{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_64490/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_64490","id":"gutenberg_64490","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/64490","summary":null,"tags":["Bible. Old Testament -- History of Biblical events -- Juvenile literature","Category: History - Ancient","Category: History - Religious","Christian life -- Juvenile literature","Jews -- History -- 586 B.C.-70 A.D. -- Juvenile literature"],"text":"Transcriber\u2019s Notes:\n\n  Underscores \u201c_\u201d before and after a word or phrase indicate _italics_\n    in the original text.\n  Small capitals have been converted to SOLID capitals.\n  Illustrations have been moved so they do not break up paragraphs.\n  Footnotes have all been moved to the end of the text.\n  Antiquated spellings have been preserved.\n  Typographical errors have been silently corrected.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: MOURNING OF MORDECAI AND THE JEWS. _Page 31._]\n\n\n\n\n                            STORIES OF THE\n                           WARS OF THE JEWS\n\n                    FROM THE BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY,\n               TO THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM BY TITUS.\n\n                                  BY\n                              A. L. O. E.\n\n                    WITH FORTY-FOUR ILLUSTRATIONS.\n\n                                London:\n                 T. NELSON AND SONS, PATERNOSTER ROW.\n                       EDINBURGH; AND NEW YORK.\n\n                                 1900\n\n\n\n\nPreface.\n\n\nThe works which I have chiefly consulted in compiling the following\nsketch, have been (in addition to the Holy Scriptures) the books of\nthe Apocrypha, Josephus\u2019 Wars of the Jews, the elaborate writings of\nPrideaux, and a small volume on the history of the Hebrews, published\nsome years ago in India.\n\nThere is no history more fraught with interest, or conveying more\nimportant lessons, than that of God\u2019s chosen nation. There are no\nannals which display instances of more heroic courage, faith, and\nself-devotion,\u2014alas! of darker apostasy and crime,\u2014than those of the\ndescendants of Abraham.\n\nMay the reader rise from the perusal of this brief sketch with a\ndeeper sense of the mercy and justice of God, as revealed in His\ndealings towards His people; and a fervent prayer for the hastening of\nthat day when the Lord\u2019s gracious promise shall be fulfilled:\u2014\n\n\u201c_I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of\nJerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications; and they shall\nlook upon Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as\none mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him,\nas one that is in bitterness for his first-born. I am returned unto\nZion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be\ncalled, A city of truth; and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, The\nholy mountain._\u201d\n\n    A. L. O. E.\n\n\n\n\nIntroduction.\n\n\nFor the sins of His people the Lord had stricken Jerusalem, and given\nup Judea into the hands of the heathen. The judgments of God had first\nfallen on the kingdom of the ten tribes; as they had been foremost\nin the sin of idolatry, so they had first met its awful punishment.\nShalmaneser, king of Assyria, had attacked Samaria (724 B.C.), and\nafter a siege of nearly three years had taken the city, and carried\nIsrael into captivity, with Hoshea its king.\n\nThe punishment of the kingdom of Judah had been for some time deferred.\nWhile such monarchs as the pious Hezekiah and the faithful Josiah had\nsat on the throne of their ancestor David, God\u2019s mercy had guarded\nJerusalem from her foes; but since the time of these virtuous rulers,\ntyrants had arisen, who set not God before their eyes; princes and\npeople had combined to break the laws of the Almighty, and despise the\ncounsel of the Most High. The vine which the Lord had brought from\nEgypt, and had planted and watered with such tender care, had brought\nforth the _wild grapes_ of rebellion and idolatry. The mandate had not\ngone forth, \u201c_Cut it down, why cumbereth it the ground?_\u201d but the Lord\nhad said in His anger, \u201c_I will take away the hedge thereof, and it\nshall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be\ntrodden down. And I will lay it waste_\u201d (Isa. v. 5, 6). In 606 B.C.,\nNebuchadnezzar carried captive to Babylon some of the most illustrious\nof the children of Judah, and subjected Jehoiakim their king to his\npower. In 599 B.C., the Assyrian monarch besieged and took Jerusalem,\nthen under the sway of Jehoiachin, and led into bondage that prince\nand the chief of his people. In 588 B.C., the work of retribution was\ncompleted. Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, was taken, a miserable,\nblinded prisoner, to Assyria; the temple and palaces of Jerusalem\nwere given to the flames, her walls were razed to the ground, and the\nmourning exiles from Judea, by the waters of Babylon, hung their harps\non the willows, and wept.\n\nBut though the Lord chastened his people, they were not given over to\ndestruction. At the period at which the following sketch of Jewish\nhistory commences, that prophecy which had, seventy years before, been\nuttered by the inspired Jeremiah was on the point of fulfilment: \u201c_Thus\nsaith the Lord, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I\nwill visit you, and perform My good word toward you, in causing you\nto return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward\nyou, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you\nan expected end_\u201d (Jer. xxix. 10, 11). As a mighty despot had been\nthe instrument, in God\u2019s hand, to chastise a rebellious race, so\nanother powerful monarch was now appointed by Providence to raise the\nfallen, to restore the exiles; as a \u201cshepherd,\u201d to gather together the\ndispersed flock of the Lord.\n\n\n\n\nContents.\n\n\n        I. THE RETURN FROM BABYLON,                         13\n       II. THE HISTORY OF ESTHER,                           26\n      III. CONTINUATION OF THE HISTORY OF ESTHER,           37\n       IV. THE JEWS UNDER NEHEMIAH,                         44\n        V. ALEXANDER THE GREAT,                             54\n       VI. JUDEA UNDER THE YOKE OF EGYPT,                   65\n      VII. JUDEA UNDER THE YOKE OF SYRIA,                   76\n     VIII. VICTORIES OF JUDAS MACCABEUS,                    86\n       IX. THE DEATH OF JUDAS MACCABEUS,                    99\n        X. REIGNS OF JONATHAN, SIMON, AND JOHN HYRCANUS,   104\n       XI. STRIFE BETWEEN THE ASMONEAN PRINCES,            115\n      XII. REIGN OF HEROD THE GREAT,                       128\n     XIII. THE BIRTH OF THE MESSIAH,                       139\n      XIV. DEATH OF HEROD,                                 148\n       XV. THE DEATH OF THE MESSIAH,                       157\n      XVI. HEROD AGRIPPA,                                  161\n     XVII. COMMENCEMENT OF WAR,                            168\n    XVIII. SIEGE OF JOTAPATA.\u2014FALL OF JERUSALEM,           177\n      XIX. CONCLUSION,                                     190\n\n\n\n\nSTORIES FROM JEWISH HISTORY.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nTHE RETURN FROM BABYLON.\n\n\n    The Decree of Cyrus\u2014First Caravan Starts\u2014Foundation\n        of the Temple Laid\u2014Samaritans Oppose\u2014Ezra Heads\n        the Second Caravan\u2014Ezra Reforms Abuses.\n\nIn the first year of the reign of Cyrus, the Lord stirred up the spirit\nof that king, probably through the influence of the aged Daniel, to\nissue throughout his vast dominions the following proclamation:\u2014\n\n\u201cThus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me\nall the kingdoms of the earth; and He hath charged me to build Him an\nhouse at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all\nHis people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which\nis in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel (He is the\nGod), which is in Jerusalem. And whosoever remaineth in any place where\nhe sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with\ngold, and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of\nGod that is in Jerusalem.\u201d\n\nGreat was the joy of the faithful Jews, who throughout their long\ncaptivity had been waiting and watching for the fulfilment of the\nprophecies made to their fathers, when at length the prospect opened to\nthem of return to their beloved country. Doubtless they recalled the\nprophecies of Jeremiah and Isaiah, and especially that one, uttered by\nthe latter above one hundred and seventy years previously, in which the\nLord called their deliverer by _his name_, saying of \u201cCyrus, he is my\nshepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem,\nThou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.\u201d\n\nThe proclamation of the king sounded through the land like a\ntrumpet-call, to gather together the exiles of Judea, and large numbers\nhastened to Babylon to make preparations for their journey. It was\na second Exodus, a second release from foreign bondage, to seek the\nland of promise. But it was not by the whole of the children of the\ncaptivity that the opportunity of returning to Judea was embraced with\npatriotic zeal. Ruined dwellings and wasted plains, a city without\ntemple and without walls, offered few attractions to such as regarded\nthe country of strangers as a home. Many shrank from the hardships of\nthe journey, and the dangers which they must expect to encounter; many\nwho had formed ties in Babylonia, felt bound by them to that land. The\nJewish exiles were an emblem of those who, in all ages of the world,\nhear the call of conscience and religion. While some turn their faces\ntowards a heavenly Zion, willing to leave all, and suffer all here,\nso that they may but find an inheritance above, the greatest number\nprefer present comforts to future blessings; their hearts cling to the\npleasures of the world; they are too fearful, too busy, too rich, or\ntoo gay, to cast in their lot with the people of God.\n\n[Illustration: LAVER.]\n\n[Illustration: CANDLESTICK.]\n\nThe first return caravan was organized and directed by Zerubbabel,\nthe grandson of King Jehoiachin, and by Jeshua, a grandson of the\nlast high priest, Jozadak. The number of those who joined them was\nabout 50,000, including above 7000 servants of both sexes. Before\nthey departed, Cyrus caused to be restored to them the most valuable\nof the sacred utensils which had been carried away from Jerusalem by\nNebuchadnezzar; thousands of vessels of silver and gold were now again\nto be devoted to the service of the sanctuary. Zerubbabel was also\nintrusted with large contributions towards the expense of rebuilding\nthe temple, from the Jews who remained in Babylonia.\n\nMany and sad must have been the partings when that vast caravan set out\non its journey to the Holy Land! The voice of blessing and of prayer\nwas heard, as those who stayed behind exchanged their last words of\nfriendship with those who were ready to depart. Anxious and loving eyes\nwatched the long line of pilgrims, with their laden asses and camels,\nslowly disappearing in the distance; and the hopes and prayers of their\nbrethren followed the brave band who first returned to the home of\ntheir fathers.\n\n[Illustration: ALTAR OF BURNT-OFFERING.]\n\nOn reaching Palestine the caravan repaired at once to Jerusalem, which\nwas found in a state of ruin and desolation. Before the travellers\nseparated to seek habitations for themselves, they raised a large sum\nby voluntary contributions towards the rebuilding of the temple. They\nthen employed themselves in securing dwellings for their families;\nand at the ensuing feast of tabernacles again repaired to Jerusalem,\nwhere sacrifices were offered on an altar erected on the ruins of\nthe temple. After this the people applied themselves zealously to\nthe necessary preparations for the restoration of that edifice.\nIn a year from the departure from Babylon these preparations were\nsufficiently advanced to allow of the great work being commenced, and\nthe foundations of the second temple were laid amidst the noise of\ntrumpets, cymbals, and shouting! But many of the priests and aged men,\nwhose hair had grown white during the captivity\u2014those who had seen the\ntemple of Solomon when it stood in its glory and beauty\u2014wept with a\nloud voice at the mournful recollection of the past, 535 B.C.\n\n[Illustration: CYMBALS AND TRUMPETS.]\n\nWhile the work proceeded, the Samaritans manifested a desire to aid\nin it, and to claim a community of worship in the new temple to be\nerected to the Lord. Their offers were declined by the Jews; and\nthe people of the land, irritated by the refusal, did all in their\npower to weaken their hands, and hinder them from proceeding with\nthe building. An unscrupulous use of money and influence amongst the\nofficers of government, enabled these adversaries of the Jews to raise\nsuch obstructions that the work was at length altogether suspended.\nFor about fifteen long years the faith and the patience of the people\nof Judah were thus tried. They gradually lost heart for the work, and\nwere disposed to believe that the set time for it had not yet arrived.\nThe zeal of many waxed cold; and, absorbed in the care of providing for\ntheir own security and comfort, the Jews were in danger of forgetting\nthe sacred duty which they had at first so earnestly sought to perform.\n\nFrom this apathy they were roused in the second year of the reign\nof Darius Hystaspes, by the stirring words of the prophet Haggai.\n\u201cIs it time,\u201d he exclaimed to the people, \u201cfor you to dwell in your\nceiled houses, and this house lie waste? Thus saith the Lord of hosts,\nConsider your ways. Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build\nthe house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified,\nsaith the Lord.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: THE SECOND TEMPLE.]\n\nThe call was not uttered in vain. Filled with fresh zeal, Zerubbabel,\nJeshua, and the people hastened to resume the work of building, 520\nB.C. Amidst the difficulties and discouragements which beset them, they\nwere still cheered by animating messages delivered to them by Haggai.\nThe temple gradually rose, far inferior, indeed, in splendour to that\nerected in the days of Israel\u2019s great king, when gold was abundant, and\nsilver so plentiful that it was counted as the stones of the earth; but\na gracious promise was given that the glory of the latter house should\nexcel that of the first, for the DESIRE OF ALL NATIONS should come to\nit, the presence of the Messiah should honour it, \u201c_and in this place\nwill I give peace_,\u201d[1] said the Lord of hosts to his people.\n\nThe renewal of the work roused afresh the opposition of the adversaries\nof the Jews. Tatnai, the Syrian governor, sternly demanded of the\nbuilders by whose command they were re-erecting the ruined walls of\ntheir temple. The Jews pleaded the authority of the decree of Cyrus,\nand Tatnai referred the question to King Darius for decision. The\nresult was happy, for after some search the decree in favour of the\nJews was discovered. It not only authorized the erection of the temple,\nbut directed the local government to afford assistance and supplies.\nThese supplies the Jews had not hitherto ventured to claim, but Darius\ncommanded that they should be given. Under the impulse thus imparted,\nthe work proceeded with spirit, and four years afterwards it was\ncompleted, 516 B.C. The dedication was celebrated with great solemnity\nand joy; and the people flocked to the courts of the Lord, to perform\nagain with thanksgiving and rejoicing the rites of their holy faith.\n\nThe Jews were now restored to their own land, but they were under\ntribute to the Persians, and subject to the general control of the\nprinces of that people. They were allowed the free exercise of their\nreligion and laws, and were ruled by a governor of their own nation,\nor by the high priest when no such governor was appointed. With regard\nto religion, the fearful lesson taught by the desolation of the land,\nthe destruction of the temple, and the captivity of the people, had\ngreatly cured the Jews of that tendency to idolatry which had brought\non them such misery and ruin. But the inherent corruption of the human\nheart, restrained in one point, broke out in others; there are few more\nhumbling lessons of man\u2019s infirmity and the sinfulness of his nature,\nthan may be gathered from the history of the Jews.\n\nIt does not appear that the people suffered further molestation during\nthe long reign of Darius; and his son and successor, Xerxes, seems to\nhave regarded them with favour. This monarch was succeeded, in 464\nB.C., by Artaxerxes Longimanus, in whose reign the Jews proceeded to\nrebuild Jerusalem on a regular plan, and to surround it with a wall, as\nwill appear in a following chapter.\n\nZerubbabel and Jeshua, the first leaders in the restoration, had by\nthis time been gathered to their fathers, and confusion and disorder\nwere spreading widely amongst the Jews at Jerusalem. Light was the\ndanger which they had encountered from the enmity of the people of the\nland, compared with that which they now experienced from too close\nalliances with them. Many broke the laws of their God by marrying\nheathen wives; some even of the princes and of the priests were guilty\nof this act of disobedience. A reformer was urgently needed, who should\nhave wisdom to judge and firmness to act; and such a reformer was found\nin Ezra the priest, who headed the second large body of exiles, who\nreturned from Babylonia to Judea, 457 B.C.\n\nArmed with the authority of the Persian king, and intrusted with\nlarge offerings to the temple, including valuable contributions from\nthe monarch himself, Ezra prepared for his journey. The bank of the\nriver Ahava was the gathering-place for the people. There Ezra pitched\nhis tent, and there he proclaimed a solemn fast, that the travellers\nmight unite in supplication to the Almighty for protection on their\ndangerous way. As the band of pilgrims bound for Jerusalem included\ntender women and helpless children, and was ill provided for defence\nagainst an enemy in the probable event of an attack, some thoughts were\nentertained of requesting a military escort from the king. But Ezra had\ndeclared before Artaxerxes his firm faith in the power and goodness of\nGod, and the noble-minded Jew shrank from making a petition which might\nseem to imply distrust of the Almighty\u2019s providential care. Ezra would\nnot lean on an arm of flesh, but with prayer and fasting he committed\nhimself and his people to the protection of the Most High.\n\nIn safety the second body of exiles returned to the holy city.\nHaving deposited in the temple the treasures with which he had been\nintrusted, Ezra applied himself with earnest zeal to the arduous\nwork of reformation. The discoveries made by him of the guilt and\ncorruption prevailing amongst God\u2019s chosen people, filled Ezra with\ngrief and shame. He felt that the greatest of evils is sin; the\ngreatest of dangers, that of forfeiting the protection of the Almighty\nby trespassing against him. In deep sorrow of heart Ezra rent his\ngarments, and, falling on his knees, with tears confessed before\nthe Lord the sins of those whom divine mercy had restored to their\nland. \u201cO my God, I am ashamed, I blush to lift up my eyes to thee!\u201d\nexclaimed the leader of the backsliding Jews; \u201cfor our iniquities are\nincreased over our head, and our transgression is grown up unto the\nheavens!\u201d\n\nThe blessing of the Lord whom he supplicated rested upon the efforts\nof Ezra to bring back the erring to the paths of righteousness. With\nrepentance and weeping the Jews returned to their God; order was again\nrestored; and the heathen wives were put away.\n\nLet us now retrace a little the course of history, to consider some\nevents of great interest and importance which occurred at the court of\nPersia, between the periods of the return of the first and second bands\nof exiles to the land of Judea.\n\n     PRINCIPAL CONTEMPORANEOUS EVENTS.\n               536-457 B.C.\n\n                                   B.C.\n    Hippias banished from Athens   510\n    Tarquins banished from Rome    509\n    Xerxes invaded Greece          481\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nTHE HISTORY OF ESTHER.\n\n\n    The Jewish Maiden\u2014The Conspiracy Discovered\u2014Haman\u2019s\n        Plot\u2014A Mourning Nation\u2014The Golden Sceptre\u2014The\n        Queen\u2019s Banquet.\n\nArtaxerxes,[2] or, as he is termed in the Scriptures, Ahasuerus, sat\non the throne of Persia. Lord of the widest kingdom which then existed\nupon earth\u2014a kingdom which extended from India to Ethiopia, and\ncomprised a hundred and twenty-seven provinces\u2014the will of the monarch\nwas the law to which many nations were constrained to bow. Ahasuerus\npossessed neither the wisdom nor the self-command requisite in one to\nwhom power so vast is intrusted. He chose for his chief favourite and\nminister Haman, an Amalekite, a man of unbounded cruelty and pride, and\ndismissed his own queen for venturing to disobey a capricious command\ngiven to her by her husband, when he was probably under the influence\nof wine.\n\nIn choosing another partner of his state to fill the place of the\ndethroned Queen Vashti, the despot sought for no higher qualification\nthan that of personal attractions. But the Almighty Disposer of events\nguided the choice of the monarch.\n\n[Illustration: SITE OF SHUSHAN OR SUSA.]\n\nIn the palace of Shushan was a certain Jew, named Mordecai, of the\ntribe of Benjamin. With a father\u2019s care he had reared Esther, a young\norphan maiden, a relative of his own. The Jewess was possessed of\nexquisite beauty; amongst the fair she was the fairest; Ahasuerus saw\nher, loved her, and raised the beauteous captive to the rank of the\nqueen of Persia.\n\nHer elevation appears to have had no effect in changing the character\nof this daughter of Abraham. In the palace of Ahasuerus, surrounded by\nluxury and pomp, Esther preserved her faith to the God of her fathers,\nthough by the charge of Mordecai she kept her nation and kindred secret\nfrom the king. While placed in a position far above that of her early\nbenefactor, the young queen still rendered to Mordecai the dutiful\nobedience of a daughter. Through her the Jew made known to Ahasuerus\na secret plot to assassinate him, which had been made by two of his\nchamberlains. The conspirators suffered the punishment of death, but he\nto whose timely warning the king owed the preservation of his life, sat\nday after day in the gate of the royal palace, unrewarded and neglected.