A primer of Old Testament history

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CUEXRIGHT BEPQSm

A
PRIMER

of

Old Testament
History

BY

Rev. Francis E. (jjigot, D.D.
Professor of Sacred Scripture

St. Joseph's Seminary
DUNWOODIE, N. Y.

NEW YORK

THE PAULIST PRESS

]20 WEST 60TH ST,

1919

1 Gc*

mtbil ©betat

ARTHUR J. SCANLAN, D.D.

Censor Libromm

Ifmprtmatur

* PATRICK J. HAYES, D.D.

Archbishop of New York

New York, May 28, 19 19

Copyright by " The Missionary Society of St. Paul the Apostle
in the State of New York "

NOV 15 1919

©CI.A535719

PREFACE

The present work deals with the part
of Sacred History which extends from
the Creation of the world to the Coming
of our Lord. It is meant to serve as a
" Primer " or small elementary book of
instruction in Old Testament history,
and is therefore written in a simple and
brief manner. The facts which it sets
forth are only the leading events which
are recorded in the Sacred Scriptures
of the Old Testament, and the order
which it follows in stating them is no
other than the one which is found in the
Douay Version or Catholic translation of
Holy Writ. The spelling of Scriptural
names, whether in the body of the work
or in the Maps and Illustrations, is in-
fill]

PREFACE

variably that with which Catholic readers
are familiar. The dates which appear in
the various parts of the book, are not
all equally certain; they are those with
which the Douay Version is supplied,
and they will be found useful in realiz-
ing the chronological trend of the events
narrated. Finally, the heading to each
chapter of the work gives references to
the books or parts of books of Holy Writ,
of which each particular chapter is but a
brief account.

This " Primer of Old Testament His-
tory " is intended to form the first of a
series of " Biblical Primers " for Catholic
readers.

Dunwoodie Seminary, N. Y., May, 1919.

[iv]

CONTENTS

I. From the Creation to Abraham.

Page

1. The Creation 1

2. Paradise and the Fall 5

3. Cain, Abel and Seth 9

4. The Flood and the Tower of Babel. 13

II. From Abraham to Moses.

1. Abraham. Birth and Youth of Isaac. 18

2. Isaac and Jacob 22

3. Joseph and his Brothers 26

III. From Moses to Solomon.

1. Moses delivers Israel 30

2. Moses gives the Law to Israel 34

3. Moses leads Israel to the Border of

Chanaan 41

4. Josue conquers Chanaan 47

5. The Greater Judges of Israel 53

G. Samuel and Saul 58

7. King David, 63

IV. From Solomon to the Captivity in

Babylon.

1. The Reign of Solomon C3

2. The Northern Kingdom or Kingdom

of Israel 73

[v]

CONTENTS

Page

3. The Southern Kingdom or Kingdom

of Juda 79

Table showing the Chronology of the
Kings of Israel and Juda 86, 87, 88

V. From the Captivity in Babylon to Our
Lord.

1. The Babylonian Captivity 89

2. The Return from the Exile 94

3. The Machabees . 99

Alphabetic Index 105

Maps and Illustrations.

Babylonian Memorial of the Fall 8

Ruins of the Tower of Babel 17

Map of the Exodus Facing 33

Group of Mt. Sinai 35

The Sacred Egyptian Bull, Apis 38

TI12 Ark, Altars, Seven-branched Can-
dlestick _- - 40

The Tabernacle 42

Palestine with the Divisions of the

Tribes -- 52

Sketch Plan of Site of Jerusalem 64

Plan of Solomon's Temple and adjoin-
ing Buildings- __ 71

Assyria and the Adjacent Lands 78

Palestine (End of Volume).
[vi]

I. FROM THE CREATION TO
ABRAHAM.

(4004-1996 B.C.)
1. The Creation.

i Genesis i.-ii. 3.)

The bright heavens over our heads
and the solid earth under our feet have
not always existed; they owe their be-
ginning to the goodness and powTer of
Almighty God. When first made, the
earth did not look as it does now: there
was nothing living on it — neither men
nor animals, and there was nothing
growing on it — neither trees, nor grass,
nor flowers; it was all round covered over
with deep waters, and all was darkness.
Then God spoke and said: " Let there be

[1]

CREATION TO ABRAHAM

light," and the pleasant light of day was
made, and marked the first day of Divine
work.

A second time God spoke : " Let there
be a firmament, " and it was so; the
beautiful blue sky formed the vault of
heaven, and a part of the waters were
changed into clouds, which went up to
take their place in the sky above. Such
was the work of the second day.

Then God spoke again and said : " Let
the waters that are under the heaven be
gathered into one place, and let the dry
land appear," and it was so: divided from
the sea, the earth now appeared with its
mountains and hills and valleys, and also
with its springs, brooks, and rivers which
refreshed the dry land, and poured them-
selves into the sea; nay more, at God's
new command, it brought forth grass,
and herbs, and trees bearing fruit. Thus
ended the third day.
[2]

THE CREATION

After this, God said : "Let there be light
in the firmament of heaven, to divide the
days and the years, and to give light
upon the earth," and it was so: in the
heavens, the sun rose up to give its light
to the day, and the soft silvery moon
shone to give light by night as did also
the stars without number, glimmering
forth their twinkling light. So the fourth
day went by.

Next, God spoke and said : " Let the
waters bring forth fish, and the air
Tinged birds," and so it came to pass on
the fifth day.

On the sixth day, God said : " Let the
earth bring forth living creatures of all
kinds," and it was so; woods and fields
were all alive with cattle and wild beasts;
the grass, and flowers, and bushes were
covered with gay butterflies, winged in-
sects, and creeping things of all sorts. He
also said : " Let us make man to our
[3]

CREATION TO ABRAHAM

image and likeness, and let him have
dominion over the fishes of the sea, the
birds of the air, the beasts of the field,
and over the whole earth." And so man
was made bearing in his soul God's im-
age, and having under God authority
over all things around him.

" And God saw all the things that He
had made, and they were very good."

So Almighty God made heaven and
earth in six days, and He rested on the
seventh day from all His work, and set
apart this day for man, to be given to a
holy rest and to joyful thanksgiving for
the blessing of His creation.

[4]

PARADISE AND THE FALL

2. Paradise and the Fall.

(Genesis ii. 4-iii. 24.)

The first man to tread the earth and
admire the heavens was Adam. The
Lord God made his body out of the soft
moist earth and breathed into his face
the breath of life. He then placed Adam
in the lovely garden of Paradise. The
garden had many beautiful trees which
bore the sweetest fruit. One of them
was called the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil. And God said to Adam:
" Of all the trees in the garden thou
mayest eat freely; but of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil thou mayest
not eat, for in the day that thou eatest
of it thou shalt die." The garden had
also a great variety of animals. God
brought them one by one into the pres-
[5]

CREATION TO ABRAHAM

ence of Adam, and to each of them Adam
gave its own particular name. But none
of them was fitted to be Adam's com-
panion. And God said : " It is not good
for man to be alone; let us make him a
helper, like to himself." He then made
the first woman, Eve, out of the side of
Adam whom he cast into deep sleep, and
brought her to Adam. When Adam
awoke out of his sleep, he saw for the
first time his beautiful companion, and
joyfully took her to wife.

One day when Eve was near the for-
bidden tree Satan used a serpent in
tempting her to disobey God's command.
The serpent slyly asked her : " Why hath
God commanded you that you should not
eat of every tree of Paradise? " He next
boldly said to Eve that neither she nor
Adam would die were they to eat of the
fruit of the tree which was in the midst
of Paradise. " God knows very well,"
[6]

PARADISE AND THE FALL

he added, " that when you eat of it your
eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as
gods, knowing good and evil.,, Eve then
began to hesitate : the fruit seemed to her
to be particularly beautiful, and very
good to eat. At length, she ate of it, and
gave some to Adam, who in like manner
ate of it.

The eyes of Adam and Eve were, in-
deed, opened, but it was to their shame
and confusion. Now afraid to be met
by God, they tried to hide themselves in
the trees of the garden. God found them
out and punished them for their sin of
disobedience: both Adam and Eve were
now doomed to die, Adam after laboring
hard to till the earth, Eve after having
had many sorrows with her children and
having led a life of dependence on her
husband. He also punished the tempting
serpent, the cause of their Fall, and de-
clared that in the conflict that would ex-
[7]

CREATION TO ABRAHAM

ist between his seed and the seed of the
woman, the latter should crush the ser-
pent's head, a victory won by Christ, the
Redeemer of the human race. " For this
purpose, the Son of God appeared, that
he might destroy the works of the devil."
God then sent Adam and Eve out of
Paradise, the blessed home they no
longer deserved. They and their chil-
dren must now bear the evil conse-
quences of original sin.

Babylonian Memorial of the Fall.
{Cylinder in British Museum)

[8]

CREATION TO ABRAHAM

3. Cain, Abel and Seth.

(Genesis iv.-v.)

