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diff --git a/40235-tei/40235-tei.tei b/40235-tei/40235-tei.tei new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4e57d49 --- /dev/null +++ b/40235-tei/40235-tei.tei @@ -0,0 +1,17587 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?> + +<!DOCTYPE TEI.2 SYSTEM "http://www.gutenberg.org/tei/marcello/0.4/dtd/pgtei.dtd" [ + +<!ENTITY u5 "http://www.tei-c.org/Lite/"> + +]> + +<TEI.2 lang="en"> +<teiHeader> + <fileDesc> + <titleStmt> + <title>The Expositor's Bible: The Books of Chronicles</title> + <author><name reg="Bennett, William Henry">William Henry Bennett</name></author> + <respStmt><resp>Edited by</resp> <name>W. Robertson Nicoll</name></respStmt> + </titleStmt> + <editionStmt> + <edition n="1">Edition 1</edition> + </editionStmt> + <publicationStmt> + <publisher>Project Gutenberg</publisher> + <date>July 21, 2012</date> + <idno type="etext-no">40235</idno> + <availability> + <p>This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and + with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it + away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg + License online at www.gutenberg.org/license</p> + </availability> + </publicationStmt> + <sourceDesc> + <bibl> + Created electronically. + </bibl> + </sourceDesc> + </fileDesc> + <encodingDesc> + </encodingDesc> + <profileDesc> + <langUsage> + <language id="en"></language> + <language id="he"></language> + <language id="la"></language> + <language id="ar"></language> + <language id="fr"></language> + <language id="el"></language> + </langUsage> + </profileDesc> + <revisionDesc> + <change> + <date value="2012-07-21">July 21, 2012</date> + <respStmt> + <name> + Produced by Marcia Books, Colin Bell, David King, and the Online + Distributed Proofreading Team at <http://www.pgdp.net/>. + (This file was produced from images generously made available + by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries.) + </name> + </respStmt> + <item>Project Gutenberg TEI edition 1</item> + </change> + </revisionDesc> +</teiHeader> + +<pgExtensions> + <pgStyleSheet> + .boxed { x-class: boxed } + .shaded { x-class: shaded } + .rules { x-class: rules; rules: all } + .indent { margin-left: 2 } + .bold { font-weight: bold } + .italic { font-style: italic } + .smallcaps { font-variant: small-caps } + </pgStyleSheet> + + <pgCharMap formats="txt.iso-8859-1"> + <char id="U0x2014"> + <charName>mdash</charName> + <desc>EM DASH</desc> + <mapping>--</mapping> + </char> + <char id="U0x2003"> + <charName>emsp</charName> + <desc>EM SPACE</desc> + <mapping> </mapping> + </char> + <char id="U0x2026"> + <charName>hellip</charName> + <desc>HORIZONTAL ELLIPSIS</desc> + <mapping>...</mapping> + </char> + </pgCharMap> +</pgExtensions> + +<text lang="en"> + <front> + <div> + <divGen type="pgheader" /> + </div> + <div> + <divGen type="encodingDesc" /> + </div> + + <div rend="page-break-before: always"> + <p rend="font-size: x-large; text-align: center">The Expositor's Bible</p> + <p rend="font-size: xx-large; text-align: center">The Books of Chronicles</p> + <p rend="font-size: large; text-align: center">By</p> + <p rend="font-size: x-large; text-align: center">William Henry Bennett</p> + <p rend="text-align: center">Professor of Old Testament Languages and Literature, Mackney and New Colleges; Sometime Fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge</p> + <p rend="text-align: center">Hodder & Stoughton</p> + <p rend="text-align: center">New York</p> + <p rend="text-align: center">George H, Doran Company</p> + </div> + <div rend="page-break-before: always"> + <head>Contents</head> + <divGen type="toc" /> + </div> + + </front> +<body> + +<pb n='v'/><anchor id='Pgv'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Preface</head> + +<p> +To expound Chronicles in a series which has dealt +with Samuel, Kings, Ezra, and Nehemiah is to +glean scattered ears from a field already harvested. +Sections common to Chronicles with the older histories +have therefore been treated as briefly as is consistent +with preserving the continuity of the narrative. Moreover, +an exposition of Chronicles does not demand +or warrant an attempt to write the history of Judah. +To recombine with Chronicles matter which its +author deliberately omitted would only obscure the +characteristic teaching he intended to convey. On +the one hand, his selection of material has a religious +significance, which must be ascertained by careful +comparison with Samuel and Kings; on the other +hand, we can only do justice to the chronicler as +we ourselves adopt, for the time being, his own +attitude towards the history of Hebrew politics, +literature, and religion. In the more strictly expository +<pb n='vi'/><anchor id='Pgvi'/> +parts of this volume I have sought to confine myself +to the carrying out of these principles. +</p> + +<p> +Amongst other obligations to friends, I must +specially mention my indebtedness to the Rev. T. H. +Darlow, M.A., for a careful reading of the proof-sheets +and many very valuable suggestions. +</p> + +<p> +One object I have had in view has been to attempt +to show the fresh force and clearness with which +modern methods of Biblical study have emphasised +the spiritual teaching of Chronicles. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='001'/><anchor id='Pg001'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Book I. Introduction.</head> + +<pb n='003'/><anchor id='Pg003'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter I. Date And Authorship.</head> + +<p> +Chronicles is a curious literary torso. A comparison +with Ezra and Nehemiah shows that the +three originally formed a single whole. They are +written in the same peculiar late Hebrew style; they +use their sources in the same mechanical way; they are +all saturated with the ecclesiastical spirit; and their +Church order and doctrine rest upon the complete Pentateuch, +and especially upon the Priestly Code. They +take the same keen interest in genealogies, statistics, +building operations, Temple ritual, priests and +Levites, and most of all in the Levitical doorkeepers +and singers. Ezra and Nehemiah form an obvious +continuation of Chronicles; the latter work breaks off +in the middle of a paragraph intended to introduce the +account of the return from the Captivity; Ezra repeats +the beginning of the paragraph and gives its conclusion. +Similarly the register of the high-priests is begun in +1 Chron. vi. 4-15 and completed in Neh. xii. 10, 11. +</p> + +<p> +We may compare the whole work to the image in +Daniel's vision whose head was of fine gold, his breast +and arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, +his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. +Ezra and Nehemiah preserve some of the finest historical +material in the Old Testament, and are our only +<pb n='004'/><anchor id='Pg004'/> +authority for a most important crisis in the religion of +Israel. The torso that remains when these two books +are removed is of very mixed character, partly borrowed +from the older historical books, partly taken down from +late tradition, and partly constructed according to the +current philosophy of history. +</p> + +<p> +The date<note place='foot'>Cf. <hi rend='italic'>Ezra</hi>; <hi rend='italic'>Nehemiah</hi>; <hi rend='italic'>Esther</hi>, by Professor Adeney, in <q>Expositor's +Bible.</q></note> of this work lies somewhere between the +conquest of the Persian empire by Alexander and the +revolt of the Maccabees, <hi rend='italic'>i.e.</hi>, between <hi rend='smallcaps'>b.c.</hi> 332 and <hi rend='smallcaps'>b.c.</hi> +166. The register in Neh. xii. 10, 11, closes with +Jaddua, the well-known high-priest of Alexander's +time; the genealogy of the house of David in 1 Chron. +iii. extends to about the same date, or, according to +the ancient versions, even down to about <hi rend='smallcaps'>b.c.</hi> 200. +The ecclesiastical system of the priestly code, established +by Ezra and Nehemiah <hi rend='smallcaps'>b.c.</hi> 444, was of such +old standing to the author of Chronicles that he introduces +it as a matter of course into his descriptions +of the worship of the monarchy. Another feature +which even more clearly indicates a late date is the +use of the term <q>king of Persia</q> instead of simply +<q>the King</q> or <q>the Great King.</q> The latter were +the customary designations of the Persian kings while +the empire lasted; after its fall, the title needed to be +qualified by the name <q>Persia.</q> These facts, together +with the style and language, would be best accounted +for by a date somewhere between <hi rend='smallcaps'>b.c.</hi> 300 and <hi rend='smallcaps'>b.c.</hi> 250. +On the other hand, the Maccabæan struggle revolutionised +the national and ecclesiastical system which +Chronicles everywhere takes for granted, and the silence +of the author as to this revolution is conclusive proof +that he wrote before it began. +</p> + +<pb n='005'/><anchor id='Pg005'/> + +<p> +There is no evidence whatever as to the name of +the author; but his intense interest in the Levites and +in the musical service of the Temple, with its orchestra +and choir, renders it extremely probable that he was a +Levite and a Temple-singer or musician. We might +compare the Temple, with its extensive buildings and +numerous priesthood, to an English cathedral establishment, +and the author of Chronicles to some vicar-choral, +or, perhaps better, to the more dignified precentor. He +would be enthusiastic over his music, a cleric of studious +habits and scholarly tastes, not a man of the world, but +absorbed in the affairs of the Temple, as a monk in the +life of his convent or a minor canon in the politics and +society of the minster close. The times were uncritical, +and so our author was occasionally somewhat +easy of belief as to the enormous magnitude of ancient +Hebrew armies and the splendour and wealth of ancient +Hebrew kings; the narrow range of his interests and +experience gave him an appetite for innocent gossip, +professional or otherwise. But his sterling religious +character is shown by the earnest piety and serene +faith which pervade his work. If we venture to turn +to English fiction for a rough illustration of the position +and history of our chronicler, the name that at once +suggests itself is that of Mr. Harding, the precentor +in <hi rend='italic'>Barchester Towers</hi>. We must however remember +that there is very little to distinguish the chronicler from +his later authorities; and the term <q>chronicler</q> is often +used for <q>the chronicler or one of his predecessors.</q> +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='006'/><anchor id='Pg006'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter II. Historical Setting.</head> + +<p> +In the previous chapter it has been necessary to deal +with the chronicler as the author of the whole +work of which Chronicles is only a part, and to go +over again ground already covered in the volume +on Ezra and Nehemiah; but from this point we can +confine our attention to Chronicles and treat it as a +separate book. Such a course is not merely justified, +it is necessitated, by the different relations of the +chronicler to his subject in Ezra and Nehemiah on the +one hand and in Chronicles on the other. In the +former case he is writing the history of the social and +ecclesiastical order to which he himself belonged, but +he is separated by a deep and wide gulf from the +period of the kingdom of Judah. About three hundred +years intervened between the chronicler and the +death of the last king of Judah. A similar interval +separates us from Queen Elizabeth; but the course of +these three centuries of English life has been an almost +unbroken continuity compared with the changing +fortunes of the Jewish people from the fall of the +monarchy to the early years of the Greek empire. +This interval included the Babylonian captivity and +the return, the establishment of the Law, the use of +the Persian empire, and the conquests of Alexander. +</p> + +<pb n='007'/><anchor id='Pg007'/> + +<p> +The first three of these events were revolutions of +supreme importance to the internal development of +Judaism; the last two rank in the history of the world +with the fall of the Roman empire and the French +Revolution. Let us consider them briefly in detail. +The Captivity, the rise of the Persian empire, and the +Return are closely connected, and can only be treated +as features of one great social, political, and religious +convulsion, an upheaval which broke the continuity of +all the strata, of Eastern life and opened an impassable +gulf between the old order and the new. For a time, +men who had lived through these revolutions were still +able to carry across this gulf the loosely twisted strands +of memory, but when they died the threads snapped; +only here and there a lingering tradition supplemented +the written records. Hebrew slowly ceased to be +the vernacular language, and was supplanted by +Aramaic; the ancient history only reached the people +by means of an oral translation. Under this new +dispensation the ideas of ancient Israel were no longer +intelligible; its circumstances could not be realised by +those who lived under entirely different conditions. +Various causes contributed to bring about this change. +First, there was an interval of fifty years, during which +Jerusalem lay a heap of ruins. After the recapture of +Rome by Totila the Visigoth in <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 546 the city was +abandoned during forty days to desolate and dreary +solitude. Even this temporary depopulation of the +Eternal City is emphasised by historians as full of +dramatic interest, but the fifty years' desolation of +Jerusalem involved important practical results. Most +of the returning exiles must have either been born in +Babylon or else have spent all their earliest years in +exile. Very few can have been old enough to have +<pb n='008'/><anchor id='Pg008'/> +grasped the meaning or drunk in the spirit of the older +national life. When the restored community set to +work to rebuild their city and their temple, few of them +had any adequate knowledge of the old Jerusalem, with +its manners, customs, and traditions. <q>The ancient +men, that had seen the first house, wept with a loud +voice</q><note place='foot'>Ezra iii. 12.</note> when the foundation of the second Temple +was laid before their eyes. In their critical and disparaging +attitude towards the new building, we may +see an early trace of the tendency to glorify and idealise +the monarchical period, which culminated in Chronicles. +The breach with the past was widened by the novel +and striking surroundings of the exiles in Babylon. +For the first time since the Exodus, the Jews as a +nation found themselves in close contact and intimate +relations with the culture of an ancient civilisation and +the life of a great city. +</p> + +<p> +Nearly a century and a half elapsed between the +first captivity under Jehoiachin (<hi rend='smallcaps'>b.c.</hi> 598) and the +mission of Ezra (<hi rend='smallcaps'>b.c.</hi> 458); no doubt in the succeeding +period Jews still continued to return from Babylon to +Judæa, and thus the new community at Jerusalem, +amongst whom the chronicler grew up, counted +Babylonian Jews amongst their ancestors for two or +even for many generations. A Zulu tribe exhibited +for a year in London could not return and build their +kraal afresh and take up the old African life at the +point where they had left it. If a community of +Russian Jews went to their old home after a few years' +sojourn in Whitechapel, the old life resumed would be +very different from what it was before their migration. +Now the Babylonian Jews were neither uncivilised +African savages nor stupefied Russian helots; they +<pb n='009'/><anchor id='Pg009'/> +were not shut up in an exhibition or in a ghetto; they +settled in Babylon, not for a year or two, but for half a +century or even a century; and they did not return to +a population of their own race, living the old life, but +to empty homes and a ruined city. They had tasted +the tree of new knowledge, and they could no more live +and think as their fathers had done than Adam and +Eve could find their way back into paradise. A large +and prosperous colony of Jews still remained at +Babylon, and maintained close and constant relations +with the settlement in Judæa. The influence of +Babylon, begun during the Exile, continued permanently +in this indirect form. Later still the Jews felt +the influence of a great Greek city, through their +colony at Alexandria. +</p> + +<p> +Besides these external changes, the Captivity was a +period of important and many-sided development of +Jewish literature and religion. Men had leisure to +study the prophecies of Jeremiah and the legislation of +Deuteronomy; their attention was claimed for Ezekiel's +suggestions as to ritual, and for the new theology, +variously expounded by Ezekiel, the later Isaiah, the +book of Job, and the psalmists. The Deuteronomic +school systematised and interpreted the records of the +national history. In its wealth of Divine revelation +the period from Josiah to Ezra is only second to the +apostolic age. +</p> + +<p> +Thus the restored Jewish community was a new +creation, baptised into a new spirit; the restored city +was as much a new Jerusalem as that which St. John +beheld descending out of heaven; and, in the words of +the prophet of the Restoration, the Jews returned to a +<q>new heaven and a new earth.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. lxvi. 22.</note> The rise of the +<pb n='010'/><anchor id='Pg010'/> +Persian empire changed the whole international system +of Western Asia and Egypt. The robber monarchies +of Nineveh and Babylon, whose energies had been +chiefly devoted to the systematic plunder of their +neighbours, were replaced by a great empire, that +stretched out one hand to Greece and the other to +India. The organisation of this great empire was the +most successful attempt at government on a large scale +that the world had yet seen. Both through the Persians +themselves and through their dealings with the Greeks, +Aryan philosophy and religion began to leaven Asiatic +thought; old things were passing away: all things were +becoming new. +</p> + +<p> +The establishment of the Law by Ezra and Nehemiah +was the triumph of a school whose most important and +effective work had been done at Babylon, though not +necessarily within the half-century specially called the +Captivity. Their triumph was retrospective: it not only +established a rigid and elaborate system unknown to +the monarchy, but, by identifying this system with the +law traditionally ascribed to Moses, it led men very +widely astray as to the ancient history of Israel. A +later generation naturally assumed that the good kings +must have kept this law, and that the sin of the bad +kings was their failure to observe its ordinances. +</p> + +<p> +The events of the century and a half or thereabouts +between Ezra and the chronicler have only a minor +importance for us. The change of language from +Hebrew to Aramaic, the Samaritan schism, the few +political incidents of which any account has survived, +are all trivial compared to the literature and history +crowded into the century after the fall of the monarchy. +Even the far-reaching results of the conquests of +Alexander do not materially concern us here. Josephus +<pb n='011'/><anchor id='Pg011'/> +indeed tells us that the Jews served in large numbers +in the Macedonian army, and gives a very dramatic +account of Alexander's visit to Jerusalem; but the +historical value of these stories is very doubtful, and in +any case it is clear that between <hi rend='smallcaps'>b.c.</hi> 333 and <hi rend='smallcaps'>b.c.</hi> 250 +Jerusalem was very little affected by Greek influences, +and that, especially for the Temple community to which +the chronicler belonged, the change from Darius to +the Ptolemies was merely a change from one foreign +dominion to another. +</p> + +<p> +Nor need much be said of the relation of the chronicler +to the later Jewish literature of the Apocalypses +and Wisdom. If the spirit of this literature were +already stirring in some Jewish circles, the chronicler +himself was not moved by it. Ecclesiastes, as far as +he could have understood it, would have pained and +shocked him. But his work lay in that direct line of +subtle rabbinic teaching which, beginning with Ezra, +reached its climax in the Talmud. Chronicles is really +an anthology gleaned from ancient historic sources and +supplemented by early specimens of Midrash and +Hagada. +</p> + +<p> +In order to understand the book of Chronicles, we +have to keep two or three simple facts constantly and +clearly in mind. In the first place, the chronicler was +separated from the monarchy by an aggregate of +changes which involved a complete breach of continuity +between the old and the new order: instead of a nation +there was a Church; instead of a king there were a high-priest +and a foreign governor. Secondly, the effects of +these changes had been at work for two or three +hundred years, effacing all trustworthy recollection +of the ancient order and schooling men to regard the +Levitical dispensation as their one original and antique +<pb n='012'/><anchor id='Pg012'/> +ecclesiastical system. Lastly, the chronicler himself +belonged to the Temple community, which was the +very incarnation of the spirit of the new order. With +such antecedents and surroundings, he set to work to +revise the national history recorded in Samuel and +Kings. A monk in a Norman monastery would have +worked under similar but less serious disadvantages if +he had undertaken to rewrite the <hi rend='italic'>Ecclesiastical History</hi> +of the Venerable Bede. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='013'/><anchor id='Pg013'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter III. Sources And Mode Of Composition.</head> + +<p> +Our impressions as to the sources of Chronicles +are derived from the general character of its +contents, from a comparison with other books of the +Old Testament, and from the actual statements of +Chronicles itself. To take the last first: there are +numerous references to authorities in Chronicles which +at first sight seem to indicate a dependence on rich and +varied sources. To begin with, there are <q>The Book +of the Kings of Judah and Israel,</q><note place='foot'>Quoted for <hi rend='italic'>Asa</hi> (2 Chron. xvi. 11); <hi rend='italic'>Amaziah</hi> (2 Chron. xxv. 26); +<hi rend='italic'>Ahaz</hi> (2 Chron. xxviii. 26).</note> <q>The Book of the +Kings of Israel and Judah,</q><note place='foot'>Quoted for <hi rend='italic'>Jotham</hi> (2 Chron. xxvii. 7); <hi rend='italic'>Josiah</hi> (2 Chron. xxxv. +26, 27).</note> and <q>The Acts of the +Kings of Israel.</q><note place='foot'>Quoted for <hi rend='italic'>Manasseh</hi> (2 Chron. xxxiii, 18).</note> These, however, are obviously +different forms of the title of the same work. +</p> + +<p> +Other titles furnish us with an imposing array of +prophetic authorities. There are <q>The <emph>Words</emph></q> of +Samuel the Seer<note place='foot'>Quoted for <hi rend='italic'>David</hi> (1 Chron. xxix. 29).</note>, of Nathan the Prophet,<note place='foot'>Quoted for <hi rend='italic'>David</hi> (1 Chron. xxix. 29) and <hi rend='italic'>Solomon</hi> (2 Chron. +ix. 29).</note> of Gad the +Seer,<note place='foot'>Quoted for <hi rend='italic'>David</hi> (1 Chron. xxix. 29).</note> of Shemaiah the Prophet and of Iddo the Seer,<note place='foot'>Quoted for <hi rend='italic'>Rehoboam</hi> (2 Chron. xii. 15).</note> +<pb n='014'/><anchor id='Pg014'/> +of Jehu the son of Hanani,<note place='foot'>Quoted for <hi rend='italic'>Jehoshaphat</hi> (2 Chron. xx. 34).</note> and of the Seers<note place='foot'>Quoted for <hi rend='italic'>Manasseh</hi> (2 Chron. xxxiii. 19). <q>Seers,</q> A.V., R.V. +Marg., with LXX.; R.V., with Hebrew text, <q>Hozai.</q> The passage +is probably corrupt.</note>; +<q>The <emph>Vision</emph></q> of Iddo the Seer<note place='foot'>Quoted for <hi rend='italic'>Solomon</hi> (2 Chron. ix. 29).</note> and of Isaiah the +Prophet<note place='foot'>Quoted for <hi rend='italic'>Hezekiah</hi> (2 Chron. xxxii. 32).</note>; <q>The <emph>Midrash</emph></q> of the Book of Kings<note place='foot'>Quoted for <hi rend='italic'>Joash</hi> (2 Chron. xxiv. 27).</note> and +of the Prophet Iddo<note place='foot'>Quoted for <hi rend='italic'>Abijah</hi> (2 Chron. xiii, 22).</note>; <q>The <emph>Acts</emph> of Uzziah,</q> written +by Isaiah the Prophet<note place='foot'>Quoted for <hi rend='italic'>Uzziah</hi> (2 Chron. xxvi. 22).</note>; and <q>The <emph>Prophecy</emph></q> of +Ahijah the Shilonite.<note place='foot'>Quoted for <hi rend='italic'>Solomon</hi> (2 Chron. ix. 29).</note> There are also less formal +allusions to other works. +</p> + +<p> +Further examination, however, soon discloses the +fact that these prophetic titles merely indicate different +sections of <q>The Book of the Kings of Israel and +Judah.</q> On turning to our book of Kings, we find +that from Rehoboam onwards each of the references +in Chronicles corresponds to a reference by the book +of Kings to the <q>Chronicles<note place='foot'>Cf. pp. 17, 18.</note> of the Kings of Judah.</q> +In the case of Ahaziah, Athaliah, and Amon, the reference +to an authority is omitted both in the books of +Kings and Chronicles. This close correspondence +suggests that both our canonical books are referring +to the same authority or authorities. Kings refers to +the <q>Chronicles of the Kings of Judah</q> for Judah, and +to the <q>Chronicles of the Kings of Israel</q> for the +northern kingdom; Chronicles, though only dealing +with Judah, combines these two titles in one: <q>The +Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.</q> +</p> + +<pb n='015'/><anchor id='Pg015'/> + +<p> +In two instances Chronicles clearly states that its +prophetic authorities were found as sections of the +larger work. <q>The Words of Jehu the son of Hanani</q> +were <q>inserted in the Book of the Kings of Israel,</q><note place='foot'>2 Chron. xx. 34.</note> +and <q>The Vision of Isaiah the Prophet, the son of +Amoz,</q> is in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.<note place='foot'>Chron. xxxii. 32.</note> +It is a natural inference that the other <q>Words</q> and +<q>Visions</q> were also found as sections of this same +<q>Book of Kings.</q> +</p> + +<p> +These conclusions may be illustrated and supported +by what we know of the arrangement of the contents +of ancient books. Our convenient modern subdivisions +of chapter and verse did not exist, but the Jews were +not without some means of indicating the particular +section of a book to which they wished to refer. Instead +of numbers they used names, derived from the +subject of a section or from the most important person +mentioned in it. For the history of the monarchy the +prophets were the most important personages, and each +section of the history is named after its leading prophet +or prophets. This nomenclature naturally encouraged +the belief that the history had been originally written +by these prophets. Instances of the use of such nomenclature +are found in the New Testament, <hi rend='italic'>e.g.</hi>, Rom. +xi. 2: <q>Wot ye not what the Scripture saith in Elijah</q><note place='foot'>R.V. marg.</note>—<hi rend='italic'>i.e.</hi>, +in the section about Elijah—and Mark xii. 26: +<q>Have ye not read in the book of Moses in the place +concerning the bush?</q><note place='foot'>R.V.</note> +</p> + +<p> +While, however, most of the references to <q>Words,</q> +<q>Visions,</q> etc., are to sections of the larger work, +we need not at once conclude that <emph>all</emph> references to +authorities in Chronicles are to this same book. The +<pb n='016'/><anchor id='Pg016'/> +genealogical register in 1 Chron. v. 17 and the <q>lamentations</q> +of 2 Chron. xxxv. 25 may very well be independent +works. Having recognised the fact that the +numerous authorities referred to by Chronicles were for +the most part contained in one comprehensive <q>Book +of Kings,</q> a new problem presents itself: What are the +respective relations of our Kings and Chronicles to the +<q>Chronicles</q> and <q>Kings</q> cited by them? What are +the relations of these original authorities to each other? +What are the relations of our Kings to our Chronicles? +Our present nomenclature is about as confusing as it +well could be; and we are obliged to keep clearly in +mind, first, that the <q>Chronicles</q> mentioned in Kings +is not our Chronicles, and then that the <q>Kings</q> +referred to by Chronicles is not our Kings. The first +fact is obvious; the second is shown by the terms of +the references, which state that information not furnished +in Chronicles may be found in the <q>Book of +Kings,</q> but the information in question is often not +given in the canonical Kings.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>E.g.</hi>, the wars of Jotham (2 Chron. xxvii. 7).</note> And yet the connection +between Kings and Chronicles is very close and extensive. +A large amount of material occurs either identically +or with very slight variations in both books. It is +clear that either Chronicles uses Kings, or Chronicles +uses a work which used Kings, or both Chronicles and +Kings use the same source or sources. Each of these +three views has been held by important authorities, +and they are also capable of various combinations and +modifications. +</p> + +<p> +Reserving for a moment the view which specially +commends itself to us, we may note two main tendencies +of opinion. First, it is maintained that Chronicles +<pb n='017'/><anchor id='Pg017'/> +either goes back directly to the actual sources of Kings, +citing them, for the sake of brevity, under a combined +title, or is based upon a combination of the main +sources of Kings made at a very early date. In either +case Chronicles as compared with Kings would be +an independent and parallel authority on the contents +of these early sources, and to that extent would rank +with Kings as first-class history. This view, however, +is shown to be untenable by the numerous traces +of a later age which are almost invariably present +wherever Chronicles supplements or modifies Kings. +</p> + +<p> +The second view is that either Chronicles used Kings, +or that the <q>Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah</q> +used by Chronicles was a post-Exilic work, incorporating +statistical matter and dealing with the history of the +two kingdoms in a spirit congenial to the temper and +interests of the restored community. This <q>post-Exilic</q> +predecessor of Chronicles is supposed to have been +based upon Kings itself, or upon the sources of Kings, +or upon both; but in any case it was not much earlier +than Chronicles and was written under the same influences +and in a similar spirit. Being virtually an earlier +edition of Chronicles, it could claim no higher authority, +and would scarcely deserve either recognition or treatment +as a separate work. Chronicles would still rest +substantially on the authority of Kings. +</p> + +<p> +It is possible to accept a somewhat simpler view, +and to dispense with this shadowy and ineffectual first +edition of Chronicles. In the first place, the chronicler +does not appeal to the <q>Words</q> and <q>Visions</q> and +the rest of his <q>Book of Kings</q> as authorities for his +own statements; he merely refers his reader to them +for further information which he himself does not +furnish. This <q>Book of Kings</q> so often mentioned +<pb n='018'/><anchor id='Pg018'/> +is therefore neither a source nor an authority of +Chronicles. There is nothing to prove that the +chronicler himself was actually acquainted with the +book. Again, the close correspondence already noted +between these references in Chronicles and the parallel +notes in Kings suggests that the former are simply +expanded and modified from the latter, and the +chronicler had never seen the book he referred to. +The Books of Kings had stated where additional information +could be found, and Chronicles simply repeated +the reference without verifying it. As some sections +of Kings had come to be known by the names of certain +prophets, the chronicler transferred these names back +to the corresponding sections of the sources used by +Kings. In these cases he felt he could give his readers +not merely the somewhat vague reference to the original +work as a whole, but the more definite and convenient +citation of a particular paragraph. His descriptions +of the additional subjects dealt with in the original +authority may possibly, like other of his statements, +have been constructed in accordance with his ideas +of what that authority should contain; or more probably +they refer to this authority the floating traditions of +later times and writers. Possibly these references and +notes of Chronicles are copied from the glosses which +some scribe had written in the margin of his copy +of Kings. If this be so, we can understand why we +find references to the Midrash of Iddo and the Midrash +of the book of Kings.<note place='foot'>2 Chron. xiii. 22; xxiv. 27. The LXX., however, does not read +<q>Midrash</q> in either case; and it is quite possible that glosses have +attached themselves to the text of Chronicles.</note> +</p> + +<p> +In any case, whether directly or through the medium +of a preliminary edition, called <q>The Book of the Kings +<pb n='019'/><anchor id='Pg019'/> +of Israel and Judah,</q> our book of Kings was used +by the chronicler. The supposition that the original +sources of Kings were used by the chronicler or this +immediate predecessor is fairly supported both by +evidence and authority, but on the whole it seems an +unnecessary complication. +</p> + +<p> +Thus we fail to find in these various references to +the <q>Book of Kings,</q> etc., any clear indication of the +origin of matter peculiar to Chronicles; nevertheless +it is not difficult to determine the nature of the sources +from which this material was derived. Doubtless some +of it was still current in the form of oral tradition when +the chronicler wrote, and owed to him its permanent +record. Some he borrowed from manuscripts, which +formed part of the scanty and fragmentary literature +of the later period of the Restoration. His genealogies +and statistics suggest the use of public and ecclesiastical +archives, as well as of family records, in which ancient +legend and anecdote lay embedded among lists of +forgotten ancestors. Apparently the chronicler harvested +pretty freely from that literary aftermath that +sprang up when the Pentateuch and the earlier historical +books had taken final shape. +</p> + +<p> +But it is to these earlier books that the chronicler +owes most. His work is very largely a mosaic of paragraphs +and phrases taken from the older books. His +chief sources are Samuel and Kings; he also lays the +Pentateuch, Joshua, and Ruth under contribution. Much +is taken over without even verbal alteration, and the +greater part is unaltered in substance; yet, as is the +custom in ancient literature, no acknowledgment is +made. The literary conscience was not yet aware of +the sin of plagiarism. Indeed, neither an author nor +his friends took any pains to secure the permanent +<pb n='020'/><anchor id='Pg020'/> +association of his name with his work, and no great +guilt can attach to the plagiarism of one anonymous +writer from another. This absence of acknowledgment +where the chronicler is plainly borrowing from elder +scribes is another reason why his references to the +<q>Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah</q> are clearly +not statements of sources to which he is indebted, but +simply what they profess to be: indications of the +possible sources of further information. +</p> + +<p> +Chronicles, however, illustrates ancient methods of +historical composition, not only by its free appropriation +of the actual form and substance of older works, but +also by its curious blending of identical reproduction +with large additions of quite heterogeneous matter, or +with a series of minute but significant alterations. +The primitive ideas and classical style of paragraphs +from Samuel and Kings are broken in upon by the +ritualistic fervour and late Hebrew of the chronicler's +additions. The vivid and picturesque narrative of the +bringing of the Ark to Zion is interpolated with +uninteresting statistics of the names, numbers, and +musical instruments of the Levites.<note place='foot'>Cf. 2 Sam. vi. 12-20 with 1 Chron. xv., xvi.</note> Much of the +chronicler's account of the revolution which overthrew +Athaliah and placed Joash on the throne is taken +word for word from the book of Kings; but it is +adapted to the Temple order of the Pentateuch by +a series of alterations which substitute Levites for +foreign mercenaries, and otherwise guard the sanctity +of the Temple from the intrusion, not only of foreigners, +but even of the common people.<note place='foot'>Cf. 2 Kings xi.; 2 Chron. xxiii.</note> A careful comparison +of Chronicles with Samuel and Kings is a striking +object lesson in ancient historical composition. It is +<pb n='021'/><anchor id='Pg021'/> +an almost indispensable introduction to the criticism +of the Pentateuch and the older historical books. The +<q>redactor</q> of these works becomes no mere shadowy +and hypothetical personage when we have watched his +successor the chronicler piecing together things new +and old and adapting ancient narratives to modern +ideas by adding a word in one place and changing +a phrase in another. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='022'/><anchor id='Pg022'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter IV. The Importance of Chronicles.</head> + +<p> +Before attempting to expound in detail the +religious significance of Chronicles, we may conclude +our introduction by a brief general statement of +the leading features which render the book interesting +and valuable to the Christian student. +</p> + +<p> +The material of Chronicles may be divided into +three parts: the matter taken directly from the older +historical books; material derived from traditions and +writings of the chronicler's own age; the various +additions and modifications which are the chronicler's +own work.<note place='foot'>The last two classes are not easily distinguished; but the additions +which introduce the Levitical system into earlier history are +clearly the work of the chronicler or his immediate predecessor, +if such a predecessor be assumed, or were found in somewhat late +sources. This is also probably true of other explanatory matter.</note> Each of these divisions has its special +value, and important lessons may be learnt from the +way in which the author has selected and combined +these materials. +</p> + +<p> +The excerpts from the older histories are, of course, +by far the best material in the book for the period of +the monarchy. If Samuel and Kings had perished, +we should have been under great obligations to the +chronicler for preserving to us large portions of their +<pb n='023'/><anchor id='Pg023'/> +ancient records. As it is, the chronicler has rendered +invaluable service to the textual criticism of the Old +Testament by providing us with an additional witness +to the text of large portions of Samuel and Kings. +The very fact that the character and history of +Chronicles are so different from those of the older +books enhances the value of its evidence as to their +text. The two texts, Samuel and Kings on the one +hand and Chronicles on the other, have been modified +under different influences; they have not always been +altered in the same way, so that where one has been +corrupted the other has often preserved the correct +reading. Probably because Chronicles is less interesting +and picturesque, its text has been subject to less +alteration than that of Samuel and Kings. The more +interested scribes or readers become, the more likely +they are to make corrections and add glosses to the +narrative. We may note, for example, that the name +<q>Meribbaal</q> given by Chronicles for one of Saul's sons +is more likely to be correct than <q>Mephibosheth,</q> the +form given by Samuel.<note place='foot'>Cf. 2 Sam. iv. with 1 Chron. viii. 34, also 2 Sam. vii. 7 with +1 Chron. xvii. 6, and 2 Sam. xvii. 25 with 1 Chron. ii. 17. In both +these instances Chronicles preserves the correct text.</note> +</p> + +<p> +The material derived from traditions and writings +of the chronicler's own age is of uncertain historical +value, and cannot be clearly discriminated from the +author's free composition. Much of it was the natural +product of the thought and feeling of the late Persian +and early Greek period, and shares the importance +which attaches to the chronicler's own work. This +material, however, includes a certain amount of neutral +matter: genealogies, family histories and anecdotes, +and notes on ancient life and custom. We have no +<pb n='024'/><anchor id='Pg024'/> +parallel authorities to test this material, we cannot +prove the antiquity of the sources from which it is +derived, and yet it may contain fragments of very +ancient tradition. Some of the notes and narratives +have an archaic flavour which can scarcely be artificial; +their very lack of importance is an argument for their +authenticity, and illustrates the strange tenacity with +which local and domestic tradition perpetuates the +most insignificant episodes.<note place='foot'>Cf. <ref target='Book_II_Chapter_IV'>Book II., Chap. IV.</ref></note> +</p> + +<p> +But naturally the most characteristic, and therefore +the most important, section of the contents of Chronicles +is that made up of the additions and modifications +which are the work of the chronicler or his immediate +predecessors. It is unnecessary to point out that these +do not add much to our knowledge of the history of the +monarchy; their significance consists in the light that +they throw upon the period towards whose close the +chronicler lived: the period between the final establishment +of Pentateuchal Judaism and the attempt of +Antiochus Epiphanes to stamp it out of existence; the +period between Ezra and Judas Maccabæus. The +chronicler is no exceptional and epoch-making writer, +has little personal importance, and is therefore all the +more important as a typical representative of the +current ideas of his class and generation. He translates +the history of the past into the ideas and circumstances +of his own age, and thus gives us almost as much +information about the civil and religious institutions +he lived under as if he had actually described them. +Moreover, in stating its estimate of past history, each +generation pronounces unconscious judgment upon +itself. The chronicler's interpretation and philosophy +<pb n='025'/><anchor id='Pg025'/> +of history mark the level of his moral and spiritual +ideas. He betrays these quite as much by his attitude +towards earlier authorities as in the paragraphs which +are his own composition; we have seen how his use +of materials illustrates the ancient, and for that matter +the modern, Eastern methods of historical composition, +and we have shown the immense importance of +Chronicles to Old Testament criticism. But the way +in which the chronicler uses his older sources also +indicates his relation towards the ancient morality, +ritual, and theology of Israel. His methods of selection +are most instructive as to the ideas and interests of +his time. We see what was thought worthy to be +included in this final and most modern edition of the +religious history of Israel. But in truth the omissions +are among the most significant features of Chronicles; +its silence is constantly more eloquent than its speech, +and we measure the spiritual progress of Judaism by +the paragraphs of Kings which Chronicles leaves out. +In subsequent chapters we shall seek to illustrate the +various ways in which Chronicles illuminates the period +preceding the Maccabees. Any gleams of light on the +Hebrew monarchy are most welcome, but we cannot +be less grateful for information about those obscure +centuries which fostered the quiet growth of Israel's +character and faith and prepared the way for the +splendid heroism and religious devotion of the Maccabæan +struggle. +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<pb n='027'/><anchor id='Pg027'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Book II. Genealogies.</head> + + +<pb n='029'/><anchor id='Pg029'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter I. Names. 1 Chron. i-ix.</head> + +<p> +The first nine chapters of Chronicles form, with +a few slight exceptions, a continuous list of +names. It is the largest extant collection of Hebrew +names. Hence these chapters may be used as a text +for the exposition of any spiritual significance to be +derived from Hebrew names either individually or +collectively. Old Testament genealogies have often +exercised the ingenuity of the preacher, and the student +of homiletics will readily recollect the methods of +extracting a moral from what at first sight seems a +barren theme. For instance, those names of which +little or nothing is recorded are held up as awful +examples of wasted lives. We are asked to take +warning from Mahalalel and Methuselah, who spent +their long centuries so ineffectually that there was +nothing to record except that they begat sons and +daughters and died. Such teaching is not fairly +derived from its text. The sacred writers implied no +reflection upon the Patriarchs of whom they gave so +short and conventional an account. Least of all could +such teaching be based upon the lists in Chronicles, +because the men who are there merely mentioned by +name include Adam, Noah, Abraham, and other heroes +<pb n='030'/><anchor id='Pg030'/> +of sacred story. Moreover, such teaching is unnecessary +and not altogether wholesome. Very few men +who are at all capable of obtaining a permanent place +in history need to be spurred on by sermons; and for +most people the suggestion that a man's life is a +failure unless he secures posthumous fame is false +and mischievous. The Lamb's book of life is the +only record of the vast majority of honourable and +useful lives; and the tendency to self-advertisement +is sufficiently wide-spread and spontaneous already: it +needs no pulpit stimulus. We do not think any worse +of a man because his tombstone simply states his name +and age, or any better because it catalogues his virtues +and mentions that he attained the dignity of alderman +or author. +</p> + +<p> +The significance of these lists of names is rather to +be looked for in an opposite direction. It is not that +a name and one or two commonplace incidents mean +so little, but that they suggest so much. A mere parish +register is not in itself attractive, but if we consider +even such a list, the very names interest us and kindle +our imagination. It is almost impossible to linger in +a country churchyard, reading the half-effaced inscriptions +upon the headstones, without forming some dim +picture of the character and history and even the +outward semblance of the men and women who once +bore the names. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>For though a name is neither</q></l> +<l>... hand, nor foot,</l> +<l>Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part</l> +<l><q rend='post'>Belonging to a man,</q></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<p> +yet, to use a somewhat technical phrase, it <emph>connotes</emph> a +man. A name implies the existence of a distinct +personality, with a peculiar and unique history, and +<pb n='031'/><anchor id='Pg031'/> +yet, on the other hand, a being with whom we are +linked in close sympathy by a thousand ties of common +human nature and everyday experience. In its lists +of what are now mere names, the Bible seems to +recognise the dignity and sacredness of bare human +life. +</p> + +<p> +But the names in these nine chapters have also +a collective significance: they stand for more than +their individual owners. They are typical and representative, +the names of kings, and priests, and captains; +they sum up the tribes of Israel, both as a Church and +a nation, down all the generations of its history. The +inclusion of these names in the sacred record, as the +express introduction to the annals of the Temple, and +the sacred city, and the elect house of David, is the +formal recognition of the sanctity of the nation and of +national life. We are entirely in the spirit of the +Bible when we see this same sanctity in all organised +societies: in the parish, the municipality, and the state; +when we attach a Divine significance to registers of +electors and census returns, and claim all such lists +as symbols of religious privilege and responsibility. +</p> + +<p> +But names do not merely suggest individuals and +communities: the meanings of the names reveal the +ideas of the people who used them. It has been well +said that <q>the names of every nation are an important +monument of national spirit and manners, and +thus the Hebrew names bear important testimony to +the peculiar vocation of this nation. No nation of +antiquity has such a proportion of names of religious +import.</q><note place='foot'>Oehler, <hi rend='italic'>Old Testament Theology</hi>, i. 283 (Eng. trans.).</note> Amongst ourselves indeed the religious +meaning of names has almost wholly faded away; +<pb n='032'/><anchor id='Pg032'/> +<q>Christian name</q> is a mere phrase, and children are +named after relations, or according to prevailing fashion, +or after the characters of popular novels. But the +religious motive can still be traced in some modern +names; in certain districts of Germany the name +<q>Ursula</q> or <q>Apollonia</q> is a sure indication that a +girl is a Roman Catholic and has been named after a +popular saint.<note place='foot'>Nestle, <hi rend='italic'>Die Israelitischen Eigennamen</hi>, p. 27. The present chapter +is largely indebted to this standard monograph.</note> The Bible constantly insists upon this +religious significance, which would frequently be in the +mind of the devout Israelite in giving names to his +children. The Old Testament contains more than a +hundred etymologies<note place='foot'>Nestle.</note> of personal names, most of which +attach a religious meaning to the words explained. +The etymologies of the patriarchal names—<q>Abraham,</q> +father of a multitude of nations; <q>Isaac,</q> laughter; +<q>Jacob,</q> supplanter; <q>Israel,</q> prince with God—are +specially familiar. The Biblical interest in edifying +etymologies was maintained and developed by early +commentators. Their philology was far from accurate, +and very often they were merely playing upon the forms +of words. But the allegorising tendencies of Jewish +and Christian expositors found special opportunities in +proper names. On the narrow foundation of an etymology +mostly doubtful and often impossible, Philo, and +Origen, and Jerome loved to erect an elaborate structure +theological or philosophical doctrine. Philo has only +one quotation from our author: <q>Manasseh had sons, +whom his Syrian concubine bare to him, Machir; and +Machir begat Gilead.</q><note place='foot'>1 Chron. vii. 14.</note> He quotes this verse to show +that recollection is associated in a subordinate capacity +<pb n='033'/><anchor id='Pg033'/> +with memory. The connection is not very clearly made +out, but rests in some way on the meaning of Manasseh, +the root of which means to forget. As forgetfulness +with recollection restores our knowledge, so Manasseh +with his Syrian concubine begets Machir. Recollection +therefore is a concubine, an inferior and secondary +quality.<note place='foot'>Philo, <hi rend='italic'>De Cong. Quær. Erud. Grat.</hi>, 8.</note> This ingenious trifling has a certain charm +in spite of its extravagance, but in less dexterous +hands the method becomes clumsy as well as extravagant. +It has, however, the advantage of readily +adapting itself to all tastes and opinions, so that we +are not surprised when an eighteenth-century author +discovers in Old Testament etymology a compendium +of Trinitarian theology.<note place='foot'>Hiller's <hi rend='italic'>Onomasticon ap.</hi>, Nestle 11.</note> <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ahiah</foreign><note place='foot'>vii. 8.</note> is derived from <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>'ehad</foreign>, +one, and <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>yah</foreign>, Jehovah, and is thus an assertion of the +Divine unity; <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Reuel</foreign><note place='foot'>i. 35.</note> is resolved into a plural verb with +a singular Divine name for its subject: this is an indication +of trinity in unity; <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ahilud</foreign><note place='foot'>xviii. 15.</note> is derived from <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>'ehad</foreign>, +one, and <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>galud</foreign>, begotten, and signifies that the Son is +<emph>only-begotten</emph>. +</p> + +<p> +Modern scholarship is more rational in its methods, but +attaches no less importance to these ancient names, and +finds in them weighty evidence on problems of criticism +and theology; and before proceeding to more serious +matters, we may note a few somewhat exceptional names. +As pointed in the present Hebrew text, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Hazarmaveth</foreign><note place='foot'>i. 20.</note> +and <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Azmaveth</foreign><note place='foot'>viii. 36.</note> have a certain grim suggestiveness. +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Hazarmaveth</foreign>, court of death, is given as the name of +a descendant of Shem. It is, however, probably the +name of a place transferred to an eponymous ancestor, +<pb n='034'/><anchor id='Pg034'/> +and has been identified with <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Hadramawt</foreign>, a district in +the south of Arabia. As, however, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Hadramawt</foreign>, is a +fertile district of Arabia Felix, the name does not seem +very appropriate. On the other hand <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Azmaveth</foreign>, +<q>strength of death,</q> would be very suitable for some +strong, death-dealing soldier. <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Azubah</foreign>,<note place='foot'>ii. 18.</note> <q>forsaken,</q> +the name of Caleb's wife, is capable of a variety of +romantic explanations. <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Hazelelponi</foreign><note place='foot'>iii. 20.</note> is remarkable in +its mere form; and Ewald's interpretation, <q>Give shade, +Thou who turnest to me Thy countenance,</q> seems +rather a cumbrous signification for the name of a +daughter of the house of Judah. <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Jushab-hesed</foreign>,<note place='foot'>iv. 3.</note> <q>Mercy +will be renewed,</q> as the name of a son of Zerubbabel, +doubtless expresses the gratitude and hope of the +Jews on their return from Babylon.<note place='foot'>Bertheau, i. 1.</note> <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Jashubi-lehem</foreign>,<note place='foot'>iv. 22.</note> +however, is curious and perplexing. The name has been +interpreted <q>giving bread</q> or <q>turning back to Bethlehem,</q> +but the text is certainly corrupt, and the passage +is one of many into which either the carelessness of +scribes or the obscurity of the chronicler's sources +has introduced hopeless confusion. But the most +remarkable set of names is found in 1 Chron. xxv. 4, +where <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Giddalti</foreign> and <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Romantiezer</foreign>, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Joshbekashah</foreign>, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Mallothi</foreign>, +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Hothir</foreign>, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Mahazioth</foreign>, are simply a Hebrew sentence +meaning, <q>I have magnified and exalted help; sitting +in distress,<note place='foot'>iv. 22.</note> I have spoken<note place='foot'>The translation of these words is not quite certain.</note> visions in abundance.</q> +We may at once set aside the cynical suggestion that +the author lacked names to complete a genealogy and, +to save the trouble of inventing them separately, took +the first sentence that came to hand and cut it up into +suitable lengths, nor is it likely that a father would +<pb n='035'/><anchor id='Pg035'/> +spread the same process over several years and adopt +it for his family. This remarkable combination of +names is probably due to some misunderstanding of +his sources on the part of the chronicler. His parchment +rolls must often have been torn and fragmentary, +the writing blurred and half illegible; and his attempts +to piece together obscure and ragged manuscripts +naturally resulted at times in mistakes and confusion. +</p> + +<p> +These examples of interesting etymologies might +easily be multiplied; they serve, at any rate, to indicate +a rich mine of suggestive teaching. It must, +however, be remembered that a name is not necessarily +a personal name because it occurs in a genealogy; +cities, districts, and tribes mingle freely with persons +in these lists. In the same connection we note that +the female names are few and far between, and that +of those which do occur the <q>sisters</q> probably stand +for allied and related families, and not for individuals. +</p> + +<p> +As regards Old Testament theology, we may first +notice the light thrown by personal names on the relation +of the religion of Israel to that of other Semitic +peoples. Of the names in these chapters and elsewhere, +a large proportion are compounded of one or other of +the Divine names. <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>El</foreign> is the first element in <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Elishama</foreign>, +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Eliphelet</foreign>, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Eliada</foreign>, etc.; it is the second in <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Othniel</foreign>, +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Jehaleleel</foreign>, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Asareel</foreign>, etc. Similarly <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Jehovah</foreign> is represented +by the initial <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Jeho-</foreign> in <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Jehoshaphat</foreign>, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Jehoiakim</foreign>, +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Jehoram</foreign>, etc., by the final <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>-iah</foreign> in <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Amaziah</foreign>, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Azariah</foreign>, +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Hezekiah</foreign>, etc. It has been calculated that there are +a hundred and ninety names<note place='foot'>Nestle, p. 68.</note> beginning or ending +with the equivalent of Jehovah, including most of the +kings of Judah and many of the kings of Israel. +Moreover, some names which have not these prefixes +<pb n='036'/><anchor id='Pg036'/> +and affixes in their extant form are contractions of +older forms which began or ended with a Divine name. +Ahaz, for instance, is mentioned in Assyrian inscriptions +as Jahuhazi—<hi rend='italic'>i.e.</hi>, Jehoahaz—and Nathan is probably a +contracted form of Nethaniah. +</p> + +<p> +There are also numerous compounds of other Divine +names. <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Zur</foreign>, rock, is found in <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Pedahzur</foreign>,<note place='foot'>Num. i. 10.</note> <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Shaddai</foreign>, +A.V. Almighty, in <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ammishaddai</foreign><note place='foot'>Num. i. 12.</note>; the two are combined +in <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Zurishaddai</foreign>.<note place='foot'>Num. i. 6.</note> <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Melech</foreign> is a Divine name in +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Malchi-ram</foreign> and <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Malchi-shua</foreign>. <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Baal</foreign> occurs as a Divine +name in <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Eshbaal</foreign> and <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Meribbaal</foreign>. <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Abi</foreign>, father, is a +Divine name in <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Abiram</foreign>, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Abinadab</foreign>, etc., and probably +also <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ahi</foreign> in <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ahiram</foreign> and <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ammi</foreign> in <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Amminadab</foreign>.<note place='foot'>Cf. p. 40.</note> Possibly, +too, the apparently simple names <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Melech</foreign>, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Zur</foreign>, +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Baal</foreign>, are contractions of longer forms in which these +Divine names were prefixes or affixes. +</p> + +<p> +This use of Divine names is capable of very varied +illustration. Modern languages have Christian and +Christopher, Emmanuel, Theodosius, Theodora, etc.; +names like Hermogenes and Heliogabalus are found +in the classical languages. But the practice is specially +characteristic of Semitic languages. Mohammedan +princes are still called <foreign lang='ar' rend='italic'>Abdurrahman</foreign>, servant of the +Merciful, and <foreign lang='ar' rend='italic'>Abdallah</foreign>, servant of God; ancient Phœnician +kings were named <foreign rend='italic'>Ethbaal</foreign> and <foreign rend='italic'>Abdalonim</foreign>, where +<foreign rend='italic'>alonim</foreign> is a plural Divine name, and the <foreign rend='italic'>bal</foreign> in Hannibal +and Hasdrubal = <foreign rend='italic'>baal</foreign>. The Assyrian and Chaldæan +kings were named after the gods Sin, Nebo, Assur, +Merodach, <hi rend='italic'>e.g.</hi>, <foreign rend='italic'>Sin-akki-irib</foreign> (Sennacherib); <foreign rend='italic'>Nebuchadnezzar</foreign>; +<foreign rend='italic'>Assur-bani-pal</foreign>; <foreign rend='italic'>Merodach-baladan</foreign>. +</p> + +<p> +Of these Divine names El and Baal are common to +Israel and other Semitic peoples, and it has been held +<pb n='037'/><anchor id='Pg037'/> +that the Hebrew personal names preserve traces of +polytheism. In any case, however, the Baal-names +are comparatively few, and do not necessarily indicate +that Israelites worshipped a Baal distinct from Jehovah; +they may be relics of a time when Baal (Lord) was a +title or equivalent of Jehovah, like the later Adonai. +Other possible traces of polytheism are few and doubtful. +In Baanah and Resheph we may perhaps find +the obscure<note place='foot'>xi. 30; vii. 25 (Nestle).</note> Phœnician deities Anath and Reshaph. +On the whole, Hebrew names as compared, for instance, +with Assyrian afford little or no evidence of the prevalence +of polytheism. +</p> + +<p> +Another question concerns the origin and use of the +name Jehovah. Our lists conclusively prove its free +use during the monarchy and its existence under the +judges. On the other hand, its apparent presence in +Jochebed, the name of the mother of Moses, seems to +carry it back beyond Moses. Possibly it was a Divine +name peculiar to his family or clan. Its occurrence in +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Yahubidi</foreign>, a king of Hamath, in the time of Sargon +may be due to direct Israelite influence. Hamath had +frequent relations with Israel and Judah. +</p> + +<p> +Turning to matters of practical religion, how far do +these names help us to understand the spiritual life of +ancient Israel? The Israelites made constant use of +El and Jehovah in their names, and we have no parallel +practice. Were they then so much more religious than +we are? Probably in a sense they were. It is true +that the etymology and even the original significance +of a name in common use are for all practical purposes +quickly and entirely forgotten. A man may go through +a life-time bearing the name of Christopher and never +know its etymological meaning. At Cambridge and +<pb n='038'/><anchor id='Pg038'/> +Oxford sacred names like <q>Jesus</q> and <q>Trinity</q> are +used constantly and familiarly without suggesting anything +beyond the colleges so called. The edifying +phrase, <q>God encompasseth us,</q> is altogether lost in +the grotesque tavern sign <q>The Goat and Compasses.</q> +Nor can we suppose that the Israelite or the Assyrian +often dwelt on the religious significance of the <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Jeho-</foreign> or <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>-iah</foreign>, +the <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Nebo</foreign>, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Sin</foreign>, or <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Merodach</foreign>, of current proper +names. As we have seen, the sense of <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>-iah</foreign>, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>-el</foreign>, +or <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Jeho-</foreign> was often so little present to men's minds +that contractions were formed by omitting them. Possibly +because these prefixes and affixes were so +common, they came to be taken for granted; it was +scarcely necessary to write them, because in any case +they would be understood. Probably in historic times +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Abi-</foreign>, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ahi-</foreign>, and <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ammi-</foreign> were no longer recognised as +Divine names or titles; and yet the names which could +still be recognised as compounded of El and Jehovah +must have had their influence on popular feeling. +They were part of the religiousness, so to speak, of +the ancient East; they symbolised the constant intertwining +of religious acts, and words, and thoughts with +all the concerns of life. The quality of this ancient +religion was very inferior to that of a devout and +intelligent modern Christian; it was perhaps inferior +to that of Russian peasants belonging to the Greek +Church; but ancient religion pervaded life and society +more consciously than modern Christianity does; it +touched all classes and occasions more directly, if also +more mechanically. And, again, these names were not +the fossil relics of obsolete habits of thought and +feeling, like the names of our churches and colleges; +they were the memorials of comparatively recent +acts of faith. The name <q>Elijah</q> commemorated the +<pb n='039'/><anchor id='Pg039'/> +solemn occasion on which a father professed his own +faith and consecrated a new-born child to the true +God by naming his boy <q>Jehovah is my God.</q> This +name-giving was also a prayer: the child was placed +under the protection of the deity whose name it bore. +The practice might be tainted with superstition; the +name would often be regarded as a kind of amulet; +and yet we may believe that it could also serve to +express a parent's earnest and simple-minded faith. +Modern Englishmen have developed a habit of almost +complete reticence and reserve on religious matters, +and this habit is illustrated by our choice of proper +names. Mary, and Thomas, and James are so familiar +that their Scriptural origin is forgotten, and therefore +they are tolerated; but the use of distinctively Scriptural +Christian names is virtually regarded as bad +taste. This reticence is not merely due to increased +delicacy of spiritual feeling: it is partly the result of +the growth of science and of literary and historical +criticism. We have become absorbed in the wonderful +revelations of methods and processes; we are fascinated +by the ingenious mechanism of nature and society. +We have no leisure to detach our thoughts from the +machinery and carry them further on to its Maker and +Director. Indeed, because there is so much mechanism +and because it is so wonderful, we are sometimes asked +to believe that the machine made itself. But this is +a mere phase in the religious growth of mankind: +humanity will tire of some of its new toys, and will +become familiar with the rest; deeper needs and +instincts will reassert themselves; and men will find +themselves nearer in sentiment than they supposed +to the ancient people who named their children after +their God. In this and other matters the East to-day +<pb n='040'/><anchor id='Pg040'/> +is the same as of old; the permanence of its custom is +no inapt symbol of the permanence of Divine truth, +which revolution and conquest are powerless to +change. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>The East bowed low before the blast</q></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>In patient, deep disdain;</l> +<l>She let the legions thunder past,</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><q rend='post'>And plunged in thought again.</q></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<p> +But the Christian Church is mistress of a more compelling +magic than even Eastern patience and tenacity: +out of the storms that threaten her, she draws new +energies for service, and learns a more expressive +language in which to declare the glory of God. +</p> + +<p> +Let us glance for a moment at the meanings of the +group of Divine names given above. We have said +that, in addition to <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Melech</foreign> in <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Malchi-</foreign>, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Abi</foreign>, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ahi</foreign>, and +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ammi</foreign> are to be regarded as Divine names. One +reason for this is that their use as prefixes is strictly +analogous to that of <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>El</foreign> and <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Jeho-</foreign>. We have <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Abijah</foreign> +and <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ahijah</foreign> as well as <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Elijah</foreign>, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Abiel</foreign> and <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ammiel</foreign> as +well as <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Eliel</foreign>, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Abiram</foreign> and <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ahiram</foreign> as well as <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Jehoram</foreign>; +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ammishaddai</foreign> compares with <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Zurishaddai</foreign>, and <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ammizabad</foreign> +with <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Jehozabad</foreign>, nor would it be difficult to add +many other examples. If this view be correct, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ammi</foreign> +will have nothing to do with the Hebrew word for +<q>people,</q> but will rather be connected with the corresponding +Arabic word for <q>uncle.</q><note place='foot'>Nestle.</note> As the use of +such terms as <q>brother</q> and <q>uncle</q> for Divine names +is not consonant with Hebrew theology in its historic +period, the names which contain these prefixes must +have come down from earlier ages, and were used in +later times without any consciousness of their original +sense. Probably they were explained by new etymologies +<pb n='041'/><anchor id='Pg041'/> +more in harmony with the spirit of the times; +compare the etymology <q>father of a multitude of +nations</q> given to Abraham. Even <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Abi-</foreign>, father, in the +early times to which its use as a prefix must be referred, +cannot have had the full spiritual meaning which now +attaches to it as a Divine title. It probably only signified +the ultimate source of life. The disappearance of +these religious terms from the common vocabulary and +their use in names long after their significance had +been forgotten are ordinary phenomena in the development +of language and religion. How many of the +millions who use our English names for the days of the +week ever give a thought to Thor or Freya? Such +phenomena have more than an antiquarian interest. +They remind us that religious terms, and phrases, and +formulæ derive their influence and value from their +adaptation to the age which accepts them; and therefore +many of them will become unintelligible or even +misleading to later generations. Language varies continuously, +circumstances change, experience widens, and +every age has a right to demand that Divine truth +shall be presented in the words and metaphors that +give it the clearest and most forcible expression. Many +of the simple truths that are most essential to salvation +admit of being stated once for all; but dogmatic +theology fossilises fast, and the bread of one generation +may become a stone to the next. +</p> + +<p> +The history of these names illustrates yet another +phenomenon. In some narrow and imperfect sense the +early Semitic peoples seem to have called God <q>Father</q> +and <q>Brother.</q> Because the terms were limited to a +narrow sense, the Israelites grew to a level of religious +truth at which they could no longer use them; but as +they made yet further progress they came to know more +<pb n='042'/><anchor id='Pg042'/> +of what was meant by fatherhood and brotherhood, +and gained also a deeper knowledge of God. At length +the Church resumed these ancient Semitic terms; and +Christians call God <q>Abba, Father,</q> and speak of the +Eternal Son as their elder Brother. And thus sometimes, +but not always, an antique phrase may for a time +seem unsuitable and misleading, and then again may +prove to be the best expression for the newest and +fullest truth. Our criticism of a religious formula may +simply reveal our failure to grasp the wealth of meaning +which its words and symbols can contain. +</p> + +<p> +Turning from these obsolete names to those in +common use—<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>El</foreign>; <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Jehovah</foreign>; <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Shaddai</foreign>; <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Zur</foreign>; <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Melech</foreign>—probably +the prevailing idea popularly associated with +them all was that of strength: <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>El</foreign>, strength in the +abstract; <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Jehovah</foreign>, strength shown in permanence and +independence; <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Shaddai</foreign>, the strength that causes terror, +the Almighty from whom cometh destruction<note place='foot'>Joel i. 15; Isa. xiii. 6. It is not necessary here to discuss either +the etymological or the theological history of these words in their +earliest usage, nor need we do more than recall the fact that Jehovah +was the term in common use as the personal name of the God of +Israel, while El was rare and sometimes generic.</note>; <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Zur</foreign>, +rock, the material symbol of strength, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Melech</foreign>, king, +the possessor of authority. In early times the first +and most essential attribute of Deity is power, but +with this idea of strength a certain attribute of beneficence +is soon associated. The strong God is the Ally +of His people; His permanence is the guarantee of their +national existence; He destroys their enemies. The +rock is a place of refuge; and, again, Jehovah's people +may rejoice in the shadow of a great rock in a weary +land. The King leads them to battle, and gives them +their enemies for a spoil. +</p> + +<pb n='043'/><anchor id='Pg043'/> + +<p> +We must not, however, suppose that pious Israelites +would consciously and systematically discriminate +between these names, any more than ordinary Christians +do between God, Lord, Father, Christ, Saviour, +Jesus. Their usage would be governed by changing +currents of sentiment very difficult to understand and +explain after the lapse of thousands of years. In the +year <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 3000, for instance, it will be difficult for the +historian of dogmatics to explain accurately why some +nineteenth-century Christians preferred to speak of +<q>dear Jesus</q> and others of <q>the Christ.