\n\nThrough this gate passed Haman, the proud favourite of the Persian\nmonarch. As he moved on with a stately step amongst the courtiers and\nservants of the king, every head, save one, was bowed down before\nhim\u2014all did him obeisance save one! That one was Mordecai, the bold,\nun-compromising Jew, who scorned to pay any mark of respect to him who\nwas the enemy of his faith\u2014to him who belonged to the guilty tribe\ndoomed by a just God to destruction.\n\n[Illustration: QUEEN ESTHER.]\n\nHaman was not a man to forgive that which he looked upon as an insult.\nBoiling with rage, he determined that not only should Mordecai expiate\nhis offence with his life, but that the whole of his race should be\nswept away by one act of indiscriminate vengeance. The arbitrary temper\nof Ahasuerus, and his blind confidence in his wicked minister, too\nwell seconded the bloody designs of Haman. This unprincipled favourite\nsucceeded in obtaining from the despot a decree for the extermination\nof the Jewish people throughout all of his extensive dominions. Neither\nage nor sex were to be spared; the babe was to be slaughtered in the\narms of its mother, and the spoil of the murdered victims was to be the\nprey of the merciless Haman! A time was actually fixed upon by lot for\nthe perpetration of the horrible massacre, but, by the providence of\nGod, the lot fell upon a distant day. Their consciences untroubled by\na sense of their enormous guilt, Ahasuerus and Haman sat down to feast\nand to drink, while all Shushan was startled by the fearful decree that\nwas to destroy a peaceful nation from the face of the earth!\n\nWhen Mordecai heard of the king\u2019s commandment, he rent his clothes, and\nput on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city,\nand cried with a loud and bitter cry. And in every province into which\nthe king\u2019s decree came, there was great mourning amongst the Jews, and\nfasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.\nEsther heard of the deep distress of Mordecai, though, secluded as she\nwas in the royal apartments, she seems not to have been fully aware of\nits cause. She sent Hatach, the king\u2019s chamberlain, to Mordecai, and\nreceived through him a copy of the dreadful decree, and a charge to go\nherself to the despot, and make supplication for her persecuted people.\n\nThis message threw the young queen into great perplexity and distress.\nFor thirty days the capricious monarch had expressed no wish to see\nher, and to enter unbidden into his presence exposed any intruder to\nthe penalty of death, unless the monarch should extend his golden\nsceptre in token of pardon and grace. Through the medium of Hatach,\nEsther communicated her difficulties and fears to Mordecai. But to\nthe resolute spirit of the Jew but one path appeared open to his\nadopted daughter, and that was the path of duty. Whatever might be the\ndifficulty, she must brave it; whatever might be the danger, she must\ndare it! He reminded Esther that it was probably for this very purpose\nthat she had been raised to share the throne of Ahasuerus.\n\nThe reply of the queen showed her piety and her obedience, and her\nresolution at all hazards to intercede for her nation. She besought\nMordecai to gather together all the Jews that were then in Shushan,\nthat they might plead for her with that Almighty Ruler in whose hand\nare the hearts of kings. She promised that at the end of three days,\nwhich she would herself devote to solemn prayer, she would appear\nbefore Ahasuerus, concluding her message with the touching words, \u201cAnd\nif I perish, I perish!\u201d\n\nThe third day arrived, and the trembling Esther prepared to redeem her\npromise. She put on her royal apparel, the rich garments and glittering\njewels whose splendour seemed a mockery of the fear and sorrow of her\nwhom they adorned. And so Esther ventured into the presence of the\ndespot, not armed with great natural courage, but leaning on that\ninvisible Protector who can give strength to the weak and heroism\nto the fearful. Ahasuerus beheld his beauteous queen, and all his\naffection towards her revived: he held out his golden sceptre, and\nperceiving that no light motive could have induced her to brave the\nperil of death, \u201cWhat wilt thou, Queen Esther?\u201d he cried; \u201cand what is\nthy request? It shall be given to thee to the half of the kingdom.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: ESTHER APPEARING BEFORE KING AHASUERUS.]\n\nNotwithstanding the relief which the young Jewess experienced at the\nfirst peril being happily past, she was not yet prepared to disclose\nthe secret of her race, hitherto carefully concealed. She confined\nherself to a request that the king and Haman should that day attend a\nbanquet which she had prepared.\n\nThe request was instantly granted; the monarch and his favourite\nappeared at the feast; and again Ahasuerus gave a gracious promise to\nhis queen\u2014\u201cWhat is thy request? even to the half of the kingdom it\nshall be performed.\u201d Again Esther sought a brief delay. She entreated\nher lord to come with Haman to another banquet on the morrow, and\npromised that she then would declare the subject of her anxious desires.\n\nHaman left the presence of the queen glad, and with a joyful heart.\nHonoured as no other subject had been honoured, the spirit of the\nAmalekite was lifted up with pride. He approached the gate at which\nMordecai still sat. Surely now the firmness of the Jew will give way;\nhe will yield reverence at last to one who has so fearfully shown his\ndisposition to revenge, and his power to gratify it. No! Mordecai\nstoops not, and the tyrant passes on, full of rage against one whom he\nmay kill, but whom he cannot conquer.\n\nOn what a slight thread hangs human happiness, when such a breath can\ndestroy it! Haman had all that the world could give, but one evil\npassion, like a viper in the breast, poisoned in a moment every spring\nof enjoyment. He went to his home a miserable man\u2014so miserable, that he\nwas constrained to publish to others what was humiliating to himself.\nHaman called for his friends, and Zeresh his wife, and told them of the\nglory of his riches, the multitude of his children, the favour of his\nsovereign, and the repeated invitations with which Esther the queen had\nhonoured him; closing all with this striking confession of the vanity\nof earthly greatness\u2014\u201cYet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I\nsee Mordecai the Jew sitting at the gate of the king!\u201d\n\nZeresh appeared a meet counsellor for so unprincipled a man as her\nhusband. She and her friends assured Haman that the object of his hate\ncould be easily destroyed, without waiting for the day appointed for\nthe massacre. \u201cLet a gallows be made fifty cubits high,\u201d said they,\n\u201cand tomorrow speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged\nthereon; then go thou merrily unto the banquet.\u201d\n\nThe wicked counsel pleased Haman, and he caused the gallows at once to\nbe made.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nCONTINUATION OF THE HISTORY OF ESTHER.\n\n\n    Persian Records\u2014Malice Defeated\u2014Pleading of\n        Esther\u2014Punishment of Haman\u2014Triumph of the Jews.\n\nThat night King Ahasuerus could not sleep. Those peaceful slumbers\nwhich the meanest of his subjects could enjoy, fled from the eyelids of\nthe monarch. It does not appear, however, that the rest of the despot\nwas destroyed by any thought of the thousands of innocent families\ndoomed by his caprice to destruction. Unable to obtain sleep, the king\nordered that the book of records should be brought and read before\nhim; and as he listened to the account of the events of his reign, the\nconspiracy of his servants, and the means by which the dangerous plot\nhad been discovered, were brought to the remembrance of the monarch.\n\n\u201cWhat honour and dignity hath been done to Mordecai?\u201d said the king.\n\n\u201cThere is nothing done for him,\u201d was the reply.\n\n\u201cWho is in the court?\u201d asked Ahasuerus.\n\n\u201cBehold, Haman standeth in the court,\u201d answered his servants.\n\n\u201cLet him come in,\u201d said the king.\n\nNow Haman had come into the outer court to procure from his master an\norder to hang Mordecai on the lofty gallows which had been erected.\nFull of his evil design, he presented himself before the king.\n\n\u201cWhat shall be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honour?\u201d\nsaid Ahasuerus, addressing his favourite.\n\nNow Haman thought in his heart, \u201cTo whom would the king delight to do\nhonour more than to myself?\u201d and eager to obtain the most distinguished\nmark of royal favour, to which his ambitious, presumptuous heart could\naspire, Haman replied to his lord, \u201cLet the royal apparel be brought\nwhich the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon,\nand the crown royal which is set upon his head: and let this apparel\nand horse be delivered to one of the king\u2019s most noble princes, that\nthey may array the man withal that the king delighteth to honour, and\nbring him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaim\nbefore him, \u2018Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth\nto honour.\u2019\u201d\n\n[Illustration: THE BOOK OF RECORDS.]\n\nThen Ahasuerus said to Haman, \u201cMake haste, take the apparel and the\nhorse, as thou hast said, and do even so to Mordecai the Jew. Let\nnothing fail of all that thou hast spoken.\u201d\n\nWhat must have been the feelings of Haman on receiving this most\nunexpected command, which he dared not for an instant dispute! What\nmust have been the torment of his soul when he led through the city his\nintended victim, crowned and royally apparelled, and proclaimed aloud\nto wondering crowds, that the despised and persecuted Jew was one whom\nthe king delighted to honour! Doubtless Mordecai received this singular\nreward as a token of good from the King of kings, as a sign that his\nprayers had been heard by Him who can give _beauty for ashes, the oil\nof joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness_.\n\nHis hateful commission executed, Haman hurried back to his home,\nmourning and with his face covered. He found little consolation there\nfrom those who on the preceding day had encouraged him in the path of\ncrime. \u201cIf Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews, before whom thou hast\nbegun to fall,\u201d said Zeresh and her friends unto Haman, \u201cthou shalt not\nprevail against him, but shall surely fall before him.\u201d\n\nAnd while they were yet talking to Haman, the king\u2019s chamberlains\narrived, and hastened to bring him to the banquet, to which he had been\ninvited by the queen.\n\nThen at the feast Esther at length made known to Ahasuerus the grief\nthat weighed upon her heart, and pleaded with earnest eloquence for her\nown life and the lives of her nation; \u201cFor we are sold,\u201d she exclaimed,\n\u201cI and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, to perish!\u201d\n\n\u201cWho is he,\u201d cried the astonished king, \u201cthat durst presume in his\nheart to do so?\u201d\n\nThen Esther replied, \u201cThe adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman.\u201d\n\nThe king\u2019s indignation knew no bounds. Thoughtlessly he had signed the\ndecree, little dreaming that it could possibly compromise the safety\neven of his beloved Esther! Haman saw the rising anger of his master,\nand, in an agony of terror, made supplication for his life to the\nqueen. But he who had shown no mercy found none in his hour of need.\nThose who had not dared to oppose him in his power, were now eager to\nhasten his downfall. One of the chamberlains who was present told the\nincensed monarch of the gallows fifty cubits high, erected by Haman for\nMordecai.\n\n\u201cHang him thereon!\u201d cried the king. The just command was instantly\nobeyed, and the wretched Haman was cut off in his wicked career by the\nvery death which he had designed for another!\n\nIt was less easy to revoke the murderous order which had already been\nproclaimed, by reason of that law of the Medes and Persians, which made\nroyal decrees irrevocable. But Ahasuerus did all that he could do to\ncounteract the evil effects of his own sinful compliance. A decree was\npublished throughout the land, permitting the Jews to defend themselves\nagainst any enemy that might dare to attack them. The result was the\ncomplete triumph of the persecuted race over all whom hatred induced\nto attempt to execute the king\u2019s first decree. Mordecai was raised to\nhigh power, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces; the Jews\nhad rest, and peace, and favour; and an annual feast was appointed in\ncommemoration of the great deliverance which the Lord had wrought for\nhis people, through the instrumentality of a feeble woman!\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV\n\nTHE JEWS UNDER NEHEMIAH.\n\n\n    Nehemiah\u2019s Petition\u2014Building the Wall\u2014Reading of the\n        Scriptures\u2014Nehemiah Reforms Abuses.\n\nMany years had passed since the events recorded in the last chapter\nhad taken place. Ahasuerus was dead, and Artaxerxes his son reigned on\nthe throne of Persia. Ezra had for about ten years been pursuing his\nlabours at Jerusalem, when the Lord raised up another leader for his\npeople in the court of Shushan.\n\nNehemiah, one of the Jewish exiles, held the responsible office of\ncup-bearer to King Artaxerxes. He was a devout servant of God, and an\nearnest and devoted patriot. Amidst the splendours of a royal palace,\nhis thoughts recurred often to his suffering brethren at Jerusalem,\nand ardently did he desire the prosperity of the city of David.\n\n[Illustration: PERSIAN CUP-BEARER.]\n\nThese feelings were kindled into a warmer glow by the report which\nNehemiah received from some of his countrymen who had returned from\nJudea. From them he heard that the remnant of the people that were\nleft in Zion were in great affliction and reproach; that the wall of\nJerusalem lay in ruins; that its gates had been burned with fire; and\nthat aid from their brethren beyond the Euphrates was urgently needed\nby the Jews in the city.\n\nThis aid Nehemiah was anxious to give, but felt apprehensive of\ndifficulties in the way; not the difficulty of quitting the pleasures\nand luxuries of the magnificent palace in which he held so honourable\na place, but that of obtaining the consent of his royal master to his\ndeparture for the land of Judea. It is said that the nearest way to\nreach any heart is through Heaven; such had been the experience of\nEsther, such now was the experience of Nehemiah. Fervently and humbly\nhe entreated the Lord to give him favour in the sight of the king.\n\nThe anxiety which oppressed the noble Jew, expressed itself in his\ncountenance, when, in accordance with his office, he placed the\nwine-cup in the hand of Artaxerxes. The king noticed his servant\u2019s look\nof depression, and inquired its cause.\n\n\u201cLet the king live for ever,\u201d replied Nehemiah; \u201cwhy should not my\ncountenance be sad, when the city, the place of my father\u2019s sepulchres,\nlieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?\u201d\n\nThen said the king to him, \u201cFor what dost thou make request?\u201d\n\nNehemiah silently lifted up his heart in prayer ere he made his reply\nto the monarch:\u2014\u201cIf it please the king, and if thy servant have found\nfavour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the\ncity of my father\u2019s sepulchres, that I may build it.\u201d\n\nArtaxerxes received the petition with favour. He not only permitted\nthe departure of Nehemiah, but provided for him an escort, and gave\nhim letters to the officers of government on the other side of the\nEuphrates, 457 B.C. It is from the year in which the Persian monarch\nissued his decree, permitting the rebuilding of Jerusalem, that is\ndated the commencement of the weeks of prophetic years, at the close of\nwhich the Lord Jesus was crucified (Dan. ix. 25).\n\nNehemiah soon found, on his arrival at Jerusalem, that his position\nthere would be one of great difficulty, requiring both judgment and\ncourage. The enemies of the Jews, especially Sanballat the Horonite,\nand Tobiah the Ammonite, were possessed of power, cunning, and the most\ndetermined resolution to prevent the rebuilding of the ruined wall.\n\nIt was in the stillness of night that a single horseman, accompanied\nby a few attendants on foot, passed out through the gate of the\nvalley. Thoughtfully he rode on where in ancient and happier times the\nbulwarks of Jerusalem had stood. He gazed sorrowfully on the blackened\nruins over which the Assyrian conquerors had passed. But it was not\nto mourn in unavailing woe over the desolation of his country that\nNehemiah made that midnight survey. That which was ruined he resolved\nto repair, and, with the blessing of God, to encircle the city once\nmore with a protecting wall.\n\nBy his words, and yet more by his example, Nehemiah animated his\ncountrymen to exertion. The circuit of Jerusalem was portioned out\nto the most zealous of the people, and each in his own division set\nheartily to work. In vain Sanballat and Tobiah tried to discourage\nthe builders by representing their patriotic efforts as rebellion\nagainst Persia. In vain, time after time, they endeavoured to entice\nNehemiah into a village, that they might deprive the Jews of him who\nwas the life and soul of their undertaking. \u201cI am doing a great work,\nso that I cannot come down,\u201d was Nehemiah\u2019s answer to their insidious\nproposals. A yet deeper snare was laid. Nehemiah was warned of a plot\nto assassinate him, and was urged to fly to the temple. But again the\nbrave leader\u2019s self-devotion defeated the schemes of his enemies.\n\u201cShould such a man as I flee?\u201d he exclaimed; \u201cand who is he that being\nas I am, would go into the temple to save his life?\u201d\n\nThe adversaries tried the effect of mockery and scorn. As they viewed\nthe unceasing labours of the builders, \u201cWill they,\u201d cried Sanballat,\n\u201crevive the stones out of the rubbish that is burned?\u201d \u201cIf a fox come\nup,\u201d rejoined the insolent Tobiah, \u201che shall even break down their\nstone wall.\u201d But notwithstanding this hatred and scorn, the wall rose\nhigher and higher. Then the bitter adversaries of the Jews resolved to\nuse weapons more formidable than words, and conspired to attack the\nbuilders. The peril was great, but Nehemiah and his followers were\nequal to the occasion. A watch was kept both by night and by day; they\nthat builded the wall, and they that bare burdens, each with one hand\nwrought in the work, and with the other grasped a weapon for defence.\nNehemiah, ever on the watch against the foe, changed not his garments,\nbut lay down night after night in his daily attire, prepared to start\nup at the first sound of danger. He kept a trumpeter at his side, and\nsaid to the nobles and the people, \u201cThe work is great and large, and\nwe are separated one far from another; in what place therefore that ye\nhear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us: our God shall\nfight for us!\u201d\n\n[Illustration: ANCIENT BUILDING TOOLS.]\n\nBy the indefatigable exertions of these devoted men, in the short space\nof fifty-two days the wall was completed. The enemies were cast down\nand discouraged, for they perceived that this work was of God.\n\nAnd so, in the midst of a world that despises and hates them, God\u2019s\npeople, through all generations, pursue the work that is given them to\ndo; with one hand, as it were, armed to fight against besetting sins\nand inward corruptions, the other busily engaged in works of piety and\nlove. He that will not fight, is unworthy to labour; he that will not\nlabour is unprepared to fight. It is they who, through faith, conquer\nsin and self, that are found most zealous in every good work.\n\nThe liberality of Nehemiah was equal to his activity and courage. With\nfree hospitality he daily entertained at his own table a hundred and\nfifty of the Jews. This, and other expenses, Nehemiah defrayed from his\nown purse, refusing to draw from the people even the allowances due\nto his office. This generous conduct strengthened his influence, and\nenabled him with more boldness to denounce and crush a hateful system\nof usury which prevailed at this time amongst the richer Jews, who\ntook advantage of the wants of their brethren, to take from them their\nlands, and even their freedom. Nehemiah induced his countrymen to enter\ninto a solemn covenant with the Lord\u2014a covenant to obey all the law, to\nrefrain from marriages with the heathen, to bring due offerings to the\ntemple, and to keep the Sabbath holy.\n\nA reverence was shown for the Scriptures, which was one of the most\nencouraging signs of reviving religion. A pulpit of wood was erected\nin one of the streets of Jerusalem, and from this, from morning till\nnoonday, Ezra the priest read aloud from the book of the law of Moses.\nThe multitude of listeners was immense; all the people gathered\nthemselves together as one man to hearken to the word of the Lord. When\nEzra opened the book in the sight of this vast crowd, all reverently\nstood up to listen. When he blessed the Lord the great God, a loud,\nfervent Amen burst from the dense mass of the people, thousands of\nhands were lifted up towards heaven, and then the multitudes of Judah\nbowed their heads and worshipped with their faces to the ground.\n\nAfter some time spent in labours for his country, Nehemiah returned to\nthe court of Persia, having received only leave of temporary absence.\nBut the disorders which again crept in amongst the backsliding Jews\nnecessitated a second journey to Jerusalem, 434 B.C. Notwithstanding\nthe strict law which forbade the entrance of Ammonites and other\nheathens into the temple, the high priest Eliashib, being allied to\nTobiah, had actually prepared for him a chamber in the courts of\nthe house of the Lord! The Sabbath was by many disregarded; the\nwine-press was trodden, burdens carried, and merchandise sold on the\nday that was holy to God. The Levites were neglected, their dues were\nunpaid, and again some of the Jews had fallen into the grievous sin of\nintermarrying with idolaters.\n\nNehemiah suppressed these disorders with a firm and judicious hand,\nstrengthening himself by prayer, and supported in all his difficulties\nand labours by the consciousness of the presence of that Almighty Being\nwhom he was humbly endeavouring to serve.\n\n           CONTEMPORANEOUS EVENTS.\n                                      B.C.