The first children of Adam and Eve
were Cain and Abel. The two brothers
grew up side by side. Both gave them-
selves to useful work, Cain tilling the
ground, and Abel keeping the sheep.
Both also offered gifts to God, Cain pre-
senting to the Lord the first-fruits of the
field, and Abel the firstlings of the flock.
It so happened, however, that Almighty
God showed more favor to the offerings
of Abel than to those of his brother.
Cain was very angry at this; jealousy
grew upon him; and at length he made
Up his mind that he would murder Abel
as soon as possible. Then it was that
God reproved Cain gently, telling him
that if he did well, like his brother Abel,
he would also get a reward. But Cain
[9]

CAIN, ABEL AND SETH

did not heed this warning. One day he
took Abel into the field, rose up against
his brother and slew him.

God alone had seen the murderer's
deed. " And the Lord said to Cain :
Where is your brother Abel? A Ad he
answered. I know not; am I my
brother's keeper? " Thereupon, God
sentenced Cain to a lifelong exile from
his early home, and branded him as a
criminal whom everyone should let live
that he might bear his guilt. So Cain
went out from the face of the Lord, and
dwelt in the land of Nod, at the east side
of Eden. There he busied himself in
building a city to which he gave the name
of his son. After his example, his chil-
dren devoted their efforts to the affairs
and interests of this life. They soon in-
vented the art of making tents, took good
care of cattle, played the harp and the
flute, and worked brass and iron. They
[10]

CAIX, ABEL AXD SETH

were a sensual, violent, and godless sort
of people.

Meantime God had seen to it that bet-
ter men than those born from Cain
should exist on earth; for after He had
doomed Cain to live as an outcast, He
had blessed Adam and Eve with a third
son. This was Seth who filled the place
of the innocent Abel in the eyes of his
parents, as he did in the plans of God
for the salvation of man. While Cain
and his children minded only the things
of earth, Seth gave the example of a life
in which God's worship had the chief
part. Whilst Lamech, who belonged to
Cain's family, took two wives and sung
the " Son of the Sword," Henoch, as a
worthy son of Seth, " walked with God "
like a child wTith his father. In course of
time, it is true, the children of Seth min-
gled with those of Cain and became
wicked like them. But, even then, the

[11]

CREATION TO ABRAHAM

children of Seth counted among them the
just Noe and his family by means of
whom God saved mankind from utter
destruction.

[12]

FLOOD AND THE TOWER OF BABEL

4. The Flood and the Tower of Babel.

(Genesis vi.-xi.)

When Noe was five hundred years old
he had three sons Sem, Cham and
Japheth. He was a good and pious man,
fearing and loving God. But all men
around him did not heed God and His
holy will; they led evil lives, and filled
the earth with their sins. At the sight
of such wickedness, God repented that
He had made man on the earth, and He
said: "I will destroy man, whom I
have created, from the face of the earth,
from man even to beasts, from the creep-
ing things even to the fowls of the air, for
it repenteth Me that I have made them."
Noe alone found grace before the Lord.
According to God's command, he built a
big ark of timber planks, and shut him-
[13]

CREATION TO ABRAHAM

self in it with his wife, his three sons and
their wives, and a pair of each kind of
animals.

In the six hundredth year of the life of
Noe, the Flood came. The j*ain fell upon
the earth forty days and forty nights.
The waters increased and lifted up the
ark on high from the earth. The whole
earth was under water, even the highest
mountains, and all men and animals
perished; none were saved but those that
wrere in the ark. At length, the rain
ceased; the waters went down little by
little, and the ark rested upon the moun-
tains of Armenia. When the ground was
dry enough, and at God's bidding, Noe,
his family, and all living things with him
went out of the ark. Noe's first care was
to build an altar unto the Lord and to
offer Him a sacrifice in thanksgiving.
Then God established His covenant with
Noe, and gave him the beautiful rainbow
[14]

FLOOD AND THE TOWER OF BABEL

as a token that man and every living
thing should never again be destroyed by
a flood.

Through God's blessing, the children
of the three sons of Noe soon became
very numerous. At first they dwelt in
the large plain of Sennaar, and spoke but
one and the same language. But as time
went on, they found that the place in
which they were, was altogether too
small. So they resolved to scatter abroad
into all lands. Before parting, however,
they undertook to build a great city, and
in it to erect a tower the top of which
would reach to heaven. They thus wished
to make their name famous for ages to
come. Their pride greatly displeased
Almighty God Who, by a stroke of His
power confounded their language while
they were at work. As they could no
longer understand one another's speech,
they gave up the building of the city and
[15]

CREATION TO ABRAHAM

its tower. The name of the place was
called Babel, that is, Confusion. " And
from thence the Lord scattered them
abroad upon the face of all countries."

[16]

[17]

II. FROM ABRAHAM TO MOSES.

(1996-1571 B.C.)

#1. Abraham. Birth and Youth of
Isaac.

(Genesis xii.-xxv. 18.)

After settling in the various parts of
the world, the children of Noe forsook
more and more the service of God. The
peoples who grew out of them, gave
themselves up to the worship of idols
such as the sun, moon and stars, ani-
mals, etc., and became very wicked. Out
of the few holy men still found among
them, it pleased God to choose Abraham
as the great patriarch in whose seed all
the nations of the earth should be
blessed. According to God's command,
Abraham left his native home and coun-
[18]

ABRAHAM AND ISAAC

try, taking with him Sara his wife, and
Lot his nephew, and after a long journey
came into the land of Chanaan. And
the Lord appeared to Abraham and said
to him: "To thy seed will I give this
land." And he built there an altar to
the Lord Who had appeared to him. God
wras wrell pleased with Abraham's liv-
ing faith and ever-ready obedience. He
protected him on all occasions, and
showrered down His blessings upon him.
He entered into a solemn covenant with
him, that from him should come a
numerous people, wrho would possess the
promised land, and that from his seed
blessing and grace should flow over the
whole earth; and for a mark of this
covenant, He enjoined upon him and his
children the rite of circumcision. He
dealt with him as wdth a friend when
He told him wrhat He w7as about to do to
the very wicked cities of Sodom and
[19]

ABRAHAM TO MOSES

Gomorrha, next listened to Abraham's
earnest and childlike prayers in behalf
of the inhabitants, and then provided for
the rescue of Lot and his family from
the fire that destroyed those guilty cities;
Lot's wife was the only one who perished,
for she turned back to look upon the fire,
and was changed into a pillar of salt.

Meanwhile, it was a sore trial for
Abraham that the child whom God had
promised to Sara was not yet born, and
apparently would never be born, because
both he and Sara had now become very
old. But at length, by a miracle of God,
Sara gave birth to Isaac. Abraham cir-
cumcised the child on the eighth day af-
ter his birth, and was again told by God
that Isaac would be the father of the true
children of Abraham.

After Isaac had grown up, God put
Abraham's faith and obedience to a very
hard test. He bade him to offer this dear
[20]

ABRAHAM AND ISAAC

son in sacrifice. Abraham obeyed at
once. He took Isaac to the place of sacri-
fice, bound him and laid him on the
altar, and raised his hand to slay him
with his sword. But at this moment, the
angel of the Lord stayed his arm, praised
his obedience, and renewed all the prom-
ises made to him.

Isaac was afterwards married to Re-
becca, the mother of Esau and Jacob.
Abraham died in the good old age of a
hundred and seventy-five years, and was
gathered to his people.

[21]

ABRAHAM TO MOSES

2. Isaac and Jacob.

(Genesis xxv. 19-xxxvi.)

God bestowed on Isaac the special
favor which He had shown to Abraham
his father. Twice He appeared to him
and each time renewed the great prom-
ises He had made to Abraham. He
blessed him with droves of sheep and cat-
tle and with many servants, and He pro-
tected him against the ill-will of jealous
neighbors. In return, Isaac " walked
with God," moving about in the pres-
ence of God and doing what he knew to
be pleasing in His sight. Of his twin
sons, Esau and Jacob, he, indeed, liked
Esau better, and meant to give him the
blessing due to the first-born, even after
Esau had sold heedlessly to Jacob his
right to such blessing for a dish of red
[22]

ISAAC AND JACOB

pottage. But when he recognized God's
will in his mistake in having given to
Jacob the first-born's blessing, he at
once regarded him as the sole heir of
the divine promises. Henceforth, the
wish of his heart was that Jacob should
not become unworthy of those promises
by marrying one of the daughters of
Chanaan. He therefore called him, and
said to him: " Go, and take a journey to
Mesopotamia of Syria, to the house of
Bathuel, thy mother's father, and take
thee a wife thence of the daughters of
Laban thy uncle."

Jacob then started on his long jour-
ney. In one place, he was favored by a
wonderful vision : he saw a ladder stand-
ing upon the earth, the top of which
reached to heaven; the angels of God
ascended and descended by it; the Lord
Himself leaning upon the top of it; made
the same promises to him as He had
[23]

ABRAHAM TO MOSES

made to Abraham. As he came near his
journey's end, he met his cousin Rachel
at the well where she had gone to water
the flocks of her father Laban; he made
himself known to her; and soon after-
wards was welcomed by Laban himself.
Laban was a crafty Syrian as Jacob
soon found out. Instead of giving Rachel
at once to him as wife, he required Jacob
to labor for her seven years after which
he adroitly passed over Lia to him, and
then gave him Rachel under the con-
dition of seven years more of service.
Having served also these seven years,
Jacob said to Laban : " Send me away
to my country. Give me my wives, and
my children, for whom I have served
thee, that I may depart." Even then,
Laban detained Jacob for certain wages
which he changed time and again to his
own favor. At length, and at God's bid-
ding, Jacob took to flight together with
[24]

ISAAC AND JACOB

his family and all that he possessed.
Laban soon overtook him, and only after
much abuse let Jacob keep on his home-
ward journey.

