sovereign, to attempt the slaughter of the king of Israel in the heat of the battle. Jehoshaphat, who appeared in his royal robes, would have been slain, had not the Syrians discovered their mistake; but Ahab, who had assumed the habit of a subordinate soldier, was killed by a random arrow; his armour and his chariot were washed in a pool at Samaria; there the dogs licked up his blood, as Elijah had foretold, his remains were placed in the sepulchre of the kings, and АHAZIAH his son succeeded him.

A. C. 897.

SECTION III.

FROM THE DEATH OF AHAB TO THE REIGN OF JEHU.

HOW did Jehoshaphat reign in Judah?

WHEN Jehoshaphat returned to Jerusalem, he was reproved by the prophet Jehu, son of Hanani, for his connexion with the impious king of Israel. He devoted himself with the most laudable assiduity to the administration of his government, he excited the priests and the Levites to the most indefatigable diligence in their high and holy calling, and he was signally honoured by the providence of God. When a vast army of the Moabites, Ammonites, and Arabs, appeared in arms against him at Engedi, Jehoshaphat invoked the divine protection, an inspired prophet assured him of victory, the loud acclamation, "Praise the Lord, for his mercy endureth for ever," ascended from the ranks of his army as they moved forward to the battle, they found no enemy to resist them, a sudden panic produced irreparable confusion in the hostile army, they turned their swords against each other, the soldiers of Jehoshaphat took possession of the camp, and laden with booty, and chaunting songs of triumph, they returned to Jerusalem. After this glorious victory, Jehoshaphat united with Ahaziah king of Israel to send some ships from Ezion-geber

Ophir; but the enterprise was unsuccessful, the vessels were either dashed to pieces on the rocks, or overwhelmed by the waves.

What transaction took place between Ahaziah the son and successor of Ahab, and the prophet Elijah ?

Ahaziah imitated the base example of his father, and he continued the worship of the gods of the Zidonians, which the wicked Jezebel had introduced among the Israelites. By a fall from the terrace of his palace, he had become unable to rise from his bed, and he sent messengers to Ekron to ascertain from Baal-zebub, the god of that place, whether he was to recover. The prophet Elijah, by the commandment of God, met "Is these messengers on their way, and said to them, it because there is not a God in Israel, that thou sendest to inquire of Baal-zebub, the God of Ekron? therefore thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die." A captain with fifty men was sent by Ahaziah to take Elijah, they were consumed by fire from heaven; a second captain was sent with his company, and they too were destroyed; a third captain came with his men, Elijah boldly descended from the eminence upon which he was sitting, went with the soldiers to the palace, and repeated his prediction of the death of the king. That prediction was accomplished, Ahaziah soon afterwards died, and as he left no children, JEHORAM or A. C. 895. Joram his brother succeeded him.

In what manner was Elijah translated to heaven? The appearance of Elijah before Ahaziah was the last act of his mortal existence. He knew that his work was done, and that the hour of his translation was at hand. Attended by Elisha, whose ardent affection would not permit him to leave his master and instructor, he passed through Jordan, whose waters miraculously divided as they approached, "And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven." Never had so astonishing an event occurred before, never will such an event occur again until the consummation of all things.

Elisha beheld the brilliant scene, and he uttered the emotions of his agitated heart in the words, “My father! my father! the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof!" The last request of Elisha to Elijah was, that a double portion of his spirit might rest upon him; his desire was granted; as Elijah ascended, his mantle remained behind with his friend; and Elisha appeared in his place, to declare the will of God to the sovereigns of the Israelites, and to maintain the cause of religion in an age of dreary degeneracy and impiety.

What memorable defeat was inflicted upon the Moabites by the kings of Israel and Judah?