\n    Decemvirs banished from Rome      449\n    Battering-ram invented            441\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\nALEXANDER THE GREAT.\n\n\n    Murder of Joshua\u2014A Temple raised on Mount\n        Gerizim\u2014Battle of Issus\u2014Siege of Tyre\u2014The\n        White Robe Procession\u2014Murder of Darius.\n\nWe now lose the sure guidance of the sacred writings, and must pursue\nour way by the dimmer light of uninspired history. \u201cThe two books of\nthe Maccabees,\u201d writes Dr. Gray, \u201cwere certainly composed after the\nsuccession of prophets had ceased among the Jews.\u201d Of the first book\nhe observes, \u201cIt was probably written by a contemporary author, who\nhad witnessed in part the scenes which he so minutely and graphically\ndescribes;\u201d and of the second book, which contains the account of\nHeliodoros and the martyrdom of the seven brethren, this writer\nremarks, \u201cThe fathers in general cite the book as a useful history, but\nnot as of authority in points of doctrine.\u201d\n\nAfter the time of Nehemiah, Judea ceased to form a distinct government,\nand was joined to the satrapy of Syria. Its internal government was,\nhowever, in the hands of its own high priests, and the civil power\nthus annexed to this office made it an object of great ambition, and\nunhappily gave rise to disgraceful contests.\n\nOn the death of Eliashib, 413 B.C., his son Joiada or Judas succeeded\nto the dignity of high priest. After he also had been removed by death,\na wicked dispute arose between two of his sons, Johanan and Joshua, as\nto which should fill the sacred office. Johanan, like another Cain,\nslew Joshua in the inner court of the temple, and the holy place was\npolluted with blood shed by a brother\u2019s hand.\n\nBagoses, the satrap of Syria, hearing of this horrible crime, came\nto Jerusalem to take account of it. On his going into the temple to\nexamine the spot where Joshua had been killed, the priests would have\nhindered his entrance, as no Gentile was permitted to cross the sacred\nthreshold.\n\n\u201cWhat! am I not more pure than the dead carcass of him whom ye have\nslain in the temple?\u201d exclaimed the indignant satrap; and after\nrebuking the Jews for suffering the house of their God to be thus\ndefiled, he imposed upon them, as a punishment, a heavy tax upon the\nlambs that were offered in sacrifice.\n\nThe nation at this time had fallen into a grievous state of coldness\nand formality in religion. The priesthood were worldly and corrupted,\nand looked upon the services of the temple as a weariness, unwilling to\nperform even the smallest without some earthly reward. But there were\nyet faithful ones left in the land\u2014those who feared the Lord, and spake\noften to each other, and feared the name of the Holy One of Israel.\n\u201cThey shall be Mine,\u201d said the Lord by the prophet Micah, \u201cin that day\nwhen I make up My jewels, and I will spare them as a man spareth his\nown son that serveth him.\u201d\n\nOf such appears to have been the next high priest, Jaddua, who\nsucceeded his father, Johanan, 341 B.C. This faithful servant of God\nendeavoured to follow in the steps of Nehemiah, expelling his own\nbrother Manasses for marrying the daughter of Sanballat, the Cuthite\ngovernor of Samaria. Manasses then repaired to his wife\u2019s father,\nand the Samaritans availed themselves of the presence of a member of\nthe pontifical family to erect a temple of their own upon the Mount\nGerizim, of which Manasses was made high priest. This measure greatly\nwidened the breach between the Jews and the Samaritans; the rivalry of\nthe two nations increased the bitter antipathy which had long existed\nbetween them.\n\nThe period at length arrived when the Jews were to exchange the yoke\nof Persia for that of another foreign nation. The winged leopard of\nGrecia, beheld in vision by Daniel, was now to follow the Assyrian\nlion and the bear of Persia; the kingdom of brass, as the prophet had\nforetold to Nebuchadnezzar, was to succeed to the kingdom of silver.\nAlexander the Great, king of Macedon, at the head of his Greeks, in a\ngreat victory at Issus crushed the power of the Persian Darius, which\nhe afterwards completely destroyed.\n\nThe conqueror marched into Syria after his victory, summoned its\nvarious nations to yield submission, and laid siege to the city of\nTyre, a place of great strength and importance, 332 B.C.\n\n[Illustration: TYRE.]\n\n[Illustration: ALEXANDER THE GREAT.]\n\nTyre was a stronghold of superstition and idolatry. Celebrated for her\ncommerce, her merchants were princes, her traffickers the honourable\nof the earth. But the destruction of this idolatrous city had been\nforetold centuries previously, both by the prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel.\n\u201cI will cast thee to the ground, I will bring thee to ashes upon\nthe earth, in the sight of all them that behold thee,\u201d had been the\nmessage of the Lord while yet Tyre stood in her strength and beauty,\nwith no one to make her afraid. And now the prophecy was literally\nthough unconsciously fulfilled by Alexander. With extreme difficulty,\nbut with a perseverance which overcame every obstacle, the great\nMacedonian seized upon the mighty city. He mercilessly burned it to the\nground, and destroyed or enslaved its people. In vain had the Tyrians\ncalled upon their idols, prayed to the deaf ears that could not hear,\nsought help of the hands that could not save! Eight thousand of the\nunfortunate citizens fell in the sack of the town, and were buried\nbeneath its ashes; and two thousand were barbarously crucified by order\nof the stern Alexander.\n\n[Illustration: BATTLE OF ISSUS.]\n\nAnd now the conqueror, flushed with success, turned his march towards\nJerusalem. Terror and alarm spread through that city. The Jews,\nfaithful in their allegiance to Persia, had refused to supply the\nenemy of King Darius with the provisions which he had demanded for\nthe sustenance of his army. This had greatly irritated Alexander,\nwhose spirit was little able to brook such opposition to his despotic\nwill. As soon as the ruin of Tyre was complete, the fierce conqueror\ntherefore advanced upon Jerusalem, with intention to punish its people\nfor daring to disobey his commands.\n\nIn the extremity of their danger, Jaddua and his countrymen threw\nthemselves on the protection of their God. They implored his succour in\ntheir distress, and their prayers were heard and answered.\n\nIn a vision of the night Jaddua was directed to go out and meet\nAlexander dressed in the gorgeous robes of his office, and attended\nby a company of the priests, and all the people in white garments.\nThey were not to draw the sword or lift the spear, but go forth to the\ndestroyer of Tyre with no protection but that of the invisible arm of\nJehovah stretched out to defend them. Jaddua obeyed the command, and on\nthe next day left Jerusalem in the manner directed.\n\nThe white-robed procession slowly mounted a hill which commanded a\nprospect of the country around them. Doubtless many a heart trembled,\nand many a cheek grew pale with fear, when a cloud of dust in the\ndistance showed the approach of the terrible foe! Alexander\u2019s army drew\nnearer and nearer, the sunlight flashing from their weapons. Would not\nthese weapons soon be dimmed in the blood of their unarmed, unresisting\nvictims?\n\nOnce more the Lord showed his irresistible power over the hearts of\nmen. No sooner did Alexander see the high priest, followed by the\npeople, advancing towards him, than, as if struck by sudden awe, he\nhastened forward to meet the procession, and, to the astonishment of\nhis own troops, did obeisance to the venerable Jaddua. While all stood\namazed at this most unexpected conduct on the part of the offended\nconqueror, Parmenio, who was one of his friends, ventured to ask him\nthe reason of it, and to inquire why he, whom every one adored, should\npay such adoration to a Jew.\n\nAlexander answered that it was not to him, but to the God whom Jaddua\nserved, that he paid adoration; for that when he had been in Macedonia,\nmeditating the war against Persia, which had been since so successfully\nbegun, he had beheld in a dream this very high priest arrayed in such a\ndress as that which he now wore, who bade him pass boldly into Persia,\npromising that God should be his guide, and bestow upon him victory and\nsuccess. Then turning to the high priest Jaddua, Alexander cordially\nembraced him, and entered Jerusalem in his company, where the proud\nconqueror of Persia offered sacrifices to the God of Jacob.\n\nJaddua having shown to Alexander the prophecies in which his triumphs\nwere predicted, the king of Macedon left Jerusalem assured of that\nsuccess which followed his arms. He called the Jews together before\nhis departure, and graciously bade them ask of him whatever they might\ndesire. They petitioned that they might be permitted the free exercise\nof their religion and laws, and be exempted from taxes every seventh\nyear, during which they neither sowed nor reaped, but left the land to\nenjoy her Sabbaths, according to the commandment of God.\n\nTo all this Alexander graciously acceded; but when similar petitions\nwere offered by the Samaritans, who had merited well of the Macedonian\nmonarch, by sending the supplies which the Jews had refused, Alexander\nreturned a courteous but evasive reply, deferring compliance till, at\nsome future period, he should have leisure fully to inform himself on\nthe subject of their demands.\n\nAlexander then pursued his victorious career. Darius, after a defeat at\nArbela, fled towards Bactria, but was traitorously murdered by Bessus,\none of his own nobles. Alexander reached the summit of power and pride.\nBut he who was the lord of many nations was the slave of his own sinful\npassions: Alexander conquered his outward foes, but not the more\ndangerous ones within. Intoxicated with vainglory, he fancied himself\nto be more than man. Addicted to intemperance, in a drunken revel he\nkilled his own friend Clitus, and by his wild excesses shortened his\nown existence. This extraordinary man died in the prime of his days\nand the zenith of his power, 323 B.C., leaving the vast empire which\nhis prowess had subdued to be split into various kingdoms, and to be\nmade the object of fearful strife and bloodshed amongst his contending\ngenerals.\n\n          CONTEMPORANEOUS EVENTS.\n               441-323 B.C.\n                                    B.C.\n    Peloponnesian War began         431\n    Retreat of the 10,000 Greeks    401\n    Death of Socrates               400\n    Battle of Leuctra               371\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\nJUDEA UNDER THE YOKE OF EGYPT.\n\n    Jerusalem Taken\u2014The Soothsayer and\n        the Archer\u2014Profanity of Ptolemy\n        Philopater\u2014Persecution of the Jews\u2014Judea\n        Wrested from Egypt.\n\nIn the first division of Alexander\u2019s empire, Syria devolved to\nLaomedon, and Egypt to Ptolemy Soter. Between them a war arose,\nand its result was that all the provinces of Laomedon submitted to\nPtolemy. The Jews alone, faithful to the oath which they had taken to\nthe defeated ruler, refused to bend to the conqueror. Ptolemy marched\nagainst Jerusalem, which, being now strongly fortified, might have\nheld out against him, but that the Jews, from a scrupulous regard to\nthe sanctity of the Sabbath, would not at this period defend themselves\non that holy day, 320 B.C. Ptolemy did not treat the Jews with great\nseverity; for, though he sent a large number of them into Egypt, it was\nrather as colonists than bondsmen.\n\n[Illustration: PTOLEMY SOTER.]\n\nThe son and successor of this king was a great patron of learning, and\nspared no expense in procuring curious books for his famous library in\nAlexandria. He caused the Hebrew Scriptures to be rendered into Greek;\nand this important translation still exists under the name of the\nSeptuagint, from the tradition that seventy persons were employed in\ncompleting it.\n\nNot only did Ptolemy avail himself of the services of the Jews as\nregarded literature\u2014some of them were also enlisted in the army of\nthe Egyptian ruler. An anecdote is related of one who had the courage\nopenly to reprove the superstition of the idolatrous soldiery amongst\nwhom he was serving.\n\nThis man, whose name was Mosullum, was noted for his valour, and\nfamous for his singular skill in archery. As, on one occasion, he\nwas travelling towards the Red Sea with his companions, a certain\nsoothsayer, who accompanied the band, commanded an instant halt.\nMosullum demanded his reason for the delay.\n\n\u201cLook ye,\u201d answered the foreteller of events; \u201cbehold that bird before\nus. If that bird stands, ye are to stand; if he rises and flies on, go\nforward; if the bird takes his flight the contrary way, you must all\nreturn back again.\u201d\n\nThe Jew, without speaking another word, fitted an arrow to the string,\nand let fly at the bird, which, the next moment, fell fluttering in\ndeath to the ground. Furious indignation was instantly excited amongst\nthe superstitious beholders against the author of so daring an act. But\nMosullum opposed calm reason to the folly of those who put faith in\nomens. \u201cHow could that poor creature,\u201d said he, \u201cpretend to foreshow\nus our fortune, that knew nothing of its own? If this bird could have\nforetold good or evil to come, it would have kept out of this place for\nfear of being slain by the arrow of Mosullum the Jew.\u201d\n\nOnias, the first high priest at Jerusalem, having died, 300 B.C., was\nsucceeded by Simon his son, who, from the holiness of his life and the\nrighteousness of his actions, was surnamed Simon the Just. This good\nman completed the canon of the Scriptures; and the Old Testament, as\nit has been handed down to us, was in its perfect form received by the\nJews. Simon died 291 B.C., and Onias succeeded to the high priesthood.\n\nEgypt, to which, as has been seen, Judea was at this period subject,\nwas ruled by a succession of sovereigns, who all bore the title of\nPtolemy.\n\n[Illustration: PTOLEMY EUERGETES.]\n\nA remarkable instance of the reverence with which the monarchs to whom\nthe Jews were tributary often regarded the religion which those Jews\nprofessed, was shown by Ptolemy Euergetes, in the year 245 B.C. On\nreturning from a successful expedition, this king of a most idolatrous\nnation chose to take his way through Jerusalem, and there render thanks\nto the God of Israel for the victories he had obtained over Syria. We\nthus see that the light of truth, confided to the Jews, shed a partial\nradiance over the nations by which they were surrounded.\n\nA young Jew, named Joseph, nephew of the high priest Onias, rose high\nin the favour of Ptolemy Euergetes. He was admitted to the office of\nreceiver-general in the provinces of C\u0153le-Syria, Ph\u0153nicia, Judea, and\nSamaria; and, like his great countryman of the same name, acquitted\nhimself with such wisdom and prudence, that he won and kept for many\nyears the confidence of the king of Egypt.\n\nIn 216 B.C., Simon, second high priest of that name, succeeded his\nfather Onias, who had been a weak and covetous old man, intent upon\nnothing so much as amassing treasure for himself. It was well that one\nof a nobler character had now entered upon so important an office, for\na time of great difficulty was near, when the Jews would especially\nrequire courage and strong faith in their leader.\n\n[Illustration: PTOLEMY PHILOPATER.]\n\nPtolemy Philopater mounted the throne of his father. This young man was\nstained with the darkest crimes: he was the murderer of his mother and\nhis brother, and subsequently proved himself a barbarous persecutor.\nHe, however, appeared disposed in the earlier part of his reign, to\nrender, as his father had done, honour to the great God of Israel.\nHe visited Jerusalem, offered sacrifices to the Lord, and presented\nvaluable gifts to the temple. Perhaps the conscience of this wicked\nprince was not altogether silent, and he thought by his oblations to\nappease that great Being who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity.\n\nBut Ptolemy was not contented with viewing the outside of the beautiful\ntemple raised to Jehovah; he was resolved to visit the sanctuary, to\ntread that Holy of holies into which none but the high priest was\npermitted to enter, and that only on the day of atonement. This raised\nan outcry all through the city. Simon opposed the entrance of the\nprofane king into the holy temple; he declared to him the law which\nforbade it; but Ptolemy was disposed to regard no law but that of\nhis own capricious will. Disregarding the expostulations of the high\npriest, and the distress and horror expressed in the countenances of\nthe Levites, he pressed into the inner court, and was about to enter\nthe sanctuary, when the wicked king was suddenly struck with such a\nterror and confusion of mind, that he was utterly unable to proceed,\nand he was carried half dead out of the place which an invisible Power\nprotected.\n\nRage and hatred swelled in the heart of the disappointed monarch.\nHe had been conquered by fear, and he now sought to cover his\nmortification by revenge upon the worshippers of the omnipotent\nJehovah. On his return to his capital\u2014Alexandria\u2014Ptolemy at once\ndegraded all the Jews, who were living there in great numbers, and\ncommanded that each should be branded with the mark of an ivy-leaf\u2014the\nbadge of Bacchus the god of wine, whom this miserable idolater\nworshipped. All who refused to receive this disgraceful mark were\nordered to be put to death; but such as sacrificed to the false gods\nwere to enjoy equal privileges with the Macedonians, the original\nfounders of the city. Of the many thousands of Jews who were in\nAlexandria, only three hundred persons were found base enough to\nforsake their God to win the favour of the king.\n\nEnraged at the firmness of the majority, Ptolemy resolved to punish not\nonly the Jews in Alexandria, but those who dwelt in any part of his\ndominions. He sent orders that all who were in Egypt should be sent\nto the capital in chains. There, it is said, that a great multitude\nof victims being thus gathered together, the tyrant shut them up in\nthe hippodrome, a large place without the city used for horse-races\nand games, and appointed a certain day in which they were all to be\ndestroyed by elephants.\n\nCrowds assembled on this day to witness the horrible spectacle; but\nthe king had sat up so late on the previous night at a drunken revel,\nthat he slept on that morning beyond the hour which had been fixed\nupon for the show. Nothing could be done in his absence: the massacre\nwas deferred till the morrow; and again on the morrow a similar cause\noccasioned a similar delay. During all this time the Jews, shut up in\nthe hippodrome, ceased not by earnest, humble prayer to implore that\nmercy from God which they could not hope for from the tyrant.\n\nOn the third day the king took his seat to behold the fearful\nexecution. Multitudes hastened with barbarous eagerness to the spot, to\nsee their unhappy fellow-creatures torn limb from limb, for no other\ncrime than that of holding fast their holy faith. The huge elephants\nwere brought forth, maddened with frankincense and wine, that they\nmight with more rage execute the king\u2019s vengeance upon his innocent\nsubjects.\n\n[Illustration: ALEXANDRIA]\n\n[Illustration: ANTIOCHUS THE GREAT.]\n\nBut no sooner were the fierce animals let loose, than, neglecting\ntheir intended victims, they broke bounds, and furiously rushed upon\nthe crowds assembled to view the execution! The air was filled with\nloud shrieks and cries, the multitudes fled in dismay; but many were\ntrampled under foot, many were destroyed by the savage elephants.\nPtolemy, a witness of the terrible scene, dared no longer oppose his\npuny strength to the irresistible power of Israel\u2019s God; he dared no\nlonger persecute the Jews, who were so manifestly protected by Heaven.\nHe revoked all his decrees against them, and loaded them with favours\nand gifts, 216 B.C.\n\nThe tyrant Philopater died, 205 B.C., while yet in the prime of his\nmanhood; and as his title devolved on a little child, Antiochus the\nGreat, king of Syria, soon succeeded in wresting Judea and other\nprovinces from the Egyptian crown. The Jews by no means regretted this\nchange of masters. They willingly rendered up their strongholds to\nAntiochus; and on his advancing to Jerusalem, the priests and elders\nwent forth in procession to meet him, and received him with gladness.\nThey had little reason, indeed, to uphold the cause of their Egyptian\ntyrants.\n\n             CONTEMPORANEOUS EVENTS.\n                  323-205 B.C.\n                                          B.C.\n    Beginning of the first Punic War      264\n    Second Punic War                      218\n    Battle of Canna                       216\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\nJUDEA UNDER THE YOKE OF SYRIA.\n\n\n    The Bright Horseman\u2014The Temple Profaned\u2014The Image\n        of Jupiter\u2014The Mother and her Seven Sons.\n\nAntiochus the Great died, 187 B.C., and Seleucus Philopater succeeded.\nIt is during the reign of this monarch that some remarkable events are\nsaid to have occurred, as related in the book of the Maccabees.\n\nSimon, a Benjamite, having been appointed governor of the temple,\nsome disputes arose between him and Onias, who was high priest at the\ntime. Finding that he was unable to prevail against him whom the Jews\nregarded as their lawful chief, Simon fled to Apollonius, the governor\nof C\u0153le-Syria and Palestine, under King Seleucus, and informed him\nthat great treasures were laid up in the temple at Jerusalem. This\naccount, as was probably intended, excited the cupidity of the king,\nand Heliodoros his treasurer was despatched to seize upon the coveted\nwealth.\n\nHeliodoros arrived at Jerusalem, and was courteously received by Onias.\nThe treasurer declared to him the purpose of his journey, and asked\nhim whether the report were true that much gold was to be found in the\ntemple.\n\nOnias replied that there was indeed money laid up there for the relief\nof widows and orphans, but earnestly expostulated against any attempt\nto carry away from the temple the treasure committed to his trust.\n\nHeliodoros had, however, received the positive commands of the king,\nand was resolved to carry them into execution.\n\nThe high priest was in the deepest distress; and his horror and\nindignation at the intended robbery and sacrilege were shared by the\npriests and the people. Women, girded with sackcloth, mourned in the\nstreets; the priests prostrated themselves before the altar\u2014all,\nlifting up their hands, implored the Lord to keep safe and sure that\nintrusted treasure which they were themselves unable to defend.