</q> +</p> + +<p> +But the simple Divine names reveal comparatively +little; much more may be learnt from the numerous +compounds they help to form. Some of the more +curious have already been noticed, but the real significance +of this nomenclature is to be looked for in the +more ordinary and natural names. Here, as before, +we can only select from the long and varied list. Let +us take some of the favourite names and some of the +roots most often used, almost always, be it remembered, +in combination with Divine names. The different +varieties of these sacred names rendered it possible +to construct various personal names embodying the +same idea. Also the same Divine name might be used +either as prefix or affix. For instance, the idea that +<q>God knows</q> is equally well expressed in the names +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Eliada</foreign> (El-yada'), <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Jediael</foreign> (Yada'-el), <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Jehoiada</foreign> (Jeho-yada'), +and <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Jedaiah</foreign> (Yada'-yah). <q>God remembers</q> +is expressed alike by <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Zachariah</foreign> and <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Jozachar</foreign>; <q>God +hears</q> by <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Elishama</foreign> (El-shama'), <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Samuel</foreign> (if for +Shama'-el), <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ishmael</foreign> (also from Shama'-el), <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Shemaiah</foreign>, +and <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ishmaiah</foreign> (<emph>both from</emph> Shama' <emph>and</emph> Yah); <q>God +gives</q> by <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Elnathan</foreign>, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Nethaneel</foreign>, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Jonathan</foreign>, and <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Nethaniah</foreign>; +<q>God helps</q> by <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Eliezer</foreign>, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Azareel</foreign>, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Joezer</foreign>, and <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Azariah</foreign>; +<pb n='044'/><anchor id='Pg044'/> +<q>God is gracious</q> by <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Elhanan</foreign>, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Hananeel</foreign>, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Johanan</foreign>, +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Hananiah</foreign>, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Baal-hanan</foreign>, and, for a Carthaginian, +<foreign rend='italic'>Hannibal</foreign>, giving us a curious connection between +the Apostle of love, John (Johanan), and the deadly +enemy of Rome. +</p> + +<p> +The way in which the changes are rung upon these +ideas shows how the ancient Israelites loved to dwell +upon them. Nestle reckons that in the Old Testament +sixty-one persons have names formed from the root +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>nathan</foreign>, to give; fifty-seven from <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>shama</foreign>, to hear; +fifty-six from <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>'azar</foreign>, to help; forty-five from <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>hanan</foreign>, to +be gracious; forty-four from <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>zakhar</foreign>, to remember. +Many persons, too, bear names from the root <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>yada'</foreign>, +to know. The favourite name is <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Zechariah</foreign>, which is +borne by twenty-five different persons. +</p> + +<p> +Hence, according to the testimony of names, the +Israelites' favourite ideas about God were that He heard, +and knew, and remembered; that He was gracious, and +helped men, and gave them gifts: but they loved best +to think of Him as God the Giver. Their nomenclature +recognises many other attributes, but these take the +first place. The value of this testimony is enhanced +by its utter unconsciousness and naturalness; it brings +us nearer to the average man in his religious moments +than any psalm or prophetic utterance. Men's chief +interest in God was as the Giver. The idea has proved +very permanent; St. James amplifies it: God is the +Giver of every good and perfect gift. It lies latent +in names: Theodosius, Theodore, Theodora, and +Dorothea. The other favourite ideas are all related +to this. God hears men's prayers, and knows their +needs, and remembers them; He is gracious, and helps +them by His gifts. Could anything be more pathetic +than this artless self-revelation? Men's minds have +<pb n='045'/><anchor id='Pg045'/> +little leisure for sin and salvation; they are kept down +by the constant necessity of preserving and providing +for a bare existence. Their cry to God is like the +prayer of Jacob, <q>If Thou wilt give me bread to eat +and raiment to put on!</q> The very confidence and +gratitude that the names express imply periods of doubt +and fear, when they said, <q>Can God prepare a table +in the wilderness?</q> times when it seemed to them +impossible that God could have heard their prayer or +that He knew their misery, else why was there no +deliverance? Had God forgotten to be gracious? Did +He indeed remember? The names come to us as +answers of faith to these suggestions of despair. +</p> + +<p> +Possibly these old-world saints were not more preoccupied +with their material needs than most modern +Christians. Perhaps it is necessary to believe in a +God who rules on earth before we can understand the +Father who is in heaven. Does a man really trust in God +for eternal life if he cannot trust Him for daily bread? +But in any case these names provide us with very +comprehensive formulæ, which we are at liberty to +apply as freely as we please: the God who knows, +and hears, and remembers, who is gracious, and helps +men, and gives them gifts. To begin with, note how +in a great array of Old Testament names God is the +Subject, Actor, and Worker; the supreme facts of life +are God and God's doings, not man and man's doings, +what God is to man, not what man is to God. This is +a foreshadowing of the Christian doctrines of grace and +of the Divine sovereignty. And again we are left to +fill in the objects of the sentences for ourselves: God +hears, and remembers, and gives—what? All that we +have to say to Him and all that we are capable of +receiving from Him. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='046'/><anchor id='Pg046'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter II. Heredity. 1 Chron. i.-ix.</head> + +<p> +It has been said that Religion is the great discoverer +of truth, while Science follows her slowly and after +a long interval. Heredity, so much discussed just now, +is sometimes treated as if its principles were a great +discovery of the present century. Popular science is +apt to ignore history and to mistake a fresh nomenclature +for an entirely new system of truth, and yet +the immense and far-reaching importance of heredity +has been one of the commonplaces of thought ever +since history began. Science has been anticipated, not +merely by religious feeling, but by a universal instinct. +In the old world political and social systems have been +based upon the recognition of the principle of heredity, +and religion has sanctioned such recognition. Caste +in India is a religious even more than a social institution; +and we use the term figuratively in reference to +ancient and modern life, even when the institution has +not formally existed. Without the aid of definite civil +or religious law the force of sentiment and circumstances +suffices to establish an informal system of caste. +Thus the feudal aristocracy and guilds of the Middle +Ages were not without their rough counterparts in the +Old Testament. Moreover, the local divisions of the +Hebrew kingdoms corresponded in theory, at any rate, +<pb n='047'/><anchor id='Pg047'/> +to blood relationships; and the tribe, the clan, and the +family had even more fixity and importance than now +belong to the parish or the municipality. A man's +family history or genealogy was the ruling factor in +determining his home, his occupation, and his social +position. In the chronicler's time this was especially +the case with the official ministers of religion, the +Temple establishment to which he himself belonged. +The priests, the Levites, the singers, and doorkeepers +formed castes in the strict sense of the word. A man's +birth definitely assigned him to one of these classes, to +which none but the members of certain families could +belong. +</p> + +<p> +But the genealogies had a deeper significance. +Israel was Jehovah's chosen people, His son, to whom +special privileges were guaranteed by solemn covenant. +A man's claim to share in this covenant depended on +his genuine Israelite descent, and the proof of such +descent was an authentic genealogy. In these chapters +the chronicler has taken infinite pains to collect +pedigrees from all available sources and to construct +a complete set of genealogies exhibiting the lines of +descent of the families of Israel. His interest in this +research was not merely antiquarian: he was investigating +matters of the greatest social and religious importance +to all the members of the Jewish community, and +especially to his colleagues and friends in the Temple +service. These chapters, which seem to us so dry and +useless, were probably regarded by the chronicler's +contemporaries as the most important part of his work. +The preservation or discovery of a genealogy was +almost a matter of life and death. Witness the episode +in Ezra and Nehemiah<note place='foot'>Ezra ii. 61-63; Neh. vii, 63-65.</note>: <q>And of the priests: the +<pb n='048'/><anchor id='Pg048'/> +children of Hobaiah, the children of Hakkoz, the +children of Barzillai, which took a wife of the daughters +of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called after their +name. These sought their register among those that +were reckoned by genealogy, but it was not found; therefore +they were deemed polluted and put from the priesthood. +And the governor said unto them that they +should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood +up a priest with Urim and Thummim.</q> Cases like +these would stimulate our author's enthusiasm. As +he turned over dusty receptacles, and unrolled frayed +parchments, and painfully deciphered crabbed and +faded script, he would be excited by the hope of discovering +some mislaid genealogy that would restore +outcasts to their full status and privileges as Israelites +and priests. Doubtless he had already acquired in +some measure the subtle exegesis and minute casuistry +that were the glory of later Rabbinism. Ingenious +interpretation of obscure writing or the happy emendation +of half-obliterated words might lend opportune +aid in the recovery of a genealogy. On the other hand, +there were vested interests ready to protest against the +too easy acceptance of new claims. The priestly +families of undoubted descent from Aaron would not +thank a chronicler for reviving lapsed rights to a share +in the offices and revenues of the Temple. This +part of our author's task was as delicate as it was +important. +</p> + +<p> +We will now briefly consider the genealogies in +these chapters in the order in which they are given. +Chap. i. contains genealogies of the patriarchal period +selected from Genesis. The existing races of the +world are all traced back through Shem, Ham, and +Japheth to Noah, and through him to Adam. The +<pb n='049'/><anchor id='Pg049'/> +chronicler thus accepts and repeats the doctrine of +Genesis that God made of one every nation of men for +to dwell on all the face of the earth.<note place='foot'>Acts xvii. 26.</note> All mankind, +<q>Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, +barbarian, Scythian, bondman, freeman,</q><note place='foot'>Col. iii. 11.</note> were alike +descended from Noah, who was saved from the Flood +by the special care of God; from Enoch, who walked +with God; from Adam, who was created by God in His +own image and likeness. The Israelites did not claim, +like certain Greek clans, to be the descendants of a +special god of their own, or, like the Athenians, to have +sprung miraculously from sacred soil. Their genealogies +testified that not merely Israelite nature, but human +nature, is moulded on a Divine pattern. These apparently +barren lists of names enshrine the great principles +of the universal brotherhood of men and the +universal Fatherhood of God. The chronicler wrote +when the broad universalism of the prophets was being +replaced by the hard exclusiveness of Judaism; and yet, +perhaps unconsciously, he reproduces the genealogies +which were to be one weapon of St. Paul in his struggle +with that exclusiveness. The opening chapters of +Genesis and Chronicles are among the foundations of +the catholicity of the Church of Christ. +</p> + +<p> +For the antediluvian period only the Sethite genealogy +is given. The chronicler's object was simply to +give the origin of existing races; and the descendants of +Cain were omitted, as entirely destroyed by the Flood. +Following the example of Genesis, the chronicler +gives the genealogies of other races at the points at +which they diverged from the ancestral line of Israel, +and then continues the family history of the chosen +race. In this way the descendants of Japheth and +<pb n='050'/><anchor id='Pg050'/> +Ham, the non-Abrahamic Semites, the Ishmaelites, the +sons of Keturah, and the Edomites are successively +mentioned. +</p> + +<p> +The relations of Israel with Edom were always close +and mostly hostile. The Edomites had taken advantage +of the overthrow of the southern kingdom to appropriate +the south of Judah, and still continued to occupy +it. The keen interest felt by the chronicler in Edom +is shown by the large space devoted to the Edomites. +The close contiguity of the Jews and Idumæans +tended to promote mutual intercourse between them, +and even threatened an eventual fusion of the two +peoples. As a matter of fact, the Idumæan Herods +became rulers of Judæa. To guard against such +dangers to the separateness of the Jewish people, the +chronicler emphasises the historical distinction of race +between them and the Edomites. +</p> + +<p> +From the beginning of the second chapter onwards +the genealogies are wholly occupied with Israelites. +The author's special interest in Judah is at once manifested. +After giving the list of the twelve Patriarchs +he devotes two and a half chapters to the families of +Judah. Here again the materials have been mostly +obtained from the earlier historical books. They are, +however, combined with more recent traditions, so that +in this chapter matter from different sources is pieced +together in a very confusing fashion. One source of +this confusion was the principle that the Jewish community +could only consist of families of genuine Israelite +descent. Now a large number of the returned exiles +traced their descent to two brothers, Caleb and Jerahmeel; +but in the older narratives Caleb and Jerahmeel +are not Israelites. Caleb is a Kenizzite,<note place='foot'>Josh. xiv. 6.</note> and his descendants +<pb n='051'/><anchor id='Pg051'/> +and those of Jerahmeel appear in close +connection with the Kenites.<note place='foot'>1 Sam. xxvii 10.</note> Even in this chapter +certain of the Calebites are called Kenites and connected +in some strange way with the Rechabites.<note place='foot'>Ver. 55.</note> Though +at the close of the monarchy the Calebites and Jerahmeelites +had become an integral part of the tribe of +Judah, their separate origin had not been forgotten, +and Caleb and Jerahmeel had not been included in the +Israelite genealogies. But after the Exile men came +to feel more and more strongly that a common faith +implied unity of race. Moreover, the practical unity +of the Jews with these Kenizzites overbore the dim +and fading memory of ancient tribal distinctions. Jews +and Kenizzites had shared the Captivity, the Exile, and +the Return; they worked, and fought, and worshipped +side by side; and they were to all intents and purposes +one nation, alike the people of Jehovah. This obvious +and important practical truth was expressed as such +truths were then wont to be expressed. The children +of Caleb and Jerahmeel were finally and formally +adopted into the chosen race. Caleb and Jerahmeel +are no longer the sons of Jephunneh the Kenizzite; +they are the sons of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son +of Judah.<note place='foot'>The occurrence of Caleb the son of Jephunneh in iv, 15, vi. 56, +in no way militates against this view: the chronicler, like other +redactors, is simply inserting borrowed material without correcting it. +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Chelubai</foreign> in ii. 9 stands for <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Caleb</foreign>; cf. ii. 18.</note> A new genealogy was formed as a recognition +rather than an explanation of accomplished facts. +</p> + +<p> +Of the section containing the genealogies of Judah, +the lion's share is naturally given to the house of +David, to which a part of the second chapter and the +whole of the third are devoted. +</p> + +<pb n='052'/><anchor id='Pg052'/> + +<p> +Next follow genealogies of the remaining tribes, +those of Levi and Benjamin being by far the most +complete. Chap. vi., which is devoted to Levi, affords +evidence of the use by the chronicler of independent +and sometimes inconsistent sources, and also +illustrates his special interest in the priesthood and the +Temple choir. A list of high-priests from Aaron to +Ahimaaz is given twice over (vv. 4-8 and 49-53), but +only one line of high-priests is recognised, the house +of Zadok, whom Josiah's reforms had made the one +priestly family in Israel. Their ancient rivals the high-priests +of the house of Eli are as entirely ignored as +the antediluvian Cainites. The existing high-priestly +dynasty had been so long established that these other +priests of Saul and David seemed no longer to have +any significance for the religion of Israel. +</p> + +<p> +The pedigree of the three Levitical families of +Gershom, Kohath, and Merari is also given twice over: +in vv. 16-30 and 31-49. The former pedigree begins +with the sons of Levi, and proceeds to their descendants; +the latter begins with the founders of the guilds of +singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, and traces back +their genealogies to Kohath, Gershom, and Merari +respectively. But the pedigrees do not agree; compare, +for instance, the lists of the Kohathites:— +</p> + +<table rend='latexcolumns: "p{2cm} p{2cm}"; + tblcolumns: "lw(15) lw(15)"'> +<row><cell>22-24.</cell><cell>36-38.</cell></row> +<row><cell>Kohath</cell><cell>Kohath</cell></row> +<row><cell><emph>Amminadab</emph></cell><cell><emph>Izhar</emph></cell></row> +<row><cell>Korah</cell><cell>Korah</cell></row> +<row><cell><emph>Assir</emph></cell><cell></cell></row> +<row><cell><emph>Elkanah</emph></cell><cell></cell></row> +<row><cell>Ebiasaph</cell><cell>Ebiasaph</cell></row> +<row><cell>Assir</cell><cell>Assir</cell></row> +<pb n='053'/><anchor id='Pg053'/> +<row><cell>Tahath</cell><cell>Tahath</cell></row> +<row><cell><emph>Uriel</emph></cell><cell><emph>Zephaniah</emph></cell></row> +<row><cell><emph>Uzziah</emph></cell><cell><emph>Azariah</emph></cell></row> +<row><cell><emph>Shaul</emph></cell><cell>etc.</cell></row> +</table> + +<p> +We have here one of many illustrations of the fact +that the chronicler used materials of very different +value. To attempt to prove the absolute consistency +of all his genealogies would be mere waste of time. It +is by no means certain that he himself supposed them +to be consistent. The frank juxtaposition of varying +lists of ancestors rather suggests that he was prompted +by a scholarly desire to preserve for his readers all +available evidence of every kind. +</p> + +<p> +In reading the genealogies of the tribe of Benjamin, +it is specially interesting to find that in the Jewish +community of the Restoration there were families +tracing their descent through Mephibosheth and +Jonathan to Saul.<note place='foot'>viii. 33-40; ix. 35-44. We have used Mephibosheth as more +familiar, but Chronicles reads Meribbaal, which is more correct.</note> Apparently the chronicler and +his contemporaries shared this special interest in the +fortunes of a fallen dynasty, for the genealogy is given +twice over. These circumstances are the more striking +because in the actual history of Chronicles Saul is all +but ignored. +</p> + +<p> +The rest of the ninth chapter deals with the inhabitants +of Jerusalem and the ministry of the Temple +after the return from the Captivity, and is partly +identical with sections of Ezra and Nehemiah. It +closes the family history, as it were, of Israel, and its +position indicates the standpoint and ruling interests +of the chronicler. +</p> + +<pb n='054'/><anchor id='Pg054'/> + +<p> +Thus the nine opening chapters of genealogies and +kindred matter strike the key-notes of the whole book. +Some are personal and professional; some are religious. +On the one hand, we have the origin of existing families +and institutions; on the other hand, we have the election +of the tribe of Judah and the house of David, +of the tribe of Levi and the house of Aaron. +</p> + +<p> +Let us consider first the hereditary character of the +Jewish religion and priesthood. Here, as elsewhere, +the formal doctrine only recognised and accepted actual +facts. The conditions which received the sanction of +religion were first imposed by the force of circumstances. +In primitive times, if there was to be any +religion at all, it had to be national; if God was to be +worshipped at all, His worship was necessarily national, +and He became in some measure a national God. +Sympathies are limited by knowledge and by common +interest. The ordinary Israelite knew very little of +any other people than his own. There was little +international comity in primitive times, and nations +were slow to recognise that they had common interests. +It was difficult for an Israelite to believe that his +beloved Jehovah, in whom he had been taught to +trust, was also the God of the Arabs and Syrians, who +periodically raided his crops, and cattle, and slaves, and +sometimes carried off his children, or of the Chaldæans, +who made deliberate and complete arrangements for +plundering the whole country, rasing its cities to the +ground, and carrying away the population into distant +exile. By a supreme act of faith, the prophets claimed +the enemies and oppressors of Israel as instruments +of the will of Jehovah, and the chronicler's genealogies +show that he shared this faith; but it was still inevitable +that the Jews should look out upon the world at +<pb n='055'/><anchor id='Pg055'/> +large from the standpoint of their own national interests +and experience. Jehovah was God of heaven and +earth; but Israelites knew Him through the deliverance +He had wrought for Israel, the punishments He had +inflicted on her sins, and the messages He had entrusted +to her prophets. As far as their knowledge and +practical experience went, they knew Him as the God +of Israel. The course of events since the fall of +Samaria narrowed still further the local associations +of Hebrew worship. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> + +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>God was wroth,</q></l> +<l>And greatly abhorred Israel,</l> +<l>So that He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh,</l> +<l>The tent which He placed among men;</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>He refused the tent of Joseph,</l> +<l>And chose not the tribe of Ephraim,</l> +<l>But chose the tribe of Judah,</l> +<l>The Mount Zion which He loved:</l> +<l>And He built His sanctuary like the heights,</l> +<l><q rend='post'>Like the earth, which He hath established for ever.</q><note place='foot'>Psalm lxxviii. 59, 60, 67-69.</note></l> +</lg> + +</quote> + +<p> +We are doubtless right in criticising those Jews whose +limitations led them to regard Jehovah as a kind of personal +possession, the inheritance of their own nation, and +not of other peoples. But even here we can only blame +their negations. Jehovah <emph>was</emph> their inheritance and +personal possession; but then He was also the inheritance +of other nations. This Jewish heresy is by no +means extinct: white men do not always believe that +their God is equally the God of the negro; Englishmen +are inclined to think that God is the God of England in +a more especial way than He is the God of France. +When we discourse concerning God in history, we +<pb n='056'/><anchor id='Pg056'/> +mostly mean our own history. We can see the hand +of Providence in the wreck of the Armada and the +overthrow of Napoleon; but we are not so ready to +recognise in the same Napoleon the Divine instrument +that created a new Europe by relieving her peoples +from cruel and degrading tyranny. We scarcely realise +that God cares as much for the Continent as He does +for our island. +</p> + +<p> +We have great and perhaps sufficient excuses, but +we must let the Jews have the benefit of them. God is +as much the God of one nation as of another; but He +fulfils Himself to different nations in different ways, by +a various providential discipline. Each people is bound +to believe that God has specially adapted His dealings +to its needs, nor can we be surprised if men forget or +fail to observe that God has done no less for their +neighbours. Each nation rightly regards its religious +ideas, and life, and literature as a precious inheritance +peculiarly its own; and it should not be too severely +blamed for being ignorant that other nations have their +inheritance also. Such considerations largely justify +the interest in heredity shown by the chronicler's +genealogies. On the positive, practical side, religion +<emph>is</emph> largely a matter of heredity, and ought to be. The +Christian sacrament of baptism is a continual profession +of this truth: our children are <q>clean</q>; they are within +the covenant of grace; we claim for them the privileges +of the Church to which we belong. That was also part +of the meaning of the genealogies. +</p> + +<p> +In the broad field of social and religious life the +problems of heredity are in some ways less complicated +than in the more exact discussions of physical science. +Practical effects can be considered without attempting +an accurate analysis of causes. Family history not +<pb n='057'/><anchor id='Pg057'/> +only determines physical constitution, mental gifts, and +moral character, but also fixes for the most part +country, home, education, circumstances, and social +position. All these were a man's inheritance more +peculiarly in Israel than with us; and in many cases +in Israel a man was often trained to inherit a family +profession. Apart from the ministry of the Temple, +we read of a family of craftsmen, of other families that +were potters, of others who dwelt with the king for +his work, and of the families of the house of them that +wrought fine linen.<note place='foot'>iv. 14, 21-23.</note> Religion is largely involved in +the manifold inheritance which a man receives from his +fathers. His birth determines his religious education, +the examples of religious life set before him, the forms +of worship in which as a child he takes part. Most +men live and die in the religion of their childhood; they +worship the God of their fathers; Romanist remains +Romanist: Protestant remains Protestant. They may +fail to grasp any living faith, or may lose all interest in +religion; but such religion as most men have is part of +their inheritance. In the Israel of the chronicler faith +and devotion to God were almost always and entirely +inherited. They were part of the great debt which a +man owed to his fathers. +</p> + +<p> +The recognition of these facts should tend to foster +our humility and reverence, to encourage patriotism and +philanthropy. We are the creatures and debtors of the +past, though we are slow to own our obligations. We +have nothing that we have not received; but we are apt +to consider ourselves self-made men, the architects and +builders of our own fortunes, who have the right to be +self-satisfied, self-assertive, and selfish. The heir of +all the ages, in the full vigour of youth, takes his place +<pb n='058'/><anchor id='Pg058'/> +in the foremost ranks of time, and marches on in the +happy consciousness of profound and multifarious +wisdom, immense resources, and magnificent opportunity. +He forgets or even despises the generations +of labour and anguish that have built up for him his +great inheritance. The genealogies are a silent protest +against such insolent ingratitude. They remind us that +in bygone days a man derived his gifts and received +his opportunities from his ancestors; they show us +men as the links in a chain, tenants for life, as it were, +of our estate, called upon to pay back with interest to +the future the debt which they have incurred to the +past. We see that the chain is a long one, with many +links; and the slight estimate we are inclined to put +upon the work of individuals in each generation recoils +upon our own pride. We also are but individuals of a +generation that is only one of the thousands needed to +work out the Divine purpose for mankind. We are +taught the humility that springs from a sense of obligation +and responsibility. +</p> + +<p> +We learn reverence for the workers and achievements +of the past, and most of all for God. We are +reminded of the scale of the Divine working:— +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>A thousand years in Thy sight</q></l> +<l>Are but as yesterday when it is past</l> +<l><q rend='post'>And as a watch in the night.</q></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<p> +A genealogy is a brief and pointed reminder that God +has been working through all the countless generations +behind us. The bare series of names is an expressive +diagram of His mighty process. Each name in the +earlier lists stands for a generation or even for several +generations. The genealogies go back into dim, prehistoric +periods; they suggest a past too remote for +<pb n='059'/><anchor id='Pg059'/> +our imagining. And yet they take us back to Adam, +to the very beginning of human life. From that beginning, +however many thousands or tens of thousands +of years ago, the life of man has been sacred, the +object of the Divine care and love, the instrument of +the Divine purpose. +</p> + +<p> +Later on we see the pedigree of our race dividing +into countless branches, all of which are represented +in this sacred diagram of humanity. The Divine +working not only extends over all time, but also embraces +all the complicated circumstances and relationships +of the families of mankind. These genealogies +suggest a lesson probably not intended by the +chronicler. We recognise the unique character of the +history of Israel, but in some measure we discern in +this one full and detailed narrative of the chosen people +a type of the history of every race. Others had not +the election of Israel, but each had its own vocation. +God's power, and wisdom, and love are manifested in +the history of one chosen people on a scale commensurate +with our limited faculties, so that we may gain +some faint idea of the marvellous providence in <emph>all</emph> +history of the Father from whom <emph>every</emph> family in heaven +and on earth is named. +</p> + +<p> +Another principle closely allied to heredity and +also discussed in modern times is the solidarity of the +race. Humanity is supposed to possess something +akin to a common consciousness, personality, or individuality. +Such a quality evidently becomes more +intense as we narrow its scope from the race to the +nation, the clan, and the family; it has its roots in +family relationships. Tribal, national, humanitarian +feelings indicate that the larger societies have taken +upon themselves something of the character of the +<pb n='060'/><anchor id='Pg060'/> +family. Thus the common feelings and mutual +sympathies of mankind are due ultimately to blood +relationship. The genealogies that set forth family +histories are the symbols of this brotherhood or +solidarity of our race. The chart of converging lines +of ancestors in Israel carried men's minds back from +the separate families to their common ancestor; again, +the ancestry of ancestors led back to a still earlier +common origin, and the process continued till all the +lines met in Noah. Each stage of the process enlarged +the range of every man's kinship, and broadened +the natural area of mutual help and affection. It is +true that the Jews failed to learn this larger lesson +from their genealogies, but within their own community +they felt intensely the bond of kinship and +brotherhood. Modern patriotism reproduces the strong +Jewish national feeling, and our humanitarianism is +beginning to extend it to the whole world. By this +time the facts of heredity have been more carefully +studied and are better understood. If we drew up +typical genealogies now, they would more fully and +accurately represent the mutual relationships of our +people. As far as they go, the chronicler's genealogies +form a clear and instructive diagram of the mutual +dependence of man on man and family on family. +The value of the diagram does not require the accuracy +of the actual names any more than the validity +of Euclid requires the actual existence of triangles +called A B C, D E F. These genealogies are in any +case a true symbol of the facts of family relations; +but they are drawn, so to speak, in one dimension only, +backwards and forwards in time. Yet the real family +life exists in three dimensions. There are numerous +cross-relations, cousinship of all degrees, as well as +<pb n='061'/><anchor id='Pg061'/> +sonship and brotherhood. A man has not merely his +male ancestors in the directly ascending line—father, +grandfather, great-grandfather, etc.—but he has female +ancestors as well. By going back three or four +generations a man is connected with an immense +number of cousins; and if the complete network of ten +or fifteen generations could be worked out, it would +probably show some blood bond throughout a whole +nation. Thus the ancestral roots of a man's life +and character have wide ramifications in the former +generations of his people. The further we go back +the larger is the element of ancestry common to the +different individuals of the same community. The +chronicler's genealogies only show us individuals as +links in a set of chains. The more complete genealogical +scheme would be better illustrated by the +ganglia of the nervous system, each of which is connected +by numerous nerve fibres with the other ganglia. +The Church has been compared to the body, <q>which is +one, and hath many members, and all the members +of the body, being many, are one body.</q> Humanity, +by its natural kinship, is also such a body; the nation +is still more truly <q>one body.</q> Patriotism and humanity +are instincts as natural and as binding as those of the +family; and the genealogies express or symbolise the +wider family ties, that they may commend the virtues +and enforce the duties that arise out of these ties. +</p> + +<p> +Before closing this chapter something may be said +on one or two special points. Women are virtually +ignored in these genealogies, a fact that rather indicates +a failure to recognise their influence than the absence +of such influence. Here and there a woman is mentioned +for some special reason. For instance, the +names of Zeruiah and Abigail are inserted in order to +<pb n='062'/><anchor id='Pg062'/> +show that Joab, Abishai, and Asahel, together with +Amasa, were all cousins of David. The same keen +interest in David leads the chronicler to record the +names of his wives. It is noteworthy that of the four +women who are mentioned in St. Matthew's genealogy +of our Lord only two—Tamar and Bath-shua (<hi rend='italic'>i.e.</hi>, Bath-sheba)—are +mentioned here. Probably St. Matthew +was careful to complete the list because Rahab and +Ruth, like Tamar and possibly Bath-sheba, were +foreigners, and their names in the genealogy indicated +a connection between Christ and the Gentiles, and +served to emphasise His mission to be the Saviour of +the world. +</p> + +<p> +Again, much caution is necessary in applying any +principle of heredity. A genealogy, as we have seen, +suggests our dependence in many ways upon our +ancestry. But a man's relations to his kindred are +many and complicated; a quality, for instance, may be +latent for one or more generations and then reappear, +so that to all appearance a man inherits from his +grandfather or from a more remote ancestor rather than +from his father or mother. Conversely the presence +of certain traits of character in a child does not show +that any corresponding tendency has necessarily been +active in the life of either parent. Neither must the +influence of circumstances be confounded with that of +heredity. Moreover, very large allowance must be +made for our ignorance of the laws that govern the +human will, an ignorance that will often baffle our +attempts to find in heredity any simple explanation +of men's characters and actions. Thomas Fuller has +a quaint <q>Scripture observation</q> that gives an important +practical application of these principles:— +</p> + +<p> +<q rend='pre'>Lord, I find the genealogy of my Saviour strangely +<pb n='063'/><anchor id='Pg063'/> +chequered with four remarkable changes in four +immediate generations:</q> +</p> + +<p> +<q rend='pre'>1. <q>Rehoboam begat Abiam</q>; that is, a bad father +begat a bad son.</q> +</p> + +<p> +<q rend='pre'>2. <q>Abiam begat Asa</q>; that is, a bad father a good +son.</q> +</p> + +<p> +<q rend='pre'>3. <q>Asa begat Jehosaphat</q>; that is, a good father +a good son.</q> +</p> + +<p> +<q rend='pre'>4. <q>Jehosaphat begat Joram</q>; that is, a good father +a bad son.</q> +</p> + +<p> +<q>I see, Lord, from hence that my father's piety cannot +be entailed; that is bad news for me. But I see also +that actual impiety is not always hereditary; that is +good news for my son.</q> +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='064'/><anchor id='Pg064'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter III. Statistics.</head> + +<p> +Statistics play an important part in Chronicles +and in the Old Testament generally. To begin +with, there are the genealogies and other lists of names, +such as the lists of David's counsellors and the roll +of honour of his mighty men. The chronicler specially +delights in lists of names, and most of all in lists of +Levitical choristers. He gives us lists of the orchestras +and choirs who performed when the Ark was brought +to Zion<note place='foot'>1 Chron. xv.</note> and at Hezekiah's passover,<note place='foot'>Cf. 2 Chron. xxix. 12 and xxx. 22.</note> also a list of +Levites whom Jehoshaphat sent out to teach in Judah.<note place='foot'>2 Chron. xvii. 8.</note> +No doubt family pride was gratified when the chronicler's +contemporaries and friends read the names of +their ancestors in connection with great events in the +history of their religion. Possibly they supplied him +with the information from which these lists were +compiled. An incidental result of the celibacy of the +Romanist clergy has been to render ancient ecclesiastical +genealogies impossible; modern clergymen cannot +trace their descent to the monks who landed with +Augustine. Our genealogies might enable a historian +to construct lists of the combatants at Agincourt and +Hastings; but the Crusades are the only wars of the +<pb n='065'/><anchor id='Pg065'/> +Church militant for which modern pedigrees could +furnish a muster-roll. +</p> + +<p> +We find also in the Old Testament the specifications +and subscription-lists for the Tabernacle and for +Solomon's temple.<note place='foot'>Exod. xxv-xxxix.; 1 Kings vi.; 1 Chron. xxix.; 2 Chron. iii., v.</note> These statistics, however, are not +furnished for the second Temple, probably for the same +reason that in modern subscription-lists the donors +of shillings and half-crowns are to be indicated by +initials, or described as <q>friends</q> and <q>sympathisers,</q> +or massed together under the heading <q>smaller sums.</q> +</p> + +<p> +The Old Testament is also rich in census returns +and statements as to the numbers of armies and of +the divisions of which they were composed. There +are the returns of the census taken twice in the +wilderness and accounts of the numbers of the different +families who came from Babylon with Zerubbabel +and later on with Ezra; there is a census of the +Levites in David's time according to their several +families<note place='foot'>1 Chron. xv. 4-10.</note>; there are the numbers of the tribal contingents +that came to Hebron to make David king,<note place='foot'>1 Chron. xii. 23-37.</note> +and much similar information. +</p> + +<p> +Statistics therefore occupy a conspicuous position +in the inspired record of Divine revelation, and yet we +often hesitate to connect such terms as <q>inspiration</q> and +<q>revelation</q> with numbers, and names, and details of +civil and ecclesiastical organisation. We are afraid +lest any stress laid on purely accidental details should +distract men's attention from the eternal essence of +the Gospel, lest any suggestion that the certainty of +Christian truth is dependent on the accuracy of these +statistics should become a stumbling-block and destroy +<pb n='066'/><anchor id='Pg066'/> +the faith of some. Concerning such matters there +have been many foolish questions of genealogies, profane +and vain babblings, which have increased unto +more ungodliness. Quite apart from these, even in +the Old Testament a sanctity attaches to the number +seven, but there is no warrant for any considerable expenditure +of time and thought upon mystical arithmetic. +A symbolism runs through the details of the building, +furniture, and ritual alike of the Tabernacle and +the Temple, and this symbolism possesses a legitimate +religious significance; but its exposition is not specially +suggested by the book of Chronicles. The exposition +of such symbolism is not always sufficiently governed +by a sense of proportion. Ingenuity in supplying +subtle interpretations of minute details often conceals +the great truths which the symbols are really intended +to enforce. Moreover, the sacred writers did not give +statistics merely to furnish materials for Cabbala and +Gematria or even to serve as theological types and +symbols. Sometimes their purpose was more simple +and practical. If we knew all the history of the +Tabernacle and Temple subscription-lists, we should +doubtless find that they had been used to stimulate +generous gifts towards the erection of the second +Temple. Preachers for building funds can find abundance +of suitable texts in Exodus, Kings, and Chronicles. +</p> + +<p> +But Biblical statistics are also examples in accuracy +and thoroughness of information, and recognitions of +the more obscure and prosaic manifestations of the +higher life. Indeed, in these and other ways the Bible +gives an anticipatory sanction to the exact sciences. +</p> + +<p> +The mention of accuracy in connection with Chronicles +may be received by some readers with a contemptuous +smile. But we are indebted to the chronicler for exact +<pb n='067'/><anchor id='Pg067'/> +and full information about the Jews who returned from +Babylon; and in spite of the extremely severe judgment +passed upon Chronicles by many critics, we may +still venture to believe that the chronicler's statistics +are as accurate as his knowledge and critical training +rendered possible. He may sometimes give figures +obtained by calculation from uncertain data, but such a +practice is quite consistent with honesty and a desire +to supply the best available information. Modern +scholars are quite ready to present us with figures +as to the membership of the Christian Church under +Antoninus Pius or Constantine; and some of these +figures are not much more probable than the most +doubtful in Chronicles. All that is necessary to make +the chronicler's statistics an example to us is that they +should be the monument of a conscientious attempt to +tell the truth, and this they undoubtedly are. +</p> + +<p> +This Biblical example is the more useful because +statistics are often evil spoken of, and they have no +outward attractiveness to shield them from popular +prejudice. We are told that <q>nothing is so false as +statistics,</q> and that <q>figures will prove anything</q>; and +the polemic is sustained by works like <hi rend='italic'>Hard Times</hi> +and the awful example of Mr. Gradgrind. Properly +understood, these proverbs illustrate the very general +impatience of any demand for exact thought and expression. +If <q>figures</q> will prove anything, so will texts. +</p> + +<p> +Though this popular prejudice cannot be altogether +ignored, yet it need not be taken too seriously. The +opposite principle, when stated, will at once be seen to +be a truism. For it amounts to this: exact and comprehensive +knowledge is the basis of a right understanding +of history, and is a necessary condition of +right action. This principle is often neglected because +<pb n='068'/><anchor id='Pg068'/> +it is obvious. Yet, to illustrate it from our author, a +knowledge of the size and plan of the Temple greatly +adds to the vividness of our pictures of Hebrew religion. +We apprehend later Jewish life much more clearly +with the aid of the statistics as to the numbers, families, +and settlements of the returning exiles; and similarly +the account-books of the bailiff of an English estate +in the fourteenth century are worth several hundred +pages of contemporary theology. These considerations +may encourage those who perform the thankless task of +compiling the statistics, subscription-lists, and balance-sheets +of missionary and philanthropic societies. The +zealous and intelligent historian of Christian life and +service will need these dry records to enable him to +understand his subject, and the highest literary gifts +may be employed in the eloquent exposition of these +apparently uninteresting facts and figures. Moreover, +upon the accuracy of these records depends the possibility +of determining a true course for the future. +Neither societies nor individuals, for instance, can +afford to live beyond their income without knowing it. +</p> + +<p> +Statistics, too, are the only form in which many acts +of service can be recognised and recorded. Literature +can only deal with typical instances, and naturally it +selects the more dramatic. The missionary report can +only tell the story of a few striking conversions; it +may give the history of the exceptional self-denial +involved in one or two of its subscriptions; for the +rest we must be content with tables and subscription-lists. +But these dry statistics represent an infinitude +of patience and self-denial, of work and prayer, of +Divine grace and blessing. The city missionary may +narrate his experiences with a few inquirers and +penitents, but the great bulk of his work can only be +<pb n='069'/><anchor id='Pg069'/> +recorded in the statement of visits paid and services +conducted. We are tempted sometimes to disparage +these statements, to ask how many of the visits and +services had any result; we are impatient sometimes +because Christian work is estimated by any such +numerical line and measure. No doubt the method has +many defects, and must not be used too mechanically; +but we cannot give it up without ignoring altogether +much earnest and successful labour. +</p> + +<p> +Our chronicler's interest in statistics lays healthy +emphasis on the practical character of religion. There +is a danger of identifying spiritual force with literary +and rhetorical gifts; to recognise the religious value +of statistics is the most forcible protest against such +identification. The permanent contribution of any age +to religious thought will naturally take a literary form, +and the higher the literary qualities of religious writing, +the more likely it is to survive. Shakespeare, Milton, +and Bunyan have probably exercised a more powerful +direct religious influence on subsequent generations +than all the theologians of the seventeenth century. +But the supreme service of the Church in any age is +its influence on its own generation, by which it moulds +the generation immediately following. That influence +can only be estimated by a careful study of all possible +information, and especially of statistics. We cannot +assign mathematical values to spiritual effects and +tabulate them like Board of Trade returns; but real +spiritual movements will before long have practical +issues, that can be heard, and seen, and felt, and even +admit of being put into tables. <q>The wind bloweth +where it listeth, and thou hearest the voice thereof, but +knowest not whence it cometh and whither it goeth</q><note place='foot'>John iii. 8.</note>; +<pb n='070'/><anchor id='Pg070'/> +and yet the boughs and the corn bend before the wind, +and the ships are carried across the sea to their desired +haven. Tables may be drawn up of the tonnage and +the rate of sailing. So is every one that is born of the +Spirit. You cannot tell when and how God breathes +upon the soul; but if the Divine Spirit be indeed at +work in any society, there will be fewer crimes and +quarrels, less scandal, and more deeds of charity. We +may justly suspect a revival which has no effect upon +the statistical records of national life. Subscription-lists +are very imperfect tests of enthusiasm, but any widespread +Christian fervour would be worth little if it did +not swell subscription-lists. +</p> + +<p> +Chronicles is not the most important witness to a +sympathetic relationship between the Bible and exact +science. The first chapter of Genesis is the classic +example of the appropriation by an inspired writer of +the scientific spirit and method. Some chapters in Job +show a distinctly scientific interest in natural phenomena. +Moreover, the direct concern of Chronicles is in the +religious aspects of social science. And yet there is a +patient accumulation of data with no obvious dramatic +value: names, dates, numbers, specifications, and ritual +which do not improve the literary character of the +narrative. This conscientious recording of dry facts, +this noting down of anything and everything that +connects with the subject, is closely akin to the initial +processes of the inductive sciences. True, the +chronicler's interests are in some directions narrowed +by personal and professional feeling; but within these +limits he is anxious to make a complete record, which, +as we have seen, sometimes leads to repetition. Now +inductive science is based on unlimited statistics. The +astronomer and biologist share the chronicler's appetite +<pb n='071'/><anchor id='Pg071'/> +for this kind of mental food. The lists in Chronicles +are few and meagre compared to the records of +Greenwich Observatory or the volumes which contain +the data of biology or sociology; but the chronicler +becomes in a certain sense the forerunner of Darwin, +Spencer, and Galton. The differences are indeed +immense. The interval of two thousand odd years +between the ancient annalist and the modern scientists +has not been thrown away. In estimating the value of +evidence and interpreting its significance, the chronicler +was a mere child compared with his modern successors. +His aims and interests were entirely different from +theirs. But yet he was moved by a spirit which they +may be said to inherit. His careful collection of facts, +even his tendency to read the ideas and institutions of +his own time into ancient history, are indications of a +reverence for the past and of an anxiety to base ideas +and action upon a knowledge of that past. This +foreshadows the reverence of modern science for experience, +its anxiety to base its laws and theories +upon observation of what has actually occurred. The +principle that the past determines and interprets the +present and the future lies at the root of the theological +attitude of the most conservative minds and the +scientific work of the most advanced thinkers. The +conservative spirit, like the chronicler, is apt to suffer its +inherited prepossessions and personal interests to +hinder a true observation and understanding of the +past. But the chronicler's opportunities and experience +were narrow indeed compared with those of theological +students to-day; and we have every right to lay stress +on the progress which he had achieved and the onward +path that it indicated rather than on the yet more +advanced stages which still lay beyond his horizon. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='072'/><anchor id='Pg072'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<anchor id='Book_II_Chapter_IV'/> +<head>Chapter IV. Family Traditions. 1 Chron. i. 10, 19, 46; ii. 3, 7, 34; iv. 9, 10, 18, 22, 27, 34-43; +v. 10, 18-22; vii. 21-23; viii. 13.</head> + +<p> +Chronicles is a miniature Old Testament, and +may have been meant as a handbook for +ordinary people, who had no access to the whole +library of sacred writings. It contains nothing corresponding +to the books of Wisdom or the apocalyptic +literature; but all the other types of Old Testament +literature are represented. There are genealogies, +statistics, ritual, history, psalms, and prophecies. The +interest shown by Chronicles in family traditions harmonises +with the stress laid by the Hebrew Scriptures +upon family life. The other historical books are largely +occupied with the family history of the Patriarchs, of +Moses, of Jephthah, Gideon, Samson, Saul, and David. +The chronicler intersperses his genealogies with short +anecdotes about the different families and tribes. Some +of these are borrowed from the older books; but others +are peculiar to our author, and were doubtless obtained +by him from the family records and traditions of his +contemporaries. The statements that <q>Nimrod began +to be mighty upon the earth</q><note place='foot'>i. 10.</note>; that <q>the name of one</q> +of Eber's sons <q>was Peleg, because in his days the +<pb n='073'/><anchor id='Pg073'/> +earth was divided</q><note place='foot'>i. 19.</note>; and that Hadad <q>smote Moab in +the field of Midian,</q><note place='foot'>i. 46.</note> are borrowed from Genesis. As +he omits events much more important and more closely +connected with the history of Israel, and gives no +account of Babel, or of Abraham, or of the conquest of +Canaan, these little notes are probably retained by +accident, because at times the chronicler copied his +authorities somewhat mechanically. It was less trouble +to take the genealogies as they stood than to exercise +great care in weeding out everything but the bare +names. +</p> + +<p> +In one instance,<note place='foot'>Cf. Gen. xxxvi. 24 and 1 Chron. i. 40.</note> however, the chronicler has erased +a curious note to a genealogy in Genesis. A certain +Anah is mentioned both in Genesis and Chronicles +among the Horites, who inhabited Mount Seir before +it was conquered by Edom. Most of us, in reading the +Authorised Version, have wondered what historical or +religious interest secured a permanent record for the +fact that <q>Anah found the mules in the wilderness, +as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father.</q> A possible +solution seemed to be that this note was preserved as +the earliest reference to the existence of mules, which +animals played an important part in the social life of +Palestine; but the Revised Version sets aside this +explanation by substituting <q>hot springs</q> for <q>mules,</q> +as these hot springs are only mentioned here, the +passage becomes a greater puzzle than ever. The +chronicler could hardly overlook this curious piece of +information, but he naturally felt that this obscure +archæological note about the aboriginal Horites did +not fall within the scope of his work. On the other +<pb n='074'/><anchor id='Pg074'/> +hand, the tragic fates of Er and Achar<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>I.e.</hi>, Achan (ii. 3, 7).</note> had a direct +genealogical significance. They are referred to in +order to explain why the lists contain no descendants +of these members of the tribe of Judah. The notes to +these names illustrate the more depressing aspects of +history. The men who lived happy, honourable lives +can be mentioned one after another without any comment; +but even the compiler of pedigrees pauses to +note the crimes and misfortunes that broke the natural +order of life. The annals of old families dwell with +melancholy pride on murders, and fatal duels, and +suicides. History, like an ancient mansion, is haunted +with unhappy ghosts. Yet our interest in tragedy is +a testimony to the blessedness of life; comfort and +enjoyment are too monotonously common to be worth +recording, but we are attracted and excited by exceptional +instances of suffering and sin. +</p> + +<p> +Let us turn to the episodes of family life only found +in Chronicles. They may mostly be arranged in little +groups of two or three, and some of the groups present +us with an interesting contrast. +</p> + +<p> +We learn from ii. 34-41 and iv. 18 that two Jewish +families traced their descent from Egyptian ancestors. +Sheshan, according to Chronicles, was eighth in +descent from Judah and fifth from Jerahmeel, the +brother of Caleb. Having daughters but no son, he +gave one of his daughters in marriage to an Egyptian +slave named Jarha. The descendants of this union are +traced for thirteen generations. Genealogies, however, +are not always complete; and our other data do not +suffice to determine even approximately the date of +this marriage. But the five generations between +Jerahmeel and Sheshan indicate a period long after the +<pb n='075'/><anchor id='Pg075'/> +Exodus; and as Egypt plays no recorded part in the +history of Israel between the Exodus and the reign of +Solomon, the marriage may have taken place under +the monarchy. The story is a curious parallel to that +of Joseph, with the parts of Israelite and Egyptian +reversed. God is no respecter of persons; it is not +only when the desolate and afflicted in strange lands +belong to the chosen people that Jehovah relieves +and delivers them. It is true of the Egyptian, as well +as of the Israelite, that <q>the Lord maketh poor and +maketh rich.</q> +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>He bringeth low, He also lifteth up;</q></l> +<l>He raiseth up the poor out of the dust:</l> +<l>He lifteth up the needy from the dunghill,</l> +<l>To make them sit with princes</l> +<l><q rend='post'>And inherit the throne of glory.</q><note place='foot'>1 Sam. ii. 7, 8.</note></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<p> +This song might have been sung at Jarha's wedding +as well as at Joseph's. +</p> + +<p> +Both these marriages throw a sidelight upon the +character of Eastern slavery. They show how sharply +and deeply it was divided from the hopeless degradation +of negro slavery in America. Israelites did not +recognise distinctions of race and colour between themselves +and their bondsmen so as to treat them as +worse than pariahs and regard them with physical +loathing. An American considers himself disgraced by +a slight taint of negro blood in his ancestry, but a noble +Jewish family was proud to trace its descent from an +Egyptian slave. +</p> + +<p> +The other story is somewhat different, and rests +upon an obscure and corrupt passage in iv. 18. The +confusion makes it impossible to arrive at any date, +<pb n='076'/><anchor id='Pg076'/> +even by rough approximation. The genealogical relations +of the actors are by no means certain, but +some interesting points are tolerably clear. Some time +after the conquest of Canaan, a descendant of Caleb +married two wives, one a Jewess, the other an +Egyptian. The Egyptian was Bithiah, a daughter of +Pharaoh, <hi rend='italic'>i.e.</hi>, of the contemporary king of Egypt. It +appears probable that the inhabitants of Eshtemoa +traced their descent to this Egyptian princess, while +those of Gedor, Soco, and Zanoah claimed Mered as +their ancestor by his Jewish wife.<note place='foot'>Vv. 17, 18, as they stand, do not make sense. The second +sentence of ver. 18 should be read before <q>and she bare Miriam</q> in +ver. 17. Mered and Bithiah formed a tempting subject for the rabbis, +and gave occasion for some of their usual grotesque fancies. Mered +has been identified by them both with Caleb and Moses.</note> Here again we +have the bare outline of a romance, which the imagination +is at liberty to fill in. It has been suggested that +Bithiah may have been the victim of some Jewish raid +into Egypt, but surely a king of Egypt would have +either ransomed his daughter or recovered her by force +of arms. The story rather suggests that the chiefs +of the clans of Judah were semi-independent and +possessed of considerable wealth and power, so that +the royal family of Egypt could intermarry with them, +as with reigning sovereigns. But if so, the pride of +Egypt must have been greatly broken since the time +when the Pharaohs haughtily refused to give their +daughters in marriage to the kings of Babylon. +</p> + +<p> +Both Egyptian alliances occur among the Kenizzites, +the descendants of the brothers Caleb and Jerahmeel. +In one case a Jewess marries an Egyptian slave; in the +other a Jew marries an Egyptian princess. Doubtless +these marriages did not stand alone, and there were +<pb n='077'/><anchor id='Pg077'/> +others with foreigners of varying social rank. The +stories show that even after the Captivity the tradition +survived that the clans in the south of Judah had been +closely connected with Egypt, and that Solomon was +not the only member of the tribe who had taken an +Egyptian wife. Now intermarriage with foreigners is +partly forbidden by the Pentateuch; and the prohibition +was extended and sternly enforced by Ezra and Nehemiah.<note place='foot'>Deut. vii. 3; Josh. xxiii. 12; Ezra ix. 1, x.; Neh. xiii. 23.</note> +In the time of the chronicler there was a growing +feeling against such marriages. Hence the traditions we +are discussing cannot have originated after the Return, +but must be at any rate earlier than the publication of +Deuteronomy under Josiah. +</p> + +<p> +Such marriages with Egyptians must have had some +influence on the religion of the south of Judah, but +probably the foreigners usually followed the example of +Ruth, and adopted the faith of the families into which +they came. When they said, <q>Thy people shall be my +people,</q> they did not fail to add, <q>and thy God shall +be my God.</q> When the Egyptian princess married +the head of a Jewish clan, she became one of Jehovah's +people; and her adoption into the family of the God of +Israel was symbolised by a new name: <q>Bithiah,</q> +<q>daughter of Jehovah.</q> Whether later Judaism owed +anything to Egyptian influences can only be matter +of conjecture; at any rate, they did not pervert the +southern clans from their old faith. The Calebites and +Jerahmeelites were the backbone of Judah both before +and after the Captivity. +</p> + +<p> +The remaining traditions relate to the warfare of the +Israelites with their neighbours. The first is a colourless +reminiscence, that might have been recorded of +<pb n='078'/><anchor id='Pg078'/> +the effectual prayer of any pious Israelite. The +genealogies of chap. iv. are interrupted by a paragraph +entirely unconnected with the context. The subject of +this fragment is a certain Jabez never mentioned elsewhere, +and, so far as any record goes, as entirely +<q>without father, without mother, without genealogy,</q> +as Melchizedek himself. As chap. iv. deals with the +families of Judah, and in ii. 55 there is a town Jabez +also belonging to Judah, we may suppose that the +chronicler had reasons for assigning Jabez to that +tribe; but he has neither given these reasons, nor +indicated how Jabez was connected therewith. The +paragraph runs as follows<note place='foot'>iv. 9, 10.</note>: <q>And Jabez was honoured +above his brethren, and his mother called his name +Jabez</q> (<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ya'bēç</foreign>), <q>saying, In pain</q> (<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>'ōçeb</foreign>) <q rend='pre'>I bore him. +And Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying,—</q> +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='none'><q rend='pre'>If Thou wilt indeed bless me</q></q></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>By enlarging my possessions,</l> +<l>And Thy hand be with me</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><q rend='none'><q rend='post'>To provide pasture,<note place='foot'>The reading on which this translation is based is obtained by an +alteration of the vowels of the Masoretic text; cf. Bertheau, i. 1.</note> that I be not in distress</q></q> (<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>'ōçeb</foreign>).</l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<p> +<q rend='post'>And God brought about what he asked.</q> The +chronicler has evidently inserted here a broken and +disconnected fragment from one of his sources; and we +are puzzled to understand why he gives so much, +and no more. Surely not merely to introduce the +etymologies of Jabez; or if Jabez were so important +that it was worth while to interrupt the genealogies to +furnish two derivations of his name, why are we not +told more about him? Who was he, when and where +did he live, and at whose expense were his possessions +<pb n='079'/><anchor id='Pg079'/> +enlarged and pasture provided for him? Everything +that could give colour and interest to the narrative is +withheld, and we are merely told that he prayed for +earthly blessing and obtained it. The spiritual lesson +is obvious, but it is very frequently enforced and +illustrated in the Old Testament. Why should this +episode about an utterly unknown man be thrust by +main force into an unsuitable context, if it is only one +example of a most familiar truth? It has been pointed +out that Jacob vowed a similar vow and built an altar +to El, the God of Israel<note place='foot'>Gen. xxviii. 20; xxxiii. 20.</note>; but this is one of many +coincidences. The paragraph certainly tells us something +about the chronicler's views on prayer, but +nothing that is not more forcibly stated and exemplified +in many other passages; it is mainly interesting to us +because of the light it throws on his methods of composition. +Elsewhere he embodies portions of well-known +works and apparently assumes that his readers +are sufficiently versed in them to be able to understand +the point of his extracts. Probably Jabez was so +familiar to the chronicler's immediate circle that he can +take for granted that a few lines will suffice to recall +all the circumstances to a reader. +</p> + +<p> +We have next a series of much more definite +statements about Israelite prowess and success in wars +against Moab and other enemies. +</p> + +<p> +In iv. 21, 22, we read, <q>The sons of Shelah the son +of Judah: Er the father of Lecah, and Laadah the +father of Mareshah, and the families of the house of +them that wrought fine linen, of the house of Ashbea; +and Jokim, and the men of Cozeba, and Joash, and +Saraph, who had dominion in Moab and returned to +<pb n='080'/><anchor id='Pg080'/> +Bethlehem.</q><note place='foot'>This translation is obtained by slightly altering the Masoretic +text.</note> Here again the information is too vague +to enable us to fix any date, nor is it quite certain who +had dominion in Moab. The verb <q>had dominion</q> +is plural in Hebrew, and may refer to all or any of the +sons of Shelah. But, in spite of uncertainties, it is +interesting to find chiefs or clans of Judah ruling in +Moab. Possibly this immigration took place when +David conquered and partly depopulated the country. +The men of Judah may have returned to Bethlehem +when Moab passed to the northern kingdom at the +disruption, or when Moab regained its independence. +</p> + +<p> +The incident in iv. 34-43 differs from the preceding +in having a definite date assigned to it. In the time of +Hezekiah some Simeonite clans had largely increased +in number and found themselves straitened for room +for their flocks. They accordingly went in search of +new pasturage. One company went to Gedor, another +to Mount Seir. +</p> + +<p> +The situation of Gedor is not clearly known. It cannot +be the Gedor of Josh. xv. 58, which lay in the +heart of Judah. The LXX. has Gerar, a town to the +south of Gaza, and this may be the right reading; but +whether we read Gedor or Gerar, the scene of the +invasion will be in the country south of Judah. Here +the children of Simeon found what they wanted, <q>fat +pasture, and good,</q> and abundant, for <q>the land was +wide.</q> There was the additional advantage that the +inhabitants were harmless and inoffensive and fell an +easy prey to their invaders: <q>The land was quiet and +peaceable, for they that dwelt there aforetime were of +Ham.</q> As Ham in the genealogies is the father of +Cainan, these peaceable folk would be Cainanites; and +<pb n='081'/><anchor id='Pg081'/> +among them were a people called Meunim, probably +not connected with any of the Maons mentioned in +the Old Testament, but with some other town or district +of the same name. So <q>these written by name +came in the days of Hezekiah, king of Judah, and +smote their tents, and the Meunim that were found +there, and devoted them to destruction as accursed, +so that none are left unto this day. And the Simeonites +dwelt in their stead.</q><note place='foot'>iv. 41; cf. R.V.</note> +</p> + +<milestone unit='tb' rend='rule: 50%'/> + +<p> +Then follows in the simplest and most unconscious +way the only justification that is offered for the behaviour +of the invaders: <q>because there was pasture +there for their flocks.</q> The narrative takes for +granted— +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>The good old rule, the simple plan,</q></l> +<l>That they should take who have the power,</l> +<l><q rend='post'>And they should keep who can.</q></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<p> +The expedition to Mount Seir appears to have been +a sequel to the attack on Gedor. Five hundred of the +victors emigrated into Edom, and smote the remnant +of the Amalekites who had survived the massacre +under Saul<note place='foot'>1 Sam. xv.</note>; <q>and they also dwelt there unto this +day.</q> +</p> + +<p> +In substance, style, and ideas this passage closely +resembles the books of Joshua and Judges, where the +phrase <q>unto this day</q> frequently occurs. Here, of +course, the <q>day</q> in question is the time of the +chronicler's authority. When Chronicles was written +the Simeonites in Gedor and Mount Seir had long ago +shared the fate of their victims. +</p> + +<p> +The conquest of Gedor reminds us how in the early +days of the Israelite occupation of Palestine <q>Judah +<pb n='082'/><anchor id='Pg082'/> +went with Simeon his brother into the same southern +lands,</q> and they smote the Canaanites that inhabited +Zephath, and devoted them to destruction as accursed<note place='foot'>Judges i. 17.</note>; +and how the house of Joseph took Bethel by treachery.<note place='foot'>Judges i. 22-26.</note> +But the closest parallel is the Danite conquest of +Laish.<note place='foot'>Judges xviii.</note> The Danite spies said that the people of Laish +<q>dwelt in security, after the manner of the Zidonians, +quiet and secure,</q> harmless and inoffensive, like the +Gedorites. Nor were they likely to receive succour +from the powerful city of Zidon or from other allies, +for <q>they were far from the Zidonians, and had no +dealings with any man.</q> Accordingly, having observed +the prosperous but defenceless position of this peaceable +people, they returned and reported to their brethren, +<q>Arise, and let us go up against them, for we have +seen the land, and, behold, it is very good; and are ye +still? Be not slothful to go and to enter in to possess +the land. When ye go, ye shall come unto a people +secure, and the land,</q> like that of Gedor, <q>is large, +for God hath given it into your hand, a place where +there is no want of anything that is in the earth.</q> +</p> + +<p> +The moral of these incidents is obvious. When +a prosperous people is peaceable and defenceless, it +is a clear sign that God has delivered them into the +hand of any warlike and enterprising nation that +knows how to use its opportunities. The chronicler, +however, is not responsible for this morality, but he +does not feel compelled to make any protest against +the ethical views of his source. There is a refreshing +frankness about these ancient narratives. The wolf +devours the lamb without inventing any flimsy pretext +about troubled waters. +</p> + +<pb n='083'/><anchor id='Pg083'/> + +<p> +But in criticising these Hebrew clans who lived in +the dawn of history and religion we condemn ourselves. +If we make adequate allowance for the influence of +Christ, and the New Testament, and centuries of Christian +teaching, Simeon and Dan do not compare +unfavourably with modern nations. As we review the +wars of Christendom, we shall often be puzzled to find +any ground for the outbreak of hostilities other than +the defencelessness of the weaker combatant. The +Spanish conquest of America and the English conquest +of India afford examples of the treatment of weaker +races which fairly rank with those of the Old Testament. +Even to-day the independence of the smaller European +states is mainly guaranteed by the jealousies of the +Great Powers. Still there has been progress in international +morality; we have got at last to the stage +of Æsop's fable. Public opinion condemns wanton +aggression against a weak state; and the stronger +power employs the resources of civilised diplomacy in +showing that not only the absent, but also the helpless, +are always wrong. There has also been a substantial +advance in humanity towards conquered peoples. +Christian warfare even since the Middle Ages has been +stained with the horrors of the Thirty Years' War and +many other barbarities; the treatment of the American +Indians by settlers has often been cruel and unjust; +but no civilised nation would now systematically +massacre men, women, and children in cold blood. +We are thankful for any progress towards better things, +but we cannot feel that men have yet realised that +Christ has a message for nations as well as for individuals. +As His disciples we can only pray more earnestly +that the kingdoms of the earth may in deed and truth +become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. +</p> + +<pb n='084'/><anchor id='Pg084'/> + +<p> +The next incident is more honourable to the Israelites. +<q>The sons of Reuben, and the Gadites, and the half-tribe +of Manasseh</q> did not merely surprise and slaughter +quiet and peaceable people: they conquered formidable +enemies in fair fight.<note place='foot'>Vv. 7-10, 18-22.</note> There are two separate accounts +of a war with the Hagrites, one appended to the +genealogy of Reuben and one to that of Gad. The +former is very brief and general, comprising nothing +but a bare statement that there was a successful war +and a consequent appropriation of territory. Probably +the two paragraphs are different forms of the same +narrative, derived by the chronicler from independent +sources. We may therefore confine our attention to +the more detailed account. +</p> + +<p> +Here, as elsewhere, these Transjordanic tribes are +spoken of as <q>valiant<note place='foot'>Deut. xxxiii. 20; 1 Chron. xii. 8, 21.</note> men,</q> <q>men able to bear buckler +and sword and to shoot with the bow, and skilful in +war.</q> Their numbers were considerable. While five +hundred Simeonites were enough to destroy the +Amalekites on Mount Seir, these eastern tribes mustered +<q>forty and four thousand seven hundred and threescore +that were able to go forth to war.</q> Their enemies were +not <q>quiet and peaceable people,</q> but the wild Bedouin +of the desert, <q>the Hagrites, with Jetur and Naphish +and Nodab.</q> Nodab is mentioned only here; Jetur +and Naphish occur together in the lists of the sons of +Ishmael.<note place='foot'>Gen. xxv. 15.</note> Ituræa probably derived its name from the +tribe of Jetur. The Hagrites or Hagarenes were Arabs +closely connected with the Ishmaelites, and they seem +to have taken their name from Hagar. In Psalm +<pb n='085'/><anchor id='Pg085'/> +lxxxiii. 6-8 we find a similar confederacy on a larger +scale:— +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,</q></l> +<l>Moab and the Hagarenes</l> +<l>Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,</l> +<l>Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre,</l> +<l>Assyria also is joined with them;</l> +<l><q rend='post'>They have holpen the children of Lot.</q></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<p> +There could be no question of unprovoked aggression +against these children of Ishmael, that <q>wild ass +of a man, whose hand was against every man, and +every man's hand against him.</q><note place='foot'>Gen. xvi. 12.</note> The narrative implies +that the Israelites were the aggressors, but to attack +the robber tribes of the desert would be as much an +act of self-defence as to destroy a hornet's nest. We +may be quite sure that when Reuben and Gad marched +eastward they had heavy losses to retrieve and bitter +wrongs to avenge. We might find a parallel in the +campaigns by which robber tribes are punished for +their raids within our Indian frontier, only we must +remember that Reuben and Gad were not very much +more law-abiding or unselfish than their Arab neighbours. +They were not engaged in maintaining a <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>pax +Britannica</foreign> for the benefit of subject nations; they +were carrying on a struggle for existence with persistent +and relentless foes. Another partial parallel would +be the border feuds on the Northumbrian marches, +when— +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>... over border, dale, and fell</q></l> +<l>Full wide and far was terror spread;</l> +<l>For pathless marsh and mountain cell</l> +<l>The peasant left his lowly shed:</l> +<l>The frightened flocks and herds were pent</l> +<l>Beneath the peel's rude battlement,</l> +<pb n='086'/><anchor id='Pg086'/> +<l>And maids and matrons dropped the tear</l> +<l>While ready warriors seized the spear;</l> +<l>... the watchman's eye</l> +<l><q rend='post'>Dun wreaths of distant smoke can spy.</q><note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Lay of the Last Minstrel</hi>, iv. 3.</note></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<p> +But the Israelite expedition was on a larger scale +than any <q>warden raid,</q> and Eastern passions are +fiercer and shriller than those sung by the Last +Minstrel: the maids and matrons of the desert would +shriek and wail instead of <q>dropping a tear.</q> +</p> + +<p> +In this great raid of ancient times <q>the war was of +God,</q> not, as at Laish, because God found for them +helpless and easy victims, but because He helped them +in a desperate struggle. When the fierce Israelite and +Arab borderers joined battle, the issue was at first +doubtful; and then <q>they cried to God, and He was +entreated of them, because they put their trust in Him,</q> +<q>and they were helped against</q> their enemies; <q>and +the Hagrites were delivered into their hand, and all that +were with them, and there fell many slain, because the +war was of God</q>; <q>and they took away their cattle: +of their camels fifty thousand, and of sheep two hundred +and fifty thousand, and of asses two thousand, and of +slaves a hundred thousand.</q> <q>And they dwelt in +their stead until the captivity.</q> +</p> + +<p> +This <q>captivity</q> is the subject of another short +note. The chronicler apparently was anxious to distribute +his historical narratives equally among the +tribes. The genealogies of Reuben and Gad each conclude +with a notice of a war, and a similar account +follows that of Eastern Manasseh:—<q>And they trespassed +against the God of their fathers, and went +a-whoring after the gods of the peoples of the land, +whom God destroyed before them. And the God of +<pb n='087'/><anchor id='Pg087'/> +Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul, king of Assyria, and +the spirit of Tilgath-pilneser, king of Assyria, and +he carried them away, even the Reubenites, and the +Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and brought +them unto Halah, and Habor, and Hara, and to the +river of Gozan, unto this day.</q><note place='foot'>Vv. 25, 26. Note the curious spelling <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Tilgath-pilneser</foreign> for the +more usual <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Tiglath-pileser</foreign>.</note> And this war also +was <q>of God.</q> Doubtless the descendants of the +surviving Hagrites and Ishmaelites were among the +allies of the Assyrian king, and saw in the ruin of +Eastern Israel a retribution for the sufferings of their +own people; but the later Jews and probably the +exiles in <q>Halah, Habor, and Hara,</q> and by <q>the +river of Gozan,</q> far away in North-eastern Mesopotamia, +found the cause of their sufferings in too great an +intimacy with their heathen neighbours: they had +gone a-whoring after their gods. +</p> + +<p> +The last two incidents which we shall deal with in +this chapter serve to illustrate afresh the rough-and-ready +methods by which the chronicler has knotted +together threads of heterogeneous tradition into one +tangled skein. We shall see further how ready ancient +writers were to represent a tribe by the ancestor from +whom it traced its descent. We read in vii. 20, 21, +<q>The sons of Ephraim: Shuthelah, and Bered his son, +and Tahath his son, and Eleadah his son, and Zabad +his son, and Shuthelah his son, and Ezer and Elead, +whom the men of Gath that were born in the land +slew, because they came down to take away their cattle.</q> +</p> + +<p> +Ezer and Elead are apparently brothers of the second +Shuthelah; at any rate, as six generations are mentioned +between them and Ephraim, they would seem +to have lived long after the Patriarch. Moreover, they +<pb n='088'/><anchor id='Pg088'/> +came down to Gath, so that they must have lived in +some hill-country not far off, presumably the hill-country +of Ephraim. But in the next two verses (22 +and 23) we read, <q>And Ephraim their father mourned +many days, and his brethren came to comfort him. +And he went in to his wife, and she conceived, and bare +a son; and he called his name Beriah, because it went +evil with his house.