern border of his kingdom, was overcome by force of numbers, and fled to the mountain fortress of Kir-Haraseth (Kir-Moab, Kerek). The land of Moab was laid waste, although Mesa was not subjugated. Not long after, on the death of Jehoshaphat, Edom also fell away from Judah. Edom had not acted quite fairly in the combined attack on Moab, and appears to have come to a friendly understanding with Mesa after the withdrawal of the allies. It seemed as if the close friendship and intermarriage with the house of Omri was destined to bring nothing but misfortune on the house of David. Joram (Jehoram), the son of Jehoshaphat, the namesake of his royal brother-in-law of Israel (894–888), was so intimately connected with the royal house of Israel that he introduced idolatrous practices into his own country. There can be no question but that his wife Athaliah was the cause of this, for she, like her mother Jezebel, was fanatically attached to the disgraceful rites connected with the worship of Baal.

At length the fate impending over the house of Omri was to be fulfilled, and the house of David was destined to be entangled in its meshes, woven by Elisha. A change of dynasty had occurred in Damascus, where Ben-hadad II., the same king who had warred with Ahab, had been suffocated by his confidential servant Hazael, who seized the throne. Hazael was desirous of regaining the conquered portions of the kingdom of the Ten Tribes, which had been lost by Ben-hadad. He first directed his attacks against the tribes on the other side of the Jordan. Jehoram of Israel repaired with his army to Ramoth-Gilead, in order to defend that important fortress. The contest for the citadel seems to have been a severe one, and Jehoram was wounded by an arrow. In consequence he went to Jezreel to have his wound attended to, and left one of his captains, named Jehu, as commander of the defence. One day a disciple of the prophets came to Jehu as a messenger from Elisha, and after leading him from the council of warriors to a distant room, where he appointed him the executor of divine justice on the house of Omri, he disappeared as suddenly as he had come. When Jehu returned to the council, they observed a change in his manner, and eagerly asked him what the disciple of the prophets had announced to him. Jehu at first did not wish to reply, but at last he disclosed to them that at Elisha's instance he had been anointed king over the Ten Tribes. The chiefs of the army did him homage. Improvising a throne by spreading their purple garments on the highest steps of the palace, amid trumpet blasts they shouted, "Long live King Jehu." Having been acknowledged king by the army, Jehu proceeded without delay to carry out his design. He blockaded all the roads leading from Ramoth-Gilead to Jezreel, so that the news might not spread. He then led forth a part of the army, crossed the Jordan, and rode in haste to Jezreel, where Jehoram still lay ill from the effects of his wound. The king recognised Jehu from afar, by his rapid driving, and as the messenger whom he had sent out to meet him failed to return, he foreboded evil. Jehoram therefore ordered his chariot that he might see what had brought Jehu to Jezreel in such hot haste. Ahaziah, the king of Judah (who had shortly before this succeeded to the throne of his father Joram, 888), accompanied his uncle. They met Jehu in the field of Naboth, the victim of the judicial murder which Jezebel had brought about. When Jehoram saw that Jehu had come with hostile intentions, he turned to flee, but an arrow from Jehu's hand struck him, and he sank down lifeless in his chariot. Jehu ordered his follower Bidkar to cast the body into the field of Naboth, reminding him how they had been witnesses of the prophetic threat which Elijah had uttered against Ahab in that very field, and of the execution of which he was now the instrument. Ahaziah fell on the same day at the hands of Jehu's followers.

The destruction of the house of Ahab was imminent, and no one arose in its defence. Jehu entered Jezreel unmolested; the queen-mother, Jezebel, richly decked out, came to the palace window, and called, "How goes it, thou regicide, thou Zimri?" Jehu commanded the eunuchs of the palace to throw her into the street, and they obeyed. The body of the queen who had done so much harm was trampled down by the horses, and her blood spurted on the wall of the palace and over the horses. Naboth was not yet, however, fully avenged by the death of the son and the grandmother. There were still sons, grandsons, and relations of Jehoram, about seventy in number, who lived in Samaria, where they were trained and educated by the most respected men. To these men Jehu sent a message that they should appoint one of the royal family as king. They, however, knew that this charge was not to be taken seriously, and preferred to submit to the man who had already killed two kings. Jehu then ordered them to come with the "heads" to Jezreel, and thereupon they came with the heads of Ahab's descendants. Jehu placed the heads in two rows on the city gates, and the next morning he explained to the inhabitants of the city that, while he had only conspired against Jehoram, destiny had fulfilled the words of Elijah concerning the house of Ahab. Jehu combined cunning with determination; he had all the officers who had brought him his victims executed as murderers. There being now no survivor of the royal house, Jehu took possession of the throne, and the inhabitants of Jezreel paid him homage.