As Jacob went along, God was, in-
deed, with him. Through God's mercy
Esau met him and showed himself
friendly to him. On several occasions
God favored him with visions, in one of
which He changed the name of Jacob
into that of Israel, and renewed the great
promises He had made to Abraham.
Jacob finally came to Isaac his father in
Mambre. " And the days of Isaac wrere
a hundred and eighty years; and his sons
Esau and Jacob buried him."

[25]

ABRAHAM TO MOSES

3. Joseph and His Brothers.

(Genesis xxxvii.-l.)

Of the twelve sons of Jacob, Joseph
was the dearest to the old father. His
brothers knew it, hence they hated and
envied Joseph. One day, as they were
tending their flocks far from home, they
seized him, sold him to merchants pass-
ing by, and deceived Jacob with the story
that a beast had devoured him. The mer-
chants carried Joseph into Egypt, and
sold him to Putiphar, one of the king's
officers. But the Lord was with him, and
he soon became the trusted and success-
ful overseer of his master's house. In
the course of time, however, Putiphar's
wife brought a false charge against Jo-
seph, and he was cast into prison. Here
also, God was with him, and enabled him
[26]'

JOSEPH AND HIS BROTHERS

to give the meaning of the dreams of two
officers who were fellow-prisoners of
Joseph. After two years, the king him-
self had dreams which Joseph alone was
found able to explain. The dreams
meant that seven years of great plenty
would be followed by seven years of the
worst famine, and so it now behoved the
king to appoint over the whole land of
Egypt a ruler who would lay up the
corn of the seven plentiful years over
against the famine of the seven years.
By this king's order, Joseph became this
ruler. The seven years of plenty came,
and he gathered together all the wheat
into the barns of Egypt. The seven years
of scarcity began, " and the famine pre-
vailed in the whole world, but there was
bread in all the land of Egypt."

Driven by famine, the sons of Jacob,
with the exception of Benjamin, went
down into Egypt to buy corn, Joseph
[27]

ABRAHAM TO MOSES

recognized them and pretended to regard
them as spies. As they spoke of their
youngest brother who was kept at home
by their aged father, he told them that in
order to test the truth of their words, he
would keep one of them in prison, until
they would bring to him this youngest
brother. He therefore caused Simeon,
one of them, to be bound in their pres-
ence, and then sent the others away, their
sacks filled with wheat.

At their second coming, they had Ben-
jamin with them. Joseph received them
well, asked about the health of their
father, and was greatly moved at the
sight of his youngest brother. At length,
he made himself known to them, say-
ing : " I am Joseph, your brother, whom
you sold into Egypt; be not afraid!" He
then told them to hasten to their father,
to let him know that his son was still
alive, and to bring him down into Egypt.
[28]

JOSEPH AND HIS BROTHERS

Jacob accordingly removed with all his
family into Egypt, and Joseph gave them
the fertile land of Gessen.

After his father's death and burial, Jo-
seph continued to rule over Egypt until
his own death. " And he died being a
hundred and ten years old. And being
embalmed he wras laid in a coffin in
Egypt."

[29]

III. FROM MOSES TO SOLOMON.

(1571-1015 B.C.)

1. Moses Delivers Israel.

(Exodus i.-xv. 21.)

Until the death of Joseph, and for a
while afterwards, the children of Jacob
or Israelites became very numerous in
the land of Egypt. But the time came
when there arose a new king over Egypt,
who had not known Joseph. Fearing
the Israelites would grow too powerful,
he oppressed them with hard labor and
a most cruel sjavery and finally ordered
his people to drown in the river Nile
all the male children who would be born
of Israel. Contrary to this order, a wom-
an of the tribe of Levi hid her lovely babe
for three months; then seeing she could
[30]

MOSES DELIVERS ISRAEL

conceal him no longer, she took a basket
made of bulrushes, put him therein, and
laid him in the sedges by the river's
brink. The king's daughter, walking
by the side of the river, spied the basket;
she opened it, and took pity on the cry-
ing Hebrew babe. She adopted the child
for her son, called him Moses, that is,
" drawn out of the water," and had him
taught all the learning of the Egyptians.
Moses was already forty years of age,
when one day he saw an Egyptian strik-
ing one of the Hebrews his brethren; he
slew him and fled into the desert of Sinai.
His exile there lasted forty years.

After the king's death God appeared
to Moses in a burning bush, and ordered
him back to Egypt to deliver his people
from slavery. Moses and his brother
Aaron returned at once to Egypt. They
presented themselves before the new
king, and asked for the Hebrews per-
[31]

MOSES TO SOLOMON

mission to go and sacrifice in the Desert.
The King flatly refused. Then at God's
bidding, Moses and Aaron punished the
country with nine scourges known as the
Plagues of Egypt. More than once, the
king touched with regret or fear begged
the two brothers to obtain from God the
end of these scourges; but no sooner
had the plague ceased, than the hardness
of his heart returned. He finally yielded
to the tenth plague; for at midnight, the
Lord slew every first-born of Egypt
" from the first-born of Pharao, who sat
on his throne, unto the first-born of the
captive woman that was in the prison,
and all .the first-born of cattle," and so
the king and his subjects pressed the
Israelites to be gone.

God Himself had taken care that all

the children of .Israel should be ready for

this hasty departure. He had ordered

that on the evening before, every Hebrew

[32]

MOSES DELIVERS ISRAEL

family should eat the Paschal lamb, .with
their loins girt, and staves in their hands.
When they set out under Moses as their
leader, they formed a vast host of six
hundred thousand men, without count-
ing women and children. Their march
was therefore very slow; and the king
now sorry that he had let them go, over-
took them with his army, on the shore
of the Red Sea. It was then that God
made the waters of the sea to part so as
to allow Israel safely to cross on dry
ground, and that He caused the water to
return just in time to drown the whole
Egyptian army. Whereupon Moses and
his freed people sang a hymn of praise
and thanks to the Lord.

[33]

MOSES TO SOLOMON

2. Moses Gives the Law to Israel.

(Exodus xv. 22-Leviticus xxvii.)

After crossing the Red Sea, the
Hebrews led by Moses made for Mount
Sinai. Time and again, they were sorely
tried on the way. The first water they
met after a march of three days was so
bitter that they could not drink it. Next,
they suffered from want of food. A
while later, they had no water to drink.
And when they were near their journey's
end, a strong tribe of the desert known
as Amalecites came and fought against
them. On such occasions, they loudly
complained against God and against
Moses, regretting they had ever left
Egypt. But God was very patient and
merciful to them: He made the bitter
waters sweet; He sent His people a flight
[34]

MOSES GIVES THE LAW TO ISRAEL

of quails, and gave them every day a
supply of manna; He drew for them
water out of a rock and He defeated the
Amalecites by the hand of Josue. At
length, on the third month after they had

Group of Mt. Sinai.

left Egypt, the Israelites came to Mount
Sinai.

This was the place God had chosen to

[35]

MOSES TO SOLOMON

give His law to Israel. Calling Moses up
to the mount, He bade him tell the chil-
dren of Israel : " If you hear My voice,
and keep My covenant, you shall be My
peculiar possession above all people: for
all the earth is Mine. And you shall be
to Me a priestly Kingdom and a holy Na-
tion." When this was told by Moses " all
the people answered together: All that
the Lord hath spoken, we will do." Three
days later, peals of thunder were heard
on the mountain top, and lightning
flashed on every side; presently all Mount
Sinai was afire, and from the midst of
the fire God delivered with a loud voice
the Ten Commandments. Struck with
fear and terror, the people stood afar off
and said to Moses : " Speak thou to us,
and we will hear : let not the Lord speak
to us, lest we die." Moses then went
alone into the dark cloud wherein God
was. There, he was told what God re-
[36]

MOSES GIVES THE LAW TO ISRAEL

quired from Israel in making the cove-
nant with them. He next came down,
wrote all the words of the Lord in the
book of the covenant, read them aloud to
the people, and after the people promised
to obey them all, he sealed the covenant
between God and Israel, with the blood
of victims.

Having thus bound Israel to God's wor-
ship, Moses went up again into the
mount. During the forty days and forty
night he was there, the Lord gave him
many directions for the building of the
Tabernacle, the making of the altars, the
priestly vestments and the anointing of
Aaron and his sons, the sacrifices to be
offered; etc. Meanwhile, the people see-
ing that Moses stayed a long time in the
mountain, gave way to a form of idolatry
which they had witnessed when in
Egypt : they made to themselves a golden
calf, and worshipped it. At this mo-
[37]

MOSES TO SOLOMON

ment, Moses came down carrying in his
hands the two stone tables of the Law,
written with the finger of God, and being
very angry at the sight of Israel's
idolatry, he threw the tables out of his
hand and broke them at the foot of the
mount. Then he destroyed the golden

The Sacrep Egyptian Bull, Apis.

calf, and caused many of the idolaters
to be slain.