</q> +</p> + +<p> +Taking these words literally, Ezer and Elead were +the actual sons of Ephraim; and as Ephraim and his +family were born in Egypt and lived there all their days, +these patriarchal cattle-lifters did not come down from +any neighbouring highlands, but must have come up +from Egypt, all the way from the land of Goshen, +across the desert and past several Philistine and +Canaanite towns. This literal sense is simply impossible. +The author from whom the chronicler +borrowed this narrative is clearly using a natural and +beautiful figure to describe the distress in the tribe of +Ephraim when two of its clans were cut off, and the +fact that a new clan named <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Beriah</foreign> was formed to take +their place. Possibly we are not without information +as to how this new clan arose. In viii. 13 we read of +two Benjamites, <q><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Beriah</foreign> and Shema, who were heads +of fathers' houses of the inhabitants of Aijalon, who +put to flight the inhabitants of Gath.</q> Beriah and +Shema probably, coming to the aid of Ephraim, avenged +the defeat of Ezer and Elead; and in return received +the possessions of the clans, who had been cut off, +and Beriah was thus reckoned among the children of +Ephraim.<note place='foot'>Cf. Bertheau, i. 1.</note> +</p> + +<p> +The language of ver. 22 is very similar to that of +Gen. xxxvii. 34, 35: <q>And Jacob mourned for his son +<pb n='089'/><anchor id='Pg089'/> +many days. And all his sons and all his daughters +rose up to comfort him</q>; and the personification of +the tribe under the name of its ancestor may be +paralleled from Judges xxi. 6: <q>And the children of +Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother.</q> +</p> + +<p> +Let us now reconstruct the story and consider its +significance. Two Ephraimite clans, Ezer and Elead, +set out to drive the cattle <q>of the men of Gath, who +were born in the land,</q> <hi rend='italic'>i.e.</hi>, of the aboriginal Avvites, +who had been dispossessed by the Philistines, but still +retained some of the pasture-lands. Falling into an +ambush or taken by surprise when encumbered with +their plunder, the Ephraimites were cut off, and nearly +all the fighting men of the clans perished. The Avvites, +reinforced by the Philistines of Gath, pressed their +advantage, and invaded the territory of Ephraim, whose +border districts, stripped of their defenders, lay at the +mercy of the conquerors. From this danger they were +rescued by the Benjamite clans Shema and Beriah, +then occupying Aijalon<note place='foot'>In Josh. xix. 42, xxi. 24, Aijalon is given to Dan; in Judges i. 34 +it is given to Dan, but we are told that Amorites retained possession +of it, but became tributary to the house of Joseph; in 2 Chron. +xi. 10 it is given to <q>Judah and Benjamin.</q> As a frontier town, it +frequently changed hands.</note>; and the men of Gath in +their turn were defeated and driven back. The grateful +Ephraimites invited their allies to occupy the vacant +territory and in all probability to marry the widows +and daughters of their slaughtered kinsmen. From +that time onwards Beriah was reckoned as one of the +clans of Ephraim. +</p> + +<p> +The account of this memorable cattle foray is a +necessary note to the genealogies to explain the +origin of an important clan and its double connection +<pb n='090'/><anchor id='Pg090'/> +with Ephraim and Benjamin. Both the chronicler and +his authority recorded it because of its genealogical +significance, not because they were anxious to perpetuate +the memory of the unfortunate raid. In the +ancient days to which the episode belonged, a frontier +cattle foray seemed as natural and meritorious an enterprise +as it did to William of Deloraine. The chronicler +does not think it necessary to signify any disapproval +it is by no means certain that he did disapprove—of such +spoiling of the uncircumcised; but the fact that he gives +the record without comment does not show that he +condoned cattle-stealing. Men to-day relate with pride +the lawless deeds of noble ancestors, but they would +be dismayed if their own sons proposed to adopt the +moral code of mediæval barons or Elizabethan +buccaneers. +</p> + +<p> +In reviewing the scanty religious ideas involved in +this little group of family traditions, we have to +remember that they belong to a period of Israelite +history much older than that of the chronicler; in +estimating their value, we have to make large allowance +for the conventional ethics of the times. Religion not +only serves to raise the standard of morality, but also +to keep the average man up to the conventional +standard; it helps and encourages him to do what he +believes to be right as well as gives him a better understanding +of what right means. Primitive religion is +not to be disparaged because it did not at once convert +the rough Israelite clansmen into Havelocks and +Gordons. In those early days, courage, patriotism, +and loyalty to one's tribesmen were the most necessary +and approved virtues. They were fostered and stimulated +by the current belief in a God of battles, who +gave victory to His faithful people. Moreover, the +<pb n='091'/><anchor id='Pg091'/> +idea of Deity implied in these traditions, though inadequate, +is by no means unworthy. God is benevolent; +He enriches and succours His people; He answers +prayer, giving to Jabez the land and pasture for which +he asked. He is a righteous God; He responds to +and justifies His people's faith: <q>He was entreated of +the Reubenites and Gadites because they put their +trust in Him.</q> On the other hand, He is a jealous +God; He punishes Israel when they <q>trespass against +the God of their fathers and go a-whoring after the +gods of the peoples of the land.</q> But the feeling here +attributed to Jehovah is not merely one of personal +jealousy. Loyalty to Him meant a great deal more +than a preference for a god called Jehovah over a god +called Chemosh. It involved a special recognition of +morality and purity, and gave a religious sanction to +patriotism and the sentiment of national unity. Worship +of Moabite or Syrian gods weakened a man's +enthusiasm for Israel and his sense of fellowship with +his countrymen, just as allegiance to an Italian prince +and prelate has seemed to Protestants to deprive the +Romanist of his full inheritance in English life and +feeling. He who went astray after other gods did not +merely indulge his individual taste in doctrine and +ritual: he was a traitor to the social order, to the +prosperity and national union, of Israel. Such disloyalty +broke up the nation, and sent Israel and Judah +into captivity piecemeal. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='092'/><anchor id='Pg092'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter V. The Jewish Community In The Time Of The +Chronicler.</head> + +<p> +We have already referred to the light thrown by +Chronicles on this subject. Besides the direct +information given in Ezra and Nehemiah, and sometimes +in Chronicles itself, the chronicler by describing +the past in terms of the present often unconsciously +helps us to reconstruct the picture of his own day. +We shall have to make occasional reference to the +books of Ezra and Nehemiah, but the age of the +chronicler is later than the events which they describe, +and we shall be traversing different ground from that +covered by the volume of the <q>Expositor's Bible</q> which +deals with them. +</p> + +<p> +Chronicles is full of evidence that the civil and +ecclesiastical system of the Pentateuch had become +fully established long before the chronicler wrote. Its +gradual origin had been forgotten, and it was assumed +that the Law in its final and complete form had been +known and observed from the time of David onwards. +At every stage of the history Levites are introduced, +occupying the subordinate position and discharging +the menial duties assigned to them by the latest documents +of the Pentateuch. In other matters small and +<pb n='093'/><anchor id='Pg093'/> +great, especially those concerning the Temple and its +sanctity, the chronicler shows himself so familiar with +the Law that he could not imagine Israel without it. +Picture the life of Judah as we find it in 2 Kings and +the prophecies of the eighth century, put this picture +side by side with another of the Judaism of the New +Testament, and remember that Chronicles is about +a century nearer to the latter than to the former. It +is not difficult to trace the effect of this absorption in +the system of the Pentateuch. The community in and +about Jerusalem had become a Church, and was in +possession of a Bible. But the hardening, despiritualising +processes which created later Judaism were +already at work. A building, a system of ritual, and +a set of officials were coming to be regarded as the +essential elements of the Church. The Bible was +important partly because it dealt with these essential +elements, partly because it provided a series of regulations +about washings and meats, and thus enabled the +layman to exalt his everyday life into a round of ceremonial +observances. The habit of using the Pentateuch +chiefly as a handbook of external and technical ritual +seriously influenced the current interpretation of the +Bible. It naturally led to a hard literalism and a +disingenuous exegesis. This interest in externals is +patent enough in the chronicler, and the tendencies of +Biblical exegesis are illustrated by his use of Samuel +and Kings. On the other hand, we must allow for +great development of this process in the interval +between Chronicles and the New Testament. The +evils of later Judaism were yet far from mature, and +religious life and thought in Palestine were still much +more elastic than they became later on. +</p> + +<p> +We have also to remember that at this period the +<pb n='094'/><anchor id='Pg094'/> +zealous observers of the Law can only have formed a +portion of the community, corresponding roughly to the +regular attendants at public worship in a Christian +country. Beyond and beneath the pious legalists were +<q>the people of the land,</q> those who were too careless +or too busy to attend to ceremonial; but for both +classes the popular and prominent ideal of religion was +made up of a magnificent building, a dignified and +wealthy clergy, and an elaborate ritual, alike for great +public functions and for the minutiæ of daily life. +</p> + +<p> +Besides all these the Jewish community had its +sacred writings. As one of the ministers of the Temple, +and, moreover, both a student of the national literature +and himself an author, the chronicler represents the +best literary knowledge of contemporary Palestinian +Judaism; and his somewhat mechanical methods of +composition make it easy for us to discern his indebtedness +to older writers. We turn his pages with interest +to learn what books were known and read by the most +cultured Jews of his time. First and foremost, and +overshadowing all the rest, there appears the Pentateuch. +Then there is the whole array of earlier Historical +Books: Joshua, Ruth, Samuel, and Kings. The +plan of Chronicles excludes a direct use of Judges, but +it must have been well known to our author. His +appreciation of the Psalms is shown by his inserting +in his history of David a cento of passages from +Psalms xcvi., cv., and cvi.; on the other hand, Psalm +xviii. and other lyrics given in the books of Samuel +are omitted by the chronicler. The later Exilic Psalms +were more to his taste than ancient hymns, and +he unconsciously carries back into the history of the +monarchy the poetry as well as the ritual of later +times. Both omissions and insertions indicate that in +<pb n='095'/><anchor id='Pg095'/> +this period the Jews possessed and prized a large +collection of psalms. +</p> + +<p> +There are also traces of the Prophets. Hanani the +seer in his address to Asa<note place='foot'>2 Chron. xvi. 9.</note> quotes Zech. iv. 10: <q>The +eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the +whole earth.</q> Jehoshaphat's exhortation to his people, +<q>Believe in the Lord your God; so shall ye be established,</q><note place='foot'>2 Chron. xx. 20.</note> +is based on Isa. vii. 9: <q>If ye will not believe, +surely ye shall not be established.</q> Hezekiah's words +to the Levites, <q>Our fathers ... have turned away +their faces from the habitation of the Lord, and turned +their backs,</q><note place='foot'>2 Chron. xxix. 6.</note> are a significant variation of Jer. ii. +27: <q>They have turned their back unto Me, and not +their face.</q> The Temple is substituted for Jehovah. +</p> + +<p> +There are of course references to Isaiah and Jeremiah +and traces of other prophets; but when account +is taken of them all, it is seen that the chronicler makes +scanty use, on the whole, of the Prophetical Books. It +is true that the idea of illustrating and supplementing +information derived from annals by means of contemporary +literature not in narrative form had not yet +dawned upon historians; but if the chronicler had taken +a tithe of the interest in the Prophets that he took in +the Pentateuch and the Psalms, his work would show +many more distinct marks of their influence. +</p> + +<p> +An apocalypse like Daniel and works like Job, +Proverbs, and the other books of Wisdom lay so far +outside the plan and subject of Chronicles that we can +scarcely consider the absence of any clear trace of them +a proof that the chronicler did not either know them or +care for them. +</p> + +<p> +Our brief review suggests that the literary concern +<pb n='096'/><anchor id='Pg096'/> +of the chronicler and his circle was chiefly in the books +most closely connected with the Temple; viz., the Historical +Books, which contained its history, the Pentateuch, +which prescribed its ritual, and the Psalms, which +served as its liturgy. The Prophets occupy a secondary +place, and Chronicles furnishes no clear evidence as to +other Old Testament books. +</p> + +<p> +We also find in Chronicles that the Hebrew language +had degenerated from its ancient classical purity, and +that Jewish writers had already come very much under +the influence of Aramaic. +</p> + +<p> +We may next consider the evidence supplied by the +chronicler as to the elements and distribution of the +Jewish community in his time. In Ezra and Nehemiah +we find the returning exiles divided into the men of +Judah, the men of Benjamin, and the priests, Levites, +etc. In Ezra ii. we are told that in all there returned +42,360, with 7,337 slaves and 200 <q>singing men and +singing women.</q> The priests numbered 4,289; there +were 74 Levites, 128 singers of the children of +Asaph, 139 porters, and 392 Nethinim and children of +Solomon's servants. The singers, porters, Nethinim, +and children of Solomon's servants are not reckoned +among the Levites, and there is only one guild of +singers: <q>the children of Asaph.</q> The Nethinim are +still distinguished from the Levites in the list of those +who returned with Ezra, and in various lists which +occur in Nehemiah. We see from the Levitical genealogies +and the Levites in 1 Chron. vi., ix., etc, that +in the time of the chronicler these arrangements had +been altered. There were now three guilds of singers, +tracing their descent to Heman, Asaph, and Ethan<note place='foot'>1 Chron. vi. 31-48, xv. 16-20; cf. psalm titles.</note> or +Jeduthun, and reckoned by descent among the Levites. +<pb n='097'/><anchor id='Pg097'/> +The guild of Heman seems to have been also known +as <q>the sons of Korah.</q><note place='foot'>1 Chron. vi. 33, 37; cf. Psalm lxxxviii. (title).</note> The porters and probably +eventually the Nethinim were also reckoned among the +Levites.<note place='foot'>1 Chron. xvi. 38, 42.</note> +</p> + +<p> +We see therefore that in the interval between +Nehemiah and the chronicler the inferior ranks of +the Temple ministry had been reorganised, the musical +staff had been enlarged and doubtless otherwise +improved, and the singers, porters, Nethinim, and +other Temple servants had been promoted to the +position of Levites. Under the monarchy many of +the Temple servants had been slaves of foreign birth; +but now a sacred character was given to the humblest +menial who shared in the work of the house of God. +In after-times Herod the Great had a number of priests +trained as masons, in order that no profane hand might +take part in the building of his temple. +</p> + +<p> +Some details have been preserved of the organisation +of the Levites. We read how the porters were distributed +among the different gates, and of Levites who +were over the chambers and the treasuries, and of other +Levites how— +</p> + +<p> +<q rend='pre'>They lodged round about the house of God, because +the charge was upon them, and to them pertained the +opening thereof morning by morning.</q> +</p> + +<p> +<q rend='pre'>And certain of them had charge of the vessels of +service; for by tale were they brought in, and by tale +were they taken out.</q> +</p> + +<p> +<q rend='pre'>Some of them also were appointed over the furniture, +and over all the vessels of the sanctuary, and over the +fine flour, and the wine, and the oil, and the frankincense, +and the spices.</q> +</p> + +<pb n='098'/><anchor id='Pg098'/> + +<p> +<q rend='pre'>And some of the sons of the priests prepared the +confection of the spices.</q> +</p> + +<p> +<q rend='pre'>And Mattithiah, one of the Levites who was the +first-born of Shallum the Korahite, had the set office +over the things that were baked in pans.</q> +</p> + +<p> +<q>And some of their brethren, of the sons of the +Kohathites, were over the shewbread to prepare it every +sabbath.</q><note place='foot'>1 Chron. ix. 26-32; cf. 1 Chron. xxiii. 24-32.</note> +</p> + +<p> +This account is found in a chapter partly identical +with Neh. xi., and apparently refers to the period +of Nehemiah; but the picture in the latter part of the +chapter was probably drawn by the chronicler from his +own knowledge of Temple routine. So, too, in his +graphic accounts of the sacrifices by Hezekiah and +Josiah,<note place='foot'>2 Chron. xxix.-xxxi.; xxxiv.; xxxv.</note> we seem to have an eyewitness describing +familiar scenes. Doubtless the chronicler himself had +often been one of the Temple choir <q>when the burnt-offering +began, and the song of Jehovah began also, +together with the instruments of David, king of +Israel; and all the congregation worshipped, and the +singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded; and all +this continued till the burnt-offering was finished.</q><note place='foot'>2 Chron. xxix. 27, 28.</note> +Still the scale of these sacrifices, the hundreds of +oxen and thousands of sheep, may have been fixed +to accord with the splendour of the ancient kings. +Such profusion of victims probably represented rather +the dreams than the realities of the chronicler's +Temple. +</p> + +<p> +Our author's strong feeling for his own Levitical +order shows itself in his narrative of Hezekiah's great +sacrifices. The victims were so numerous that there +<pb n='099'/><anchor id='Pg099'/> +were not priests enough to flay them; to meet the +emergency the Levites were allowed on this one +occasion to discharge a priestly function and to take +an unusually conspicuous part in the national festival. +In zeal they were even superior to the priests: <q>The +Levites were more upright in heart to sanctify themselves +than the priests.</q> Possibly here the chronicler +is describing an incident which he could have paralleled +from his own experience. The priests of his time may +often have yielded to a natural temptation to shirk the +laborious and disagreeable parts of their duty; they +would catch at any plausible pretext to transfer their +burdens to the Levites, which the latter would be eager +to accept for the sake of a temporary accession of +dignity. Learned Jews were always experts in the +art of evading the most rigid and minute regulations +of the Law. For instance, the period of service +appointed for the Levites in the Pentateuch was from +the age of thirty to that of fifty.<note place='foot'>Num. iv. 3, 23, 35.</note> But we gather from +Ezra and Nehemiah that comparatively few Levites +could be induced to throw in their lot with the returning +exiles; there were not enough to perform the +necessary duties. To make up for paucity of numbers, +this period of service was increased; and they were +required to serve from twenty years old and upward.<note place='foot'>1 Chron. xxiii. 24, 27. Probably <q>twenty</q> should be read for +<q>thirty</q> in ver. 3.</note> +As the former arrangement had formed part of +the law attributed to Moses, in course of time the +later innovation was supposed to have originated with +David. +</p> + +<p> +There were, too, other reasons for increasing the +efficiency of the Levitical order by lengthening their +<pb n='100'/><anchor id='Pg100'/> +term of service and adding to their numbers. The +establishment of the Pentateuch as the sacred code of +Judaism imposed new duties on priests and Levites +alike. The people needed teachers and interpreters of +the numerous minute and complicated rules by which +they were to govern their daily life. Judges were +needed to apply the laws in civil and criminal cases. +The Temple ministers were the natural authorities on +the Torah; they had a chief interest in expounding and +enforcing it. But in these matters also the priests +seem to have left the new duties to the Levites. Apparently +the first <q>scribes,</q> or professional students of +the Law, were mainly Levites. There were priests +among them, notably the great father of the order, +<q>Ezra the priest the scribe,</q> but the priestly families +took little share in this new work. The origin of the +educational and judicial functions of the Levites had +also come to be ascribed to the great kings of Judah. +A Levitical scribe is mentioned in the time of David.<note place='foot'>1 Chron. xxiv. 6.</note> +In the account of Josiah's reign we are expressly told +that <q>of the Levites there were scribes, and officers, +and porters</q>; and they are described as <q>the Levites +that taught all Israel.</q><note place='foot'>2 Chron. xxxiv. 13; xxxv. 3.</note> In the same context we have +the traditional authority and justification for this new +departure. One of the chief duties imposed upon the +Levites by the Law was the care and carriage of the +Tabernacle and its furniture during the wanderings in +the wilderness. Josiah, however, bids the Levites <q>put +the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of +David, king of Israel, did build; there shall no more +be a burden upon your shoulders; now serve the Lord +your God and His people Israel.</q><note place='foot'>2 Chron. xxxv. 3; cf. 1 Chron. xxiii 26.</note> In other words, +<pb n='101'/><anchor id='Pg101'/> +<q>You are relieved of a large part of your old duties, +and therefore have time to undertake new ones.</q> The +immediate application of this principle seems to be that +a section of the Levites should do all the menial work +of the sacrifices, and so leave the priests, and singers, +and porters free for their own special service; but the +same argument would be found convenient and conclusive +whenever the priests desired to impose any +new functions on the Levites. +</p> + +<p> +Still the task of expounding and enforcing the Law +brought with it compensations in the shape of dignity, +influence, and emolument; and the Levites would soon +be reconciled to their work as scribes, and would +discover with regret that they could not retain the +exposition of the Law in their own hands. Traditions +were cherished in certain Levitical families that their +ancestors had been <q>officers and judges</q> under David<note place='foot'>1 Chron. xxvi. 29.</note>; +and it was believed that Jehoshaphat had organised a +commission largely composed of Levites to expound +and administer the Law in country districts.<note place='foot'>2 Chron. xvii. 7, 9.</note> This +commission consisted of five princes, nine Levites, and +two priests; <q>and they taught in Judah, having the +book of the law of the Lord with them; and they +went about throughout all the cities of Judah and +taught among the people.</q> As the subject of their +teaching was the Pentateuch, their mission must have +been rather judicial than religious. With regard to a +later passage, it has been suggested that <q>probably +it is the organisation of justice as existing in his own +day that he</q> (the chronicler) <q>here carries back to +Jehoshaphat, so that here most likely we have the +oldest testimony to the synedrium of Jerusalem as a +<pb n='102'/><anchor id='Pg102'/> +court of highest instance over the provincial synedria, +as also to its composition and presidency.</q><note place='foot'>Wellhausen, <hi rend='italic'>History of Israel</hi>, p. 191; cf. 2 Chron. xix. 4-11.</note> We can +scarcely doubt that the form the chronicler has given +to the tradition is derived from the institutions of his +own age, and that his friends the Levites were +prominent among the doctors of the Law, and not only +taught and judged in Jerusalem, but also visited the +country districts. +</p> + +<p> +It will appear from this brief survey that the Levites +were very completely organised. There were not only +the great classes, the scribes, officers, porters, singers, +and the Levites proper, so to speak, who assisted the +priests, but special families had been made responsible +for details of service: <q>Mattithiah had the set office +over the things that were baked in pans; and some of +their brethren, of the sons of the Kohathites, were over +the shewbread, to prepare it every sabbath.</q><note place='foot'>1 Chron. ix. 31, 32.</note> +</p> + +<p> +The priests were organised quite differently. The +small number of Levites necessitated careful arrangements +for using them to the best advantage; of priests +there were enough and to spare. The four thousand +two hundred and eighty-nine priests who returned with +Zerubbabel were an extravagant and impossible allowance +for a single temple, and we are told that the +numbers increased largely as time went on. The +problem was to devise some means by which all the +priests should have some share in the honours and +emoluments of the Temple, and its solution was found +in the <q>courses.</q> The priests who returned with +Zerubbabel are registered in four families: <q>the children +of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua; ... the children of +Immer; ... the children of Pashhur; ... the children +<pb n='103'/><anchor id='Pg103'/> +of Harim.</q><note place='foot'>Ezra ii. 36-39.</note> But the organisation of the chronicler's +time is, as usual, to be found among the arrangements +ascribed to David, who is said to have divided the +priests into their twenty-four courses.<note place='foot'>1 Chron. xxiv. 1-19.</note> Amongst the +heads of the courses we find Jedaiah, Jeshua, Harim, +and Immer, but not Pashhur. Post-Biblical authorities +mention twenty-four courses in connection with the +second Temple. Zacharias, the father of John the +Baptist, belonged to the course of Abijah<note place='foot'>Luke i. 5.</note>; and Josephus +mentions a course <q>Eniakim.</q><note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Bell. Jud.</hi>, IV. iii. 8.</note> Abijah was the head +of one of David's courses; and Eniakim is almost +certainly a corruption of Eliakim, of which name Jakim +in Chronicles is a contraction. +</p> + +<p> +These twenty-four courses discharged the priestly +duties each in its turn. One was busy at the temple +while the other twenty-three were at home, some perhaps +living on the profits of their office, others at work +on their farms. The high-priest, of course, was always +at the Temple; and the continuity of the ritual would +necessitate the appointment of other priests as a permanent +staff. The high-priest and the staff, being +always on the spot, would have great opportunities for +improving their own position at the expense of the +other members of the courses, who were only there +occasionally for a short time. Accordingly we are +told later on that a few families had appropriated nearly +all the priestly emoluments. +</p> + +<p> +Courses of the Levites are sometimes mentioned in +connection with those of the priests, as if the Levites +had an exactly similar organisation.<note place='foot'>1 Chron. xxiv. 20-31; 2 Chron. xxxi. 2.</note> Indeed, twenty-four +courses of the singers are expressly named.<note place='foot'>1 Chron. xxv.</note> But +<pb n='104'/><anchor id='Pg104'/> +on examination we find that <q>course</q> for the Levites +in all cases where exact information is given<note place='foot'>1 Chron. xxvi.; Ezra vi. 18; Neh. xi. 36.</note> does not +mean one of a number of divisions which took work in +turn, but a division to which a definite piece of work +was assigned, <hi rend='italic'>e.g.</hi>, the care of the shewbread or of one +of the gates. The idea that in ancient times there were +twenty-four alternating courses of Levites was not +derived from the arrangements of the chronicler's +age, but was an inference from the existence of priestly +courses. According to the current interpretation of the +older history, there must have been under the monarchy +a very great many more Levites than priests, and any +reasons that existed for organising twenty-four priestly +courses would apply with equal force to the Levites. +It is true that the names of twenty-four courses of +singers are given, but in this list occurs the remarkable +and impossible group of names already discussed:— +</p> + +<p> +<q><emph>I-have-magnified</emph>, <emph>I-have-exalted-help</emph>; <emph>Sitting-in-distress</emph>, +<emph>I-have-spoken</emph> <emph>In-abundance Visions</emph></q><note place='foot'>Recently a complaint was received at the General Post-office +that some newspapers sent from France had failed to arrive. It was +stated that the names of the papers were—<emph>Il me manque</emph>; <emph>Plusieurs; +Journaux</emph>; <hi rend='italic'>i.e.</hi>, I am short of <q>Several</q> <q>Papers.</q></note> which +are in themselves sufficient proof that these twenty-four +courses of singers did not exist in the time of the +chronicler. +</p> + +<p> +Thus the chronicler provides material for a fairly +complete account of the service and ministers of the +Temple; but his interest in other matters was less close +and personal, so that he gives us comparatively little +information about civil persons and affairs. The +restored Jewish community was, of course, made up +of descendants of the members of the old kingdom of +<pb n='105'/><anchor id='Pg105'/> +Judah. The new Jewish state, like the old, is often +spoken of as <q>Judah</q>; but its claim to fully represent +the chosen people of Jehovah is expressed by the +frequent use of the name <q>Israel.</q> Yet within this new +Judah the old tribes of Judah and Benjamin are still +recognised. It is true that in the register of the first +company of returning exiles the tribes are ignored, and +we are not told which families belonged to Judah or +which to Benjamin; but we are previously told that +the chiefs of Judah and Benjamin rose up to return +to Jerusalem. Part of this register arranges the companies +according to the towns in which their ancestors +had lived before the Captivity, and of these some belong +to Judah and some to Benjamin. We also learn that +the Jewish community included certain of the children +of Ephraim and Manasseh.<note place='foot'>1 Chron. ix. 3.</note> There may also have been +families from the other tribes; St. Luke, for instance, +describes Anna as of the tribe of Asher.<note place='foot'>Luke ii. 36.</note> But the +mass of genealogical matter relating to Judah and +Benjamin far exceeds what is given as to the other +tribes,<note place='foot'>Levi of course excepted.</note> and proves that Judah and Benjamin were +co-ordinate members of the restored community, and +that no other tribe contributed any appreciable contingent, +except a few families from Ephraim and +Manasseh. It has been suggested that the chronicler +shows special interest in the tribes which had occupied +Galilee—Asher, Naphtali, Zebulun, and Issachar—and +that this special interest indicates that the settlement +of Jews in Galilee had attained considerable dimensions +at the time when he wrote. But this special interest +is not very manifest; and later on, in the time of the +<pb n='106'/><anchor id='Pg106'/> +Maccabees, the Jews in Galilee were so few that Simon +took them all away with him, together with their wives +and their children and all that they had, and brought +them into Judæa. +</p> + +<p> +The genealogies seem to imply that no descendants +of the Transjordanic tribes or of Simeon were found in +Judah in the age of the chronicler. +</p> + +<p> +Concerning the tribe of Judah, we have already noted +that it included two families which traced their descent +to Egyptian ancestors, and that the Kenizzite clans of +Caleb and Jerahmeel had been entirely incorporated in +Judah and formed the most important part of the tribe. +A comparison of the parallel genealogies of the house +of Caleb gives us important information as to the +territory occupied by the Jews. In ii. 42-49 we find +the Calebites at Hebron and other towns of the south +country, in accordance with the older history; but in +ii. 50-55 they occupy Bethlehem and Kirjath-jearim +and other towns in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem. +The two paragraphs are really giving their territory +before and after the Exile; during the Captivity Southern +Judah had been occupied by the Edomites. It is +indeed stated in Neh. xi. 25-30 that the children of +Judah dwelt in a number of towns scattered over the +whole territory of the ancient tribe; but the list concludes +with the significant sentence, <q>So they <emph>encamped</emph> +from Beer-sheba unto the valley of Hinnom.</q> We are +thus given to understand that the occupation was not +permanent. +</p> + +<p> +We have already noted that much of the space +allotted to the genealogies of Judah is devoted to the +house of David.<note place='foot'>1 Chron. iii.</note> The form of this pedigree for the +<pb n='107'/><anchor id='Pg107'/> +generations after the Captivity indicates that the head +of the house of David was no longer the chief of the +state. During the monarchy only the kings are given +as heads of the family in each generation: <q>Solomon's +son was Rehoboam, Abijah his son, Asa his son,</q> etc., +etc.; but after the Captivity the first-born no longer +occupied so unique a position. We have all the sons of +each successive head of the family. +</p> + +<p> +The genealogies of Judah include one or two references +which throw a little light on the social organisation +of the times. There were <q>families of scribes +which dwelt at Jabez</q><note place='foot'>ii. 55.</note> as well as the Levitical scribes. +In the appendix<note place='foot'>iv. 21-23.</note> to the genealogies of chap. iv. we +read of a house whose families wrought fine linen, and +of other families who were porters to the king and +lived on the royal estates. The immediate reference +of these statements is clearly to the monarchy, and we +are told that <q>the records are ancient</q>; but these +ancient records were probably obtained by the +chronicler from contemporary members of the families, +who still pursued their hereditary calling. +</p> + +<p> +As regards the tribe of Benjamin, we have seen that +there was a family claiming descent from Saul. +</p> + +<p> +The slight and meagre information given about Judah +and Benjamin cannot accurately represent their importance +as compared with the priests and Levites, but the +general impression conveyed by the chronicler is confirmed +by our other authorities. In his time the +supreme interests of the Jews were religious. The one +great institution was the Temple; the highest order was +the priesthood. All Jews were in a measure servants +of the Temple; Ephesus indeed was proud to be called +<pb n='108'/><anchor id='Pg108'/> +the temple-keeper of the great Diana, but Jerusalem +was far more truly the temple-keeper of Jehovah. +Devotion to the Temple gave to the Jews a unity +which neither of the older Hebrew states had ever +possessed. The kernel of this later Jewish territory +seems to have been a comparatively small district of +which Jerusalem was the centre. The inhabitants +of this district carefully preserved the records of their +family history, and loved to trace their descent to the +ancient clans of Judah and Benjamin; but for practical +purposes they were all Jews, without distinction of +tribe. Even the ministry of the Temple had become +more homogeneous; the non-Levitical descent of some +classes of the Temple servants was first ignored and +then forgotten, so that assistants at the sacrifices, +singers, musicians, scribes, and porters, were all included +in the tribe of Levi. The Temple conferred its own +sanctity upon all its ministers. +</p> + +<p> +In a previous chapter the Temple and its ministry +were compared to a mediæval monastery or the establishment +of a modern cathedral. In the same way +Jerusalem might be compared to cities, like Ely or +Canterbury, which exist mainly for the sake of their +cathedrals, only both the sanctuary and city of the +Jews came to be on a larger scale. Or, again, if the +Temple be represented by the great abbey of St. +Edmundsbury, Bury St. Edmunds itself might stand +for Jerusalem, and the wide lands of the abbey for the +surrounding districts, from which the Jewish priests +derived their free-will offerings, and first-fruits, and +tithes. Still in both these English instances there was +a vigorous and independent secular life far beyond any +that existed in Judæa. +</p> + +<p> +A closer parallel to the temple on Zion is to be +<pb n='109'/><anchor id='Pg109'/> +found in the immense establishments of the Egyptian +temples. It is true that these were numerous in Egypt, +and the authority and influence of the priesthood were +checked and controlled by the power of the kings; +yet on the fall of the twentieth dynasty the high-priest +of the great temple of Amen at Thebes succeeded in +making himself king, and Egypt, like Judah, had its +dynasty of priest-kings. +</p> + +<p> +The following is an account of the possessions of +the Theban temple of Amen, supposed to be given by +an Egyptian living about <hi rend='smallcaps'>b.c.</hi> 1350<note place='foot'>Maspero, <hi rend='italic'>Ancient Egypt and Assyria</hi>, p. 60.</note>:— +</p> + +<p> +<q>Since the accession of the eighteenth dynasty, +Amen has profited more than any other god, perhaps +even more than Pharaoh himself, by the Egyptian +victories over the peoples of Syria and Ethiopia. Each +success has brought him a considerable share of the +spoil collected upon the battle-fields, indemnities levied +from the enemy, prisoners carried into slavery. He +possesses lands and gardens by the hundred in Thebes +and the rest of Egypt, fields and meadows, woods, +hunting-grounds, and fisheries; he has colonies in +Ethiopia or in the oases of the Libyan desert, and at +the extremity of the land of Canaan there are cities +under vassalage to him, for Pharaoh allows him to +receive the tribute from them. The administration of +these vast properties requires as many officials and +departments as that of a kingdom. It includes innumerable +bailiffs for the agriculture; overseers for +the cattle and poultry; treasurers of twenty kinds for +the gold, silver, and copper, the vases and valuable +stuffs; foremen for the workshops and manufactures; +engineers; architects; boatmen; a fleet and an army +<pb n='110'/><anchor id='Pg110'/> +which often fight by the side of Pharaoh's fleet and +army. It is really a state within the state.</q> +</p> + +<p> +Many of the details of this picture would not be true +for the temple of Zion; but the Jews were even more +devoted to Jehovah than the Thebans to Amen, and +the administration of the Jewish temple was more than +<q>a state within the state</q>: it was the state itself. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='111'/><anchor id='Pg111'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter VI. Teaching By Anachronism. +1 Chron. ix. (cf. xv., xvi., xxiii.-xxvii., etc.).</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And David the king said, ... Who then offereth willingly?... +And they gave for the service of the house of God ... ten thousand +darics.</q>—1 <hi rend='smallcaps'>Chron.</hi> xxix. 1, 5, 7. +</quote> + +<p> +Teaching by anachronism is a very common +and effective form of religious instruction; and +Chronicles, as the best Scriptural example of this +method, affords a good opportunity for its discussion +and illustration. +</p> + +<p> +All history is more or less guilty of anachronism; +every historian perforce imports some of the ideas and +circumstances of his own time into his narratives and +pictures of the past: but we may distinguish three +degrees of anachronism. Some writers or speakers +make little or no attempt at archæological accuracy; +others temper the generally anachronistic character +of their compositions by occasional reference to the +manners and customs of the period they are describing; +and, again, there are a few trained students who +succeed in drawing fairly accurate and consistent +pictures of ancient life and history. +</p> + +<p> +We will briefly consider the last two classes before +returning to the first, in which we are chiefly interested. +</p> + +<pb n='112'/><anchor id='Pg112'/> + +<p> +Accurate archæology is, of course, part of the ideal +of the scientific historian. By long and careful study +of literature and monuments and by the exercise of +a lively and well-trained imagination, the student +obtains a vision of ancient societies. Nineveh and +Babylon, Thebes and Memphis, rise from their ashes +and stand before him in all their former splendour; +he walks their streets and mixes with the crowds in +the market-place and the throng of worshippers at the +temple, each <q>in his habit as he lived.</q> Rameses +and Sennacherib, Ptolemy and Antiochus, all play their +proper parts in this drama of his fancy. He can not +only recall their costumes and features: he can even +think their thoughts and feel their emotions; he actually +lives in the past. In <hi rend='italic'>Marius the Epicurean</hi>, in Ebers's +<hi rend='italic'>Uarda</hi>, in Maspero's <hi rend='italic'>Sketches of Assyrian and Egyptian +Life</hi>, and in other more serious works we have some of +the fruits of this enlightened study of antiquity, and +are enabled to see the visions at second hand and in +some measure to live at once in the present and the +past, to illustrate and interpret the one by the other, +to measure progress and decay, and to understand the +Divine meaning of all history. Our more recent +histories and works on life and manners and even our +historical romances, especially those of Walter Scott, +have rendered a similar service to students of English +history. And yet at its very best such realisation of +the past is imperfect; the gaps in our information are +unconsciously filled in from our experience, and the +ideas of the present always colour our reproduction of +ancient thought and feeling. The most accurate history +is only a rough approximation to exact truth; but, like +many other rough approximations, it is exact enough +for many important practical purposes. +</p> + +<pb n='113'/><anchor id='Pg113'/> + +<p> +But scholarly familiarity with the past has its drawbacks. +The scholar may come to live so much amongst +ancient memories that he loses touch with his own +present. He may gain large stores of information +about ancient Israelite life, and yet not know enough +of his own generation to be able to make them sharers +of his knowledge. Their living needs and circumstances +lie outside his practical experience; he cannot +explain the past to them because he does not sympathise +with their present; he cannot apply its lessons to +difficulties and dangers which he does not understand. +</p> + +<p> +Nor is the usefulness of the archæologist merely +limited by his own lack of sympathy and experience. +He may have both, and yet find that there are few of +his contemporaries who can follow him in his excursions +into bygone time. These limitations and drawbacks +do not seriously diminish the value of archæology, but +they have to be taken into account in discussing teaching +by anachronism, and they have an important +bearing on the practical application of archæological +knowledge. We shall return to these points later on. +</p> + +<p> +The second degree of anachronism is very common. +We are constantly hearing and reading descriptions +of Bible scenes and events in which the centuries +before and after Christ are most oddly blended. Here +and there will be a costume after an ancient monument, +a Biblical description of Jewish customs, a few Scriptural +phrases; but these are embedded in paragraphs +which simply reproduce the social and religious ideas +of the nineteenth century. For instance, in a recent +work, amidst much display of archæological knowledge, +we have the very modern ideas that Joseph and Mary +went up to Bethlehem at the census, because Joseph +and perhaps Mary also had property in Bethlehem, and +<pb n='114'/><anchor id='Pg114'/> +that when Joseph died <q>he left her a small but independent +fortune.</q> Many modern books might be +named in which Patriarchs and Apostles hold the language +and express the sentiments of the most recent +schools of devotional Christianity; and yet an air of +historical accuracy is assumed by occasional touches +of archæology. Similarly in mediæval miracle-plays +characters from the Bible appeared in the dress of the +period, and uttered a grotesque mixture of Scriptural +phrases and vernacular jargon. Much of such work +as this may for all practical purposes be classed +under the third degree of anachronism. Sometimes, +however, the spiritual significance of a passage or an +incident turns upon a simple explanation of some +ancient custom, so that the archæological detail makes +a clear addition to its interest and instructiveness. +But in other cases a little archæology is a dangerous +thing. Scattered fragments of learned information do +not enable the reader in any way to revive the buried +past; they only remove the whole subject further from +his interest and sympathy. He is not reading about +his own day, nor does he understand that the events +and personages of the narrative ever had anything in +common with himself and his experience. The antique +garb, the strange custom, the unusual phrase, disguise +that real humanity which the reader shares with these +ancient worthies. They are no longer men of like +passions with himself, and he finds neither warning +nor encouragement in their story. He is like a spectator +of a drama played by poor actors with a limited +stock of properties. The scenery and dresses show +that the play does not belong to his own time, but they +fail to suggest that it ever belonged to any period. +He has a languid interest in the performance as a +<pb n='115'/><anchor id='Pg115'/> +spectacle, but his feelings are not touched, and he is +never carried away by the acting. +</p> + +<p> +We have laid so much stress on the drawbacks +attaching to a little archæology because they will +emphasise what we have to say about the use of pure +anachronism. Our last illustration, however, reminds +us that these drawbacks detract but little from the +influence of earnest men. If the acting be good, we +forget the scenery and costumes; the genius of a great +preacher more than atones for poor archæology, because, +in spite of dress and custom, he makes his hearers feel +that the characters of the Bible were instinct with rich +and passionate life. We thus arrive at our third degree +of pure anachronism. +</p> + +<p> +Most people read their Bible without any reference +to archæology. If they dramatise the stories, they do +so in terms of their own experience. The characters +are dressed like the men and women they know: +Nazareth is like their native village, and Jerusalem is +like the county town; the conversations are carried on +in the English of the Authorised Version. This reading +of Scripture is well illustrated by the description in a +recent writer of a modern prophet in Tennessee<note place='foot'>Craddock, <hi rend='italic'>Despot of Bromsgrove Edge</hi>. Teck Jepson is, of course, +an imaginary character, but none the less representative.</note>:— +</p> + +<p> +<q>There was nought in the scene to suggest to a +mind familiar with the facts an Oriental landscape—nought +akin to the hills of Judæa. It was essentially +of the New World, essentially of the Great Smoky +Mountains. Yet ignorance has its licence. It never +occurred to Teck Jepson that his Bible heroes had lived +elsewhere. Their history had to him an intimate personal +relation, as of the story of an ancestor, in the +homestead ways and closely familiar. He brooded +<pb n='116'/><anchor id='Pg116'/> +upon these narratives, instinct with dramatic interest, +enriched with poetic colour, and localised in his robust +imagination, till he could trace Hagar's wild wanderings +in the fastnesses, could show where Jacob slept and +piled his altar of stones, could distinguish the bush, of +all others on the <q>bald,</q> that blazed with fire from +heaven when the angel of the Lord stood within it. +Somehow, even in their grotesque variation, they +lost no dignity in their transmission to the modern +conditions of his fancy. Did the facts lack significance +because it was along the gullied red clay roads of +Piomingo Cove that he saw David, the smiling stripling, +running and holding high in his hand the bit of cloth +cut from Saul's garments while the king had slept in +a cave at the base of Chilhowie Mountain? And how +was the splendid miracle of translation discredited +because Jepson believed that the chariot of the Lord +had rested in scarlet and purple clouds upon the towering +summit of Thunderhead, that Elijah might thence +ascend into heaven?</q> +</p> + +<p> +Another and more familiar example of <q>singular alterations +in date and circumstances</q> is the version in <hi rend='italic'>Ivanhoe</hi> +of the war between Benjamin and the other tribes:— +</p> + +<p> +<q>How long since in Palestine a deadly feud arose +between the tribe of Benjamin and the rest of the +Israelitish nation; and how they cut to pieces well-nigh +all the chivalry of that tribe; and how they swore by +our blessed Lady that they would not permit those who +remained to marry in their lineage; and how they +became grieved for their vow, and sent to consult his +Holiness the Pope how they might be absolved from +it; and how, by the advice of the Holy Father, the +youth of the tribe of Benjamin carried off from a superb +tournament all the ladies who were there present, and +<pb n='117'/><anchor id='Pg117'/> +thus won them wives without the consent either of +their brides or their brides' families.</q> +</p> + +<p> +It is needless to say that the chronicler was not thus +hopelessly at sea about the circumstances of ancient +Hebrew history; but he wrote in the same simple, +straightforward, childlike spirit. Israel had always +been the Israel of his own experience, and it never +occurred to him that its institutions under the kings +had been other than those with which he was familiar. +He had no more hesitation in filling up the gaps in the +book of Kings from what he saw round about him +than a painter would have in putting the white clouds +and blue waters of to-day into a picture of skies and +seas a thousand years ago. He attributes to the pious +kings of Judah the observance of the ritual of his own +times. Their prophets use phrases taken from post-Exilic +writings. David is regarded as the author of +the existing ecclesiastical system in almost all matters +that do not date back to Moses, and especially as +the organiser of the familiar music of the Temple. +David's choristers sing the hymns of the second +Temple. Amongst the contributions of his nobles +towards the building of the Temple, we read of ten +thousand darics, the daric being a coin introduced by +the Persian king Darius. +</p> + +<p> +But we must be careful to recognise that the +chronicler writes in perfect good faith. These views +of the monarchy were common to all educated and +thoughtful men of his time; they were embodied in +current tradition, and were probably already to be met +with in writing. To charge him with inventing them +is absurd; they already existed, and did not need to be +invented. He cannot have coloured his narrative in +the interests of the Temple and the priesthood. When +<pb n='118'/><anchor id='Pg118'/> +he lived, these interests were guaranteed by ancient +custom and by the authoritative sanction of the Pentateuchal +Law. The chronicler does not write with the +strong feeling of a man who maintains a doubtful cause; +there is no hint of any alternative view which needs +to be disproved and rejected in favour of his own. He +expatiates on his favourite themes with happy, leisurely +serenity, and is evidently confident that his treatment +of them will meet with general and cordial approval. +</p> + +<p> +And doubtless the author of Chronicles <q>served his +own generation by the will of God,</q> and served them +in the way he intended. He made the history of the +monarchy more real and living to them, and enabled +them to understand better that the reforming kings of +Judah were loyal servants of Jehovah and had been +used by Him for the furtherance of true religion. The +pictures drawn by Samuel and Kings of David and +the best of his successors would not have enabled the +Jews of his time to appreciate these facts. They had no +idea of any piety that was not expressed in the current +observances of the Law, and Samuel and Kings did not +ascribe such observances to the earlier kings of Judah. +But the chronicler and his authorities were able to +discern in the ancient Scriptures the genuine piety of +David and Hezekiah and other kings, and drew what +seemed to them the obvious conclusion that these pious +kings observed the Law. They then proceeded to +rewrite the history in order that the true character of +the kings and their relation to Jehovah might be made +intelligible to the people. The only piety which the +chronicler could conceive was combined with observance +of the Law; naturally therefore it was only thus +that he could describe piety. His work would be read +with eager interest, and would play a definite and +<pb n='119'/><anchor id='Pg119'/> +useful part in the religious education of the people. It +would bring home to them, as the older histories could +not, the abiding presence of Jehovah with Israel and +its leaders. Chronicles interpreted history to its own +generation by translating older records into the circumstances +and ideas of its own time. +</p> + +<p> +And in this it remains our example. Chronicles may +fall very far short of the ideal and yet be superior to +more accurate histories which fail to make themselves +intelligible to their own generation. The ideal history +no doubt would tell the story with archæological precision, +and then interpret it by modern parallels; the +historian would show us what we should actually have +seen and heard if we had lived in the period he is +describing; he would also help our weak imagination +by pointing us to such modern events or persons as +best illustrate those ancient times. No doubt Chronicles +fails to bring before our eyes an accurate vision of the +history of the monarchy; but, as we have said, all +history fails somewhat in this respect. It is simply +impossible to fulfil the demand for history that shall +have the accuracy of an architect's plans of a house +or an astronomer's diagrams of the orbit of a planet. +Chronicles, however, fails more seriously than most +history, and on the whole rather more than most +commentaries and sermons. +</p> + +<p> +But this lack of archæological accuracy is far less +serious than a failure to make it clear that the events +of ancient history were as real and as interesting as +those of modern times, and that its personages were +actual men and women, with a full equipment of body, +mind, and soul. There have been many teachers and +preachers, innocent of archæology, who have yet been +able to apply Bible narratives with convincing power +<pb n='120'/><anchor id='Pg120'/> +to the hearts and consciences of their hearers. They +may have missed some points and misunderstood +others, but they have brought out clearly the main, +practical teaching of their subject; and we must not +allow amusement at curious anachronisms to blind us +to their great gifts in applying ancient history to +modern circumstances. For instance, the little captive +maid in the story of Naaman has been described by a +local preacher as having illuminated texts hung up in +her bedroom, and (perambulators not being then in +use) as having constructed a go-cart for the baby out +of an old tea-chest and four cotton reels. We feel +inclined to smile; but, after all, such a picture would +make children feel that the captive maid was a girl +whom they could understand and might even imitate. +A more correct version of the story, told with less +human interest, might leave the impression that she +was a mere animated doll in a quaint costume, who +made impossibly pious remarks. +</p> + +<p> +Enlightened and well-informed Christian teachers +may still learn something from the example of the +chronicler. The uncritical character of his age affords +no excuse to them for shutting their eyes to the fuller +light which God has given to their generation. But +we are reminded that permanently significant stories +have their parallels in every age. There are always +prodigal sons, and foolish virgins, importunate widows, +and good Samaritans. The ancient narratives are +interesting as quaint and picturesque stories of former +times; but it is our duty as teachers to discover the +modern parallels of their eternal meaning: their lessons +are often best enforced by telling them afresh as they +would have been told if their authors had lived in our +time, in other words by a frank use of anachronism. +</p> + +<pb n='121'/><anchor id='Pg121'/> + +<p> +It may be objected that the result in the case of +Chronicles is not encouraging. Chronicles is far less +interesting than Kings, and far less useful in furnishing +materials for the historian. These facts, however, are not +inconsistent with the usefulness of the book for its own +age. Teaching by anachronism simply seeks to render +a service to its own generation; its purpose is didactic, +and not historical. How many people read the sermons +of eighteenth-century divines? But each generation +has a right to this special service. The first duty of +the religious teacher is for the men and women that +look to him for spiritual help and guidance. He may +incidentally produce literary work of permanent value +for posterity; but a Church whose ministry sacrificed +practical usefulness in the attempt to be learned and +literary would be false to its most sacred functions. +The noblest self-denial of Christian service may often lie +in putting aside all such ambition and devoting the +ability which might have made a successful author to +making Divine truth intelligible and interesting to the +uncultured and the unimaginative. Authors themselves +are sometimes led to make a similar sacrifice; +they write to help the many to-day when they might +have written to delight men of literary taste in all ages. +Few things are so ephemeral as popular religious +literature; it is as quickly and entirely forgotten as last +year's sunsets: but it is as necessary and as useful as +the sunshine and the clouds, which are being always +spent and always renewed. Chronicles is a specimen +of this class of literature, and its presence in the canon +testifies to the duty of providing a special application of +the sacred truths of ancient history for each succeeding +generation. +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<pb n='123'/><anchor id='Pg123'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Book III. Messianic And Other Types.</head> + +<pb n='125'/><anchor id='Pg125'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter I. Teaching By Types.</head> + +<p> +A more serious charge has been brought against +Chronicles than that dealt with in the last chapter. +Besides anachronisms, additions, and alterations, the +chronicler has made omissions that give an entirely +new complexion to the history. He omits, for instance, +almost everything that detracts from the character and +achievements of David and Solomon; he almost +entirely ignores the reigns of Saul and Ishbosheth, +and of all the northern kings. These facts are obvious +to the most casual reader, and a moment's reflection +shows that David as we should know him if we had +only Chronicles is entirely different from the historical +David of Samuel and Kings. The latter David has +noble qualities, but displays great weakness and falls +into grievous sin; the David of Chronicles is almost +always an hero and a blameless saint. +</p> + +<p> +All this is unquestionably true, and yet the purpose +and spirit of Chronicles are honest and praiseworthy. +Our judgment must be governed by the relation which +the chronicler intended his work to sustain towards the +older history. Did he hope that Samuel and Kings +would be altogether superseded by this new version +of the history of the monarchy, and so eventually be +<pb n='126'/><anchor id='Pg126'/> +suppressed and forgotten? There were precedents +that might have encouraged such a hope. The Pentateuch +and the books from Joshua to Kings derived their +material from older works; but the older works were +superseded by these books, and entirely disappeared. +The circumstances, however, were different when the +chronicler wrote: Samuel and Kings had been established +for centuries. Moreover, the Jewish community +in Babylon still exercised great influence over the +Palestinian Jews. Copies of Samuel and Kings must +have been preserved at Babylon, and their possessors +could not be eager to destroy them, and then to incur +the expense of replacing them by copies of a history +written at Jerusalem from the point of view of the +priests and Levites. We may therefore put aside +the theory that Chronicles was intended altogether to +supersede Samuel and Kings. Another possible theory +is that the chronicler, after the manner of mediæval +historians, composed an abstract of the history of the +world from the Creation to the Captivity as an introduction +to his account in Ezra and Nehemiah of the +more recent post-Exilic period. This theory has some +truth in it, but does not explain the fact that Chronicles +is disproportionately long if it be merely such an introduction. +Probably the chronicler's main object was to +compose a text-book, which could safely and usefully be +placed in the hands of the common people. There +were obvious objections to the popular use of Samuel +and Kings. In making a selection from his material, +the chronicler had no intention of falsifying history. +Scholars, he knew, would be acquainted with the older +books, and could supplement his narrative from the +sources which he himself had used. In his own work +he was anxious to confine himself to the portions of the +<pb n='127'/><anchor id='Pg127'/> +history which had an obvious religious significance, +and could readily be used for purposes of edification. +He was only applying more thoroughly a principle that +had guided his predecessors. The Pentateuch itself +is the result of a similar selection, only there and in +the other earlier histories a very human interest in +dramatic narrative has sometimes interfered with an +exclusive attention to edification. +</p> + +<p> +Indeed, the principles of selection adopted by the +chronicler are common to many historians. A school +history does not dwell on the domestic vices of kings +or on the private failings of statesmen. It requires no +great stretch of imagination to conceive of a Royalist +history of England, that should entirely ignore the +Commonwealth. Indeed, historians of Christian missions +sometimes show about the same interest in the +work of other Churches than their own that Chronicles +takes in the northern kingdom. The work of the +chronicler may also be compared to monographs which +confine themselves to some special aspect of their +subject. We have every reason to be thankful that +the Divine providence has preserved for us the richer +and fuller narrative of Samuel and Kings, but we cannot +blame the chronicler because he has observed some of +the ordinary canons for the composition of historical +text-books. +</p> + +<p> +The chronicler's selective method, however, is carried +so far that the historical value of his work is seriously +impaired; yet in this respect also he is kept in countenance +by very respectable authorities. We are more +concerned, however, to point out the positive results of +the method. Instead of historical portraits, we are presented +with a gallery of ideals, types of character which +we are asked either to admire or to condemn. On +<pb n='128'/><anchor id='Pg128'/> +the one hand, we have David and Solomon, Jehoshaphat +and Hezekiah, and the rest of the reforming kings of +Judah; on the other hand, there are Jeroboam, and +Ahab, and Ahaz, the kings of Israel, and the bad kings +of Judah. All these are very sharply defined in either +white or black. The types of Chronicles are ideals, +and not studies of ordinary human character, with its +mingled motives and subtle gradations of light and +shade. The chronicler has nothing in common with +the authors of modern realistic novels or anecdotal +memoirs. His subject is not human nature as it is so +much as human nature as it ought to be. There is +obviously much to be learnt from such ideal pictures, +and this form of inspired teaching is by no means the +least effective; it may be roughly compared with our +Lord's method of teaching by parables, without, +however, at all putting the two upon the same level. +</p> + +<p> +Before examining these types in detail, we may +devote a little space to some general considerations +upon teaching by types. For the present we will +confine ourselves to a non-theological sense of type, +using the word to mean any individual who is representative +or typical of a class. But the chronicler's +individuals do not represent classes of actual persons, +but good men as they seem to their most devoted +admirers and bad men as they seem to their worst +enemies. They are ideal types. Chronicles is not the +only literature in which such ideal types are found. +They occur in the funeral sermons and obituary notices +of popular favourites, and in the pictures which +politicians draw in election speeches of their opponents, +only in these there is a note of personal feeling from +which the chronicler is free. +</p> + +<p> +In fact, all biography tends to idealise; human nature +<pb n='129'/><anchor id='Pg129'/> +as it is has generally to be looked for in the pages of +fiction. When we have been blessed with a good and +brave man, we wish to think of him at his best; we +are not anxious to have thrust upon our notice the +weaknesses and sins which he regretted and for the +most part controlled. Some one who loved and +honoured him is asked to write the biography, with a +tacit understanding that he is not to give us a picture +of the real man in the <foreign rend='italic'>déshabille</foreign>, as it were, of his own +inner consciousness. He is to paint us a portrait of +the man as he strove to fashion himself after his own +high ideal. The true man, as God knows him and as +his fellows should remember him, was the man in his +higher nature and nobler aspirations. The rest, surely, +was but the vanishing remnant of a repudiated self. +The biographer idealises, because he believes that the +ideal best represents the real man. This is what the +chronicler, with a large faith and liberal charity, has +done for David and Solomon. +</p> + +<p> +Such an ideal picture appeals to us with pathetic +emphasis. It seems to say, <q>In spite of temptation, +and sin, and grievous falls, this is what I ever aimed at +and desired to be. Do not thou content thyself with any +lower ideal. My higher nature had its achievements +as well as its aspirations. Remember that in thy +weakness thou mayest also achieve.</q> +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> + +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>What I aspired to be,</q></l> +<l>And was not, comforts me;</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>All I could never be,</l> +<l>All men ignored in me,</l> +<l><q rend='post'>This I was worth to God....</q></l> +</lg> + +</quote> + +<p> +But we may take these ideals as types, not only in +a general sense, but also in a modification of the +<pb n='130'/><anchor id='Pg130'/> +dogmatic meaning of the word. We are not concerned +here with the type as the mere external symbol of +truth yet to be revealed; such types are chiefly found +in the ritual of the Pentateuch. The circumstances of +a man's life may also serve as a type in the narrower +sense, but we venture to apply the theological idea of +type to the significance of the higher nature in a good +man. It has been said in reference to types in the +theological sense that <q>a type is neither a prophecy, +nor a symbol, nor an allegory, yet it has relations with +each of these. A prophecy is a prediction in words, a +type a prediction in things. A symbol is a sensuous +representation of a thing; a type is such a representation +having a distinctly predictive aspect: ... a type is +an enacted prophecy, a kind of prophecy by action.</q><note place='foot'>Cave, <hi rend='italic'>Scripture Doctrine of Sacrifice</hi>, p. 163.</note> +We cannot, of course, include in our use of the term +type <q>sensuous representation</q> and some other ideas +connected with <q>type</q> in a theological sense. Our +type is a prediction in persons rather than in things. +But the use of the term is justified as including the +most essential point: that <q>a type is an enacted prophecy, +a kind of prophecy by action.</q> These personal types +are the most real and significant; they have no mere +arbitrary or conventional relation to their antitype. +The enacted prophecy is the beginning of its own +fulfilment, the first-fruits of the greater harvest that is +to be. The better moments of the man who is hungering +and thirsting after righteousness are a type, a +promise, and prophecy of his future satisfaction. They +have also a wider and deeper meaning: they show +what is possible for humanity, and give an assurance of +the spiritual progress of the world. The elect remnant +<pb n='131'/><anchor id='Pg131'/> +of Israel were the type of the great Christian Church; +the spiritual aspirations and persistent faith of a few +believers were a prophecy that <q>the earth should be +full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover +the sea.</q> <q>The kingdom of heaven is like unto a +grain of mustard seed, ... which is less than all seeds; +but when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, +and becometh a tree.</q> When therefore the chronicler +ignores the evil in David and Solomon and only records +the good, he treats them as types. He takes what +was best in them and sets it forth as a standard and +prophecy for the future, a pattern in the mount to be +realised hereafter in the structure of God's spiritual +temple upon earth. +</p> + +<p> +But the Holy Spirit guided the hopes and intuitions +of the sacred writers to a special fulfilment. We can +see that their types have one antitype in the growth of +the Church and the progress of mankind; but the Old +Testament looked for their chief fulfilment in a Divine +Messenger and Deliverer: its ideals are types of the +Messiah. The higher life of a good man was a revelation +of God and a promise of His highest and best +manifestation in Christ. We shall endeavour to show +in subsequent chapters how Chronicles served to develop +the idea of the Messiah. +</p> + +<p> +But the chronicler's types are not all prophecies of +future progress or Messianic glory. The brighter portions +of his picture are thrown into relief by a dark +background. The good in Jeroboam is as completely +ignored as the evil in David. Apart from any question +of historical accuracy, the type is unfortunately a true +one. There is a leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod, +as well as a leaven of the kingdom. If the base leaven +be left to work by itself, it will leaven the whole mass; +<pb n='132'/><anchor id='Pg132'/> +and in a final estimate of the character of those who +do evil <q>with both hands earnestly,</q> little allowance +needs to be made for redeeming features. Even if we +are still able to believe that there is a seed of goodness +in things evil, we are forced to admit that the seed has +remained dead and unfertilised, has had no growth and +borne no fruit. But probably most men may sometimes +be profitably admonished by considering the +typical sinner—the man in whose nature evil has been +able to subdue all things to itself. +</p> + +<p> +The strange power of teaching by types has been +well expressed by one who was herself a great mistress +of the art: <q>Ideas are often poor ghosts: our sun-filled +eyes cannot discern them; they pass athwart us +in thin vapour, and cannot make themselves felt; they +breathe upon us with warm breath, they touch us with +soft, responsive hands; they look at us with sad, sincere +eyes, and speak to us in appealing tones; they are +clothed in a living human soul; ... their presence +is a power.</q><note place='foot'>George Eliot, <hi rend='italic'>Janet's Repentance</hi>, chap. xix.</note> +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='133'/><anchor id='Pg133'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter II. David—I. His Tribe And Dynasty.</head> + +<p> +King and kingdom were so bound up in ancient +life that an ideal for the one implied an ideal for +the other; all distinction and glory possessed by either +was shared by both. The tribe and kingdom of Judah +were exalted by the fame of David and Solomon; but, +on the other hand, a specially exalted position is +accorded to David in the Old Testament because he +is the representative of the people of Jehovah. David +himself had been anointed by Divine command to be +king of Israel, and he thus became the founder of the +only legitimate dynasty of Hebrew kings. Saul and +Ishbosheth had no significance for the later religious +history of the nation. Apparently to the chronicler the +history of true religion in Israel was a blank between +Joshua and David; the revival began when the Ark was +brought to Zion, and the first steps were taken to rear +the Temple in succession to the Mosaic tabernacle. +He therefore omits the history of the Judges and Saul. +But the battle of Gilboa is given to introduce the reign +of David, and incidental condemnation is passed on +Saul: <q>So Saul died for his trespass which he committed +against the Lord, because of the word of the +Lord, which he kept not, and also for that he asked +counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire +<pb n='134'/><anchor id='Pg134'/> +thereby, and inquired not of the Lord; therefore He +slew him and turned the kingdom unto David the son +of Jesse.</q> +</p> + +<p> +The reign of Saul had been an unsuccessful experiment; +its only real value had been to prepare the way +for David. At the same time the portrait of Saul is +not given at full length, like those of the wicked kings, +partly perhaps because the chronicler had little interest +for anything before the time of David and the Temple, +but partly, we may hope, because the record of David's +affection for Saul kept alive a kindly feeling towards the +founder of the monarchy. +</p> + +<p> +Inasmuch as Jehovah had <q>turned the kingdom unto +David,</q> the reign of Ishbosheth was evidently the +intrusion of an illegitimate pretender; and the chronicler +treats it as such. If we had only Chronicles, we should +know nothing about the reign of Ishbosheth, and should +suppose that, on the death of Saul, David succeeded at +once to an undisputed sovereignty over all Israel. The +interval of conflict is ignored because, according to the +chronicler's views, David was, from the first, king <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>de +jure</foreign> over the whole nation. Complete silence as to +Ishbosheth was the most effective way of expressing +this fact. +</p> + +<p> +The same sentiment of hereditary legitimacy, the +same formal and exclusive recognition of a <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>de jure</foreign> +sovereign, has been shown in modern times by titles +like Louis XVIII. and Napoleon III. For both schools +of Legitimists the absence of <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>de facto</foreign> sovereignty did +not prevent Louis XVII. and Napoleon II. from +having been lawful rulers of France. In Israel, moreover, +the Divine right of the one chosen dynasty had +religious as well as political importance. We have +already seen that Israel claimed a hereditary title to +<pb n='135'/><anchor id='Pg135'/> +its special privileges; it was therefore natural that a +hereditary qualification should be thought necessary +for the kings. They represented the nation; they were +the Divinely appointed guardians of its religion; they +became in time the types of the Messiah, its promised +Saviour. In all this Saul and Ishbosheth had neither +part nor lot; the promise to Israel had always descended +in a direct line, and the special promise that was given +to its kings and through them to their people began +with David. There was no need to carry the history +further back. +</p> + +<p> +We have already noticed that, in spite of this general +attitude towards Saul, the genealogy of some of his +descendants is given twice over in the earlier chapters. +No doubt the chronicler made this concession to gratify +friends or to conciliate an influential family. It is +interesting to note how personal feeling may interfere +with the symmetrical development of a theological +theory. At the same time we are enabled to discern +a practical reason for rigidly ignoring the kingship of +Saul and Ishbosheth. To have recognised Saul as the +Lord's anointed, like David, would have complicated +contemporary dogmatics, and might possibly have given +rise to jealousies between the descendants of Saul and +those of David. Within the narrow limits of the +Jewish community such quarrels might have been +inconvenient and even dangerous. +</p> + +<p> +The reasons for denying the legitimacy of the +northern kings were obvious and conclusive. Successful +rebels who had destroyed the political and religious +unity of Israel could not inherit <q>the sure mercies of +David</q> or be included in the covenant which secured +the permanence of his dynasty. +</p> + +<p> +The exclusive association of Messianic ideas with a +<pb n='136'/><anchor id='Pg136'/> +single family emphasises their antiquity, continuity, +and development. The hope of Israel had its roots +deep in the history of the people; it had grown with +their growth and maintained itself through their +changing fortunes. As the hope centred in a single +family, men were led to expect an individual personal +Messiah; they were being prepared to see in Christ +the fulfilment of all righteousness. +</p> + +<p> +But the choice of the house of David involved the +choice of the tribe of Judah and the rejection of the kingdom +of Samaria. The ten tribes, as well as the kings of +Israel, had cut themselves off both from the Temple and +the sacred dynasty, and therefore from the covenant into +which Jehovah had entered with <q>the man after his +own heart.