In order to gain the hearts of the nation, he made preparations to exterminate the worship of Baal in Samaria. On his road thither he met with Jonadab, who had adopted the Nazarite mode of life as introduced by Elijah. Together with Jonadab, Jehu went to Samaria, where he assembled the priests of Baal on a certain day. While pretending to join in their rites, he placed armed men inside and outside the temple of Baal, and went there accompanied by Jonadab. Hardly had the sacrifice been offered, when all the priests fell as victims. The soldiers killed all those inside the temple, and those who fled were cut down by the men stationed outside. The soldiers then rushed in, burnt the images, destroyed the altar, the columns, and also the temple, and converted the whole into a dunghill. Throughout the country Jehu destroyed the public monuments of the hideous idol-worship, for he professed to be a follower of Elijah, and zealous in the cause of Jehovah. In Jerusalem alone the worship of Baal continued, or rather it was fanatically upheld there by Athaliah, who was in every way the worthy daughter of her mother.

CHAPTER XI.

THE HOUSE OF DAVID AND THE JEHUIDES

Athaliah's rule – Early years of Joash – Proclamation of Joash by Jehoiada – Athaliah slain – Religious Revival – Elisha – Repairing of the Temple – Death of Jehoiada and of his Son – Invasion of Israel by Hazael – Jehoahaz – Murder of Joash, King of Judah – Jehoash, King of Israel – Defeat of the Aramæans – Amaziah – Conquest of Edom – Death of Elisha – Amaziah defeated by Jehoash – Jeroboam II. – Death of Amaziah.

887–805 B. C. E

It is a striking fact that Israelitish women, the appointed priestesses of chastity and morality, displayed a special inclination for the immoral worship of Baal and Astarte. Maachah, the queen-mother in Judah, established an altar in Jerusalem for the worship of idols; Jezebel had erected one in Samaria, and now Athaliah followed the same course in Jerusalem. Yet, this was not Athaliah's sole nor her greatest sin. The daughter of Jezebel greatly surpassed her mother in cruelty. The victims of Jezebel had been prophets, staunch adherents of the ancestral law, – at all events, persons whom she considered as her enemies. Athaliah, however, shed the blood of her own relations, and did not hesitate to destroy the family of her husband and her son. No sooner had she received tidings of the death of her son Ahaziah, than she ordered the soldiers devoted to her cause to execute all the surviving members of the house of David in Jerusalem. Only the youngest of the princes, Joash, who was not quite one year old, was saved from sharing the fate of his brothers by the special intervention of Jehoshebah. What did Jezebel's bloodthirsty daughter expect to accomplish by this massacre? Was her wickedness the outcome of an ambitious scheme to gain possession of the throne, to the exclusion of all rivals? Or did Athaliah, herself a firm believer in the worship of Baal, desire to establish and diffuse this worship throughout Jerusalem and Judah, and was it in pursuance of that design that she destroyed the remnant of the house of David, in order to have her hands unfettered? Did she hope to succeed where her mother had failed, and by establishing idolatrous practices in Jerusalem, to give new fervour to the Phœnician worship?

Whatever motive actuated the worthy daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, Athaliah reduced the Judæans to so complete a subservience to her will that no one dared oppose her evil courses. The nation and the priests bowed before her. Even the high priest, Jehoiada, who was connected with the royal house, kept silence. At the very time when Jehu was destroying those emblems of idolatry in Samaria, there was erected in Jerusalem an image of Baal, with altars and pointed pillars, and a high priest, named Mattan, with a number of subordinate priests, was appointed and installed. Did Athaliah leave the temple on Mount Moriah untouched and undesecrated? It appears that she, less consistent in her daring and more timid than later sovereigns, did not venture to introduce an image of Baal into the sanctuary which Solomon had erected, but merely inhibited its use for divine services. The Carians, mercenary troops employed by Athaliah, and the old royal body-guard were placed at the entrance of the Temple, to keep off the people. For this purpose, they were divided into three bodies, which by turns guarded the Temple from Sabbath to Sabbath. For six years (887–881) Athaliah governed the political and religious affairs of the nation, the more aristocratic of the Jewish families probably being of her party. Only the nearest relative of the royal family, the high priest Jehoiada, remained true to the ancient teachings and to the house of David. His wife, Jehoshebah, was a daughter of King Jehoram of Judah, and the sister of the king Ahaziah who had been slain by Jehu.