The covenant was now broken. But

[38]

MOSES GIVES THE LAW TO ISRAEL

God, at Moses* earnest prayer, renewed
it with Israel. The Tabernacle, the Ark
of the covenant, the altars, and the holy
vestments were next made. The Taber-
nacle itself was finally set up, and the
Lord filled it with His majesty. And
it was from this His dwelling-place
among the chosen people, that God gave
to Moses the other laws needed by Israel.

[39]

mM/mf^Mfr^Mmm®.

1. The Ark of the Covenant (According to Cram,
pon, Fillion, etc.).

2. The Altar of Holocausts.

3. The A^ar of Incense.

4. The Seven-branched Candlestick.

[40]

MOSES LEADS ISRAEL

3. Moses Leads Israel to the Border
of Chanaan.

(Numbers-Deuteronomy. )

When the time came near for the
Israelites to leave Sinai, Moses, warned
by God, made sure that they would de-
part in good order. He numbered the
whole people, gave to the Levites the
special charge of the Tabernacle,
assigned to each tribe its place in camp
and on the march, and let all know the
signals they were to obey. Above the
Tabernacle hung a cloud of smoke by
day, and a cloud of fire by night. When
the Israelites were to move onward, the
cloud would rise and go before them; and
when they were to pitch their tents the
cloud would rest.

In the second month of the second
[41]

[42]

MOSES LEADS ISRAEL

year after the going out of Egypt, the
cloud rose above the Tabernacle, and so
the children of Israel started towards
Chanaan. The road lay northward
across the Desert, and the journey soon
became trying to all, especially to Moses,
their great leader. Their very first
march of three days wras not yet over,
when many, repining at their fatigue,
murmured against God. At their sec-
ond halt, they turned into a mob regret-
ting Egypt; they lusted for flesh, and
loathed manna. The next stop was
marked by a denial of Moses' right to
leadership, on the part of his own sister
and brother, Mary and Aaron. When
Israel came almost in sight of Chanaan,
Moses, at God's bidding, sent twelve men
to view the whole country, and bring
back an account of it. At their return,
they brought a huge cluster of grapes, and
other fruits of the land, as a token of
[43]

MOSES TO SOLOMON

its fertility. But then, with the excep-
tion of Josue and Caleb, they told the peo-
ple to give up all hope of conquering
Chanaan: its cities were walled and
very great, and its inhabitants were
giants in comparison with whom they
themselves were as grasshoppers. Hear-
ing this, all the children of Israel rebelled
against Moses and Aaron; they regretted
they had ever left Egypt, spoke of ap-
pointing a leader to bring them back
thither, and as Josue and Caleb tried to
calm them, they were about to stone them
when the glory of the Lord appeared over
the Tabernacle. God then doomed the
whole multitude to wander in the Desert
forty years, and the men of twenty years
of age and upward to die in it, with the
exception of Josue and Caleb.

New trials soon befell Moses. His
authority as a leader was objected to by a
large and strong party the head of which
[44]

MOSES LEADS ISRAEL

was Core, a man of Moses' own tribe. The
earth opened, indeed, its mouth and swal-
lowed all these rebels; but the very next
day the people's ill-feeling burst forth
anew against Moses. A while later,
Mary, Moses' sister, died and was buried
in the Desert. This was soon followed
by a general murmur of Israel for want
of water; and as on this occasion, Moses
struck twice the rock to obtain water
instead of simply bidding it to yield forth
water, he was told by God that he would
not be permitted to bring the Israelites
into the Promised Land. Next, there oc-
curred Aaron's death and burial at Mount
Hor. As the wearied people complained
once more against God and Moses, they
were punished by fiery serpents whose
biting could be healed only by looking
upon the Brazen Serpent lifted up by
Moses at God's order.

The last days of Moses were crowded
[45]

MOSES TO SOLOMON

with great events. Under his guidance,
the vast territory east of the Jordan River
was quickly taken from powerful kings,
and given to the tribes of Ruben, Gad,
and half of the tribe of Manasses. The
prophet Balaam foretold the glories that
awaited Israel. Moses himself, having
completed his laws for the Chosen Peo-
ple and appointed Josue as his successor
in command, exhorted at length all the
tribes to be faithful to God, and imparted
to them his last blessing. Finally he
ascended Mount Nebo from the top of
which he beheld Chanaan on the other
side of Jordan, and died there at the age
of one hundred and twenty years. " And
no man hath known of his sepulchre un-
til this present day."

[46]

JOSUE CONQUERS CHAN A AN

4. Josue Conquers Chanaan.

(Josue i.-xxiv.)

As God had been with Moses, so was
He also with Josue, Moses' successor. He
said to him : " Take courage and be
strong. Fear not and be not dismayed:
because the Lord thy God is with thee
whithersoever thou goest." Thus en-
couraged, Josue bade the people to make
ready to cross the Jordan River. Mean-
time, he sent over two scouts to the
strong city of Jericho where a woman,
named Rahab, welcomed and concealed
them. After their return, the people
broke camp, and followed at a distance
the priests who carried the Ark of the
Lord up to the river. The Jordan was
then swollen into a deep muddy stream.
But as soon as the feet of the priests who
[47]

MOSES TO SOLOMON

bore the Ark, touched the swirling
waters, the supply from above was by
miracle cut off, and stayed so until the
advancing hosts of Israel had passed over
on dry ground. Thence Josue moved
against Jericho the lofty walls of which
fell down likewise by miracle at the
sound of Israel's trumpets. The city was
razed to the ground, and none of its in-
habitants were spared, except the house-
hold of Rahab who had hid Josue's spies.
The town next taken was Hai in the hill-
country of Chanaan.

At the news of this speedy and vic-
torious march of Josue, the kings ot the
Chanaanites purposed to form a league
and to fight Israel. But instead of join-
ing the league, the inhabitants of Gabaon
and its dependent towns sent envoys to
Josue to make a separate peace with him.
The envoys falsely claimed that they had
come from a very far country, they
[48]

JOSUE CONQUERS CHANAAN

pointed to their tattered garments and
showed their dry provisions as a token of
the truth of their words; and so they de-
ceived Josue who at once entered into
a league with them. Hearing of this, five
kings of Southern Chanaan, whose terri-
tories were nearest Gabaon, took instant
action against that city. The Gabaonites
appealed for help to Josue. After a
forced march by night, the Hebrew leader
swooped upon the kings in the early
morning, routed them and lest he should
not have time to complete his victory,
he bade the sun and moon to stand still,
as, indeed, it came to pass. The five
kings were captured and put to death;
and soon afterwards Josue took by storm
the chief cities of Southern Chanaan.

Northern Chanaan had yet to be con-
quered. Its allied kings gathered their
large armies together, and pitched their
camp at the waters of Merom, to fight
[49]

MOSES TO SOLOMON

against Israel. Josue fell suddenly upon
them; and the Lord delivered them
into his hands. In truth, whither-
soever he went, God was with him, so
that some time before his death he was
able to allot the country west of Jordan
to nine and a half tribes of Israel. The
southernmost part of it became the lot
of the tribes of Simeon and Juda. North
of them, were Benjamin, Dan, Ephraim,
and half of the tribe of Manasses, in Cen-
tral Chanaan. The northernmost tribes
were those of Issachar, Zabulon, Nephtali
and Aser. As God had ordered that the
tribe of Levi should not have a lot of its
own, its families were distributed in
forty-eight different cities, and their up-
keep was provided for by the tithe-
offerings of all Israel.

Aware that his end was near, Josue
warned the people against mingling with
the surviving inhabitants of Chanaan,
[50]

JOSUE CONQUERS CHANAAN

and renewed the covenant between God
and Israel. This great " servant of the
Lord died, being a hundred and ten years
old." He was buried in his own in-
heritance. His tomb, a vast excavation
in the rock, has been recently discovered.

[51 j

[52]

THE GREATER JUDGES OF ISRAEL

5. The Greater Judges of Israel.

(Judges i.-xvi.; Ruth.)

The children served the Lord for a
while after Josue's death. There were
yet among them men who had seen God's
wonderful works in conquering Chanaan
for His people. But, after all these men
were dead and gone, the Israelites wor-
shipped more and more the idols of the
Chanaanites who were still in the land.
To punish His sinful children, God gave
them up time and again to the power of
enemies, by whom they were enslaved
and oppressed in many ways. Each
time, however, that they repented and
cried to Him for mercy, He rescued them
out of the hands of their enemies, by
means of great deliverers who are known
as the Judges of Israel.
[53]

MOSES TO SOLOMON

Among these Judges were Debbora,
a prophetess, and Barac, a valiant man of
Nephtali. During twenty years, the chil-
dren had been oppressed for their sins
by a powerful king named Jabin and
Sisara his general. But now they were
sorry for their evil deeds, and begged
God's mercy. Moved by the Spirit of the
Lord, Debbora told Barac that he should
arise and fight against Israel's enemies,
fully sure that God would give him vic-
tory. At Barac's request, Debbora went
with him and with the men he hastily
gathered. When the two armies met,
God struck Sisara with such terror that he
leaped down off his chariot and fled away
on foot. Sisara's men likewise panic-
stricken took to flight. Barac's victory
was complete, and Debbora sang it in
an inspired hymn of thanks to God.