</q> Such a limitation of the chosen people was +suggested by many precedents. Chronicles, following +the Pentateuch, tells how the call came to Abraham, +but only some of the descendants of one of his sons +inherited the promise. Why should not a selection be +made from among the sons of Jacob? But the twelve +tribes had been explicitly and solemnly included in the +unity of Israel, largely through David himself. The +glory of David and Solomon consisted in their sovereignty +over a united people. The national recollection +of this golden age loved to dwell on the union of the +twelve tribes. The Pentateuch added legal sanction to +ancient sentiment. The twelve tribes were associated +together in national lyrics, like the <q>Blessing of Jacob</q> +and the <q>Blessing of Moses.</q> The song of Deborah +told how the northern tribes <q>came to the help of the +Lord against the mighty.</q> It was simply impossible +for the chronicler to absolutely repudiate the ten tribes; +and so they are formally included in the genealogies of +Israel, and are recognised in the history of David and +<pb n='137'/><anchor id='Pg137'/> +Solomon. Then the recognition stops. From the time +of the disruption the northern kingdom is quietly but +persistently ignored. Its prophets and sanctuaries were +as illegitimate as its kings. The great struggle of Elijah +and Elisha for the honour of Jehovah is omitted, with +all the rest of their history. Elijah is only mentioned +as sending a letter to Jehoram, king of Judah; Elisha +is never even named. +</p> + +<p> +On the other hand, it is more than once implied that +Judah, with the Levites, and the remnants of Simeon +and Benjamin, are the true Israel. When Rehoboam +<q>was strong he forsook the law of the Lord, and all +Israel with him.</q> After Shishak's invasion, <q>the princes +of Israel and the king humbled themselves.</q><note place='foot'>2 Chron. xii. 1, 6.</note> The +annals of Manasseh, king of Judah, are said to be +<q>written among the acts of the kings of Israel.</q><note place='foot'>2 Chron. xxxiii. 18.</note> The +register of the exiles, who returned with Zerubbabel is +headed <q>The number of the men of the people of +Israel.</q><note place='foot'>Ezra ii. 2.</note> The chronicler tacitly anticipates the position +of St. Paul: <q>They are not all Israel which are of +Israel</q>; and the Apostle might have appealed to +Chronicles to show that the majority of Israel might +fail to recognise and accept the Divine purpose for +Israel, and that the true Israel would then be found in +an elect remnant. The Jews of the second Temple +naturally and inevitably came to ignore the ten tribes and +to regard themselves as constituting this true Israel. As +a matter of history, there had been a period during which +the prophets of Samaria were of far more importance to +the religion of Jehovah than the temple at Jerusalem; +but in the chronicler's time the very existence of the +ten tribes was ancient history. Then, at any rate, +<pb n='138'/><anchor id='Pg138'/> +it was true that God's Israel was to be found in the +Jewish community, at and around Jerusalem. They +inherited the religious spirit of their fathers, and received +from them the sacred writings and traditions, +and carried on the sacred ritual. They preserved the +truth and transmitted it from generation to generation, +till at last it was merged in the mightier stream of +Christian revelation. +</p> + +<p> +The attitude of the chronicler towards the prophets +of the northern kingdom does not in any way represent +the actual importance of these prophets to the religion +of Israel; but it is a very striking expression of the +fact that after the Captivity the ten tribes had long +ceased to exercise any influence upon the spiritual life +of their nation. +</p> + +<p> +The chronicler's attitude is also open to criticism on +another side. He is dominated by his own surroundings, +and in his references to the Judaism of his own +time there is no formal recognition of the Jewish +community in Babylon; and yet even his own casual +allusions confirm what we know from other sources, +namely that the wealth and learning of the Jews in +Babylon were an important factor in Judaism until a +very late date. This point perhaps rather concerns +Ezra and Nehemiah than Chronicles, but it is closely +connected with our present subject, and is most +naturally treated along with it. The chronicler might +have justified himself by saying that the true home of +Israel must be in Palestine, and that a community in +Babylon could only be considered as subsidiary to the +nation in its own home and worshipping at the Temple. +Such a sentiment, at any rate, would have met with +universal approval amongst Palestinian Jews. The +chronicler might also have replied that the Jews in +<pb n='139'/><anchor id='Pg139'/> +Babylon belonged to Judah and Benjamin and were +sufficiently recognised in the general prominence give +to these tribes. In all probability some Palestinian +Jews would have been willing to class their Babylonian +kinsmen with the ten tribes. Voluntary exiles from +the Temple, the Holy City, and the Land of Promise +had in great measure cut themselves off from the full +privileges of the people of Jehovah. If, however, we +had a Babylonian book of Chronicles, we should see +both Jerusalem and Babylon in another light. +</p> + +<p> +The chronicler was possessed and inspired by the +actual living present round about him; he was content +to let the dead past bury its dead. He was +probably inclined to believe that the absent are mostly +wrong, and that the men who worked with him for +the Lord and His temple were the true Israel and +the Church of God. He was enthusiastic in his own +vocation and loyal to his brethren. If his interests +were somewhat narrowed by the urgency of present +circumstances, most men suffer from the same limitations. +Few Englishmen realise that the battle of +Agincourt is part of the history of the United States, +and that Canterbury Cathedral is a monument of certain +stages in the growth of the religion of New England. +We are not altogether willing to admit that these +voluntary exiles from our Holy Land belong to the +true Anglo-Saxon Israel. +</p> + +<p> +Churches are still apt to ignore their obligations to +teachers who, like the prophets of Samaria, seem +to have been associated with alien or hostile branches +of the family of God. A religious movement which +fails to secure for itself a permanent monument is +usually labelled heresy. If it has neither obtained +recognition within the Church nor yet organised a sect +<pb n='140'/><anchor id='Pg140'/> +for itself, its services are forgotten or denied. Even +the orthodoxy of one generation is sometimes contemptuous +of the older orthodoxy which made it +possible; and yet Gnostics, Arians and Athanasians, +Arminians and Calvinists, have all done something to +build up the temple of faith. +</p> + +<p> +The nineteenth century prides itself on a more liberal +spirit. But Romanist historians are not eager to +acknowledge the debt of their Church to the Reformers; +and there are Protestant partisans who deny that we +are the heirs of the Christian life and thought of the +mediæval Church and are anxious to trace the genealogy +of pure religion exclusively through a supposed succession +of obscure and half-mythical sects. Limitations +like those of the chronicler still narrow the sympathies +of earnest and devout Christians. +</p> + +<p> +But it is time to return to the more positive aspects +of the teaching of Chronicles, and to see how far we +have already traced its exposition of the Messianic +idea. The plan of the book implies a spiritual claim +on behalf of the Jewish community of the Restoration. +Because they believed in Jehovah, whose providence +had in former times controlled the destinies of Israel, +they returned to their ancestral home that they might +serve and worship the God of their fathers. Their +faith survived the ruin of Judah and their own captivity; +they recognised the power, and wisdom, and love of God +alike in the prosperity and in the misfortunes of their +race. <q>They believed God, and it was counted unto +them for righteousness.</q> The great prophet of the +Restoration had regarded this new Israel as itself a +Messianic people, perhaps even <q>a light to the Gentiles</q> +and <q>salvation unto the ends of the earth.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. xlix. 6.</note> The +<pb n='141'/><anchor id='Pg141'/> +chronicler's hopes were more modest; the new Jerusalem +had been seen by the prophet as an ideal vision; +the historian knew it by experience as an imperfect +human society: but he believed none the less in its high +spiritual vocation and prerogatives. He claimed the +future for those who were able to trace the hand of God +in their past. +</p> + +<p> +Under the monarchy the fortunes of Jerusalem had +been bound up with those of the house of David. +The chronicler brings out all that was best in the +history of the ancient kings of Judah, that this ideal +picture of the state and its rulers might encourage +and inspire to future hope and effort. The character +and achievements of David and his successors were +of permanent significance. The grace and favour +accorded to them symbolised the Divine promise for +the future, and this promise was to be realised through +a Son of David. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='142'/><anchor id='Pg142'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter III. David—II. His Personal History.</head> + +<p> +In order to understand why the chronicler entirely +recasts the graphic and candid history of David +given in the book of Samuel, we have to consider the +place that David had come to fill in Jewish religion. +It seems probable that among the sources used by the +author of the book of Samuel was a history of David, +written not long after his death, by some one familiar +with the inner life of the court. <q>No one,</q> says the +proverb, <q>is an hero to his valet</q>; very much what a +valet is to a private gentleman courtiers are to a king: +their knowledge of their master approaches to the +familiarity which breeds contempt. Not that David +was ever a subject for contempt or less than an hero +even to his own courtiers; but they knew him as a +very human hero, great in his vices as well as in his +virtues, daring in battle and wise in counsel, sometimes +also reckless in sin, yet capable of unbounded repentance, +loving not wisely, but too well. And as they +knew him, so they described him; and their picture is +an immortal possession for all students of sacred life +and literature. But it is not the portrait of a Messiah; +when we think of the <q>Son of David,</q> we do not want +to be reminded of Bath-sheba. +</p> + +<p> +During the six or seven centuries that elapsed between +<pb n='143'/><anchor id='Pg143'/> +the death of David and the chronicler, the name +of David had come to have a symbolic meaning, +which was largely independent of the personal character +and career of the actual king. His reign had become +idealised by the magic of antiquity; it was a glory of +<q>the good old times.</q> His own sins and failures were +obscured by the crimes and disasters of later kings. +And yet, in spite of all its shortcomings, the <q>house of +David</q> still remained the symbol alike of ancient glory +and of future hopes. We have seen from the genealogies +how intimate the connection was between the +family and its founder. Ephraim and Benjamin may +mean either patriarchs or tribes. A Jew was not +always anxious to distinguish between the family and +the founder. <q>David</q> and <q>the house of David</q> +became almost interchangeable terms. +</p> + +<p> +Even the prophets of the eighth century connect the +future destiny of Israel with David and his house. +The child, of whom Isaiah prophesied, was to sit <q>upon +the throne of David</q> and be <q>over his kingdom, to +establish it and to uphold it with judgment and with +righteousness from henceforth even for ever.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. ix. 7.</note> And, +again, the king who is to <q>sit ... in truth, ... judging, +and seeking judgment, and swift to do righteousness,</q> +is to have <q>his throne ... established in mercy in the +tent of David.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. xvi. 5.</note> When Sennacherib attacked Jerusalem, +the city was defended<note place='foot'>Isa. xxxvii. 35.</note> for Jehovah's own sake +and for His servant David's sake. In the word of the +Lord that came to Isaiah for Hezekiah, David supersedes, +as it were, the sacred fathers of the Hebrew +race; Jehovah is not spoken of as <q>the God of +Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,</q> but <q>the God of David.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. xxxviii. 5.</note> +<pb n='144'/><anchor id='Pg144'/> +As founder of the dynasty, he takes rank with the +founders of the race and religion of Israel: he is <q>the +patriarch David.</q><note place='foot'>Acts ii 29.</note> The northern prophet Hosea +looks forward to the time when <q>the children of Israel +shall return, and seek the Lord their God and David +their king</q><note place='foot'>Hos. iii. 5.</note>; when Amos wishes to set forth the +future prosperity of Israel, he says that the Lord <q>will +raise up the tabernacle of David</q><note place='foot'>Amos ix. 11.</note>; in Micah <q>the +ruler in Israel</q> is to come forth from Bethlehem +Ephrathah, the birthplace of David<note place='foot'>Micah v. 2.</note>; in Jeremiah +such references to David are frequent, the most +characteristic being those relating to the <q>righteous +branch, whom the Lord will raise up unto David,</q> who +<q>shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute +judgment and justice in the land, in whose days Judah +shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely</q><note place='foot'>Jer. xxiii. 5, 6; cf. xxxiii. 15 and Isa. iv. 2, xi. 1. The Hebrew +word used in the last passage is different from that in the preceding.</note>; in +Ezekiel <q>My servant David</q> is to be the shepherd and +prince of Jehovah's restored and reunited people<note place='foot'>Ezek. xxxiv. 23, 24; xxxvii. 24, 25.</note>; +Zechariah, writing at what we may consider the beginning +of the chronicler's own period, follows the language +of his predecessors: he applies Jeremiah's prophecy of +<q>the righteous branch</q> to Zerubbabel, the prince of +the house of David<note place='foot'>Zech. iii. 8; the text in vi. 12 is probably corrupt.</note>: similarly in Haggai Zerubbabel +is the chosen of Jehovah<note place='foot'>Hag. ii. 23.</note>; in the appendix to Zechariah +it is said that when <q>the Lord defends the inhabitants +of Jerusalem</q> <q>the house of David shall be as God, +as the angel of the Lord before them.</q><note place='foot'>Zech. xii. 8.</note> In the later +<pb n='145'/><anchor id='Pg145'/> +literature, Biblical and apocryphal, the Davidic origin +of the Messiah is not conspicuous till it reappears in +the Psalms of Solomon<note place='foot'>Written after the death of Pompey.</note> and the New Testament, but +the idea had not necessarily been dormant meanwhile. +The chronicler and his school studied and meditated +on the sacred writings, and must have been familiar +with this doctrine of the prophets. The interest in +such a subject would not be confined to scholars. +Doubtless the downtrodden people cherished with ever-growing +ardour the glorious picture of the Davidic +king. In the synagogues it was not only Moses, but +the Prophets, that were read; and they could never +allow the picture of the Messianic king to grow faint +and pale.<note place='foot'>Schultz, <hi rend='italic'>Old Testament Theology</hi>, ii. 444.</note> +</p> + +<p> +David's name was also familiar as the author of many +psalms. The inhabitants of Jerusalem would often +hear them sung at the Temple, and they were probably +used for private devotion. In this way especially the +name of David had become associated with the deepest +and purest spiritual experiences. +</p> + +<p> +This brief survey shows how utterly impossible it +was for the chronicler to transfer the older narrative +bodily from the book of Samuel to his own pages. +Large omissions were absolutely necessary. He could +not sit down in cold blood to tell his readers that the +man whose name they associated with the most sacred +memories and the noblest hopes of Israel had been +guilty of treacherous murder, and had offered himself +to the Philistines as an ally against the people of +Jehovah. +</p> + +<p> +From this point of view let us consider the chronicler's +omissions somewhat more in detail. In the first place, +<pb n='146'/><anchor id='Pg146'/> +with one or two slight exceptions, he omits the whole +of David's life before his accession to the throne, for +two reasons: partly because he is anxious that his +readers should think of David as king, the anointed +of Jehovah, the Messiah; partly that they may not be +reminded of his career as an outlaw and a freebooter +and of his alliance with the Philistines.<note place='foot'>An incidental reference is made to these facts in 1 Chron. xii. 19.</note> It is probably +only an unintentional result of this omission that it +enables the chronicler to ignore the important services +rendered to David by Abiathar, whose family were rivals +of the house of Zadok in the priesthood. +</p> + +<p> +We have already seen that the events of David's +reign at Hebron and his struggle with Ishbosheth are +omitted because the chronicler does not recognise +Ishbosheth as a legitimate king. The omission would +also commend itself because this section contains the +account of Joab's murder of Abner and David's inability +to do more than protest against the crime. <q>I am +this day weak, though anointed king; and these men +the sons of Zeruiah are too hard for me,</q><note place='foot'>2 Sam. iii. 39.</note> are scarcely +words that become an ideal king. +</p> + +<p> +The next point to notice is one of those significant +alterations that mark the chronicler's industry as a +redactor. In 2 Sam. v. 21 we read that after the +Philistines had been defeated at Baal-perazim they left +their images there, and David and his men took them +away. Why did they take them away? What did +David and his men want with images? Missionaries +bring home images as trophies, and exhibit them triumphantly, +like soldiers who have captured the enemy's +standards. No one, not even an unconverted native, +supposes that they have been brought away to be used +<pb n='147'/><anchor id='Pg147'/> +in worship. But the worship of images was no improbable +apostacy on the part of an Israelite king. +The chronicler felt that these ambiguous words were +open to misconstruction; so he tells us what he +assumes to have been their ultimate fate: <q>And they +left their gods there; and David gave commandment, +and they were burnt with fire.</q><note place='foot'>2 Sam. v. 21; 1 Chron. xiv. 12.</note> +</p> + +<p> +The next omission was obviously a necessary one; it is +the incident of Uriah and Bath-sheba. The name Bath-sheba +never occurs in Chronicles. When it is necessary +to mention the mother of Solomon, she is called +Bath-shua, possibly in order that the disgraceful incident +might not be suggested even by the use of the name. +The New Testament genealogies differ in this matter +in somewhat the same way as Samuel and Chronicles. +St. Matthew expressly mentions Uriah's wife as an +ancestress of our Lord, but St. Luke does not mention +her or any other ancestress. +</p> + +<p> +The next omission is equally extensive and important. +It includes the whole series of events connected with +the revolt of Absalom, from the incident of Tamar to +the suppression of the rebellion of Sheba the son of +Bichri. Various motives may have contributed to this +omission. The narrative contains unedifying incidents, +which are passed over as lightly as possible by modern +writers like Stanley. It was probably a relief to the +chronicler to be able to omit them altogether. There +is no heinous sin like the murder of Uriah, but the +story leaves a general impression of great weakness on +David's part. Joab murders Amasa as he had murdered +Abner, and this time there is no record of any protest +even on the part of David. But probably the main +<pb n='148'/><anchor id='Pg148'/> +reason for the omission of this narrative is that it mars +the ideal picture of David's power and dignity and the +success and prosperity of his reign. +</p> + +<p> +The touching story of Rizpah is omitted; the hanging +of her sons does not exhibit David in a very amiable +light. The Gibeonites propose that <q>they shall hang +them up unto the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen +of the Lord,</q> and David accepts the proposal. This +punishment of the children for the sin of their father +was expressly against the Law<note place='foot'>Deut. xxiv. 16, quoted in 2 Chron. xxv. 4.</note>; and the whole incident +was perilously akin to human sacrifice. How could +they be hung up before Jehovah in Gibeah unless +there was a sanctuary of Jehovah in Gibeah? And +why should Saul at such a time and in such a connection +be called emphatically <q>the chosen of Jehovah</q>? +On many grounds, it was a passage which the chronicler +would be glad to omit. +</p> + +<p> +In 2 Sam. xxi. 15-17 we are told that David waxed +faint and had to be rescued by Abishai. This is omitted +by Chronicles probably because it detracts from the +character of David as the ideal hero. The next paragraph +in Samuel also tended to depreciate David's +prowess. It stated that Goliath was slain by Elhanan. +The chronicler introduces a correction. It was not +Goliath whom Elhanan slew, but Lahmi, the brother of +Goliath. However, the text in Samuel is evidently +corrupt; and possibly this is one of the cases in which +Chronicles has preserved the correct text.<note place='foot'>2 Sam. xxi. 19; 1 Chron. xx. 5.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Then follow two omissions that are not easily +accounted for. 2 Sam. xxii., xxiii., contain two psalms, +Psalm xviii. and <q>the Last Words of David,</q> the latter +not included in the Psalter. These psalms are generally +<pb n='149'/><anchor id='Pg149'/> +considered a late addition to the book of Samuel, and +it is barely possible that they were not in the copy +used by the chronicler; but the late date of Chronicles +makes against this supposition. The psalms may be +omitted for the sake of brevity, and yet elsewhere a +long cento of passages from post-Exilic psalms is added +to the material derived from the book of Samuel. +Possibly something in the omitted section jarred upon +the theological sensibilities of the chronicler, but it is +not clear what. He does not as a rule look below the +surface for obscure suggestions of undesirable views. +The grounds of his alterations and omissions are usually +sufficiently obvious; but these particular omissions +are not at present susceptible of any obvious explanation. +Further research into the theology of Judaism +may perhaps provide us with one hereafter. +</p> + +<p> +Finally, the chronicler omits the attempt of Adonijah +to seize the throne, and David's dying commands to +Solomon. The opening chapters of the book of Kings +present a graphic and pathetic picture of the closing +scenes of David's life. The king is exhausted with old +age. His authoritative sanction to the coronation of +Solomon is only obtained when he has been roused +and directed by the promptings and suggestions of the +women of his harem. The scene is partly a parallel +and partly a contrast to the last days of Queen +Elizabeth; for when <emph>her</emph> bodily strength failed, the +obstinate Tudor spirit refused to be guided by the suggestions +of her courtiers. The chronicler was depicting +a person of almost Divine dignity, in whom incidents +of human weakness would have been out of keeping; +and therefore they are omitted. +</p> + +<p> +David's charge to Solomon is equally human. +Solomon is to make up for David's weakness and +<pb n='150'/><anchor id='Pg150'/> +undue generosity by putting Joab and Shimei to death; +on the other hand, he is to pay David's debt of gratitude +to the son of Barzillai. But the chronicler felt that +David's mind in those last days must surely have been +occupied with the temple which Solomon was to build, +and the less edifying charge is omitted. +</p> + +<p> +Constantine is reported to have said that, for the +honour of the Church, he would conceal the sin of a +bishop with his own imperial purple. David was more +to the chronicler than the whole Christian episcopate +to Constantine. His life of David is compiled in the +spirit and upon the principles of lives of saints generally, +and his omissions are made in perfect good +faith. +</p> + +<p> +Let us now consider the positive picture of David as +it is drawn for us in Chronicles. Chronicles would be +published separately, each copy written out on a roll +of its own. There may have been Jews who had +Chronicles, but not Samuel and Kings, and who knew +nothing about David except what they learned from +Chronicles. Possibly the chronicler and his friends +would recommend the work as suitable for the education +of children and the instruction of the common people. +It would save its readers from being perplexed by the +religious difficulties suggested by Samuel and Kings. +There were many obstacles, however, to the success of +such a scheme; the persecutions of Antiochus and the +wars of the Maccabees took the leadership out of the +hands of scholars and gave it to soldiers and statesmen. +The latter perhaps felt more drawn to the real David +than to the ideal, and the new priestly dynasty would +not be anxious to emphasise the Messianic hopes of the +house of David. But let us put ourselves for a moment +in the position of a student of Hebrew history who +<pb n='151'/><anchor id='Pg151'/> +reads of David for the first time in Chronicles and has +no other source of information. +</p> + +<p> +Our first impression as we read the book is that +David comes into the history as abruptly as Elijah or +Melchizedek. Jehovah slew Saul <q>and turned the +kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.</q><note place='foot'>1 Chron. x. 14.</note> Apparently +the Divine appointment is promptly and enthusiastically +accepted by the nation; all the twelve tribes come at +once in their tens and hundreds of thousands to Hebron +to make David king. They then march straight to +Jerusalem and take it by storm, and forthwith attempt +to bring up the Ark to Zion. An unfortunate accident +necessitates a delay of three months, but at the end +of that time the Ark is solemnly installed in a tent at +Jerusalem.<note place='foot'>Cf. xi. 1-9; xii. 23-xiii. 14; xv.</note> +</p> + +<p> +We are not told who David the son of Jesse was, +or why the Divine choice fell upon him, or how he +had been prepared for his responsible position, or +how he had so commended himself to Israel as to be +accepted with universal acclaim. He must, however, +have been of noble family and high character; and it +is hinted that he had had a distinguished career as a +soldier.<note place='foot'>1 Chron. xi. 2.</note> We should expect to find his name in the +introductory genealogies; and if we have read these +lists of names with conscientious attention, we shall +remember that there are sundry incidental references +to David, and that he was the seventh son of Jesse,<note place='foot'>1 Chron. ii. 15.</note> +who was descended from the Patriarch Judah, through +Boaz, the husband of Ruth. +</p> + +<p> +As we read further we come to other references +which throw some light on David's early career, and +at the same time somewhat mar the symmetry of the +<pb n='152'/><anchor id='Pg152'/> +opening narrative. The wide discrepancy between the +chronicler's idea of David and the account given by +his authorities prevents him from composing his work +on an entirely consecutive and consistent plan. We +gather that there was a time when David was in +rebellion against his predecessor, and maintained +himself at Ziklag and elsewhere, keeping <q>himself +close, because of Saul the son of Kish,</q> and even that +he came with the Philistines against Saul to battle, +but was prevented by the jealousy of the Philistine +chiefs from actually fighting against Saul. There is +nothing to indicate the occasion or circumstances of +these events.<note place='foot'>1 Chron. xii. 1, 19. There is no certain indication of the date +of the events in xi. 10-25. The fact that a <q>hold</q> is mentioned in +xi. 16, as in xii. 8, 16, is not conclusive proof that they refer to the +same period.</note> But it appears that even at this period, +when David was in arms against the king of Israel +and an ally of the Philistines, he was the chosen +leader of Israel. Men flocked to him from Judah and +Benjamin, Manasseh and Gad, and doubtless from the +other tribes as well: <q>From day to day there came to +David to help him, until it was a great host like the +host of God.</q><note place='foot'>xii. 20.</note> +</p> + +<p> +This chapter partly explains David's popularity after +Saul's death; but it only carries the mystery a stage +further back. How did this outlaw and apparently +unpatriotic rebel get so strong a hold on the affections +of Israel? +</p> + +<p> +Chap. xii. also provides material for plausible explanations +of another difficulty. In chap. x. the army +of Israel is routed, the inhabitants of the land take +to flight, and the Philistines occupy their cities; in +<pb n='153'/><anchor id='Pg153'/> +xi. and xii. 23-40 all Israel come straightway to +Hebron in the most peaceful and unconcerned fashion +to make David king. Are we to understand that his +Philistine allies, mindful of that <q>great host, like the +host of God,</q> all at once changed their minds and +entirely relinquished the fruits of their victory? +</p> + +<p> +Elsewhere, however, we find a statement that renders +other explanations possible. David reigned seven years +in Hebron,<note place='foot'>1 Chron. xxix. 27.</note> so that our first impression as to the rapid +sequence of events at the beginning of his reign is +apparently not correct, and there was time in these +seven years for a more gradual expulsion of the Philistines. +It is doubtful, however, whether the chronicler +intended his original narrative to be thus modified and +interpreted. +</p> + +<p> +The main thread of the history is interrupted here +and later on<note place='foot'>xi. 10-47; xx. 4-8.</note> to insert incidents which illustrate the +personal courage and prowess of David and his warriors. +We are also told how busily occupied David was during +the three months' sojourn of the Ark in the house of +Obed-edom the Gittite. He accepted an alliance with +Hiram, king of Tyre; he added to his harem; he +successfully repelled two inroads of the Philistines, +and made him houses in the city of David.<note place='foot'>xiii. 14-xvi.</note> +</p> + +<p> +The narrative returns to its main subject: the history +of the sanctuary at Jerusalem. As soon as the Ark +was duly installed in its tent, and David was established +in his new palace, he was struck by the contrast between +the tent and the palace: <q>Lo, I dwell in a house of +cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord dwelleth +under curtains.</q> He proposed to substitute a temple +for the tent, but was forbidden by his prophet Nathan, +<pb n='154'/><anchor id='Pg154'/> +through whom God promised him that his son should +build the Temple, and that his house should be +established for ever.<note place='foot'>xvii.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Then we read of the wars, victories, and conquests +of David. He is no longer absorbed in the defence +of Israel against the Philistines. He takes the +aggressive and conquers Gath; he conquers Edom, +Moab, Ammon, and Amalek; he and his armies defeat +the Syrians in several battles, the Syrians become +tributary, and David occupies Damascus with a garrison. +<q>And the Lord gave victory to David whithersoever he +went.</q> The conquered were treated after the manner +of those barbarous times. David and his generals +carried off much spoil, especially brass, and silver, and +gold; and when he conquered Rabbah, the capital of +Ammon, <q>he brought forth the people that were therein, +and cut them with saws, and with harrows of iron, and +with axes. And thus did David unto all the cities of +the children of Ammon.</q> Meanwhile his home administration +was as honourable as his foreign wars were +glorious: <q>He executed judgment and justice unto all +his people</q>; and the government was duly organised +with commanders of the host and the bodyguard, with +priests and scribes.<note place='foot'>xviii.; xx. 3.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Then follows a mysterious and painful dispensation +of Providence, which the historian would gladly have +omitted, if his respect for the memory of his hero had +not been overruled by his sense of the supreme importance +of the Temple. David, like Job, was given over +for a season to Satan, and while possessed by this evil +spirit displeased God by numbering Israel. His punishment +took the form of a great pestilence, which decimated +<pb n='155'/><anchor id='Pg155'/> +his people, until, by Divine command, David erected an +altar in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite and +offered sacrifices upon it, whereupon the plague was +stayed. David at once perceived the significance of +this incident: Jehovah had indicated the site of the +future Temple. <q>This is the house of Jehovah Elohim,<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>I.e.</hi>, virtually Jehovah our God and the only true God.</note> +and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel.</q><note place='foot'>For a more detailed treatment of this incident see chap. ix.</note> +</p> + +<p> +This revelation of the Divine will as to the position +of the Temple led David to proceed at once with preparations +for its erection by Solomon, which occupied +all his energies for the remainder of his life.<note place='foot'>xxi.-xxix.</note> He +gathered funds and materials, and gave his son full +instructions about the building; he organised the +priests and Levites, the Temple orchestra and choir, +the doorkeepers, treasurers, officers, and judges; he +also organised the army, the tribes, and the royal +exchequer on the model of the corresponding arrangements +for the Temple. +</p> + +<p> +Then follows the closing scene of David's life. The +sun of Israel sets amid the flaming glories of the +western sky. No clouds or mists rob him of accustomed +splendour. David calls a great assembly of princes +and warriors; he addresses a solemn exhortation to +them and to Solomon; he delivers to his son instructions +for <q>all the works</q> which <q>I have been made +to understand in writing from the hand of Jehovah.</q> +It is almost as though the plans of the Temple had +shared with the first tables of stone the honour of being +written with the very finger of God Himself, and +David were even greater than Moses. He reminds +Solomon of all the preparations he had made, and +<pb n='156'/><anchor id='Pg156'/> +appeals to the princes and the people for further gifts; +and they render willingly—thousands of talents of +gold, and silver, and brass, and iron. David offers +prayer and thanksgiving to the Lord: <q>And David +said to all the congregation, Now bless Jehovah our +God. And all the congregation blessed Jehovah, the +God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, +and worshipped Jehovah <emph>and the king</emph>. And they +sacrificed sacrifices unto Jehovah, and offered burnt +offerings unto Jehovah, on the morrow after that day, +even a thousand bullocks, a thousand rams, and a +thousand lambs, with their drink offerings and sacrifices +in abundance for all Israel, and did eat and drink +before Jehovah on that day with great gladness. And +they made Solomon king; ... and David died in a +good old age, full of days, riches, and honour, and +Solomon his son reigned in his stead.</q><note place='foot'>xxix. 20-22, 28.</note> +</p> + +<p> +The Roman expressed his idea of a becoming death +more simply: <q>An emperor should die standing.</q> The +chronicler has given us the same view at greater length; +this is how the chronicler would have wished to die if +he had been David, and how, therefore, he conceives +that God honoured the last hours of the man after His +own heart. +</p> + +<p> +It is a strange contrast to the companion picture in +the book of Kings. There the king is bedridden, +dying slowly of old age; the life-blood creeps coldly +through his veins. The quiet of the sick-room is +invaded by the shrill outcry of an aggrieved woman, +and the dying king is roused to hear that once more +eager hands are clutching at his crown. If the +chronicler has done nothing else, he has helped us +<pb n='157'/><anchor id='Pg157'/> +to appreciate better the gloom and bitterness of the +tragedy that was enacted in the last days of David. +</p> + +<p> +What idea does Chronicles give us of the man and +his character? He is first and foremost a man of +earnest piety and deep spiritual feeling. Like the +great religious leaders of the chronicler's own time, +his piety found its chief expression in ritual. The +main business of his life was to provide for the sanctuary +and its services; that is, for the highest fellowship of +God and man, according to the ideas then current. +But David is no mere formalist; the psalm of thanksgiving +for the return of the Ark to Jerusalem is a worthy +tribute to the power and faithfulness of Jehovah.<note place='foot'>xvi. 8-36.</note> His +prayer after God had promised to establish his dynasty +is instinct with devout confidence and gratitude.<note place='foot'>xvii. 16-27.</note> But +the most gracious and appropriate of these Davidic +utterances is his last prayer and thanksgiving for the +liberal gifts of the people for the Temple.<note place='foot'>For a short exposition of this passage see Book. IV., Chap. i.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Next to David's enthusiasm for the Temple, his most +conspicuous qualities are those of a general and soldier: +he has great personal strength and courage, and is +uniformly successful in wars against numerous and +powerful enemies; his government is both able and +upright; his great powers as an organiser and administrator +are exercised both in secular and ecclesiastical +matters; in a word, he is in more senses than one +an ideal king. +</p> + +<p> +Moreover, like Alexander, Marlborough, Napoleon, +and other epoch-making conquerors, he had a great +charm of personal attractiveness; he inspired his +officers and soldiers with enthusiasm and devotion to +<pb n='158'/><anchor id='Pg158'/> +himself. The pictures of all Israel flocking to him in the +first days of his reign and even earlier, when he was an +outlaw, are forcible illustrations of this wonderful gift; +and the same feature of his character is at once illustrated +and partly explained by the romantic episode at +Adullam. What greater proof of affection could outlaws +give to their captain than to risk their lives to get him +a draught of water from the well of Bethlehem? How +better could David have accepted and ratified their +devotion than by pouring out this water as a most +precious libation to God?<note place='foot'>1 Chron. xi. 15-19.</note> But the chronicler gives +most striking expression to the idea of David's popularity +when he finally tells us in the same breath that +the people worshipped Jehovah and the king.<note place='foot'>xxix. 20.</note> +</p> + +<p> +In drawing an ideal picture, our author has naturally +omitted incidents that might have revealed the defects +of his hero. Such omissions deceive no one, and are +not meant to deceive any one. Yet David's failings +are not altogether absent from this history. He has +those vices which were characteristic alike of his own +age and of the chronicler's, and which indeed are not +yet wholly extinct. He could treat his prisoners with +barbarous cruelty. His pride led him to number +Israel, but his repentance was prompt and thorough; +and the incident brings out alike both his faith in God +and his care for his people. When the whole episode +is before us, it does not lessen our love and respect for +David. The reference to his alliance with the Philistines +is vague and incidental. If this were our only +account of the matter, we should interpret it by the +rest of his life, and conclude that if all the facts were +known, they would justify his conduct. +</p> + +<pb n='159'/><anchor id='Pg159'/> + +<p> +In forming a general estimate of David according to +Chronicles, we may fairly neglect these less satisfactory +episodes. Briefly David is perfect saint and perfect +king, beloved of God and man. +</p> + +<p> +A portrait reveals the artist as well as the model +and the chronicler in depicting David gives indications +of the morality of his own times. We may deduce +from his omissions a certain progress in moral sensitiveness. +The book of Samuel emphatically condemns +David's treachery towards Uriah, and is conscious of +the discreditable nature of many incidents connected +with the revolts of Absalom and Adonijah; but the +silence of Chronicles implies an even severer condemnation. +In other matters, however, the chronicler +<q>judges himself in that which he approveth.</q><note place='foot'>Rom. xiv. 22.</note> Of +course the first business of an ancient king was to +protect his people from their enemies and to enrich +them at the expense of their neighbours. The urgency +of these duties may excuse, but not justify, the neglect +of the more peaceful departments of the administration. +The modern reader is struck by the little stress laid by +the narrative upon good government at home; it is +just mentioned, and that is about all. As the sentiment +of international morality is even now only in its infancy, +we cannot wonder at its absence from Chronicles; but +we are a little surprised to find that cruelty towards +prisoners is included without comment in the character +of the ideal king.<note place='foot'>2 Sam. xii. 31; 1 Chron. xx. 3.</note> It is curious that the account in the +book of Samuel is slightly ambiguous and might +possibly admit of a comparatively mild interpretation; +but Chronicles, according to the ordinary translation, +says definitely, <q>He <emph>cut</emph> them with saws.</q> The mere +<pb n='160'/><anchor id='Pg160'/> +reproduction of this passage need not imply full and +deliberate approval of its contents; but it would not +have been allowed to remain in the picture of the ideal +king, if the chronicler had felt any strong conviction as +to the duty of humanity towards one's enemies. +Unfortunately we know from the book of Esther and +elsewhere that later Judaism had not attained to any +wide enthusiasm of humanity. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='161'/><anchor id='Pg161'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter IV. David—III. His Official Dignity.</head> + +<p> +In estimating the personal character of David, we +have seen that one element of it was his ideal +kingship. Apart from his personality, his name is +significant for Old Testament theology, as that of the +typical king. From the time when the royal title +<q>Messiah</q> began to be a synonym for the hope of +Israel, down to the period when the Anglican Church +taught the Divine right of kings, and Calvinists insisted +on the Divine sovereignty or royal authority of God, +the dignity and power of the King of kings have always +been illustrated by, and sometimes associated with, the +state of an earthly monarch—whereof David is the most +striking example. +</p> + +<p> +The times of the chronicler were favourable to the +development of the idea of the perfect king of Israel, +the prince of the house of David. There was no king +in Israel; and, as far as we can gather, the living representatives +of the house of David held no very prominent +position in the community. It is much easier to draw +a satisfactory picture of the ideal monarch when the +imagination is not checked and hampered by the faults +and failings of an actual Ahaz or Hezekiah. In earlier +times the prophetic hopes for the house of David had +often been rudely disappointed, but there had been +<pb n='162'/><anchor id='Pg162'/> +ample space to forget the past and to revive the old +hopes in fresh splendour and magnificence. Lack of +experience helped to commend the idea of the Davidic +king to the chronicler. Enthusiasm for a benevolent +despot is mostly confined to those who have not enjoyed +the privilege of living under such autocratic government. +</p> + +<p> +On the other hand, there was no temptation to flatter +any living Davidic king, so that the semi-Divine character +of the kingship of David is not set forth after the +gross and almost blasphemous style of Roman emperors +or Turkish sultans. It is indeed said that the people +worshipped Jehovah and the king; but the essential +character of Jewish thought made it impossible that +the ideal king should sit <q>in the temple of God, setting +himself forth as God.</q> David and Solomon could not +share with the pagan emperors the honours of Divine +worship in their life-time and apotheosis after their +death. Nothing addressed to any Hebrew king parallels +the panegyric to the Christian emperor Theodosius, in +which allusion is made to his <q>sacred mind,</q> and he is +told that <q>as the Fates are said to assist with their +tablets <emph>that God who is the partner in your majesty</emph>, so +does some Divine power serve your bidding, which +writes down and in due time suggests to your memory +the promises which you have made.</q><note place='foot'>Hodgkin, <hi rend='italic'>Italy and her Invaders</hi>, i. 205.</note> Nor does +Chronicles adorn the kings of Judah with extravagant +Oriental titles, such as <q>King of kings of kings of +kings.</q> Devotion to the house of David never oversteps +the bounds of a due reverence, but the Hebrew +idea of monarchy loses nothing by this salutary reserve. +</p> + +<p> +Indeed, the title of the royal house of Judah rested +upon Divine appointment. <q>Jehovah ... turned the +<pb n='163'/><anchor id='Pg163'/> +kingdom unto David; ... and they anointed David +king over Israel, according to the word of Jehovah by +the hand of Samuel.</q><note place='foot'>x. 14; xi. 3.</note> But the Divine choice was +confirmed by the cordial consent of the nation; the +sovereigns of Judah, like those of England, ruled by +the grace of God and the will of the people. Even +before David's accession the Israelites had flocked to +his standard; and after the death of Saul a great array +of the twelve tribes came to Hebron to make David +king, <q>and all the rest also of Israel were of one heart +to make David king.</q><note place='foot'>xii. 38.</note> Similarly Solomon is the king +<q>whom God hath chosen,</q> and all the congregation +make him king and anoint him to be prince.<note place='foot'>xxix. 1, 22.</note> The +double election of David by Jehovah and by the nation +is clearly set forth in the book of Samuel, and in +Chronicles the omission of David's early career emphasises +this election. In the book of Samuel we are +shown the natural process that brought about the +change of dynasty; we see how the Divine choice took +effect through the wars between Saul and the Philistines +and through David's own ability and energy. Chronicles +is mostly silent as to secondary causes, and fixes +our attention on the Divine choice as the ultimate ground +for David's elevation. +</p> + +<p> +The authority derived from God and the people continued +to rest on the same basis. David sought Divine +direction alike for the building of the Temple and for +his campaigns against the Philistines. At the same +time, when he wished to bring up the Ark to Jerusalem, +he <q>consulted with the captains of thousands and of +hundreds, even with every leader; and David said unto +all the assembly of Israel, If it seem good unto you, +<pb n='164'/><anchor id='Pg164'/> +and if it be of Jehovah our God, ... let us bring again +the ark of our God to us; ... and all the assembly +said that they would do so, for the thing was right in +the eyes of all the people.</q><note place='foot'>xiii. 2-4.</note> Of course the chronicler +does not intend to describe a constitutional monarchy, +in which an assembly of the people had any legal +status. Apparently in his own time the Jews exercised +their measure of local self-government through an +informal oligarchy, headed by the high-priest; and +these authorities occasionally appealed to an assembly +of the people. The administration under the monarchy +was carried on in a somewhat similar fashion, only the +king had greater authority than the high-priest, and +the oligarchy of notables were not so influential as the +colleagues of the latter. But apart from any formal +constitution the chronicler's description of these incidents +involves a recognition of the principle of popular +consent in government as well as the doctrine that civil +order rests upon a Divine sanction. +</p> + +<p> +It is interesting to see how a member of a great +ecclesiastical community, imbued, as we should suppose, +with all the spirit of priestcraft, yet insists upon the +royal supremacy both in state and Church. But to +have done otherwise would have been to go in the +teeth of all history; even in the Pentateuch the <q>king +in Jeshurun</q> is greater than the priest. Moreover, the +chronicler was not a priest, but a Levite; and there are +indications that the Levites' ancient jealousy of the +priests had by no means died out. In Chronicles, at +any rate, there is no question of priests interfering +with the king's secular administration. They are not +even mentioned as obtaining oracles for David as +<pb n='165'/><anchor id='Pg165'/> +Abiathar did before his accession.<note place='foot'>1 Sam. xxiii. 9-13; xxx. 7, 8.</note> This was doubtless +implied in the original account of the Philistine raids +in chap. xiv., but the chronicler may not have understood +that <q>inquiring of God</q> meant obtaining an +oracle from the priests. +</p> + +<p> +The king is equally supreme also in ecclesiastical +affairs; we might even say that the civil authorities +generally shared this supremacy. Somewhat after the +fashion of Cromwell and his major-generals, David +utilised <q>the captains of the host</q> as a kind of ministry +of public worship; they joined with him in organising +the orchestra and choir for the services of the sanctuary<note place='foot'>xxv. 1, 2.</note>: +probably Napoleon and his marshals would +have had no hesitation in selecting anthems for Notre +Dame if the idea had occurred to them. David also consulted +his captains,<note place='foot'>xiii. 1.</note> and not the priests, about bringing +the Ark to Jerusalem. When he gathered the great +assembly to make his final arrangements for the building +of the Temple, the princes and captains, the rulers +and mighty men, are mentioned, but no priests.<note place='foot'>xxviii. 1.</note> And, +last, all the congregation apparently anoint<note place='foot'>xxix. 22.</note> Zadok to +be priest. The chronicler was evidently a pronounced +Erastian.<note place='foot'>But cf. 2 Chr. xxvi.</note> David is no mere nominal head of the +Church; he takes the initiative in all important matters, +and receives the Divine commands either directly or +through his prophets Nathan and Gad. Now these +prophets are not ecclesiastical authorities; they have +nothing to do with the priesthood, and do not correspond +to the officials of an organised Church. They +are rather the domestic chaplains or confessors of the +king, differing from modern chaplains and confessors +in having no ecclesiastical superiors. They were +<pb n='166'/><anchor id='Pg166'/> +not responsible to the bishop of any diocese or the +general of any order; they did not manipulate the royal +conscience in the interests of any party in the Church; +they served God and the king, and had no other +masters. They did not beard David before his people, +as Ambrose confronted Theodosius or as Chrysostom +rated Eudoxia; they delivered their message to David +in private, and on occasion he communicated it to the +people.<note place='foot'>Cf. xvii. 4-15 and xxviii. 2-10.</note> The king's spiritual dignity is rather enhanced +than otherwise by this reception of prophetic messages +specially delivered to himself. There is another +aspect of the royal supremacy in religion. In this particular +instance its object is largely the exaltation of +David; to arrange for public worship is the most +honourable function of the ideal king. At the same +time the care of the sanctuary is his most sacred duty, +and is assigned to him that it may be punctually and +worthily discharged. State establishment of the Church +is combined with a very thorough control of the Church +by the state. +</p> + +<p> +We see then that the monarchy rested on Divine +and national election, and was guided by the will of +God and of the people. Indeed, in bringing up the +Ark<note place='foot'>xiii. 1-14.</note> the consent of the people is the only recorded indication +of the will of God. <q>Vox populi vox Dei.</q> The +king and his government are supreme alike over the +state and the sanctuary, and are entrusted with the +charge of providing for public worship. Let us try to +express the modern equivalents of these principles. +Civil government is of Divine origin, and should obtain +the consent of the people; it should be carried on +according to the will of God, freely accepted by the +<pb n='167'/><anchor id='Pg167'/> +nation. The civil authority is supreme both in Church +and state, and is responsible for the maintenance of +public worship. +</p> + +<p> +One at least of these principles is so widely accepted +that it is quite independent of any Scriptural sanction +from Chronicles. The consent of the people has long +been accepted as an essential condition of any stable +government. The sanctity of civil government and the +sacredness of its responsibilities are coming to be +recognised, at present perhaps rather in theory than +in practice. We have not yet fully realised how the +truth underlying the doctrine of the Divine right of +kings applies to modern conditions. Formerly the +king was the representative of the state, or even the +state itself; that is to say, the king directly or indirectly +maintained social order, and provided for the +security of life and property. The Divine appointment +and authority of the king expressed the sanctity of +law and order as the essential conditions of moral and +spiritual progress. The king is no longer the state. +His Divine right, however, belongs to him, not as +a person or as a member of a family, but as the +embodiment of the state, the champion of social order +against anarchy. The <q>Divinity that doth hedge a +king</q> is now shared by the sovereign with all the +various departments of government. The state—that +is to say, the community organised for the common +good and for mutual help—is now to be recognised as +of Divine appointment and as wielding a Divine +authority. <q>The Lord has turned the kingdom to</q> +the people. +</p> + +<p> +This revolution is so tremendous that it would not +be safe to apply to the modern state the remaining +principles of the chronicler. Before we could do so +<pb n='168'/><anchor id='Pg168'/> +we should need to enter into a discussion which would +be out of place here, even if we had space for it. +</p> + +<p> +In one point the new democracies agree with the +chronicler: they are not inclined to submit secular +affairs to the domination of ecclesiastical officials. +</p> + +<p> +The questions of the supremacy of the state over +the Church and of the state establishment of the Church +involve larger and more complicated issues than existed +in the mind or experience of the chronicler. But his +picture of the ideal king suggests one idea that is in +harmony with some modern aspirations. In Chronicles +the king, as the representative of the state, is the +special agent in providing for the highest spiritual +needs of the people. May we venture to hope that +out of the moral consciousness of a nation united in +mutual sympathy and service there may arise a new +enthusiasm to obey and worship God? Human cruelty +is the greatest stumbling-block to belief and fellowship; +when the state has somewhat mitigated the misery of +<q>man's inhumanity to man,</q> faith in God will be +easier. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='169'/><anchor id='Pg169'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter V. Solomon.</head> + +<p> +The chronicler's history of Solomon is constructed +on the same principles as that of David, and for +similar reasons. The builder of the first Temple commanded +the grateful reverence of a community whose +national and religious life centred in the second Temple. +While the Davidic king became the symbol of the hope +of Israel, the Jews could not forget that this symbol +derived much of its significance from the widespread +dominion and royal magnificence of Solomon. The +chronicler, indeed, attributes great splendour to the +court of David, and ascribes to him a lion's share in +the Temple itself. He provided his successor with +treasure and materials and even the complete plans, +so that on the principle, <q>Qui facit per alium, facit per se,</q> +David might have been credited with the actual building. +Solomon was almost in the position of a modern +engineer who puts together a steamer that has been +built in sections. But, with all these limitations, the +clear and obvious fact remained that Solomon actually +built and dedicated the Temple. Moreover, the memory +of his wealth and grandeur kept a firm hold on the +popular imagination; and these conspicuous blessings +were received as certain tokens of the favour of +Jehovah. +</p> + +<pb n='170'/><anchor id='Pg170'/> + +<p> +Solomon's fame, however, was threefold: he was not +only the Divinely appointed builder of the Temple and, +by the same Divine grace, the richest and most powerful +king of Israel: he had also received from Jehovah the +gift of <q>wisdom and knowledge.</q> In his royal splendour +and his sacred buildings he only differed in degree +from other kings; but in his wisdom he stood alone, +not only without equal, but almost without competitor. +Herein he was under no obligation to his father, and +the glory of Solomon could not be diminished by +representing that he had been anticipated by David. +Hence the name of Solomon came to symbolise Hebrew +learning and philosophy. +</p> + +<p> +In religious significance, however, Solomon cannot +rank with David. The dynasty of Judah could have +only one representative, and the founder and eponym +of the royal house was the most important figure for the +subsequent theology. The interest that later generations +felt in Solomon lay apart from the main line of +Jewish orthodoxy, and he is never mentioned by the +prophets.<note place='foot'>The casual reference in Jer. lii. 20 is only an apparent exception. +The passage is really historical, and not prophetic.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Moreover, the darker aspects of Solomon's reign +made more impression upon succeeding generations +than even David's sins and misfortunes. Occasional +lapses into vice and cruelty might be forgiven or even +forgotten; but the systematic oppression of Solomon +rankled for long generations in the hearts of the people, +and the prophets always remembered his wanton +idolatry. His memory was further discredited by the +disasters which marked the close of his own reign and +the beginning of Rehoboam's. Centuries later these +<pb n='171'/><anchor id='Pg171'/> +feelings still prevailed. The prophets who adapted +the Mosaic law for the closing period of the monarchy +exhort the king to take warning by Solomon, and to +multiply neither horses, nor wives, nor gold and silver.<note place='foot'>Deut. xvii. 16, 17; cf. 2 Chron. i. 14-17 and 1 Kings xi. 3-8.</note> +</p> + +<p> +But as time went on Judah fell into growing poverty +and distress, which came to a head in the Captivity, +and were renewed with the Restoration. The Jews +were willing to forget Solomon's faults in order that +they might indulge in fond recollections of the material +prosperity of his reign. Their experience of the culture +of Babylon led them to feel greater interest and pride +in his wisdom, and the figure of Solomon began to +assume a mysterious grandeur, which has since become +the nucleus for Jewish and Mohammedan legends. +The chief monument of his fame in Jewish literature is +the book of Proverbs, but his growing reputation is +shown by the numerous Biblical and apocryphal works +ascribed to him. His name was no doubt attached to +Canticles because of a feature in his character which +the chronicler ignores. His supposed authorship of +Ecclesiastes and of the Wisdom of Solomon testifies to +the fame of his wisdom, while the titles of the <q>Psalms +of Solomon</q> and even of some canonical psalms credit +him with spiritual feeling and poetic power.<note place='foot'>Psalms lxxii. and cxxvii. are attributed to him, the latter, however, +only in the Hebrew Bible.</note> +</p> + +<p> +When the Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach proposes +to <q>praise famous men,</q> it dwells upon Solomon's +temple and his wealth, and especially upon his wisdom; +but it does not forget his failings.<note place='foot'>Ecclus. xlvii. 12-21.</note> Josephus celebrates +his glory at great length. The New Testament has +comparatively few notices of Solomon; but these include +<pb n='172'/><anchor id='Pg172'/> +references to his wisdom,<note place='foot'>Matt. xii. 42.</note> his splendour,<note place='foot'>Matt. vi. 29.</note> and his +temple.<note place='foot'>Acts vii. 47.</note> The Koran, however, far surpasses the New +Testament in its interest in Solomon; and his name +and his seal play a leading part in Jewish and Arabian +magic. The bulk of this literature is later than the +chronicler, but the renewed interest in the glory of +Solomon must have begun before his time. Perhaps, +by connecting the building of the Temple as far as +possible with David, the chronicler marks his sense of +Solomon's unworthiness. On the other hand, there +were many reasons why he should welcome the aid +of popular sentiment to enable him to include Solomon +among the ideal Hebrew kings. After all, Solomon +had built and dedicated the Temple; he was the <q>pious +founder,</q> and the beneficiaries of the foundation would +wish to make the most of his piety. <q>Jehovah</q> had +<q>magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all +Israel, and bestowed upon him such royal majesty as +had not been on any king before him in Israel.</q><note place='foot'>1 Chron. xxix. 25.</note> +<q>King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in +riches and wisdom; and all the kings of the earth +sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, +which God had put in his heart.</q><note place='foot'>2 Chron. ix. 22, 23.</note> The chronicler would +naturally wish to set forth the better side of Solomon's +character as an ideal of royal wisdom and splendour, +devoted to the service of the sanctuary. Let us briefly +compare Chronicles and Kings to see how he accomplished +his purpose. +</p> + +<p> +The structure of the narrative in Kings rendered the +task comparatively easy: it could be accomplished by +removing the opening and closing sections and making +<pb n='173'/><anchor id='Pg173'/> +a few minor changes in the intermediate portion. The +opening section is the sequel to the conclusion of +David's reign; the chronicler omitted this conclusion, +and therefore also its sequel. But the contents of this +section were objectionable in themselves. Solomon's +admirers willingly forget that his reign was inaugurated +by the execution of Shimei, of his brother Adonijah, +and of his father's faithful minister Joab, and by the +deposition of the high-priest Abiathar. The chronicler +narrates with evident approval the strong measures of +Ezra and Nehemiah against foreign marriages, and he +is therefore not anxious to remind his readers that +Solomon married Pharaoh's daughter. He does not, +however, carry out his plan consistently. Elsewhere +he wishes to emphasise the sanctity of the Ark and +tells us that <q>Solomon brought up the daughter of +Pharaoh out of the city of David unto the house that +he had built for her, for he said, My wife shall not dwell +in the house of David, king of Israel, because the places +are holy whereunto the ark of the Lord hath come.</q><note place='foot'>2 Chron. viii. 11.</note> +</p> + +<p> +In Kings the history of Solomon closes with a long +account of his numerous wives and concubines, his +idolatry and consequent misfortunes. All this is +omitted by the chronicler; but later on, with his usual +inconsistency, he allows Nehemiah to point the moral +of a tale he has left untold: <q>Did not Solomon, king +of Israel, sin by these things?... Even him did +strange women cause to sin.</q><note place='foot'>Neh. xiii. 26.</note> In the intervening +section he omits the famous judgment of Solomon, probably +on account of the character of the women concerned. +He introduces sundry changes which naturally +follow from his belief that the Levitical law was then +<pb n='174'/><anchor id='Pg174'/> +in force.<note place='foot'>Such changes occur throughout, and need not be further noticed +unless some special interest attaches to them.</note> His feeling for the dignity of the chosen +people and their king comes out rather curiously in +two minor alterations. Both authorities agree in telling +us that Solomon had recourse to forced labour for his +building operations; in fact, after the usual Eastern +fashion from the Pyramids down to the Suez Canal, +Solomon's temple and palaces were built by the <foreign rend='italic'>corvée</foreign>. +According to the oldest narrative, he <q>raised a levy out +of all Israel.</q><note place='foot'>Kings v. 13; ix. 22, which seems to contradict this, is an +editorial note.</note> This suggests that forced labour was +exacted from the Israelites themselves, and it would help +to account for Jeroboam's successful rebellion. The +chronicler omits this statement as open to an interpretation +derogatory to the dignity of the chosen people, and +not only inserts a later explanation which he found in +the book of Kings, but also another express statement +that Solomon raised his levy of the <q>strangers that +were in the land of Israel.</q><note place='foot'>2 Chron. ii. 2, 17, 18; viii. 7-10.</note> These statements may +have been partly suggested by the existence of a class +of Temple slaves called Solomon's servants. +</p> + +<p> +The other instance relates to Solomon's alliance with +Hiram, king of Tyre. In the book of Kings we are +told that <q>Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land +of Galilee.</q><note place='foot'>1 Kings ix. 11, 12.</note> There were indeed redeeming features +connected with the transaction; the cities were not a +very valuable possession for Hiram: <q>they pleased him +not</q>; yet he <q>sent to the King six score talents of +gold.</q> However, it seemed incredible to the chronicler +that the most powerful and wealthy of the kings of +<pb n='175'/><anchor id='Pg175'/> +Israel should either cede or sell any portion of +Jehovah's inheritance. He emends the text of his +authority so as to convert it into a casual reference to +certain cities which Hiram had given to Solomon.<note place='foot'>2 Chron. viii. 1, 2, R.V.</note> +</p> + +<p> +We will now reproduce the story of Solomon as +given by the chronicler. Solomon was the youngest +of four sons born to David at Jerusalem by Bath-shua, +the daughter of Ammiel. Besides these three brothers, +he had at least six other elder brothers. As in the cases +of Isaac, Jacob, Judah, and David himself, the birthright +fell to a younger son. In the prophetic utterance +which foretold his birth, he was designated to succeed +to his father's throne and to build the Temple. At the +great assembly which closed his father's reign he received +instructions as to the plans and services of the +Temple,<note place='foot'>1 Chron. xxii. 9.</note> and was exhorted to discharge his duties +faithfully. He was declared king according to the +Divine choice, freely accepted by David and ratified by +popular acclamation. At David's death no one disputed +his succession to the throne: <q>All Israel obeyed him; +and all the princes and the mighty men and all the +sons likewise of King David submitted themselves unto +Solomon the king.</q><note place='foot'>1 Chron. xxix. 23, 24.</note> +</p> + +<p> +His first act after his accession was to sacrifice before +the brazen altar of the ancient Tabernacle at Gibeon. +That night God appeared unto him <q>and said unto him, +Ask what I shall give thee.</q> Solomon chose wisdom +and knowledge to qualify him for the arduous task of +government. Having thus <q>sought first the kingdom of +God and His righteousness,</q> all other things—<q>riches, +wealth, and honour</q>—were added unto him.<note place='foot'>2 Chron. i. 7-13.</note> +</p> + +<p> +He returned to Jerusalem, gathered a great array of +<pb n='176'/><anchor id='Pg176'/> +chariots and horses by means of traffic with Egypt, +and accumulated great wealth, so that silver, and gold, +and cedars became abundant at Jerusalem.<note place='foot'>2 Chron. i. 14-17.</note> +</p> + +<p> +He next proceeded with the building of the Temple, +collected workmen, obtained timber from Lebanon and +an artificer from Tyre. The Temple was duly erected +and dedicated, the king taking the chief and most conspicuous +part in all the proceedings. Special reference, +however, is made to the presence of the priests and +Levites at the dedication. On this occasion the +ministry of the sanctuary was not confined to the course +whose turn it was to officiate, but <q>all the priests that +were present had sanctified themselves and did not keep +their courses; also the Levites, which were the singers, +all of them, even Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their +sons and their brethren, arrayed in fine linen, with +cymbals, and psalteries, and harps, stood at the east end +of the altar, and with them a hundred and twenty +priests sounding with trumpets.</q><note place='foot'>v. 11, 12, peculiar to Chronicles.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Solomon's dedication prayer concludes with special +petitions for the priests, the saints, and the king: <q>Now +therefore arise, O Jehovah Elohim, into Thy resting-place, +Thou and the ark of Thy strength; let Thy +priests, O Jehovah Elohim, be clothed with salvation, +and let Thy saints rejoice in goodness. O Jehovah +Elohim, turn not away the face of Thine anointed; +remember the mercies of David Thy servant.</q><note place='foot'>vi. 41, 42, peculiar to Chronicles, apparently based on Psalm +cxxxii. 8-10.</note> +</p> + +<p> +When David sacrificed at the threshing-floor of +Ornan the Jebusite, the place had been indicated as +the site of the future Temple by the descent of fire from +heaven; and now, in token that the mercy shown to +<pb n='177'/><anchor id='Pg177'/> +David should be continued to Solomon, the fire again +fell from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and +the sacrifices; and the glory of Jehovah <q>filled the +house of Jehovah,</q><note place='foot'>1 Chron. xxi. 26; 2 Chron. vii. 1-3, both peculiar to Chronicles.</note> as it had done earlier in the day, +when the Ark was brought into the Temple. Solomon +concluded the opening ceremonies by a great festival: +for eight days the Feast of Tabernacles was observed +according to the Levitical law, and seven days more +were specially devoted to a dedication feast.<note place='foot'>vii. 8-10, mostly peculiar to Chronicles. The text in 1 Kings +viii. 65 has been interpolated from Chronicles.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Afterwards Jehovah appeared again to Solomon, as +He had before at Gibeon, and told him that this prayer +was accepted. Taking up the several petitions that +the king had offered, He promised, <q>If I shut up +heaven that there be no rain, or if I send pestilence +among My people; if My people, which are called by +My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek +My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I +hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will +heal their land. Now Mine eyes shall be open, and Mine +ears attent, unto the prayer that is made in this place.</q> +Thus Jehovah, in His gracious condescension, adopts +Solomon's own words<note place='foot'>vii. 13-15, peculiar to Chronicles.</note> to express His answer to the +prayer. He allows Solomon to dictate the terms of the +agreement, and merely appends His signature and seal. +</p> + +<p> +Besides the Temple, Solomon built palaces for himself +and his wife, and fortified many cities, among the rest +Hamath-zobah, formerly allied to David.<note place='foot'>viii. 3, 4, peculiar to Chronicles. Hamath is apparently referred +to as a possession of Judah in 2 Kings xiv. 28.</note> He also organised +the people for civil and military purposes. +</p> + +<pb n='178'/><anchor id='Pg178'/> + +<p> +As far as the account of his reign is concerned, the +Solomon of Chronicles appears as <q>the husband of one +wife</q>; and that wife is the daughter of Pharaoh. A +second, however, is mentioned later on as the mother +of Rehoboam; she too was a <q>strange woman,</q> an +Ammonitess, Naamah by name. +</p> + +<p> +Meanwhile Solomon was careful to maintain all the +sacrifices and festivals ordained in the Levitical law, +and all the musical and other arrangements for the +sanctuary commanded by David, the man of God.<note place='foot'>viii. 12-16, peculiar in this form to Chronicles, but based upon +1 Kings ix. 25.</note> +</p> + +<p> +We read next of his commerce by sea and land, his +great wealth and wisdom, and the romantic visit of the +queen of Sheba.<note place='foot'>ix., as in 1 Kings x. 1-13.</note> +</p> + +<p> +And so the story of Solomon closes with this picture +of royal state,— +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l rend='margin-left: 8'><q rend='pre'>The wealth of Ormus and of Ind,</q></l> +<l>Or where the gorgeous East with richest hand</l> +<l><q rend='post'>Showers on her kings barbaric pearl and gold.</q></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<p> +Wealth was combined with imperial power and +Divine wisdom. Here, as in the case of Plato's own +pupils Dionysius and Dion of Syracuse, Plato's dream +came true; the prince was a philosopher, and the +philosopher a prince. +</p> + +<p> +At first sight it seems as if this marriage of authority +and wisdom had happier issue at Jerusalem than at +Syracuse. Solomon's history closes as brilliantly as +David's, and Solomon was subject to no Satanic possession +and brought no pestilence upon Israel. But +testimonials are chiefly significant in what they omit; +and when we compare the conclusions of the histories +of David and Solomon, we note suggestive differences. +</p> + +<pb n='179'/><anchor id='Pg179'/> + +<p> +Solomon's life does not close with any scene in +which his people and his heir assemble to do him +honour and to receive his last injunctions. There are +no <q>last words</q> of the wise king; and it is not said +of him that <q>he died in a good old age, full of days, +riches, and honour.</q> <q>Solomon slept with his fathers, +and he was buried in the city of David his father; and +Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead</q><note place='foot'>ix. 31.</note>: that is all. +When the chronicler, the professed panegyrist of the +house of David, brings his narrative of this great reign +to so lame and impotent a conclusion, he really implies +as severe a condemnation upon Solomon as the book +of Kings does by its narrative of his sins. +</p> + +<p> +Thus the Solomon of Chronicles shows the same piety +and devotion to the Temple and its ritual which were +shown by his father. His prayer at the dedication of +the Temple is parallel to similar utterances of David. +Instead of being a general and a soldier, he is a scholar +and a philosopher. He succeeded to the administrative +abilities of his father; and his prayer displays a deep +interest in the welfare of his subjects. His record—in +Chronicles—is even more faultless than that of +David. And yet the careful student with nothing but +Chronicles, even without Ezra and Nehemiah, might +somehow get the impression that the story of Solomon, +like that of Cambuscan, had been <q>left half told.</q> In +addition to the points suggested by a comparison with +the history of David, there is a certain abruptness +about its conclusion. The last fact noted of Solomon, +before the formal statistics about <q>the rest of his acts</q> +and the years of his reign, is that horses were brought +for him <q>out of Egypt and out of all lands.</q> Elsewhere +<pb n='180'/><anchor id='Pg180'/> +the chronicler's use of his materials shows a +feeling for dramatic effect. We should not have expected +him to close the history of a great reign by a +reference to the king's trade in horses.<note place='foot'>ix. 28.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Perhaps we are apt to read into Chronicles what we +know from the book of Kings; yet surely this abrupt +conclusion would have raised a suspicion that there +were omissions, that facts had been suppressed because +they could not bear the light. Upon the splendid +figure of the great king, with his wealth and wisdom, +his piety and devotion, rests the vague shadow of +unnamed sins and unrecorded misfortunes. A suggestion +of unhallowed mystery attaches itself to the +name of the builder of the Temple, and Solomon is +already on the way to become the Master of the Genii +and the chief of magicians.<note place='foot'>It is not suggested that the chronicler intended to convey this +impression, or that it would be felt by most of his readers.</note> +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='181'/><anchor id='Pg181'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter VI. Solomon (continued).</head> + +<p> +When we turn to consider the spiritual significance +of this ideal picture of the history and +character of Solomon, we are confronted by a difficulty +that attends the exposition of any ideal history. An +author's ideal of kingship in the early stages of literature +is usually as much one and indivisible as his ideal +of priesthood, of the office of the prophet, and of the +wicked king. His authorities may record different +incidents in connection with each individual; but he +emphasises those which correspond with his ideal, or +even anticipates the higher criticism by constructing +incidents which seem required by the character and +circumstances of his heroes. On the other hand, +where the priest, or the prophet, or the king departs +from the ideal, the incidents are minimised or passed +over in silence. There will still be a certain variety +because different individuals may present different +elements of the ideal, and the chronicler does not +insist on each of his good kings possessing all the +characteristics of royal perfection. Still the tendency +of the process is to make all the good kings alike. +It would be monotonous to take each of them +separately and deduce the lessons taught by their +virtues, because the chronicler's intention is that +<pb n='182'/><anchor id='Pg182'/> +they shall all teach the same lessons by the same +kind of behaviour described from the same point of +view. David has a unique position, and has to be +taken by himself; but in considering the features +that must be added to the picture of David in order +to complete the picture of the good king, it is convenient +to group Solomon with the reforming kings +of Judah. We shall therefore defer for more consecutive +treatment the chronicler's account of their general +characters and careers. Here we shall merely gather +up the suggestions of the different narratives as to the +chronicler's ideal Hebrew king. +</p> + +<p> +The leading points have already been indicated from +the chronicler's history of David. The first and most +indispensable feature is devotion to the temple at +Jerusalem and the ritual of the Pentateuch. This has +been abundantly illustrated from the account of Solomon. +Taking the reforming kings in their order:— +</p> + +<p> +Asa removed the high places which were rivals of +the Temple,<note place='foot'>xiv. 3, 5, contradicting 1 Kings xv. 14 and apparently 2 Chron. +xv. 17.