\n\n[Illustration: HELIODOROS DRIVEN FROM THE TEMPLE.]\n\nThen, as is related, there appeared before Heliodoros[3] a horse, on\nwhich sat a terrible rider, arrayed in bright armour of glittering\ngold; and beside him glorious beings, who, with scourges, sorely\nchastised the mortal who had dared to profane the sanctity of the\ntemple. Overpowered by the vision, Heliodoros fell to the ground, thick\ndarkness seemed to surround him, and he was carried, fainting and\nalmost dying, from the treasury which he had impiously entered.\n\n[Illustration: ANTIOCHUS EPIPHANES.]\n\nSeleucus was succeeded, in 175 B.C., by his brother Antiochus\nEpiphanes, one of the most base and cruel tyrants that ever disgraced a\nthrone. As soon as he was settled in the kingdom, Jason, the unworthy\nbrother of Onias, by underhand means contrived not only to induce\nthe monarch to let him supplant his brother, but to banish Onias to\nAntioch, where this good man was subsequently murdered.\n\nJason was now high priest, and the use which he made of his power was\nsuch as might have been expected from his treacherous mode of obtaining\nit. Honour, patriotism, religion were all sacrificed to his desire to\nretain the favour of the king. He erected a gymnasium for games, after\nthe fashion of the Greeks, whom he sought in all things to imitate.\nJason did all in his power to induce his countrymen to abandon the\ncustoms of their fathers, to break their covenant with God, and to\nconform to the manners of the heathen. The services of the temple were\nabandoned, and corruption spread amongst the people.\n\nRetribution soon overtook the wicked Jason, and as he had meted to\nanother it was measured to him again. His brother Menelaus supplanted\nhim in the same manner that he had supplanted Onias, and succeeded to\nhis title and his power, more than emulating him in his impiety and\nguilt.\n\nJason was not disposed easily to yield up his ill-acquired dignity.\nTaking recourse to arms, in 171 B.C., he marched with a thousand men\nagainst his own city, took possession of Jerusalem, drove Menelaus to\nseek shelter in its castle, and committed great cruelties on such of\nthe citizens as he deemed the partizans of his brother.\n\nThe just chastisements of the Almighty were now descending upon his\nbacksliding people. Antiochus hearing of what had occurred, and deeming\nthat the whole Jewish nation had revolted, hastened to Jerusalem with\nhis forces, and slew in the devoted city no fewer than four thousand\npersons. As many were sold as slaves. Conducted by the impious\nMenelaus, Antiochus forced his way into the temple, plundered it of\nvast treasures, and polluted the altar of God by offering on it a sow,\nwhich was held in abomination by the Jews. Well might the miserable\ndescendants of Abraham think that the Almighty whom they had forsaken,\nhad utterly forsaken them now; that His mercy had left them for ever;\nand that, after so many deliverances, they were finally given up for\ntheir sins to destruction.\n\nBut there were yet amongst the Jews those who clung to the faith of\ntheir fathers, and rested with earnest hope on the promises given\nthrough the prophets. Jerusalem still was the guardian of the light of\nTruth in a world that lay in darkness, and neither the powers of earth\nnor hell could prevail to quench it.\n\n[Illustration: IMAGE OF JUPITER.]\n\nDark and fearful, indeed, was the cloud of tribulation which rested\nupon Jerusalem. Antiochus, not contented with his late fearful\ncruelties, sent Apollonius, his general, to wreak yet further vengeance\non the city of David. After having slain great multitudes of the\npeople, and sent away ten thousand captives, Apollonius plundered the\ntown, set it on fire, and demolished the wall. The daily sacrifices\nceased in the temple; Jerusalem was deserted. Officers were appointed\nto compel the miserable Jews to sacrifice to idols. The Samaritans\nconsented to receive an image of the false god Jupiter into their\ntemple on Mount Gerizim; and another, to the horror of all true\nchildren of Abraham, was placed in the temple of Jerusalem!\n\nIn this period of awful trial, glorious saints and noble martyrs were\nfound ready rather to suffer unto death than to deny the God whom they\nadored. Such a spirit of devotion as that which had supported Shadrach,\nMeshach, and Abed-nego, when the fiery furnace glowed before them,\nanimated still the faithful servants of the Lord.\n\nAn example of noble constancy was given by Eleazar, an aged scribe, who\nwas urged by his persecutors to break the law of Moses. The noble old\nman was scourged to death, bravely enduring to the end.\n\nA mother and her seven sons were brought before Antiochus, and\nthreatened with the most fearful tortures should they disobey his\nunlawful commands. One and all this devoted family preferred death to\napostasy. The mother, with refined cruelty, was made to witness the\ndying agonies of her sons. Far from weakening their courage by tears\nand lamentations, the Jewish matron exhorted her children to keep\nfaithful to their God, cheering them in that awful hour by hopes of\na joyful resurrection. Faith and strength from above supported these\nglorious martyrs. One of the young men exclaimed, as he stretched forth\nhis hands for the torture, \u201cThese I had from Heaven, and for His laws\nI despise them, and from Him I hope to receive them again!\u201d One after\nanother, six of the sons closed their eyes in death, committing their\nsouls to their Creator. One only, the youngest, remained, and even\nthe tyrant appears to have been touched with some compassion for his\ntender years, for he promised the youth with oaths to make him a rich\nand happy man, if he would turn from the laws of his fathers. When the\nyoung Jew refused to hearken to his offers, the king bade the mother,\nalready bereaved of so many children, use her endeavours to save the\nlast by counselling submission and obedience.\n\nBut she, strong in faith, addressed her son in the Hebrew language,\nconjuring him, even by his love to her who had borne him, to endure any\namount of suffering rather than sin. \u201cFear not this tormentor,\u201d she\ncried; \u201cbut being worthy of thy brethren, take thy death, that I may\nreceive thee again in mercy with thy brethren.\u201d\n\nWhile his mother was yet speaking these words, the noble youth turned\nto the executioners. \u201cWhom wait ye for?\u201d he exclaimed; \u201cI will not\nobey the king\u2019s commandment, but I will obey the commandments of the\nlaw that was given unto our fathers by Moses. And thou,\u201d he continued,\nlooking at the tyrant, \u201cshalt not escape the hands of God. For we\nsuffer because of our sins; and though the living God be angry with\nus a little while for our chastening and correction, yet shall He be\nat one with His servants. But thou, O godless man! be not lifted up\nwithout a cause, or puffed up with uncertain hopes, lifting up thy hand\nagainst the servants of God, for thou hast not yet escaped the judgment\nof Almighty God, who seeth all things. For our brethren who now have\nsuffered a short pain, are dead under God\u2019s covenant of everlasting\nlife; but thou, through the judgment of God, shall receive just\npunishment for thy pride. But I, as my brethren, offer up my body and\nlife for the laws of my fathers, beseeching God that He would speedily\nbe merciful unto my nation.\u201d\n\nThe tyrant, enraged at the fearless words of the youth, put him to\ndeath by tortures more dreadful even than those that his brothers had\nendured; and then the devoted mother, faithful unto death, and under a\ntrial more terrible than death, followed her glorious sons by the same\nbrief and bloody path, to the haven of eternal rest prepared for those\nwho, like them, count God\u2019s service as dearer than life.\n\nThe dying prayer of the young martyr had been heard. The Lord was\npreparing a deliverance for his persecuted people.\n\nThe Jews, quiet and peaceful as they had shown themselves to be under\nthe sway of their rulers\u2014Assyrian, Persian, and Egyptian\u2014had at length\nbeen goaded beyond their power of endurance; or rather, the Almighty\nhaving compassion on their sufferings, was pleased again, as in the\ndays of old, to raise up for them mighty deliverers.\n\n           CONTEMPORANEOUS EVENTS.\n                205-170 B.C.\n                                      B.C.\n    Battle of Zama                    202\n    Sparta subdued by the Romans      194\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\nVICTORIES OF JUDAS MACCABEUS.\n\n\n    Rising of the Jews\u2014Martyrs to the Law\u2014Apollonius\n        Defeated\u2014Seron Defeated\u2014Lycias Defeated\u2014The\n        Temple Cleansed\u2014Death of Epiphanes\u2014Siege of\n        Bethsura\u2014Exploit of Eleazar\u2014The Temple Besieged.\n\nThe noble family of the Asmoneans, so called from Asmoneus, one of\nits ancestors, was amongst the most distinguished in Judea, and dwelt\nat this period in the town of Modin. At the head of this family was\nMattathias, the father of five noble sons, Joanan, Simon, Eleazar,\nJonathan, and the illustrious Judas, surnamed Maccabeus.\n\nDeeply did Mattathias mourn over the oppression of his people, and\nthe desecration of the altar of his God; and he heard with emotions\nof indignation that the king\u2019s officers had come to his own town, to\ncompel all to sacrifice to the gods of the heathen.\n\nMattathias being a person of great influence, the emissaries of\nAntiochus spared no pains to induce him, by many promises, to give\nan example of submission. But the brave old Jew answered with a loud\nvoice, \u201cThough all the nations that are under the king\u2019s dominion obey\nhim, and fall away every one from the religion of his fathers, yet will\nI and my sons walk in the covenant. God forbid that we should forsake\nthe law and the ordinances! We will not hearken to the king\u2019s words, to\ngo either to the right hand or the left.\u201d\n\nWhen Mattathias had concluded his declaration, there came a renegade\nJew, in the sight of all, to sacrifice at the altar at Modin. Filled\nwith indignation and inflamed with zeal, Mattathias, like another\nPhinehas, rushed forward and slew him on the altar; then turning on the\ncommissioner, him he also slew, and pulled down the altar to the ground!\n\nThis was indeed drawing the sword and throwing away the scabbard!\nMattathias exclaimed, \u201cWho is zealous for the law and maintaineth\nthe covenant, let him follow me!\u201d and leaving all that he possessed,\nhe fled into the mountains with his sons, where they were joined by\nnumbers of the faithful and brave, who were ready, like themselves, to\nyield up their lives rather than their faith.\n\nA touching example of obedience to the law of God was given by a large\nband of Jews who, with their wives and little ones, had tied into the\nwilderness to escape the persecutions of the king. The fugitives were\npursued, and the forces of Antiochus came up to them at a place where\nthey had taken refuge in a cave. Philip, the leader of the soldiers,\nendeavoured to induce the Jews to come forth and make submission,\nbut this they firmly refused to do. He then attacked them, and the\nday being the Sabbath, the Jews, scrupulously observant of the law\nwhich commands that day to be kept holy, neither stopped up the mouth\nof their cave nor raised a weapon against their foes. \u201cLet us die\nall in our innocence,\u201d they exclaimed; and thus all\u2014men, women, and\nchildren\u2014were slain unresisting by the Syrians.\n\nMattathias and his followers were greatly grieved on receiving tidings\nof this cruel massacre. In full debate, after due deliberation, they\ncame to the decision that self-defence is lawful on the Sabbath; and\nthat, if attacked by the foe on that day, they would fight for their\nlives and their laws.\n\nMattathias, and the brave Jews whom he had gathered around him, now\nleaving their fastnesses in the mountains, went to various cities of\nJudea, throwing down the idol altars, and driving the enemy before\nthem. But the aged hero was soon worn out by the fatigues of warfare.\nHe felt that the time of his departure was drawing nigh, and gathering\nhis five sons around him, Mattathias gave them his dying exhortation.\n\nHe reminded them of the saints of old, whose faith had been crowned\nwith success; he bade them give their lives for the covenant of God,\nand remember that they who trusted in Him never should be overcome.\nHe appointed Judas, his third son, to be the leader, and Simon the\ncounsellor of the patriots; and so, bestowing on his children his\nparting blessing, Mattathias yielded up his soul to his God. _Truly\nthe hoary head is a crown of glory, when it is found in the way of\nrighteousness._\n\nThen Judas, called Maccabeus from the motto on his standard, \u201cWho is\nlike unto Thee amongst the gods, O Jehovah!\u201d (the initials of which\nin Hebrew form the word Maccabi), succeeded to the authority of his\nfather. There appear to have been no petty jealousies between the noble\nsons of a glorious sire; they were united by a better tie than even\nthat of blood\u2014fellowship in a holy cause.\n\nJudas proved himself a bold and able commander, a hero treading in the\nsteps of Joshua, Gideon, and David. With a force not exceeding six\nthousand men, he took the field against the large, well-disciplined\narmies of Antiochus, commanded by warriors of renown.\n\nHis first great triumph was gained over Apollonius, whose sword the\nvictor wore to the end of his life. Judas then made head against Seron,\na prince of Syria, who came to attack him with a mighty host. Maccabeus\nwas then commanding a mere handful of men, and some of his companions,\ndisheartened at the fearful disparity of numbers, came to their chief\nand said, \u201cHow shall we be able, being so few, to fight against so\ngreat a multitude and so strong, seeing we are ready to faint with\nfasting?\u201d\n\n\u201cWith the God of heaven,\u201d replied the hero, \u201cit is all one to deliver\nwith a great multitude or a small company; for the victory standeth\nnot in the multitude of a host, but strength cometh from Heaven. We\nfight for our laws and our lives, wherefore, the Lord himself will\noverthrow these men before our face!\u201d\n\nThe result of the battle was the complete triumph of the Jews, who\novercame and pursued their enemies.\n\nThis victory made the name of Judas renowned through all the\nneighbouring states, and it was speedily followed by others. Army\nafter army was sent against him, and fled in broken masses before the\nconquering sword of him who trusted in the strength of the Omnipotent.\n\nOne of these engagements was with Lycias, a nobleman who acted as\nregent of Syria during the absence of its king. Lycias, with a force\nof sixty-five thousand choice infantry and five thousand horsemen, was\nmet by Judas Maccabeus at the head of ten thousand men. When the Jewish\nleader beheld the immense host before him, before he closed in battle,\nhe had recourse to the powerful weapon of prayer.\n\n\u201cBlessed art Thou, O Saviour of Israel!\u201d he cried, \u201cwho didst quell the\nviolence of the mighty man by the hand of Thy servant David, and gavest\nthe host of strangers into the hands of Jonathan, the son of Saul, and\nhis armour-bearer! Shut up this army in the hand of Thy people Israel,\nand let them be confounded in their power. Cast them down with the\nsword of them that love Thee, and let all that know Thy name praise\nThee with thanksgiving.\u201d\n\nThe supplications of Judas were heard. The Lord God of Israel fought\nfor His people, and the vast Syrian host fled in confusion before them.\n\nThen said Judas and his brethren, \u201cBehold, our enemies are discomfited;\nlet us go up to cleanse and dedicate the sanctuary.\u201d\n\nWith what joy and thanksgiving must the valiant deliverers have been\nwelcomed in Jerusalem, which they had freed from the oppressor! Judas\nand his band of heroes proceeded at once to the temple; but when they\nsaw the sanctuary desolate, the altar profaned, the gates burned down,\nand herbage growing in the courts once trod by the feet of so many\nworshippers, they rent their clothes, and cast ashes on their heads,\nand fell with their faces to the ground.\n\nBut Judas, like Nehemiah, did not content himself with lamentations\nover the desolation which he saw\u2014he zealously set himself to repair\nand to reform. He chose priests of blameless lives to cleanse the\npolluted sanctuary, pull down the altar which the heathen had profaned,\nand build up another in its place. He also appointed warriors to fight\nagainst the Syrian garrison, which still held a fortress which had been\nerected by Apollonius to overlook the temple. New holy vessels were\nmade for the sanctuary, the lamps again were lighted and sacrifices\noffered, and, with joy and exultation, songs of praise, and the music\nof harps and cymbals, the conquerors returned thanks for victory in the\ntemple of the Lord of hosts.\n\nBy the command of Judas Maccabeus, high walls, strengthened with\ntowers, were raised around the sacred building, to protect it from\nfuture attack, and a garrison was appointed to guard it, 164 B.C.\n\nWhen Antiochus, who was on his way from Ecbatana to Babylonia, heard\nhow the Jews had defeated Lycias, recovered the temple of Jerusalem,\npulled down his idols, thrown their altars to the ground, and restored\nthe pure worship of Jehovah, he was enraged to the utmost pitch of\nfury. He commanded his charioteer to double his speed, that he might\nthe sooner arrive in Judea to execute a fearful revenge. He threatened\nto make Jerusalem one vast grave for the nation that had dared to defy\nhis power.\n\nBut the tyrant\u2019s hour was come. He was now, according to the prophetic\nwords of the young martyr whom he had slain, to receive the just\npunishment of his pride. Antiochus Epiphanes was smitten with a most\nhorrible and loathsome disease. Yet, hatred struggling against physical\npain, he endeavoured to pursue his course, till his chariot being\noverturned, the king was so sorely injured by the fall, that it was\nnecessary to carry him in a litter to Tab\u0153, a town on the confines of\nPersia and Babylonia.\n\nHere the miserable tyrant endured tortures more intolerable than any\nthat he himself had inflicted, and was forced openly to acknowledge\nthem to be God\u2019s retribution for his impiety and cruelty. His reason\nat length gave way beneath them, spectres appeared to haunt him, and\nthis enemy of God and of his people expired at length in the greatest\nagonies both of body and mind.\n\nMeanwhile Judas gained victory after victory. He defeated the people\nof Edom, Bean, and Ammon; took Gazer, with the towns belonging to it;\nwon a great triumph over a vast host, under a leader named Timotheus;\nand subdued the cities of the country of Galaad. He smote Hebron,\nand passed through Samaria; turned to Azotus, in the land of the\nPhilistines; and when he had levelled their altars, and burned their\ncarved images with fire, he returned back in triumph to Judea.\n\nAntiochus had been succeeded by his son of the same name, to which was\nadded that of Eupator. The king being too young to assume the reins of\npower, Lycias took the government into his own hands. The regent raised\nan enormous army to crush the forces of Judas. A hundred thousand\nfoot soldiers, twenty thousand horse, thirty war elephants, and three\nhundred chariots were gathered together, and headed by the young\nmonarch in person, who laid siege to the town of Bethsura.\n\nJudas collected his forces, far inferior in number to those of the\nenemy, and falling upon the Syrians by night, put the camp into\nconfusion, and retreated on break of day, without suffering loss by his\nbold exploit, while many of the enemy were slain.\n\nWhen the rising sun shed its full light on the glittering ranks of\nthe host of Antiochus, the opposing armies closed in fierce battle.\nIn the fight, Eleazar, a brother of Judas, sacrificed his life in a\ndesperate attempt to kill the young king of Syria. Seeing an immense\nelephant, adorned with gorgeous harness, and supposing that the monarch\nhimself must be upon it, Eleazar furiously fought his way up to the\nspot, slaying all who opposed him, and thrusting his weapon into the\nelephant, was crushed to death by its fall.\n\nThe Jews, perhaps discouraged by the loss of Eleazar, fell back before\nthe overwhelming hosts of Syria, and made good their retreat to\nJerusalem. Bethsura then surrendered to Lycias, but upon honourable\nconditions.\n\nFrom thence Antiochus Eupator marched to Jerusalem, where he laid siege\nto the sanctuary, which Judas, as before related, had fortified in case\nof attack. The Jews were now in extreme peril, those who defended the\ntemple being in the utmost distress for want of provisions. Instruments\nfor casting stones, darts, and slings, and other formidable weapons of\nwar, were brought against the handful of men who made their desperate\nstand within the wall which had been raised to guard the temple. Famine\nstared them in the face, and their only alternative seemed to be to\nperish by hunger or the sword.\n\n[Illustration: BALISTA, FOR THROWING STONES.]\n\nBut man\u2019s extremity is God\u2019s opportunity. Lycias received tidings that\nPhilip, a favourite of the late king, and appointed by him guardian of\nhis successor, had seized upon Antioch, and set up his own power in\nopposition to that of the regent. Lycias found it necessary at once\nto make peace with the Jews, that he might be at liberty to march\nhimself against this dangerous rival. He therefore proposed honourable\nand advantageous terms, which were accepted by Judas. The hero was\nrecognized both by the king and the regent as the ruler of Judea; and\nfrom this period is dated the commencement of the Asmonean dynasty,\nwhich for a hundred and twenty-six years held sway over the Jewish\npeople, 163 B.C.\n\nThe treaty between Antiochus and Judas Maccabeus having been ratified\nby oath, the king and Lycias were admitted into the stronghold\nwhich had been so bravely defended. But seeing the strength of the\nfortification, they, contrary to stipulation, pulled down and destroyed\nthe wall before departing for Syria.\n\nMenelaus, the treacherous high priest, had accompanied Lycias in his\nexpedition against Jerusalem, probably in hope of being restored to his\noffice by the enemies of his people. But divine vengeance at length\novertook this traitor to his country and his God. Menelaus lost favour\nwith those whom he had served at the price of conscience, and they\nbecame the instruments of his just punishment. He was, by the royal\ncommand, cast headlong from a high tower into ashes, where the renegade\nmiserably perished.\n\n              CONTEMPORANEOUS EVENTS.