The next time the Israelites forsook
the Lord, they were for seven years un-
[54]

THE GREATER JUDGES OF ISRAEL

der the power of the Madianites and of
other cruel oppressors. When at length
they cried to the Lord, Gedeon was called
to deliver them. At Gedeon's rousing
appeal, over two hundred thousand war-
riors gathered around him. Out of this
vast host, however, God allowed only
three hundred men to fight for Israel,
and, indeed, with no other weapons than
trumpets, and lamps burning in pitchers.
At midnight, these three hundred men
rushed into Madian's camp sounding
their trumpets and breaking their
earthen pitchers. Terror from the Lord
struck the Madianites; they began to
flee, and in their great haste and con-
fusion they even killed one another. Thus
God alone had rescued Israel, and hence
when the people would have made
Gedeon their king, the hero rightly said
that the Lord alone should rule over
them.

[55]

MOSES TO SOLOMON

It was also to God's power that at a later
date, Jephte, one of Israel's Judges, re-
ferred his victory over the Ammonites
who had oppressed his people eighteen
years. Before fighting against these ene-
mies, he had made a vow to the Lord that
if He gave him victory over the children
of Ammon, he would offer as "a holocaust
to the Lord " the first one that would
greet him at his return home. He de-
feated the Ammonites, and even though
the first one of his household to greet
him at his return was his only daughter,
he regarded himself as bound to fulfil
his vow.

The last extraordinary Judge of Israel
was Samson, a man consecrated to God
from his birth so that no razor should
ever touch his hair. The Spirit of the
Lord wrought by him many wonders,
and enabled him to hold in check, as
long as he lived, the power of the Philis-
[56]

THE GREATER JUDGES OF ISRAEL

tines who had oppressed Israel forty
years. Samson died a hero's death:
shorn of his locks through treason, and
deprived of his sight by his enemies, he
asked from the Lord a sudden return of
his former strength, and then while thou-
sands of the Philistines, gathered in one
of their temples, rejoiced at his misfor-
tune he shook the pillars inside that
temple and perished " killing many more
at his death, than he had killed before in
his life."

The story of Ruth's strong attachment
to Noemi, her forlorn mother-in-law, and
of her later marriage to Booz, a rich kins-
man of Noemi's former husband, af-
fords a glimpse of the domestic life dur-
ing the time of the Judges.

[57]

MOSES TO SOLOMON
6. Samuel and Saul.

(1 Kings i.-xxxi.)

After Samson's death, the difficult task
of leading Israel's fight against the
Philistines, passed to Heli, the high priest
of the time. A feeble old man, Heli was
not equal to the task, his two unworthy
sons, Ophni and Phinees, were slain in
a great battle wherein the Ark of the
Lord fell into the hands of the Philis-
tines, and Heli himself died at the news
of this disaster.

Meantime, God had prepared in Sam-
ual a younger and better leader for His
people. He had granted his birth to the
earnest prayers of Anna his mother,
watched over his earliest years in the
service of the sanctuary at Silo, and grad-
ually made him known to Israel as " a
faithful prophet of the Lord." When
therefore " Samuel spoke to all the house
[58]

SAMUEL AND SAUL

of Israel, saying: Prepare your hearts
unto the Lord, and serve Him only, and
He will deliver you out of the hand of the
Philistines," the whole people obeyed
his words. Soon afterwards, the Philis-
tines went up against Israel; but with
God's powerful help, the Israelites routed
their enemies and made a great slaughter
of them. From that moment forth, and
for many years, Samuel ruled with great
success over the Chosen People. As he
grew old, however, he appointed his two
sons as judges in Israel. These men did
not walk in the footsteps of their father;
they took bribes, and perverted judg-
ment. Hence, the people complained to
Samuel and asked him for a king to
judge them, as all other nations had their
kings. " And the Lord said to Samuel :
Hearken to their voice, and make them a
king." Israel's first king was Saul a tall
and handsome man of the tribe of Ben-
[59]

MOSES TO SOLOMON

jamin. Raised to the throne by God's
will, his plain duty was to do God's bid-
ding which was made known to him
through Samuel, the aged prophet of the
Lord. It was not long, however, before
Saul went against the strict orders of
God, the supreme King of Israel. The
first time he fought against the Philis-
tines, he offered sacrifice on behalf of his
men without waiting, as he should have
done until Samuel came. Swift was
Samuel's reproof of Saul's wilful dis-
obedience. In the name of the Lord, the
prophet told him that none of his fam-
ily would reign after him. Saul said
nothing to this, but his heart was not
changed. In course of time, after God
had given Saul many victories over his
enemies, Samuel said to him : " Hearken
to the voice of the Lord. Go and smite
Amalec, and utterly destroy all that he
hath: spare him not, nor covet anything
[60]

SAMUEL AND SAUL

that is his." Upon this command, Saul
fought against the Amalecites, and de-
feated them. But instead of doing as he
was bidden, he spared Agag the king of
Amalec and the best of the flocks of
sheep and of the herds, and the gar-
ments, and all that was beautiful; and
then on meeting Samuel, claimed that he
had fulfilled the word of the Lord. The
man who thus acted and spoke, was no
fit king of Israel. God therefore rejected
the king, and bade Samuel to go to
Bethlehem and anoint one of Jesse's sons,
as a successor to Saul. Samuel anointed
David, Jesse's youngest son, and from
that day " the spirit of the Lord departed
from Saul, and an evil spirit from the
Lord troubled him."

The last part of Saul's life was most

wretched. For a while he loved the

young David who played the harp before

him when the evil spirit troubled him.

[61]

MOSES TO SOLOMON

But soon he became jealous of David, and
through hatred of him, long tried to kill
him, but in vain, for the Lord was with
David. At length, when sorely pressed
by the Philistines, he fell into despair,
and got the witch of Endor to call up for
him Samuel who had died some time be-
fore. On the day of battle, Saul's men
fled before the Philistines, his three sons
were slain, and Saul himself, grievously
wounded, " took his sword, and fell upon
it."

[62]

KING DAVID

7. King David.
(1055-1015 B.C.)

(2 Kings-3 Kings ii. 11; 1 Paralipomenon xi.-xxix.)

By the time of Saul's death, David was
well fitted to rule over Israel. From a
simple keeper of his father's sheep, he
had grown into a skilled warrior, trusted
and loved by his followers. Hunted up
and down the land by the wrathful Saul,
he had many a time nobly spared the life
of that unhappy king. Driven from the
country sacred to the true God, he had
not swerved from his fealty to the Lord,
and his long stay among the Philistines,
was but a means to know better the very
enemies against whom he would one day
fight. Ever true to Saul, he lamented
his death when he heard of it. Ever true
[63]

[64]

KING DAVID

to God, he went back to the land of Juda
only after getting a favorable answer
from the Lord. No wronder then that as
soon as he was seen in their midst again,
the men of Juda, that is, of his own tribe,
hailed him as king, and that after a few
years of resistance, the men of the other
tribes yielded to his authority.

The early part of David's rule as king
of all Israel, was most blessed by God.
Jerusalem which he took from the
Jebusites became his own capital; it
became also the religious centre of all
the tribes w7hen he removed to its oldest
quarter, Mount Sion, the Ark of the Lord.
His wrars against the Philistines, Am-
monites, Moabites, Edomites, Syrians,
etc., were all successful and he extended
far and wride the boundaries of his king-
dom. His court was that of a wise and
powerful monarch. Besides a body-
guard, he had a regular army under one
[65]

MOSES TO SOLOMON

commander-in-chief, Joab, his own
nephew. He himself presided over
judicial cases, and had around him a staff
of prudent counselors and officers. The
desire of his heart was to build a beau-
tiful temple to the Lord, and although
he was not allowed to carry it out, his
good will was rewarded with the promise
of great blessings in his seed: his son,
Solomon, would build the Temple in Jeru-
salem, and his far greater Son, Christ,
would build the true Temple of God, to
wit, the Church which shall never fail,
nor be cast off for any iniquity of her
children. Meantime, his zeal for God's
glory shone forth in the good order he
established among the priests and the
levites who ministered in the Taber-
nacle, and also in the beautiful psalms
he wrote under divine inspiration.

The latter part of David's reign opened
with his dreadful fall into the sins of
[66]

KING DAVID

adultery and murder, and was much
darkened by the woes which befell both
king and people, such as the rebellion of
Absalom, David's son; the uprising of a
man of Ephraim, named Seba; a drought
and famine lasting three years; and a
pestilence in punishment for counting
the people. Even in the king's last days,
when he was stricken with the infirmities
of age, his son, Adonias, attempted to
seize the royal succession to which David
had appointed Solomon. The seven
psalms of David, known as the Peniten-
tial Psalms, bear special witness to the
king's deep sorrow for the sins of his
life. " So David slept with his fathers,
and was buried in the city of David. And
the days that David reigned in Israel
were forty years."