</note> renewed the altar of Jehovah, gathered +the people together for a great sacrifice,<note place='foot'>xv. 8-14, peculiar to Chronicles.</note> and made +munificent donations to the Temple treasury.<note place='foot'>xv. 18, 19.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Similarly Jehoshaphat took away the high places,<note place='foot'>xvii. 6 contradicts 1 Kings xxii. 43 and 2 Chron. xx. 33.</note> +and sent out a commission to teach the Law.<note place='foot'>xvii. 7-9, peculiar to Chronicles.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Joash repaired the Temple<note place='foot'>xxiv. 1-14.</note>; but, curiously enough, +though Jehoram had restored the high places<note place='foot'>xxi. 11, peculiar to Chronicles.</note> and +Joash was acting under the direction of the high-priest +<pb n='183'/><anchor id='Pg183'/> +Jehoiada, it is not stated that the high places were +done away with. This is one of the chronicler's rather +numerous oversights. Perhaps, however, he expected +that so obvious a reform would be taken for granted. +</p> + +<p> +Amaziah was careful to observe <q>the law in the +book of Moses</q> that <q>the children should not die for +the fathers,</q><note place='foot'>xxv. 4.</note> but Amaziah soon turned away from +following Jehovah. This is perhaps the reason why +in his case also nothing is said about doing away with +the high places. +</p> + +<p> +Hezekiah had a special opportunity of showing his +devotion to the Temple and the Law. The Temple +had been polluted and closed by Ahaz, and its services +discontinued. Hezekiah purified the Temple, reinstated +the priests and Levites, and renewed the services; he +made arrangements for the payment of the Temple +revenues according to the provisions of the Levitical +law, and took away the high places. He also held a +reopening festival and a passover with numerous +sacrifices.<note place='foot'>2 Chron. xxviii. 24-xxxi., mostly peculiar to Chronicles; but compare +Kings xviii. 4-7, which mentions the taking away of the high +places.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Manasseh's repentance is indicated by the restoration +of the Temple ritual.<note place='foot'>xxxiii. 16.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Josiah took away the high places, repaired the +Temple, made the people enter into a covenant to +observe the rediscovered Law, and, like Hezekiah, +held a great passover.<note place='foot'>xxxiv.; xxxv.</note> +</p> + +<p> +The reforming kings, like David and Solomon, are +specially interested in the music of the Temple and in +<pb n='184'/><anchor id='Pg184'/> +all the arrangements that have to do with the porters +and doorkeepers and other classes of Levites. Their +enthusiasm for the exclusive rights of the one Temple +symbolises their loyalty to the one God, Jehovah, and +their hatred of idolatry. +</p> + +<p> +Zeal for Jehovah and His temple is still combined +with uncompromising assertion of the royal supremacy +in matters of religion. The king, and not the priest, is +the highest spiritual authority in the nation. Solomon, +Hezekiah, and Josiah control the arrangements for +public worship as completely as Moses or David. +Solomon receives Divine communications without the +intervention of either priest or prophet; he himself +offers the great dedication prayer, and when he makes +an end of praying, fire comes down from heaven. +Under Hezekiah the civil authorities decide when the +passover shall be observed: <q>For the king had taken +counsel, and his princes, and all the congregation in +Jerusalem, to keep the passover in the second month.</q><note place='foot'>xxx. 2.</note> +The great reforms of Josiah are throughout initiated +and controlled by the king. He himself goes up to the +Temple and reads in the ears of the people all the +words of the book of the covenant that was found in +the house of Jehovah. The chronicler still adheres to +the primitive idea of the theocracy, according to which +the chief, or judge, or king is the representative of +Jehovah. +</p> + +<p> +The title to the crown rests throughout on the grace +of God and the will of the people. In Judah, however, +the principle of hereditary succession prevails throughout. +Athaliah is not really an exception: she reigned +as the widow of a Davidic king. The double election +<pb n='185'/><anchor id='Pg185'/> +of David by Jehovah and by Israel carried with it the +election of his dynasty. The permanent rule of the +house of David was secured by the Divine promise +to its founder. Yet the title is not allowed to rest on +mere hereditary right. Divine choice and popular +recognition are recorded in the case of Solomon and +other kings. <q>All Israel came to Shechem to make +Rehoboam king,</q> and yet revolted from him when he +refused to accept their conditions; but the obstinacy +which caused the disruption <q>was brought about of +God, that Jehovah might establish His word which He +spake by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite.</q> +</p> + +<p> +Ahaziah, Joash, Uzziah, Josiah, Jehoahaz, were all +set upon the throne by the inhabitants of Judah and +Jerusalem.<note place='foot'>xxii. 1; xxiii. 1-15; xxvi. 1; xxxiii. 25; xxxvi. 1.</note> After Solomon the Divine appointment of +kings is not expressly mentioned; Jehovah's control +over the tenure of the throne is chiefly shown by the +removal of unworthy occupants. +</p> + +<p> +It is interesting to note that the chronicler does not +hesitate to record that of the last three sovereigns of +Judah two were appointed by foreign kings: Jehoiakim +was the nominee of Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt; and +the last king of all, Zedekiah, was appointed by +Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. In like manner, +the Herods, the last rulers of the restored kingdom of +Judah, were the nominees of the Roman emperors. +Such nominations forcibly illustrate the degradations +and ruin of the theocratic monarchy. But yet, according +to the teaching of the prophets, Pharaoh and +Nebuchadnezzar were tools in the hand of Jehovah; +and their nomination was still an indirect Divine appointment. +In the chronicler's time, however, Judah was +<pb n='186'/><anchor id='Pg186'/> +thoroughly accustomed to receive her governors from a +Persian or Greek king; and Jewish readers would not +be scandalised by a similar state of affairs in the closing +years of the earlier kingdom. +</p> + +<p> +Thus the reforming kings illustrate the ideal kingship +set forth in the history of David and Solomon: the +royal authority originates in, and is controlled by, the +will of God and the consent of the people; the king's +highest duty is the maintenance of the worship of +Jehovah; but the king and people are supreme both +in Church and state. +</p> + +<p> +The personal character of the good kings is also very +similar to that of David and Solomon. Jehoshaphat, +Hezekiah, and Josiah are men of spiritual feeling as +well as careful observers of correct ritual. None of the +good kings, with the exception of Joash and Josiah, +are unsuccessful in war; and good reasons are given +for the exceptions. They all display administrative +ability by their buildings, the organisation of the +Temple services and the army, and the arrangements +for the collection of the revenue, especially the dues +of the priests and Levites. +</p> + +<p> +There is nothing, however, to indicate that the +personal charm of David's character was inherited by +his descendants; but when biography is made merely +a means of edification, it often loses those touches of +nature which make the whole world kin, and are +capable of exciting either admiration or disgust. +</p> + +<p> +The later narrative affords another illustration of the +absence of any sentiment of humanity towards enemies. +As in the case of David, the chronicler records the +cruelty of a good king as if it were quite consistent +with loyalty to Jehovah. Before he turned away from +following Jehovah, Amariah defeated the Edomites and +<pb n='187'/><anchor id='Pg187'/> +smote ten thousand of them. Others were treated like +some of the Malagasy martyrs: <q>And other ten +thousand did the children of Judah carry away alive, +and brought them unto the top of the rock, and +cast them down from the top of the rock, that they +all were broken in pieces.</q><note place='foot'>xxv. 12.</note> In this case, however, +the chronicler is not simply reproducing Kings: he has +taken the trouble to supplement his main authority +from some other source, probably local tradition. His +insertion of this verse is another testimony to the +undying hatred of Israel for Edom. +</p> + +<p> +But in one respect the reforming kings are sharply +distinguished from David and Solomon. The record +of their lives is by no means blameless, and their sins +are visited by condign chastisement. They all, with +the single exception of Jotham, come to a bad end. +Asa consulted physicians, and was punished by being +allowed to die of a painful disease.<note place='foot'>xvi. 12.</note> The last event of +Jehoshaphat's life was the ruin of the navy, which he +had built in unholy alliance with Ahaziah, king of +Israel, who did very wickedly.<note place='foot'>xx. 37.</note> Joash murdered the +prophet Zechariah, the son of the high-priest Jehoiada; +his great host was routed by a small company of +Syrians, and Joash himself was assassinated by his +servants.<note place='foot'>xxiv. 20-27.</note> Amaziah turned away from following Jehovah, +and <q>brought the gods of the children of Seir, and +set them up to be his gods, and bowed down himself +before them, and burned incense unto them.</q> He was +accordingly defeated by Joash, king of Israel, and +assassinated by his own people.<note place='foot'>xxv. 14-27.</note> Uzziah insisted on +exercising the priestly function of burning incense to +Jehovah, and so died a leper.<note place='foot'>xxvi. 16-23.</note> <q>Even Hezekiah rendered +<pb n='188'/><anchor id='Pg188'/> +not again according to the benefit done unto +him, for his heart was lifted up in the business of +ambassadors of the princes of Babylon; therefore there +was wrath upon him and upon Judah and Jerusalem. +Notwithstanding Hezekiah humbled himself for the +pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of +Jerusalem, so that the wrath of Jehovah came not upon +them in the days of Hezekiah.</q> But yet the last days +of Hezekiah were clouded by the thought that he was +leaving the punishment of his sin as a legacy to Judah +and the house of David.<note place='foot'>xxxii. 25-33.</note> Josiah refused to heed the +warning sent to him by God through the king of +Egypt: <q>He hearkened not unto the words of Neco +from the mouth of God, and came to fight in the valley +of Megiddo</q>; and so Josiah died like Ahab: he was +wounded by the archers, carried out of the battle in his +chariot, and died at Jerusalem.<note place='foot'>xxxv. 20-27.</note> +</p> + +<p> +The melancholy record of the misfortunes of the +good kings in their closing years is also found in the +book of Kings. There too Asa in his old age was +diseased in his feet, Jehoshaphat's ships were wrecked, +Joash and Amaziah were assassinated, Uzziah became +a leper, Hezekiah was rebuked for his pride, and +Josiah slain at Megiddo. But, except in the case of +Hezekiah, the book of Kings says nothing about +the sins which, according to Chronicles, occasioned +these sufferings and catastrophes. The narrative in +the book of Kings carries upon the face of it the lesson +that piety is not usually rewarded with unbroken prosperity, +and that a pious career does not necessarily +ensure a happy deathbed. The significance of the +chronicler's additions will be considered elsewhere; +<pb n='189'/><anchor id='Pg189'/> +what concerns us here is his departure from the principles +he observed in dealing with the lives of David +and Solomon. They also sinned and suffered; but the +chronicler omits their sins and sufferings, especially +in the case of Solomon. Why does he pursue an +opposite course with other good kings and blacken +their characters by perpetuating the memory of sins +not mentioned in the book of Kings, instead of confining +his record to the happier incidents of their +career? Many considerations may have influenced +him. The violent deaths of Joash, Amaziah, and +Josiah could neither be ignored nor explained away. +Hezekiah's sin and repentance are closely parallel to +David's in the matter of the census. Although Asa's +disease, Jehoshaphat's alliance with Israel, and Uzziah's +leprosy might easily have been omitted, yet, if some +reformers must be allowed to remain imperfect, there +was no imperative necessity to ignore the infirmities of +the rest. The great advantage of the course pursued +by the chronicler consisted in bringing out a clearly +defined contrast between David and Solomon on the +one hand and the reforming kings on the other. The +piety of the latter is conformed to the chronicler's +ideal; but the glory and devotion of the former are +enhanced by the crimes and humiliation of the best of +their successors. Hezekiah, doubtless, is not more +culpable than David, but David's pride was the first of +a series of events which terminated in the building of +the Temple; while the uplifting of Hezekiah's heart +was a precursor of its destruction. Besides, Hezekiah +ought to have prompted by David's experience. +</p> + +<p> +By developing this contrast, the chronicler renders +the position of David and Solomon even more unique, +illustrious, and full of religious significance. +</p> + +<pb n='190'/><anchor id='Pg190'/> + +<p> +Thus as illustrations of ideal kingship the accounts +of the good kings of Judah are altogether subordinate +to the history of David and Solomon. While these +kings of Judah remain loyal to Jehovah, they further +illustrate the virtues of their great predecessors by +showing how these virtues might have been exercised +under different circumstances: how David would have +dealt with an Ethiopian invasion and what Solomon +would have done if he had found the Temple desecrated +and its services stopped. But no essential feature is +added to the earlier pictures. +</p> + +<p> +The lapses of kings who began to walk in the law +of the Lord and then fell away serve as foils to the +undimmed glory of David and Solomon. Abrupt +transitions within the limits of the individual lives of +Asa, Joash, and Amaziah bring out the contrast +between piety and apostacy with startling, dramatic +effect. +</p> + +<p> +We return from this brief survey to consider the +significance of the life of Solomon according to Chronicles. +Its relation to the life of David is summed up +in the name Solomon, the Prince of peace. David +is the ideal king, winning by force of arms for Israel +empire and victory, security at home and tribute from +abroad. Utterly subdued by his prowess, the natural +enemies of Israel no longer venture to disturb her +tranquillity. His successor inherits wide dominion, +immense wealth, and assured peace. Solomon, the +Prince of peace, is the ideal king, administering a +great inheritance for the glory of Jehovah and His +temple. His history in Chronicles is one of unbroken +calm. He has a great army and many strong fortresses, +but he never has occasion to use them. He implores +Jehovah to be merciful to Israel when they suffer from +<pb n='191'/><anchor id='Pg191'/> +the horrors of war; but he is interceding, not for his +own subjects, but for future generations. In his +time— +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>No war or battle's sound</q></l> +<l>Was heard the world around:</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 4'>The idle spear and shield were high uphung;</l> +<l>The hookèd chariot stood</l> +<l>Unstained with hostile blood;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 4'><q rend='post'>The trumpet spake not to the armèd throng.</q><note place='foot'>Milton, Hymn to the Nativity.</note></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<p> +Perhaps, to use a paradox, the greatest proof of +Solomon's wisdom was that he asked for wisdom. He +realised at the outset of his career that a wide dominion +is more easily won than governed, that to use great +wealth honourably requires more skill and character +than are needed to amass it. To-day the world can +boast half a dozen empires surpassing not merely +Israel, but even Rome, in extent of dominion; the +aggregate wealth of the world is far beyond the wildest +dreams of the chronicler: but still the people perish +for lack of knowledge. The physical and moral foulness +of modern cities taints all the culture and tarnishes +all the splendour of our civilisation; classes and +trades, employers and employed, maim and crush one +another in blind struggles to work out a selfish +salvation; newly devised organisations move their unwieldy +masses— +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>... like dragons of the prime</q></l> +<l><q rend='post'>That tare each other.</q><note place='foot'>Tennyson, In Memoriam.</note></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<p> +They have a giant's strength, and use it like a giant. +Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers; and the world +waits for the reign of the Prince of peace who is not +only the wise king, but the incarnate wisdom of God. +</p> + +<p> +Thus one striking suggestion of the chronicler's +<pb n='192'/><anchor id='Pg192'/> +history of Solomon is the special need of wisdom and +Divine guidance for the administration of a great and +prosperous empire. +</p> + +<p> +Too much stress, however, must not be laid on the +twofold personality of the ideal king. This feature is +adopted from the history, and does not express any +opinion of the chronicler that the characteristic gifts of +David and Solomon could not be combined in a single +individual. Many great generals have also been +successful administrators. Before Julius Cæsar was +assassinated he had already shown his capacity to +restore order and tranquillity to the Roman world; +Alexander's plans for the civil government of his +conquests were as far-reaching as his warlike ambition; +Diocletian reorganised the empire which his sword +had re-established; Cromwell's schemes of reform +showed an almost prophetic insight into the future +needs of the English people; the glory of Napoleon's +victories is a doubtful legacy to France compared with +the solid benefits of his internal reforms. +</p> + +<p> +But even these instances, which illustrate the union +of military genius and administrative ability, remind +us that the assignment of success in war to one king +and a reign of peace to the next is, after all, typical. +The limits of human life narrow its possibilities. +Cæsar's work had to be completed by Augustus; the +great schemes of Alexander and Cromwell fell to the +ground because no one arose to play Solomon to their +David. +</p> + +<p> +The chronicler has specially emphasised the indebtedness +of Solomon to David. According to his +narrative, the great achievement of Solomon's reign, +the building of the Temple, has been rendered possible +by David's preparations. Quite apart from plans and +<pb n='193'/><anchor id='Pg193'/> +materials, the chronicler's view of the credit due to +David in this matter is only a reasonable recognition +of service rendered to the religion of Israel. Whoever +provided the timber and stone, the silver and gold, +for the Temple, David won for Jehovah the land and +the city that were the outer courts of the sanctuary, +and roused the national spirit that gave to Zion its +most solemn consecration. Solomon's temple was +alike the symbol of David's achievements and the +coping-stone of his work. +</p> + +<p> +By compelling our attention to the dependence of +the Prince of Peace upon the man who <q>had shed +much blood,</q> the chronicler admonishes us against +forgetting the price that has been paid for liberty and +culture. The splendid courtiers whose <q>apparel</q> +specially pleased the feminine tastes of the queen of +Sheba might feel all the contempt of the superior +person for David's war-worn veterans. The latter +probably were more at home in the <q>store cities</q> than +at Jerusalem. But without the blood and toil of these +rough soldiers Solomon would have had no opportunity +to exchange riddles with his fair visitor and to dazzle her +admiring eyes with the glories of his temple and palaces. +</p> + +<p> +The blessings of peace are not likely to be preserved +unless men still appreciate and cherish the stern virtues +that flourish in troubled times. If our own times become +troubled, and their serenity be invaded by fierce conflict, +it will be ours to remember that the rugged life of <q>the +hold in the wilderness</q> and the struggles with the +Philistines may enable a later generation to build its +temple to the Lord and to learn the answers to <q>hard +questions.</q><note place='foot'>2 Chron. ix. 1.</note> Moses and Joshua, David and Solomon, +<pb n='194'/><anchor id='Pg194'/> +remind us again how the Divine work is handed on +from generation to generation: Moses leads Israel +through the wilderness, but Joshua brings them into +the Land of Promise; David collects the materials, +but Solomon builds the Temple. The settlement in +Palestine and the building of the Temple were only +episodes in the working out of the <q>one increasing +purpose,</q> but one leader and one life-time did not suffice +for either episode. We grow impatient of the scale +upon which God works: we want it reduced to the +limits of our human faculties and of our earthly lives; +yet all history preaches patience. In our demand for +Divine interventions whereby— +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l rend='margin-left: 16'><q rend='pre'>... sudden in a minute</q></l> +<l><q rend='post'>All is accomplished, and the work is done,</q></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<p> +we are very Esaus, eager to sell the birthright of the +future for a mess of pottage to-day. +</p> + +<p> +And the continuity of the Divine purpose is only +realised through the continuity of human effort. We +must indeed serve our own generation; but part of +that service consists in providing that the next generation +shall be trained to carry on the work, and that +after David shall come Solomon—the Solomon of +Chronicles, and not the Solomon of Kings—and that, if +possible, Solomon shall not be succeeded by Rehoboam. +As we attain this larger outlook, we shall be less +tempted to employ doubtful means, which are supposed +to be justified by their end; we shall be less enthusiastic +for processes that bring <q>quick returns,</q> but give +very <q>small profits</q> in the long run. Christian +workers are a little too fond of spiritual jerry-building, +as if sites in the kingdom of heaven were let out on +<pb n='195'/><anchor id='Pg195'/> +ninety-nine-year leases; but God builds for eternity, +and we are fellow-workers together with Him. +</p> + +<p> +To complete the chronicler's picture of the ideal +king, we have to add David's warlike prowess and +Solomon's wisdom and splendour to the piety and +graces common to both. The result is unique among +the many pictures that have been drawn by historians, +philosophers, and poets. It has a value of its own, +because the chronicler's gifts in the way of history, +philosophy, and poetry were entirely subordinated to +his interest in theology; and most theologians have +only been interested in the doctrine of the king when +they could use it to gratify the vanity of a royal +patron. +</p> + +<p> +The full-length portrait in Chronicles contrasts +curiously with the little vignette preserved in the book +which bears the name of Solomon. There, in the +oracle which King Lemuel's mother taught him, the +king is simply admonished to avoid strange women +and strong drink, to <q>judge righteously, and minister +judgment to the poor and needy.</q><note place='foot'>Prov. xxxi. 1-9.</note> +</p> + +<p> +To pass to more modern theology, the theory of the +king that is implied in Chronicles has much in common +with Wyclif's doctrine of dominion: they both recognise +the sanctity of the royal power and its temporal +supremacy, and they both hold that obedience to God +is the condition of the continued exercise of legitimate +rule. But the priest of Lutterworth was less ecclesiastical +and more democratic than our Levite. +</p> + +<p> +A more orthodox authority on the Protestant doctrine +of the king would be the Thirty-nine Articles. These, +however, deal with the subject somewhat slightly. As +<pb n='196'/><anchor id='Pg196'/> +far as they go, they are in harmony with the chronicler. +They assert the unqualified supremacy of the king, +both ecclesiastical and civil. Even <q>general councils +may not be gathered together without the commandment +and will of princes.</q><note place='foot'>Articles XXI. and XXXVII.</note> On the other hand, princes +are not to imitate Uzziah in presuming to exercise +the priestly function of offering incense: they are not +to minister God's word or sacraments. +</p> + +<p> +Outside theology the ideal of the king has been +stated with greater fulness and freedom, but not many +of the pictures drawn have much in common with the +chronicler's David and Solomon. Machiavelli's prince +and Bolingbroke's patriot king belong to a different +world; moreover, their method is philosophical, and +not historical: they state a theory rather than draw +a picture. Tennyson's Arthur is, what he himself +calls him, an <q>ideal knight</q> rather than an ideal +king. Perhaps the best parallels to David are to +be found in the Cyrus of the Greek historians and +philosophers and the Alfred of English story. Alfred +indeed combines many of the features both of David +and Solomon: he secured English unity, and was +the founder of English culture and literature; he +had a keen interest in ecclesiastical affairs, great +gifts of administration, and much personal attractiveness. +Cyrus, again, specially illustrates what we may +call the posthumous fortunes of David: his name +stood for the ideal of kingship with both Greeks +and Persians, and in the <hi rend='italic'>Cyropædia</hi> his life and character +are made the basis of a picture of the ideal +king. +</p> + +<p> +Many points are of course common to almost all +<pb n='197'/><anchor id='Pg197'/> +such pictures; they portray the king as a capable and +benevolent ruler and a man of high personal character. +The distinctive characteristic of Chronicles is the stress +laid on the piety of the king, his care for the honour of +God and the spiritual welfare of his subjects. If the +practical influence of this teaching has not been +altogether beneficent, it is because men have too +invariably connected spiritual profit with organisation, +and ceremonies, and forms of words, sound or +otherwise. +</p> + +<p> +But to-day the doctrine of the state takes the place +of the doctrine of the king. Instead of Cyropædias we +have Utopias. We are asked sometimes to look back, +not to an ideal king, but to an ideal commonwealth, to +the age of the Antonines or to some happy century of +English history when we are told that the human race +or the English people were <q>most happy and prosperous</q>; +oftener we are invited to contemplate an +imaginary future. We may add to those already made +one or two further applications of the chronicler's +principles to the modern state. His method suggests +that the perfect society will have the virtues of our +actual life without its vices, and that the possibilities +of the future are best divined from a careful study of +the past. The devotion of his kings to the Temple +symbolises the truth that the ideal state is impossible +without recognition of a Divine presence and obedience +to a Divine will. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='198'/><anchor id='Pg198'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter VII. The Wicked Kings. 2 Chron. xxviii., etc.</head> + +<p> +The type of the wicked king is not worked out +with any fulness in Chronicles. There are +wicked kings, but no one is raised to the <q>bad +eminence</q> of an evil counterpart to David; there is +no anti-David, so to speak, no prototype of antichrist. +The story of Ahaz, for instance, is not given at the +same length and with the same wealth of detail as that +of David. The subject was not so congenial to the +kindly heart of the chronicler. He was not imbued with +the unhappy spirit of modern realism, which loves to +dwell on all that is foul and ghastly in life and character; +he lingered affectionately over his heroes, and +contented himself with brief notices of his villains. In +so doing he was largely following his main authority: +the books of Samuel and Kings. There too the stories +of David and Solomon, of Elijah and Elisha, are told +much more fully than those of Jeroboam and Ahab. +</p> + +<p> +But the mention of these names reminds us that +the chronicler's limitation of his subject to the history +of Judah excludes much of the material that might +have been drawn from the earlier history for a picture +of the wicked king. If it had been part of the +chronicler's plan to tell the story of Ahab, he might +<pb n='199'/><anchor id='Pg199'/> +have been led to develop his material and moralise +upon the king's career till the narrative assumed +proportions that would have rivalled the history of +David. Over against the great scene that closed +David's life might have been set another summing +up in one dramatic moment the guilt and ruin of Ahab. +But these schismatic kings were <q>alienated from the +commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the +covenants of the promise, having no hope and without +God in the world.</q><note place='foot'>Eph. ii. 12.</note> The disobedient sons of the +house of David were still children within the home, +who might be rebuked and punished; but the Samaritan +kings, as the chronicler might style them, were outcasts, +left to the tender mercies of the dogs, and sorcerers, and +murderers that were without the Holy City, Cains without +any protecting mark upon their forehead. +</p> + +<p> +Hence the wicked kings in Chronicles are of the +house of David. Therefore the chronicler has a +certain tenderness for them, partly for the sake of +their great ancestor, partly because they are kings +of Judah, partly because of the sanctity and religious +significance of the Messianic dynasty. These kings +are not Esaus, for whom there is no place of repentance. +The chronicler is happy in being able to discover +and record the conversion, as we should term it, +of some kings whose reigns began in rebellion and +apostacy. By a curious compensation, the kings who +begin well end badly, and those who begin badly end +well; they all tend to about the same average. We +read of Rehoboam<note place='foot'>2 Chron. xii. 12, peculiar to Chronicles.</note> that <q>when he humbled himself +the wrath of the Lord turned from him, that he would +not destroy him altogether; and, moreover, in Judah +<pb n='200'/><anchor id='Pg200'/> +there were good things found</q>; the wickedness of +Abijah, which is plainly set forth in the book of +Kings,<note place='foot'>1 Kings xv. 3.</note> is ignored in Chronicles; Manasseh <q>humbled +himself greatly before the God of his fathers,</q> and +turned altogether from the error of his ways<note place='foot'>2 Chron. xxxiii. 11-20, peculiar to Chronicles.</note>; the +unfavourable judgment on Jehoahaz recorded in the +book of Kings, <q>And he did that which was evil in +the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers +had done,</q><note place='foot'>2 Kings xxiii. 32.</note> is omitted in Chronicles. +</p> + +<p> +There remain seven wicked kings of whom nothing +but evil is recorded: Jehoram, Ahaziah, Ahaz, Amon, +Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah. Of these we +may take Ahaz as the most typical instance. As in the +cases of David and Solomon, we will first see how the +chronicler has dealt with the material derived from the +book of Kings; then we will give his account of the +career of Ahaz; and finally, by a brief comparison of +what is told of Ahaz with the history of the other +wicked kings, we will try to construct the chronicler's +idea of the wicked king and to deduce its lessons. +</p> + +<p> +The importance of the additions made by the chronicler +to the history in the book of Kings will appear +later on. In his account of the attack made upon +Ahaz by Rezin, king of Damascus, and Pekah, king of +Israel, he emphasises the incidents most discreditable +to Ahaz. The book of Kings simply states that the +two allies <q>came up to Jerusalem to war; and they +besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him</q><note place='foot'>2 Kings xvi. 5.</note>; Chronicles +dwells upon the sufferings and losses inflicted on +Judah by this invasion. The book of Kings might +have conveyed the impression that the wicked king +had been allowed to triumph over his enemies; +<pb n='201'/><anchor id='Pg201'/> +Chronicles guards against this dangerous error by +detailing the disasters that Ahaz brought upon his +country. +</p> + +<p> +The book of Kings also contains an interesting +account of alterations made by Ahaz in the Temple +and its furniture. By his orders the high-priest Urijah +made a new brazen altar for the Temple after the +pattern of an altar that Ahaz had seen in Damascus. +As Chronicles narrates the closing of the Temple by +Ahaz, it naturally omits these previous alterations. +Moreover, Urijah appears in the book of Isaiah as a +friend of the prophet, and is referred to by him as a +<q>faithful witness.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. viii. 2.</note> The chronicler would not wish +to perplex his readers with the problem, How could +the high-priest, whom Isaiah trusted as a faithful +witness, become the agent of a wicked king, and construct +an altar for Jehovah after a heathen pattern? +</p> + +<p> +The chronicler's story of Ahaz runs thus. This +wicked king had been preceded by three good kings: +Amaziah, Uzziah, and Jotham. Amaziah indeed had +turned away from following Jehovah at the end of +his reign, but Uzziah had been zealous for Jehovah +throughout, not wisely, but too well; and Jotham +shares with Solomon the honour of a blameless record. +Without counting Amaziah's reign, king and people +had been loyal to Jehovah for sixty or seventy years. +The court of the good kings would be the centre of +piety and devotion. Ahaz, no doubt, had been carefully +trained in obedience to the law of Jehovah, and had +grown up in the atmosphere of true religion. Possibly +he had known his grandfather Uzziah in the days of +his power and glory; but at any rate, while Ahaz was +<pb n='202'/><anchor id='Pg202'/> +a child, Uzziah was living as a leper in his <q>several +house,</q> and Ahaz must have been familiar with this +melancholy warning against presumptuous interference +with the Divine ordinances of worship. +</p> + +<p> +Ahaz was twenty years old when he came to the +throne, so that he had time to profit by a complete +education, and should scarcely have found opportunity +to break away from its influence. His mother's name +is not mentioned, so that we cannot say whether, as +may have been the case with Rehoboam, some Ammonite +woman led him astray from the God of his fathers. +As far as we can learn from our author, Ahaz sinned +against light and knowledge; with every opportunity +and incentive to keep in the right path, he yet went +astray. +</p> + +<p> +This is a common feature in the careers of the wicked +kings. It has often been remarked that the first great +specialist on education failed utterly in the application +of his theories to his own son. Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, +and Josiah were the most distinguished and the most +virtuous of the reforming kings, yet Jehoshaphat was +succeeded by Jehoram, who was almost as wicked as +Ahaz; Hezekiah's son <q>Manasseh made Judah and +the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, so that they did +evil more than did the nations whom the Lord destroyed +before the children of Israel</q>;<note place='foot'>2 Chron. xxxiii. 9.</note> Josiah's son and grandsons +<q>did evil in the sight of the Lord.</q><note place='foot'>2 Chron. xxxvi. 5, 8, 11.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Many reasons may be suggested for this too familiar +spectacle: the impious son of a godly father, the bad +successor of a good king. Heirs-apparent have always +been inclined to head an opposition to their fathers' +policy, and sometimes on their accession they have +<pb n='203'/><anchor id='Pg203'/> +reversed that policy. When the father himself has +been a zealous reformer, the interests that have been +harassed by reform are eager to encourage his successor +in a retrograde policy; and reforming zeal is often +tinged with an inconsiderate harshness that provokes +the opposition of younger and brighter spirits. But, +after all, this atavism in kings is chiefly an illustration +of the slow growth of the higher nature in man. Practically +each generation starts afresh with an unregenerate +nature of its own, and often nature is too +strong for education. +</p> + +<p> +Moreover, a young king of Judah was subject to the +evil influence of his northern neighbour. Judah was +often politically subservient to Samaria, and politics and +religion have always been very intimately associated. +At the accession of Ahaz the throne of Samaria was +filled by Pekah, whose twenty years' tenure of authority +indicates ability and strength of character. It is not +difficult to understand how Ahaz was led <q>to walk +in the ways of the kings of Israel</q> and <q>to make +molten images for the Baals.</q> +</p> + +<p> +Nothing is told us of the actual circumstances of +these innovations. The new reign was probably inaugurated +by the dismissal of Jotham's ministers and +the appointment of the personal favourites of the new +king. The restoration of old idolatrous cults would be +a natural advertisement of a new departure in the +government. So when the establishment of Christianity +was a novelty in the empire, and men were not +assured of its permanence, Julian's accession was +accompanied by an apostacy to paganism; and later +aspirants to the purple promised to follow his example. +But the worship of Jehovah was not at once suppressed. +He was not deposed from His throne as the +<pb n='204'/><anchor id='Pg204'/> +Divine King of Judah; He was only called upon to +share His royal authority with the Baals of the neighbouring +peoples. +</p> + +<p> +But although the Temple services might still be +performed, the king was mainly interested in introducing +and observing a variety of heathen rites. The +priesthood of the Temple saw their exclusive privileges +disregarded and the rival sanctuaries of the high places +and the sacred trees taken under royal patronage. +But the king's apostacy was not confined to the milder +forms of idolatry. His weak mind was irresistibly +attracted by the morbid fascination of the cruel rites +of Moloch: <q>He burnt incense in the valley of the +son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, +according to the abomination of the heathen, whom the +Lord cast out before the children of Israel.</q> +</p> + +<p> +The king's devotions to his new gods were rudely +interrupted. The insulted majesty of Jehovah was +vindicated by two disastrous invasions. First, Ahaz +was defeated by Rezin, king of Syria, who carried +away a great multitude of captives to Damascus; the +next enemy was one of those kings of Israel in whose +idolatrous ways Ahaz had chosen to walk. The delicate +flattery implied by Ahaz becoming Pekah's proselyte +failed to conciliate that monarch. He too defeated +the Jews with great slaughter. Amongst his warriors +was a certain Zichri, whose achievements recalled the +prowess of David's mighty men: he slew Maaseiah +the king's son and Azrikam, the ruler of the house, +the Lord High Chamberlain, and Elkanah, that was +next unto the king, the Prime Minister. With these +notables, there perished in a single day a hundred and +twenty thousand Jews, all of them valiant men. Their +wives and children, to the number of two hundred +<pb n='205'/><anchor id='Pg205'/> +thousand, were carried captive to Samaria. All these +misfortunes happened to Judah <q>because they had +forsaken Jehovah, the God of their fathers.</q> +</p> + +<p> +And yet Jehovah in wrath remembered mercy. The +Israelite army approached Samaria with their endless +train of miserable captives, women and children, ragged +and barefoot, some even naked, filthy and footsore with +forced marches, left hungry and thirsty after prisoners' +scanty rations. Multiply a thousandfold the scenes +depicted on Egyptian and Assyrian monuments, and +you have the picture of this great slave caravan. The +captives probably had no reason to fear the barbarities +which the Assyrians loved to inflict upon their +prisoners, but yet their prospects were sufficiently +gloomy. Before them lay a life of drudgery and +degradation in Samaria. The more wealthy might +hope to be ransomed by their friends; others, again, +might be sold to the Phœnician traders, to be carried +by them to the great slave marts of Nineveh and +Babylon or even oversea to Greece. But in a moment +all was changed. <q>There was a prophet of Jehovah, +whose name was Oded, and he went out to meet the +army and said unto them, Behold, because Jehovah, +the God of your fathers, was wroth with Judah, He +hath delivered them into your hand; and ye have slain +them in a rage which hath reached up unto heaven. +And now ye purpose to keep the children of Judah and +of Jerusalem for male and female slaves; but are there +not even with you trespasses of your own against +Jehovah your God? Now hear me therefore, and send +back the captives, for the fierce wrath of Jehovah is +upon you.</q> +</p> + +<p> +Meanwhile <q>the princes and all the congregation +of Samaria</q> were waiting to welcome their victorious +<pb n='206'/><anchor id='Pg206'/> +army, possibly in <q>the void place at the entering in +of the gate of Samaria.</q> Oded's words, at any rate, +had been uttered in their presence. The army did not +at once respond to the appeal; the two hundred thousand +slaves were the most valuable part of their spoil, +and they were not eager to make so great a sacrifice. +But the princes made Oded's message their own. +Four heads of the children of Ephraim are mentioned +by name as the spokesmen of the <q>congregation,</q> the +king being apparently absent on some other warlike +expedition. These four were Azariah the son of +Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah +the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai. +Possibly among the children of Ephraim who dwelt in +Jerusalem after the Return there were descendants of +these men, from whom the chronicler obtained the +particulars of this incident. The princes <q>stood up +against them that came from the war,</q> and forbade +their bringing the captives into the city. They repeated +and expanded the words of the prophet: <q>Ye purpose +that which will bring upon us a trespass against +Jehovah, to add unto our sins and to our trespass, for +our trespass is great, and there is fierce wrath against +Israel.</q> The army were either convinced by the +eloquence or overawed by the authority of the prophet +and the princes: <q>They left the captives and the spoil +before all the princes and the congregation.</q> And the +four princes <q>rose up, and took the captives, and with +the spoil clothed all that were naked among them, and +arrayed them, and shod them, and gave them to eat and +to drink, and anointed them, and carried all the feeble +of them upon asses, and brought them to Jericho, the +city of palm trees, unto their brethren; then they +returned to Samaria.</q> +</p> + +<pb n='207'/><anchor id='Pg207'/> + +<p> +Apart from incidental allusions, this is the last reference +in Chronicles to the northern kingdom. The +long history of division and hostility closes with this +humane recognition of the brotherhood of Israel and +Judah. The sun, so to speak, did not go down upon +their wrath. But the king of Israel had no personal +share in this gracious act. At the first it was Jeroboam +that made Israel to sin; throughout the history the +responsibility for the continued division would specially +rest upon the kings, and at the last there is no sign of +Pekah's repentance and no prospect of his pardon. +</p> + +<p> +The various incidents of the invasions of Rezin and +Pekah were alike a solemn warning and an impressive +appeal to the apostate king of Judah. He had multiplied +to himself gods of the nations round about, and yet had +been left without an ally, at the mercy of a hostile +confederation, against whom his new gods either could +not or would not defend him. The wrath of Jehovah +had brought upon Ahaz one crushing defeat after +another, and yet the only mitigation of the sufferings of +Judah had also been the work of Jehovah. The returning +captives would tell Ahaz and his princes how in +schismatic and idolatrous Samaria a prophet of Jehovah +had stood forth to secure their release and obtain for +them permission to return home. The princes and +people of Samaria had hearkened to his message, and +the two hundred thousand captives stood there as the +monument of Jehovah's compassion and of the obedient +piety of Israel. Sin was bound to bring punishment; +and yet Jehovah waited to be gracious. Wherever there +was room for mercy, He would show mercy. His wrath +and His compassion had alike been displayed before +Ahaz. Other gods could not protect their worshippers +against Him; He only could deliver and restore His +<pb n='208'/><anchor id='Pg208'/> +people. He had not even waited for Ahaz to repent +before He had given him proof of His willingness to +forgive.<note place='foot'>2 Chron. xxviii. 5-15, peculiar to Chronicles; cf. 2 Kings xvi. 5, 6.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Such Divine goodness was thrown away upon Ahaz; +there was no token of repentance, no promise of amendment; +and so Jehovah sent further judgments upon the +king and his unhappy people. The Edomites came and +smote Judah, and carried away captives; the Philistines +also invaded the cities of the lowland and of the south +of Judah, and took Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, +Soco, Timnah, Gimzo, and their dependent villages, and +dwelt in them; and Jehovah brought Judah low because +of Ahaz. And the king hardened his heart yet more +against Jehovah, and cast away all restraint, and +trespassed sore against Jehovah. Instead of submitting +himself, he sought the aid of the kings of Assyria, only +to receive another proof of the vanity of all earthly help +so long as he remained unreconciled to Heaven. +Tilgath-pilneser, king of Assyria, welcomed this opportunity +of interfering in the affairs of Western Asia, and +saw attractive prospects of levying blackmail impartially +on his ally and his enemies. He came unto Ahaz, <q>and +distressed him, but strengthened him not.</q> These new +troubles were the occasion of fresh wickedness on the +part of the king: to pay the price of this worse than +useless intervention, he took away a portion not only +from his own treasury and from the princes, but also +from the treasury of the Temple, and gave it to the king +of Assyria. +</p> + +<p> +Thus betrayed and plundered by his new ally, he +trespassed <q>yet more against Jehovah, this same king +Ahaz.</q> It is almost incredible that one man could be +<pb n='209'/><anchor id='Pg209'/> +guilty of so much sin; the chronicler is anxious that +his readers should appreciate the extraordinary wickedness +of this man, this same king Ahaz. In him the +chastening of the Lord yielded no peaceable fruit of +righteousness; he would not see that his misfortunes +were sent from the offended God of Israel. With +perverse ingenuity, he found in them an incentive to +yet further wickedness. His pantheon was not large +enough. He had omitted to worship the gods of +Damascus. These must be powerful deities, whom it +would be worth while to conciliate, because they had +enabled the kings of Syria to overrun and pillage Judah. +Therefore Ahaz sacrificed to the gods of Syria, that they +might help him. <q>But,</q> says the chronicler, <q>they were +the ruin of him and of all Israel.</q> Still Ahaz went on +consistently with his policy of comprehensive eclecticism. +He made Jerusalem a very Athens for altars, which were +set up at every street corner; he discovered yet other +gods whom it might be advisable to adore: <q>And in +every several city of Judah he made high places to burn +incense unto other gods.</q> +</p> + +<p> +Hitherto Jehovah had still received some share of +the worship of this most religious king, but apparently +Ahaz came to regard Him as the least powerful of his +many supernatural allies. He attributed his misfortunes, +not to the anger, but to the helplessness, of Jehovah. +Jehovah was specially the God of Israel; if disaster +after disaster fell upon His people, He was evidently +less potent than Baal, or Moloch, or Rimmon. It was +a useless expense to maintain the worship of so impotent +a deity. Perhaps the apostate king was acting +in the blasphemous spirit of the savage who flogs his +idol when his prayers are not answered. Jehovah, he +thought, should be punished for His neglect of the interests +<pb n='210'/><anchor id='Pg210'/> +of Judah. <q>Ahaz gathered together the vessels +of the house of God, and cut in pieces the vessels of +the house of God, and shut up the doors of the house +of Jehovah</q>;<note place='foot'>2 Chron. xxviii. 16-25, peculiar to Chronicles; cf. 2 Kings +xvi. 7-18.</note> he had filled up the measure of his +iniquities. +</p> + +<p> +And thus it came to pass that in the Holy City, +<q>which Jehovah had chosen to cause His name to +dwell there,</q> almost the only deity who was not worshipped +was Jehovah. Ahaz did homage to the gods +of all the nations before whom he had been humiliated; +the royal sacrifices smoked upon a hundred altars, but +no sweet savour of burnt offering ascended to Jehovah. +The fragrance of the perpetual incense no longer filled +the holy place morning and evening; the seven lamps +of the golden candlestick were put out, and the Temple +was given up to darkness and desolation. Ahaz had +contented himself with stripping the sanctuary of its +treasures; but the building itself, though closed, suffered +no serious injury. A stranger visiting the city, and +finding it full of idols, could not fail to notice the great +pile of the Temple and to inquire what image, splendid +above all others, occupied that magnificent shrine. +Like Pompey, he would learn with surprise that it was +not the dwelling-place of any image, but the symbol +of an almighty and invisible presence. Even if the +stranger were some Moabite worshipper of Chemosh, +he would feel dismay at the wanton profanity with +which Ahaz had abjured the God of his fathers and +desecrated the temple built by his great ancestors. +The annals of Egypt and Babylon told of the misfortunes +which had befallen those monarchs who were +unfaithful to their national gods. The pious heathen +<pb n='211'/><anchor id='Pg211'/> +would anticipate disaster as the punishment of Ahaz's +apostacy. +</p> + +<p> +Meanwhile the ministers of the Temple shared its +ruin and degradation; but they could feel the assurance +that Jehovah would yet recall His people to their +allegiance and manifest Himself once more in the +Temple. The house of Aaron and the tribe of Levi +possessed their souls in patience till the final judgment +of Jehovah should fall upon the apostate. They had not +long to wait: after a reign of only sixteen years, Ahaz +died at the early age of thirty-six. We are not told +that he died in battle or by the visitation of God. His +health may have been broken by his many misfortunes, +or by vicious practices that would naturally accompany +his manifold idolatries; but in any case his early death +would be regarded as a Divine judgment. The breath +was scarcely out of his body before his religious innovations +were swept away by a violent reaction. The +people at once passed sentence of condemnation on his +memory: <q>They brought him not into the sepulchres of +the kings of Israel.</q><note place='foot'>xxviii. 27, peculiar to Chronicles.</note> His successor inaugurated his +reign by reopening the Temple, and brought back +Judah to the obedience of Jehovah. The monuments +of the impious worship of the wicked king, his multitudinous +idols, and their ritual passed away like an evil +dream, like <q>the track of a ship in the sea or a bird +in the air.</q> +</p> + +<p> +The leading features of this career are common to +most of the wicked kings and to the evil days of the +good kings <q>Walking in the ways of the kings of +Israel</q> was the great crime of Jehoshaphat and his +successors Jehoram and Ahaziah. Other kings, like +<pb n='212'/><anchor id='Pg212'/> +Manasseh, built high places and followed after the +abominations of the heathen whom Jehovah cast out +before the children of Israel. Asa's lapse into wickedness +began by plundering the Temple treasury to +purchase an alliance with a heathen king, the king +of Syria, against whose successor Ahaz in his turn +hired the king of Assyria. Amaziah adopted the gods +of Edom, as Ahaz the gods of Syria, but with less +excuse, for Amaziah had conquered Edom. Other +crimes are recorded among the evil doings of the +kings: Asa had recourse to physicians, that is, +probably to magic; Jehoram slew his brethren; Joash +murdered the son of his benefactor Jehoiada; but +the supreme sin was disloyalty to Jehovah and the +Temple, and of this sin the chronicler's brief history +of Ahaz is the most striking illustration. Ahaz is the +typical apostate: he hardens his heart alike against +the mercy of Jehovah and against His repeated judgment. +He is a very Pharaoh among the kings of +Judah. The discipline that should have led to repentance +is continually perverted to be the occasion of new +sin, and at last the apostate dies in his iniquity. The +effect of the picture is heightened by its insistence on +this one sin of apostacy; other sins are illustrated and +condemned elsewhere, but here the chronicler would +have us concentrate our attention on the rise, progress, +and ruin of the apostate. Indeed, this one sin implied +and involved all others; the man who suppressed +the worship of Jehovah, and revelled in the obscene +superstitions of heathen cults, was obviously capable +of any enormity. The chronicler is not indifferent +to morality as compared with ritual, and he sees in the +neglect of Divinely appointed ritual an indication of +a character rotten through and through. In his time +<pb n='213'/><anchor id='Pg213'/> +neglect of ritual on the part of the average man or +the average king implied neglect of religion, or rather +adherence to an alien and immoral faith. +</p> + +<p> +Thus the supreme sin of the wicked kings naturally +contrasts with the highest virtue of the good kings. +The standing of both is determined by their attitude +towards Jehovah. The character of the good kings +is developed in greater detail than that of their wicked +brethren; but we should not misrepresent the chronicler's +views, if we ascribed to the wicked kings all the vices +antithetic to the virtues of his royal ideal. Nevertheless +the picture actually drawn fixes our attention +upon their impious denial of the God of Israel. Much +Church history has been written on the same principle: +Constantine is a saint because he established Christianity; +Julian is an incarnation of wickedness because +he became an apostate; we praise the orthodox Theodosius, +and blame the Arian Valens. Protestant historians +have canonised Henry VIII. and Elizabeth, +and have prefixed an unholy epithet to the name of +their kinswoman, while Romanist writers interchange +these verdicts. But underlying even such opposite +judgments there is the same valid principle, the +principle that was in the mind of the chronicler: that +the king's relation to the highest and purest truth +accessible to him, whatever that truth may be, is a +just criterion of his whole character. The historian +may err in applying the criterion, but its general +principle is none the less sound. +</p> + +<p> +For the character of the wicked nation we are not +left to the general suggestions that may be derived +from the wicked king. The prophets show us that it +was by no vicarious condemnation that priests and +people shared the ruin of their sovereign. In their +<pb n='214'/><anchor id='Pg214'/> +pages the subject is treated from many points of view: +Israel and Judah, Edom and Tyre, Egypt, Assyria, and +Babylon, serve in their turn as models for the picture +of the wicked nation. In the Apocalypse the ancient +picture is adapted to new circumstances, and the City +of the Seven Hills takes the place of Babylon. Modern +prophets have further adapted the treatment of the +subject to their own times, and for the most part +to their own people. With stern and uncompromising +patriotism, Carlyle and Ruskin have sought righteousness +for England even at the expense of its reputation; +they have emphasised its sin and selfishness in order +to produce repentance and reform. For other teachers +the history of foreign peoples has furnished the picture +of the wicked nation, and the France of the Revolution +or the <q>unspeakable</q> Turk has been held up as an +example of all that is abominable in national life. +</p> + +<p> +Any detailed treatment of this theme in Scripture +would need an exposition, not merely of Chronicles, +but of the whole Bible. We may, however, make one +general application of the chronicler's principle that the +wicked nation is the nation that forgets God. We +do not now measure a people's religion by the number +and magnificence of its priests and churches, or by +the amount of money devoted to the maintenance of +public worship. The most fatal symptoms of national +depravity are the absence of a healthy public opinion, +indifference to character in politics, neglect of education +as a means of developing character, and the stifling +of the spirit of brotherhood in a desperate struggle for +existence. When God is thus forgotten, and the +gracious influences of His Spirit are no longer recognised +in public and private life, a country may well +be degraded into the ranks of the wicked nations. +</p> + +<pb n='215'/><anchor id='Pg215'/> + +<p> +The perfectly general terms in which the doings and +experiences of Ahaz are described facilitate the application +of their warnings to the ordinary individual. His +royal station only appears in the form and scale of his +wickedness, which in its essence is common to him with +the humblest sinner. Every young man enters, like +Ahaz, upon a royal inheritance; character and career +are as all-important to a peasant or a shopgirl as they +are to an emperor or a queen. When a girl of seventeen +or a youth of twenty succeeds to some historic +throne, we are moved to think of the heavy burden of +responsibility laid upon inexperienced shoulders and of +the grave issues that must be determined during the +swiftly passing years of their early manhood and womanhood. +Alas, this heavy burden and these grave issues +are but the common lot. The young sovereign is happy +in the fierce light that beats upon his throne, for he is +not allowed to forget the dignity and importance of +life. History, with its stories of good and wicked kings, +has obviously been written for his instruction; if the +time be out of joint, as it mostly is, he has been born to +set it right. It is all true, yet it is equally true for +every one of his subjects. His lot is only the common +lot set upon a hill, in the full sunlight, to illustrate, +interpret, and influence lower and obscurer lives. +People take such eager interest in the doings of royal +families, their christenings, weddings, and funerals, +because therein the common experience is, as it were, +glorified into adequate dignity and importance. +</p> + +<p> +<q>Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, +and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem</q>; but most +men and women begin to reign before they are twenty. +The history of Judah for those sixteen years was really +determined long before Ahaz was invested with crown +<pb n='216'/><anchor id='Pg216'/> +and sceptre. Men should all be educated to reign, to +respect themselves and appreciate their opportunities. +We do in some measure adopt this principle with +promising lads. Their energies are stimulated by the +prospect of making a fortune or a name, or the more +soaring imagination dreams of a seat on the woolsack +or on one of the Front Benches. Gifted girls are also +encouraged, as becomes their gifts, to achieve a brilliant +marriage or a popular novel. We need to apply the +principle more consistently and to recognise the royal +dignity of the average life and of those whom the +superior person is pleased to call commonplace people. +It may then be possible to induce the ordinary young +man to take a serious interest in his own future. The +stress laid on the sanctity and supreme value of the +individual soul has always been a vital element of +evangelical teaching; like most other evangelical truths, +it is capable of deeper meaning and wider application +than are commonly recognised in systematic theology. +</p> + +<p> +We have kept our sovereign waiting too long on the +threshold of his kingdom; his courtiers and his people +are impatient to know the character and intentions of +their new master. So with every heir who succeeds to +his royal inheritance. The fortunes of millions may +depend upon the will of some young Czar or Kaiser; +the happiness of a hundred tenants or of a thousand +workmen may rest on the disposition of the youthful +inheritor of a wide estate or a huge factory; but none +the less in the poorest cottage mother and father and +friends wait with trembling anxiety to see how the boy +or girl will <q>turn out</q> when they take their destinies +into their own hands and begin to reign. Already +perhaps some tender maiden watches in hope and fear, +in mingled pride and misgiving, the rapidly unfolding +<pb n='217'/><anchor id='Pg217'/> +character of the youth to whom she has promised to +commit all the happiness of a life-time. +</p> + +<p> +And to each one in turn there comes the choice of +Hercules; according to the chronicler's phrase, the +young king may either <q>do right in the eyes of Jehovah, +like David his father,</q> or he may walk <q>in the ways of +the kings of Israel, and make molten images for the +Baals.</q> +</p> + +<p> +The <q>right doings of David his father</q> may point to +family traditions, which set a high standard of noble +conduct for each succeeding generation. The teaching +and influence of the pious Jotham are represented by +the example of godliness set in many a Christian home, +by the wise and loving counsel of parents and friends. +And Ahaz has many modern parallels, sons and +daughters upon whom every good influence seems spent +in vain. They are led astray into the ways of the kings +of Israel, and make molten images for the Baals. There +were several dynasties of the kings of Israel, and the +Baals were many and various; there are many tempters +who deliberately or unconsciously lay snares for souls, +and they serve different powers of evil. Israel was for +the most part more powerful, wealthy, and cultured than +Judah. When Ahaz came to the throne as a mere +youth, Pekah was apparently in the prime of life and +the zenith of power. He is no inapt symbol of what +the modern tempter at any rate desires to appear: the +showy, pretentious man of the world, who parades his +knowledge of life, and impresses the inexperienced youth +with his shrewdness and success, and makes his victim +eager to imitate him, to walk in the ways of the kings of +Israel. +</p> + +<p> +Moreover, the prospect of making molten images for +the Baals is an insidious temptation. Ahaz perhaps +<pb n='218'/><anchor id='Pg218'/> +found the decorous worship of the one God dull and +monotonous. Baals meant new gods and new rites, +with all the excitement of novelty and variety. Jotham +may not have realised that this youth of twenty was a +man: the heir-apparent may have been treated as a +child and left too much to the women of the harem. +Responsible activity might have saved Ahaz. The +Church needs to recognise that healthy, vigorous youth +craves interesting occupation and even excitement. If +a father wishes to send his son to the devil, he cannot +do better than make that son's life, both secular and +religious, a routine of monotonous drudgery. Then +any pinchbeck king of Israel will seem a marvel of +wit and good fellowship, and the making of molten +images a most pleasing diversion. A molten image +is something solid, permanent, and conspicuous, a standing +advertisement of the enterprise and artistic taste +of the maker; he engraves his name on the pedestal, +and is proud of the honourable distinction. Many of +our modern molten images are duly set forth in popular +works, for instance the reputation for impure life, or +hard drinking, or reckless gambling, to achieve which +some men have spent their time, and money, and toil. +Other molten images are dedicated to another class of +Baals: Mammon the respectable and Belial the polite. +</p> + +<p> +The next step in the history of Ahaz is also typical +of many a rake's progress. The king of Israel, in +whose ways he has walked, turns upon him and +plunders him; the experienced man of the world +gives his pupil painful proof of his superiority, and +calls in his confederates to share the spoil. Now +surely the victim's eyes will be opened to the life he +is leading and the character of his associates. By no +means. Ahaz has been conquered by Syria, and therefore +<pb n='219'/><anchor id='Pg219'/> +he will worship the gods of Syria, and he will +have a confederate of his own in the Assyrian king. +The victim tries to master the arts by which he has +been robbed and ill-treated; he will become as unscrupulous +as his masters in wickedness. He seeks +the profit and distinction of being the accomplice of +bold and daring sinners, men as pre-eminent in evil +as Tilgath-pilneser in Western Asia; and they, like +the Assyrian king, take his money and accept his +flattery: they use him and then cast him off more +humiliated and desperate than ever. He sinks into +a prey of meaner scoundrels: the Edomites and Philistines +of fast life; and then, in his extremity, he builds +new high places and sacrifices to more new gods; he +has recourse to all the shifty expedients and sordid +superstitions of the devotees of luck and chance. +</p> + +<p> +All this while he has still paid some external homage +to religion; he has observed the conventions of honour +and good breeding. There have been services, as it +were, in the temple of Jehovah. Now he begins to +feel that this deference has not met with an adequate +reward; he has been no better treated than the +flagrantly disreputable: indeed, these men have often +got the better of him. <q>It is vain to serve God; what +profit is there in keeping His charge and in walking +mournfully before the Lord of hosts? The proud are +called happy; they that work wickedness are built up: +they tempt God, and are delivered.</q> His moods vary; +and, with reckless inconsistency, he sometimes derides +religion as worthless and unmeaning, and sometimes +seeks to make God responsible for his sins and misfortunes. +At one time he says he knows all about +religion and has seen through it; he was brought up +to pious ways, and his mature judgment has shown +<pb n='220'/><anchor id='Pg220'/> +him that piety is a delusion; he will no longer countenance +its hypocrisy and cant: at another time he +complains that he has been exposed to special temptations +and has not been provided with special safeguards; +the road that leads to life has been made too +steep and narrow, and he has been allowed without +warning and remonstrance to tread <q>the primrose path +that leads to the everlasting bonfire</q>; he will cast off +altogether the dull formalities and irksome restraints +of religion; he will work wickedness with a proud heart +and a high hand. His happiness and success have +been hindered by pedantic scruples; now he will be +built up and delivered from his troubles. He gets rid +of the few surviving relics of the old honourable life. +The service of prayer and praise ceases; the lamp of +truth is put out; the incense of holy thought no longer +perfumes the soul; and the temple of the Spirit is left +empty, and dark, and desolate. +</p> + +<p> +At last, in what should be the prime of manhood, the +sinner, broken-hearted, worn out in mind and body, +sinks into a dishonoured grave. +</p> + +<p> +The career and fate of Ahaz may have other parallels +besides this, but it is sufficiently clear that the chronicler's +picture of the wicked king is no mere antiquarian study +of a vanished past. It lends itself with startling facility +to illustrate the fatal downward course of any man +who, entering on the royal inheritance of human life, +allies himself with the powers of darkness and finally +becomes their slave. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='221'/><anchor id='Pg221'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter VIII. The Priests.</head> + +<p> +The Israelite priesthood must be held to include +the Levites. Their functions and status differed +from those of the house of Aaron in degree, and not in +kind. They formed a hereditary caste set apart for +the service of the sanctuary, and as such they shared +the revenues of the Temple with the sons of Aaron. +The priestly character of the Levites is more than once +implied in Chronicles. After the disruption, we are +told that <q>the priests and the Levites that were in all +Israel resorted to Rehoboam,</q> because <q>Jeroboam and +his sons cast them off, that they should not exercise +the priest's office unto Jehovah.</q> On an emergency, +as at Hezekiah's great feast at the reopening of the +Temple, the Levites might even discharge priestly +functions. Moreover, the chronicler seems to recognise +the priestly character of the whole tribe of Levi by +retaining in a similar connection the old phrase <q>the +priests the Levites.</q><note place='foot'>2 Chron. xi. 13, 14, xxix. 34, xxx. 27, all peculiar to Chronicles. +In xxx. 27 the text is doubtful; many authorities have <q>the priests +and the Levites.</q></note> +</p> + +<p> +The relation of the Levites to the priests, the sons +of Aaron, was not that of laymen to clergy, but of +an inferior clerical order to their superiors. When +<pb n='222'/><anchor id='Pg222'/> +Charlotte Brontë has occasion to devote a chapter to +curates, she heads it <q>Levitical.</q> The Levites, again, +like deacons in the Church of England, were forbidden +to perform the most sacred ritual of Divine service. +Technically their relation to the sons of Aaron might +be compared to that of deacons to priests or of priests +to bishops. From the point of view of numbers,<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>I.e.</hi>, in the view given us by the chronicler of the period of the +monarchy, after the Return the priests were far more numerous than +the Levites.</note> +revenues, and social standing, the sons of Aaron might +be compared to the dignitaries of the Church: archbishops, +bishops, archdeacons, deans, and incumbents of +livings with large incomes and little work; while the +Levites would correspond to the more moderately paid +and fully occupied clergy. Thus the nature of the +distinction between the priests and the Levites shows +that they were essentially only two grades of the same +order; and this corresponds roughly to what has been +generally denoted by the term <q>priesthood.</q> Priest-hood, +however, had a more limited meaning in Israel +than in later times. In some branches of the Christian +Church, the priests exercise or claim to exercise functions +which in Israel belonged to the prophets or the +king. +</p> + +<p> +Before considering the central and essential idea of +the priest as a minister of public worship, we will +notice some of his minor duties. We have seen that +the sanctity of civil government is emphasised by the +religious supremacy of the king; the same truth is also +illustrated by the fact that the priests and Levites +were sometimes the king's officers for civil affairs. +Under David, certain Levites of Hebron are spoken +of as having the oversight of all Israel, both east and +<pb n='223'/><anchor id='Pg223'/> +west of Jordan, not only <q>for all the business of +Jehovah,</q> but also <q>for the service of the king.</q><note place='foot'>1 Chron. xxvi. 30-32.</note> The +business of the law-courts was recognised by Jehoshaphat +as the judgment of Jehovah, and accordingly +amongst the judges there were priests and Levites.<note place='foot'>2 Chron. xix. 4-11.</note> +Similarly the mediæval governments often found their +most efficient and trustworthy administrators in the +bishops and clergy, and were glad to reinforce their +secular authority by the sanction of the Church; and +even to-day bishops sit in Parliament: incumbents +preside over vestries, and sometimes act as county +magistrates. But the interest of religion in civil government +is most manifest in the moral influence exercised +unofficially by earnest and public-spirited ministers of +all denominations. +</p> + +<p> +The chronicler refers more than once to the educational +work of the priests, and especially of the Levites. +The English version probably gives his real meaning +when it attributes to him the phrase <q>teaching priest.</q><note place='foot'>2 Chron. xv. 3. In the older literature the phrase would bear a +more special and technical meaning.</note> +Jehoshaphat's educational commission was largely composed +of priests and Levites, and Levites are spoken of +as scribes. Jewish education was largely religious, and +naturally fell into the hands of the priesthood, just as +the learning of Egypt and Babylon was chiefly in the +hands of priests and magi. The Christian ministry +maintained the ancient traditions: the monasteries +were the homes of mediæval learning, and till recently +England and Scotland mainly owed their schools to +the Churches, and almost all schoolmasters of any +position were in holy orders—priests and Levites. +<pb n='224'/><anchor id='Pg224'/> +Under our new educational system the free choice of +the people places many ministers of religion on the +school boards. +</p> + +<p> +The next characteristic of the priesthood is not so +much in accordance with Christian theory and practice. +The house of Aaron and the tribe of Levi were a +Church militant in a very literal sense. In the beginning +of their history the tribe of Levi earned the +blessing of Jehovah by the pious zeal with which they +flew to arms in His cause and executed His judgment +upon their guilty fellow-countrymen.<note place='foot'>Exod. xxxii. 26-35.</note> Later on, when +<q>Israel joined himself unto Baal-peor, and the anger of +Jehovah was kindled against Israel,</q><note place='foot'>Num. xxv. 3.</note> then stood up +Phinehas, <q>the ancestor of the house of Zadok,</q> and +executed judgment. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>And so the plague was stayed,</q></l> +<l>And that was counted unto him for righteousness</l> +<l><q rend='post'>Unto all generations for evermore.</q><note place='foot'>Psalm cvi. 30, 31.</note></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<p> +But the militant character of the priesthood was not +confined to its early history. Amongst those who +<q>came armed for war to David to Hebron to turn the +kingdom of Saul to him, according to the word of +Jehovah,</q> were four thousand six hundred of the +children of Levi and three thousand seven hundred of +the house of Aaron, <q>and Zadok, a young man mighty +of valour, and twenty-two captains of his father's +house.</q><note place='foot'>1 Chron. xii. 23-28.</note> <q>The third captain of David's army for the +third month was Benaiah the son of Jehoiada the priest.</q><note place='foot'>1 Chron. xxvii. 5; cf. however, R.V. marg.</note> +</p> + +<p> +David's Hebronite overseers were all <q>mighty men +of valour.</q> When Judah went out to war, the trumpets +<pb n='225'/><anchor id='Pg225'/> +of the priests gave the signal for battle<note place='foot'>2 Chron. xiii. 12.</note>; when the +high-priest Jehoiada recovered the kingdom for Joash, +the Levites compassed the king round about, every +man with his weapons in his hand<note place='foot'>2 Chron. xxiii. 7. All the passages referred to in this paragraph +are peculiar to Chronicles.</note>; when Nehemiah +rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem, <q>every one with one of +his hands wrought in the work, and with the other +held his weapon,</q><note place='foot'>Neh. iv. 17.</note> and amongst the rest the priests. +Later on, when Jehovah delivered Israel from the hand +of Antiochus Epiphanes, the priestly family of the +Maccabees, in the spirit of their ancestor Phinehas, +fought and died for the Law and the Temple. There +were priestly soldiers as well as priestly generals, for +we read how <q>at that time certain priests, desirous to +show their valour, were slain in battle, for that they +went out to fight inadvisedly.</q><note place='foot'>1 Macc. v. 67.</note> In the Jewish war the +priest Josephus was Jewish commander in Galilee. +</p> + +<p> +Christianity has aroused a new sentiment with regard +to war. We believe that the servant of the Lord must +not strive in earthly battles. Arms may be lawful for +the Christian citizen, but it is felt to be unseemly that +the ministers who are the ambassadors of the Prince +of Peace should themselves be men of blood. Even in +the Middle Ages fighting prelates like Odo, Bishop of +Bayeux, were felt to be exceptional anomalies; and +the prince-bishops and electoral archbishops were often +ecclesiastics only in name. To-day the Catholic Church +in France resents the conscription of its seminarists as +an act of vindictive persecution. +</p> + +<p> +And yet the growth of Christian sentiment in favour +<pb n='226'/><anchor id='Pg226'/> +of peace has not prevented the occasional combination +of the soldier and the ecclesiastic. If Islam has had +its armies of dervishes, Cyril's monks fought for orthodoxy +at Alexandria and at Constantinople with all the +ferocity of wild beasts. The Crusaders, the Templars, +the Knights of St. John, were in varying degrees +partly priests and partly soldiers. Cromwell's Ironsides, +when they were wielding carnal weapons in their +own defence or in any other good cause, were as expert +as any Levites at exhortations and psalms and prayers; +and in our own day certain generals and admirals are +fond of playing the amateur ecclesiastic. In this, as in +so much else, while we deny the form of Judaism, we +retain its spirit. Havelock and Gordon were no unworthy +successors of the Maccabees. +</p> + +<p> +The characteristic function, however, of the Jewish +priesthood was their ministry in public worship, in +which they represented the people before Jehovah. +In this connection public worship does not necessarily +imply that the public were present, or that the worship +in question was the united act of a great assembly. +Such worshipping assemblies were not uncommon, +especially at the feasts; but ordinary public worship +was worship on behalf of the people, not by the people. +The priests and Levites were part of an elaborate +system of symbolic ritual. Worshippers might gather +in the Temple courts, but the Temple itself was not a +place in which public meetings for worship were held, +and the people were not admitted into it. The Temple +was Jehovah's house, and His presence there was symbolised +by the Ark. In this system of ritual the +priests and Levites represented Israel; their sacrifices +and ministrations were the acceptable offerings of the +nation to God. If the sacrifices were duly offered by +<pb n='227'/><anchor id='Pg227'/> +the priests <q>according to all that was written in the +law of Jehovah, and if the priests with trumpets and +the Levites with psalteries, and harps, and cymbals duly +ministered before the ark of Jehovah to celebrate, and +thank, and praise Jehovah, the God of Israel,</q> then +the Divine service of Israel was fully performed. The +whole people could not be regularly present at a single +sanctuary, nor would they be adequately represented +by the inhabitants of Jerusalem and casual visitors +from the rest of the country. Three times a year +the nation was fully and naturally represented by those +who came up to the feasts, but usually the priests and +Levites stood in their place. +</p> + +<p> +When an assembly gathered for public worship at +a feast or any other time, the priests and Levites +expressed the devotion of the people. They performed +the sacrificial rites, they blew the trumpets and played +upon the psalteries, and harps, and cymbals, and sang +the praises of Jehovah. The people were dismissed by +the priestly blessing. When an individual offered a +sacrifice as an act of private worship, the assistance of +the priests and Levites was still necessary. At the +same time the king as well as the priesthood might +lead the people in praise and prayer, and the Temple +psalmody was not confined to the Levitical choir. +When the Ark was brought away from Kirjath-jearim, +<q>David and all Israel played before God with all their +might, even with songs, and with harps, and with +psalteries, and with timbrels, and with cymbals, and +with trumpets</q>; and when at last the Ark had been +safely housed in Jerusalem, and the due sacrifices had +all been offered, David dismissed the people in priestly +fashion by blessing them in the name of Jehovah.