confines, the wild tribes of Edom and Arabia, of Amalek and Moab, roamed along its southern frontier; while the Ammonites and the Edomites remained tributary to its sway.

Rehoboam was unable to understand the pure faith of his ancestors; weak and sinful, he was easily tempted into idolatry, in which he was perhaps confirmed by his mother, who was of Ammonite descent. Heathen worship flourished in many groves and on a thousand heights consecrated to idols throughout the land. As usual, political decline was the consequence of religious degeneracy. In the fifth year of Rehoboam's reign, Shishak, king of Egypt, invaded Judea, and marched upon Jerusalem. He entered the holy city, penetrated unopposed into the royal palace and into the very precincts of the Temple, ransacked the treasures of both, and seized even the golden shields which since Solomon's time had adorned the porch of the Sanctuary. Laden with booty, Shishak returned to Egypt. Rehoboam, to lessen the humiliation, replaced the golden shields by brazen ones. Moreover, continual warfare was carried on throughout his reign between Judah and Israel; but he gained no decisive advantages; whilst the northern empire increased in strength, in unity, and in order.

Rehoboam was succeeded by his son Abijah, the child of his favourite wife Maachah, a daughter of Absalom.

131. ABIJAH (958-955).

[1 KINGS XV. 1-8; 2 CHRON. XIII.]

This short reign was distinguished by no memorable event. Abijah was an idolater like his father, and like him, he waged war against Jeroboam, and with equally indifferent results. He was succeeded by his son.

132. ASA (955-914).

[1 KINGS XV. 9-24; 2 CHRON. XIV.—XVI.]

This king, pious and God-fearing, was earnestly intent upon restoring the true religion of the Hebrews. He not only broke the images of the idols, and expelled the heathen priests from the land, but he even banished his mother Maachah from the royal palace, because she obstinately clung to the worship of Ashtarte, and he ordered the statue of the goddess to be burnt in the valley of Kidron. But it is remarkable that he did not abolish the altars on the heights, upon which he allowed sacrifices to be offered and incense to be burnt as before: it is uncertain whether his reforming zeal did not extend so far, or whether he considered the high places as harmless and not incompatible with the service of God. He began to enrich the Temple anew, and deposited in it the treasures of gold and silver which he and his father had consecrated. The country indeed bade fair to prosper in his reign: he built new cities and fortified them with walls and towers, whilst valiant spearsmen from Judah and expert archers from Benjamin were trained to defend the towns. The strength of his army was soon to be tested. Immense hosts of Ethiopians under their king Serah invaded Judea; but they were completely defeated by the Hebrews, who pursued them to Gerar, and gained much spoil. After this decided success, Asa became even more anxious than before to prove his piety; he faithfully followed the teaching of the prophets who came to advise and to guide him, destroyed every idol that had been left in Judah, and restored the altar of the Lord before the porch of the Temple.

But a serious trial awaited him towards the close of his reign. Baasha, king of Israel, desirous to weaken his rival, was building the city of Ramah close upon the con

fines of Judah, from whence he hoped to control the land. Asa, well understanding the danger, despatched messengers to Benhadad, king of Syria, sent him all the newly accumulated treasures of the Temple and the palace as presents, and entreated him to break his alliance with Israel, and to invade the northern provinces, in order to compel Baasha to retreat for the defence of his own country. Benhadad consented; he was successful, and conquered the provinces of Naphtali and some more southern districts. Baasha returned in haste to his capital Tirzah, whereupon Asa sent large numbers of workmen to pull down the scarcely completed and now deserted town Ramah; and he built with the materials the cities of Geba and Mizpah (see p. 443).

Asa spent the remainder of his reign in peace, but was in his old age afflicted by a terrible disease in his feet. When he died, he was buried by his sorrowing people in the sepulchre which he had built for himself in Jerusalem. His son succeeded him.

133. JEHOSHAPHAT (914-891).

[1 KINGS XXII. 41-50; 2 KINGS III. 7 sqq.; 2 CHRON. XVII.-XX.]

Jehoshaphat proved worthy of his father Asa, and may be numbered among the greatest kings of Judah. He strengthened the country by founding new cities and by fortifying those which Asa had taken from the Ephraimites. He built forts and established storehouses throughout the land. Except that he maintained the service on the high places, he insisted upon the pure worship of the Lord, and rooted out the last vestiges of idolatry. So zealous was he in the propagation of the true doctrines, that he appointed men in all the cities of Judah to instruct the people in the Law. The fame of his power and his wisdom was widely spread among the tribes of

the East; the old magnificent days of Solomon seemed to be revived; the Philistines and the Arabians sought to secure the goodwill of the monarch by costly presents and by tribute money; and the Edomites gave proof of their faithful allegiance. A greater triumph even than all this was the alliance which he concluded with king Ahab, and which for a while terminated the fierce warfare that had so long raged between Judah and Israel. That union was strengthened by the marriage of his son Joram, the heir of Judah, with Athaliah, the Israelite princess: Jehoshaphat himself went up to Samaria, the capital of Ephraim, on a peaceful visit to Ahab. There the two kings resolved upon the campaign against the Syrian king Benhadad which, at the siege of Ramoth in Gilead, ended in the death of Ahab and the defeat of the Israelite army (see p. 460). Jehoshaphat was, however, permitted to return in safety to Jerusalem, where he continued to devote himself to religious and political reforms. But a fearful calamity threatened the land of Judah. The Moabites and the Ammonites, those ungovernable tribes whose ardour for warfare and rapine had never abated, attempted the conquest of the southern kingdom. At the first tidings of this impending invasion, Jehoshaphat was seized with consternation. He proclaimed-so relates the Chronista fast throughout the whole land, and summoned the people to the Court of the Temple to implore the help of the Lord. The king himself prayed fervently for aid and counsel in a manner worthy of his great ancestor Solomon. With the humility of true greatness, he said, 'We know not what to do, but our eyes are upon Thee.' A vast concourse of people was gathered round him-men, women, and children, all waiting for a sign from the Lord. The prayer was answered. Upon Jehaziel, a Levite, descended the spirit of God. Be not afraid nor dismayed,' said he, by reason of this great

multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's; you shall not need to fight in this battle: come forward, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you.' King and people heard these comforting words with gladness and pious faith. On the following morning, when the warriors poured forth from Jerusalem, the priests, arrayed in their splendid robes, sang, 'Praise ye the Lord, for His mercy endureth for ever.' The Ammonites and the Moabites were smitten-but not by the army of Jehoshaphat. They had been joined by inhabitants of Seir, upon whom, however, it appears they looked with mistrust and suspicion; and an internecine feud followed, by which the armies of the three tribes were thoroughly weakened and almost annihilated. When Jehoshaphat and his soldiers came to the battlefield, they saw it strewn with the corpses of their enemies, and they returned to Israel laden with spoil. The king gave utterance to his feelings of joy and gratitude in fervent hymns of praise.

Towards the close of his reign, he made an alliance with Ahaziah, the wicked king of Israel, for the purpose of resuming that commerce in gold which had flourished in the days of Solomon. Accordingly he built large ships which were to sail to Ophir. But the vessels never went out on their voyages; they were wrecked in the harbour of Ezion-geber on the Red Sea. When Jehoshaphat died, his son succeeded him.

134. JORAM (891-884).

[2 KINGS VIII. 16-24; 2 CHRON. XXI.]

This reign was unfortunate for Judah. As soon as Joram considered himself secured in his succession, he killed his six brothers, whom their father had amply provided for with gold and lands, and slew, besides, many persons of influence whose ambition he feared. He had