[67]

IV. FROM SOLOMON TO THE CAP-
TIVITY IN BABYLON.

(1015-588 B.C.)

1. The Reign of Solomon.
(1015-975 B.C.)

(3 Kings ii.l2-xi.; 2 Paralipomenon i.-ix.)

Solomon's reign was the golden age of
the Hebrew nation. It seemed to com-
bine the riches and the glory of earlier
and later times. Its glitter and magnifi-
cence gladdened the hearts of all Israel,
and dazzled the strangers of distant
lands. The people enslaved of old in
Egypt, had now a king wedded to the
daughter of an Egyptian monarch. The
once wandering tribes of the Desert now
formed a mighty nation whose rule went
[68]

THE REIGN OF SOLOMON

from the Great Sea and the River of
Egypt on the West, to the Euphrates on
the East. Solomon's early and pious
desire for wisdom from above that he
might govern well this vast realm, was
most pleasing in the eyes of God: that
wisdom was to be his, bringing in its
train numerous other blessings which the
youthful king had not asked. His un-
equalled learning and sagacity soon be-
came famous throughout the East. He
carried out David's purpose by erecting
in Jerusalem a most magnificent temple
for the Lord. Near by, he built for him-
self and his queen beautiful palaces. He
also constructed great waterworks for
his capital, and added to the strength of
its walls. His court was that of a rich
and powerful monarch: princes stood
about his throne, and twelve officers sup-
plied all that was needed for the up-
keep of his table, his wives, his retinue,
[69]

SOLOMON TO THE CAPTIVITY

his horses, etc. Refinement and litera-
ture flourished in his day : Solomon him-
self " spoke three thousand parables, and
his poems were a thousand and five."
New fortresses arose to secure the safety
of Israel's borders and the remnant of
the Chanaanites still within the realm,
was thoroughly subdued. Commerce by
land and by sea brought in the wealth
and the produce of nations near and far.
Peace and plenty prevailed throughout
the land, " and Juda and Israel dwelt
without any fear, every one under his
vine and under his fig tree." Sovereigns
came out of all nations to hear Solomon's
wisdom and to behold him "in all his
glory."

Alas! the time came when this highly
favored king of Israel trod not in the
ways of the Lord. He had married a
large number of heathen wives, and to
please them " when he was now old " he
[70]

Plan of Solomon's Temple and Adjoining
Buildings.

1. The Great or Outer Court. 2. The Other or Middle
Court. 3. The Upper Court or Court of the House
of the Lord. 4. The House of the Forest of Li banus.
5. Porch of Pillars. 6. The Porch of the Throne.
7. The King's House. 8. The House of Pharao's
Daughter. 9. The Temple. 10. The Altar of Holo-
causts.

171]

SOLOMON TO THE CAPTIVITY

built temples for their idols, and even
joined in their worship. As a punish-
ment, his kingdom was to be divided af-
ter his death, and only two of the tribes
were to remain faithful to his son and
successor. Meantime, clouds on all sides
gathered about Solomon's declining day.
Edom and Syria rebelled against his
authority. Jeroboam excited the north-
ern tribes of Israel's to revolt, and pre-
pared the way for the division of the
Hebrew kingdom. Above all, the people
showed more and more their discontent
at the heavy burden of taxes laid on them
by the king's vast and foolish expendi-
ture. Solomon died after a reign of forty
years, and was buried in the city of
David, his father,

X

[72]

THE NORTHERN KINGDOM

2. The Northern Kingdom or Kingdom

of Israel.

(975-721 B.C.)

(3 Kings xii.-4 Kings xvii.; Jonas; Tobias.)

After Solomon's death his kingdom
was soon rent in twain. In a national
meeting at Sichem, in the centre of the
land, Roboam, the successor of Solomon,
was asked to lighten his father's heavy
yoke. Roboam refused this with haughty
and threatening words. In their anger,
ten of the twelve tribes denied him
obedience, and set up the Northern
Kingdom or Kingdom of Israel, with
Jeroboam as its head; the other two
tribes alone remained under Roboam's
rule, and made up the Southern King-
dom or Kingdom of Juda.
[73]

SOLOMON TO THE CAPTIVITY

As long as it lasted, the Northern King-
dom was unfaithful to the Lord. Its un-
faithfulness began with its very first
ruler, Jeroboam. Hardly on the throne,
this king felt that his crown and his life
were unsafe if his subjects went as here-
tofore to worship God in the Temple at
Jerusalem which was in the dominions
of Roboam. In order therefore to keep
them from the Temple of the Lord, he
brought in the worship of two golden
calves which he set up, the one in Bethel
and the other in Dan. The prophets of
the Lord rose up against this calf-wor-
ship, but the ten tribes joined in it, and
each and all of the kings who reigned af-
ter Jeroboam kept it up, and thus, like
him, " made Israel to sin." Achab, one
of these kings, did worse yet. He added
to the sinful worship of the golden calves
the infamous worship of Baal, the idol
of the Phenicians. He built a temple to
[74]

THE NORTHERN KINGDOM

Baal, in the city of Samaria, which his
father Amri had made the capital of the
Northern Kingdom. He hunted down
and killed the prophets of the Lord, and
if he did not succeed in his efforts to
uproot altogether God's worship in
Israel, it was because of the wonderful
zeal and great miracles of the prophet
Elias who lived at the time. All the line
of this wicked tyrant was wiped out and
nearly all trace of Baal worship dis-
appeared shortly after the prophet
Eliseus anointed Jehu king of Israel.

The reign of Jehu was the turning
point in the history of the Northern King-
dom, for then it was that " the Lord be-
gan to be weary of Israel." Jehu's own
relations with Syria and Assyria were
unfortunate for his kingdom, and the
only king of his family who had a glori-
ous rule was Jeroboam II. under whom
the prophet Jonas was sent to preach in
[75]

SOLOMON TO THE CAPTIVITY

Ninive. Not long after the end of Jehu's
line, the Assyrian armies invaded Israel.
In one of these invasions, the northern
part of the Kingdom of Israel, west of the
Jordan, was laid waste by the conqueror,
and a large number of Israelites were
carried into captivity. Finally, the
Northern Kingdom came to an end in
721 B.C. Osee, its last king, had been
cast into prison by the invading As-
syrians, and Samaria had been captured
after a siege which lasted upwards of two
years. The Israelites carried into exile
in large numbers were chiefly placed in
one of the farthest districts of Assyria,
and strangers from various parts of
Babylonia were brought in to occupy the
deserted land of Israel. These new set-
tlers soon joined to the worship of their
own idols that of the Lord, and grad-
ually formed a mixed race which was
ever hated by the Jews.
[76]

THE NORTHERN KINGDOM

The history of Tobias' faithfulness to
God and of its final reward by the min-
istry of the angel Raphael, gives an idea
of the religious and civil state of the
Israelites carried captives into Assyria.

[77]

SOLOMON TO THE CAPTIVITY

3. The Southern Kingdom or Kingdom
of Juda.

(975-588 B.C.)

(3 Kings xii.-4 Kings xxv. ; 2 Paralipomenon x.-
xxxvi. 20; Judith.)

Of the two Kingdoms formed shortly
after Solomon's death, the Southern
Kingdom or Kingdom of Juda, had for its
special mission to keep alive the worship
of the true God. The Temple of the Lord
stood in Jerusalem, its capital, and was
the only lawful place of public worship.
In God's intention, too, the kings of Juda
were to belong to the family of David,
and were to show themselves worthy of
that great monarch who, all his life, had
worshipped the Lord alone.

Of course, the first ruler of the sepa-
rate Kingdom of Juda, the haughty Ro-
[79]

* SOLOMON TO THE CAPTIVITY

boam, was not the man to understand,
still less to carry out, this lofty mission.
Born of a heathen wife of Solomon, he
soon adored idols as his father has done
during the last years of his reign.
Abiam, his son and successor, trod in
his wicked ways: Juda's next two kings
were the God-fearing Asa and Josaphat.
But although they both worshipped the
Lord, the former was not able to uproot
altogether idolatry from Juda, and the
latter unwittingly paved the way for its
full growth in the Southern Kingdom by
marrying his son Joram to Athalia, the
daughter of Achab, the most wicked king
of Israel. Through Athalia's evil in-
fluence, both Joram and his son and
successor, Ochozias, were rank idolaters.
Upon the latter's death, Athalia slew all
the sons of Joram with the exception of
the infant Joas, who was saved by the
wife of the high priest Joiada and was
[80]

THE SOUTHERN KINGDOM

kept hidden in the Temple of the Lord
six years during which Athalia reigned
over the land. In the seventh year
Joiada the high priest caused Joas to
be made king, Athalia to be slain, and
idolatry to be destroyed. As long as
Joiada lived, his counsels prevailed at
the court of Joas, and God's worship
flourished in Juda. But after his death,
the wicked courtiers of the king got the
upper hand, and Joas not only restored
the worship of idols, but even ordered
Zacharias, Joiada's son, to be stoned to
death, because of his bold rebuke of the
people's unfaithfulness to God. Like his
father Joas, king Amazias began well,
but worshipped idols towards the end of
his life.