<note place='foot'>1 Chron. xiii. 8; xvi. 2.</note> At +<pb n='228'/><anchor id='Pg228'/> +the two solemn assemblies which celebrated the beginning +and the close of the great enterprise of building the +Temple, public prayer was offered, not by the priests, +but by David<note place='foot'>1 Chron. xxix. 10-19.</note> and Solomon.<note place='foot'>2 Chron. vi.</note> Similarly Jehoshaphat +led the prayers of the Jews when they gathered to +seek deliverance from the invading Moabites and +Ammonites. Hezekiah at his great passover both +exhorted the people and interceded for them, and +Jehovah accepted his intercession; but on this occasion, +when the festival was over, it was not the king, but +<q>the priests the Levites,</q><note place='foot'>2 Chron. xx. 4-13; xxx. 6-9, 18-21, 27.</note> who <q>arose and blessed the +people: and their voice was heard, and their prayer +came up to His holy habitation, even unto heaven.</q> +In the descriptions of Hezekiah's and Josiah's festivals, +the orchestra and choir, of course, are busy with the +music and singing; otherwise the main duty of the +priests and Levites is to sacrifice. In his graphic +account of Josiah's passover, the chronicler no doubt +reproduces on a larger scale the busy scenes in which +he himself had often taken part. The king, the princes, +and the chiefs of the Levites had provided between +them thirty-seven thousand six hundred lambs and +kids and three thousand eight hundred oxen for sacrifices; +and the resources of the establishment of the +Temple were taxed to the utmost. <q>So the service +was prepared, and the priests stood in their place, and +the Levites by the courses, according to the king's +commandment. And they killed the passover, and the +priests sprinkled the blood, which they received of their +hand, and the Levites flayed the sacrifices. And they +removed the burnt offerings, that they might give them +<pb n='229'/><anchor id='Pg229'/> +according to the divisions of the fathers' houses of the +children of the people, to offer unto Jehovah, as it is +written in the law of Moses; and so they did with the +oxen. And they roasted the passover according to the +ordinance; and they boiled the holy offerings in pots, +and caldrons, and pans, and carried them quickly to all +the children of the people. And afterward they prepared +for themselves and for the priests, because the +priests the sons of Aaron were busied in offering the +burnt offerings and the fat until night; therefore the +Levites prepared for themselves and for the priests the +sons of Aaron. And the singers were in their place, +and the porters were at their several gates; they needed +not to depart from their service, for their brethren the +Levites prepared for them. So all the service of Jehovah +was prepared the same day, to keep the passover, and +to offer burnt offerings upon the altar of Jehovah.</q><note place='foot'>2 Chron. xxxv.</note> +Thus even in the accounts of great public gatherings +for worship the main duty of the priests and Levites is +to perform the sacrifices. The music and singing +naturally fall into their hands, because the necessary +training is only possible to a professional choir. Otherwise +the now symbolic portions of the service, prayer, +exhortation, and blessing, were not exclusively reserved +to ecclesiastics. +</p> + +<p> +The priesthood, like the Ark, the Temple, and the +ritual, belonged essentially to the system of religious +symbolism. This was their peculiar domain, into which +no outsider might intrude. Only the Levites could +touch the Ark. When the unhappy Uzzah <q>put forth +his hand to the Ark,</q> <q>the anger of Jehovah was +kindled against him; and he smote Uzzah so that he +<pb n='230'/><anchor id='Pg230'/> +died there before God.</q><note place='foot'>1 Chron. xiii. 10.</note> The king might offer up public +prayer; but when Uzziah ventured to go into the Temple +to burn incense upon the altar of incense, leprosy broke +forth in his forehead, and the priests thrust him out +quickly from the Temple.<note place='foot'>2 Chron. xxvi. 16-23.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Thus the symbolic and representative character of +the priesthood and ritual gave the sacrifices and other +ceremonies a value in themselves, apart alike from the +presence of worshippers and the feelings or <q>intention</q> +of the officiating minister. They were the provision +made by Israel for the expression of its prayer, its +penitence and thanksgiving. When sin had estranged +Jehovah from His people, the sons of Aaron made +atonement for Israel; they performed the Divinely +appointed ritual by which the nation made submission +to its offended King and cast itself upon His mercy. +The Jewish sacrifices had features which have survived +in the sacrifice of the Mass, and the multiplication of +sacrifices arose from motives similar to those that lead +to the offering up of many masses. +</p> + +<p> +One would expect, as has happened in the Christian +Church, that the ministrants of the symbolic ritual +would annex the other acts of public worship, not +only praise, but also prayer and exhortation. Considerations +of convenience would suggest such an +amalgamation of functions; and among the priests, +while the more ambitious would see in preaching a +means of extending their authority, the more earnest +would be anxious to use their unique position to promote +the spiritual life of the people. Chronicles, however, +affords few traces of any such tendency; and the great +scene in the book of Nehemiah in which Ezra and the +<pb n='231'/><anchor id='Pg231'/> +Levites expound the Law had no connection with the +Temple and its ritual. The development of the Temple +service was checked by its exclusive privileges; it was +simply impossible that the single sanctuary should +continue to provide for all the religious wants of the +Jews, and thus supplementary and inferior places +of worship grew up to appropriate the non-ritual elements +of service. Probably even in the chronicler's +time the division of religious services between the +Temple and the synagogue had already begun, with +the result that the representative and symbolic character +of the priesthood is almost exclusively emphasised. +</p> + +<p> +The representative character of the priesthood has +another aspect. Strictly the priest represented the +nation before Jehovah; but in doing so it was inevitable +that he should also in some measure represent Jehovah +to the nation. He could not be the channel of worship +offered to God without being also the channel of Divine +grace to man. From the priest the worshipper learnt +the will of God as to correct ritual, and received the +assurance that the atoning sacrifice was duly accepted. +The high-priest entered within the veil to make atonement +for Israel; he came forth as the bearer of Divine +forgiveness and renewed grace, and as he blessed the +people he spoke in the name of Jehovah. We have +been able to discern the presence of these ideas in +Chronicles, but they are not very conspicuous. The +chronicler was not a layman; he was too familiar with +priests to feel any profound reverence for them. On +the other hand, he was not himself a priest, but was +specially preoccupied with the musicians, the Levites, +and the doorkeepers; so that probably he does not +give us an adequate idea of the relative dignity of the +priests and the honour in which they were held by the +<pb n='232'/><anchor id='Pg232'/> +people. Organists and choirmasters, it is said, seldom +take an exalted view of their minister's office. +</p> + +<p> +The chronicler deals more fully with a matter in +which priests and Levites were alike interested: the +revenues of the Temple. He was doubtless aware of +the bountiful provision made by the Law for his order, +and loved to hold up this liberality of kings, princes, +and people in ancient days for his contemporaries to +admire and imitate. He records again and again the +tens of thousands of sheep and oxen provided for sacrifice, +not altogether unmindful of the rich dues that must +have accrued to the priests out of all this abundance; +he tells us how Hezekiah first set the good example of +appointing <q>a portion of his substance for the burnt +offerings,</q> and then <q>commanded the people that dwelt +at Jerusalem to give the portion of the priests and the +Levites that they might give themselves to the law of the +Lord. And as soon as the commandment came abroad +the children of Israel gave in abundance the first-fruits +of corn, wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase +of the field; and the tithe of all things brought they in +abundantly.</q><note place='foot'>2 Chron. xxxi. 3-5.</note> These were the days of old, the ancient +years when the offering of Judah and Jerusalem was +pleasant to Jehovah; when the people neither dared +nor desired to offer on God's altar a scanty tale of +blind, lame, and sick victims; when the tithes were not +kept back, and there was meat in the house of God<note place='foot'>Mal. i. 8; iii. 4, 10.</note>; +when, as Hezekiah's high-priest testified, they could +eat and have enough and yet leave plenty.<note place='foot'>2 Chron. xxxi. 10.</note> The +manner in which the chronicler tells the tale of ancient +abundance suggests that his days were like the days +<pb n='233'/><anchor id='Pg233'/> +of Malachi. He was no pampered ecclesiastic, revelling +in present wealth and luxury, but a man who suffered +hard times, and looked back wistfully to the happier +experiences of his predecessors. +</p> + +<p> +Let us now restore the complete picture of the +chronicler's priest from his scattered references to the +subject. The priest represents the nation before +Jehovah, and in a less degree represents Jehovah to +the nation; he leads their public worship, especially at +the great festal gatherings; he teaches the people the +Law. The high character, culture, and ability of the +priests and Levites occasions their employment as +judges and in other responsible civil offices. If occasion +required, they could show themselves mighty men of +valour in their country's wars. Under pious kings, +they enjoyed ample revenues which gave them independence, +added to their importance in the eyes of +the people, and left them at leisure to devote themselves +exclusively to their sacred duties. +</p> + +<p> +In considering the significance of this picture, we +can pass over without special notice the exercise by +priests and Levites of the functions of leadership in +public worship, teaching, and civil government. They +are not essential to the priesthood, but are entirely +consistent with the tenure of the priestly office, and +naturally become associated with it. Warlike prowess +was certainly no part of the priesthood; but, whatever +may be true of Christian ministers, it is difficult to +charge the priests of the Lord of hosts with inconsistency +because, like Jehovah Himself, they were +men of war<note place='foot'>Exod. xv. 3.</note> and went forth to battle in the armies of +Israel. When a nation was continually fighting for its +<pb n='234'/><anchor id='Pg234'/> +very existence, it was impossible for one tribe out +of the twelve to be non-combatant. +</p> + +<p> +With regard to the representative character of the +priests, it would be out of place here to enter upon the +burning questions of sacerdotalism; but we may briefly +point out the permanent truth underlying the ancient +idea of the priesthood. The ideal spiritual life in every +Church is one of direct fellowship between God and +the believer. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>Speak to Him, thou, for He hears, and spirit with spirit can meet;</q></l> +<l><q rend='post'>Closer is He than breathing, and nearer than hands and feet.</q></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<p> +And yet a man may be truly religious and not realise +this ideal, or only realise it very imperfectly. The gift +of an intense and real spiritual life may belong to the +humblest and poorest, to men of little intellect and less +learning; but, none the less, it is not within the +immediate reach of every believer, or indeed of any +believer at every time. The descendants of Mr. Little-faith +and Mr. Ready-to-halt are amongst us still, and +there is no immediate prospect of their race becoming +extinct. Times come when we are all glad to put +ourselves under the safe conduct of Mr. Great-heart. +There are many whose prayers seem to themselves too +feebly winged to rise to the throne of grace; they are +encouraged and helped when their petitions are borne +upwards on the strong pinions of another's faith. +George Eliot has pictured the Florentines as awed +spectators of Savonarola's audiences with Heaven. To +a congregation sometimes the minister's prayers are a +sacred and solemn spectacle; his spiritual feeling is +beyond them; he intercedes for blessings they neither +desire nor understand; they miss the heavenly vision +which stirs his soul. He is not their spokesman, but +<pb n='235'/><anchor id='Pg235'/> +their priest; he has entered the holy place, bearing +with him the sins that crave forgiveness, the fears that +beg for deliverance, the hopes that yearn to be fulfilled. +Though the people may remain in the outer court, yet +they are fully assured that he has passed into the +very presence of God. They listen to him as to one +who has had actual speech with the King and received +the assurance of His goodwill towards them. When +the vanguard of the Ten Thousand first sighted the +Euxine, the cry of <q>Thalassa! Thalassa!</q> (<q>The sea! +the sea!</q>) rolled backward along the line of march; +the rearguard saw the long-hoped-for sight with the +eyes of the pioneers. Much unnecessary self-reproach +would be avoided if we accepted this as one of God's +methods of spiritual education, and understood that +we all have in a measure to experience this discipline +in humility. The priesthood of the believer is not +merely his right to enter for himself into the immediate +presence of God: it becomes his duty and privilege +to represent others. But times will also come when he +himself will need the support of a priestly intercession +in the Divine presence-chamber, when he will seek out +some one of quick sympathy and strong faith and say, +<q>Brother, pray for me.</q> Apart from any ecclesiastical +theory of the priesthood, we all recognise that there +are God-ordained priests, men and women, who can +inspire dull souls with a sense of the Divine presence +and bring to the sinful and the struggling the assurance +of Divine forgiveness and help. If one in ten among +the official priests of the historic Churches had possessed +these supreme gifts, the world would have accepted +the most extravagant sacerdotalism without a murmur. +As it is, every minister, every one who leads the +worship of a congregation, assumes for the time being +<pb n='236'/><anchor id='Pg236'/> +functions and should possess the corresponding qualifications. +In his prayers he speaks for the people; he +represents them before God; on their behalf he enters +into the Divine presence; they only enter with him, if, +as their spokesman and representative, he has grasped +their feelings and raised them to the level of Divine +fellowship. He may be an untutored labourer in his +working garments; but if he can do this, this spiritual +gift makes him a priest of God. But this Christian +priesthood is not confined to public service; as the +priest offered sacrifice for the individual Jew, so the +man of spiritual sympathies helps the individual to +draw near his Maker. <q>To pray with people</q> is a +well-known ministry of Christian service, and it involves +this priestly function of presenting another's prayers to +God. This priesthood for individuals is exercised by +many a Christian who has no gifts of public utterance. +</p> + +<p> +The ancient priest held a representative position in +a symbolic ritual, a position partly independent of his +character and spiritual powers. Where symbolic ritual +is best suited for popular needs, there may be room for +a similar priesthood to-day. Otherwise the Christian +priesthood is required to represent the people not in +symbol, but in reality, to carry not the blood of dead +victims into a material Holy of holies, but living souls +into the heavenly temple. +</p> + +<p> +There remains one feature of the Jewish priestly +system upon which the chronicler lays great stress: +the endowments and priestly dues. In the case of the +high-priest and the Levites, whose whole time was +devoted to sacred duties, it was obviously necessary +that those who served the altar should live by the +altar. The same principle would apply, but with much +less force, to the twenty-four courses of priests, each +<pb n='237'/><anchor id='Pg237'/> +of which in its turn officiated at the Temple. But, +apart from the needs of the priesthood, their representative +character demanded that they should be able +to maintain a certain state. They were the ambassadors +of Israel to Jehovah. Nations have always +been anxious that the equipment and suite of their +representative at a foreign court should be worthy of +their power and wealth; moreover, the splendour of an +embassy should be in proportion to the rank of the +sovereign to whom it is accredited. In former times, +when the social symbols were held of more account, a +first-rate power would have felt itself insulted if asked +to receive an envoy of inferior rank, attended by only +a meagre train. Israel, by her lavish endowment of +the priesthood, consulted her own dignity and expressed +her sense of the homage due to Jehovah. The Jews +could not express their devotion in the same way as +other nations. They had to be content with a single +sanctuary, and might not build a multitude of magnificent +temples or adorn their cities with splendid, costly +statues in honour of God. There were limits to their +expenditure upon the sacrifices and buildings of the +Temple; but the priesthood offered a large opportunity +for pious generosity. The chronicler felt that loyal +enthusiasm to Jehovah would always use this opportunity, +and that the priests might consent to accept +the distinction of wealth and splendour for the honour +alike of Israel and Jehovah. Their dignity was not +personal to themselves, but rather the livery of a self-effacing +servitude. For the honour of the Church, +Thomas à Becket kept up a great establishment, appeared +in his robes of office, and entertained a crowd +of guests with luxurious fare; while he himself wore +a hair shirt next his skin and fasted like an ascetic +<pb n='238'/><anchor id='Pg238'/> +monk. When the Jews stinted the ritual or the +ministrants of Jehovah, they were doing what they +could to put Him to open shame before the nations. +Julian's experience in the grove of Daphne at Antioch +was a striking illustration of the collapse of paganism: +the imperial champion of the ancient gods must have +felt his heart sink within him when he was welcomed +to that once splendid sanctuary by one shabby priest +dragging a solitary and reluctant goose to the deserted +altar. Similarly Malachi saw that Israel's devotion to +Jehovah was in danger of dying out when men chose +the refuse of their flocks and herds and offered them +grudgingly at the shrine. +</p> + +<p> +The application of these principles leads directly to +the question of a paid ministry; but the connection is +not so close as it appears at first sight, nor are we +yet in possession of all the data which the chronicler +furnishes for its discussion. Priestly duties form an +essential, but not predominant, part of the work of most +Christian ministers. Still the loyal believer must +always be anxious that the buildings, the services, and +the men which, for himself and for the world, represent +his devotion to Christ, should be worthy of their high +calling. But his ideas of the symbolism suitable for +spiritual realities are not altogether those of the +chronicler: he is less concerned with number, size, +and weight, with tens of thousands of sheep and oxen, +vast quantities of stone and timber, brass and iron, +and innumerable talents of gold and silver. Moreover, +in this special connection the secondary priestly function +of representing God to man has been expressly +transferred by Christ to the least of His brethren. +Those who wish to honour God with their substance +in the person of His earthly representatives are enjoined +<pb n='239'/><anchor id='Pg239'/> +to seek for them in hospitals, and workhouses, and +prisons, to find these representatives in the hungry, +the thirsty, the friendless, the naked, the captives. No +doubt Christ is dishonoured when those who dwell in +<q>houses of cedar</q> are content to worship Him in a +mean, dirty church, with a half-starved minister; but +the most disgraceful proof of the Church's disloyalty +to Christ is to be seen in the squalor and misery of +men, and women, and children whose bodies were +ordained of God to be the temples of His Holy Spirit. +</p> + +<p> +This is only one among many illustrations of the +truth that in Christ the symbolism of religion took a +new departure. His Church enjoys the spiritual realities +prefigured by the Jewish temple and its ministry. +Even where Christian symbols are parallel to those +of Judaism, they are less conventional and richer in +their direct spiritual suggestiveness. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='240'/><anchor id='Pg240'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<anchor id='Book_III_Chapter_IX'/> +<head>Chapter IX. The Prophets.</head> + +<p> +One remarkable feature of Chronicles as compared +with the book of Kings is the greater interest +shown by the former in the prophets of Judah. The +chronicler, by confining his attention to the southern +kingdom, was compelled to omit almost all reference +to Elijah and Elisha, and thus exclude from his work +some of the most thrilling chapters in the history of +the prophets of Israel. Nevertheless the prophets as +a whole play almost as important a part in Chronicles +as in the book of Kings. Compensation is made for +the omission of the two great northern prophets by +inserting accounts of several prophets whose messages +were addressed to the kings of Judah. +</p> + +<p> +The chronicler's interest in the prophets was very +different from the interest he took in the priests and +Levites. The latter belonged to the institutions of his +own time, and formed his own immediate circle. In +dealing with their past, he was reconstructing the +history of his own order; he was able to illustrate +and supplement from observation and experience the +information afforded by his sources. +</p> + +<p> +But when the chronicler wrote, prophets had ceased +to be a living institution in Judah. The light that had +shone so brightly in Isaiah and Jeremiah burned feebly +in Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, and then went out. +<pb n='241'/><anchor id='Pg241'/> +Not long after the chronicler's time the failure of +prophecy is expressly recognised. The people whose +synagogues have been burnt up complain,— +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>We see not our signs;</q></l> +<l><q rend='post'>There is no more any prophet.</q><note place='foot'>Psalm lxxiv. 8, 9. This psalm is commonly regarded as +Maccabæan, but may be as early as the chronicler or even earlier.</note></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<p> +When Judas Maccabæus appointed certain priests to +cleanse the Temple after its pollution by the Syrians, +they pulled down the altar of burnt offerings because +the heathen had defiled it, and laid up the stones in +the mountain of the Temple in a convenient place, until +there should come a prophet to show what should be +done with them.<note place='foot'>1 Macc. iv. 46.</note> This failure of prophecy was not +merely brief and transient. It marked the disappearance +of the ancient order of prophets. A parallel case shows +how the Jews had become aware that the high-priest +no longer possessed the special gifts connected with the +Urim and Thummim. When certain priests could not +find their genealogies, they were forbidden <q>to eat +of the most holy things till there stood up a priest +with Urim and with Thummim.</q><note place='foot'>Ezra ii. 63.</note> We have no record +of any subsequent appearance of <q>a priest with Urim +and with Thummim</q> or of any prophet of the old +order. +</p> + +<p> +Thus the chronicler had never seen a prophet; his +conception of the personality and office of the prophet +was entirely based upon ancient literature, and he took +no professional interest in the order. At the same time +he had no prejudice against them; they had no living +successors to compete for influence and endowments +<pb n='242'/><anchor id='Pg242'/> +with the priests and Levites. Possibly the Levites, as +the chief religious teachers of the people, claimed some +sort of apostolic succession from the prophets; but +there are very slight grounds for any such theory. +The chronicler's information on the whole subject was +that of a scholar with a taste for antiquarian research. +</p> + +<p> +Let us briefly examine the part played by the +prophets in the history of Judah as given by Chronicles. +We have first, as in the book of Kings, the references +to Nathan and Gad: they make known to David the +will of Jehovah as regards the building of the Temple +and the punishment of David's pride in taking the +census of Israel. David unhesitatingly accepts their +messages as the word of Jehovah. It is important to +notice that when Nathan is consulted about building +the Temple he first answers, apparently giving a mere +private opinion, <q>Do all that is in thine heart, for God +is with thee</q>; but when <q>the word of God comes</q> +to him, he retracts his former judgment and forbids +David to build the Temple. Here again the plan of +the chronicler's work leads to an important omission: +his silence as to the murder of Uriah prevents him +from giving the beautiful and instructive account of +the way in which Nathan rebuked the guilty king. +Later narratives exhibit other prophets in the act of +rebuking most of the kings of Judah, but none of these +incidents are equally striking and pathetic. At the +end of the histories of David and of most of the later +kings we find notes which apparently indicate that, in +the chronicler's time, the prophets were credited with +having written the annals of the kings with whom they +were contemporary. In connection with Hezekiah's +reformation we are incidentally told that Nathan and +Gad were associated with David in making arrangements +<pb n='243'/><anchor id='Pg243'/> +for the music of the Temple: <q>He set the +Levites in the house of Jehovah, with cymbals, with +psalteries, and with harps, according to the commandment +of David and of Gad the king's seer and Nathan +the prophet, for the commandment was of Jehovah by +His prophets.</q><note place='foot'>2 Chron. xxix. 25, peculiar to Chronicles.</note> +</p> + +<p> +In the account of Solomon's reign, the chronicler +omits the interview of Ahijah the Shilonite with +Jeroboam, but refers to it in the history of Rehoboam. +From this point, in accordance with his general plan, he +omits almost all missions of prophets to the northern +kings. +</p> + +<p> +In Rehoboam's reign, we have recorded, as in the +book of Kings, a message from Jehovah by Shemaiah +forbidding the king and his two tribes of Judah and +Benjamin to attempt to compel the northern tribes to +return to their allegiance to the house of David. +Later on, when Shishak invaded Judah, Shemaiah was +commissioned to deliver to the king and princes the +message, <q>Thus saith Jehovah: Ye have forsaken Me; +therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak.</q><note place='foot'>2 Chron. xii. 5-8, peculiar to Chronicles.</note> +But when they repented and humbled themselves +before Jehovah, Shemaiah announced to them the +mitigation of their punishment. +</p> + +<p> +Asa's reformation was due to the inspired exhortations +of a prophet called both Oded and Azariah the son +of Oded. Later on Hanani the seer rebuked the king +for his alliance with Benhadad, king of Syria. <q>Then +Asa was wroth with the seer, and put him in the +prison-house; for he was in a rage with him because +of this thing.</q><note place='foot'>2 Chron. xv.-xvi. 10, peculiar to Chronicles.</note> +</p> + +<pb n='244'/><anchor id='Pg244'/> + +<p> +Jehoshaphat's alliance with Ahab and his consequent +visit to Samaria enabled the chronicler to introduce +from the book of Kings the striking narrative of +Micaiah the son of Imlah; but this alliance with Israel +earned for the king the rebukes of Jehu the son of +Hanani the seer and Eliezar the son of Dodavahu of +Mareshah. However, on the occasion of the Moabite +and Ammonite invasion Jehoshaphat and his people +received the promise of Divine deliverance from +<q>Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the +son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah the Levite, of the +sons of Asaph.</q><note place='foot'>2 Chron. xix. 2, 3, xx. 14-18, 37, all peculiar to Chronicles.</note> +</p> + +<p> +The punishment of the wicked king Jehoram was +announced to him by a <q>writing from Elijah the +prophet.</q><note place='foot'>xxi. 12-15, peculiar to Chronicles.</note> His son Ahaziah apparently perished +without any prophetic warning; but when Joash and +his princes forsook the house of Jehovah and served +the Asherim and the idols, <q>He sent prophets to them +to bring them again to Jehovah,</q> among the rest +Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest. Joash +turned a deaf ear to the message, and put the prophet +to death.<note place='foot'>xxiv. 18-22, peculiar to Chronicles.</note> +</p> + +<p> +When Amaziah bowed down before the gods of +Edom and burned incense unto them, Jehovah sent +unto him a prophet whose name is not recorded. His +mission failed, like that of Zechariah the son of +Jehoiada; and Amaziah, like Joash, showed no respect +for the person of the messenger of Jehovah. In this +case the prophet escaped with his life. He began to +deliver his message, but the king's patience soon failed, +and he said unto the prophet, <q>Have we made thee of +<pb n='245'/><anchor id='Pg245'/> +the king's counsel? forbear; why shouldest thou be +smitten?</q> The prophet, we are told, <q>forbare</q>; but +his forbearance did not prevent his adding one brief and +bitter sentence: <q>I know that God hath determined to +destroy thee, because thou hast done this and hast not +hearkened unto my counsel.</q><note place='foot'>xiv. 15, 16, peculiar to Chronicles.</note> Then apparently he +departed in peace and was not smitten. +</p> + +<p> +We have now reached the period of the prophets +whose writings are extant. We learn from the +headings of their works that Isaiah saw his <q>vision,</q> +and that the word of Jehovah came unto Hosea, in the +days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah; that the +word of Jehovah came to Micah in the days of Jotham, +Ahaz, and Hezekiah; and that Amos <q>saw</q> his +<q>words</q> in the days of Uzziah. But the chronicler +makes no reference to any of these prophets in +connection with either Uzziah, Jotham, or Ahaz. +Their writings would have afforded the best possible +materials for his history, yet he entirely neglected +them. In view of his anxiety to introduce into his +narrative all missions of prophets of which he found +any record, we can only suppose that he was so little +interested in the prophetical writings that he neither +referred to them nor recollected their dates. +</p> + +<p> +To Ahaz in Chronicles, in spite of all his manifold and +persistent idolatry, no prophet was sent. The absence +of Divine warning marks his extraordinary wickedness. +In the book of Samuel the culmination of +Jehovah's displeasure against Saul is shown by His +refusal to answer him either by dreams, by Urim, or by +prophets. He sends no prophet to Ahaz, because the +wicked king of Judah is utterly reprobate. Prophecy, +<pb n='246'/><anchor id='Pg246'/> +the token of the Divine presence and favour, has +abandoned a nation given over to idolatry, and has +even taken a temporary refuge in Samaria. Jerusalem +was no longer worthy to receive the Divine messages, +and Oded was sent with his words of warning and +humane exhortation to the children of Ephraim. There +he met with a prompt and full obedience, in striking +contrast to the reception accorded by Joash and +Amaziah to the prophets of Jehovah. +</p> + +<p> +The chronicler's history of the reign of Hezekiah +further illustrates his indifference to the prophets whose +writings are extant. In the book of Kings great +prominence is given to Isaiah. In the account of +Sennacherib's invasion his messages to Hezekiah are +given at considerable length.<note place='foot'>2 Kings xix. 5-7, 20-34.</note> He announces to the +king his approaching death and Jehovah's gracious +answers to Hezekiah's prayer for a respite and his +request for a sign. When Hezekiah, in his pride of +wealth, displayed his treasures to the Babylonian +ambassadors, Isaiah brought the message of Divine +rebuke and judgment. Chronicles characteristically +devotes three long chapters to ritual and Levites, and +dismisses Isaiah in half a sentence: <q>And Hezekiah +the king and Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, +prayed because of this</q>—<hi rend='italic'>i.e.</hi>, the threatening language +of Sennacherib—<q>and cried to Heaven.</q><note place='foot'>xxxii. 20.</note> In the +accounts of Hezekiah's sickness and recovery and of +the Babylonian embassy the references to Isaiah are +entirely omitted. These omissions may be due to +lack of space, so much of which had been devoted to +the Levites that there was none to spare for the +prophet. +</p> + +<pb n='247'/><anchor id='Pg247'/> + +<p> +Indeed, at the very point where prophecy began to +exercise a controlling influence over the religion of +Judah the chronicler's interest in the subject altogether +flags. He tells us that Jehovah spake to Manasseh +and to his people, and refers to <q>the words of the seers +that spake to him in the name of Jehovah, the God +of Israel</q>;<note place='foot'>xxxiii. 10, 18.</note> but he names no prophet and does not +record the terms of any Divine message. In the case of +Manasseh his sources may have failed him, but we have +seen that in Hezekiah's reign he deliberately passes +over most of the references to Isaiah. +</p> + +<p> +The chroniclers narrative of Josiah's reign adheres +more closely to the book of Kings. He reproduces +the mission from the king to the prophetess Huldah +and her Divine message of present forbearance and +future judgment. The other prophet of this reign is +the heathen king Pharaoh Necho, through whose +mouth the Divine warning is given to Josiah. Jeremiah +is only mentioned as lamenting over the last good +king.<note place='foot'>xxxv. 21, 22, 25, peculiar to Chronicles.</note> In the parallel text of this passage in the +apocryphal book of Esdras Pharaoh's remonstrance +is given in a somewhat expanded form; but the editor +of Esdras shrank from making the heathen king the +mouthpiece of Jehovah. While Chronicles tells us +that Josiah <q>hearkened not unto the words of Neco +from the mouth of God,</q> Esdras, glaringly inconsistent +both with the context and the history, tells us that he +did not regard <q>the words of the prophet Jeremiah +spoken by the mouth of the Lord.</q><note place='foot'>1 Esdras i. 28.</note> This amended +statement is borrowed from the chronicler's account of +Zedekiah, who <q>humbled not himself before Jeremiah +<pb n='248'/><anchor id='Pg248'/> +the prophet, speaking from the mouth of Jehovah.</q> +But this king was not alone in his disobedience. As +the inevitable ruin of Jerusalem drew near, the whole +nation, priests and people alike, sank deeper and deeper +in sin. In these last days, <q>where sin abounded, grace +did yet more abound.</q> Jehovah exhausted the resources +of His mercy: <q>Jehovah, the God of their fathers, sent +to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending, +because He had compassion on His people and on His +dwelling-place.</q> It was all in vain: <q>They mocked +the messengers of God, and despised His words and +scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of Jehovah +arose against His people, till there was no remedy.</q> +There are two other references in the concluding paragraphs +of Chronicles to the prophecies of Jeremiah; +but the history of prophecy in Judah closes with this +last great unavailing manifestation of prophetic activity. +</p> + +<p> +Before considering the general idea of the prophet +that may be collected from the various notices in +Chronicles, we may devote a little space to the chronicler's +curious attitude towards our canonical prophets. +For the most part he simply follows the book of Kings +in making no reference to them; but his almost entire +silence as to Isaiah suggests that his imitation of his +authority in other cases is deliberate and intentional, +especially as we find him inserting one or two references +to Jeremiah not taken from the book of Kings. The +chronicler had much more opportunity of using the +canonical prophets than the author or authors of the +book of Kings. The latter wrote before Hebrew +literature had been collected and edited; but the +chronicler had access to all the literature of the +monarchy, Captivity, and even later times. His numerous +extracts from almost the entire range of the Historical +<pb n='249'/><anchor id='Pg249'/> +Books, together with the Pentateuch and Psalms, show +that his plan included the use of various sources, and +that he had both the means and ability to work out his +plan. He makes two references to Haggai and Zechariah,<note place='foot'>Ezra v. 1; vi. 14.</note> +so that if he ignores Amos, Hosea, and Micah, +and all but ignores Isaiah, we can only conclude that he +does so of set purpose. Hosea and Amos might be +excluded on account of their connection with the +northern kingdom; possibly the strictures of Isaiah +and Micah on the priesthood and ritual made the +chronicler unwilling to give them special prominence. +Such an attitude on the part of a typical representative +of the prevailing school of religious thought has an +important bearing on the textual and other criticism +of the early prophets. If they were neglected by the +authorities of the Temple in the interval between Ezra +and the Maccabees, the possibility of late additions and +alterations is considerably increased. +</p> + +<p> +Let us now turn to the picture of the prophets +drawn for us by the chronicler. Both prophet and +priest are religious personages, otherwise they differ +widely in almost every particular; we cannot even +speak of them as both holding religious offices. The +term <q>office</q> has to be almost unjustifiably strained +in order to apply it to the prophet, and to use it thus +without explanation would be misleading. The qualifications, +status, duties, and rewards of the priests are +all fully prescribed by rigid and elaborate rules; but +the prophets were the children of the Spirit: <q>The +wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the +voice thereof, but knowest not whence it cometh and +whither it goeth; so is every one that is born of the +<pb n='250'/><anchor id='Pg250'/> +Spirit.</q> The priest was bound to be a physically perfect +male of the house of Aaron; the prophet might be +of any tribe and of either sex. The warlike Deborah +found a more peaceful successor in Josiah's counsellor +Huldah, and among the degenerate prophets of +Nehemiah's time a prophetess Noadiah<note place='foot'>Neh. vi. 14.</note> is specially +mentioned. The priestly or Levitical office did not +exclude its holder from the prophetic vocation. The +Levite Jahaziel delivered the message of Jehovah to +Jehoshaphat; and the prophet Zechariah, whom Joash +put to death, was the son of the high-priest Jehoiada, +and therefore himself a priest. Indeed, upon occasion +the prophetic gift was exercised by those whom we +should scarcely call prophets at all. Pharaoh Necho's +warning to Jehoshaphat is exactly parallel to the +prophetic exhortations addressed to other kings. In +the crisis of David's fortunes at Ziklag, when Judah +and Benjamin came out to meet him with apparently +doubtful intentions, their adhesion to the future king +was decided by a prophetic word given to the mighty +warrior Amasai: <q>Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, +who was one of the thirty, and he said, Thine are we, +David, and on thy side, thou son of Jesse: peace, +peace, be unto thee, and peace be to thine helpers; for +thy God helpeth thee.</q><note place='foot'>1 Chron. xii. 18, peculiar to Chronicles.</note> In view of this wide distribution +of the prophetic gift, we are not surprised to find +it frequently exercised by the pious kings. They +receive and communicate to the nation direct intimations +of the Divine will. David gives to Solomon and the +people the instructions which God has given him with +regard to the Temple; God's promises are personally +addressed to Solomon, without the intervention of either +<pb n='251'/><anchor id='Pg251'/> +prophet or priest; Abijah rebukes and exhorts +Jeroboam and the Israelites very much as other +prophets address the wicked kings; the speeches +of Hezekiah and Josiah might equally well have been +delivered by one of the prophets. David indeed is +expressly called a prophet by St. Peter<note place='foot'>Acts ii. 30.</note>; and though +the immediate reference is to the Psalms, the chronicler's +history both of David and of other kings gives +them a valid claim to rank as prophets. +</p> + +<p> +The authority and status of the prophets rested on +no official or material conditions, such as hedged in +the priestly office on every side. Accordingly their +ancestry, previous history, and social standing are +matters with which the historian has no concern. If +the prophet happens also to be a priest or Levite, the +chronicler, of course, knows and records his genealogy. +It was essential that the genealogy of a priest should +be known, but there are no genealogies of the +prophets; their order was like that of Melchizedek, +standing on the page of history <q>without father, without +mother, without genealogy</q>; they appear abruptly, +with no personal introduction, they deliver their message, +and then disappear with equal abruptness. +Sometimes not even their names are given. They had +the one qualification compared with which birth and +sex, rank and reputation, were trivial and meaningless +things. The living word of Jehovah was on their lips; +the power of His Spirit controlled their hearers; messenger +and message were alike their own credentials. +The supreme religious authority of the prophet testified +to the subordinate and accidental character of all rites +and symbols. On the other hand, the combination of +<pb n='252'/><anchor id='Pg252'/> +priest and prophet in the same system proved the +loftiest spirituality, the most emphatic recognition of +the direct communion of the soul with God, to be consistent +with an elaborate and rigid system of ritual. +The services and ministry of the Temple were like +lamps whose flame showed pale and dim when earth +and heaven were lit up by the lightnings of prophetic +inspiration. +</p> + +<p> +The gifts and functions of the prophets did not lend +themselves to any regular discipline or organisation; +but we can roughly distinguish between two classes of +prophets. One class seem to have exercised their gifts +more systematically and continuously than others. Gad +and Nathan, Isaiah and Jeremiah, became practically +the domestic chaplains and spiritual advisers of David, +Hezekiah, and the last kings of Judah. Others are only +mentioned as delivering a single message; their ministry +seems to have been occasional, perhaps confined to a +single period of their lives. The Divine Spirit was +free to take the whole life or to take a part only; He +was not to be conditioned even by gifts of His own +bestowal. +</p> + +<p> +Human organisation naturally attempted to classify +the possessors of the prophetic gift, to set them apart +as a regular order, perhaps even to provide them with +a suitable training, and, still more impossible task, to +select the proper recipients of the gift and to produce +and foster the prophetic inspiration. We read elsewhere +of <q>schools of the prophets</q> and <q>sons of the +prophets.</q> The chronicler omits all reference to such +institutions or societies; he declines to assign them any +place in the prophetic succession in Israel. The gift +of prophecy was absolutely dependent on the Divine +will, and could not be claimed as a necessary appurtenance +<pb n='253'/><anchor id='Pg253'/> +of the royal court at Jerusalem or a regular +order in the kingdom of Judah. The priests are included +in the list of David's ministers, but not the prophets +Gad and Nathan. Abijah mentions among the special +privileges of Judah <q>priests ministering unto Jehovah, +even the sons of Aaron and the Levites in their work</q>; +it does not occur to him to name prophets among the +regular and permanent ministers of Jehovah. +</p> + +<p> +The chronicler, in fact, does not recognise the professional +prophet. The fifty sons of the prophets that +watched Elisha divide the waters in the name of the +God of Elijah were no more prophets for him than the +four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four +hundred prophets of the Asherah that ate at Jezebel's +table. The true prophet, like Amos, need not be either +a prophet or the son of a prophet in the professional +sense. Long before the chronicler's time the history +and teaching of the great prophets had clearly established +the distinction between the professional prophet, +who was appointed by man or by himself, and the +inspired messenger, who received a direct commission +from Jehovah. +</p> + +<p> +In describing the prophet's sole qualification we have +also stated his function. He was the messenger of +Jehovah, and declared His will. The priest in his +ministrations represented Israel before God, and in +a measure represented God to Israel. The rites and +ceremonies over which he presided symbolised the +permanent and unchanging features of man's religious +experience and me eternal righteousness and mercy +of Him who is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. +From generation to generation men received the good +gifts of God, and brought the offerings of their gratitude; +they sinned against God and came to seek +<pb n='254'/><anchor id='Pg254'/> +forgiveness; and the house of Aaron met them generation +after generation in the same priestly robes, with +the same rites, in the one Temple, in token of the +unchanging willingness of Jehovah to accept and forgive +His children. +</p> + +<p> +The prophet, too, represented God to man; his words +were the words of God; through him the Divine presence +and the Divine Spirit exerted their influence over +the hearts and consciences of his hearers. But while +the priestly ministrations symbolised the fixity and +permanence of God's eternal majesty, the prophets +expressed the infinite variety of His Divine nature and +its continual adaptation to all the changes of human +life. They came to the individual and to the nation in +each crisis of history with the Divine message that +enabled them to suit themselves to altered circumstances, +to grapple with new difficulties, and to solve +new problems. The priest and the prophet together +set forth the great paradox that the unchanging God is +the source of all change. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> + +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>Lord God, by whom all change is wrought,</q></l> +<l>By whom new things to birth are brought,</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>In whom no change is known,</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>To Thee we rise, in Thee we rest;</l> +<l>We stay at home, we go in quest,</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 4'>Still Thou art our abode:</l> +<l>The rapture swells, the wonder grows,</l> +<l>As full on us new life still flows</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><q rend='post'>From our unchanging God.</q></l> +</lg> + +</quote> + +<p> +The prophetic utterances recorded by the chronicler +illustrate the work of the prophets in delivering the +message that met the present needs of the people. +There is nothing in Chronicles to encourage the +unspiritual notion that the main object of prophecy +<pb n='255'/><anchor id='Pg255'/> +was to give exact and detailed information as to the +remote future. There is prediction necessarily: it was +impossible to declare the will of God without stating +the punishment of sin and the victory of righteousness; +but prediction is only part of the declaration of God's +will. In Gad and Nathan prophecy appears as a means +of communication between the inquiring soul and God; +it does not, indeed, gratify curiosity, but rather gives +guidance in perplexity and distress. The later prophets +constantly intervene to initiate reform or to hinder the +carrying out of an evil policy. Gad and Nathan lent +their authority to David's organisation of the Temple +music; Asa's reform originated in the exhortation of +Oded the prophet; Jehoshaphat went out to meet the +Moabite and Ammonite invaders in response to the +inspiriting utterance of Jahaziel the Levite; Josiah +consulted the prophetess Huldah before carrying out +his reformation; the chiefs of Ephraim sent back the +Jewish captives in obedience to another Oded. On the +other hand, Shemaiah prevented Rehoboam from fighting +against Israel; Micaiah warned Ahab and Jehoshaphat +not to go up against Ramoth-gilead. +</p> + +<p> +Often, however, the prophetic message gives the +interpretation of history, the Divine judgment upon +conduct, with its sentence of punishment or reward. +Hanani the seer, for instance, comes to Asa to show +him the real value of his apparently satisfactory alliance +with Benhadad, king of Syria: <q>Because thou hast +relied on the king of Syria, and hast not relied on +Jehovah thy God, therefore is the host of the king of +Syria escaped out of thine hand.... Herein thou +hast done foolishly; for from henceforth thou shalt +have wars.</q> Jehoshaphat is told why his ships were +broken: <q>Because thou hast joined thyself with +<pb n='256'/><anchor id='Pg256'/> +Ahaziah, Jehovah hath destroyed thy works.</q> Thus +the prophetic declaration of Divine judgment came to +mean almost exclusively rebuke and condemnation. +The witness of a good conscience may be left to speak +for itself; God does not often need to send a prophet +to His obedient servants in order to signify His +approval of their righteous acts. But the censures of +conscience need both the stimulus of external suggestion +and the support of external authority. Upon the +prophets was constantly laid the unwelcome task of +rousing and bracing the conscience for its stern duty. +They became the heralds of Divine wrath, the precursors +of national misfortune. Often, too, the warnings +that should have saved the people were neglected or +resented, and thus became the occasion of new sin and +severer punishment. We must not, however, lay too +much stress on this aspect of the prophets' work. +They were no mere Cassandras, announcing inevitable +ruin at the hands of a blind destiny; they were not +always, or even chiefly, the messengers of coming doom. +If they declared the wrath of God, they also vindicated +His justice; in the day of the Lord which they so often +foretold, mercy and grace tempered and at last overcame +judgment. They taught, even in their sternest +utterances, the moral government of the world and the +benevolent purpose of its Ruler. These are man's only +hope, even in his sin and suffering, the only ground +for effort, and the only comfort in misfortune. +</p> + +<p> +There are, however, one or two elements in the +chronicler's notices of the prophets that scarcely harmonise +with this general picture. The scanty references +of the books of Samuel and Kings to the <q>schools</q> +and sons of the prophets have suggested the theory +that the prophets were the guardians of national education, +<pb n='257'/><anchor id='Pg257'/> +culture, and literature. The chronicler expressly +assigns the function to the Levites, and does not +recognise that the <q>schools of the prophets</q> had +any permanent significance for the religion of Israel, +possibly because they chiefly appear in connection with +the northern kingdom. At the same time, we find this +idea of the literary character of the prophets in +Chronicles in a new form. The authorities referred +to in the subscriptions to each reign bear the names +of the prophets who flourished during the reign. The +primary significance of the tradition followed by the +chronicler is the supreme importance of the prophet +for his period; he, and not the king, gives it a distinctive +character. Therefore the prophet gives his name +to his period, as the consuls at Rome, the Archon +Basileus at Athens, and the Assyrian priests gave their +own names to their year of office. Probably by the +time Chronicles was written the view had been adopted +which we know prevailed later on, and it was supposed +that the prophets wrote the Historical Books which bore +their names. The ancient prophets had given the Divine +interpretation of the course of events and pronounced +the Divine judgment on history. The Historical Books +were written for religious edification; they contained +a similar interpretation and judgment. The religious +instincts of later Judaism rightly classed them with +the prophetic Scriptures. +</p> + +<p> +The striking contrast we have been able to trace +between the priests and the prophets in their qualifications +and duties extends also to their rewards. The +book of Kings gives us glimpses of the way in which +the reverent gratitude of the people made some provision +for the maintenance of the prophets. We are +all familiar with the hospitality of the Shunammite, and +<pb n='258'/><anchor id='Pg258'/> +we read how <q>a man from Baal-shalishah</q> brought +first-fruits to Elisha.<note place='foot'>2 Kings iv. 42.</note> But the chronicler omits all +such references as being connected with the northern +kingdom, and does not give us any similar information +as to the prophets of Judah. He is not usually indifferent +as to ways and means. He devotes some space +to the revenues of the kings of Judah, and delights to +dwell on the sources of priestly income. But it never +seems to occur to him that the prophets have any +wants to be provided for. To use George Macdonald's +phrase, he is quite content to leave them <q>on the lily +and sparrow footing.</q> The priesthood and the Levites +must be richly endowed; the honour of Israel and of +Jehovah is concerned in their having cities, tithes, +first-fruits, and offerings. Prophets are sent to reproach +the people when the priestly dues are withheld; +but for themselves the prophets might have said +with St. Paul, <q>We seek not yours, but you.</q> No one +supposed that the authority and dignity of the prophets +needed to be supported by ecclesiastical status, splendid +robes, and great incomes. Spiritual force so manifestly +resided in them that they could afford to dispense with +the most impressive symbols of power and authority. +On the other hand, they received an honour that was +never accorded to the priesthood: they suffered persecution +for the cause of Jehovah. Zechariah the son +of Jehoiada was put to death, and Micaiah the son of +Imlah was imprisoned. We are never told that the +priest as priest suffered persecution. Ahaz closed +the Temple, Manasseh set up an idol in the house of +God, but we do not read of either Ahaz or Manasseh +that they slew the priests of Jehovah. The teaching +<pb n='259'/><anchor id='Pg259'/> +of the prophets was direct and personal, and thus +eminently calculated to excite resentment and provoke +persecution; the priestly services, however, did not at +all interfere with concurrent idolatry, and the priests +were accustomed to receive and execute the orders of +the kings. There is nothing to suggest that they +sought to obtrude the worship of Jehovah upon unwilling +converts; and it is not improbable that some, +at any rate, of the priests allowed themselves to be +made the tools of the wicked kings. On the eve of +the Captivity we read that <q>the chiefs of the priests +and the people trespassed very greatly after all the +abominations of the heathen, and they polluted the +house of Jehovah.</q> No such disloyalty is recorded +of the prophets in Chronicles. The most splendid +incomes cannot purchase loyalty. It is still true that +<q>the hireling fleeth because he is a hireling</q>; men's +most passionate devotion is for the cause in which they +have suffered. +</p> + +<p> +We have seen that the modern ministry presents +certain parallels to the ancient priesthood. Where are +we to look for an analogue to the prophet? If the +minister be, in a sense, a priest when he leads the +worship of the people, is he also a prophet when he +preaches to them? Preaching is intended to be—perhaps +we may venture to say that it mostly is—a +declaration of the will of God. Moreover, it is not the +exposition of a fixed and unchangeable ritual or even +of a set of rigid theological formulæ. The preacher, like +the prophet, seeks to meet the demands for new light +that are made by constantly changing circumstances; +he seeks to adapt the eternal truth to the varying needs +of individual lives. So far he is a prophet, but the +essential qualifications of the prophet are still to be +<pb n='260'/><anchor id='Pg260'/> +sought after. Isaiah and Jeremiah did not declare the +word of Jehovah as they had learnt it from a Bible or +any other book, nor yet according to the traditions of +a school or the teaching of great authorities; such +declaration might be made by the scribes and rabbis +in later times. But the prophets of Chronicles received +their message from Jehovah Himself; while they +mused upon the needs of the people, the fire of inspiration +burned within them; then they spoke. Moreover, +like their great antitype, they spoke with authority, +and not as the scribes; their words carried with them +conviction even when they did not produce obedience. +The reality of men's conviction of their Divine authority +was shown by the persecution to which they were +subjected. Are these tokens of the prophet also the +notes of the Christian ministry of preaching? Prophets +were found among the house of Aaron and from the +tribe of Levi, but not every Levite or priest was a +prophet. Every branch of the Christian Church has +numbered among its official ministers men who +delivered their message with an inspired conviction of +its truth; in them the power and presence of the +Spirit have compelled a belief in their authority to speak +for God: this belief has received the twofold attestation +of hearts and consciences submitted to the Divine +will on the one hand or of bitter and rancorous +hostility on the other. In every Church we find the +record of men who have spoken, <q>not in words which +man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Spirit teacheth.</q> +Such were Wyclif and Latimer, Calvin and Luther, +George Whitefield and the Wesleys; such, too, were +Moffat and Livingstone. Nor need we suppose that +in the modern Christian Church the gift of prophecy +has been confined to men of brilliant genius who have +<pb n='261'/><anchor id='Pg261'/> +been conspicuously successful. In the sacred canon +Haggai and Obadiah stand side by side with Isaiah, +Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. The chronicler recognises the +prophetic calling of men too obscure to be mentioned +by name. He whom God hath sent speaketh the +words of God, not necessarily the orator whom men +crowd to hear and whose name is recorded in history; +and God giveth not the Spirit by measure. Many of +the least distinguished of His servants are truly His +prophets, speaking, by the conviction He has given +them, a message which comes home with power to +some hearts at any rate, and is a savour of life unto +life and of death unto death. The seals of their +ministry are to be found in redeemed and purified +lives, and also only too often in the bitter and +vindictive ill-will of those whom their faithfulness has +offended. +</p> + +<p> +We naturally expect to find that the official ministry +affords the most suitable sphere for the exercise of the +gift of prophecy. Those who are conscious of a Divine +message will often seek the special opportunities which +the ministry affords. But our study of Chronicles +reminds us that the vocation of the prophet cannot +be limited to any external organisation; it was not +confined to the official ministry of Israel; it cannot +be conditioned by recognition by bishops, presbyteries, +conferences, or Churches; it will often find its +only external credential in a gracious influence over individual +lives. Nay, the prophet may have his Divine +vocation and be entirely rejected of men. In Chronicles +we find prophets, like Zechariah the son of Jehoiada, +whose one Divine message is received with scorn and +defiance. +</p> + +<p> +In practice, if not in theory, the Churches have long +<pb n='262'/><anchor id='Pg262'/> +since recognised that the prophetic gift is found outside +any official ministry, and that they may be taught the +will of God by men and women of all ranks and callings. +They have provided opportunities for the free exercise +of such gifts in lay preaching, missions, Sunday-schools, +meetings of all kinds. +</p> + +<p> +We have here stumbled upon another modern controversy: +the desirability of women preaching. Chronicles +mentions prophetesses as well as prophets; on the +other hand, there were no Jewish priestesses. The +modern minister combines some priestly duties with +the opportunity, at least, of exercising the gift of +prophecy. The mention of only two or three prophetesses +in the Old Testament shows that the +possession of the gift by women was exceptional. +These few instances, however, are sufficient to prove +that God did not in old times limit the gift to men; +they suggest at any rate the possibility of its being +possessed by women now, and when women have +a Divine message the Church will not venture to +quench the Spirit. Of course the application of these +broad principles would have to be adapted to the +circumstances of individual Churches. Huldah, for +instance, is not described as delivering any public +address to the people; the king sent his ministers to +consult her in her own house. Whatever hesitation +may be felt about the public ministry of women, no +one will question their Divine commission to carry the +messages of God to the bedsides of the sick and the +homes of the poor. Most of us have known women to +whom men have gone, as Josiah's ministers went to +Huldah, to <q>inquire of the Lord.</q> +</p> + +<p> +Another practical question, the payment of the +ministers of religion, has already been raised by the +<pb n='263'/><anchor id='Pg263'/> +chronicler's account of the revenues of the priests. +What more do we learn on the subject from his silence +as to the maintenance of the prophets? The silence +is, of course, eloquent as to the extent to which even a +pious Levite may be preoccupied with his own worldly +interests and quite indifferent to other people's; +but it would not have been possible if the idea of +revenues and endowments for the prophets had ever +been very familiar to men's minds. It has been said +that to-day the prophet sells his inspiration, but the +gift of God can no more be bought and sold with +money now than in ancient Israel. The purely +spiritual character of true prophecy, its entire dependence +on Divine inspiration, makes it impossible to hire a +prophet at a fixed salary regulated by the quality and +extent of his gifts. By the grace of God, there is an +intimate practical connection between the work of the +official ministry and the inspired declaration of the +Divine will; and this connection has its bearing upon +the payment of ministers. Men's gratitude is stirred +when they have received comfort and help through +the spiritual gifts of their minister, but in principle +there is no connection between the gift of prophecy +and the payment of the ministry. A Church can +purchase the enjoyment of eloquence, learning, intellect, +and industry; a high character has a pecuniary value +for ecclesiastical as well as for commercial purposes. +The prophet may be provided with leisure, society, and +literature so that the Divine message may be delivered +in its most attractive form; he may be installed in a +large and well-appointed building, so that he may +have the best possible opportunity of delivering his +message; he will naturally receive a larger income when +he surrenders obscure and limited opportunities to +<pb n='264'/><anchor id='Pg264'/> +minister in some more suitable sphere. But when we +have said all, it is still only the accessories that have +to do with payment, not the Divine gift of prophecy +itself. When the prophet's message is not comforting, +when his words grate upon the theological and social +prejudices of his hearers, especially when he is invited +to curse and is Divinely compelled to bless, there is no +question of payment for such ministry. It has been +said of Christ, <q>For the minor details necessary to +secure respect, and obedience, and the enthusiasm of +the vulgar, for the tact, the finesse, the compromising +faculty, the judicious ostentation of successful politicians—for +these arts He was not prepared.</q><note place='foot'>Abbott, <hi rend='italic'>Through Nature to Christ</hi>, p. 295.</note> Those who +imitate their Master often share His reward. +</p> + +<p> +The slight and accidental connection of the payment +of ministers with their prophetic gifts is further +illustrated by the free exercise of such gifts by +men and women who have no ecclesiastical status +and do not seek any material reward. Here again +any exact adoption of ancient methods is impossible; +we may accept from the chronicler the great principle +that loyal believers will make all adequate provision for +the service and work of Jehovah, and that they will be +prepared to honour Him in the persons of those whom +they choose to represent them before Him, and also of +those whom they recognise as delivering to them His +messages. On the other hand, the prophet—and for our +present purpose we may extend the term to the +humblest and least gifted Christian who in any way +seeks to speak for Christ—the prophet speaks by the +impulse of the Spirit and from no meaner motive. +</p> + +<p> +With regard to the functions of the prophet, the +<pb n='265'/><anchor id='Pg265'/> +Spirit is as entirely free to dictate His own message +as He is to choose His own messenger. The chronicler's +prophets were concerned with foreign politics—alliances +with Syria and Assyria, wars with Egypt and +Samaria—as well as with the ritual of the Temple and +the worship of Jehovah. They discerned a religious +significance in the purely secular matter of a census. +Jehovah had His purposes for the civil government +and international policy of Israel as well as for its +creed and services. If we lay down the principle that +politics, whether local or national, are to be kept out of +the pulpit, we must either exclude from the official +ministry all who possess any measure of the prophetic +gift, or else carefully stipulate that, if they be conscious +of any obligation to declare the Lord's will in matters +of public righteousness, they shall find some more +suitable place than the Lord's house and some more +suitable time than the Lord's day. When we suggest +that the prophet should mind his own business by +confining himself to questions of doctrine, worship, and +the religious experiences of the individual, we are in +danger of denying God's right to a voice in social and +national affairs. +</p> + +<p> +Turning, however, to more directly ecclesiastical +affairs, we have noted that Asa's reformation received its +first impulse from the utterances of the prophet Azariah +or Oded, and also that one feature of the prophet's work +is to provide for the fresh needs developed by changing +circumstances. A priesthood or any other official +ministry is often wanting in elasticity; it is necessarily +attached to an established organisation and trammelled +by custom and tradition. The Holy Spirit in all ages +has commissioned prophets as the free agents in new +movements in the Divine government of the world. +<pb n='266'/><anchor id='Pg266'/> +They may be ecclesiastics, like many of the Reformers +and like the Wesleys; but they are not dominated by +the official spirit. The initial impulse that moves such +men is partly one of recoil from their environment; +and the environment in return casts them out. Again, +prophets may become ecclesiastics, like the tinker to +whom English-speaking Christians owe one of their +great religious classics and the cobbler who stirred up +the Churches to missionary enthusiasm. Or they +may remain from beginning to end without official +status in any Church, like the apostle of the anti-slavery +movement. In any case the impulse to a +larger, purer, and nobler standard of life than that +consecrated by long usage and ancient tradition does +not come from the ecclesiastical official because of his +official training and experience; the living waters that +go out of Jerusalem in the day of the Lord are too +wide, and deep, and strong to flow in the narrow rock-hewn +aqueducts of tradition: they make new channels +for themselves; and these channels are the men who +do not demand that the Spirit shall speak according to +familiar formulæ and stereotyped ideas, but are willing +to be the prophets of strange and even uncongenial +truth. Or, to use the great metaphor of St. John's +Gospel, with such men, both for themselves and for +others, the water that the Lord gives them becomes a +well of water springing up unto eternal life. +</p> + +<p> +But the chronicler's picture of the work of the +prophets has its darker side. Few were privileged +to give the signal for an immediate and happy reformation. +Most of the prophets were charged with +messages of rebuke and condemnation, so that they +were ready to cry out with Jeremiah, <q>Woe is me, my +mother, that thou hast borne me, a man of strife and +<pb n='267'/><anchor id='Pg267'/> +a man of contention to the whole earth! I have not +lent on usury, neither have men lent to me on usury, +yet every one of them doth curse me.</q><note place='foot'>Jer. xv. 10.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Perhaps even to-day the prophetic spirit often +charges its possessors with equally unwelcome duties. +We trust that the Christian conscience is more sensitive +than that of ancient Israel, and that the Church is +more ready to profit by the warnings addressed to it; +but the response to the sterner teaching of the Spirit is +not always accompanied by a kindly feeling towards +the teacher, and even where there is progress, the +progress is slow compared to the eager longing of the +prophet for the spiritual growth of his hearers. And +yet the sequel of the chronicler's history suggests +some relief to the gloomier side of the picture. Prophet +after prophet utters his unavailing and seemingly +useless rebuke, and delivers his announcement of +coming ruin, and at last the ruin falls upon the nation. +But that is not the end. Before the chronicler wrote +there had arisen a restored Israel, purified from idolatry +and delivered from many of its former troubles. The +Restoration was only rendered possible through the +continued testimony of the prophets to the Lord and His +righteousness. However barren of immediate results +such testimony may seem to-day, it is still the word of +the Lord that cannot return unto Him void, but shall +accomplish that which He pleaseth and shall prosper +in the thing whereto He sent it. +</p> + +<p> +The chronicler's conception of the prophetic character +of the historian, whereby his narrative sets forth God's +win and interprets His purposes, is not altogether +popular at present. The teleological view of history is +<pb n='268'/><anchor id='Pg268'/> +somewhat at a discount. Yet the prophetic method, so +to speak, of Carlyle and Ruskin is largely historical; +and even in so unlikely a quarter as the works of +George Eliot we can find an example of didactic history. +<hi rend='italic'>Romola</hi> is largely taken up with the story of Savonarola, +told so as to bring out its religious significance. +But teleological history is sometimes a failure even +from the standpoint of the Christian student, because it +defeats its own ends. He who is bent on deducing +lessons from history may lay undue stress on part of +its significance and obscure the rest. The historian is +perhaps most a prophet when he leaves history to +speak for itself. In this sense, we may venture to +attribute a prophetic character to purely scientific +history; accurate and unbiassed narrative is the best +starting-point for the study of the religious significance +of the course of events. +</p> + +<p> +In concluding our inquiry as to how far modern +Church life is illustrated by the work of the prophets, +one is tempted to dwell for a moment on the methods +they did not use and the subjects not dealt with in +their utterances. This theme, however, scarcely belongs +to the exposition of Chronicles; it would be more +appropriate to a complete examination of the history +and writings of the prophets. One point, however, +may be noticed. Their utterances in Chronicles lay +less direct stress on moral considerations than the +writings of the canonical prophets, not because of any +indifference to morality, but because, seen in the +distance of a remote past, all other sins seemed to be +summed up in faithlessness to Jehovah. Perhaps we +may see in this a suggestion of a final judgment of +history, which should be equally instructive to the +religious man who has any inclination to disparage +<pb n='269'/><anchor id='Pg269'/> +morality and to the moral man who wishes to ignore +religion. +</p> + +<p> +Our review and discussion of the varied references +of Chronicles to the prophets brings home to us with +fresh force the keen interest felt in them by the +chronicler and the supreme importance he attached to +their work. The reverent homage of a Levite of the +second Temple centuries after the golden age of +prophecy is an eloquent testimony to the unique position +of the prophets in Israel. His treatment of the subject +shows that the lofty ideal of their office and mission +had lost nothing in the course of the development of +Judaism; his selection from the older material emphasises +the independence of the true prophet of any +professional status or consideration of material reward; +his sense of the importance of the prophets to the +State and Church in Judah is an encouragement to +those <q>who look for redemption in Jerusalem,</q> and +who trust the eternal promise of God that in all times +of His people's need He <q>will raise up a prophet from +among their brethren, ... and I will put My words +in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that +I shall command them.</q><note place='foot'>Deut. xviii. 18.</note> <q>The memorial of the +prophets was blessed, ... for they comforted Jacob, +and delivered them by assured hope.</q><note place='foot'>Ecclus. xlix. 10.</note> Many prophets +of the Church have also left a blessed memorial of +comfort and deliverance, and God ever renews this +more than apostolic succession. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='270'/><anchor id='Pg270'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter X. Satan. 1 Chron. xxi.-xxii. 1.</head> + +<quote rend='display'> + +<p> +<q>And again the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Israel, and +He moved David against them saying, Go, number Israel and Judah.</q>—2 +<hi rend='smallcaps'>Sam.</hi> xxiv. 1. +</p> + +<p> +<q>And Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number +Israel.</q>—1 <hi rend='smallcaps'>Chron.</hi> xxi. 1. +</p> + +<p> +<q>Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for +God cannot be tempted with evil, and He Himself tempteth no man: +but each man is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust and +enticed.</q>—<hi rend='smallcaps'>James</hi> i, 13, 14. +</p> + +</quote> + +<p> +The census of David is found both in the book of +Samuel and in Chronicles, in very much the +same form; but the chronicler has made a number +of small but important alterations and additions. +Taken together, these changes involve a new interpretation +of the history, and bring out lessons that cannot so +easily be deduced from the narrative in the book of +Samuel. Hence it is necessary to give a separate +exposition of the narrative in Chronicles. +</p> + +<p> +As before, we will first review the alterations made +by the chronicler and then expound the narrative in +the form in which it left his hand, or rather in the +form in which it stands in the Masoretic text. Any +attempt to deal with the peculiarly complicated problem +of the textual criticism of Chronicles would be out of +<pb n='271'/><anchor id='Pg271'/> +place here. Probably there are no corruptions of the +text that would appreciably affect the general exposition +of this chapter. +</p> + +<p> +At the very outset the chronicler substitutes Satan +for Jehovah, and thus changes the whole significance of +the narrative. This point is too important to be dealt +with casually, and must be reserved for special consideration +later on. In ver. 2 there is a slight change +that marks the different points of the views of the +Chronicler and the author of the narrative in the +book of Samuel. The latter had written that Joab +numbered the people from Dan to Beersheba, a merely +conventional phrase indicating the extent of the census. +It might possibly, however, have been taken to denote +that the census began in the north and was concluded +in the south. To the chronicler, whose interests all +centred in Judah, such an arrangement seemed absurd; +and he carefully guarded against any mistake by altering +<q>Dan to Beersheba</q> into <q>Beersheba to Dan.</q> In +ver. 3 the substance of Joab's words is not altered, +but various slight touches are added to bring out more +clearly and forcibly what is implied in the book of +Samuel. Joab had spoken of the census as being the +king's pleasure.<note place='foot'>R.V. <q>delight in</q> is somewhat too strong.