\n                   170-163 B.C.\n                                           B.C.\n    Macedon made a province of Rome        168\n    The first library erected at Rome      168\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\nTHE DEATH OF JUDAS MACCABEUS.\n\n\n    Expedition of Bacchides\u2014Victories over Nicanor\u2014League\n        with Rome\u2014Death of Judas Maccabeus.\n\nThe reign of the noble Judas was neither peaceful nor long. The year\nafter that in which Antiochus and Lycias had besieged the temple, they\nwere both defeated and slain by Demetrius Soter, a prince who aspired\nto the Syrian crown, 162 B.C. The conqueror was no sooner established\non the throne than a band of Jewish apostates came around him, with\nbitter complaints against Judas. At their head was Alcimus, an unworthy\nhigh priest of the Jews, who had been expelled by them with just\nindignation for his attachment to Grecian idolatries. Unappalled by the\nfate of the guilty Menelaus, this renegade sought the aid of a heathen\nmonarch to reinstate him in the office of which he had been so justly\ndeprived.\n\nThe new king, Demetrius, lending a willing ear to the complaints of\nthe Jewish traitors, sent a large force under his general, Bacchides,\nto support the claims of Alcimus. This commander entered Judea without\nmeeting with any apparent opposition, and placing Alcimus in power,\nwith what he considered a sufficient force to protect him, Bacchides\nreturned to the king.\n\nBut the traitor Alcimus was unable to maintain himself in his dangerous\nposition; he was forced again to seek aid from Demetrius, who again\nacceded to his prayer. The king sent Nicanor, a prince of high dignity,\na man who bore deadly hatred towards Israel, with a powerful force, and\nthe royal command to execute stern vengeance on the Jews. But again\nthe Almighty gave victory to his people. Twice was Nicanor defeated by\nJudas, and in the second battle the heathen general was slain.\n\nThen, though but for a brief period, the harassed land of Judea had\nrest.\n\nJudas Maccabeus now looked around for some powerful ally who might aid\nhim in the arduous struggle which the Jews had so long maintained\nsingle-handed against all their foes. He turned his eyes towards Rome,\nthat mighty republic which was then advancing, step by step, to almost\nuniversal dominion. Judas sent an embassy to ask for the friendship\nand protection of Rome. His messengers were courteously received; the\nRomans entered into a league of peace and amity with a people whose\nheroic patriotism equalled their own, and agreed to aid the Jews by sea\nor by land, should Demetrius again dare to attack them.\n\nLittle did Maccabeus foresee that the powerful heathen nation, whose\nalliance he sought, would at a future period prove a more dangerous foe\nto his country than Babylon, Egypt, or Syria! Little did he foresee\nthat Jerusalem would be trodden down by the Romans, her warriors slain,\nher people scattered through the earth\u2014that through Rome she should\nbehold her brave sons in fetters, her beautiful temple in flames! As\nlittle could he imagine that the crime for which the city of David\nshould be given up to this fearful fate would be that of rejecting\nand murdering the Messiah, whose coming he, with all the faithful of\nIsrael, awaited with hope and desire!\n\nBefore his ambassadors returned from Rome, Judas Maccabeus, by a\nsoldier\u2019s death, had closed his glorious career.\n\nDemetrius the king, hearing of the defeat and death of Nicanor, sent\nBacchides a second time, accompanied by the traitor Alcimus, to avenge\nhis general, and destroy Judas and his band of heroes.\n\nOn the approach of the hostile force, a panic seemed to have seized\nupon the Jews, hitherto so full of faith and of courage. They\nremembered not the lesson which had been taught them by so many\nglorious triumphs, that victory is not always to the mighty, nor the\nbattle to the strong. Silently they dispersed on every side, till their\nleader, deserted in his need, found that but eight hundred men remained\nbeside him to encounter the Syrian hosts!\n\nSore troubled and distressed in mind at the defection of those in whose\nfidelity he had confided\u2014those whom he had so often led to victory,\nthe lion spirit of the Jewish hero still roused itself to meet the\ndanger. \u201cLet us arise and go up against our enemies,\u201d he cried, \u201cif\nperadventure we may be able to fight with them!\u201d\n\nBut of that success of which he doubted, his followers despaired, and\nurgently counselled flight. Judas, so long accustomed to conquer,\nindignantly refused to turn his back upon the foe.\n\n\u201cGod forbid that I should flee from them!\u201d he exclaimed; \u201cif our time\nbe come, let us die manfully for our brethren, and let us not stain our\nhonour!\u201d\n\nFrom morning till night raged the battle. Judas charging the right wing\nof the enemy with irresistible impetuosity, carried all before him, and\nwas hot in pursuit when the left wing came up to its aid. This changed\nthe face of the conflict. Surrounded, hemmed in by masses of the foe,\nbut bravely fighting on to the last, Judas Maccabeus, the heroic\nleader, fell, and the few faithful followers who survived the bloody\nstruggle were compelled to retreat.\n\nThe body of the hero was carried by Jonathan and Simon, his brothers,\nto the family sepulchre at Modin. Great were the lamentations and\nsorrow through Judea, as from town to town and village to village\nspread the tidings of the death of its prince. Many and bitter were the\ntears shed for the fall of Judas Maccabeus, and long was he mourned in\nthe land for which his brave blood had been shed.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\nREIGNS OF JONATHAN, SIMON, AND JOHN HYRCANUS.\n\n\n    Treachery of Tryphon\u2014Judea Free\u2014Asmonean\n        Monument\u2014Murder of Simon.\n\nA period of extreme distress succeeded the death of Judas. The sky\nhad not appeared darker over Judea even during the bloody persecution\nof Antiochus Epiphanes. Whereupon all the wisest amongst the Jews\nflocked to the standard of Jonathan, the youngest of the five sons of\nMattathias, and made him their captain and leader, in the place of his\nnoble brother.\n\nIn the next year Alcimus, the traitorous high priest, who had been\nrestored to power by Bacchides, was cut off in the midst of his crimes.\nIn his anxiety to preserve the favour of his heathen protectors, he\nhad given orders that, in the temple, the wall of partition should be\nbroken down which divided the court of the Gentiles from that which\nJews only might enter. But he was not suffered to complete his impious\nwork: the Almighty suddenly smote him with palsy, and summoned him to\nhis awful account.\n\nThe death of this wicked high priest removed one great difficulty from\nthe path of Jonathan. In his time Syria was convulsed with civil wars,\nfrom the competitors who struggled together for its crown. In the wild\nstorm which raged around him, Jonathan guided the affairs of Judea as a\nwise and experienced pilot steers his vessel through rocks and shoals.\nWhile contending monarchs rose and fell, even from their disputes the\nskilful ruler won advantages for his country. Jonathan, by the grant\nof a prince named Alexander, who was at that time opposing Demetrius,\nassumed the office of high priest with the full consent of the Jewish\npeople, 152 B.C. From this period, till the time of Herod, the dignity\nbecame hereditary in the Asmonean family. Jonathan was now enabled to\nproceed with his various improvements and repairs, restoring justice\nthroughout the land, and reforming, to the best of his power, that\nwhich was amiss both in church and in state.\n\n[Illustration: HIGH PRIEST.]\n\nFor many years Jonathan had ruled over Judea, when an act of shameful\ntreachery removed him from his post of usefulness and honour. Tryphon,\nwho had been governor of Antioch, aspired to the crown of Syria, and\nhis unscrupulous ambition was eager to trample down every obstacle that\nstood in his way. Such an obstacle he foresaw in the firm integrity of\nthe high priest of Judea, whom the ambitious noble found at the head of\na formidable force.\n\nTryphon, seeing Jonathan so powerfully attended, durst not openly\nattempt anything against him, but deceived him by flattering words,\nand a false appearance of friendship. He assured the high priest that\nhe only came to consult him on matters which regarded their common\ninterest, and that he was about to place the town of Ptolemais in\nJonathan\u2019s hands.\n\nBy these treacherous pretences Tryphon induced his unsuspecting victim\nto trust himself with a small force within the walls of Ptolemais.\nNo sooner had they entered than the gates were closed by order of\nthe traitor, and a massacre commenced. Of those who had accompanied\nJonathan not a man was spared; and though he himself lingered for a\nspace in captivity, and earnest were the efforts of his brother to\nsave his life, the merciless Tryphon completed his crime, and the\nnoble prisoner was slain by his command, 144 B.C.\n\nWith indignation and horror the Jews heard of the treachery of Tryphon.\nDeprived by this sudden stroke of their leader, and seeing enemies\ngathering around them, their hearts failed them for fear. At this hour\nof peril Simon, the elder brother of Jonathan and Judas, showed himself\nworthy of his race. He went up to Jerusalem, assembled the terrified\npeople, and offered himself as their leader. With joy the Jews hailed\nas their captain the last surviving son of Mattathias.\n\nOne of the first acts of the new high priest was to strengthen the\nfriendship with Rome which had been commenced by Judas Maccabeus.\nHe also sent a crown of gold to Demetrius, the rival of the guilty\nTryphon, and received from him a grant of the principality of Judea,\nfree from all taxes, tolls, and tributes, on the condition of the Jews\naiding him to crush Tryphon, the murderer of Jonathan. Thus Simon\nbecame not only high priest, but sovereign prince of Judea, which for a\nspace was entirely freed from the yoke of any foreign nation.\n\n[Illustration: JOPPA.]\n\nSimon showed himself to be an able leader as well as a prudent\nstatesman. He took Gazara, Joppa, and Jamnia, drove the heathen from\nthe fortress which overlooked the temple at Jerusalem, and razed the\nfortress itself to the ground.\n\nNor, amidst his labours for the good of his people, did Simon omit to\npay due reverence to the memory of the dead. The body of the murdered\nJonathan was taken from the place where he died, and buried in the\nsepulchre at Modin, beside those of his brave father and brothers.\nSimon raised there a splendid monument of white marble, with seven\nstately pyramids\u2014one for his father, one for his mother, four for\nhis brethren, and the seventh for himself. This monument being on an\neminence, was seen far off at sea; and often as the Jewish mariner\nturned his eyes towards it, would he think with grateful reverence of\nthe heroes sleeping beneath it, the memory of whose noble deeds has\nproved more enduring than marble.\n\nAfter ruling Judea for about nine years, Simon was cut off by treachery\neven yet more base than that to which Jonathan had fallen a victim.\n\nPtolemy, his own son-in-law, who held an office under the high priest,\nsecretly aspired to fill his place. This most wicked and perfidious\nman invited Simon to an entertainment which he had prepared in a\nneighbouring castle. The venerable high priest suspected no evil from\none to whom he was so nearly connected, accepted the invitation, and\nwent to the fortress with two of his sons.\n\nIn the midst of the feast, when the wine-cup went round, and the\nunsuspecting guests never dreamed of danger, suddenly assassins\nburst in amongst them, and Simon and his two sons were ruthlessly\nmurdered!\u2014135 B.C. Not contented with committing this fearful crime,\ndetermined to leave no son to succeed to the slaughtered prince, or\nto avenge his death, Ptolemy sent a party to Gazara to assassinate\nJohn Hyrcanus, the son of Simon. But tidings of the foul murder of\nhis father and brothers reached Hyrcanus in time to put him on his\nguard. Hastening to Jerusalem, he secured the city and the temple\nagainst those whom the traitor had sent to take possession of both.\nHis activity, wisdom, and courage defeated the designs of Ptolemy, and\nwrested from him the fruit of his crime.\n\nJohn Hyrcanus was declared prince and high priest of the Jews, whom he\ngoverned for many years with great wisdom and success. Emulating the\nmilitary prowess of his predecessors, Hyrcanus made himself master of\nall Galilee and Samaria, and other places in the country around him,\ntill none of the neighbouring tribes dared attempt to cope with the\nJews, and he passed the remainder of his days in full repose from all\nforeign wars.\n\nIn the latter part of his life, however, Hyrcanus met with much trouble\nfrom the Pharisees, a large and mutinous sect of the Jews. These, with\npretensions to singular sanctity of life, and the strictest obedience\nto the law of Moses, covered a spirit of insolent ambition and\nintolerable pride.\n\nHyrcanus, who knew the great influence acquired by the Pharisees over\nthe people, attempted at first to attach them to himself by all manner\nof favours. He invited the heads of the sect to an entertainment, and\nhaving there liberally regaled them, he addressed his guests to the\nfollowing effect:\u2014He told them that the fixed purpose of his mind had\nalways been to be just in his actions towards men, and to do all things\ntowards God that should be well-pleasing to Him, according to the\ndoctrines which the Pharisees taught. He desired those whom he now saw\nat his table, should they behold anything in him wherein he failed of\nhis duty in either of these its two branches, to give him the benefit\nof their instructions, that he might thenceforth reform and amend.\n\nIn reply to this humble address, the Pharisees loaded their high priest\nwith praises for his wisdom and goodness, with the exception of one\nEleazar, a man of turbulent and mutinous spirit, who, when the rest\nwere silent, stood up, and with astounding audacity exclaimed, \u201cSince\nyou are desirous to be told the truth, if you would approve yourself a\njust man, quit the high priesthood, and content yourself with being the\ngovernor of the people!\u201d\n\nEleazar tried to support this very startling demand by the false\nassertion that the mother of Hyrcanus not having been a Jewess, he was\ndebarred by the law from exercising the holy office of high priest.\n\nHyrcanus was deeply wounded. Insulted in his own house, in the presence\nof his guests, and on a point where, both as a pontiff and a Jew, he\nwas most keenly sensitive, he appealed to the Pharisees around to\ndeclare what punishment was merited by one who dared to defame the high\npriest and prince of his people. Their reply was so little satisfactory\nto Hyrcanus, that he suspected that the insult which he had received\nhad been a thing previously concerted amongst them. He became from\nthenceforth the bitter enemy of the Pharisees, and transferred all the\nfavour which he had previously shown them to the rival sect of the\nSadducees.\n\nIt cannot be supposed, however, that so righteous a man as John\nHyrcanus adopted all the errors of a sect that afterwards denied the\nexistence of angel or devil, and rejected the blessed doctrine of a\nresurrection. It is probable that at this time the Sadducees themselves\nhad not gone further than renouncing the unwritten traditions, to which\nthe Pharisees gave great and dangerous weight, regarding them with the\nsame reverence which they paid to the inspired Word of God.\n\nHyrcanus died 107 B.C., and was succeeded in both his offices by his\neldest son Aristobulus.\n\n      CONTEMPORANEOUS EVENTS.\n           152-107 B.C.\n                            B.C.\n    Carthage destroyed      146\n    Numantia destroyed      133\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\nSTRIFE BETWEEN THE ASMONEAN PRINCES.\n\n\n    The Diadem\u2014Matricide and Fratricide\u2014Horrors at\n        Bethone\u2014Reign of a Woman\u2014Contest between\n        Brothers\u2014Jerusalem twice taken by the Romans.\n\nHitherto the history of the house of the Asmoneans has been a record\nof the brave deeds of noble men; but from this point it becomes little\nbut a dark catalogue of crimes. We feel, in entering upon it, like a\ntraveller who, after threading a majestic mountain-pass, which looks\nonly the more sublime from the contrast of strong lights and shadows\nthrown over it by passing clouds, comes on a waste and howling desert,\nand quickens his pace instinctively, that he may the sooner reach a\nfairer, brighter scene beyond.\n\nThe noble sons of Mattathias seem to have shown no rivalry or\nemulation; each was ready to do his duty where the Lord had assigned\nhis post; and though three brothers ruled in succession, the first-born\nof them was content to be the last to rise to power. Far otherwise\nwas it with Aristobulus, the son of John Hyrcanus. Ambition was the\nidol that he worshipped. Not content with the authority, he must also\nassume the title of King. He was the first of the race of Asmoneus who\nput a diadem upon his head. He caused the assassination of one of his\nbrothers, whom he suspected of aspiring to the throne, and cast three\nothers into prison! Plunging into a yet more fearful depth of crime, on\nfinding that his own mother, by virtue of the will of Hyrcanus, claimed\na right to the sovereignty of Judea, Aristobulus overpowered her, threw\nher into confinement, and suffered her there to perish of hunger!\n\nThe reign of this monster was but brief. Grievous remorse imbittered\nand probably shortened his life. He died in a state of extreme anguish\nof mind, having reigned over Judea for but one year, 105 B.C.\n\nAs soon as Aristobulus was dead, his queen restored his three\nimprisoned brothers to freedom; the eldest of whom, Alexander Janneus,\nascended the vacant throne. But the warning given by the miserable\ndeath of Aristobulus did not deter Alexander from following in his\nsteps, and dyeing his hand in the blood of a brother. Nor did his\nbarbarous cruelty end here.\n\nKing Alexander, entering into the temple, to officiate as high priest\nin the feast of tabernacles, was rudely insulted by the people, to whom\nhe was personally odious. Disregarding the sanctity of the place, or\nthe solemnity of the occasion, the mob pelted the royal pontiff with\ncitrons; called him slave, and other opprobrious names; and wound up\nhis fury to such a pitch, that he fell on the crowds with his soldiery,\nand six thousand lives were sacrificed to the revenge of the insulted\nking. This was the commencement of a civil war, in which fifty thousand\npersons are said to have perished.\n\nThe concluding and most horrible event of the war was Alexander\u2019s\ntriumph over the town of Bethone. Eight hundred of its unfortunate\ndefenders were carried by the king to Jerusalem, and there crucified by\nhis command. Their wives and children were killed before their eyes as\nthey hung in their dying torments, while the tyrant and his wives sat\nfeasting and enjoying the horrors of the scene.\n\nThis most unworthy king of Judea died in camp of a quartan ague, 79 B.C.\n\nAlexandra, the queen, a woman of prudence, assumed the reigns of\ngovernment on the death of her husband, and Judea was for about nine\nyears wisely ruled by a woman. Alexandra made her eldest son, Hyrcanus,\nhigh priest at Jerusalem, he being at that time thirty-three years of\nage. Hyrcanus was a man of quiet temper and indolent habits, unfitted\nto make a struggle for his rights; and on the death of the queen,\nAristobulus, his younger brother, wrested from him both the high\npriesthood and the kingdom, 70 B.C.\n\nBut Aristobulus wore not the crown in peace. Great disturbances arose\nin Judea, having their origin in the ambition of Antipater, an Idumean\nby birth, but professing the Jewish religion. Having been brought up in\nthe court of Alexander Janneus, and that of Alexandra his successor,\nAntipater hoped through his favour with Hyrcanus, whom he naturally\nregarded as their heir, to rise into importance in the state. These\nhopes were disappointed by the dethronement of Hyrcanus. Henceforth the\nanxious efforts of the Idumean were directed to rousing the dethroned\nprince to make a vigorous struggle to regain his lost throne.\n\nHyrcanus was neither active nor ambitious\u2014he valued his own ease above\nthe title of King of Judea; but at length being persuaded by Antipater\nthat his life was in danger from his brother\u2014that he had no choice\nbut to reign or to perish\u2014Hyrcanus engaged in the contest for power.\nThe generality of the people declared for Hyrcanus, while many of the\npriesthood clung to the usurper, and a battle took place in which the\nforces of Aristobulus were defeated.\n\nAn event occurred at this time which shows how far the Jewish people\nhad fallen from the piety of their ancestors, how the crimes of their\nwicked rulers were emulated by those below them.\n\nThere was at Jerusalem a man named Onias, so noted for his sanctity\nof life, that it was believed by his countrymen that to his fervent\nprayers rain had been granted in a season of drought. Concluding that\nthe saint\u2019s maledictions must equally prevail with his prayers, the\nsuperstitious followers of Hyrcanus brought Onias forth, and urged him\nto curse Aristobulus and his friends, who were then besieged in the\ntemple. Long the saint refused to listen to such evil entreaties; but\nat length, to quiet the importunity of the people, he stood up in the\nmidst of them, and lifting up his hands towards heaven, the good man\nuttered this prayer:\u2014\u201cO Lord God, Ruler of the universe! since those\nthat are with us are Thy people, and they that are besieged in the\ntemple are Thy priests, I pray that Thou wouldst hear the prayers of\nneither of them against the other!\u201d\n\nInstead of being touched by the patriot\u2019s prayer, the furious people\nwere so much enraged, that, snatching up stones, they hurled them\nagainst the saint. Onias was actually stoned to death because he would\nnot defile with curses the lips so often employed in prayer, nor invoke\nthe Almighty\u2019s vengeance upon the misguided people whom he yet regarded\nas his brethren.\n\nThe contest which raged in Judea produced that which is the frequent\nresult of such intestine struggles\u2014a third party being called in as\numpire, and that umpire taking advantage of the dissensions of the\nrivals to establish his own power over both. Such an umpire was found\nby the Asmonean brothers in the ambitious republic of Rome. The dispute\nbetween Hyrcanus and Aristobulus was referred to the decision of\nPompey, a celebrated Roman general. Both the princes stooped to appear\nin person to plead their respective causes before a stranger and a\nheathen.