The remaining history of the Kingdom
of Juda is bound together with the mis-
sion of the great prophets Isaias and
Jeremias whom God raised, the one
[81]

SOLOMON TO THE CAPTIVITY

shortly after the other, to guide both
kings and people in the true service of the
Lord. Even under such good kings as
Ozias and Joatham, Isaias had much to
say against the idolatrous practices which
survived in Juda, and much more still
against the soulless worship of God by
the people at large. Under the wicked
Achaz, the prophet's threats and warn-
ings were not heeded : this wretched king
burned his own children in honor of
idols, shut the Temple of the Lord and
left it to fall into ruins, and in punish-
ment, Juda became the vassal of Assyria.
When Ezechias reached the throne,
things changed. God's worship was fully
restored by the pious prince, and accord-
ing to Isaias' prophecy, the Assyrian
king, Sennacherib, was forced to a
shameful retreat without being able to
enter the Holy City. A new change for
the worse occurred under Manasses,
[82]

THE SOUTHERN KINGDOM

Early in his reign, this unworthy son of
Ezechias caused Isaias to be sawn asun-
der, and during many years gave himself
up to the worship of idols even more than
Achaz had done. For his great sins,
Manasses was carried captive into Baby-
lon, where he repented and was restored
to his kingdom. It was during Manasses'
captivity that the courageous Judith de-
livered Bethulia from a besieging army of
the Assyrians.

The mission of Jeremias to Juda was
even less successful than that of Isaias.
Born in the last years of Manasses, Jere-
mias witnessed, indeed, and greatly re-
joiced at the religious reforms of king
Josias, the pious grandson of that wicked
prince, but not long afterwards he had
to lament Josias' death in battle against
the king of Egypt. His message of woe
against Juda and Jerusalem drew upon
him the wrath of all, high and low. Peo-
[83]

SOLOMON TO THE CAPTIVITY

pie and kings ever " did what was evil
in the sight of the Lord," and so his worst
threats to them came to pass. In 606
B.C., Nabuchodonosor marched against
the Jewish king Joakim, took Jerusalem,
and carried into Babylon a certain num-
ber of captives among whom were Daniel
and his companions. The next blow in
598 B.C., was heavier still: Joachin, the
son and successor of Joakim, all his fam-
ily, the strength of the army and the no-
bility, all the more useful artisans were
taken into exile and together with them
the priest and prophet Ezechiel. The
last blow in 588 B.C. was certainly the
worst: the Babylonian king invaded
Juda, captured the Holy City, burned its
Temple, broke down its walls, and car-
ried captive into Babylon most of its
inhabitants. He also appointed Godolias,
a friend of Jeremias, governor of the
wretched remnant which was allowed to
[84]

THE SOUTHERN KINGDOM

stay in the land. But Godolias was soon
murdered by one of his Jewish oppo-
nents, whereupon the little remnant of
the Jews, fearing the vengeance of
Nabuchodonosor, fled into Egypt whither
Jeremias went with them.

[85]

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[88]

V. FROM THE CAPTIVITY IN BABY-
LON TO OUR LORD.

(588-6 B.C.)

1. The Babylonian Captivity.

(Psalms cxxviii., cxxxvi. ; Baruch; Ezechiel; Daniel.)

The fate of the exiles from Juda was
most wretched in the opening years of
their captivity in Babylon. Day after
day they were forced to labor on the
huge and numerous works of Nabucho-
donosor, while overseers devoid of all
mercy furrowed their backs with the lash
to keep them or quicken them at work.
Time and again, the dungeon, hunger
and nakedness fell to their lot. In vain
did they complain that they were " de-
voured " and " broken in pieces." Join-
ing insult to misery, their taskmasters
[89]

CAPTIVITY TO OUR LORD

bade them sing the canticles of Sion.
And so, the bitter anguish and revengeful
hatred of the Jewish slaves found vent
in such words as these : " O daughter of
Babylon, miserable; happy be he who
shall repay thee thy payment thou hast
paid us! Blessed he that shall take and
dash thy little ones against the rock! "
In course of time, however, God had
pity on them. He caused Daniel to find
favor with Nabuchodonosor, and Daniel's
three companions, Sidrach, Misach and
Abdenago, to be appointed by the " King
over the works of the province of Baby-
lon." Little by little, the pressure of the
Babylonian yoke was much relieved.
Availing themselves of this, the Jewish
captives complied with the wise counsel
of Jeremias that they should build
houses, plant orchards, marry their sons
and daughters, work and pray for the
peace and prosperity of Babylon. Nay
[90]

THE BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY

more, they settled in groups or colonies
here and there in Babylonia, and organ-
ized themselves pretty much in the same
way as formerly in the land of Juda. The
history of Susanna and the two elders,
in particular, shows to what extent both
self-government and personal comfort
came to be enjoyed by the captives in
Babylon. In fact, when the royal decree
of Cyrus finally gave the Jewish exiles
liberty to return to the country of their
fathers, the vast majority of them chose
to stay in their now happy homes rather
than to go back to the desolate towns and
fields of Palestine.

As God watched, in His mercy, over the
material welfare of the two tribes in
Babylonia, so did He watch over their
spiritual interests. At first, idolatry
flourished among them. Instead of see-
ing in the captivity which had befallen
them, the just punishment of their un-
[91]

CAPTIVITY TO OUR LORD

faithfulness to God, they regarded the
ruin of Jerusalem and of its Temple as
a proof that the God of Israel was less
powerful than the gods of the conqueror,
so that to their minds, the safest way not
to incur the wrath of such gods was to
share in their worship. Over against
these false views, God enabled Jeremias,
and more especially Baruch, Jeremias'
secretary, to argue with great power. He
also caused Ezechiel to prophesy and to
use his priestly influence in order to ex-
cite sorrow in the breast of his fellow-
captives and to suggest to them motives
of hope by means of the glorious visions
which he beheld in the land of exile.
Above all, Daniel's unswerving fidelity
to God, patronage at court, renown as a
prophet, public exposure of the im-
potence of Bel and of the deceit of its
priests, were a providential means to
keep up and promote throughout the
[92]

THE BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY

captivity in Babylon the honor and wor-
ship of the true God. And there is no
doubt that before the end of the seventy
years of exile, the Jewish faith had be-
come purer and stronger, and remained
so in the hearts and lives even of the
Jews who did not return to the Holy
Land.

[93]

CAPTIVITY TO OUR LORD

2. The Return from the Exile.

(1 and 2 Books of Esdras.)

When the seventy years of the Baby-
lonian Exile, foretold by the prophet
Jeremias, were over, the Lord stirred up
the spirit of Cyrus, the Persian con-
queror of Babylon, to release His people
from their captivity and to allow them
to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. The
royal decree to that effect was given in
536 B.C. The Jewish exiles who at once
availed themselves of it under the guid-
ance of Zorobabel and the high priest
Josue were forty two thousand three
hundred and sixty in number. Soon af-
ter their return, they set up an altar to
God in Jerusalem, offered thereon the
morning and evening sacrifices, and
started again the keeping of the sacred
[94]

RETURN FROM THE EXILE

feasts and festivals. " In the second year
of their coming," they gladly laid the
foundations of the Temple of the Lord.
But owing to the opposition of the
Samaritans or mixed race living in the
land of the former Kingdom of Israel,
they were hindered from carrying on the
work until the reign of Darius I. On find-
ing the decree of Cyrus, this Persian king
ordered the Temple to be completed, and
freely made gifts to meet the expenses.
The rousing words of the prophets Ag-
geus and Zacharias also urged the peo-
ple on their wrork, and the House of the
Lord was happily finished and joyfully
dedicated in 515 B.C.

Under Assuerus, Darius' successor, the
Jews who still dwelt in the land of ex-
ile, were threatened with utter destruc-
tion. At Susan, the Persian capital, the
highest court official, named Aman, stung
by an affront from the Jew Mardochai,
[95]

CAPTIVITY TO OUR LORD

got a royal decree against the life and
property of all Jews in the Persian em-
pire. Esther, however, niece of Mardochai
and queen of Assuerus, succeeded not
only in reversing the decree, and thus de-
livering her people, but also in obtaining
vengeance by the slaughter of thousands
of their enemies. In grateful memory
of this deliverance, the feast of Phurim
was instituted and is even now kept,
year after year, by the Jews throughout
the world.

In the seventh year of the Persian
King Artaxerxes, Esdras the priest, a
learned scribe in the law of Moses, went
up from Babylon to Jerusalem at the
head of a second body of returning ex-
iles. He was sent by the king to teach
and assist the people of God, and was sup-
plied with both a gracious decree in their
favor, and rich presents for the Temple.
By this time, the Jews of Jerusalem
[96]

RETURN FROM THE EXILE

and the surrounding towns had so far
neglected the Law as to take wives from
among the daughters of strangers and
unbelievers. After his arrival in Judea,
Esdras brought forth the royal decree
and gifts, and caused all, high and low,
to put away their foreign wives.

