We may remember the poem in the "Lyra Apostel ica," Thou to wax fierce In the cause of the Lord; and the striking passage of Racine,— Jéhu, sur les hauts lieux enfin osant offrir And it is a striking instance of the gradually increasing light, even in the Jewish Dispensation, that in the wider and more evangelical revelations of the later Prophets, the commendation on Jehu's acts is repealed. It is declared, through the voice of Hosea, that for the blood even of Jezebel and Ahaziah an account must be rendered: "I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the "house of Jehu." Their blood, like the blood which has been shed again and again, in the convulsions of Nations and Churches, was a righteous retribution on them; but from him who shed it a no less righteous retribution is at last exacted, by the just judgment which punishes the wrong-doer, not only of one party in Church or State, but of both. And the accursed spot of the ancient dynasty, the very title and site of Jezreel seemed to draw down upon itself a kind of Divine compassion. The innocent child of the Prophet was to bear the name of Jezreel, and "the bow" of Jehu's house "was to be broken" . . . in the great day of Jezreel." It is the same touching thought of life growing out of death, which has so often forced itself on those who have seen the rich harvest 66 1 Athalie, Act III. Scene 6. 2 Hosea i. 4. So Baasha, though ae has the Divine command to overhrow Jeroboam, is condemned "be cause he killed him." Compare 1 springing up out of a battle-field, that out of that time and place of humiliation the name is to go back to its original signification as derived from the beauty and fertility of the rich plain, and to become a pledge of the revived beauty and richness of Israel. "I will hear and "answer the heavens, and they will hear and answer "the earth, and the earth shall hear and answer the corn and the wine and the oil of that fruitful plain, "and they shall hear and answer Jezreel (that is, the "seed of God), and I will sow her unto Me in the earth."1 And from this time the image seems to have been continued as a prophetical expression for sowing the blessings of God, and the people of Israel, as it were broadcast; as though the whole of Palestine and the world were to become, in a spiritual sense, one rich plain of Jezreel. 1 Hos. i. 4, 5, 11; ii. 22 (Heb.); see Ewald, Propheten, ad loc., and Sesenius, art." Jezreel." LECTURE XXXIII. THE HOUSE OF JEHU. THE SYRIAN WARS, AND THE PROPHET JONAH. WITH the overthrow of the house of Omri, the main interest of the history of Samaria is brought to an end. The long struggle was finished, and the good cause, in however imperfect a form, and by instruments however rude, triumphed at last. The scenes of that struggle have been described as they are given in the sacred narrative itself, not softening any of their horrors, nor extenuating their intense charm. Ulphilas, the apostle of the Goths, and author of the first version of the Scriptures in the German languages, omitted from his translation the Books of Kings, lest descriptions like these should rouse or confirm the savage spirit of the barbarian tribes. It is an advantage of our more civilized times, that we can now read these interesting narratives without any such fear. They are not Christian; they belong to that state of crude morality which our Lord condemned.1 But as illustrations of the Jewish Church, and as masterpieces of the historical art, if I may so say, of the Hebrew Scriptures, they are invaluable. Of the less important period of the House of Jehu, the Syrian wars form the main outward framework. Down to the time of the disruption of the kingdom, the people of Israel had on the whole maintained its inde 1 Matt. v. 27, &c. See Lecture XI. The Syrian wars. pendence of foreign powers. Its contests and alliances had for the most part been with the nations inclosed within the limits of Palestine. The conquests of David, the commerce of Solomon, had not entangled them in any close political relations with the more distant of the surrounding nations. But the sepa. ration of the two kingdoms made each of them a more casy prey, and the riches acquired during the empire, previously united, excited the ambition of the neighbor ing countries, now that the strong hand of David and Solomon was removed. Damascus. Damascus, as soon as it threw off the yoke of Judah, became naturally the capital of the new Aramaic kingdom thus formed. "Aram (Syria) of Damascus" was the title by which it was known, to dis tinguish it from those which had preceded it at Zobah Hamath, or other places in the highlands of the north of Palestine. Rezon, the outlaw, was its founder.1 Hader or Hadad, and Rimmon, were the chief divinities of the race, and from them the line of its kings derived their names, Hadad, Ben-hadad, Hadad-ezer, Tabrimmon; and sanctuaries in their honor were established even in the heart of Palestine. 2 How entirely the Syrian wars belonged to the northern, and not to the southern kingdom, appears from the fact that the first incursion, which ended in the devastation of the rich country round the sources of the Jordan, by Benhadad, was at the direct instigation of the King of Judah. This seems to have been temporary. But in Omri's reign the demands of Syria were bolder. "Cities" were taken from him- amongst them Ramoth 11 Kings xi. 23; perhaps also called Hezion, 1 Kings xv. 18. LXX. Esrom, Rason, Hazael. 21 Kings xv. 18. 3 Hadad-Rimmon. XXXIX. 4 1 Kings xv. 18-20. See Lecture Gilead and probably other fortresses on the eastern bank of the Jordan - and a quarter or bazaar, in the capital of Samaria, for settlers from Damascus.1 3 Still more imperious demands were made on Ahab. His harem and his treasures were to be surrendered, and after them the treasures of his nobles. The army of Syria was so numerous, that the dust of Samaria, when it was ground to powder, would not fill their hands. The King of Syria treated the siege of Samaria as a pastime, sitting with his subject kings in rural banquets, under leafy arbors, made for the occasion.2 Twoand-thirty of these vassal chiefs followed Benhadad's camp, each with his chariots and horses. "Chariots and "horses" innumerable were the symbol of the strength of Syria. In spite of all the changes introduced by Solomon, the Israelites were still far inferior in this branch of military service. "The chariots and horse"men and horses" passed almost into a proverb to express strength beyond their own." The Israelite host, with the allied army of Judah, encamped on their hillsides, and overlooking the vast army of the Syrians in the plain below, were but like two little flocks of mountain kids. Another strong arm of war, although here the Israelites were more equally matched, was their archery. Twice over, an arrow from the Syrian bowmen decided the fate of battles." Ramoth-Gilead, the great frontier fortress, was in the hands of Syria, even after many reverses, a Ramothconstant menace against Israel. As it was now Gilead. 1 1 Kings xx. 34. Josephus, Ant. in Mr. Newman's Hebrew Monarchy, viii. 15, § 3, and see Thenius ad loc. 2 1 Kings xx. 12-16. 3 Ibid. xx. 1, 16; xxii. 31. 4 The advantage of chariots over infantry or even cavalry in the uninclosed plains of Syria is well given p. 183. 5 2 Kings ii. 11, 12; vi. 17; vij. 6; xiii. 14. |