\n\n[Illustration: POMPEY.]\n\nVarious intrigues and negotiations followed Aristobulus, perceiving at\nlast that the decision of Pompey was not likely to be in his favour,\nabruptly withdrew to make preparations for war. His conduct towards the\nRoman general was marked by mingled deference and distrust. Fearful of\noffending one who would be so powerful either as an ally or a foe, he\nendeavoured by every means to induce Pompey to recognize his title to\nthe crown.\n\nThe blessing of Heaven did not rest upon the efforts of this ambitious\nprince. Pompey thought himself mocked and deceived, and before the year\nwas concluded he had put Aristobulus in fetters, and had laid siege to\nJerusalem.\n\nIll fares the city that is divided in itself! Hyrcanus and many of the\nJews, allowing the spirit of patriotism to be lost in the spirit of\nparty, supplied the foreign foe with every necessary for carrying on\nthe siege. For three months the city held out, when, a breach being\nmade large enough for an assault, the fierce soldiery rushed within\neven the wall which protected the temple. A savage massacre of the\ndefenders followed, and none acted more cruelly herein than the Jews\nof the opposite faction. In this terrible scene of destruction, the\npriests, who were in the temple at the time when it was carried by\nstorm, went on with the daily service, without being deterred by the\nhorror of seeing their friends fall around them, or the fear of sharing\ntheir fate. Many of these heroic priests were slain by the enemy\u2019s\nsword, and their blood mingled with that of the sacrifices which they\nwere offering on the altar of God, 63 B.C.\n\nPompey entered the temple as a conqueror; and not contenting himself\nwith viewing the splendour of the outer courts, he violated the\nfeelings of all pious Jews by intruding into the Holy of holies. The\nsound of the heathen victor\u2019s tread echoed in that sacred place into\nwhich the high priest alone had been privileged to enter, but had it\nnot been as much profaned when an Aristobulus or an Alexander presumed\nthere to worship a holy God, while they were stained with the guilt of\na brother\u2019s murder?\n\nHyrcanus was restored to the office of high priest, he was also made\nprince of Judea; but the dignity of the title was lost with the\nindependence of his unhappy country. Judea was no longer free\u2014she was\nunder tribute to the Roman conquerors\u2014she now bowed to the yoke of that\nnation which was at length to crush her even to the dust.\n\n[Illustration: ROMAN TRIUMPH.]\n\nAristobulus was carried to Rome, where, with his two sons, he was\ncompelled to grace the triumph of Pompey. Bitter must have been the\nhumiliation of the ambitious Asmonean prince when following the\ntriumphal chariot of his heathen conqueror through streets thronged\nwith eager multitudes! In vain might he long that the earth would open\nbefore him to hide his disgrace from the curious gaze of unpitying\neyes! _They who exalt themselves shall be abased._ Aristobulus long\nremained a prisoner in Rome; and when at length political changes in\nthat city seemed to open to him a path to freedom and to power, his\nambitious career was suddenly closed by poison, administered to him as\nhe was returning to his country, 49 B.C.\n\nHyrcanus bore the name of ruler in Jerusalem, but the real power lay in\nthe hands of the ambitious Antipater, the Idumean, who enjoyed great\nfavour with the Romans. Phasael, his eldest son, was made governor of\nJerusalem; Herod, his second son, governor of Galilee. The latter,\nwho afterwards sat on the throne of Judea under the title of Herod\nthe Great, was a man of singular energy and courage, as well as of\npolitical talent. He strengthened his influence with the Jews by\nmarrying Mariamne, the beautiful grand-daughter of Hyrcanus, and thus\nallying himself to the royal family of the Asmoneans.\n\nIn the year 40 B.C., Antigonus, son of Aristobulus, assisted by the\nParthians, made a desperate effort to win the regal power, in aspiring\nto which his father had lost first his freedom and then his life.\nAntipater the Idumean was dead\u2014he also had perished by poison; and\nhis son Herod was absent from Judea, when the Parthians marched upon\nJerusalem, plundered the country round, seized upon the city, and made\nAntigonus king. Hyrcanus and Phasael were delivered up in chains to the\nmercy of the conqueror. Phasael, knowing his death to be determined\nupon, in desperation dashed out his own brains against the walls of his\ndungeon. Antigonus spared the life of Hyrcanus, his dethroned uncle;\nbut cut off his ears, that he might be for ever disqualified from being\nhigh priest, as no one with a member imperfect was capable of holding\nthe office.\n\nHerod, hearing of the dethronement of Hyrcanus and the death of his\nown brother Phasael, hastened to Rome, to seek there for help from\nhis powerful allies. Aided by them, he brought a large force into the\nfield, and besieged the new king in Jerusalem, 38 B.C. It was not till\nthe next year that the city was taken, as it was desperately defended\nby the Jews. At length the Romans entered on every side, and filled all\nthe streets with blood and slaughter, till Herod himself interceded for\nthe people, exclaiming that the Romans would make him king only of a\ndesert.\n\nAntigonus, seeing that all was lost, surrendered himself to the enemy.\nHerod did not consider himself secure in the kingdom which was bestowed\nupon him by his Roman allies, as long as one prince of the blood-royal\nremained alive on the earth. With great difficulty he obtained from\nthe Roman general a decree condemning Antigonus to death. The sentence\nwas executed on the unhappy prince; and beneath the axe of the lictor\nperished the last king of the male line of the Asmonean race. We have\nnow followed the thread of the history of that race from its first\nglorious commencement to the period when, stained as it was with blood,\nand darkened with crime, we trace by it only the miseries and wrongs of\nunfortunate princes in the realm once ruled by their fathers. We behold\nin that history the end of ambition. The descendants of the noble\nMattathias were great until they aspired to be greater, and glorious\nuntil they ceased to seek God\u2019s glory rather than their own.\n\n           CONTEMPORANEOUS EVENTS.\n                 107-38 B.C.\n                                      B.C.\n    Cataline\u2019s conspiracy at Rome      66\n    C\u00e6sar\u2019s invasion of Britain        55\n    Battle of Pharsalia                48\n    Death of C\u00e6sar                     44\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII.\n\nREIGN OF HEROD THE GREAT.\n\n\n    The Fatal Pond\u2014Joseph\u2019s Secret\u2014Death of\n        Hyrcanus\u2014Fate of Mariamne, her Mother,\n        and her Sons.\n\nAnd now, for the first time, there reigned in Judea a king who was\nnot of the race of Jacob\u2014a king who had been placed on the throne\nby a foreign power, and who was chiefly maintained there by foreign\ninfluence.\n\nAs the cruel and unscrupulous character of their ruler developed\nitself, the Jews had reason to feel their degradation more deeply, and\nto long more earnestly for the time, now at hand, when the Deliverer\nshould appear in Zion.\n\nWe have seen that Herod had united himself in marriage with Mariamne,\nthe grand-daughter of Hyrcanus, a princess who, in the graces of\nher person, is said to have excelled all the women of her time, and\nwhose spirit was equal to her beauty. She possessed great influence\nwith Herod, who loved her as ardently as one of his hard and selfish\nnature could love. Mariamne, and her mother Alexandra, the daughter\nof Hyrcanus, naturally desired to see Aristobulus, the brother of the\none and son of the other, elevated to the high priesthood. The youth,\nwho was only seventeen, was entitled by his birth to the office; and\nthe princesses so earnestly advocated his claims, that Herod deposed\nthe high priest whom he himself had set up, and made Aristobulus high\npriest in his place.\n\nBut no sooner had the tyrant raised the Asmonean prince, than he began\nto find in him an object of jealousy and fear. Nature had endowed the\nyouthful pontiff, like his sister, with dignity and grace, and the\npower of winning to himself the warm affections of the people. Herod\nknew that, in the opinion of many of the Jews, he who bore the priestly\noffice was also entitled to the kingly, and the tyrant resolved to\ndestroy one who might become a dangerous rival to himself. The art with\nwhich he accomplished this villainous design makes its atrocity yet\ndarker.\n\nAristobulus, unsuspicious of treachery, accompanied his brother-in-law,\nHerod, to a banquet prepared at Jericho. After the feast was concluded,\nthe young high priest was persuaded to join a party in bathing. He\nentered the pond, which the tyrant had resolved that he never should\nquit alive. Under pretence of sportive play, attendants, suborned by\nHerod, held the struggling, gasping youth beneath the water till life\nwas extinct, and then pretended that his death had been occasioned by\nan unfortunate accident.\n\nBitter were the lamentations over the fair young prince, and none\nappeared to mourn his untimely fate more deeply than Herod. Splendid\nwas the funeral which he prepared for his victim; but his hypocrisy\nblinded no one, and Alexandra, the bereaved mother, silently, in the\ndepths of her bleeding heart, nourished thoughts of revenge.\n\nIf Mariamne had ever regarded her husband with feelings of affection,\nthe murder of her innocent brother must have changed them to feelings\nof horror. For such Herod gave his young wife yet greater cause. On\nhis departure from Judea, 34 B.C., the king left the administration of\ngovernment and the care of his family to his uncle Joseph. Selfish even\nin his love, unable to endure the idea that his beautiful queen should\never survive him to be loved by another, Herod charged Joseph, should\nhe himself be cut off on his journey, to put Mariamne to death.\n\nDuring Herod\u2019s absence Joseph frequently visited the queen, and at\nthese visits would dilate upon the love borne to her by her royal\nhusband. At one time, with marvellous indiscretion, he let out the\nfatal secret of the command which he had received from the king,\ntelling her that so dear was she to Herod, that as he could not live\nwithout her, so he was resolved that death should not part them. The\nqueen could not readily forget or forgive such a proof of a husband\u2019s\naffection.\n\nHerod having advanced so far on his path of guilt, waded yet deeper\nand deeper in crime. The aged Hyrcanus was now living quietly and\nhonourably at Seleucia. The Jews beyond the Euphrates respected him as\ntheir king and high priest, notwithstanding the cruel measure which\nhis nephew had taken to incapacitate him from holding the latter\noffice. Hyrcanus had been the friend of Herod\u2019s father, Antipater; he\nhad been the benefactor of Herod himself, and had bestowed his own\ngrand-daughter upon him. But Hyrcanus was a descendant of Asmoneus; he\nhad once sat upon the throne of Judea; and, notwithstanding his age and\nunambitious temper, might possibly ascend it again. This was sufficient\nto seal his doom. Neither gratitude, the social tie, nor respect for\nhis gray hairs, could win mercy for the venerable prince. Herod enticed\nHyrcanus to Jerusalem; falsely accused him of conspiring against him;\nand under this pretence took the life of his benefactor, after he had\npassed the eightieth year of his age.\n\nMariamne now regarded with ill-concealed aversion him who had caused\nthe death of her nearest relations, and who had meditated her own. The\ncontempt in which the high-born Jewess held the family of the Idumean\ndrew upon her the bitter hatred of his mother Cyprus, and his sister\nSalome; and they did all in their power to induce Herod to destroy\nhis beautiful wife. The Asmonean princess hung but by a thread over\nthe gulf into which so many of her race had been plunged; that thread\nwas the passionate love of a capricious tyrant; and it was at length\nsnapped asunder by her own unguarded expression of the just indignation\nwhich boiled in her breast. Bitterly Mariamne reproached the murderer,\nwho was unworthy the name of her husband, and taunted him with the\ncommand which he had secretly given for her death in the event of his\nown.\n\nHerod was stung to rage and fury, his love was changed for the time\ninto hate, and the wicked Salome took advantage of his anger to ruin\nthe woman whom she detested. Mariamne was falsely accused of a design\nto poison her husband, the father of her children. The fair young queen\nwas brought to trial for her life; and her judges, suborned by her\nfoes, sentenced her to be put to death.\n\nFearful was the struggle in the mind of Herod between his passionate\nlove for Mariamne, and the fierce anger which possessed his soul. But\nCyprus and Salome, like tempting fiends, urged him forward on his path\nof blood. They suggested that, if the Asmonean princess were spared,\nthe people might rise in her behalf; and the miserable Herod was at\nlength induced to order the execution of the fatal sentence.\n\nThe spirit of the descendant of the heroic Mattathias sustained her to\nthe last. The queen of Judea with calm courage saw the end approaching\nof a life which had been crowded with so many trials; though she must\nhave sighed at the thought of her two young sons, left under the\nguidance of a father who was the destroyer of their mother. As, with a\nfirm step and an unblanched cheek, the queen proceeded to the place of\nexecution, her bitter cup was yet further imbittered by the unnatural\nconduct of Alexandra, her own mother. This unprincipled woman, dreading\nthat she herself might become the next victim of the murderer of her\nson and her daughter, thought to avert Herod\u2019s wrath by loading the\nqueen with cruel reproaches. Mariamne bore this last trial in dignified\nsilence, and passed on to her death great, firm, and fearless to the\nend, 28 B.C.\n\nHerod\u2019s rage being quenched in the blood of his innocent wife, all his\naffection towards her revived. Half maddened by remorse and despair, he\nhad no rest by day or by night. The remembrance of Mariamne haunted him\nwhere-ever he went, and in transports of grief he called aloud upon the\nname of her whom his blind fury had destroyed. A grievous pestilence\nraged at this time in the land, which carried off great numbers of the\npeople, and which was regarded as the just retribution of Heaven for\nthe guiltless blood of the queen.\n\nThe health of Herod gave way under the pressure of his misery. While\nhe lay sick, prostrated both in body and mind, Alexandra, seizing\nthe favourable moment, made a plot which, if successful, would have\nplaced in her hands both power and the means of vengeance. Her design\nwas discovered and frustrated, and the execution of the mother soon\nfollowed that of her unfortunate daughter.\n\nHerod had now become the object of the just detestation of the people.\nHe endeavoured to soften their resentment for his crimes, and perhaps\nto quiet his own tortured conscience, by expending immense sums upon\nthe temple at Jerusalem. For many years he employed eighteen thousand\nworkmen upon the building. The outside was adorned profusely with gold,\nand the pinnacles, glittering in the sun, dazzled the eyes of admiring\nbeholders.\n\nBut that the miserable Herod had _not_ brought to God the offering of\na broken and contrite heart, more precious than all the world\u2019s vain\ntreasures\u2014that his remorse was _not_ repentance, was proved by his\nsubsequent conduct.\n\nThe blood of Asmoneus still flowed in the veins of two young\nprinces\u2014Aristobulus and Alexander, the sons of Mariamne; and though\nthese princes were his own children, Herod regarded them with jealous\nfears. They might one day assert the rights of their birth\u2014one day\navenge their murdered mother.\n\nThe young men were brought up at Rome, where they had too unguardedly\nexpressed their natural feelings in regard to the fate of the queen.\nAgain Salome acted her fiendish part of stirring up her brother to\ncrime. Herod\u2019s mind was filled with jealousy and suspicion. To make\ndiscovery of intended treason, the confidants of the unhappy princes\nwere stretched upon the rack, and the intolerable torment forcing from\nsome of them false confessions, Alexander was loaded with chains, and\nthrown into prison by his father.\n\nThe position of the princes excited sympathy. The good offices of\nArchelaus, king of Cappadocia, produced a temporary reconciliation\nbetween Herod and his sons. But the breach was not in reality healed.\nIn 6 B.C., the unnatural Herod wrote to Augustus, then emperor of Rome,\nto obtain the monarch\u2019s consent to his putting his own offspring to\ndeath. Augustus had already repeatedly interposed between the tyrant\nand his victims, but he now left the unfortunate sons of Mariamne to\nthe mercy of their father. The young men were brought to trial, as\ntheir beautiful mother had been before them; and the result was in both\ncases the same. Sentence of death was pronounced against the princes,\nand they were both strangled by their father\u2019s command.\n\nIt is fearful to contemplate the state of Judea under the rule of this\nbloody tyrant. At the commencement of his reign Herod had given an\nearnest of his cruelty, by slaying all but two of the members of the\ngreat Jewish council of the Sanhedrim. Whoever opposed, or seemed to\noppose, his power, was ruthlessly put to death. While Herod sought\nto spread his fame by the magnificence of the buildings which he\nraised, the people groaned under oppressive taxes. Bands of robbers\nravaged the land, and were with difficulty put down by the strong\nhand of power. While crime stalked wolf-like through the palace,\nin serpent form it coiled even within the sacred precincts of the\ntemple. Religion itself was made a mask for covetousness and pride.\nDifferent sects disputed together. The Pharisees, while scrupulously\nobserving every outward ceremonial of the law, corrupted the pure\nfount of Truth by mixing with it the vain traditions of men. The\nSadducees, with bold infidelity, rejected Heaven-taught doctrines, and\nplunged into evil excesses, unrestrained by the dread of a judgment to\ncome. It might seem that the chosen, much-favoured nation, so often\nrebelling\u2014repenting\u2014being chastened and forgiven\u2014had at length filled\nup the cup of her transgressions, and that the Divine vengeance, like a\nlooming cloud, was about to burst in full fury upon guilty Jerusalem.\n\n        CONTEMPORANEOUS EVENTS\n               38-1 B.C.\n                               B.C.\n    Battle of Actium            31\n    Rome became an empire       27\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII.\n\nTHE BIRTH OF THE MESSIAH.\n\n    Reflections on the Time and Manner of the Appearance\n        upon Earth of the Lord Jesus Christ.\n\nIt was at this period, when the gloom was the heaviest, the night\ndarkest, that the Sun of Righteousness arose with healing on His\nwings\u2014that the long-expected, much-desired Messiah at length was born\nupon earth.\n\nNot that this was the first time that the Lord had condescended to\nappear to His people. As God the Father, robed in inaccessible glory,\nhas never at any time been seen by man,\u2014as we, who are dust and ashes,\ncould not look upon His face and live,\u2014it is evident that, on the\nvarious occasions on which the Lord became manifest to mortals, it\nwas the Eternal Son who deigned to shroud His glory by assuming a\nvisible form. Thus it was the Divine Son who pronounced the sentence\nupon Adam in the garden of Eden, and who held out to the trembling Eve\nthe merciful promise of a future offspring who should both suffer and\ntriumph. It was the Divine Son who listened graciously to the pleadings\nof Abraham for the guilty cities of the plain, doomed to a terrible\ndestruction. It was the Divine Son who, in the likeness of a man of\nwar, appeared unto Gideon, and by a single look bestowed upon him\nirresistible might.\n\nBut this was to be no brief appearance\u2014no passing glimpse of a present\nDeity. The Holy One was to become incarnate,\u2014to wear the throbbing\nflesh, to assume the mortal nature of the creatures whom He himself had\ncreated. Well might the heavens wonder, and the earth rejoice, at so\ntranscendent an act of condescension.\n\nBut may we not marvel that, when the Lord stooped to become man, He\nchose not a time when the faith of His people was strong\u2014when their\nobedience was earnest? How would the devoted Nehemiah have welcomed\nhis Masters coming!\u2014with what joy would Judas Maccabeus have laid his\nconquering sword at the feet of his King! And may we not marvel that\nwhen He whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain, condescended to wear\na mortal body, He did not choose to appear as a mighty monarch, cradled\nin a magnificent palace, and adored by all the nations of the earth!\n\n[Illustration: BIRTH OF OUR SAVIOUR.]\n\nWe must remember that the Redeemer of the world had a threefold office\nto perform: He had to save man, satisfy God, and subdue the power of\nSatan.\n\nAll men were under sentence of death. Eternal Truth had declared, \u201cTHE\nSOUL THAT SINNETH, IT SHALL DIE;\u201d and Eternal Justice was engaged to\nexecute that awful sentence. _All_ had sinned and come short of the\nglory of God. Even the babe that died when but a few hours old, born of\nthe corrupted, inherited a corrupt nature. Who can bring a clean thing\nout of an unclean?\u2014pure water from a fountain that is tainted?\n\nBefore guilty man could be saved, Eternal Justice must be satisfied. A\nvictim must be found of worth so priceless as to outweigh in the sight\nof the Almighty all the countless transgressions of mankind. It was not\npossible that the blood of bulls and goats could wash away a single\nsin. They were offered by the saints of old to show their faith in,\nand to make them partakers of the benefits of the one great Sacrifice,\nwhich was to atone for the guilt of a world.\n\nAnd the Son of God came not only to save and to suffer, but also to\nsubdue. He would meet the enemy, Satan, on his own ground. Where man\nhad fallen under the power of temptation, the God-man would rise\ntriumphant over every temptation which the Evil One could offer. One\nborn of woman would, by his spotless obedience, fulfil the whole\nlaw which Adam and Adam\u2019s race had broken, and in His own strength\nconquering the conqueror, trample Satan under His feet.