The Moabites had attempted to shake off the yoke of the kings of Israel, and Jehoram determined to effect their entire subjugation. He formed an alliance with Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, and with the king of Edom, and the united armies advanced along the wilderness near the Dead Sea. Beneath a scorching sun, and surrounded by a burning desert, the troops found no water, and they were ready to perish in the intolerable torments of thirst. The providence of God, by the agency of Elisha, effected their relief; ditches were prepared; an abundance of water came; the fainting soldiers were revived; when the red rays of the rising morning were reflected from the pools, the Moabites imagined that they beheld the blood of their enemies, whom they supposed to have slain each other in some sudden and deadly quarrel; they tumultuously rushed forwards to take possession of the spoil; they sustained a signal defeat; in Kir-haraseth, his strongest city, the king of Moab was besieged by the allies; in his despair he sacrificed his eldest son upon the walls; the horrible spectacle excited the mingled compassion and indignation of the confederates; they immediately raised the siege. Jehoshaphat did not long survive the termination of this expedition; he died in the sixtieth year of his age, and the twentyfifth of his reign; his subjects justly bewailed his decease as the loss of a common benefactor and father, and the sanguinary scenes and dreadful disorders which followed in the reign of his son, aggravated their sorrow for his death.

What was the character and what was the reign of Jehoram the king of Judah?

JEHORAM the son of Jehoshaphat was one A. C. 899. of the greatest monsters that ever sat upon a throne. During the last four years of the reign of his father, he had participated in the administration of government, but the virtuous example of Jehoshaphat had no salutary influence upon his depraved and obdurate heart. When he had obtained full possession of his kingdom, in the true barbarous spirit of oriental despotism, he murdered all his brothers, and sacrificed all the persons in power, who presumed to disapprove of his arbitrary, bloody, and atrocious proceedings. His matrimonial connexion with the wicked Athaliah, daughter of Ahab, seduced him into all the abominable impieties and idolatries, which during the reign of that monarch had become so prevalent in Israel; and all Judah became a scene of licentiousness and crime. The doom of the unhappy monarch was declared by the prophet of God, and was soon fully executed. The Edomites rebelled; and though, in the first instance, they were defeated, they succeeded in rendering themselves independent of the government of Judah. The Philistines and Arabians also invaded the territories of Jehoram; Jerusalem was taken; his wives became the captives of the conquerors; his sons, with the single exception of Jehoahaz, were carried away into a foreign land; and Jehoram himself, seized with a malignant and loathsome malady, soon afterwards expired, and was buried in Jerusalem, but neither in the royal sepulchre, nor with royal honours. Jehoram reigned eight years over Judah.

What prophet at this period distinguished himself in the affairs of the kingdom of Israel?

While the kingdom of Judah was oppressed by the calamities of foreign invasion, and a wicked government, the most extraordinary events were taking place in Israel, principally by the agency of the prophet Elisha. The history of this wonderful man presents a series of the most stupendous miracles; the attention of the reader will however only be directed to

those, which had an immediate influence upon the national affairs of the Israelites.

In what manner were the designs of the Syrians against the kingdom of Israel frustrated?

Benhadad the king of Syria resolved to invade the territories of Joram or Jehoram, and he made, such a disposition of his troops, that Joram would inevitably have been made prisoner, had not Elisha counteracted the purpose of the Syrians, by the full discovery of their perfidious design. Benhadad was soon informed that Elisha was the means of communicating accurate intelligence to Joram, of all his plots and plans; and enraged by his disappointment, he sent an army to take the little city of Dothan, in which the prophet resided. But Elisha was protected by the providence of his God; the Syrian soldiers were struck with blindness; when they had been conducted into the heart of Samaria, their eyes were opened, and they were overwhelmed with consternation when they found themselves in the power of their enemies. Joram was desirous of putting them all to the sword, but Elisha interposed, he persuaded the king to treat them with liberality, and to send them to their homes. But Benhadad did not abandon his designs upon the dominions of Joram. At the head of a powerful army, he formed the siege of Samaria, and the city was soon reduced to the last extremity. So dreadful was the famine, that even maternal affection gave way before its influence. Two women mutually engaged to kill their children for food. One of them fulfilled the conditions, and they both partook of the horrible repast; but the other refused to sacrifice her child, and so violated her promise. The former applied to Joram to compel her companion to fulfil her agreement, he was struck with horror at the application, and mourned in sackcloth and ashes the unprecedented miseries of his people. Under the influence of some strange delusion regarding Elisha as the cause of the calamities of Samaria, and the protracted duration of the siege, Joram determined that the death of the prophet should atone for the miseries of his subjects. But Elisha was not intimidated, he declared that the siege was a judgment from heaven, and he predicted to the incredulous Samari