THE CHILDREN OF JUDAH ARE TREATED KINDLY BY THE ISRAELITES.

THE idolatrous Ahaz reigned in Israel, and he made molten images, and burnt incense to them, and made his children to pass through the fire; and sacrificed to false gods in the groves, and on the hills, and under every green tree.

The wrath of the Almighty was aroused; and he permitted the Syrians to smite the people of Judah with great slaughter, but still they turned not from the worship of their false gods. Then he incited the king of Israel to make war upon them, and once again Hebrew was set against Hebrew, and the descendants of Abraham destroyed each other with a frantic fury. The men of Judah were defeated, and two hundred thousand men, women, and children, were carried away captives by the Israelites to Samaria.

When they arrived at Samaria, a certain prophet named Oded rose, and thus addressed the victors; "Behold the Lord God of your fathers was wrath with Judah, and hath delivered its children into your hands, and ye have slain them with a rage that reacheth up unto heaven. But you yourselves have sinned against the Lord, therefore beware how you make bondmen of your brethren; be generous, and give the captives. back to liberty, for the fierce wrath of God is hovering over you."

Thus solemnly adjured to mercy, the warriors of Israel released their captives, and clothed them with the dresses taken in the battle, and having treated them with great kindness, set them at liberty. Knowing that they required mercy at the hands of the Almighty, before whom they were as nothing, they generously extended it to their prostrate foes.

THE LEVITES ORDERED TO SANCTIFY THE HOUSE OF THE LORD.

RELIGION had fallen into neglect in Jerusalem; the priests were disregarded or silent; the temple was closed, its sacred lamps extinguished; and the holy building filled with dirt and rubbish. This sad state of things made a great impression upon King Hezekiah, who, in the very first year of his reign, determined to effect a restoration of religion. For this purpose, he called a solemn meeting of all the Levites, and thus addressed them: "Sanctify yourselves, and sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place. For your fathers have done evil in the sight of God, therefore his wrath was upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he hath delivered them to trouble, to astonishment, and to hissing; but it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that his fierce wrath may turn away from us."

This address was received with great joy both by the priests and people, for they were all weary of the desolate and unholy state to which they were reduced. They set to work to cleanse and restore the temple; its long-closed doors were opened; the sound of busy footsteps echoed through the hallowed building; and at length it was again fit for the service of the Lord.

Then Hezekiah, and the princes, rulers, and priests of Judah, went in solemn procession to the renovated temple, taking with them oxen, sheep, and goats, as a sin-offering and an atonement for the people. The sacred altars smoked; the fumes of incense filled the air; the Levites played upon cymbals, psalteries, and harps; the priests blew the sacred trumpets; and the temple rang with loud music in praise of the Eternal One.