\n\nWe thus behold the Redeemer in His threefold office. To save man, He\nmust assume man\u2019s nature; to satisfy God\u2019s justice, He must suffer and\ndie. His whole life must be an example of obedience under each form of\nsorrow and trial. He must bear the weight of poverty, endure the sting\nof contempt. It was by enduring that He triumphed\u2014it was by suffering\nthat He saved! The lamb bleeding beneath the sacrificial knife; the\nrock smitten, that its gushing waters might give life to the perishing\npeople; Isaac bound by his own father on the altar;\u2014such were the types\nof Him who, sinless, bore the punishment of sin, and who passed to His\neverlasting kingdom from the torments of the cross and the darkness of\nthe grave.\n\nAs this work is merely a sketch of the history of the Jews, I shall\nnot attempt to introduce into its pages any account of the life of our\nRedeemer, or the miracles of mercy which He wrought. My office is to\ndescribe the political state of the land in which He deigned to appear;\nto record the crimes of its rulers; to place the dark background of\nhistory behind that glorious form which inspired pens have delineated\nin the Gospels.\n\nThe tyrant Herod had reigned about thirty-three years, when his court\nwas startled by the tidings of the arrival of sages from the East,\nwho had received from a heavenly sign notice of the birth of a mighty\nRuler. \u201cWhere is He that is born King of the Jews?\u201d was the anxious\nquestion of the pious travellers; \u201cfor we have seen His star in the\neast, and have come to worship Him.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: THE WISE MEN BEFORE HEROD.]\n\nThe monarch of Judea well knew that the expectation of his people was\neagerly fixed upon the coming of the Messiah; he must also have known\nthat prophecy pointed towards this time for the Holy One\u2019s appearance.\nThe conduct of the tyrant showed that in the mysterious babe, born\nat Bethlehem, he dreaded a rival. He sought information of the sages\nregarding the child, that he might quench in blood this dawning light\nof Israel. Being frustrated by the secret return of the sages to their\nown land, Herod determined to make sure of his horrible object by a\nmore sweeping act of cruelty. He sent forth and slew all the children\nin Bethlehem and in the neighbouring coasts, from two years old and\nunder, ruthlessly tearing the innocent little ones from the arms of\ntheir agonized mothers, and filling the land with the lamentations of\nparents weeping over their slaughtered offspring.\n\n[Illustration: BETHLEHEM.]\n\nBut it is in vain for man to fight against the decrees of God. An angel\nhad appeared in a dream to Joseph, the babe\u2019s reputed father, and\nwarned him to flee into Egypt with the Virgin Mary, and her infant\nson. Thus every babe in Bethlehem was slain by the cruelty of Herod,\nsave the one whose life he aimed at\u2014the only one whom he cared to\ndestroy.\n\n[Illustration: THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV.\n\nDEATH OF HEROD.\n\n\n    Sickness of Herod\u2014Bold Exploit\u2014Attempt at\n        Suicide\u2014Barbarous Command\u2014Death of Herod\u2014Judea\n        Reduced to a Province\u2014Devoted Courage of the Jews.\n\nThe measure of the tyrant\u2019s iniquities was now nearly full; the earth\nwas not much longer to endure the presence of this monster of cruelty.\nHerod, as Antiochus Epiphanes had been before him, was struck by the\nhand of an avenging God with a most strange and horrible disease. The\nproud king became a loathsome object to all who approached him; he was\nconsumed with inward pain, worn by incurable melancholy, tortured by\nunappeasable hunger, and scarcely able to breathe.\n\nWhile his sickness was slowly but surely bringing Herod the Great to\nthe tomb, an event occurred which proved that the old heroic spirit of\nthe Jews was not quenched, and that there were those amongst them who\ncould not patiently endure the hated yoke of the Romans.\n\nTwo of the most learned and esteemed of the Jews, Matthias and Judas by\nname, burned with an ardent desire to emulate their pious ancestors,\nand purify the city and temple of their God from heathen profanation.\nGradually they gathered around them many young and ardent spirits, whom\nthey incited to vindicate, by some gallant deed, the honour of their\nreligion.\n\nHerod, with great disregard for the feelings of the nation whom he\ngoverned, had put up the figure of a golden eagle, the emblem of Roman\npower, over the great gate of the temple. Many a fierce and angry\nglance had been raised by the Jewish worshippers towards this abhorred\nimage, and the boldest amongst them at length resolved to tear down\nthe insulting emblem. Judas and Matthias stirred up their followers to\nthe daring attempt, reminding them how glorious a thing it was to face\ndanger, and even to die for the laws of their beloved country.\n\nA party of resolute young men, in the face of day, and in the presence\nof a number of the people, let themselves down by thick cords from the\ntop of the temple, and with axes cut away the golden eagle. But the\npower of the dying Herod was not with impunity to be defied. A party of\nsoldiers hastened to the temple, and about forty of the young Jews were\nseized, and brought into the presence of the king.\n\nHerod demanded of them whether they had indeed been so daring as to cut\ndown the eagle from the temple; and they frankly confessed that they\nhad done so.\n\n\u201cAt whose command?\u201d asked the tyrant.\n\n\u201cAt the command of the laws of our country,\u201d was the young Jews\u2019\nintrepid reply.\n\nThey were in the hands of one to whom mercy was a stranger. Not only\nthe immediate actors in the daring deed, but the teachers who had\nincited them to it, were burned alive by the order of Herod.\n\nThe king\u2019s sufferings now became so intolerable, that he made a\ndesperate attempt to end them by his own hand. One day, in the\nextremity of his agony, he tried to stab himself with a knife, but was\nprevented by a relative, who saw his design, and rushed forward in time\nto defeat it.\n\nFive days before Herod expired, his son Antipater, who had conspired\nagainst him, was slain by the command of his merciless father. As the\ngloomy tyrant\u2019s end drew near, his savage nature showed itself in yet\nmore revolting colours. He seized upon the most illustrious men of the\nJewish nation, and then confined them in a place called the Hippodrome.\nHerod then sent for his sister Salome and her husband, and crowned all\nhis other acts of wickedness, by giving them the following atrocious\norder:\u2014\n\n\u201cI know well,\u201d said the dying tyrant, \u201cthat the Jews will keep a\nfestival upon my death. However, it is in my power to be mourned for on\nother accounts. Do you have a care to send soldiers to encompass those\nmen that are now in ward, and slay them immediately upon my death, and\nthen all Judea and every family of them will weep at it, whether they\nwill or no!\u201d\n\nThis horrible command was not obeyed. Herod died, and Jerusalem\nrejoiced.\n\nBy his will, subject to the approval of the emperor of Rome, Herod\ndivided his dominions amongst three surviving sons\u2014Archelaus, Herod\nAntipas, and Philip. To Archelaus fell the government of Judea and\nSamaria, which he held for nine years, under the title of Ethnarch;\nwhile Herod Antipas reigned in Galilee; and Philip ruled over Auronitis\nand other provinces.\n\nThe tidings of the death of the tyrant Herod were brought by an angel\nto Joseph, who forthwith returned from Egypt with Mary his wife, and\nher child. Hearing, however, that Archelaus had succeeded to his\nfather, Joseph turned aside to Nazareth in Galilee, the Virgin\u2019s former\nplace of residence. There, for many years, the family remained in quiet\nseclusion, until the time arrived for the Messiah to show Himself\nopenly to the people.\n\nThe reign of Archelaus was stormy. Desperate struggles were made by\nthe Jews to regain their liberty, and shake off the yoke of their\noppressors. They hoped that the time had at length come when their\nMessiah should appear amongst them, place Himself at their head, and,\nwith more than the prowess and success of Judas Maccabeus, drive all\ntheir enemies before them. Various impostors started up, who were for\na while eagerly received by the people, and who drew their misguided\nfollowers with them into destruction. The Roman general, Varus, came\nwith an army to crush the insurgents, and by his orders two thousand of\nthem suffered the horrible death of crucifixion.\n\n[Illustration: NAZARETH.]\n\nArchelaus, a cruel, unprincipled man, was detested by the Jews almost\nas much as his father had been. Unable by their own efforts to get rid\nof the tyrant, they appealed to the Roman Emperor Augustus, by whom\nArchelaus was brought to trial, deposed, and banished.\n\n[Illustration: ROMAN GOVERNOR WITH CONSULAR ORNAMENTS.]\n\nThe land over which Archelaus had ruled was now reduced to a Roman\nprovince, and governed by Roman procurators, who possessed the power\nof life and death. This office was held successively by Coponius,\nMarcus Ambivius, and Valerius Gratus, till, in the year 26 A.D.,[4] the\ncorrupt and unprincipled Pontius Pilate became procurator of Judea.\n\n[Illustration: C\u00c6SAR AUGUSTUS.]\n\nThe new governor was not long in discovering how difficult was the\ncharge he had undertaken. It was by no means easy to reconcile\nhis anxiety to please and obey his Roman master, with his wish to\nconciliate the excited and turbulent people over whom he ruled.\n\nA very great tumult was excited amongst the Jews by Pilate\u2019s bringing\nsecretly into the city images of C\u00e6sar Augustus. This was contrary\nto the Jewish law, and roused the strongest indignation. Numbers of\nthe Jews hastened to Pilate, who was then at Cesarea, and besought\nhim earnestly to remove the hateful ensigns from Jerusalem. On the\nprocurator\u2019s refusal to accede to their entreaties, the Jews flung\nthemselves down in the dust, and for five days and nights remained upon\nthe earth in a posture of despair.\n\nPilate was struck by the firm attachment of these Jews to their customs\nand laws, and resolved to put it to a yet greater trial. He summoned\nthe people to the market-place, and then suddenly caused them to be\nsurrounded by a band of armed warriors. The Jews were in the utmost\nconsternation at the unexpected sight, and yet more so when Pilate\nbade the soldiers draw their swords, and sternly gave the people the\nalternative of receiving the images with submission, or of being\ninstantly cut to pieces.\n\nBut the devotion of the Jews rose superior to their fear. They fell\ndown in numbers together, and stretching out their necks for the fatal\nblow, declared that they were ready to die rather than that their law\nshould be transgressed.\n\nPilate\u2019s opposition was overcome by the firm resolution of these brave\nmen; and giving way to the popular feeling, he commanded that the\nobnoxious images should be removed from the city of Jerusalem.\n\n                        CONTEMPORANEOUS EVENT.\n\n    Temple of Janus shut in Rome as a token of universal peace,\n    in the year 5 B.C., when the Lord Jesus Christ was born.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV.\n\nTHE DEATH OF THE MESSIAH.\n\n    Imprisonment and Death of John the Baptist\u2014Trial\n        and Crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ.\n\nWhile the Roman Procurator Pilate governed in Jerusalem, Herod Antipas,\nthe son of Herod the Great, reigned in Galilee under the title of\nTetrarch. It was this prince who, on being reproved by the prophet John\nthe Baptist for an unlawful marriage with his brother\u2019s wife, first\nthrew his faithful monitor into prison, and afterwards, through the\narts of the wicked Herodias, was persuaded to put him to death.\n\nAbout two years after the perpetration of this crime, occurred at\nJerusalem that awful EVENT on which hung the eternal destinies of a\nworld. Before the tribunal of Pontius Pilate appeared the future Judge\nof all mankind! Accused by His own people of perverting the nation, and\nforbidding to give tribute to C\u00e6sar, the incarnate Son of God stood a\nprisoner in the presence of the Roman procurator.\n\nUpon the details of the awful scenes that followed, it is not the\nprovince of this history to dwell. There was a struggle in the mind of\nPilate, who was convinced of the innocence of the Accused. Unwilling to\ncondemn the guiltless Prisoner, he was yet reluctant to oppose himself\nto the fanatical fury of the Jews, who clamoured for the blood of their\nVictim. An argument was at length brought forward by the wily Jews,\nwhich added to Pilate\u2019s fear of offending the people the yet stronger\ndread of drawing down upon himself the wrath of the emperor of Rome.\n\u201cIf thou let this Man go,\u201d they cried, \u201cthou art not C\u00e6sar\u2019s friend.\nWhosoever maketh himself a king, speaketh against C\u00e6sar.\u201d\n\nOvercome by that fear of man which bringeth a snare, the procurator at\nlength gave the fatal command which consigned the spotless Jesus to the\nterrible death of crucifixion.\n\n[Illustration: CHRIST BEFORE PILATE.]\n\nAnd then was consummated that awful sacrifice which had been determined\non in the counsels of the Almighty, before the foundation of the world.\nRejected by His own people, betrayed by an apostle, delivered up by the\ncowardice of His judge to the malice of His merciless foes, the Lord\nJesus, \u201cfor us men, and for our salvation,\u201d poured out His life\u2019s blood\non the altar of the cross.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI.\n\nHEROD AGRIPPA.\n\n\n    Death of Herod Antipas\u2014Suicide of\n        Pilate\u2014Punishment of Pride\u2014Great\n        Riot\u2014Tyranny\u2014Assassinations\u2014False\n        Prophets.\n\nIt was not long after the death and resurrection of our Lord, while\nHis infant Church was struggling against its first difficulties,\nthat Philip, brother of Herod Antipas, died. As he left no son, his\nterritory was annexed to the Roman province of Syria; but his nephew,\nHerod Agrippa, was high in favour with the Emperor Caligula, and from\nhim received the tetrarchy of Philip, together with the title of King.\n\n[Illustration: CALIGULA.]\n\nHerod Agrippa was the son of Aristobulus, one of the unfortunate sons\nof Mariamne, who, like their unhappy mother, had perished by the\ncruelty of Herod the Great. He had, therefore, Jewish blood in his\nveins; and when, by the favour of a succeeding emperor, Judea and\nSamaria were added to his dominions, he made efforts to win to himself\nthe affections of the people whom he governed. He began to encompass\nJerusalem with a magnificent wall, which he deemed would render it\nimpregnable\u2014thus emulating the noble work of Nehemiah, although\ninfluenced by a very different spirit.\n\nThe greatness and prosperity of this king inflamed the ambition of his\nuncle. \u201cWhy should Herod Agrippa enjoy the regal title, while Herod\nAntipas remains but a tetrarch?\u201d such were the envious reflections of\nthe tyrant. His partner, the detestable Herodias, more than shared his\nambition. She urged Herod Antipas to go in person to the emperor at\nRome, assuring him that it was only because he had not appeared before\nC\u00e6sar (such was the title then common to the Roman despots) that he was\ndestitute of royal dignity.\n\nIt was meet that Herodias, who had been Herod\u2019s tempter to crime,\nshould be also his tempter to ruin, and then share the misery which she\nhad wrought.\n\nHerod Antipas sailed for Rome. Herod Agrippa followed his uncle, not\nto befriend, but to accuse. The emperor lent a willing ear to his\nfavourite. The tetrarch of Galilee was not suffered to return to the\nland which he had stained with innocent blood. He was banished to\nSpain, and his dominions were bestowed on Herod Agrippa.\n\nHerodias followed the tetrarch to the place of his banishment. There he\nwho had slain the Baptist, and mocked the Baptist\u2019s Lord, died an exile\nfrom his country.\n\nThe fate of Pilate was yet more striking. After ruling over Judea for\nten years, he was deprived of his office for his malpractices, involved\nin various calamities, and banished to Vienne in Gaul. There despair\noverwhelmed this miserable man, deprived of that favour to retain which\nhe had sacrificed his conscience and his soul. Pilate put an end to his\nown life by that hand from which he had once vainly attempted to wash\nthe stain of the blood of the Messiah.\n\nIn the year 44 A.D., Herod Agrippa the king, in order to win the favour\nof the Jews, openly joined the persecutors of the Church. James, one\nof the apostles, was put to death by the tyrant; and Peter would have\nshared the same fate, had he not been delivered from prison at night by\nthe intervention of an angel.\n\nThe career of the monarch was to be but a brief one. Herod Agrippa\nappeared to have all that the world could give. Riches, honours, power\nhad been freely lavished upon him. In the splendour of his public works\nhe appears to have emulated his grandfather, Herod the Great. Never had\nthe grandeur of his position been more striking than when, on a public\noccasion, he made an oration to the people. Arrayed in a robe of silver\ntissue, which glittered in the rays of the rising sun, the display of\nhis magnificence combined with his eloquence to dazzle the admiring\nthrong. With a shout, the people exclaimed, \u201cIt is the voice of a god,\nand not of a man!\u201d\n\nHerod rebuked not such impious flattery\u2014the pride of his heart was\ngratified; and immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he\ngave not God the glory. He was suddenly seized with agonizing pain, so\nthat he could not refrain from calling out, \u201cI, that ye called a god,\nam now going to die!\u201d Stricken with a mysterious disease, which seems\nto have resembled that which destroyed the two great persecutors,\nAntiochus Epiphanes and Herod the Great, Herod Agrippa was borne to his\npalace. There, eaten of worms, and enduring exquisite torture, this\nproud enemy of God and of His Church died in the fifty-fourth year of\nhis age.\n\nHis son Agrippa, being but seventeen years old, was deemed too young to\nsucceed to the power and dignity of his father. Three years afterwards,\nhowever, the Roman emperor made him king of Chalcis. Judea again sank\nto the condition of a province, ruled by governors appointed by Rome.\n\nUnder Cuspius Fadus, and Tiberius Alexander, Jerusalem appears to have\nhad a short breathing-space of comparative rest. But they were very\nsoon succeeded by Cumanus, and in his time war, tumult, and sedition\nspread misery over the land. The Jews were discontented with their\nRoman masters, and their efforts to break from their bondage only drew\nthe cords still tighter.\n\nIn one alarming riot in the temple, at the feast of unleavened bread,\nten thousand Jews were trodden down and killed, and the feast became a\ncause of mourning throughout the nation. There were fierce and bloody\ndissensions between the Samaritans and Jews. Villages were set on fire,\nand their inhabitants massacred without distinction of age. Bold bands\nof robbers ravaged the land, and insurrection was rife in all quarters.\nIn the year 52 A.D., Cumanus was removed by the emperor, and Felix was\nappointed procurator.\n\nThe miserable Jews soon discovered the evil qualities of their new\nmaster. Felix was mean, avaricious, and cruel. He established his\nresidence in Cesarea; and there, under pretence of administering\njustice, he practised the grossest extortion. The number of robbers, or\nthose whom he chose to punish under that name, who were crucified by\nthis barbarous governor, was fearfully great.\n\nAbout this time a horrible system of assassination prevailed in\nJerusalem. A band of men who were called Sicarii, bearing daggers\nconcealed about their persons, mingled with crowds in the city,\nespecially at the Jewish festivals. Suddenly they stabbed those whom\nthey regarded as their enemies, but so secretly and treacherously that\nthe murderers usually escaped detection. The first man slain by them\nwas Jonathan the high priest (the office had become annual); and after\nhim so many were thus treacherously assassinated, that men looked upon\ntheir neighbours with suspicion, and even in the day-time felt their\nlives insecure.\n\nAn Egyptian false prophet arose, who deluded a great number of the\npeople. He led, according to the historian Josephus, thirty thousand of\nthem through the wilderness to the Mount of Olives, whence he proposed\nto attack Jerusalem itself, and drive the Romans from the city. At the\napproach of Felix with his troops, the deceiver\u2019s courage failed him,\nand he fled, leaving his miserable followers to the vengeance of the\nstern procurator.\n\nIn the year 62 A.D., Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. It was\nduring a visit paid to this procurator by Agrippa, king of Chalcis, the\nson of Herod Agrippa, that the Apostle Paul, long detained in prison by\nFelix, pleaded his own cause before an august assembly in Cesarea, and\nappealed to the judgment-seat of the emperor of Rome.\n\n           CONTEMPORANEOUS EVENTS.\n                 33-62 A.D.\n                                     A.D.\n    London founded by the Romans      50\n    Caractacus carried to Rome        51\n    Boadicea defeated                 61\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII.\n\nCOMMENCEMENT OF WAR.\n\n\n    The Voice of Warning\u2014Horrible Oppression\u2014Stones\n        thrown at Agrippa\u2014Massacre at Masada\u2014Advance\n        and Retreat of Cestius\u2014Escape of the Christians.\n\nFestus did not long hold the reins of government. He yielded them up to\nAlbinus, a man of character so extortionate, that he was said to be the\nreal head of all the robbers in the country.\n\nIt was during the brief period of his rule, that a wailing cry was\nheard by those who assembled to keep the feast of tabernacles:\u2014\u201cA voice\nfrom the east, a voice from the west, a voice from the four winds,\na voice against Jerusalem and the holy house, a voice against the\nbridegrooms and the brides, and a voice against this whole people!\u201d The\ncry of woe was from a poor husbandman, upon whose soul the shadow of\ncoming national affliction lay like a heavy burden. Irritated by his\nmournful forebodings, the populace laid hold on the man, and beat him\nseverely; but they could not silence the voice which cried Woe to the\ndoomed city.\n\n[Illustration: DENOUNCING WOE UPON JERUSALEM.]\n\nThe rulers brought the peasant before Albinus, at whose command he\nwas barbarously scourged, even till his bones were laid bare. Yet he\nuttered no prayer for mercy, nor could pain wring from him a tear; but\nat every torturing stroke he repeated, \u201cWoe, woe to Jerusalem!