And he said, "Therefore hear thou the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left. And the Lord said, "Who shall entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?" And one said on this manner; and another on that manner. And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said, "I will entice him."
"And the Lord said unto him, "Wherewith?"
"And he said, "I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets."
"And he said, "Thou shalt entice him, and shalt prevail also: go forth, and do so."
"Now therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying {380} spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets; and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee."
Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, "Which way went the spirit of the Lord from me to speak unto thee?"
And Micaiah said, "Behold, thou shalt see on that day, when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself."
And the king of Israel said, "Take Micaiah, and carry him back unto Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king"s son; and say, "Thus saith the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace.""
And Micaiah said, "If thou return at all in peace, the Lord hath not spoken by me." And he said, "Hear, ye peoples, all of you."
So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, "I will disguise myself, and go into the battle; but put thou on thy robes."
And the king of Israel disguised himself, and went into the battle.
Now the king of Syria had commanded the thirty and two captains of his chariots, saying, "Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the king of Israel."
And it came to pa.s.s, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, "Surely it is the king of Israel"; and they turned aside to fight against him: and Jehoshaphat cried out.
And it came to pa.s.s, when the captains of the chariots {381} saw that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him. And a certain archer drew his bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: wherefore he said unto the driver of his chariot, "Turn thine hand, and carry me out of the host; for I am sore wounded."
And the battle increased that day: and the king was stayed up in his chariot against the Syrians, and died at even: and the blood ran out of the wound into the bottom of the chariot. And there went a cry throughout the host about the going down of the sun, saying, "Every man to his city, and every man to his country."
So the king died, and was brought to Samaria; and they buried the king in Samaria. And they washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria; and the dogs licked up his blood; according to the word of the Lord which he spoke.
{382}
AHAZIAH.
_The Brief Reign of an Evil King_.
Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned two years over Israel. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, wherein he made Israel to sin. And he served Baal, and worshiped him, and provoked to anger the Lord, the G.o.d of Israel, according to all that his father had done.
And Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. And Ahaziah fell down through the lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, and said unto them, "Go, inquire of Baal-zebub the G.o.d of Ekron whether I shall recover of this sickness."
But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, "Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say unto them, "Is it because there is no G.o.d in Israel, that ye go to inquire of Baal-zebub the G.o.d of Ekron? Now therefore thus saith the Lord, Thou shalt not come down from the bed whither thou art gone up, but shalt surely die.""
And Elijah departed. And the messengers returned unto him, and he said unto them, "Why is it that ye are returned?"
{383}{384}
[Ill.u.s.tration]
SAMARIA FROM THE SOUTH.
From a photograph of the Palestine Exploration Fund and used by special permission.
The revolt of the people of the north made necessary a new capital.
It was first at Shechem, which was not, however, a strong situation from the military standpoint; then at Tirzah, but Omri chose finally a beautiful location at the head of a valley running down to the sea. Here on a hill rising 360 feet above the surrounding country was built one of the famous cities of the east--Samaria, meaning "watch-tower." It was the sacred city of the north, the rival of Jerusalem. The city was almost impregnable, and the sieges against it were always very long. The broad vale is visible for eight miles, then a low range of hills, and over them the sea.
"To-day amid the peaceful beauty of the scene--the secluded vale covered with cornfields through which the winding streams flash and glisten into the hazy distance, and the gentle hill rises to the olives waving over its summit--it is possible to appreciate Isaiah"s name for Samaria, the crown of the pride of Ephraim, the flower of his glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley. There by the entrance of the gate Ahab drew his sentence of death from the prophet of Jehovah; and there they washed his blood from his chariot, when they had brought him back to his burial. There Jezebel slew the prophets of Jehovah and Jehu the priests of Baal."
[End ill.u.s.tration]
{385}
And they said unto him, "There came up a man to meet us, and said unto us, "Go, turn again unto the king that sent you, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Is it because there is no G.o.d in Israel, that thou sendest to inquire of Baal-zebub the G.o.d of Ekron? therefore thou shalt not come down from the bed whither thou art gone up, but shalt surely die.""
And he said unto them, "What manner of man was he which came up to meet you? and told you these words?"
And they answered him, "He was an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins."
And he said, "It is Elijah the Tishbite."
Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him: and, behold, he sat on the top of the hill. And he spoke unto him, "O man of G.o.d, the king hath said, "Come down.""
And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, "If I be a man of G.o.d, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty."
And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.
And again he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his fifty.
And he answered and said unto him, "O man of G.o.d, thus hath the king said, "Come down quickly.""
And Elijah answered and said unto them, "If I be a man of G.o.d, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty."
{386}
And the fire of G.o.d came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.
And again he sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, "O man of G.o.d, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight. Behold, there came fire down from heaven, and consumed the two former captains of fifty with their fifties; but now let my life be precious in thy sight."
And the angel of Jehovah said unto Elijah, "Go down with him: be not afraid of him."
And he arose, and went down with him unto the king. And he said unto him, "Thus saith the Lord, "Forasmuch as thou hast sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the G.o.d of Ekron, is it because there is no G.o.d in Israel to inquire of his word? therefore thou shalt not come down from the bed whither thou art gone up, but shalt surely die.""
So he died according to the word of Jehovah which Elijah had spoken.
{387}
JORAM.
(Joram, or Jehoram as it is sometimes written, was another evil king of the race of Ahab. Frightened by the fate of his brother he began his reign by an attack upon idolatry. But the old wicked blood flamed out, and his reign was marked by many excesses and much wrong-doing.