</note> It was scarcely appropriate to speak +of David <q>taking pleasure in</q> a suggestion of Satan. +In Chronicles Joab's words are less forcible, <q>Why doth +my lord require this thing?</q> Again, in the book of +Samuel Joab protests against the census without +assigning any reason. The context, it is true, readily +supplies one; but in Chronicles all is made clear by the +addition, <q>Why will he</q> (David) <q>be a cause of guilt +unto Israel?</q> Further on the chronicler's special +<pb n='272'/><anchor id='Pg272'/> +interest in Judah again betrays itself. The book of +Samuel described, with some detail, the progress of the +enumerators through Eastern and Northern Palestine +by way of Beersheba to Jerusalem. Chronicles having +already made them start from Beersheba, omits these +details. +</p> + +<p> +In ver. 5 the numbers in Chronicles differ not only +from those of the older narrative, but also from the +chronicler's own statistics in chap. xxvii. In this +last account the men of war are divided into twelve +courses of twenty-four thousand each, making a total +of two hundred and eighty-eight thousand; in the +book of Samuel Israel numbers eight hundred thousand, +and Judah five hundred thousand; but in our +passage Israel is increased to eleven hundred thousand, +and Judah is reduced to four hundred and seventy +thousand. Possibly the statistics in chap. xxvii. +are not intended to include all the fighting men, +otherwise the figures cannot be harmonised. The +discrepancy between our passage and the book of +Samuel is perhaps partly explained by the following +verse, which is an addition of the chronicler. In the +book of Samuel the census is completed, but our +additional verse states that Levi and Benjamin were +not included in the census. The chronicler understood +that the five hundred thousand assigned to Judah in +the older narrative were the joint total of Judah and +Benjamin; he accordingly reduced the total by thirty +thousand, because, according to his view, Benjamin was +omitted from the census. The increase in the number +of the Israelites is unexpected. The chronicler does +not usually overrate the northern tribes. Later on +Jeroboam, eighteen years after the disruption, takes the +field against Abijah with <q>eight hundred thousand +<pb n='273'/><anchor id='Pg273'/> +chosen men,</q> a phrase that implies a still larger +number of fighting men, if all had been mustered. +Obviously the rebel king would not be expected to be +able to bring into the field as large a force as the +entire strength of Israel in the most flourishing days +of David. The chronicler's figures in these two +passages are consistent, but the comparison is not an +adequate reason for the alteration in the present +chapter. Textual corruption is always a possibility in +case of numbers, but on the whole this particular +change does not admit of a satisfactory explanation. +</p> + +<p> +In ver. 7 we have a very striking alteration. According +to the book of Samuel, David's repentance was +entirely spontaneous: <q>David's heart smote him after +that he had numbered the people</q><note place='foot'>It is, however, possible that the text in Samuel is a corruption of +text more closely parallel to that of Chronicles.</note>; but here God +smites Israel, and then David's conscience awakes. +In ver. 12 the chronicler makes a slight addition, +apparently to gratify his literary taste. In the original +narrative the third alternative offered to David had +been described simply as <q>the pestilence,</q> but in +Chronicles the words <q>the sword of Jehovah</q> are +added in antithesis to <q>the sword of Thine enemies</q> +in the previous verse. +</p> + +<p> +Ver. 16, which describes David's vision of the +angel with the drawn sword, is an expansion of the +simple statement of the book of Samuel that David +saw the angel. In ver. 18 we are not merely told +that Gad spake to David, but that he spake by the +command of the angel of Jehovah. Ver. 20, which +tells us how Ornan saw the angel, is an addition of +the chronicler's. All these changes lay stress upon +the intervention of the angel, and illustrate the interest +<pb n='274'/><anchor id='Pg274'/> +taken by Judaism in the ministry of angels. Zechariah, +the prophet of the Restoration, received his messages +by the dispensation of angels; and the title of the +last canonical prophet, Malachi, probably means <q>the +Angel.</q> The change from Araunah to Ornan is a mere +question of spelling. Possibly Ornan is a somewhat +Hebraised form of the older Jebusite name Araunah. +</p> + +<p> +In ver. 22 the reference to <q>a full price</q> and other +changes in the form of David's words are probably due +to the influence of Gen. xxiii. 9. In ver. 23 the +chronicler's familiarity with the ritual of sacrifice has +led him to insert a reference to a meal offering, to +accompany the burnt offering. Later on the chronicler +omits the somewhat ambiguous words which seem to +speak of Araunah as a king. He would naturally avoid +anything like a recognition of the royal status of a +Jebusite prince. +</p> + +<p> +In ver. 25 David pays much more dearly for Ornan's +threshing-floor than in the book of Samuel. In the +latter the price is fifty shekels of silver, in the former +six hundred shekels of gold. Most ingenious attempts +have been made to harmonise the two statements. +It has been suggested that fifty shekels of silver +means silver to the value of fifty shekels of gold and +paid in gold, and that six hundred shekels of gold +means the value of six hundred shekels of silver paid +in gold. A more lucid but equally impossible explanation +is that David paid fifty shekels for every tribe, six +hundred in all.<note place='foot'>Noldius and R. Salom. <hi rend='italic'>apud</hi> Bertheau i. 1.</note> The real reason for the change is +that when the Temple became supremely important to +the Jews the small price of fifty shekels for the site +seemed derogatory to the dignity of the sanctuary; six +<pb n='275'/><anchor id='Pg275'/> +hundred shekels of gold was a more appropriate sum. +Abraham had paid four hundred shekels for a burying-place; +and a site for the Temple, where Jehovah had +chosen to put His name, must surely have cost more. +The chronicler followed the tradition which had grown +up under the influence of this feeling. +</p> + +<p> +Chaps. xxi. 27-xxii. 1 are an addition. According to +the Levitical law, David was falling into grievous sin +in sacrificing anywhere except before the Mosaic altar +of burnt offering. The chronicler therefore states the +special circumstances that palliated this offence against +the exclusive privileges of the one sanctuary of Jehovah. +He also reminds us that this threshing-floor became +the site of the altar of burnt offering for Solomon's +temple. Here he probably follows an ancient and +historical tradition; the prominence given to the +threshing-floor in the book of Samuel indicates the +special sanctity of the site. The Temple is the only +sanctuary whose site could be thus connected with the +last days of David. When the book of Samuel was +written, the facts were too familiar to need any explanation; +every one knew that the Temple stood on the +site of Araunah's threshing-floor. The chronicler, +writing centuries later, felt it necessary to make an +explicit statement on the subject. +</p> + +<p> +Having thus attempted to understand how our +narrative assumed its present form, we will now tell +the chronicler's story of these incidents. The long +reign of David was drawing to a close. Hitherto he +had been blessed with uninterrupted prosperity and +success. His armies had been victorious over all the +enemies of Israel, the borders of the land of Jehovah +had been extended, David himself was lodged with +princely splendour, and the services of the Ark were +<pb n='276'/><anchor id='Pg276'/> +conducted with imposing ritual by a numerous array +of priests and Levites. King and people alike were +at the zenith of their glory. In worldly prosperity +and careful attention to religious observances David +and his people were not surpassed by Job himself. +Apparently their prosperity provoked the envious +malice of an evil and mysterious being, who appears +only here in Chronicles: Satan, the persecutor of Job. +The trial to which he subjected the loyalty of David +was more subtle and suggestive than his assault upon +Job. He harassed Job as the wind dealt with the +traveller in the fable, and Job only wrapped the cloak +of his faith closer about him; Satan allowed David to +remain in the full sunshine of prosperity, and seduced +him into sin by fostering his pride in being the +powerful and victorious prince of a mighty people. +He suggested a census. David's pride would be +gratified by obtaining accurate information as to the +myriads of his subjects. Such statistics would be +useful for the civil organisation of Israel; the king +would learn where and how to recruit his army or +to find an opportunity to impose additional taxation. +The temptation appealed alike to the king, the soldier, +and the statesman, and did not appeal in vain. David +at once instructed Joab and the princes to proceed +with the enumeration; Joab demurred and protested: +the census would be a cause of guilt unto Israel. +But not even the great influence of the commander-in-chief +could turn the king from his purpose. His +word prevailed against Joab, wherefore Joab departed, +and went throughout all Israel, and came to Jerusalem. +This brief general statement indicates a long and +laborious task, simplified and facilitated in some +measure by the primitive organisation of society and +<pb n='277'/><anchor id='Pg277'/> +by rough and ready methods adopted to secure the +very moderate degree of accuracy with which an +ancient Eastern sovereign would be contented. When +Xerxes wished to ascertain the number of the vast +army with which he set out to invade Greece, his +officers packed ten thousand men into as small a space +as possible and built a wall round them; then they +turned them out, and packed the space again and +again; and so in time they ascertained how many +tens of thousands of men there were in the army. +Joab's methods would be different, but perhaps not +much more exact. He would probably learn from +the <q>heads of fathers' houses</q> the number of fighting +men in each family. Where the hereditary chiefs of +a district were indifferent, he might make some rough +estimate of his own. We may be sure that both Joab +and the local authorities would be careful to err on the +safe side. The king was anxious to learn that he +possessed a large number of subjects. Probably as +the officers of Xerxes went on with their counting +they omitted to pack the measured area as closely +as they did at first; they might allow eight or nine +thousand to pass for ten thousand. Similarly David's +servants would, to say the least, be anxious not to +underestimate the number of his subjects. The work +apparently went on smoothly; nothing is said that +indicates any popular objection or resistance to the +census; the process of enumeration was not interrupted +by any token of Divine displeasure against the <q>cause +of guilt unto Israel.</q> Nevertheless Joab's misgivings +were not set at rest; he did what he could to limit +the range of the census and to withdraw at least two +of the tribes from the impending outbreak of Divine +wrath. The tribe of Levi would be exempt from +<pb n='278'/><anchor id='Pg278'/> +taxation and the obligation of military service; Joab +could omit them without rendering his statistics less +useful for military and financial purposes. In not +including the Levites in the general census of Israel, +Joab was following the precedent set by the numbering +in the wilderness. +</p> + +<p> +Benjamin was probably omitted in order to protect +the Holy City, the chronicler following that form of the +ancient tradition which assigned Jerusalem to Benjamin.<note place='foot'>Josh. xviii. 28; Judges i. 21, as against Josh. xv. 63; Judges i. 8, +which assign the city to Judah.</note> +Later on,<note place='foot'>1 Chron. xxvii. 23, 24.</note> however, the chronicler seems to imply that +these two tribes left to the last were not numbered +because of the growing dissatisfaction of Joab with his +task: <q>Joab the son of Zeruiah began to number, but +finished not.</q> But these different reasons for the +omission of Levi and Benjamin do not mutually exclude +each other. Another limitation is also stated in the +later reference: <q>David took not the number of them +twenty years old and under, because Jehovah had +said that He would increase Israel like to the stars of +heaven.</q> This statement and explanation seems a +little superfluous; the census was specially concerned +with the fighting men, and in the book of Numbers only +those over twenty are numbered. But we have seen +elsewhere that the chronicler has no great confidence +in the intelligence of his readers, and feels bound to +state definitely matters that have only been implied and +might be overlooked. Here, therefore, he calls our +attention to the fact that the numbers previously given +do not comprise the whole male population, but only +the adults. +</p> + +<pb n='279'/><anchor id='Pg279'/> + +<p> +At last the census, so far as it was carried out at all, +was finished, and the results were presented to the +king. They are meagre and bald compared to the +volumes of tables which form the report of a modern +census. Only two divisions of the country are recognised: +<q>Judah</q> and <q>Israel,</q> or the ten tribes. The +total is given for each: eleven hundred thousand for +Israel, four hundred and seventy thousand for Judah, +in all fifteen hundred and seventy thousand. Whatever +details may have been given to the king, he would be +chiefly interested in the grand total. Its figures would +be the most striking symbol of the extent of his +authority and the glory of his kingdom. +</p> + +<p> +Perhaps during the months occupied in taking the +census David had forgotten the ineffectual protests of +Joab, and was able to receive his report without any +presentiment of coming evil. Even if his mind were not +altogether at ease, all misgivings would for the time +be forgotten. He probably made or had made for him +some rough calculation as to the total of men, women, +and children that would correspond to the vast array +of fighting men. His servants would not reckon the +entire population at less than nine or ten millions. His +heart would be uplifted with pride as he contemplated +the statement of the multitudes that were the subjects +of his crown and prepared to fight at his bidding. The +numbers are moderate compared with the vast populations +and enormous armies of the great powers of +modern Europe; they were far surpassed by the Roman +empire and the teeming populations of the valleys of +the Nile, the Euphrates, and the Tigris; but during the +Middle Ages it was not often possible to find in Western +Europe so large a population under one government or +so numerous an army under one banner. The resources +<pb n='280'/><anchor id='Pg280'/> +of Cyrus may not have been greater when he started +on his career of conquest; and when Xerxes gathered +into one motley horde the warriors of half the known +world, their total was only about double the number of +David's robust and warlike Israelites. There was no +enterprise that was likely to present itself to his +imagination that he might not have undertaken with +a reasonable probability of success. He must have +regretted that his days of warfare were past, and that +the unwarlike Solomon, occupied with more peaceful +tasks, would allow this magnificent instrument of +possible conquests to rust unused. +</p> + +<p> +But the king was not long left in undisturbed enjoyment +of his greatness. In the very moment of his +exaltation, some sense of the Divine displeasure fell +upon him.<note place='foot'>Ver. 7 is apparently a general anticipation of the narrative in +vv. 9-15.</note> Mankind has learnt by a long and sad +experience to distrust its own happiness. The brightest +hours have come to possess a suggestion of possible +catastrophe, and classic story loved to tell of the +unavailing efforts of fortunate princes to avoid their +inevitable downfall. Polycrates and Crœsus, however, +had not tempted the Divine anger by ostentatious pride; +David's power and glory had made him neglectful of +the reverent homage due to Jehovah, and he had +sinned in spite of the express warnings of his most +trusted minister. +</p> + +<p> +When the revulsion of feeling came, it was complete. +The king at once humbled himself under the mighty +hand of God, and made full acknowledgment of his sin +and folly: <q>I have sinned greatly in that I have done +this thing: but now put away, I beseech Thee, the +iniquity of Thy servant, for I have done very foolishly.</q> +</p> + +<pb n='281'/><anchor id='Pg281'/> + +<p> +The narrative continues as in the book of Samuel. +Repentance could not avert punishment, and the +punishment struck directly at David's pride of power +and glory. The great population was to be decimated +either by famine, war, or pestilence. The king chose +to suffer from the pestilence, <q>the sword of Jehovah</q>: +<q>Let me fall now into the hand of Jehovah, for very +great are His mercies; and let me not fall into the +hand of man. So Jehovah sent a pestilence upon +Israel, and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men.</q> +Not three days since Joab handed in his report, and +already a deduction of seventy thousand would have to +be made from its total; and still the pestilence was not +checked, for <q>God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to +destroy it.</q> If, as we have supposed, Joab had withheld +Jerusalem from the census, his pious caution was +now rewarded: <q>Jehovah repented Him of the evil, and +said to the destroying angel, It is enough; now stay +thine hand.</q> At the very last moment the crowning +catastrophe was averted. In the Divine counsels +Jerusalem was already delivered, but to human eyes +its fate still trembled in the balance: <q>And David +lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of Jehovah stand +between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn +sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem.</q> So +another great Israelite soldier lifted up his eyes beside +Jericho and beheld the captain of the host of Jehovah +standing over against him with his sword drawn in his +hand.<note place='foot'>Josh. v. 13.</note> Then the sword was drawn to smite the +enemies of Israel, but now it was turned to smite Israel +itself. David and his elders fell upon their faces as +Joshua had done before them: <q>And David said unto +<pb n='282'/><anchor id='Pg282'/> +God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be +numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done very +wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? Let +Thine hand, I pray Thee, O Jehovah my God, be +against me and against my father's house, but not +against Thy people, that they should be plagued.</q> +</p> + +<p> +The awful presence returned no answer to the guilty +king, but addressed itself to the prophet Gad, and +commanded <emph>him</emph> to bid David go up and build an altar +to Jehovah in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite. +The command was a message of mercy. Jehovah permitted +David to build Him an altar; He was prepared +to accept an offering at his hands. The king's prayers +were heard, and Jerusalem was saved from the pestilence. +But still the angel stretched out his drawn +sword over Jerusalem; he waited till the reconciliation +of Jehovah with His people should have been duly +ratified by solemn sacrifices. At the bidding of the +prophet, David went up to the threshing-floor of Ornan +the Jebusite. Sorrow and reassurance, hope and fear, +contended for the mastery. No sacrifice could call back +to life the seventy thousand victims whom the pestilence +had already destroyed, and yet the horror of its ravages +was almost forgotten in relief at the deliverance of +Jerusalem from the calamity that had all but overtaken +it. Even now the uplifted sword might be only +back for a time; Satan might yet bring about some +heedless and sinful act, and the respite might end not +in pardon, but in the execution of God's purpose of +vengeance. Saul had been condemned because he +sacrificed too soon; now perhaps delay would be fatal. +Uzzah had been smitten because he touched the Ark; +till the sacrifice was actually offered who could tell +whether some thoughtless blunder would not again +<pb n='283'/><anchor id='Pg283'/> +provoke the wrath of Jehovah? Under ordinary circumstances +David would not have dared to sacrifice +anywhere except upon the altar of burnt offering before +the tabernacle at Gibeon; he would have used the +ministry of priests and Levites. But ritual is helpless +in great emergencies. The angel of Jehovah with the +drawn sword seemed to bar the way to Gibeon, as once +before he had barred Balaam's progress when he came +to curse Israel. In his supreme need David builds his +own altar and offers his own sacrifices; he receives the +Divine answer without the intervention this time of +either priest or prophet. By God's most merciful and +mysterious grace, David's guilt and punishment, his +repentance and pardon, broke down all barriers between +himself and God. +</p> + +<p> +But, as he went up to the threshing-floor, he was +still troubled and anxious. The burden was partly lifted +from his heart, but he still craved full assurance of +pardon. The menacing attitude of the destroying angel +seemed to hold out little promise of mercy and forgiveness, +and yet the command to sacrifice would be cruel +mockery if Jehovah did not intend to be gracious to +His people and His anointed. +</p> + +<p> +At the threshing-floor Ornan and his four sons were +threshing wheat, apparently unmoved by the prospect +of the threatened pestilence. In Egypt the Israelites +were protected from the plagues with which their +oppressors were punished. Possibly now the situation +was reversed, and the remnant of the Canaanites in +Palestine were not afflicted by the pestilence that fell +upon Israel. But Ornan turned back and saw the +angel; he may not have known the grim mission with +which the Lord's messenger had been entrusted, but +the aspect of the destroyer, his threatening attitude, and +<pb n='284'/><anchor id='Pg284'/> +the lurid radiance of his unsheathed and outstretched +sword must have seemed unmistakable tokens of +coming calamity. Whatever might be threatened for +the future, the actual appearance of this supernatural +visitant was enough to unnerve the stoutest heart; and +Ornan's four sons hid themselves. +</p> + +<p> +Before long, however, Ornan's terrors were somewhat +relieved by the approach of less formidable visitors. +The king and his followers had ventured to show +themselves openly, in spite of the destroying angel; +and they had ventured with impunity. Ornan went +forth and bowed himself to David with his face to the +ground. In ancient days the father of the faithful, +oppressed by the burden of his bereavement, went +to the Hittites to purchase a burying-place for his wife. +Now the last of the Patriarchs, mourning for the +sufferings of his people, came by Divine command to +the Jebusite to purchase the ground on which to offer +sacrifices, that the plague might be stayed from the +people. The form of bargaining was somewhat similar +in both cases. We are told that bargains are concluded +in much the same fashion to-day. Abraham had paid +four hundred shekels of silver for the field of Ephron +in Machpelah, <q>with the cave which was therein, and all +the trees that were in the field.</q> The price of Ornan's +threshing-floor was in proportion to the dignity and +wealth of the royal purchaser and the sacred purpose +for which it was designed. The fortunate Jebusite +received no less than six hundred shekels of gold. +</p> + +<p> +David built his altar, and offered up his sacrifices +and prayers to Jehovah. Then, in answer to David's +prayers, as later in answer to Solomon's, fire fell from +heaven upon the altar of burnt offering, and all this +while the sword of Jehovah flamed across the heavens +<pb n='285'/><anchor id='Pg285'/> +above Jerusalem, and the destroying angel remained +passive, but to all appearances unappeased. But as +the fire of God fell from heaven, Jehovah gave yet +another final and convincing token that He would no +longer execute judgment against His people. In spite +of all that had happened to reassure them, the spectators +must have been thrilled with alarm when they saw that +the angel of Jehovah no longer remained stationary, +and that his flaming sword was moving through the +heavens. Their renewed terror was only for a moment: +<q>the angel put up his sword again into the sheath +thereof,</q> and the people breathed more freely when +they saw the instrument of Jehovah's wrath vanish +out of their sight. +</p> + +<p> +The use of Machpelah as a patriarchal burying-place +led to the establishment of a sanctuary at Hebron, +which continued to be the seat of a debased and +degenerate worship even after the coming of Christ. +It is even now a Mohammedan holy place. But on +the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite there was +to arise a more worthy memorial of the mercy and +judgment of Jehovah. Without the aid of priestly +oracle or prophetic utterance, David was led by the +Spirit of the Lord to discern the significance of the +command to perform an irregular sacrifice in a hitherto +unconsecrated place. When the sword of the destroying +angel interposed between David and the Mosaic +tabernacle and altar of Gibeon, the way was not +merely barred against the king and his court on one +exceptional occasion. The incidents of this crisis +symbolised the cutting off for ever of the worship of +Israel from its ancient shrine and the transference of +the Divinely appointed centre of the worship of Jehovah +to the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite, that is +<pb n='286'/><anchor id='Pg286'/> +to say to Jerusalem, the city of David and the capital +of Judah. +</p> + +<p> +The lessons of this incident, so far as the chronicler +has simply borrowed from his authority, belong to the +exposition of the book of Samuel. The main features +peculiar to Chronicles are the introduction of the evil +angel Satan, together with the greater prominence +given to the angel of Jehovah, and the express statement +that the scene of David's sacrifice became the site +of Solomon's altar of burnt offering. +</p> + +<p> +The stress laid upon angelic agency is characteristic +of later Jewish literature, and is especially marked in +Zechariah and Daniel. It was no doubt partly due to +the influence of the Persian religion, but it was also a +development from the primitive faith of Israel, and the +development was favoured by the course of Jewish +history. The Captivity and the Restoration, with the +events that preceded and accompanied these revolutions, +enlarged the Jewish experience of nature and man. +The captives in Babylon and the fugitives in Egypt +saw that the world was larger than they had imagined. +In Josiah's reign the Scythians from the far North +swept over Western Asia, and the Medes and Persians +broke in upon Assyria and Chaldæa from the remote +East. The prophets claimed Scythians, Medes, and +Persians as the instruments of Jehovah. The Jewish +appreciation of the majesty of Jehovah, the Maker and +Ruler of the world, increased as they learnt more of +the world He had made and ruled; but the invasion +of a remote and unknown people impressed them with +the idea of infinite dominion and unlimited resources, +beyond all knowledge and experience. The course of +Israelite history between David and Ezra involved as +great a widening of man's ideas of the universe as +<pb n='287'/><anchor id='Pg287'/> +the discovery of America or the establishment of +Copernican astronomy. A Scythian invasion was +scarcely less portentous to the Jews than the descent of +an irresistible army from the planet Jupiter would be +to the civilised nations of the nineteenth century. The +Jew began to shrink from intimate and familiar fellowship +with so mighty and mysterious a Deity. He felt +the need of a mediator, some less exalted being, to +stand between himself and God. For the ordinary +purposes of everyday life the Temple, with its ritual +and priesthood, provided a mediation; but for unforeseen +contingencies and exceptional crises the Jews +welcomed the belief that a ministry of angels provided +a safe means of intercourse between himself and the +Almighty. Many men have come to feel to-day that +the discoveries of science have made the universe so +infinite and marvellous that its Maker and Governor is +exalted beyond human approach. The infinite spaces +of the constellations seem to intervene between the +earth and the presence-chamber of God; its doors are +guarded against prayer and faith by inexorable laws; +the awful Being, who dwells within, has become +<q>unmeasured in height, undistinguished into form.</q> +Intellect and imagination alike fail to combine the +manifold and terrible attributes of the Author of nature +into the picture of a loving Father. It is no new +experience, and the present century faces the situation +very much as did the chronicler's contemporaries. +Some are happy enough to rest in the mediation of +ritual priests; others are content to recognise, as of +old, powers and forces, not now, however, personal +messengers of Jehovah, but the physical agencies of +<q>that which makes for righteousness.</q> Christ came +to supersede the Mosaic ritual and the ministry of +<pb n='288'/><anchor id='Pg288'/> +angels; He will come again to bring those who are far +off into renewed fellowship with His Father and theirs. +</p> + +<p> +On the other hand, the recognition of Satan, the evil +angel, marks an equally great change from the theology +of the book of Samuel. The primitive Israelite +religion had not yet reached the stage at which the +origin and existence of moral evil became an urgent +problem of religious thought; men had not yet +realised the logical consequences of the doctrine of +Divine unity and omnipotence. Not only was material +evil traced to Jehovah as the expression of His just +wrath against sin, but <q>morally pernicious acts were +quite frankly ascribed to the direct agency of God.</q><note place='foot'>Schultz, <hi rend='italic'>Old Testament Theology</hi>, ii. 270.</note> +God hardens the heart of Pharaoh and the Canaanites; +Saul is instigated by an evil spirit from Jehovah to +make an attempt upon the life of David; Jehovah +moves David to number Israel; He sends forth a +lying spirit that Ahab's prophets may prophesy falsely +and entice him to his ruin.<note place='foot'>Exod. iv. 21; Josh. xi. 20; 1 Sam. xix. 9, 10; 2 Sam. xxiv. 1; +1 Kings xxii. 20-23.</note> The Divine origin of +moral evil implied in these passages is definitely stated +in the book of Proverbs: <q>Jehovah hath made everything +for its own end, yea even the wicked for the day +of evil</q>; in Lamentations, <q>Out of the mouth of the +Most High cometh there not evil and good?</q> and in +the book of Isaiah, <q>I form the light, and create +darkness; I make peace, and create evil; I am Jehovah, +that doeth all these things.</q><note place='foot'>Prov. xvi. 4; Lam. iii. 38; Isa. xlv. 7.</note> +</p> + +<p> +The ultra-Calvinism, so to speak, of earlier Israelite +religion was only possible so long as its full significance +was not understood. An emphatic assertion of the +<pb n='289'/><anchor id='Pg289'/> +absolute sovereignty of the one God was necessary as +a protest against polytheism, and later on against +dualism as well. For practical purposes men's faith +needed to be protected by the assurance that God +worked out His purposes in and through human +wickedness. The earlier attitude of the Old Testament +towards moral evil had a distinct practical and theological +value. +</p> + +<p> +But the conscience of Israel could not always rest +in this view of the origin of evil. As the standard of +morality was raised, and its obligations were more +fully insisted on, as men shrank from causing evil +themselves and from the use of deceit and violence, +they hesitated more and more to ascribe to Jehovah +what they sought to avoid themselves. And yet no +easy way of escape presented itself. The facts remained; +the temptation to do evil was part of the +punishment of the sinner and of the discipline of the +saint. It was impossible to deny that sin had its place +in God's government of the world; and in view of +men's growing reverence and moral sensitiveness, it +was becoming almost equally impossible to admit without +qualification or explanation that God was Himself +the Author of evil. Jewish thought found itself face +to face with the dilemma against which the human +intellect vainly beats its wings, like a bird against the +bars of its cage. +</p> + +<p> +However, even in the older literature there were +suggestions, not indeed of a solution of the problem, +but of a less objectionable way of stating facts. In +Eden the temptation to evil comes from the serpent; +and, as the story is told, the serpent is quite independent +of God; and the question of any Divine authority +or permission for its action is not in any way dealt +<pb n='290'/><anchor id='Pg290'/> +with. It is true that the serpent was one of the beasts +of the field which the Lord God had made, but the narrator +probably did not consider the question of any Divine +responsibility for its wickedness. Again, when Ahab +is enticed to his ruin, Jehovah does not act directly, but +through the twofold agency first of the lying spirit +and then of the deluded prophets. This tendency to +dissociate God from any direct agency of evil is further +illustrated in Job and Zechariah. When Job is to be +tried and tempted, the actual agent is the malevolent +Satan; and the same evil spirit stands forth to accuse +the high-priest Joshua<note place='foot'>Zech. iii. 1.</note> as the representative of Israel. +The development of the idea of angelic agency afforded +new resources for the reverent exposition of the facts +connected with the origin and existence of moral evil. +If a sense of Divine majesty led to a recognition of the +angel of Jehovah as the Mediator of revelation, the +reverence for Divine holiness imperatively demanded +that the immediate causation of evil should also be +associated with angelic agency. This agent of evil +receives the name of Satan, the adversary of man, the +<foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>advocatus diaboli</foreign> who seeks to discredit man before God, +the impeacher of Job's loyalty and of Joshua's purity. +Yet Jehovah does not resign any of His omnipotence. +In Job Satan cannot act without God's permission; he +is strictly limited by Divine control: all that he does +only illustrates Divine wisdom and effects the Divine +purpose. In Zechariah there is no refutation of the +charge brought by Satan; its truth is virtually admitted: +nevertheless Satan is rebuked for his attempt to hinder +God's gracious purposes towards His people. Thus +later Jewish thought left the ultimate Divine sovereignty +<pb n='291'/><anchor id='Pg291'/> +untouched, but attributed the actual and direct causation +of moral evil to malign spiritual agency. +</p> + +<p> +Trained in this school, the chronicler must have read +with something of a shock that Jehovah moved David +to commit the sin of numbering Israel. He was familiar +with the idea that in such matters Jehovah used or permitted +the activity of Satan. Accordingly he carefully +avoids reproducing any words from the book of Samuel +that imply a direct Divine temptation of David, and +ascribes it to the well-known and crafty animosity of +Satan against Israel. In so doing, he has gone somewhat +further than his predecessors: he is not careful +to emphasise any Divine permission given to Satan or +Divine control exercised over him. The subsequent +narrative implies an overruling for good, and the +chronicler may have expected his readers to understand +that Satan here stood in the same relation to +God as in Job and Zechariah; but the abrupt and +isolated introduction of Satan to bring about the fall of +David invests the arch-enemy with a new and more +independent dignity. +</p> + +<p> +The progress of the Jews in moral and spiritual life +had given them a keener appreciation both of good +and evil, and of the contrast and opposition between +them. Over against the pictures of the good kings, +and of the angel of the Lord, the generation of the +chronicler set the complementary pictures of the wicked +kings and the evil angel. They had a higher ideal +to strive after, a clearer vision of the kingdom of +God; they also saw more vividly the depths of Satan +and recoiled with horror from the abyss revealed to +them. +</p> + +<p> +Our text affords a striking illustration of the +tendency to emphasise the recognition of Satan as +<pb n='292'/><anchor id='Pg292'/> +the instrument of evil and to ignore the question of +the relation of God to the origin of evil. Possibly no +more practical attitude can be assumed towards this +difficult question. The absolute relation of evil to the +Divine sovereignty is one of the problems of the ultimate +nature of God and man. Its discussion may throw +many sidelights upon other subjects, and will always +serve the edifying and necessary purpose of teaching +men the limitations of their intellectual powers. Otherwise +theologians have found such controversies barren, +and the average Christian has not been able to derive +from them any suitable nourishment for his spiritual +life. Higher intelligences than our own, we have been +told,— +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l rend='margin-left: 26'><q rend='pre'>... reasoned high</q></l> +<l>Of providence, foreknowledge, will, and fate,</l> +<l>Fixed fate, free-will, foreknowledge absolute,</l> +<l><q rend='post'>And found no end, in wandering mazes lost.</q></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<p> +On the other hand, it is supremely important that +the believer should clearly understand the reality of +temptation as an evil spiritual force opposed to Divine +grace. Sometimes this power of Satan will show itself +as <q>the alien law in his members, warring against the +law of his mind and bringing him into captivity under +the law of sin, which is in his members.</q> He will be +conscious that <q>he is drawn away by his own lust and +enticed.</q> But sometimes temptation will rather come +from the outside. A man will find his <q>adversary</q> +in circumstances, in evil companions, in <q>the sight of +means to do ill deeds</q>; the serpent whispers in his +ear, and Satan moves him to wrong-doing. Let him +not imagine for a moment that he is delivered over +to the powers of evil; let him realise clearly that with +every temptation God provides a way of escape. Every +<pb n='293'/><anchor id='Pg293'/> +man knows in his own conscience that speculative difficulties +can neither destroy the sanctity of moral obligation +nor hinder the operation of the grace of God. +</p> + +<p> +Indeed, the chronicler is at one with the books of +Job and Zechariah in showing us the malice of Satan +overruled for man's good and God's glory. In Job the +affliction of the Patriarch only serves to bring out his +faith and devotion, and is eventually rewarded by +renewed and increased prosperity; in Zechariah the +protest of Satan against God's gracious purposes for +Israel is made the occasion of a singular display of +God's favour towards His people and their priest. In +Chronicles the malicious intervention of Satan leads up +to the building of the Temple. +</p> + +<p> +Long ago Jehovah had promised to choose a place +in Israel wherein to set His name; but, as the chronicler +read in the history of his nation, the Israelites dwelt +for centuries in Palestine, and Jehovah made no +sign: the ark of God still dwelt in curtains. Those +who still looked for the fulfilment of this ancient +promise must often have wondered by what prophetic +utterance or vision Jehovah would make known His +choice. Bethel had been consecrated by the vision of +Jacob, when he was a solitary fugitive from Esau, paying +the penalty of his selfish craft; but the lessons of past +history are not often applied practically, and probably no +one ever expected that Jehovah's choice of the site for +His one temple would be made known to His chosen +king, the first true Messiah of Israel, in a moment of +even deeper humiliation than Jacob's, or that the Divine +announcement would be the climax of a series of events +initiated by the successful machinations of Satan. +</p> + +<p> +Yet herein lies one of the main lessons of the incident. +Satan's machinations are not really successful; +<pb n='294'/><anchor id='Pg294'/> +he often attains his immediate object, but is always +defeated in the end. He estranges David from Jehovah +for a moment, but eventually Jehovah and His people +are drawn into closer union, and their reconciliation is +sealed by the long-expected choice of a site for the +Temple. Jehovah is like a great general, who will +sometimes allow the enemy to obtain a temporary +advantage, in order to overwhelm him in some crushing +defeat. The eternal purpose of God moves onward, +unresting and unhasting; its quiet and irresistible persistence +finds special opportunity in the hindrances +that seem sometimes to check its progress. In David's +case a few months showed the whole process complete: +the malice of the Enemy; the sin and punishment of his +unhappy victim; the Divine relenting and its solemn +symbol in the newly consecrated altar. But with the +Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand +years as one day; and this brief episode in the history +of a small people is a symbol alike of the eternal dealings +of God in His government of the universe and of His +personal care for the individual soul. How short-lived +has been the victory of sin in many souls! Sin is +triumphant; the tempter seems to have it all his own +way, but his first successes only lead to his final +rout; the devil is cast out by the Divine exorcism of +chastisement and forgiveness; and he learns that his +efforts have been made to subserve the training in the +Christian warfare of such warriors as Augustine and +John Bunyan. Or, to take a case more parallel to +that of David, Satan catches the saint unawares, and +entraps him into sin; and, behold, while the evil one +is in the first flush of triumph, his victim is back +again at the throne of grace in an agony of contrition, +and before long the repentant sinner is bowed down +<pb n='295'/><anchor id='Pg295'/> +into a new humility at the undeserved graciousness of +the Divine pardon: the chains of love are riveted with +a fuller constraint about his soul, and he is tenfold more +the child of God than before. +</p> + +<p> +And in the larger life of the Church and the world +Satan's triumphs are still the heralds of his utter +defeat. He prompted the Jews to slay Stephen; and +the Church were scattered abroad, and went about +preaching the word; and the young man at whose feet +the witnesses laid down their garments became the +Apostle of the Gentiles. He tricked the reluctant +Diocletian into ordering the greatest of the persecutions, +and in a few years Christianity was an established +religion in the empire. In more secular matters the +apparent triumph of an evil principle is usually the +signal for its downfall. In America the slave-holders +of the Southern States rode rough-shod over the +Northerners for more than a generation, and then came +the Civil War. +</p> + +<p> +These are not isolated instances, and they serve to +warn us against undue depression and despondency +when for a season God seems to refrain from any +intervention with some of the evils of the world. We +are apt to ask in our impatience,— +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>Is there not wrong too bitter for atoning?</q></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>What are these desperate and hideous years?</l> +<l>Hast Thou not heard Thy whole creation groaning,</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><q rend='post'>Sighs of the bondsman, and a woman's tears?</q></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<p> +The works of Satan are as earthly as they are devilish; +they belong to the world; which passeth away, with the +lust thereof: but the gracious providence of God has all +infinity and all eternity to work in. Where to-day we +can see nothing but the destroying angel with his +<pb n='296'/><anchor id='Pg296'/> +flaming sword, future generations shall behold the +temple of the Lord. +</p> + +<p> +David's sin, and penitence, and pardon were no +inappropriate preludes to this consecration of Mount +Moriah. The Temple was not built for the use of +blameless saints, but the worship of ordinary men and +women. Israel through countless generations was to +bring the burden of its sins to the altar of Jehovah. +The sacred splendour of Solomon's dedication festival +duly represented the national dignity of Israel and the +majesty of the God of Jacob; but the self-abandonment +of David's repentance, the deliverance of Jerusalem +from impending pestilence, the Divine pardon of +presumptuous sin, constituted a still more solemn +inauguration of the place where Jehovah had chosen +to set His name. The sinner, seeking the assurance +of pardon in atoning sacrifice, would remember how +David had then received pardon for his sin, and how +the acceptance of his offerings had been the signal for +the disappearance of the destroying angel. So in the +Middle Ages penitents founded churches to expiate +their sins. Such sanctuaries would symbolise to sinners +in after-times the possibility of forgiveness; they were +monuments of God's mercy as well as of the founders' +penitence. To-day churches, both in fabric and fellowship, +have been made sacred for individual worshippers +because in them the Spirit of God has moved them to +repentance and bestowed upon them the assurance of +pardon. Moreover, this solemn experience consecrates +for God His most acceptable temples in the souls of +those that love Him. +</p> + +<p> +One other lesson is suggested by the happy issues of +Satan's malign interference in the history of Israel as +understood by the chronicler. The inauguration of the +<pb n='297'/><anchor id='Pg297'/> +new altar was a direct breach of the Levitical law, and +involved the superseding of the altar and tabernacle that +had hitherto been the only legitimate sanctuary for the +worship of Jehovah. Thus the new order had its origin +in the violation of existing ordinances and the neglect +of an ancient sanctuary. Its early history constituted +a declaration of the transient character of sanctuaries +and systems of ritual. God would not eternally limit +himself to any building, or His grace to the observance +of any forms of external ritual. Long before the +chronicler's time Jeremiah had proclaimed this lesson +in the ears of Judah: <q>Go ye now unto My place +which was in Shiloh, where I caused My name to dwell +at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness +of My people Israel.... I will do unto the house +which is called by My name, wherein ye trust, and unto +the place which I gave to you and your fathers, as I +have done to Shiloh.... I will make this house like +Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations +of the earth.</q><note place='foot'>Jer. vii. 12-14; xxvi. 6.</note> In the Tabernacle all things were made +according to the pattern that was showed to Moses in +the mount; for the Temple David was made to understand +the pattern of all things <q>in writing from the +hand of Jehovah.</q><note place='foot'>1 Chron. xxviii. 19.</note> If the Tabernacle could be set +aside for the Temple, the Temple might in its turn give +place to the universal Church. If God allowed David +in his great need to ignore the one legitimate altar of +the Tabernacle and to sacrifice without its officials, the +faithful Israelite might be encouraged to believe that +in extreme emergency Jehovah would accept his offering +without regard to place or priest. +</p> + +<p> +The principles here involved are of very wide application. +<pb n='298'/><anchor id='Pg298'/> +Every ecclesiastical system was at first a new +departure. Even if its highest claims be admitted, +they simply assert that within historic times God set +aside some other system previously enjoying the +sanction of His authority, and substituted for it a more +excellent way. The Temple succeeded the Tabernacle; +the synagogue appropriated in a sense part of +the authority of the Temple; the Church superseded +both synagogue and Temple. God's action in authorising +each new departure warrants the expectation that +He may yet sanction new ecclesiastical systems; the +authority which is sufficient to establish is also adequate +to supersede. When the Anglican Church broke +away from the unity of Western Christendom by +denying the supremacy of the Pope and refusing to +recognise the orders of other Protestant Churches, she +set an example of dissidence that was naturally followed +by the Presbyterians and Independents. The revolt +of the Reformers against the theology of their day in +a measure justifies those who have repudiated the +dogmatic systems of the Reformed Churches. In these +and in other ways to claim freedom from authority, +even in order to set up a new authority of one's own, +involves in principle at least the concession to others of +a similar liberty of revolt against one's self. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='299'/><anchor id='Pg299'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter XI. Conclusion.</head> + +<p> +In dealing with the various subjects of this book, we +have reserved for separate treatment their relation +to the Messianic hopes of the Jews and to the realisation +of these hopes in Christ. The Messianic teaching +of Chronicles is only complete when we collect and +combine the noblest traits in its pictures of David and +Solomon, of prophets, priests, and kings. We cannot +ascribe to Chronicles any great influence on the subsequent +development of the Jewish idea of the Messiah. +In the first place, the chronicler does not point out the +bearing which his treatment of history has upon the +expectation of a future deliverer. He has no formal +intention of describing the character and office of the +Messiah; he merely wishes to write a history so as to +emphasise the facts which most forcibly illustrated the +sacred mission of Israel. And, in the second place, +Chronicles never exercised any great influence over +Jewish thought, and never attained to anything like the +popularity of the books of Samuel and Kings. Many +circumstances conspired to prevent the Temple ministry +from obtaining an undivided authority over later +Judaism. The growth of their power was broken in +upon by the persecutions of Antiochus and the wars +of the Maccabees. The ministry of the Temple under +<pb n='300'/><anchor id='Pg300'/> +the Maccabæan high-priests must have been very +different from that to which the chronicler belonged. +Even if the priests and Levites still exercised any +influence upon theology, they were overshadowed by +the growing importance of the rabbinical schools of +Babylon and Palestine. Moreover, the rise of Hellenistic +Judaism and the translation of the Scriptures +into Greek introduced another new and potent factor +into the development of the Jewish religion. Of all the +varied forces that were at work few or none tended to +assign any special authority to Chronicles, nor has it +left any very marked traces on later literature. Josephus +indeed uses it for his history, but the New Testament +is under very slight obligation to our author. +</p> + +<p> +But Chronicles reveals to us the position and tendencies +of Jewish thought in the interval between +Ezra and the Maccabees. The Messiah was expected +to renew the ancient glories of the chosen people, +<q>to restore the kingdom to Israel</q>; we learn from +Chronicles what sort of a kingdom He was to restore. +We see the features of the ancient monarchy that +were dear to the memories of the Jews, the characters +of the prophets, priests, and kings whom they delighted +to honour. As their ideas of the past shaped and +coloured their hopes for the future, their conception of +what was noblest and best in the history of the monarchy +was at the same time the measure of what they expected +in the Messiah. However little influence Chronicles +may have exerted as a piece of literature, the tendencies +of which it is a monument continued to leaven the +thought of Israel, and are everywhere manifest in the +New Testament. +</p> + +<p> +We have to bear in mind that Messiah, <q>Anointed,</q> +was the familiar title of the Israelite kings; its use +<pb n='301'/><anchor id='Pg301'/> +for the priests was late and secondary. The use of a +royal title to denote the future Saviour of the nation +shows us that He was primarily conceived of as an +ideal king; and apart from any formal enunciation of +this conception, the title itself would exercise a controlling +influence upon the development of the Messianic +idea. Accordingly in the New Testament we find that +the Jews were looking for a king; and Jesus calls His +new society the Kingdom of Heaven. +</p> + +<p> +But for the chronicler the Messiah, the Anointed of +Jehovah, is no mere secular prince. We have seen +how the chronicler tends to include religious duties +and prerogatives among the functions of the king. +David and Solomon and their pious successors are +supreme alike in Church and state as the earthly +representatives of Jehovah. The actual titles of priest +and prophet are not bestowed upon the kings, but +they are virtually priests in their care for and control +over the buildings and ritual of the Temple, and they +are prophets when, like David and Solomon, they hold +direct fellowship with Jehovah and announce His will +to the people. Moreover, David, as <q>the Psalmist of +Israel,</q> had become the inspired interpreter of the +religious experience of the Jews. The ancient idea +of the king as the victorious conqueror was gradually +giving place to a more spiritual conception of his office; +the Messiah was becoming more and more a definitely +religious personage. Thus Chronicles prepared the +way for the acceptance of Christ as a spiritual Deliverer, +who was not only King, but also Priest and Prophet. +In fact, we may claim the chronicler's own implied +authority for including in the picture of the coming +King the characteristics he ascribes to the priest and +the prophet. Thus the Messiah of Chronicles is +<pb n='302'/><anchor id='Pg302'/> +distinctly more spiritual and less secular than the +Messiah of popular Jewish enthusiasm in our Lord's +own time. Whereas in the chronicler's time the +tendency was to spiritualise the idea of the king, the +tenure of the office of high-priest by the Maccabæan +princes tended rather to secularise the priesthood and +to restore older and cruder conceptions of the Messianic +King. +</p> + +<p> +Let us see how the chronicler's history of the house +of David illustrates the person and work of the Son +of David, who came to restore the ancient monarchy +in the spiritual kingdom of which it was the symbol. +The Gospels introduce our Lord very much as the +chronicler introduces David: they give us His genealogy, +and pass almost immediately to His public ministry. +Of His training and preparation for that ministry, of +the chain of earthly circumstances that determined the +time and method of His entry upon the career of a +public Teacher, they tell us next to nothing. We are +only allowed one brief glimpse of the life of the holy +Child; our attention is mainly directed to the royal +Saviour when He has entered upon His kingdom; +and His Divine nature finds expression in mature +manhood, when none of the limitations of childhood +detract from the fulness of His redeeming service and +sacrifice. +</p> + +<p> +The authority of Christ rests on the same basis as +that of the ancient kings: it is at once human and +Divine. In Christ indeed this twofold authority is in +one sense peculiar to Himself; but in the practical +application of His authority to the hearts and consciences +of men He treads in the footsteps of His +ancestors. His kingdom rests on His own Divine +commission and on the consent of His subjects. God +<pb n='303'/><anchor id='Pg303'/> +has given Him the right to rule, but He will not reign +in any heart till He receives its free submission. And +still, as of old, Christ, thus chosen and well beloved of +God and man, is King over the whole life of His people, +and claims to rule over them in their homes, their +business, their recreation, their social and political life, +as well as in their public and private worship. If +David and his pious successors were devoted to Jehovah +and His temple, if they protected their people from +foreign foes and wisely administered the affairs of +Israel, Christ sets us the example of perfect obedience +to the Father; He gives us deliverance and victory +in our warfare against principalities and powers, against +the world rulers of this darkness, and against the +spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places; He +administers in peace and holiness the inner kingdom +of the believing heart. All that was foreshadowed +both by David and Solomon is realised in Christ. The +warlike David is a symbol of the holy warfare of Christ +and the Church militant, of Him who came not to send +peace on earth, but a sword; Solomon is the symbol +of Christ, the Prince of peace in the Church triumphant. +The tranquillity and splendour of the reign of the first +son of David are types of the serene glory of Christ's +kingdom as it is partly realised in the hearts of His +children and as it will be fully realised in heaven; the +God-given wisdom of Solomon prefigures the perfect +knowledge and understanding of Him who is Himself +the Word and Wisdom of God. +</p> + +<p> +The shadows that darken the history of the kings +of Judah and even the life of David himself remind +us that the Messiah moved upon a far higher moral +and spiritual level than the monarchs whose royal +dignity was a type of His own. Like David, He +<pb n='304'/><anchor id='Pg304'/> +was exposed to the machinations of Satan; but, unlike +David, He successfully resisted the tempter. He was +in <q>all points tempted like as we are, yet without +sin.</q> +</p> + +<p> +The great priestly work of David and Solomon was +the building of the Temple and the organisation of +its ritual and ministry. By this work the kings made +splendid provision for fellowship between Jehovah and +His people, and for the system of sacrifices, whereby +a sinful nation expressed their penitence and received +the assurance of forgiveness. This has been the +supreme work of Christ: through Him we have access +to God; we enter into the holy place, into the Divine +presence, by a new and living way, that is to say His +flesh; He has brought us into the perpetual fellowship +of the Spirit. And whereas Solomon could only build +one temple, to which the believer paid occasional visits +and obtained the sense of Divine fellowship through +the ministry of the priests, Christ makes every faithful +heart the temple of sacred service, and He has offered +for us the one sacrifice, and provides a universal +atonement. +</p> + +<p> +In His priesthood, as in His sacrifice, He represents +us before God, and this representation is not merely +technical and symbolic: in Him we find ourselves +brought near to God, and our desires and aspirations +are presented as petitions at the throne of the heavenly +grace. But, on the other hand, in His love and +righteousness He represents God to us, and brings the +assurance of our acceptance. +</p> + +<p> +Other minor features of the office and rights of the +priests and Levites find a parallel in Christ. He also +is our Teacher and our Judge; to Him and to His +service all worldly wealth may be consecrated. Christ +<pb n='305'/><anchor id='Pg305'/> +is in all things the spiritual Heir of the house of Aaron +as well as of the house of David; because He is +a Priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek, He, +like Melchizedek, is also King of Salem; of His kingdom +and of His priesthood there shall be no end. But while +Christ is to the Kingdom of Heaven what David was +to the Israelite monarchy, while in the different aspects +of His work He is at once Temple, Priest, and Sacrifice, +yet in the ministry of His earthly life He is above +all a Prophet, the supreme successor of Elijah and +Isaiah. It was only in a figure that He sat upon +David's throne; it formed no part of His plan to +exercise earthly dominion: His kingdom was not of this +world. He did not belong to the priestly tribe, and +performed none of the external acts of priestly ritual; +He did not base His authority upon any genealogy +with regard to priesthood, as the Epistle to the Hebrews +says, <q>It is evident that our Lord hath sprung out +of Judah, as to which tribe Moses spake nothing +concerning priests.</q><note place='foot'>Heb. vii. 14.</note> His royal birth had its symbolic +value, but He never asked men to believe in Him +because of His human descent from David. He relied +as little on the authority of office as on that of birth. +Officially He was neither scribe nor rabbi. Like the +prophets, His only authority was His Divine commission +and the witness of the Spirit in the hearts +of His hearers. The people recognised Him as a +prophet; they took Him for Elijah or one of the +prophets; He spoke of Himself as a prophet: <q>Not +without honour, save in his own country.</q> We +have seen that, while the priests ministered to the +regular and recurring needs of the people, the Divine +<pb n='306'/><anchor id='Pg306'/> +guidance in special emergencies and the Divine +authority for new departures were given by the +prophets. By a prophet Jehovah brought Israel out +of Egypt,<note place='foot'>Hos. xii. 13.</note> and Christ as a Prophet led His people out +of the bondage of the Law into the liberty of the +Gospel. By Him the Divine authority was given for +the greatest religious revolution that the world has +ever seen. And still He is the Prophet of the Church. +He does not merely provide for the religious wants +that are common to every race and to every generation: +as the circumstances of His Church altar, and the +believer is confronted with fresh difficulties and called +upon to undertake new tasks, Christ reveals to His +people the purpose and counsel of God. Even the +record of His earthly teaching is constantly found to +have anticipated the needs of our own time; His Spirit +enables us to discover fresh applications of the truths +He taught: and through Him special light is sought +and granted for the guidance of individuals and of the +Church in their need. +</p> + +<p> +But in Chronicles special stress is laid on the darker +aspects of the work of the prophets. They constantly +appear to administer rebukes and announce coming +punishment. Both Christ and His apostles were +compelled to assume the same attitude towards Israel. +Like Jeremiah, their hearts sank under the burden +of so stern a duty. Christ denounced the Pharisees, +and wept over the city that knew not the things +belonging to its peace; He declared the impending +ruin of the Temple and the Holy City. Even so His +Spirit still rebukes sin, and warns the impenitent of +inevitable punishment. +</p> + +<pb n='307'/><anchor id='Pg307'/> + +<p> +We have seen also in Chronicles that no stress was +laid on any material rewards for the prophets, and that +their fidelity was sometimes recompensed with persecution +and death. Like Christ Himself, they had nothing +to do with priestly wealth and splendour. The silence +of the chronicler to the income of these prophets makes +them fitting types of Him who had not where to lay +His head. A discussion of the income of Christ would +almost savour of blasphemy; we should shrink from +inquiring how far <q>those who derived spiritual profit +from His teaching gave Him substantial proofs of their +appreciation of His ministry.</q> Christ's recompense at +the hands of the world and of the Jewish Church +was that which former prophets had received. Like +Zechariah the son of Jehoiada, He was persecuted +and slain; He delivered a prophet's message, and died +a prophet's death. +</p> + +<p> +But, besides the chronicler's treatment of the offices +of prophet, priest, and king, there was another feature of +his teaching which would prepare the way for a clear +comprehension of the person and work of Christ. We +have noticed how the growing sense of the power and +majesty of Jehovah seemed to set Him at a distance +from man, and how the Jews welcomed the idea of the +mediation of an angelic ministry. And yet the angels +were too vague and unfamiliar, too little known, and +too imperfectly understood to satisfy men's longing for +some means of fellowship between themselves and the +remote majesty of an almighty God; while still their +ministry served to maintain faith in the possibility +of mediation, and to quicken the yearning after some +better way of access to Jehovah. When Christ came +He found this faith and yearning waiting to be satisfied; +they opened a door through which Christ found +<pb n='308'/><anchor id='Pg308'/> +His way into hearts prepared to receive Him. In Him +the familiar human figures of priest and prophet were +exalted into the supernatural dignity of the Angel of +Jehovah. Men had long strained their eyes in vain to +a far-off heaven; and, behold, a human voice recalled +their gaze to the earth; and they turned and found God +beside them, kindly and accessible, a Man with men. +They realised the promise that a modern poet puts into +David's mouth:— +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l rend='margin-left: 30'><q rend='pre'>... O Saul, it shall be</q></l> +<l>A face like my face that receives thee; a Man like to me</l> +<l>Thou shalt love and be loved by for ever; a Hand like this hand</l> +<l><q rend='post'>Shall throw open the gates of new life to thee! See the Christ stand!</q></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<p> +We have thus seen how the figures of the chronicler's +history—prophet, priest, king, and angel—were types +and foreshadowings of Christ. We may sum up this +aspect of his teaching by a quotation from a modern +exponent of Old Testament theology:— +</p> + +<p> +<q>Moses the prophet is the first type of the Mediator. +By his side stands Aaron the priest, who connects the +people with God, and consecrates it.... But from +the time of David both these figures pale in the +imagination of the people before the picture of the +Davidic king. His is the figure which appears the +most indispensable condition of all true happiness for +Israel. David is the third and by far the most perfect +type of the Consummator.</q><note place='foot'>Schultz, <hi rend='italic'>Old Testament Theology</hi>, ii. 353.</note> +</p> + +<p> +This recurrence to the king as the most perfect type +of the Redeemer suggests a last application of the +Messianic teaching of the chronicler. In discussing his +<pb n='309'/><anchor id='Pg309'/> +pictures of the kings, we have ventured to give them a +meaning adapted to modern political life. In Israel the +king stood for the state. When a community combined +for common action to erect a temple or repel an invader, +the united force was controlled and directed by the +king; he was the symbol of national union and +co-operation. To-day, when a community acts as a +whole, its agent and instrument is the civil government; +the state is the people organised for the common good, +subordinating individual ends to the welfare of the +whole nation. Where the Old Testament has <q>king,</q> +its modern equivalent may read the state or the civil +government,—nay, even for special purposes the municipality, +the county council, or the school board. Shall +we obtain any helpful or even intelligible result if we +apply this method of translation to the doctrine of +the Messiah? Externally at any rate the translation +bears a startling likeness to what has been regarded +as a specially modern development. <q>Israel looked +for salvation from the king,</q> would read, <q>Modern +society should seek salvation from the state.</q> Assuredly +there are many prophets who have taken up +this burden without any idea that their new heresy +was only a reproduction of old and forgotten orthodoxy. +But the history of the growth of the Messianic idea +supplies a correction to the primitive baldness of this +principle of salvation by the state. In time the picture +of the Messianic king came to include the attributes of +the prophet and the priest. If we care to complete our +modern application, we must affirm that the state can +never be a saviour till it becomes sensitive to Divine +influences and conscious of a Divine presence. +</p> + +<p> +When we see how the Messianic hope of Israel was +purified and ennobled to receive a fulfilment glorious +<pb n='310'/><anchor id='Pg310'/> +beyond its wildest dreams, we are encouraged to +believe that the fantastic visions of the Socialist may be +divinely guided to some reasonable ideal and may +prepare the way for some further manifestation of the +grace of God. But the Messianic state, like the Messiah, +may be called upon to suffer and die for the salvation +of the world, that it may receive a better resurrection. +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<pb n='311'/><anchor id='Pg311'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Book IV. The Interpretation Of History.</head> + +<pb n='313'/><anchor id='Pg313'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter I. The Last Prayer Of David. 1 Chron. xxix. 10-19.</head> + +<p> +In order to do justice to the chronicler's method of +presenting us with a number of very similar +illustrations of the same principle, we have in the +previous book grouped much of his material under a +few leading subjects. There remains the general +thread of the history, which is, of course, very much +the same in Chronicles as in the book of Kings, and +need not be dwelt on at any length. At the same time +some brief survey is necessary for the sake of completeness +and in order to bring out the different +complexion given to the history by the chronicler's +alterations and omissions. Moreover, there are a +number of minor points that are most conveniently +dealt with in the course of a running exposition. +</p> + +<p> +The special importance attached by the chronicler +to David and Solomon has enabled us to treat their +reigns at length in discussing his picture of the ideal +king; and similarly the reign of Ahaz has served as an +illustration of the character and fortunes of the wicked +kings. We therefore take up the history at the +accession of Rehoboam, and shall simply indicate very +briefly the connection of the reign of Ahaz with what +<pb n='314'/><anchor id='Pg314'/> +precedes and follows. But before passing on to +Rehoboam we must consider <q>The Last Prayer of +David,</q> a devotional paragraph peculiar to Chronicles. +The detailed exposition of this passage would have +been out of proportion in a brief sketch of the +chronicler's account of the character and reign of +David, and would have had no special bearing on the +subject of the ideal king. On the other hand, the +<q>Prayer</q> states some of the leading principles which +govern the chronicler in his interpretation of the +history of Israel; and its exposition forms a suitable +introduction to the present division of our subject. +</p> + +<p> +The occasion of this prayer was the great closing +scene of David's life, which we have already described. +The prayer is a thanksgiving for the assurance David +had received that the accomplishment of the great +purpose of his life, the erection of a temple to Jehovah, +was virtually secured. He had been permitted to +collect the materials for the building, he had received +the plans of the Temple from Jehovah, and had placed +them in the willing hands of his successor. The +princes and the people had caught his own enthusiasm +and lavishly supplemented the bountiful provision +already made for the future work. Solomon had been +accepted as king by popular acclamation. Every +possible preparation had been made that could be made, +and the aged king poured out his heart in praise to God +for His grace and favour. +</p> + +<p> +The prayer falls naturally into four subdivisions: +vv. 10-13 are a kind of doxology in honour of Jehovah; +in vv. 14-16 David acknowledges that Israel is entirely +dependent upon Jehovah for the means of rendering +Him acceptable service; in ver. 17 he claims that he +and his people have offered willingly unto Jehovah; and +<pb n='315'/><anchor id='Pg315'/> +in vv. 18 and 19 he prays that Solomon and the +people may build the Temple and abide in the Law. +</p> + +<p> +In the doxology God is addressed as <q>Jehovah, the +God of Israel, our Father,</q> and similarly in ver. 18 +as <q>Jehovah, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of +Israel.</q> For the chronicler the accession of David is +the starting-point of Israelite history and religion, but +here, as in the genealogies, he links his narrative to +that of the Pentateuch, and reminds his readers that +the crowning dispensation of the worship of Jehovah +in the Temple rested on the earlier revelations to +Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. +</p> + +<p> +We are at once struck by the divergence from the +usual formula: <q>Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.</q> Moreover, +when God is referred to as the God of the Patriarch +personally, the usual phrase is <q>the God of Jacob.</q> +The formula, <q>God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel,</q> +occurs again in Chronicles in the account of Hezekiah's +reformation; it only occurs elsewhere in the history of +Elijah in the book of Kings.<note place='foot'>2 Chron. xxx. 6; 1 Kings xviii. 36.</note> The chronicler avoids +the use of the name <q>Jacob,</q> and for the most part calls +the Patriarch <q>Israel.</q> <q>Jacob</q> only occurs in two +poetic quotations, where its omission was almost impossible, +because in each case <q>Israel</q> is used in the +parallel clause.<note place='foot'>1 Chron. xvi. 13, 17; Gen. xxxii. 28.</note> This choice of names is an application of +the same principle that led to the omission of the discreditable +incidents in the history of David and Solomon. +Jacob was the supplanter. The name suggested the +unbrotherly craft of the Patriarch. It was not desirable +that the Jews should be encouraged to think of Jehovah +as the God of a grasping and deceitful man. Jehovah +was the God of the Patriarch's nobler nature and +<pb n='316'/><anchor id='Pg316'/> +higher life, the God of Israel, who strove with God +and prevailed. +</p> + +<p> +In the doxology that follows the resources of language +are almost exhausted in the attempt to set forth +adequately <q>the greatness, and the power, and the +glory, and the victory, and the majesty, ... the riches +and honour, ... the power and might,</q> of Jehovah. +These verses read like an expansion of the simple +Christian doxology, <q>Thine is the kingdom, the power, +and the glory,</q> but in all probability the latter is an +abbreviation from our text. In both there is the same +recognition of the ruling omnipotence of God; but the +chronicler, having in mind the glory and power of +David and his magnificent offerings for the building +of the Temple, is specially careful to intimate that +Jehovah is the source of all worldly greatness: <q>Both +riches and honour come of Thee, ... and in Thy hand +it is to make great and to give strength unto all.</q> +</p> + +<p> +The complementary truth, the entire dependence of +Israel on Jehovah, is dealt with in the next verses. +David has learnt humility from the tragic consequences +of his fatal census; his heart is no longer uplifted with +pride at the wealth and glory of his kingdom; he claims +no credit for the spontaneous impulse of generosity +that prompted his munificence. Everything is traced +back to Jehovah: <q>All things come of Thee, and of +Thine own have we given Thee.</q> Before, when David +contemplated the vast population of Israel and the great +array of his warriors, the sense of God's displeasure +fell upon him; now, when the riches and honour of +his kingdom were displayed before him, he may have +felt the chastening influence of his former experience. +A touch of melancholy darkened his spirit for a moment; +standing upon the brink of the dim, mysterious Sheol, +<pb n='317'/><anchor id='Pg317'/> +he found small comfort in barbaric abundance of timber +and stone, jewels, talents, and darics; he saw the emptiness +of all earthly splendour. Like Abraham before +the children of Heth, he stood before Jehovah a +stranger and a sojourner.<note place='foot'>Gen. xxiii. 4; cf. Psalms xxxix. 13, cxix. 19.</note> Bildad the Shuhite had +urged Job to submit himself to the teaching of a venerable +orthodoxy, because <q>we are of yesterday and +know nothing, because our days upon earth are a +shadow.</q><note place='foot'>Job viii. 9.</note> The same thought made David feel his +insignificance, in spite of his wealth and royal dominion: +<q>Our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there +no abiding.</q> +</p> + +<p> +He turns from these sombre thoughts to the consoling +reflection that in all his preparations he has +been the instrument of a Divine purpose, and has +served Jehovah willingly. To-day he can approach +God with a clear conscience: <q>I know also, my God, +that Thou triest the heart and hast pleasure in uprightness. +As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I +have willingly offered all these things.</q> He rejoiced, +moreover, that the people had offered willingly. The +chronicler anticipates the teaching of St. Paul that +<q>the Lord loveth a cheerful giver.</q> David gives of +his abundance in the same spirit in which the widow +gave her mite. The two narratives are mutually supplementary. +It is possible to apply the story of the +widow's mite so as to suggest that God values our +offerings in inverse proportion to their amount. We +are reminded by the willing munificence of David that +the rich may give of his abundance as simply and +humbly and as acceptably as the poor man gives of +his poverty. +</p> + +<pb n='318'/><anchor id='Pg318'/> + +<p> +But however grateful David might be for the pious +and generous spirit by which his people were now +possessed, he did not forget that they could only +abide in that spirit by the continued enjoyment of +Divine help and grace. His thanksgiving concludes +with prayer. Spiritual depression is apt to follow very +speedily in the train of spiritual exaltation; days of +joy and light are granted to us that we may make +provision for future necessity. +</p> + +<p> +David does not merely ask that Israel may be kept +in external obedience and devotion: his prayer goes +deeper. He knows that out of the heart are the issues +of life, and he prays that the heart of Solomon and the +thoughts of the heart of the people may be kept right +with God. Unless the fountain of life were pure, it +would be useless to cleanse the stream. David's +special desire is that the Temple may be built, but +this desire is only the expression of his loyalty to the +Law. Without the Temple the commandments, and +testimonies, and statutes of the Law could not be rightly +observed. But he does not ask that the people may +be constrained to build the Temple and keeping the +Law in order that their hearts may be made perfect; +their hearts are to be made perfect that they may keep +the Law. +</p> + +<p> +Henceforward throughout his history the chronicler's +criterion of a perfect heart, a righteous life, in king +and people, is their attitude towards the Law and the +Temple. Because their ordinances and worship formed +the accepted standard of religion and morality, through +which men's goodness would naturally express themselves. +Similarly only under a supreme sense of duty +to God and man may the Christian willingly violate +the established canons of religious and social life. +</p> + +<pb n='319'/><anchor id='Pg319'/> + +<p> +We may conclude by noticing a curious feature in +the wording of David's prayer. In the nineteenth, as in +the first, verse of this chapter the Temple, according to +our English versions, is referred to as <q>the palace.