The walls of the Holy City were yet
in their broken condition. Hearing of
this, Nehemias, cupbearer to Artaxerxes,
came with the king's authority as gov-
ernor to Jerusalem. Through his efforts
and in spite of opposition from powerful
enemies of his people, he finished the
walls and hung up the gates of the city
in fifty-two days. Before going back
to the Persian court, he took measures to
provide for the defence of Jerusalem by
increasing the number of its residents,
abolished usury between Jew and Jew,
had the Law read aloud to the people by
Esdras, the ancient covenant with God
[97]

CAPTIVITY TO OUR LORD

renewed and signed, and the city wall
dedicated. Twelve years after his re-
turn to Persia, he was sent again by
Artaxerxes as governor to Judea. In his
absence, the old abuses had quickly re-
vived: intermarriage with the heathen
had sprung up again; levitical dues had
been neglected, and the Sabbath was
freely broken. With the greatest vigor
Nehemias set himself against such evils
and did away with them.

[98]

THE MACHABEES

3. The Machabees.

(1 and 2 Books of the Machabees.)

The power of the Persian empire, as
Daniel had foretold, was overthrown by
the Greeks under the conduct of Alex-
ander the Great. But this new empire
did not last long after Alexander's death
in 323 B.C. Syria and Egypt, two of its
chief provinces, were soon made inde-
pendent kingdoms, and Judea was a part
of each in turn, until the time of the
Machabees. During these various
changes, the Greek rulers of either king-
dom allowed the Jews of Palestine to en-
joy their religious and civil rights. The
attempt of Seleucus Philopator, king of
Syria, to have his envoy Heliodorus plun-
der the Temple was but an exception
[99]

CAPTIVITY TO OUR LORD

to this, and by God's power it signally
failed.

The first king who reversed this policy
was Antiochus Epiphanes in whose days
Judea passed finally under the sway of
Syria. Long before this prince came to
the throne, Greek customs and manners
had little by little crept into Jerusalem
from the surrounding Greek cities, and
in the early part of his reign they had
made much headway in the Holy City by
the efforts of such unworthy high priests
as Jason and Menelaus. Antiochus there-
fore thought that the time had now come
to enforce on all his subjects the Greek
culture and idolatry of which he was a
staunch advocate. But most Palestinian
Jews refused to comply with the decree
which he issued for that purpose. An-
gered at this, the king ordered that all
the Jews of his realm should renounce
the worship and law of God, and offer
[100]

THE MACHABEES

sacrifice to the idols which he set up in
every city and even in the Temple of
Jerusalem which he profaned with the
image of Jupiter : " Whosoever would
not do according to the word of king An-
tiochus should be put to death." Among
the great numbers who died martyrs by
his persecution, wrere the learned and
aged Eleazar, and the seven brothers,
who, with their mother, perished amidst
the worst torments. Under God, the de-
liverers of the Jews from such tyranny,
were the Machabees.

Hidden in the little town of Modin,
there lived Mathathias, an aged priest,
and his five sons. Summoned to sacrifice
to idols by Antiochus' envoy, Matha-
thias bravely refused and boldly raised
the standard of revolt. At his death in
167 B.C., Judas Machabeus, one of his
sons, became the leader of the forces
wThich had little by little gathered around
[101]

CAPTIVITY TO OUR LORD

him. Judas soon won victory after vic-
tory, and two years later (165 B.C.) en-
tered Jerusalem, cleansed the Temple,
and renewed the Divine worship. In
course of time, Jonathan, Judas' brother
and successor in command was recog-
nized as high priest of the Jews by the
Syrian power and as an ally by Rome
and Sparta. After him, Simon, another
brother of Judas, was hailed by a na-
tional assembly " prince and high priest
for ever, till there should arise a faithful
prophet." Judea was at length an in-
dependent country with the children of
Simon Machabeus as its hereditary
rulers. Its territory was greatly enlarged
by Simon's successors, one of whom,
named Aristobulus, was the first to take
the title of " King of the Jews " and the
last of whom, Antigonus by name, was
shorn of his power by the Roman Senate
in behalf of the Idumean Herod. And
[102]

THE MACHABEES

it was in the last days of King Herod
that the great Son of David, the long-
expected Saviour of the world, Our Lord
Jesus Christ was born.

[103]

INDEX

Aaron, 31, 32, 43, 45.

Abel, 9, 10.

Abraham, 18-22, 25.

Absalom, 67.

Achab, 74, 75, 80, 86.

Achaz, 82, 88.

Adam, 5, 7. *

Altar, 14, 19, 37, 39, 40.

Amalec, 34, 35, 60, 61.

Antiochus, 100, 101.

Ark, 13, 14, 39, 40, 47, 65.

Assyria, 75, 76, 82.

Athalia, 80, 81, 87.

Baal, 74, 75.

Babel, 16, 17.

Babylon, 83, 84, 89-93.

Barac, 54.

Baruch, 92.

Benjamin, 28, 50, 52.

Bethlehem, 64.

Cain, 9-11.

Calf, golden, 37, 38, 74.

Captivity, 76-78, 84.

Chanaan, 19, 43, 46, 47-50.

Circumcision, 19.

Covenant, 14, 19, 37-39.

Cyrus, 91, 94, 95.

Daniel, 84, 90, 92.

David, 61, 63-67.

Debbora, 54.

Egypt, 26, 27, 29, 30, 32,

34, 35, 38, 43, 68.
Elias and Eliseus, 75.
Esau, 21, 22, 25.

Esdras, 96, 97.
Esther, 96.
Eve, 6-8.
Ezechias, 82, 88.
Ezechiel, 84.
First-born, 22, 23.
Forty Years' Wandering,

44.
Gabaon,Gabaonites,48,49.
Gedeon, 55.
Gessen, Land of, 29.
Gomorrha, 20.
Great Sea, 69.
Heli, 58.
Henoch, 11.
Hor, Mount, 45.
Horeb, 35.
Idolatry, 18, 37, 53, 72,

74, 76, 80-82, 91, 100.
Isaac, 20, 21, 22, 25.
Isaias, 81-83.
Israel, Name of Jacob,

25; Kingdom of, 73-76.
Jacob, 22, 25.
Jehu, 75, 87.
Jephte, 56.

Jeremias, 81, 83-85, 94.
Jericho, 47, 48.
Jeroboam, 73, 74.
Jerusalem, 65, 69, 79, 83,

84, 94, 96, 100.
Joab, 66.
Joiada, 80, 81.
Jonas, 75.

105

INDEX

Jordan, 46, 47, 50, 52, 76.

Joseph, 26-29.

Josue, 44, 46, 47-51, 53.

Juda, Tribe of, 50, 52;
Kingdom of, 73, 79-85.

Judas Machabeus, 101,
102.

Judges, 53-57.

Judith, 83.

King, Demand for a, 59.

Kingdom of Solomon, Ex-
tent of, 69.

Laban, 23-25.

Lamech, 11.

Law, 34, 36, 38, 39, 97.

Levi, Tribe of, 30, 50.

Lot, 19, 20.

Machabees, 99, 101.

Manasses, 46, 50, 52, 82,
83, 88.

Manna, 35, 43.

Mardochai, 95, 96.

Mary, Sister of Moses,
43, 45.

Mathathias, 101.

Mori a, 64.

Moses, 31-34, 43-46.

Nabuchodonosor, 84, 85.

Nebo, Mount, 46.

Nehemias, 97, 98.

Nile, River, 30.

Noe, 12, 13-15, 18.

Noemi, 57.

Paradise, 5, 7, 8.

Paschal, Lamb, 33.

Persia, Persian, 94-99.

Pharao, 32.

Philistines, 55-57, 65.

Plagues of Egypt, 32.

Prophet, 58, 60, 74, 75,

81, 82, 94, 102.
Putiphar, 26.
Rachel, 24.
Rahab, 47, 48.
Rebecca, 21.
Red Sea, 33, 34.
Revolt, 72, 73, 101.
Roboam, 73, 74, 79.
Ruth, 57.

Sacrifice, 9, 14, 21, 82.
Samaria, 75, 76, 95.
Samson, 56, 57.
Samuel, 59-62.
Sara, 19, 20.
Saul, 58-63.
Seed of the Woman, 8.
Sennacherib, 82.
Serpent, 6, 7, 45.
Seth, 11, 12.
Sinai, Mount, 34-36, 41.
Sion, Mount, 64, 65.
Sodom, 19.
Solomon, 66-73.
Spies, 43, 44, 47, 48.
Sun and Moon, Stand

Still, 49.
Susanna, 91.

Syria, 23, 65, 99, 100, 102.
Tabernacle, 39-44, 66.
Tables of the Law, 38.
Temple, 66, 69, 94, 95.
Ten Commandments, 36.
Tobias, 77.
Tribe, 30, 46, 50, 52, 68,

72, 73.
Water from Rock, 35, 45.
Witch of Endor, 62.
Zacharias, Prophet, 95.
Zorobabel, 94.

106

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