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MENAHEM.

(Although Menahem was able to wrest the crown away from Shallum, he did not prove to be much of a soldier. It was in his reign perhaps that the a.s.syrians first came into the territory of Israel, though they had been in Philistia before, while probably Ahab and certainly Jehu had paid tribute. Instead of resisting them, the king taxed his people heavily to pay the great tribute exacted by the Lords of the North.)

In the nine and thirtieth year of Azariah king of Judah began Menahem the son of Gadi to reign over Israel, and reigned ten years in Samaria. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord: he departed not all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, wherewith he made Israel to sin.

There came against the land Tiglath-pileser the king of a.s.syria; and Menahem gave Tiglath-pileser a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand. And Menahem exacted the money of Israel, even of all the mighty men of wealth, of each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of a.s.syria. So the king of a.s.syria turned back, and stayed not there in the land. And Menahem died; and Pekahiah his son reigned in his stead.

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[Ill.u.s.tration]

DAMASCUS

From a photograph belonging to the Forbes Library, Northampton, Ma.s.s., and used by special permission.

"In the bazars of Damascus can be found all the color and richness of the East. In the long dusk tunnels, shot by solid shafts of life, all is beautiful--the old walnut wood, the brown tobacco bales, the carpets, the spotted brown scones in the bakers' shops, the tawny sweetmeats, the golden Hauran wheat, the piles of green melons, the tables of snow from Hermon, the armor and the rich saddlebags, the human dresses. But even the bazars of Damascus fail to exhaust the significance of the city. To gather more of this you must come out upon the three great roads which go forth from her--west, south, and east. The western travels by Galilee to the Levant and the Nile. The southern, which leaves the city by the 'Gates of G.o.d,' takes the pilgrims to Mecca. The eastern is the road to Bagdad, Egypt, Arabia, Persia,--the city of the khalifs lies in the midst of the three, and the Mediterranean is behind her."--_G. A. Smith_ [End ill.u.s.tration]

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PEKAHIAH.

(We come now to another series of dark and b.l.o.o.d.y reigns, before the sun of Israel set forever in blood. After Pekahiah had reigned for two years, Pekah, the captain of his body guard, overpowered him with a company of fifty soldiers, and succeeded to the throne.)

In the fiftieth year of Uzziah king of Judah Pekahiah the son of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned two years.

And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, wherewith he made Israel to sin. And Pekah the son of Remaliah, his captain, conspired against him, and smote him in Samaria, in the castle of the king's house, with Argob and Arieh; and with him were fifty men of the Gileadites: and he slew him, and reigned in his stead.

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PEKAH.

(In Pekah's reign those irresistible invasions from the north continued. The only possible safety lay in a confederacy of all the southern states. In such a confederacy Israel and Syria and Philistia joined. Judah would not come in and the northern states tried to force her to do so. This attempt was successful in so far as the defeat of Judah was concerned, but the effort instead of uniting only weakened the two nations. The a.s.syrians overran the northern country, captured many important towns and took many captives. At last Pekah fell a victim to the a.s.sa.s.sin and Hoshea ruled over a broken and disorganized state.)

In the two and fiftieth year of Uzziah king of Judah Pekah the son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned twenty years. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, wherewith he made Israel to sin.

In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglath-pileser king of a.s.syria, and took Ijon, and Abel-beth-maacah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali; and he carried them captive to a.s.syria. And Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and smote him, and slew him, and reigned in his stead.

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[Ill.u.s.tration]

DAMASCUS--THE RIVER ABANA.

From a picture in the possession of the Detroit Photograph Company and used by kind permission.

Damascus is one of the oldest cities of the world. It is on the edge of the desert and is made possible by the river Abana, which "bursts full born from the heart of Lebanon, runs a course of ten miles in a narrow gorge, and from the mouth flings itself abroad in seven streams and after watering the greater part of the plain it dies a way in a large marsh. Damascus was easily conquered by Nineveh, Babylon, and Memphis--she probably preceded them and she has outlived them. She has been twice supplanted,--by Antioch, and she has seen Antioch decay; by Bagdad, and Bagdad is forgotten. She has been many times sacked and twice at least the effective cla.s.ses of her population have been swept into captivity, but this has not broken the chain of her history."--_G. A. Smith_.

[End ill.u.s.tration]

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HOSHEA.

(In spite of all the warnings of the prophets the people of Israel continued to disobey G.o.d and to do the things which were evil in his sight. The nation had its chance, and it threw that chance away. Then a terrible fate overtook it. A great wave of invasion came sweeping down from the North, and submerged the Northern kingdom. Samaria, the capital city, was destroyed, and the people were carried away by thousands into captivity.)

In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah began Hoshea the son of Elah to reign in Samaria over Israel, and reigned nine years. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, yet not as the kings of Israel that were before him. Against him came up Shalmaneser king of a.s.syria; and Hoshea became his servant, and brought him tribute. And the king of a.s.syria found conspiracy in Hoshea; for he had sent messengers to So king of Egypt, and offered no tribute to the king of a.s.syria, as he had done year by year: therefore the king of a.s.syria shut him up, and bound him in prison. Then the king of a.s.syria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years. In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of a.s.syria took Samaria, and carried Israel away unto a.s.syria, and placed them in the a.s.syrian cities. And it was so, because the children of Israel had sinned against the Lord their G.o.d, which brought them up out of the land of {412} Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other G.o.ds, and walked in the statutes of the nations, whom the Lord cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they made. And the children of Israel did secretly things that were not right against the Lord their G.o.d, and they built them high places in all their cities. And they set them up pillars and sacred symbols upon every high hill, and under every green tree: and there they burnt incense in all the high places, as did the nations whom the Lord carried away before them; and wrought wicked things to provoke the Lord to anger: and they served idols, whereof the Lord had said unto them, "Ye shall not do this thing."

Yet the Lord testified unto Israel, and unto Judah, by every prophet, and by every seer, saying, "Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets." Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their hearts, like to the hearts of their fathers, who believed not in the Lord their G.o.d. And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified unto them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the nations that were round about them, concerning whom the Lord had charged them that they should not do like them. And they forsook all the commandments of the Lord their G.o.d, and made them molten images, even two calves, and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served Baal. And they {413} burned their sons and their daughters as sacrifice, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger. Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.

Also Judah kept not the commandments of the Lord their G.o.d, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made. And the Lord rejected all the people of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight. For he rent Israel from the house of David; and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: and Jeroboam drove Israel from following the Lord, and made them sin a great sin. And the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they departed not from them; until the Lord removed Israel out of his sight, as he spoke by all his servants the prophets. So Israel was carried away out of their own land to a.s.syria, unto this day.

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TALES OF THE MACCABEES

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TALES OF THE MACCABEES

PERSONS OF THE STORY.

_Mattathias, a Jewish priest_.

_Sons of Mattathias_.

_John_, _Simon_, _Judas_, _Eleazar_, _Jonathan_,

_Alexander the Great_.

_Antiochus, king of Syria_.

_Syrian generals under Antiochus_.

_Apollonius_, _Seron_, _Ptolemy_, _Nicanor_, _Gorgias_,

_Lysias, regent of Syria_.