\u201d\n\nFor seven years and five months the husbandman continued to cry aloud\nby day and by night in all the lanes of the city, while the cloud over\nthe land grew darker and darker, and the hour of destruction drew nigh.\nAt length, in the fatal siege which crushed the last hopes of the\nmiserable Jews, as the peasant was crying on the wall, \u201cWoe, woe to the\ncity, and to the people, and to the holy house,\u201d he added, \u201cWoe, woe to\nmyself also!\u201d and while the words were in his mouth, a stone from the\nbesiegers silenced the prophetic tongue in death.\n\nEvil as was Albinus, the Jews had cause to regret his departure,\nwhen, in the year 64 A.D., he was succeeded by the tyrant Gessius\nFlorus. This, the last, appears to have been also the worst of all the\ngovernors appointed by Rome. He spoiled whole cities, ruined entire\ncommunities, and by his tyranny and oppression large tracts of country\nwere brought to desolation.\n\nMultitudes of the people, groaning under his intolerable yoke, made\ntheir complaint against him to Cestius Gallus, the president of Syria.\nThey besought him to pity the miseries of the nation, and to relieve\nthem from their merciless tyrant. Florus, who was present, laughed\nat their accusations, but made fair promises for the future, which\nhe never intended to keep. It seems to have been his project by his\nbarbarous oppression to force the Jews into a rebellion, that in the\nconfusion and misery attendant on war, his own hateful crimes might\npass unnoticed.\n\nOn the occasion of a riot at Cesarea, Florus sent to rob the temple of\nJerusalem of a large sum of the sacred treasure, under pretext that\nit was required for the service of C\u00e6sar. At this the people were\nthrown into great excitement, and some of the boldest uttered loud\nreproaches on the avaricious tyrant. Florus marched hastily with troops\nagainst Jerusalem, and, not withstanding the submission of the chief\npriests and rulers, issued an order to his soldiers to plunder the\nmarket-place, and slay all whom they met with.\n\nOnly too eager to avail themselves of such license, the troops, like\nbloodhounds let loose, rushed through the town, plundered the houses,\nmurdered thousands of men, women, and children. Nor did the horrors of\nthe scene end here. Many of the citizens, and some of them men of rank,\nwere led before the brutal Florus, who commanded that they first should\nbe scourged, and then suffer the death of crucifixion. Fearful, though\njust retribution! The people who had chosen Barabbas, were given up to\na ruler with the spirit of a Barabbas; and the very sufferings to which\nthey had subjected their rejected Messiah, were mercilessly inflicted\non themselves!\n\nBernice, the sister of Agrippa, interceded in vain for the people. They\nwere not only tormented before her very eyes, but she was constrained\nherself to flee for her life from the fury of the cruel soldiery.\n\nA fierce fight ensued between the Romans and the Jews. The people from\nthe roofs of their houses threw down stones and darts on the troops,\nwho at length, weary of this inglorious street warfare, returned to\ntheir camp near the palace.\n\nA regular war was now becoming inevitable. The contest between\nthe mighty empire of Rome and a people like the Jews, weakened by\ninternal divisions, was indeed a fearfully unequal one; but with wild\ninfatuation the nation rushed into the almost hopeless struggle, goaded\non by their own fierce passions, as well as by the cruel oppression of\nFlorus.\n\nIt was to no purpose that Agrippa, king of Chalcis, endeavoured to\ndissuade the Jews from engaging in this fatal war\u2014warning them even\nwith tears, while Bernice wept beside him. Holier tears had flowed\nbefore for lost Jerusalem, but the things belonging to her peace were\nhidden from her eyes. Some of the fierce seditious people became\nirritated by the very efforts made to calm them. Agrippa was loaded\nwith reproaches, excluded from the city\u2014nay, some of the furious\nJews even threw stones at the king; and Agrippa, indignant at their\ntreatment, retired for a while to his dominions.\n\nThe fortress of Masada, garrisoned by Romans, was taken by the Jews\nthrough treachery, and its defenders slain without mercy, 65 A.D.\nGreat was the excitement in Jerusalem. The flame of insurrection spread\nfast. Fierce Zealots ranged the city; the palaces of Agrippa, Bernice,\nand Ananias the high priest were given to the flames; the castle of\nAntonia was besieged, taken, set on fire, and its Roman garrison put to\nthe sword.\n\n[Illustration: THE FORTRESS OF MASADA.]\n\nImperial Rome was little likely to submit quietly either to revolt of\nsubjects or insult from foes. Cestius Gallus, at the head of an army,\nadvanced, and planted his eagles at the distance of but fifty furlongs\nfrom Jerusalem.\n\nAgrippa accompanied the Roman forces, and resolved to make one more\neffort to persuade the maddened Jews to sue for forgiveness. He sent\ntwo of his followers, named Borseus and Phebus, those of his party who\nwere best known to the people, and promised them that Cestius should\noffer them his right hand in token of the free forgiveness of Rome,\nif even at this, the last hour, they would throw down their arms and\nsubmit.\n\nBut messengers of peace from an earthly monarch were treated as the\nambassadors of mercy from a heavenly King had been by the deluded and\nguilty people. Phebus was murdered before he could utter his message;\nand Borseus, wounded and bleeding, only escaped death by flight.\n\nCestius now attacked the Jews, put them to flight, and pursued them\neven to Jerusalem. The fiercest of its defenders retreated from the\nsuburbs into the interior of the city. For five days the Romans\nassaulted the wall, and attempted to break into the temple, which was\nobstinately defended by the Jews.\n\nIt was believed by the Jewish historian Josephus, that had Cestius at\nthis time continued his attack, Jerusalem must have fallen, and the\nwar at once have been ended. But suddenly, without apparent reason,\nthe Roman general recalled his soldiers, and made his retreat from\nthe city. To the Jews, this strange conduct of Cestius appears almost\nunaccountable; but the Christian sees in it a most remarkable instance\nof the merciful providence of God. The Church at Jerusalem recalled\nto mind the prophecy of the Redeemer:\u2014\u201cWhen ye shall see Jerusalem\ncompassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.\nThen let them which are in Jerusalem flee to the mountains; and let\nthem which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are\nin the countries enter thereinto. For these be the days of vengeance,\nthat all things that are written may be fulfilled.\u201d\n\nThe warning had not been uttered in vain. As soon as the retreat of\nCestius left the way open for flight, the Christians retired from\nJerusalem, like Lot from the city of the plain. In the mountains of\nPerea they found their Zoar of refuge, while the fiery deluge of\ndestruction descended on the doomed city which they had left.\n\n               CONTEMPORANEOUS EVENTS.\n                     62-65 A.D.\n                                             A.D.\n    Rome set on fire                          64\n    Nero\u2019s persecution of the Christians      64\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII.\n\nSIEGE OF JOTAPATA.\u2014FALL OF JERUSALEM.\n\n    War\u2014Sieges\u2014Heroism\u2014Fall of Jotapata\u2014The\n        Lot\u2014Horrors in Jerusalem\u2014The City taken\n        by Assault\u2014The Temple Burned.\n\nInto all the details of this most horrible war we will not enter, nor\ndescribe how, in Cesarea, Joppa, Damascus, Jews were slaughtered by\nthousands and tens of thousands. In 67 A.D., Vespasian, a distinguished\nRoman general, marched into Galilee, where he took the city of Gadara,\nand other strongholds of the land. He was accompanied by his son Titus,\nwho, on his father\u2019s subsequent elevation to the imperial throne of\nRome, headed the conquering army.\n\n[Illustration: VESPASIAN.]\n\n[Illustration: JOSEPHUS.]\n\nNever, even in the time of the Maccabees, had more desperate courage\nbeen shown than the Jewish nation now displayed. Of this the defence of\nthe city of Jotapata, under the Jewish historian Josephus, was a most\nmemorable instance.\n\n[Illustration: CATAPULTA FOR SHOOTING ARROWS.]\n\nJotapata was built on a high precipice, and was accessible only on the\nnorth side, which Josephus had strongly fortified with a wall. Against\nthis wall Vespasian raised a high bank, and brought one hundred and\nsixty engines of war to throw stones, darts, and arrows into the city.\nBut even as the bank rose, so rose the wall; the defenders labouring\nday and night, and protecting themselves from the innumerable darts and\nheavy stones cast by the engines, by screens formed of the raw hides of\noxen, which broke the force of the missiles.\n\nAfter many fierce assaults and desperate sallies, Vespasian resolved\nto invest the city, and starve its defenders into a surrender. There\nwas plenty of corn within Jotapata; but the want of water was great,\nand Josephus was obliged to distribute it to his followers by measure.\nFinding, however, that the Romans had obtained some intelligence of\ntheir distress, Josephus commanded that many clothes should be plunged\ninto water, and then hung out upon the battlements, that the abundance\nof water trickling from them down the wall might deceive the foe into\nthe belief that this first necessary of life was plentiful in the city.\nThis artifice was successful; Vespasian despaired of taking the place\nby famine, and again betook himself to the force of arms.\n\nA daring stratagem was made use of to supply the wants of the garrison.\nSome of the boldest ventured by night out of the city to procure\nprovisions, creeping on all fours past the outposts of the Romans, and\ncovering themselves with skins, that if descried by the watchful foe,\nthey might be taken for prowling dogs.\n\n[Illustration: BATTERING-RAM.]\n\nThe formidable battering-ram was now brought against the walls of\nJotapata. This was a huge beam of wood, whose fore-part was armed with\na thick piece of iron, suspended from an engine by ropes. When the\nbeam had been pulled backwards by a number of the soldiers, it swung\nforwards with an impetus so tremendous, that at its very first blow the\nwall was shaken, and a cry of terror arose from the besieged, as if\nthe destruction of their battlements were certain. Josephus, however,\nordered bags of chaff to be hung over the walls, to deaden the force of\nthe blows; but the Romans, with sharp hooks at the end of long poles,\ncut the ropes by which the bags were suspended.\n\nEleazar, a Jew, performed a feat of heroism which is well worthy to be\nrecorded. Standing upon the wall, he hurled a huge stone upon the ram\nwith such precision and force, that he broke off its iron head. He then\nleaped down, seized on the piece, and, though a mark for the enemy, and\npierced with five of their darts, he actually succeeded in carrying it\noff, and regaining the top of the wall, where he stood for a moment\nexulting, and then fell down dead from the summit, with the ram\u2019s head\nstill grasped in his hands.\n\nAgain and again the Jews sallied forth, attacked the besiegers, and\nburned their engines with fire. When the Romans pressed on to the\nassault, scalding oil was poured on them from the wall, and the\nassailants were driven back by the desperate valour of the defenders.\n\nJotapata fell at last, however, by an attack made by the Romans at\nnight, when, worn out with watching and fighting, the exhausted guard\nlay asleep. The brave garrison found no mercy; many were driven over\nthe precipice, many perished by their own swords rather than fall into\nthe hands of the foe. About twelve hundred women and children were\nreserved for bondage by the conquerors.\n\nJosephus and forty of his companions, when they found that resistance\nwas hopeless, concealed themselves by descending into a pit, which\ncommunicated with a cave. Here, on the third day, the hiding-place\nof Josephus was discovered by the Romans; and Vespasian, willing to\npreserve the life of the general, offered him quarter if he would yield\nhimself up.\n\nNothing shows in a more forcible light the obstinate spirit of the\nJews, than the fury of the comrades of Josephus at the bare idea of his\nsurrender. \u201cO Josephus!\u201d they exclaimed, \u201cart thou still fond of life,\nand canst thou bear to see the light in a state of slavery! If thou\nhast forgotten thyself, we ought to take care that the glory of our\nforefathers be not tarnished. We will lend thee our right hand and a\nsword: if thou wilt die willingly, thou shalt die as a general of the\nJews; but if unwillingly, thou shalt die as a traitor to them!\u201d\n\n[Illustration: TITUS.]\n\nIn their savage rage these desperate men were about to plunge their\nweapons into their own commander, when, grasping at the last chance\nof deliverance, Josephus made the following proposal: \u201cSince it is\nresolved among you,\u201d said he, \u201cthat we will die, let us commit our\nmutual deaths to determination by lot. He to whom the first lot falls\nshall be killed by him who draws the second, and thus shall death make\nprogress through us all, but none shall perish by his own hand!\u201d\n\nThe proposition was accepted. Josephus himself drew among the rest;\nbut as Providence ordered it, his lot was the last but one. When the\ngeneral was surrounded by the bloody corpses of his fierce companions,\nhe succeeded in persuading the only one of them who survived not to\ncomplete the horrible work of destruction. He and the man surrendered\nto the Romans, and received mercy from Vespasian.\n\nBut even the horrors of Jotapata were light compared to those of the\nsiege of Jerusalem! At the feast of the Passover, at the season when\nthe city was most crowded with worshippers\u2014at the season when the\nMessiah had been slain\u2014the Roman army, under the conduct of Titus,\ninvested Jerusalem 70 A.D. A wall was thrown up around it; there was no\nmeans of escape for the multitudes within, except that of accepting the\nproffered mercy of Titus: that mercy was fiercely rejected.\n\n[Illustration: THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM.]\n\nAs though the miseries of such a war were not sufficient, the city\nwas rent by internal dissensions. Eleazar, at the head of a body of\nfierce bigots, garrisoned the temple of Jerusalem; John of Gischala, an\nunprincipled ruffian, swept the streets with his bands of robbers; and\nSimon, a savage tyrant, filled the lower parts of the city with blood.\nThese three parties attacked each other with the fury of ravening\nwolves, and only united in ferocious sallies against the common enemy.\nIn the madness of their rage in this intestine strife, the Jews\nactually set fire to the houses which contained their own stores of\nprovisions, and thus added to all other horrors that of the extremity\nof famine. Multitudes perished by hunger; and happiest were those who\nwere first relieved by death from their horrible torments. Girdles\nand shoes were eagerly devoured; leather from the shields was torn\noff and gnawed; robbers burst into the houses where wretched families\nwere dying of hunger, and tortured the poor wretches to force them\nto discover where a morsel of food might lie concealed. Many of the\nfamished sufferers who endeavoured to escape from the city were seized\nby the Romans, and crucified in such numbers that wood could scarcely\nbe found for the crosses; while if any in the beleaguered town were\nsuspected of wishing to quit it, they were murdered by the furious\nZealots. The sound of war in Jerusalem was heard by day and by night;\nthe streets were slippery with gore; no one there attempted to bury the\nheaps of corpses. It is said that 1,100,000 of the people perished in\nthis horrible siege.\n\nOne by one the three walls which encompassed the city were taken by\nassault; as the circle grew narrower and narrower, the misery within\ngrew more dreadful. Unnatural horrors were perpetrated. Not only would\nparents tear the last morsel of food from their famishing babes,\nbut, fearful to relate, a mother was known even to feed upon her own\noffspring! Let a veil be drawn over such awful scenes. Fearfully was\nthe prediction of the Messiah at this time accomplished\u2014\u201c_There shall\nbe great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world,\nno, nor ever shall be!_\u201d\n\nThe Lord had foretold that false prophets should arise and deceive\nmany, and that fearful sights and great signs should be from heaven;\nand these words were literally fulfilled. The miserable Jews desperately\ngrasped at the hope of a coming Messiah, and eagerly listened to\ndeceivers, who only lured them to ruin. A wonder in the sky, resembling\na fiery sword, hung over the devoted city; appearances as of chariots\nand assembling armies in the clouds terrified the astonished beholders;\nand one night the priests in the temple were alarmed by a quaking of\nthe earth, accompanied by a strange sound, and a voice which uttered\nthe mysterious words, \u201cLet us depart!\u201d\n\n[Illustration: TITUS LEADING ON HIS TROOPS.]\n\nAt length the hour of complete vengeance arrived. Ministers of God\u2019s\nwrath, the Romans burst through the last defences of the Jews, and\nthe torrent of blood swept the city. Titus had resolved to spare\nthe magnificent temple; but he could not baffle the decree of the\nAlmighty. The Lord had declared that not one stone should be left upon\nanother; and heaven and earth must pass away before one of His words\ncan fall to the ground. A Roman soldier, acting without orders, set\nfire to the glorious building, which was speedily enveloped in flames.\nLoud and fearful rose the cry of the despairing Jews when their last\nhope perished in the blazing pile. In vain Titus in person exerted\nhimself to put a stop to the progress of the fire; the flames curled\nround the pillars, spread over the roof, and the crash of falling\ntimbers, and the roar of the conflagration, mingled with the shrieks of\na multitude of the Jews who were burned in the cloisters of the temple.\n\n             CONTEMPORANEOUS EVENT.\n                   65-70 A.D.\n                                         A.D.\n    Martyrdom of St. Peter and St. Paul   66\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIX.\n\nCONCLUSION.\n\n\n    Reflections on the Past\u2014Promises for the\n        Future\u2014Duties for the Present.\n\nThus fell guilty Jerusalem\u2014once the chosen city, the joy of the earth!\nThus fearful retribution overtook those who had rejected and slain the\nMessiah!\n\nAnd what is Judea now, after the lapse of eighteen centuries? Still an\noppressed and desolate land\u2014a land which has been ruled by Saracen,\nChristian, Turk; but never since that fatal day by a monarch of her\nown. A land in bondage to strangers, whose valleys, once flowing with\nmilk and honey, now lie comparatively barren, showing that the curse of\nHeaven still rests like a blight upon them.\n\nAnd where are the sons of Israel, the descendants of patriots and of\nheroes? Scattered over the face of the earth,\u2014aliens in many lands, yet\never a distinct and peculiar people; jealously guarding the Scriptures\nof the Old Testament, though blind to their prophetic meaning; and yet\nlooking for the appearance of their Messiah, and their own restoration\nto the land of their fathers.\n\nWill the Jews ever be restored? Will they return as from Egypt and\nBabylon, and tread again the city of Zion? We turn to the words of\nprophecy, which shine like stars in the darkness, and select a few out\nof many:\u2014\u201c_Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, I will save My people\nfrom the east country, and from the west country; and I will bring\nthem, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be\nMy people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness._\u201d[5]\n\u201c_Ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel._\u201d[6] \u201c_And\nit shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O\nhouse of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall\nbe a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong._\u201d[7] \u201c_I will\npour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem,\nthe spirit of grace and of supplications; and they shall look upon Me\nwhom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth\nfor his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is\nin bitterness for his first-born._\u201d[8] \u201c_Shake thyself from the dust;\narise, and sit down, O Jerusalem, for the Lord hath comforted His\npeople, He hath redeemed Jerusalem._\u201d[9]\n\nChristian reader! let us not forget that the Lord worketh by human\nmeans; that to us, Gentiles, who walk in the light that first shone\nover the plains of Judea, is committed the sacred charge, by holy\nexample, free liberality, and fervent prayers, to gather the outcasts\nof Israel \u201cone by one\u201d into the Saviour\u2019s fold. \u201c_What_,\u201d wrote the\nApostle of the Gentiles, pleading for his own beloved people\u2014\u201c_what\nshall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?_\u201d[10] Well may\nwe conclude in the words of the martyr prophet and psalmist king,\u2014\u201c_Ye\nthat make mention of the Lord, keep not silence; and give Him no\nrest till He establish, and till He make Jerusalem a praise in the\nearth._\u201d[11] \u201c_Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper\nthat love thee. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy\npalaces._\u201d[12]\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[1] Haggai ii 9.\n\n[2] Archbishop Usher supposed Ahasuerus to be Darius; Scaliger contends\nthat Xerxes is described under that name; but both Prideaux and\nJosephus regard Ahasuerus as identical with Artaxerxes, who began to\nreign 464 B.C.\n\n[3] In giving this and other such stories to the reader, the authoress\nthinks it right to remind him, that in such parts of Jewish history as\nare _not_ drawn from the sacred records (as in all other very ancient\nwritings), such a mist often lies on the boundary which divides fact\nfrom fiction, that it is almost impossible to define it.\n\n[4] 26 A.D., according to popular reckoning; but our Lord was born four\nyears before what we term our era.\n\n[5] Zech. viii. 7, 8.\n\n[6] Isaiah xxvii. 12.\n\n[7] Zech. viii. 13.\n\n[8] Zech. xii. 10.\n\n[9] Isaiah lii. 2, 9.\n\n[10] Rom. xi. 15.\n\n[11] Isaiah lxii. 6, 7.\n\n[12] Psalm cxxii. 6, 7.","title":"Stories of the Wars of the Jews: from the Babylonish captivity, to the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":30112}