When Athaliah was ruthlessly killing the last remnants of the house of David, Jehoshebah rescued the youngest child of her brother from the massacre, and brought him and his nurse into the chamber in the Temple where the Levites slept. Here she secreted the royal infant for a considerable time, and reared him for his country. Athaliah troubled herself but little as to what was happening in the deserted Temple, and the Aaronites and Levites, who remained faithful to Jehoiada, betrayed nothing. His very youth aroused their interest in the last descendant of the house of David. During the six years while Athaliah was ruling with absolute power in Jerusalem, Jehoiada did not remain idle, but entered into friendly relations with the chiefs of the Carians and the guards, gradually revealing the fact that a youthful prince was still in existence, to whom the throne of Judah by right belonged. He found them well disposed towards the royal house, and opposed to the usurper Athaliah. When he had convinced himself of their sympathy with his views, he led them to the Temple, and showed them Joash, who was then seven years of age. The soldiers having recognised in him the rightful heir to the throne, probably by his resemblance to the family of David, Jehoiada demanded that the chiefs take the oath of fealty to the child. With their assistance he could hope to effect a revolution, and to restore the royal line. The chiefs could reckon on the blind obedience of their followers, and, accordingly, the plan of action was decided on, as well as the date for its execution. One Sabbath a division of the Carians then on guard went to their posts, whilst two-thirds occupied the entrance of the Temple. They had all received strict orders to kill any one who should cross the boundaries of the Temple courts with hostile intentions. As the prince was now secure from all attacks, Jehoiada also permitted the populace to enter the Temple courts. At a thrilling moment, when the Carians and guards stood with drawn swords, and whilst the chiefs held the weapons used by David, the high priest led the child Joash from the room in which he had been concealed, put the crown on his head, anointed him as king, and made him mount the pillar-like throne which had been brought into the courts of the Temple for the king's use. Amid trumpet blasts and clashing of arms, the people clapped their hands, and cried "Long live King Joash."

Not until the noise from the Temple reached Athaliah's palace was she roused from the indifference and security which a belief in the fidelity of her paid troops had encouraged in her. She hurriedly repaired to the Temple, accompanied by a few attendants. There, to her terror, she beheld a young child with a crown on his head, surrounded by her troops, who were protecting him, and by a crowd of people shouting with delight. She found herself betrayed, rent her clothes, and cried, "Conspiracy, conspiracy!" Some of her captains immediately seized her, led her by a circuitous path out of the Temple courts to the eastern gates of the palace, and there killed her. Thus the last grandchild of the house of Omri perished as disgracefully as her mother had done. The close connection of Israel with Tyre had brought no happiness to either kingdom. The mother and the daughter, Jezebel and Athaliah, resembled their goddess Astarte – "the authoress of destruction, death, and ruin." Ahab's daughter does not appear to have had many adherents in Jerusalem – in the hour of death she found no partisans. Her priests of Baal were powerless to help her, for they themselves perished, the victims of the nation's wrath. Jehoiada, having planned and effected the great revolution, now endeavoured to take precautions against a repetition of similar misfortunes in Jerusalem. He utilised the joyous and enthusiastic sentiments of the youthful king and the nation to remove all traces of the worship of Baal, and to arouse in all minds a faithful dependence on the God of their ancestors. He demanded of the king and the whole assembly a solemn promise to remain henceforth a people of God, to serve Him faithfully, and to worship no idol. The promise, which was uttered aloud by the king and the nation, was sealed by a covenant. The inhabitants of Jerusalem poured into the temple of Baal, which had been erected by Athaliah, destroyed the altars, trampled on the images and all objects connected with idol-worship. The nation itself undertook to protect its own religion. It was not till after the covenant had been ratified both by the young king and the nation, that Joash, triumphantly escorted by the guards, the soldiers, and the multitude, was led from the Temple Mount into the palace, where he was placed on the throne of his fathers. Jerusalem was in a state of joyful excitement. The adherents of the late queen kept quiet, and did not dare damp the general enthusiasm.