</q> +The original word <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>bîrâ</foreign> is probably Persian, though a +parallel form is quoted from the Assyrian. As a +Hebrew word it belongs to the latest and most corrupt +stage of the language as found in the Old Testament; +and only occurs in Chronicles, Nehemiah, Esther, and +Daniel. In putting this word into the mouth of David, +the chronicler is guilty of an anachronism, parallel to +his use of the word <q>darics.</q> The word <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>bîrâ</foreign> appears +to have first become familiar to the Jews as the name +of a Persian palace or fortress in Susa; it is used in +Nehemiah of the castle attached to the Temple, and in +later times the derivative Greek name <foreign lang='el' rend='italic'>Baris</foreign> had the +same meaning. It is curious to find the chronicler, in +his effort to find a sufficiently dignified title for the +temple of Jehovah, driven to borrow a word which +belonged originally to the royal magnificence of a +heathen empire, and which was used later on to denote +the fortress whence a Roman garrison controlled the +fanaticism of Jewish worship.<note place='foot'>Called, however, at that time Antonia.</note> The chronicler's intention, +no doubt, was to intimate that the dignity of +the Temple surpassed that of any royal palace. He +could not suppose that it was greater in extent or constructed +of more costly materials; the living presence +of Jehovah was its one supreme and unique distinction. +The King gave honour to His dwelling-place. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='320'/><anchor id='Pg320'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter II. Rehoboam And Abijah: The Importance +Of Ritual. 2 Chron. x.-xiii.</head> + +<p> +The transition from Solomon to Rehoboam brings +to light a serious drawback of the chronicler's +principle of selection. In the history of Solomon we +read of nothing but wealth, splendour, unchallenged +dominion, and superhuman wisdom; and yet the +breath is hardly out of the body of the wisest and +greatest king of Israel before his empire falls to pieces. +We are told, as in the book of Kings, that the people +met Rehoboam with a demand for release from <q>the +grievous service of thy father,</q> and yet we were +expressly told only two chapters before that <q>of the +children of Israel did Solomon make no servants for his +work; but they were men of war, and chief of his +captains, and rulers of his chariots and of his horsemen.</q><note place='foot'>viii. 9.</note> +Rehoboam apparently had been left by the +wisdom of his father to the companionship of head-strong +and featherbrained youths; he followed their +advice rather than that of Solomon's grey-headed +counsellors, with the result that the ten tribes +successfully revolted and chose Jeroboam for their +king. Rehoboam assembled an army to reconquer his +<pb n='321'/><anchor id='Pg321'/> +lost territory, but Jehovah through the prophet +Shemaiah forbade him to make war against Jeroboam. +</p> + +<p> +The chronicler here and elsewhere shows his +anxiety not to perplex simple minds with unnecessary +difficulties. They might be harassed and disturbed +by the discovery that the king, who built the Temple +and was specially endowed with Divine wisdom, had +fallen into grievous sin and been visited with condign +punishment. Accordingly everything that discredits +Solomon and detracts from his glory is omitted. The +general principle is sound; an earnest teacher, alive to +his responsibility, will not wantonly obtrude difficulties +upon his hearers; when silence does not involve +disloyalty to truth, he will be willing that they should +remain in ignorance of some of the more mysterious +dealings of God in nature and history. But silence +was more possible and less dangerous in the chronicler's +time than in the nineteenth century. He could +count upon a docile and submissive spirit in his +readers; they would not inquire beyond what they were +told: they would not discover the difficulties for themselves. +Jewish youths were not exposed to the attacks +of eager and militant sceptics, who would force these +difficulties upon their notice in an exaggerated form, +and at once demand that they should cease to believe +in anything human or Divine. +</p> + +<p> +And yet, though the chronicler had great advantages +in this matter, his own narrative illustrates the narrow +limits within which the principle of the suppression of +difficulties can be safely applied. His silence as to +Solomon's sins and misfortunes makes the revolt +of the ten tribes utterly inexplicable. After the +account of the perfect wisdom, peace, and prosperity of +Solomon's reign, the revolt comes upon an intelligent +<pb n='322'/><anchor id='Pg322'/> +reader with a shock of surprise and almost of incredulity. +If he could not test the chronicler's narrative +by that of the book of Kings—and it was no part of +the chronicler's purpose that his history should be +thus tested—the violent transition from Solomon's +unbroken prosperity to the catastrophe of the disruption +would leave the reader quite uncertain as to +the general credibility of Chronicles. In avoiding +Scylla, our author has fallen into Charybdis; he has +suppressed one set of difficulties only to create others. +If we wish to help intelligent inquirers and to aid +them to form an independent judgment, our safest plan +will often be to tell them all we know ourselves and to +believe that difficulties, which in no way mar our +spiritual life, will not destroy their faith. +</p> + +<p> +In the next section<note place='foot'>xi. 5-xii. 1, peculiar to Chronicles.</note> the chronicler tells how for +three years Rehoboam administered his diminished +kingdom with wisdom and success; he and his people +walked in the way of David and Solomon, and his +kingdom was established, and he was strong. He +fortified fifteen cities in Judah and Benjamin, and put +captains in them, and store of victuals, and oil and +wine, and shields and spears, and made them exceeding +strong. Rehoboam was further strengthened by +deserters from the northern kingdom. Though the +Pentateuch and the book of Joshua assigned to the +priests and Levites cities in the territory held by +Jeroboam, yet their intimate association with the +Temple rendered it impossible for them to remain +citizens of a state hostile to Jerusalem. The chronicler +indeed tells us that <q>Jeroboam and his sons cast them +off, that they should not execute the priest's office unto +<pb n='323'/><anchor id='Pg323'/> +Jehovah, and appointed others to be priests for the +high places and the he-goats and for the calves which +he had.</q> It is difficult to understand what the chronicler +means by this statement. On the face of it, we +should suppose that Jeroboam refused to employ the +house of Aaron and the tribe of Levi for the worship +of his he-goats and calves, but the chronicler could not +describe such action as casting <q>them off that they +should not execute the priest's office unto Jehovah.</q> +The passage has been explained to mean that Jeroboam +sought to hinder them from exercising their functions +at the Temple by preventing them from visiting Judah; +but to confine the priests and Levites to his own +kingdom would have been a strange way of casting +them off. However, whether driven out by Jeroboam +or escaping from him, they came to Jerusalem and +brought with them from among the ten tribes other +pious Israelites, who were attached to the worship of +the Temple. Judah and Jerusalem became the home +of all true worshippers of Jehovah; and those who +remained in the northern kingdom were given up to +idolatry or the degenerate and corrupt worship of the +high places. The chronicler then gives us some account +of Rehoboam's harem and children, and tells that he +dealt wisely, and dispersed his twenty-eight sons +<q>throughout all the lands of Judah and Benjamin, unto +every fenced city.</q> He gave them the means of maintaining +a luxurious table, and provided them with +numerous wives, and trusted that, being thus happily +circumstanced, they would lack leisure, energy, and +ambition to imitate Absalom and Adonijah. +</p> + +<p> +Prosperity and security turned the head of Rehoboam +as they had done that of David: <q>He forsook the law of +Jehovah, and all Israel with him.</q> <q>All Israel</q> means +<pb n='324'/><anchor id='Pg324'/> +all the subjects of Rehoboam; the chronicler treats the +ten tribes as cut off from Israel. The faithful worshippers +of Jehovah in Judah had been reinforced by +the priests, Levites, and all other pious Israelites from +the northern kingdom; and yet in three years they +forsook the cause for which they had left their country +and their fathers house. Punishment was not long +delayed, for Shishak, king of Egypt, invaded Judah with +an immense host and took away the treasures of the +house of Jehovah and of the king's house. +</p> + +<p> +The chronicler explains why Rehoboam was not +more severely punished.<note place='foot'>xii. 2-8, 12, peculiar to Chronicles.</note> Shishak appeared before +Jerusalem with his immense host: Ethiopians, Lubim +or Lybians, and Sukiim, a mysterious people only mentioned +here. The LXX. and Vulgate translate Sukiim +<q>Troglodytes,</q> apparently identifying them with the +cave-dwellers on the western or Ethiopian coast of the +Red Sea. In order to find safety from these strange +and barbarous enemies, Rehoboam and his princes were +gathered together in Jerusalem. Shemaiah the prophet +appeared before them, and declared that the invasion +was Jehovah's punishment for their sin, whereupon +they humbled themselves, and Jehovah accepted their +penitent submission. He would not destroy Jerusalem, +but the Jews should serve Shishak, <q>that they may +know My service and the service of the kingdoms of +the countries.</q> When they threw off the yoke of +Jehovah, they sold themselves into a worse bondage. +There is no freedom to be gained by repudiating the +restraints of morality and religion. If we do not choose +to be the servants of obedience unto righteousness, +our only alternative is to become the slaves <q>of sin +<pb n='325'/><anchor id='Pg325'/> +unto death.</q> The repentant sinner may return to his +true allegiance, and yet he may still be allowed to taste +something of the bitterness and humiliation of the +bondage of sin. His Shishak may be some evil habit +or propensity or special liability to temptation, that is +permitted to harass him without destroying his spiritual +life. In time the chastening of the Lord works out the +peaceable fruits of righteousness, and the Christian is +weaned for ever from the unprofitable service of sin. +</p> + +<p> +Unhappily the repentance inspired by trouble and +distress is not always real and permanent. Many will +humble themselves before the Lord in order to avert +imminent ruin, and will forsake Him when the danger +has passed away. Apparently Rehoboam soon fell away +again into sin, for the final judgment upon him is, <q>He +did that which was evil, because he set not his heart to +seek Jehovah.</q><note place='foot'>xii. 14, peculiar to Chronicles.</note> David in his last prayer had asked +for a <q>perfect heart</q> for Solomon, but he had not +been able to secure this blessing for his grandson, and +Rehoboam was <q>the foolishness of the people, one that +had no understanding, who turned away the people +through his counsel.</q><note place='foot'>Ecclus. xlvii. 23.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Rehoboam was succeeded by his son Abijah, concerning +whom we are told in the book of Kings that <q>he +walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done +before him; and his heart was not perfect with Jehovah +his God, as the heart of David his father.</q> The +chronicler omits this unfavourable verdict; he does not +indeed classify Abijah among the good kings by the +usual formal statement that <q>he did that which was +good and right in the eyes of Jehovah,</q> but Abijah +delivers a hortatory speech and by Divine assistance +<pb n='326'/><anchor id='Pg326'/> +obtains a great victory over Jeroboam. There is not a +suggestion of any evil-doing on the part of Abijah; and +yet we gather from the history of Asa that in Abijah's +reign the cities of Judah were given up to idolatry, with +all its paraphernalia of <q>strange altars, high places, +Asherim, and sun-images.</q> As in the case of Solomon, +so here, the chronicler has sacrificed even the consistency +of his own narrative to his care for the reputation +of the house of David. How the verdict of ancient +history upon Abijah came to be set aside we do not +know. The charitable work of whitewashing the bad +characters of history has always had an attraction for +enterprising annalists; and Abijah was a more promising +subject than Nero, Tiberius, or Henry VIII. The +chronicler would rejoice to discover one more good +king of Judah; but yet why should the record of Abijah's +sins be expunged, while Ahaziah and Amon were still +held up to the execration of posterity? Probably the +chronicler was anxious that nothing should mar the +effect of his narrative of Abijah's victory. If his later +sources had recorded anything equally creditable of +Ahaziah and Amon, he might have ignored the judgment +of the book of Kings in their case also. +</p> + +<p> +The section<note place='foot'>xiii. 3-22, peculiar to Chronicles.</note> to which the chronicler attaches so +much importance describes a striking episode in the +chronic warfare between Judah and Israel. Here +Israel is used, as in the older history, to mean the +northern kingdom, and does not denote the spiritual +Israel—<hi rend='italic'>i.e.</hi>, Judah—as in the previous chapter. This +perplexing variation in the use of the term <q>Israel</q> +shows how far Chronicles has departed from the religious +ideas of the book of Kings, and reminds us that the +<pb n='327'/><anchor id='Pg327'/> +chronicler has only partially and imperfectly assimilated +his older material. +</p> + +<p> +Abijah and Jeroboam had each gathered an immense +army, but the army of Israel was twice as large as that +of Judah: Jeroboam had eight hundred thousand to +Abijah's four hundred thousand. Jeroboam advanced, +confident in his overwhelming superiority and happy +in the belief that Providence sides with the strongest +battalions. Abijah, however, was nothing dismayed +by the odds against him; his confidence was in Jehovah. +The two armies met in the neighbourhood of Mount +Zemaraim, upon which Abijah fixed his camp. Mount +Zemaraim was in the hill-country of Ephraim, but its +position cannot be determined with certainty; it was +probably near the border of the two kingdoms. Possibly +it was the site of the Benjamite city of the same name +mentioned in the book of Joshua in close connection +with Bethel.<note place='foot'>Josh. xviii. 22.</note> If so, we should look for it in the neighbourhood +of Bethel, a position which would suit the few +indications of place given by the narrative. +</p> + +<p> +Before the battle, Abijah made an effort to induce +his enemies to depart in peace. From the vantage-ground +of his mountain camp he addressed Jeroboam +and his army as Jotham had addressed the men of +Shechem from Mount Gerizim.<note place='foot'>Judges ix. 8.</note> Abijah reminded the +rebels—for as such he regarded them—that Jehovah, the +God of Israel, had given the kingdom over Israel to +David for ever, even to him and to his sons, by a +covenant of salt, by a charter as solemn and unalterable +as that by which the heave-offerings had been +given to the sons of Aaron.<note place='foot'>Num. xviii. 19.</note> The obligation of an +Arab host to the guest who had sat at meat with him +<pb n='328'/><anchor id='Pg328'/> +and eaten of his salt was not more binding than the +Divine decree which had given the throne of Israel to +the house of David. And yet Jeroboam the son of +Nebat had dared to infringe the sacred rights of the +elect dynasty. He, the slave of Solomon, had risen +up and rebelled against his master. +</p> + +<p> +The indignant prince of the house of David not +unnaturally forgets that the disruption was Jehovah's +own work, and that Jeroboam rose up against his +master, not at the instigation of Satan, but by the +command of the prophet Ahijah.<note place='foot'>2 Chron. x. 15.</note> The advocates of +sacred causes even in inspired moments are apt to be +one-sided in their statements of fact. +</p> + +<p> +While Abijah is severe upon Jeroboam and his +accomplices and calls them <q>vain men, sons of Belial,</q> +he shows a filial tenderness for the memory of Rehoboam. +That unfortunate king had been taken at a +disadvantage, when he was young and tender-hearted +and unable to deal sternly with rebels. The tenderness +which could threaten to chastise his people with +scorpions must have been of the kind— +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>That dared to look on torture and could not look on war</q>; +</quote> + +<p> +it only appears in the history in Rehoboam's headlong +flight to Jerusalem. No one, however, will censure +Abijah for taking an unduly favourable view of his +father's character. +</p> + +<p> +But whatever advantage Jeroboam may have found +in his first revolt, Abijah warns him that now he need +not think to withstand the kingdom of Jehovah in the +hands of the sons of David. He is no longer opposed +to an unseasoned youth, but to men who know their +overwhelming advantage. Jeroboam need not think to +<pb n='329'/><anchor id='Pg329'/> +supplement and complete his former achievements by +adding Judah and Benjamin to his kingdom. Against +his superiority of four hundred thousand soldiers Abijah +can set a Divine alliance, attested by the presence of +priests and Levites and the regular performance of +the pentateuchal ritual, whilst the alienation of Israel +from Jehovah is clearly shown by the irregular orders +of their priests. But let Abijah speak for himself: +<q>Ye be a great multitude, and there are with you +the golden calves which Jeroboam made you for gods.</q> +Possibly Abijah was able to point to Bethel, where the +royal sanctuary of the golden calf was visible to +both armies: <q>Have ye not driven out the priests of +Jehovah, the sons of Aaron and the Levites, and made +for yourselves priests in heathen fashion? When any +one comes to consecrate himself with a young bullock +and seven rams, ye make him a priest of them that are +no gods. But as for us, Jehovah is our God, and we +have not forsaken Him; and we have priests, the sons +of Aaron, ministering unto Jehovah, and the Levites, +doing their appointed work: and they burn unto +Jehovah morning and evening burnt offerings and +sweet incense: the shewbread also they set in order +upon the table that is kept free from all uncleanness; +and we have the candlestick of gold, with its lamps, to +burn every evening; for we observe the ordinances of +Jehovah our God; but ye have forsaken Him. And, +behold, God is with us at our head, and His priests, +with the trumpets of alarm, to sound an alarm against +you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against Jehovah, +the God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper.</q> +</p> + +<p> +This speech, we are told, <q>has been much admired. +It was well suited to its object, and exhibits correct +notions of the theocratical institutions.</q> But, like much +<pb n='330'/><anchor id='Pg330'/> +other admirable eloquence, in the House of Commons +and elsewhere, Abijah's speech had no effect upon +those to whom it was addressed. Jeroboam apparently +utilised the interval to plant an ambush in the rear of +the Jewish army. +</p> + +<p> +Abijah's speech is unique. There have been other +instances in which commanders have tried to make +oratory take the place of arms, and, like Abijah, they +have mostly been unsuccessful; but they have usually +appealed to lower motives. Sennacherib's envoys tried +ineffectually to seduce the garrison of Jerusalem from +their allegiance to Hezekiah, but they relied on threats +of destruction and promises of <q>a land of corn and +wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of oil olive +and honey.</q> There is, however, a parallel instance +of more successful persuasion. When Octavian was +at war with his fellow-triumvir Lepidus, he made a +daring attempt to win over his enemy's army. He +did not address them from the safe elevation of a +neighbouring mountain, but rode openly into the +hostile camp. He appealed to the soldiers by motives +as lofty as those urged by Abijah, and called upon +them to save their country from civil war by deserting +Lepidus. At the moment his appeal failed, and +he only escaped with a wound in his breast; but +after a while his enemy's soldiers came over to him in +detachments, and eventually Lepidus was compelled to +surrender to his rival. But the deserters were not +altogether influenced by pure patriotism. Octavian +had carefully prepared the way for his dramatic appearance +in the camp of Lepidus, and had used grosser +means of persuasion than arguments addressed to +patriotic feeling. +</p> + +<p> +Another instance of a successful appeal to a hostile +<pb n='331'/><anchor id='Pg331'/> +force is found in the history of the first Napoleon, +when he was marching on Paris after his return from +Elba. Near Grenoble he was met by a body of royal +troops. He at once advanced to the front, and exposing +his breast, exclaimed to the opposing ranks, <q>Here +is your emperor; if any one would kill me, let him +fire.</q> The detachment, which had been sent to arrest +his progress, at once deserted to their old commander. +Abijah's task was less hopeful: the soldiers whom +Octavian and Napoleon won over had known these +generals as lawful commanders of Roman and French +armies respectively, but Abijah could not appeal to +any old associations in the minds of Jeroboam's army; +the Israelites were animated by ancient tribal jealousies, +and Jeroboam was made of sterner stuff than Lepidus +or Louis XVIII. Abijah's appeal is a monument of +his humanity, faith, and devotion; and if it failed to +influence the enemy, doubtless served to inspirit his +own army. +</p> + +<p> +At first, however, things went hardly with Judah. +They were outgeneralled as well as outnumbered; +Jeroboam's main body attacked them in front, and the +ambush assailed their rear. Like the men of Ai, +<q>when Judah looked back, behold, the battle was +before and behind them.</q> But Jehovah, who fought +against Ai, was fighting for Judah, and they cried unto +Jehovah; and then, as at Jericho, <q>the men of Judah +gave a shout, and when they shouted, God smote +Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.</q> +The rout was complete, and was accompanied by +terrible slaughter. No fewer than five hundred thousand +Israelites were slain by the men of Judah. The latter +pressed their advantage, and took the neighbouring city +of Bethel and other Israelite towns. For the time +<pb n='332'/><anchor id='Pg332'/> +Israel was <q>brought under,</q> and did not recover from +its tremendous losses during the three years of Abijah's +reign. As for Jeroboam, Jehovah smote him, and he +died; but <q>Abijah waxed mighty, and took unto himself +fourteen wives, and begat twenty-and-two sons and +sixteen daughters.</q><note place='foot'>This verse must of course be understood to give his whole family +history, and not merely that of his three years' reign.</note> His history closes with the +record of these proofs of Divine favour, and he <q>slept +with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of +David, and Asa his son reigned in his stead.</q> +</p> + +<p> +The lesson which the chronicler intends to teach by +his narrative is obviously the importance of ritual, not +the importance of ritual apart from the worship of the +true God; he emphasises the presence of Jehovah with +Judah, in contrast to the Israelite worship of calves and +those that are no gods. The chronicler dwells upon +the maintenance of the legitimate priesthood and the +prescribed ritual as the natural expression and clear +proof of the devotion of the men of Judah to their God. +</p> + +<p> +It may help us to realise the significance of Abijah's +speech, if we try to construct an appeal in the same +spirit for a Catholic general in the Thirty Years' +War addressing a hostile Protestant army. Imagine +Wallenstein or Tilly, moved by some unwonted spirit +of pious oratory, addressing the soldiers of Gustavus +Adolphus:— +</p> + +<p> +<q>We have a pope who sits in Peter's chair, bishops +and priests ministering unto the Lord, in the true +apostolical succession. The sacrifice of the Mass is +daily offered; matins, laud, vespers, and compline +are all duly celebrated; our churches are fragrant +with incense and glorious with stained glass and +images; we have crucifixes, and lamps, and candles; and +<pb n='333'/><anchor id='Pg333'/> +our priests are fitly clothed in ecclesiastical vestments; +for we observe the traditions of the Church, but ye +have forsaken the Divine order. Behold, God is with us +at our head; and we have banners blessed by the Pope. +O ye Swedes, ye fight against God; ye shall not +prosper.</q> +</p> + +<p> +As Protestants we may find it difficult to sympathise +with the feelings of a devout Romanist or even with +those of a faithful observer of the complicated Mosaic +ritual. We could not construct so close a parallel to +Abijah's speech in terms of any Protestant order of +service, and yet the objections which any modern +denomination feels to departures from its own forms +of worship rest on the same principles as those of +Abijah. In the abstract the speech teaches two main +lessons: the importance of an official and duly +accredited ministry and of a suitable and authoritative +ritual. These principles are perfectly general, and +are not confined to what is usually known as sacerdotalism +and ritualism. Every Church has in practice +some official ministry, even those Churches that profess +to owe their separate existence to the necessity for protesting +against an official ministry. Men whose chief +occupation is to denounce priestcraft may themselves +be saturated with the sacerdotal spirit. Every Church, +too, has its ritual. The silence of a Friends' meeting is +as much a rite as the most elaborate genuflexion before +a highly ornamented altar. To regard either the +absence or presence of rites as essential is equally +ritualistic. The man who leaves his wonted place +of worship because <q>Amen</q> is sung at the end of a +hymn is as bigoted a ritualist as his brother who dare +not pass an altar without crossing himself. Let us +then consider the chronicler's two principles in this +<pb n='334'/><anchor id='Pg334'/> +broad sense. The official ministry of Israel consisted +of the priests and Levites, and the chronicler counted +it a proof of the piety of the Jews that they adhered +to this ministry and did not admit to the priesthood +any one who could bring a young bullock and seven +rams. The alternative was not between a hereditary +priesthood and one open to any aspirant with special +spiritual qualifications, but between a duly trained and +qualified ministry on the one hand and a motley crew +of the forerunners of Simon Magus on the other. It is +impossible not to sympathise with the chronicler. To +begin with, the property qualification was too low. If +livings are to be purchased at all, they should bear a +price commensurate with the dignity and responsibility +of the sacred office. A mere entrance fee, so to speak, +of a young bullock and seven rams must have flooded +Jeroboam's priesthood with a host of adventurers, to +whom the assumption of the office was a matter of +social or commercial speculation. The private adventure +system of providing for the ministry of the word +scarcely tends to either the dignity or the efficiency of +the Church. But, in any case, it is not desirable that +mere worldly gifts, money, social position, or even +intellect should be made the sole passports to Christian +service; even the traditions and education of a hereditary +priesthood would be more probable channels of +spiritual qualifications. +</p> + +<p> +Another point that the chronicler objects to in +Jeroboam's priests is the want of any other than a +property qualification. Any one who chose could be a +priest. Such a system combined what might seem +opposite vices. It preserved an official ministry; these +self-appointed priests formed a clerical order; and yet +it gave no guarantee whatever of either fitness or +<pb n='335'/><anchor id='Pg335'/> +devotion. The chronicler, on the other hand, by the +importance he attaches to the Levitical priesthood, +recognises the necessity of an official ministry, but is +anxious that it should be guarded with jealous care +against the intrusion of unsuitable persons. A conclusive +argument for an official ministry is to be found +in its formal adoption by most Churches and its +uninvited appearance in the rest. We should not now +be contented with the safeguards against unsuitable +ministers to be found in hereditary succession; the +system of the Pentateuch would be neither acceptable +nor possible in the nineteenth century: and yet, if it +had been perfectly administered, the Jewish priesthood +would have been worthy of its high office, nor were +the times ripe for the substitution of any better +system. Many of the considerations which justify +hereditary succession in a constitutional monarchy +might be adduced in defence of a hereditary priesthood. +Even now, without any pressure of law or custom, there +is a certain tendency towards hereditary succession in +the ministerial office. It would be easy to name distinguished +ministers who were inspired for the high calling +by their fathers' devoted service, and who received +an invaluable preparation for their life-work from the +Christian enthusiasm of a clerical household. The +clerical ancestry of the Wesleys is only one among many +illustrations of an inherited genius for the ministry. +</p> + +<p> +But though the best method of obtaining a suitable +ministry varies with changing circumstances, the chronicler's +main principle is of permanent and universal +application. The Church has always felt a just concern +that the official representatives of its faith and order +should commend themselves to every man's conscience +in the sight of God. The prophet needs neither testimonials +<pb n='336'/><anchor id='Pg336'/> +nor official status: the word of the Lord can +have free course without either; but the appointment +or election to ecclesiastical office entrusts the official +with the honour of the Church and in a measure of its +Master. +</p> + +<p> +The chronicler's other principle is the importance of +a suitable and authoritative ritual. We have already +noticed that any order of service that is fixed by the +constitution or custom of a Church involves the principle +of ritual. Abijah's speech does not insist that only the +established ritual should be tolerated; such questions +had not come within the chronicler's horizon. The +merit of Judah lay in possessing and practising a +legitimate ritual, that is to say in observing the Pauline +injunction to do all things decently and in order. The +present generation is not inclined to enforce any very +stringent obedience to Paul's teaching, and finds it +difficult to sympathise with Abijah's enthusiasm for the +symbolism of worship. But men to-day are not radically +different from the chronicler's contemporaries, and it is +as legitimate to appeal to spiritual sensibility through +the eye as through the ear; architecture and decoration +are neither more nor less spiritual than an attractive +voice and impressive elocution. Novelty and variety +have, or should have, their legitimate place in public +worship; but the Church has its obligations to those +who have more regular spiritual wants. Most of us +find much of the helpfulness of public worship in the +influence of old and familiar spiritual associations, +which can only be maintained by a measure of permanence +and fixity in Divine service. The symbolism +of the Lord's Supper never loses its freshness, and yet +it is restful because familiar and impressive because +ancient. On the other hand, the maintenance of this +<pb n='337'/><anchor id='Pg337'/> +ritual is a constant testimony to the continuity of +Christian life and faith. Moreover, in this rite the great +bulk of Christendom finds the outward and visible sign +of its unity. +</p> + +<p> +Ritual, too, has its negative value. By observing the +Levitical ordinances the Jews were protected from the +vagaries of any ambitious owner of a young bullock and +seven rams. While we grant liberty to all to use the +form of worship in which they find most spiritual +profit, we need to have Churches whose ritual will be +comparatively fixed. Christians who find themselves +most helped by the more quiet and regular methods +of devotion naturally look to a settled order of service +to protect them from undue and distracting excitement. +</p> + +<p> +In spite of the wide interval that separates the +modern Church from Judaism, we can still discern a +unity of principle, and are glad to confirm the judgment +of Christian experience from the lessons of an older +and different dispensation. But we should do injustice +to the chronicler's teaching if we forgot that for his +own times his teaching was capable of much more +definite and forcible application. Christianity and Islam +have purified religious worship throughout Europe, +America, and a large portion of Asia. We are no +longer tempted by the cruel and loathsome rites of +heathenism. The Jews knew the wild extravagance, +gross immorality, and ruthless cruelty of Phœnician +and Syrian worship. If we had lived in the chronicler's +age and had shared his experience of idolatrous +rites, we should have also shared his enthusiasm for +the pure and lofty ritual of the Pentateuch. We should +have regarded it as a Divine barrier between Israel and +the abominations of heathenism, and should have been +jealous for its strict observance. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='338'/><anchor id='Pg338'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter III. Asa: Divine Retribution. 2 Chron. xiv.-xvi.</head> + +<p> +Abijah, dying, as far as we can gather from +Chronicles, in the odour of sanctity, was succeeded +by his son Asa. The chronicler's history of Asa is +much fuller than that which is given in the book of +Kings. The older narrative is used as a framework +into which material from later sources is freely inserted. +The beginning of the new reign was singularly +promising. Abijah had been a very David, he had +fought the battles of Jehovah, and had assured the +security and independence of Judah. Asa, like Solomon, +entered into the peaceful enjoyment of his predecessor's +exertions in the field. <q>In his days the land was quiet +ten years,</q> as in the days when the judges had delivered +Israel, and he was able to exhort his people to prudent +effort by reminding them that Jehovah had given them +rest on every side.<note place='foot'>xiv. 1, 7, peculiar to Chronicles.</note> This interval of quiet was used +for both religious reform and military precautions.<note place='foot'>xiv. 3-9, peculiar to Chronicles.</note> +The high places and heathen idols and symbols which +had somehow survived Abijah's zeal for the Mosaic +ritual were swept away, and Judah was commanded to +<pb n='339'/><anchor id='Pg339'/> +seek Jehovah and observe the Law; and he built +fortresses with towers, and gates, and bars, and +raised a great army <q>that bare bucklers and spears,</q>—no +mere hasty levy of half-armed peasants with +scythes and axes. The mighty array surpassed even +Abijah's great muster of four hundred thousand from +Judah and Benjamin: there were five hundred and +eighty thousand men, three hundred thousand out of +Judah that bare bucklers and spears and two hundred +and eighty thousand out of Benjamin that bare shields +and drew bows. The great muster of Benjamites under +Asa is in striking contrast to the meagre tale of six +hundred warriors that formed the whole strength of +Benjamin after its disastrous defeat in the days of the +judges; and the splendid equipment of this mighty host +shows the rapid progress of the nation from the +desperate days of Shamgar and Jael or even of Saul's +early reign, when <q>there was neither shield nor spear +seen among forty thousand in Israel.</q> +</p> + +<p> +These references to buildings, especially fortresses, +to military stores and the vast numbers of Jewish and +Israelite armies, form a distinct class amongst the +additions made by the chronicler to the material +taken from the book of Kings. They are found in +the narratives of the reigns of David, Rehoboam, +Jehoshaphat, Uzziah, Jotham, Manasseh, in fact in +the reigns of nearly all the good kings; Manasseh's +building was done after he had turned from his evil +ways.<note place='foot'>1 Chron. xii., etc.; 2 Chron. xi. 5 ff., xvii. 12 ff., xxvi. 9 ff. xxvii. +4 ff., xxxiii. 14.</note> Hezekiah and Josiah were too much occupied +with sacred festivals on the one hand and hostile +invaders on the other to have much leisure for building, +<pb n='340'/><anchor id='Pg340'/> +and it would not have been in keeping with Solomon's +character as the prince of peace to have laid stress on +his arsenals and armies. Otherwise the chronicler, +living at a time when the warlike resources of Judah +were of the slightest, was naturally interested in these +reminiscences of departed glory; and the Jewish +provincials would take a pride in relating these pieces +of antiquarian information about their native towns, +much as the servants of old manor-houses delight to +point out the wing which was added by some famous +Cavalier or by some Jacobite squire. +</p> + +<p> +Asa's warlike preparations were possibly intended, like +those of the Triple Alliance, to enable him to maintain +peace; but if so, their sequel did not illustrate the +maxim, <q>Si vis pacem, para bellum.</q> The rumour of his +vast armaments reached a powerful monarch: <q>Zerah +the Ethiopian.</q><note place='foot'>xiv. 9-15.</note> The vagueness of this description is +doubtless due to the remoteness of the chronicler from +the times he is describing. Zerah has sometimes been +identified with Shishak's successor, Osorkon I., the +second king of the twenty-second Egyptian dynasty. +Zerah felt that Asa's great army was a standing +menace to the surrounding princes, and undertook the +task of destroying this new military power: <q>He came +out against them.</q> Numerous as Asa's forces were, they +still left him dependent upon Jehovah, for the enemy +were even more numerous and better equipped. Zerah +led to a battle an army of a million men, supported by +three hundred war chariots. With this enormous +host he came to Mareshah, at the foot of the Judæan +highlands, in a direction south-west of Jerusalem. In +spite of the inferiority of his army, Asa came out to +<pb n='341'/><anchor id='Pg341'/> +meet him; <q>and they set the battle in array in the +valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.</q> Like Abijah, Asa +felt that, with his Divine Ally, he need not be afraid +of the odds against him even when they could be +counted by hundreds of thousands. Trusting in +Jehovah, he had taken the field against the enemy; +and now at the decisive moment he made a confident +appeal for help: <q>Jehovah, there is none beside Thee +to help between the mighty and him that hath no +strength.</q> Five hundred and eighty thousand men +seemed nothing compared to the host arrayed against +them, and outnumbering them in the proportion of +nearly two to one. <q>Help us, Jehovah our God; for +we rely on Thee, and in Thy name are we come against +this multitude. Jehovah, Thou art our God; let not +man prevail against Thee.</q> +</p> + +<p> +Jehovah justified the trust reposed in Him. He smote +the Ethiopians, and they fled towards the south-west +in the direction of Egypt; and Asa and his army +pursued them as far as Gerar, with fearful slaughter, +so that of Zerah's million followers not one remained +alive.<note place='foot'>So R.V. marg.; R.V. text (with which A.V. is in substantial agreement): +<q>There fell of the Ethiopians so many that they could not +recover themselves</q>; <hi rend='italic'>i.e.</hi>, the routed army were never able to rally.</note> Of course this statement is hyperbolical. The +carnage was enormous, and no living enemies remained +in sight. Apparently Gerar and the neighbouring +cities had aided Zerah in his advance and attempted +to shelter the fugitives from Mareshah. Paralysed +with fear of Jehovah, whose avenging wrath had +been so terribly manifested, these cities fell an easy +prey to the victorious Jews. They smote and spoiled +all the cities about Gerar, and reaped a rich harvest, +<pb n='342'/><anchor id='Pg342'/> +<q>for there was much spoil in them.</q> It seems that +the nomad tribes of the southern wilderness had +also in some way identified themselves with the +invaders; Asa attacked them in their turn. <q>They +smote also the tents of cattle</q>; and as the wealth of +these tribes lay in their flocks and herds; <q>they carried +away sheep in abundance and camels, and returned to +Jerusalem.</q> +</p> + +<p> +This victory is closely parallel to that of Abijah over +Jeroboam. In both the numbers of the armies are +reckoned by hundreds of thousands; and the hostile +host outnumbers the army of Judah in the one case +by exactly two to one, in the other by nearly that +proportion: in both the king of Judah trusts with calm +assurance to the assistance of Jehovah, and Jehovah +smites the enemy; the Jews then massacre the +defeated army and spoil or capture the neighbouring +cities. +</p> + +<p> +These victories over superior numbers may easily be +paralleled or surpassed by numerous striking examples +from secular history. The odds were greater at +Agincourt, where at least sixty thousand French were +defeated by not more than twenty thousand Englishmen; +at Marathon the Greeks routed a Persian army ten +times as numerous as their own; in India English +generals have defeated innumerable hordes of native +warriors, as when Wellesley— +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>Against the myriads of Assaye</q></l> +<l><q rend='post'>Clashed with his fiery few and won.</q></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<p> +For the most part victorious generals have been ready +to acknowledge the succouring arm of the God of battles. +Shakespeare's Henry V. after Agincourt speaks altogether +in the spirit of Asa's prayer:— +</p> + +<pb n='343'/><anchor id='Pg343'/> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l rend='margin-left: 4'><q rend='pre'>... O God, Thy arm was here;</q></l> +<l>And not to us, but to Thy arm alone,</l> +<l>Ascribe we all....</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 20'>... Take it, God,</l> +<l><q rend='post'>For it is only Thine.</q></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<p> +When the small craft that made up Elizabeth's fleet +defeated the huge Spanish galleons and galleasses, and +the storms of the northern seas finished the work of +destruction, the grateful piety of Protestant England +felt that its foes had been destroyed by the breath of +the Lord; <q>Afflavit Deus et dissipantur.</q> +</p> + +<p> +The principle that underlies such feelings is quite +independent of the exact proportions of opposing armies. +The victories of inferior numbers in a righteous cause +are the most striking, but not the most significant, +illustrations of the superiority of moral to material +force. In the wider movements of international politics +we may find even more characteristic instances. It is +true of nations as well as of individuals that— +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>The Lord killeth and maketh alive;</q></l> +<l>He bringeth down to the grave and bringeth up:</l> +<l>The Lord maketh poor and maketh rich;</l> +<l>He bringeth low, He also lifteth up:</l> +<l>He raiseth up the poor out of the dust,</l> +<l>He lifteth up the needy from the dunghill,</l> +<l>To make them sit with princes</l> +<l><q rend='post'>And inherit the throne of glory.</q></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<p> +Italy in the eighteenth century seemed as hopelessly +divided as Israel under the judges, and Greece as +completely enslaved to the <q>unspeakable Turk</q> as the +Jews to Nebuchadnezzar; and yet, destitute as they +were of any material resources, these nations had at +their disposal great moral forces: the memory of ancient +greatness and the sentiment of nationality; and to-day +Italy can count hundreds of thousands like the +<pb n='344'/><anchor id='Pg344'/> +chronicler's Jewish kings, and Greece builds her fortresses +by land and her ironclads to command the sea. +The Lord has fought for Israel. +</p> + +<p> +But the principle has a wider application. A little +examination of the more obscure and complicated movements +of social life will show moral forces everywhere +overcoming and controlling the apparently irresistible +material forces opposed to them. The English and +American pioneers of the movements for the abolition +of slavery had to face what seemed an impenetrable +phalanx of powerful interests and influences; but probably +any impartial student of history would have +foreseen the ultimate triumph of a handful of earnest +men over all the wealth and political power of the +slave-owners. The moral forces at the disposal of +the abolitionists were obviously irresistible. But the +soldier in the midst of smoke and tumult may still +be anxious and despondent at the very moment when +the spectator sees clearly that the battle is won; and +the most earnest Christian workers sometimes falter +when they realise the vast and terrible forces that fight +against them. At such times we are both rebuked +and encouraged by the simple faith of the chronicler +in the overruling power of God. +</p> + +<p> +It may be objected that if victory were to be secured +by Divine intervention, there was no need to muster five +hundred and eighty thousand men or indeed any army +at all. If in any and every case God disposes, what +need is there for the devotion to His service of our +best strength, and energy, and culture, or of any human +effort at all? A wholesome spiritual instinct leads the +chronicler to emphasise the great preparations of Abijah +and Asa. We have no right to look for Divine co-operation +till we have done our best; we are not to +<pb n='345'/><anchor id='Pg345'/> +sit with folded hands and expect a complete salvation +to be wrought for us, and then to continue as idle +spectators of God's redemption of mankind: we are +to tax our resources to the utmost to gather our +hundreds of thousands of soldiers; we are to work out +our own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God +that worketh in us both to will and to do of His good +pleasure. +</p> + +<p> +This principle may be put in another way. Even +to the hundreds of thousands the Divine help is still +necessary. The leaders of great hosts are as dependent +upon Divine help as Jonathan and his armour-bearer +fighting single-handed against a Philistine garrison, or +David arming himself with a sling and stone against +Goliath of Gath. The most competent Christian +worker in the prime of his spiritual strength needs +grace as much as the untried youth making his first +venture in the Lord's service. +</p> + +<p> +At this point we meet with another of the chronicler's +obvious self-contradictions. At the beginning of the +narrative of Asa's reign we are told that the king did +away with the high places and the symbols of idolatrous +worship, and that, because Judah had thus sought +Jehovah, He gave them rest. The deliverance from +Zerah is another mark of Divine favour. And yet in +the fifteenth chapter Asa, in obedience to prophetic +admonition, takes away the abominations from his +dominions, as if there had been no previous reformation, +but we are told that the high places were not taken out +of Israel. The context would naturally suggest that +Israel here means Asa's kingdom, as the true Israel of +God; but as the verse is borrowed from the book of +Kings, and <q>out of Israel</q> is an editorial addition +made by the chronicler, it is probably intended to +<pb n='346'/><anchor id='Pg346'/> +harmonise the borrowed verse with the chronicler's +previous statement that Asa did away with the high +places. If so, we must understand that Israel means +the northern kingdom, from which the high places +had not been removed, though Judah had been purged +from these abominations. But here, as often elsewhere, +Chronicles taken alone affords no explanation of its +inconsistencies. +</p> + +<p> +Again, in Asa's first reformation he commanded Judah +to seek Jehovah and to do the Law and the commandments; +and accordingly Judah sought the Lord. +Moreover, Abijah, about seventeen years<note place='foot'>The second reformation is dated early in Asa's fifteenth year, and +Abijah only reigned three years.</note> before Asa's +second reformation, made it his special boast that Judah +had not forsaken Jehovah, but had priests ministering +unto Jehovah, <q>the sons of Aaron and the Levites in +their work.</q> During Rehoboam's reign of seventeen +years Jehovah was duly honoured for the first three +years, and again after Shishak's invasion in the fifth +year of Rehoboam. So that for the previous thirty or +forty years the due worship of Jehovah had only been +interrupted by occasional lapses into disobedience. +But now the prophet Oded holds before this faithful +people the warning example of the <q>long seasons</q> when +Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching +priest, and without law. And yet previously Chronicles +supplies an unbroken list of high-priests from Aaron +downwards. In response to Oded's appeal, the king +and people set about the work of reformation as if they +had tolerated some such neglect of God, the priests, +and the Law as the prophet had described. +</p> + +<p> +Another minor discrepancy is found in the statement +<pb n='347'/><anchor id='Pg347'/> +that <q>the heart of Asa was perfect all his days</q>; this +is reproduced verbatim from the book of Kings. +Immediately afterwards the chronicler relates the evil +doings of Asa in the closing years of his reign. +</p> + +<p> +Such contradictions render it impossible to give a +complete and continuous exposition of Chronicles that +shall be at the same time consistent. Nevertheless +they are not without their value for the Christian +student. They afford evidence of the good faith of the +chronicler. His contradictions are clearly due to his +use of independent and discrepant sources, and not to +any tampering with the statements of his authorities. +They are also an indication that the chronicler attaches +much more importance to spiritual edification than to +historical accuracy. When he seeks to set before his +contemporaries the higher nature and better life of the +great national heroes, and thus to provide them with an +ideal of kingship, he is scrupulously and painfully +careful to remove everything that would weaken the +force of the lesson which he is trying to teach; but he is +comparatively indifferent to accuracy of historical detail. +When his authorities contradict each other as to the +number or the date of Asa's reformations, or even the +character of his later years, he does not hesitate to +place the two narratives side by side and practically to +draw lessons from both. The work of the chronicler +and its presence with the Pentateuch and the Synoptic +Gospels in the sacred canon imply an emphatic declaration +of the judgment of the Spirit and the Church +that detailed historical accuracy is not a necessary +consequence of inspiration. In expounding this second +narrative of a reformation by Asa, we shall make no +attempt at complete harmony with the rest of Chronicles; +any inconsistency between the exposition here and +<pb n='348'/><anchor id='Pg348'/> +elsewhere will simply arise from a faithful adherence to +our text. +</p> + +<p> +The occasion then of Asa's second reformation<note place='foot'>xv., based upon 1 Kings xv. 13-15, but the great bulk of the +chapter is peculiar to Chronicles; the original passage from Kings is +reproduced, with slight changes in vv. 16-18.</note> was +as follows: Asa was returning in triumph from his +great defeat of Zerah, bringing with him substantial +fruits of victory in the shape of abundant spoil. +Wealth and power had proved a snare to David and +Rehoboam, and had involved them in grievous sin. Asa +might also have succumbed to the temptations of +prosperity; but, by a special Divine grace not vouchsafed +to his predecessors, he was guarded against +danger by a prophetic warning. At the very moment +when Asa might have expected to be greeted by +the acclamations of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, +when the king would be elate with the sense of Divine +favour, military success, and popular applause, the +prophet's admonition checked the undue exaltation +which might have hurried Asa into presumptuous sin. +Asa and his people were not to presume upon their +privilege; its continuance was altogether dependent +upon their continued obedience: if they fell into sin, +the rewards of their former loyalty would vanish like +fairy gold. <q>Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and +Benjamin: Jehovah is with you while ye be with Him; +and if ye seek Him, He will be found of you; but if +ye forsake Him, He will forsake you.</q> This lesson +was enforced from the earlier history of Israel. The +following verses are virtually a summary of the history +of the judges:— +</p> + +<p> +<q>Now for long seasons Israel was without the true +God, and without teaching priest, and without law.</q> +</p> + +<pb n='349'/><anchor id='Pg349'/> + +<p> +Judges tells how again and again Israel fell away +from Jehovah. <q>But when in their distress they turned +unto Jehovah, the God of Israel, and sought Him, He +was found of them.</q> +</p> + +<p> +Oded's address is very similar to another and +somewhat fuller summary of the history of the judges, +contained in Samuel's farewell to the people, in which he +reminded them how when they forgot Jehovah, their +God, He sold them into the hand of their enemies, and +when they cried unto Jehovah, He sent Zerubbabel, +and Barak, and Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered +them out of the hand of their enemies on every side, +and they dwelt in safety.<note place='foot'>2 Sam. xii. 9-11. <q>Barak</q> with LXX. and Peshite; Masoretic +text has <q>Bedan.</q></note> Oded proceeds to other +characteristics of the period of the judges: <q>There +was no peace to him that went out, nor to him +that came in; but great vexations were upon all the +inhabitants of the lands. And they were broken in +pieces, nation against nation and city against city, for +God did vex them with all adversity.</q> +</p> + +<p> +Deborah's song records great vexations: the highways +were unoccupied, and the travellers walked +through by-ways; the rulers ceased in Israel; Gideon +<q>threshed wheat by the winepress to hide it from the +Midianites.</q> The breaking of nation against nation +and city against city will refer to the destruction of +Succoth and Penuel by Gideon, the sieges of Shechem +and Thebez by Abimelech, the massacre of the +Ephraimites by Jephthah, and the civil war between +Benjamin and the rest of Israel and the consequent +destruction of Jabesh-gilead.<note place='foot'>Judges v. 6, 7; vi. 11; viii. 15-17; ix.; xii. 1-7; xx.; xxi.</note> +</p> + +<pb n='350'/><anchor id='Pg350'/> + +<p> +<q>But,</q> said Oded, <q>be ye strong, and let not your +hands be slack, for your work shall be rewarded.</q> +Oded implies that abuses were prevalent in Judah +which might spread and corrupt the whole people, so +as to draw down upon them the wrath of God and +plunge them into all the miseries of the times of the +judges. These abuses were wide-spread, supported by +powerful interests and numerous adherents. The queen-mother, +one of the most important personages in an +Eastern state, was herself devoted to heathen observances. +Their suppression needed courage, energy, and +pertinacity; but if they were resolutely grappled with, +Jehovah would reward the efforts of His servants with +success, and Judah would enjoy prosperity. Accordingly +Asa took courage and put away the abominations out +of Judah and Benjamin and the cities he held in +Ephraim. The abominations were the idols and all +the cruel and obscene accompaniments of heathen +worship.<note place='foot'>Cf. 1 Kings xv. 12.</note> In the prophet's exhortation to be strong, +and not be slack, and in the corresponding statement +that Asa took courage, we have a hint for all +reformers. Neither Oded nor Asa underrated the +serious nature of the task before them. They counted +the cost, and with open eyes and full knowledge confronted +the evil they meant to eradicate. The full +significance of the chronicler's language is only seen +when we remember what preceded the prophet's appeal +to Asa. The captain of half a million soldiers, the +conqueror of a million Ethiopians with three hundred +chariots, has to take courage before he can bring +himself to put away the abominations out of his own +dominions. Military machinery is more readily created +<pb n='351'/><anchor id='Pg351'/> +than national righteousness; it is easier to slaughter +one's neighbours than to let light into the dark places +that are full of the habitations of cruelty; and vigorous +foreign policy is a poor substitute for good administration. +The principle has its application to the individual. +The beam in our own eye seems more difficult to extract +than the mote in our brother's, and a man often needs +more moral courage to reform himself than to denounce +other people's sins or urge them to accept salvation. +Most ministers could confirm from their own experience +Portia's saying, <q>I can easier teach twenty what were +good to be done than be one of the twenty to follow +mine own teaching.</q> +</p> + +<p> +Asa's reformation was constructive as well as +destructive; the toleration of <q>abominations</q> had +diminished the zeal of the people for Jehovah, and +even the altar of Jehovah before the porch of the Temple +had suffered from neglect: it was now renewed, and +Asa assembled the people for a great festival. Under +Rehoboam many pious Israelites had left the northern +kingdom to dwell where they could freely worship at +the Temple; under Asa there was a new migration, +<q>for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance when +they saw that Jehovah his God was with him.</q> And +so it came about that in the great assembly which Asa +gathered together at Jerusalem not only Judah and +Benjamin, but also Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon, +were represented. The chronicler has already told us +that after the return from the Captivity some of the +children of Ephraim and Manasseh dwelt at Jerusalem +with the children of Judah and Benjamin,<note place='foot'>1 Chron. ix. 3.</note> and he is +always careful to note any settlement of members of +<pb n='352'/><anchor id='Pg352'/> +the ten tribes in Judah or any acquisition of northern +territory by the kings of Judah. Such facts illustrated +his doctrine that Judah was the true spiritual Israel, +the real δωδεκάφυλον, or twelve-tribed whole, of the +chosen people. +</p> + +<p> +Asa's festival was held in the third month of his +fifteenth year, the month Sivan, corresponding roughly +to our June. The Feast of Weeks, at which first-fruits +were offered, fell in this month; and his festival was +probably a special celebration of this feast. The +sacrifice of seven hundred oxen and seven thousand +sheep out of the spoil taken from the Ethiopians and +their allies might be considered a kind of first-fruits. +The people pledged themselves most solemnly to permanent +obedience to Jehovah; this festival and its +offerings were to be first-fruits or earnest of future +loyalty. <q>They entered into a covenant to seek +Jehovah, the God of their fathers, with all their heart +and with all their soul; ... they sware unto Jehovah +with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, +and with cornets.</q> The observance of this covenant +was not to be left to the uncertainties of individual +loyalty; the community were to be on their guard +against offenders, Achans who might trouble Israel. +According to the stern law of the Pentateuch,<note place='foot'>Exod. xxii. 20; Deut. xiii. 5, 9, 15.</note> <q>whosoever +would not seek Jehovah, the God of Israel, +should be put to death, whether small or great, whether +man or woman.</q> The seeking of Jehovah, so far as +it could be enforced by penalties, must have consisted +in external observances; and the usual proof that a +man did not seek Jehovah would be found in his seeking +other gods and taking part in heathen rites. Such +<pb n='353'/><anchor id='Pg353'/> +apostacy was not merely an ecclesiastical offence: it +involved immorality and a falling away from patriotism. +The pious Jew could no more tolerate heathenism than +we could tolerate in England religions that sanctioned +polygamy or suttee. +</p> + +<p> +Having thus entered into covenant with Jehovah, +<q>all Judah rejoiced at their oath because they had +sworn with all their heart, and sought Him with their +whole desire.</q> At the beginning, no doubt, they, like +their king, <q>took courage</q>; they addressed themselves +with reluctance and apprehension to an unwelcome and +hazardous enterprise. They now rejoiced over the +Divine grace that had inspired their efforts and been +manifested in their courage and devotion, over the +happy issue of their enterprise, and over the universal +enthusiasm for Jehovah; and He set the seal of His +approval upon their gladness, He was found of them, +and Jehovah gave them rest round about, so that there +was no more war for twenty years: unto the thirty-fifth +year of Asa's reign. It is an unsavoury task to put +away abominations: many foul nests of unclean birds +are disturbed in the process; men would not choose +to have this particular cross laid upon them, but only +those who take up their cross and follow Christ can +hope to enter into the joy of the Lord. +</p> + +<p> +The narrative of this second reformation is completed +by the addition of details borrowed from the book of +Kings. The chronicler next recounts how in the thirty-sixth +year of Asa's reign Baasha began to fortify +Ramah as an outpost against Judah, but was forced to +abandon his undertaking by the intervention of the +Syrian king, Benhadad, whom Asa hired with his own +treasures and those of the Temple; whereupon Asa +carried off Baasha's stones and timber and built Geba +<pb n='354'/><anchor id='Pg354'/> +and Mizpah as Jewish outposts against Israel. With +the exception of the date and a few minor changes, the +narrative so far is taken verbatim from the book of +Kings. The chronicler, like the author of the priestly +document of the Pentateuch, was anxious to provide +his readers with an exact and complete system of +chronology; he was the Ussher or Clinton of his +generation. His date of the war against Baasha is +probably based upon an interpretation of the source +used for chap. xv.; the first reformation secured a +rest of ten years, the second and more thorough +reformation a rest exactly twice as long as the first. +In the interest of these chronological references, the +chronicler has sacrificed a statement twice repeated in +the book of Kings: that there was war between Asa +and Baasha all their days. As Baasha came to the +throne in Asa's third year, the statement of the book of +Kings would have seemed to contradict the chronicler's +assertion that there was no war from the fifteenth to +the thirty-fifth year of Asa's reign.<note place='foot'>1 Kings xv. 16, 32, 33.</note> +</p> + +<p> +After his victory over Zerah, Asa received a Divine +message<note place='foot'>xvi. 7-10, peculiar to Chronicles.</note> which somewhat checked the exuberance of +his triumph; a similar message awaited him after his +successful expedition to Ramah. By Oded Jehovah +had warned Asa, but now He commissioned Hanani +the seer to pronounce a sentence of condemnation. +The ground of the sentence was that Asa had not +relied on Jehovah, but on the king of Syria. +</p> + +<p> +Here the chronicler echoes one of the key-notes of +the great prophets. Isaiah had protested against the +alliance which Ahaz concluded with Assyria in order to +obtain assistance against the united onset of Rezin, +<pb n='355'/><anchor id='Pg355'/> +king of Syria, and Pekah, king of Israel, and had +predicted that Jehovah would bring upon Ahaz, his +people, and his dynasty days that had not come since +the disruption, even the king of Assyria.<note place='foot'>Isa. vii. 17.</note> When this +prediction was fulfilled, and the thundercloud of Assyrian +invasion darkened all the land of Judah, the Jews, in +their lack of faith, looked to Egypt for deliverance; +and again Isaiah denounced the foreign alliance: +<q>Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help, ... +but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither +seek Jehovah; ... the strength of Pharaoh shall +be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt +your confusion.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. xxxi. 1; xxx. 3.</note> So Jeremiah in his turn protested +against a revival of the Egyptian alliance: <q>Thou shall +be ashamed of Egypt also, as thou wast ashamed of +Assyria.</q><note place='foot'>Jer. ii. 36.</note> +</p> + +<p> +In their successive calamities the Jews could derive no +comfort from a study of previous history; the pretext +upon which each of their oppressors had intervened in +the affairs of Palestine had been an invitation from +Judah. In their trouble they had sought a remedy +worse than the disease; the consequences of this +political quackery had always demanded still more +desperate and fatal medicines. Freedom from the +border raids of the Ephraimites was secured at the +price of the ruthless devastations of Hazael; deliverance +from Rezin only led to the wholesale massacres and +spoliation of Sennacherib. Foreign alliance was an +opiate that had to be taken in continually increasing +doses, till at last it caused the death of the patient. +</p> + +<p> +Nevertheless these are not the lessons which the +seer seeks to impress upon Asa. Hanani takes a +<pb n='356'/><anchor id='Pg356'/> +loftier tone. He does not tell him that his unholy +alliance with Benhadad was the first of a chain of +circumstances that would end in the ruin of Judah. +Few generations are greatly disturbed by the prospect +of the ruin of their country in the distant future: <q>After +us the Deluge.</q> Even the pious king Hezekiah, when +told of the coming captivity of Judah, found much +comfort in the thought that there should be peace and +truth in his days. After the manner of the prophets, +Hanani's message is concerned with his own times. +To his large faith the alliance with Syria presented +itself chiefly as the loss of a great opportunity. Asa +had deprived himself of the privilege of fighting with +Syria, whereby Jehovah would have found fresh occasion +to manifest His infinite power and His gracious +favour towards Judah. Had there been no alliance +with Judah, the restless and warlike king of Syria +might have joined Baasha to attack Asa; another +million of the heathen and other hundreds of their +chariots would have been destroyed by the resistless +might of the Lord of Hosts. And yet, in spite of the +great object-lesson he had received in the defeat of +Zerah, Asa had not thought of Jehovah as his Ally. +He had forgotten the all-observing, all-controlling +providence of Jehovah, and had thought it necessary +to supplement the Divine protection by hiring a +heathen king with the treasures of the Temple; and yet +<q>the eyes of Jehovah run to and fro throughout the +whole earth, to show Himself strong in behalf of them +whose heart is perfect toward Him.</q> With this thought, +that the eyes of Jehovah run to and fro throughout the +earth, Zechariah<note place='foot'>Zech. iv. 10.</note> comforted the Jews in the dark days +<pb n='357'/><anchor id='Pg357'/> +between the Return and the rebuilding of the Temple. +Possibly during Asa's twenty years of tranquillity his +faith had become enfeebled for want of any severe +discipline. It is only with a certain reserve that we can +venture to pray that the Lord will <q>take from our lives +the strain and stress.</q> The discipline of helplessness +and dependence preserves the consciousness of God's +loving providence. The resources of Divine grace are +not altogether intended for our personal comfort; we +are to tax them to the utmost, in the assurance that +God will honour all our drafts upon His treasury. +The great opportunities of twenty years of peace and +prosperity were not given to Asa to lay up funds with +which to bribe a heathen king, and then, with this +reinforcement of his accumulated resources to accomplish +the mighty enterprise of stealing Baasha's stones +and timber and building the walls of a couple of +frontier fortresses. With such a history and such +opportunities behind him, Asa should have felt himself +competent, with Jehovah's help, to deal with both +Baasha and Benhadad, and should have had courage +to confront them both. +</p> + +<p> +Sin like Asa's has been the supreme apostacy of +the Church in all her branches and through all her +generations: Christ has been denied, not by lack of +devotion, but by want of faith. Champions of the +truth, reformers and guardians of the Temple, like Asa, +have been eager to attach to their holy cause the cruel +prejudices of ignorance and folly, the greed and +vindictiveness of selfish men. They have feared lest +these potent forces should be arrayed amongst the +enemies of the Church and her Master. Sects and +parties have eagerly contested the privilege of counselling +a profligate prince how he should satisfy his +<pb n='358'/><anchor id='Pg358'/> +thirst for blood and exercise his wanton and brutal +insolence; the Church has countenanced almost every +iniquity and striven to quench by persecution every +new revelation of the Spirit, in order to conciliate +vested interests and established authorities. It has +even been suggested that national Churches and +great national vices were so intimately allied that +their supporters were content that they should stand or +fall together. On the other hand, the advocates of +reform have not been slow to appeal to popular jealousy +and to aggravate the bitterness of social feuds. To +Hanani the seer had come the vision of a larger and +purer faith, that would rejoice to see the cause of Satan +supported by all the evil passions and selfish interests +that are his natural allies. He was assured that the +greater the host of Satan, the more signal and +complete would be Jehovah's triumph. If we had his +faith, we should not be anxious to bribe Satan to cast +out Satan, but should come to understand that the full +muster of hell assailing us in front is less dangerous +than a few companies of diabolic mercenaries in our +own array. In the former case the overthrow of the +powers of darkness is more certain and more complete. +</p> + +<p> +The evil consequences of Asa's policy were not +confined to the loss of a great opportunity, nor were +his treasures the only price he was to pay for fortifying +Geba and Mizpah with Baasha's building materials. +Hanani declared to him that from henceforth he should +have wars. This purchased alliance was only the +beginning, and not the end, of troubles. Instead of the +complete and decisive victory which had disposed of +the Ethiopians once for all, Asa and his people were +harassed and exhausted by continual warfare. The +Christian life would have more decisive victories, and +<pb n='359'/><anchor id='Pg359'/> +would be less of a perpetual and wearing struggle, if +we had faith to refrain from the use of doubtful means +for high ends. +</p> + +<p> +Oded's message of warning had been accepted and +obeyed, but Asa was now no longer docile to Divine +discipline. David and Hezekiah submitted themselves +to the censure of Gad and Isaiah; but Asa was wroth +with Hanani and put him in prison, because the +prophet had ventured to rebuke him. His sin against +God corrupted even his civil administration; and +the ally of a heathen king, the persecutor of God's +prophet, also oppressed the people. Three years<note place='foot'>The date, as before, is peculiar to Chronicles.</note> after +the repulse of Baasha a new punishment fell upon +Asa: his feet became grievously diseased. Still he did +not humble himself, but was guilty of further sin<note place='foot'>xvi. 12<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>, peculiar to Chronicles.</note>: he +sought not Jehovah, but the physicians. It is probable +that to seek Jehovah concerning disease was not merely +a matter of worship. Reuss has suggested that the +legitimate practice of medicine belonged to the schools +of the prophets; but it seems quite as likely that in +Judah, as in Egypt, any existing knowledge of the +art of healing was to be found among the priests. +Conversely physicians who were neither priests nor +prophets of Jehovah were almost certain to be ministers +of idolatrous worship and magicians. They failed +apparently to relieve their patient: Asa lingered in +pain and weakness for two years, and then died. +Possibly the sufferings of his latter days had protected +his people from further oppression, and had at once +appealed to their sympathy and removed any cause +for resentment. When he died, they only remembered +<pb n='360'/><anchor id='Pg360'/> +his virtues and achievements; and buried him with +royal magnificence, with sweet odours and divers kinds +of spices; and made a very great burning for him, +probably of aromatic woods. +</p> + +<p> +In discussing the chronicler's picture of the good +kings, we have noticed that, while Chronicles and the +book of Kings agree in mentioning the misfortunes +which as a rule darkened their closing years, Chronicles +in each case records some lapse into sin as preceding +these misfortunes. From the theological standpoint of +the chronicler's school, these invidious records of the +sins of good kings were necessary in order to account +for their misfortunes. The devout student of the book +of Kings read with surprise that of the pious kings +who had been devoted to Jehovah and His temple, +whose acceptance by Him had been shown by the +victories vouchsafed to them, one had died of a +painful disease in his feet, another in a lazar-house, +two had been assassinated, and one slain in battle. +Why had faith and devotion been so ill rewarded? +Was it not vain to serve God? What profit was there +in keeping His ordinances? The chronicler felt himself +fortunate in discovering amongst his later authorities +additional information which explained these +mysteries and justified the ways of God to man. Even +the good kings had not been without reproach, and +their misfortunes had been the righteous judgment on +their sins. +</p> + +<p> +The principle which guided the chronicler in this +selection of material was that sin was always punished +by complete, immediate, and manifest retribution in +this life, and that conversely all misfortune was the +punishment of sin. There is a simplicity and apparent +justice about this theory that has always made it the +<pb n='361'/><anchor id='Pg361'/> +leading doctrine of a certain stage of moral development. +It was probably the popular religious teaching in +Israel from early days till the time when our Lord found +it necessary to protest against the idea that the Galilæans +whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices +were sinners above all Galilæans because they had +suffered these things, or that the eighteen upon whom +the tower in Siloam fell, and killed them, were offenders +above all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. This doctrine +of retribution was current among the Greeks. When +terrible calamities fell upon men, their neighbours +supposed these to be the punishment of specially +heinous crimes. When the Spartan king Cleomenes +committed suicide, the public mind in Greece at once +inquired of what particular sin he had thus paid the +penalty. The horrible circumstances of his death were +attributed to the wrath of some offended deity, and the +cause of the offence was sought for in one of his many +acts of sacrilege. Possibly he was thus punished +because he had bribed the priestess of the Delphic +oracle. The Athenians, however, believed that his +sacrilege had consisted in cutting down trees in their +sacred grove at Eleusis; but the Argives preferred to +hold that he came to an untimely end because he had +set fire to a grove sacred to their eponymous hero +Argos. Similarly, when in the course of the Peloponnesian +war the Æginetans were expelled from their +island, this calamity was regarded as a punishment +inflicted upon them because fifty years before they had +dragged away and put to death a suppliant who had +caught hold of the handle of the door of the temple +of Demeter Theomophorus. On the other hand, the +wonderful way in which on four or five occasions the +ravages of pestilence delivered Dionysius of Syracuse +<pb n='362'/><anchor id='Pg362'/> +from his Carthaginian enemies was attributed by his +admiring friends to the favour of the gods. +</p> + +<p> +Like many other simple and logical doctrines, this +Jewish theory of retribution came into collision with +obvious facts, and seemed to set the law of God at +variance with the enlightened conscience. <q>Beneath +the simplest forms of truth the subtlest error lurks.</q> +The prosperity of the wicked and the sufferings of +the righteous were a standing religious difficulty to +the devout Israelite. The popular doctrine held its +ground tenaciously, supported not only by ancient +prescription, but also by the most influential classes +in society. All who were young, robust, wealthy, +powerful, or successful were interested in maintaining +a doctrine that made health, riches, rank, and success +the outward and visible signs of righteousness. Accordingly +the simplicity of the original doctrine was hedged +about with an ingenious and elaborate apologetic. The +prosperity of the wicked was held to be only for a +season; before he died the judgment of God would +overtake him. It was a mistake to speak of the sufferings +of the righteous: these very sufferings showed that +his righteousness was only apparent, and that in secret +he had been guilty of grievous sin. +</p> + +<p> +Of all the cruelty inflicted in the name of orthodoxy +there is little that can surpass the refined torture due +to this Jewish apologetic. Its cynical teaching met the +sufferer in the anguish of bereavement, in the pain and +depression of disease, when he was crushed by sudden +and ruinous losses or publicly disgraced by the unjust +sentence of a venal law-court. Instead of receiving +sympathy and help, he found himself looked upon as a +moral outcast and pariah on account of his misfortunes; +when he most needed Divine grace, he was bidden to +<pb n='363'/><anchor id='Pg363'/> +regard himself as a special object of the wrath of +Jehovah. If his orthodoxy survived his calamities, he +would review his past life with morbid retrospection, +and persuade himself that he had indeed been guilty +above all other sinners. +</p> + +<p> +The book of Job is an inspired protest against the +current theory of retribution, and the full discussion of +the question belongs to the exposition of that book. +But the narrative of Chronicles, like much Church +history in all ages, is largely controlled by the controversial +interests of the school from which it emanated. +In the hands of the chronicler the story of the kings +of Judah is told in such a way that it becomes a polemic +against the book of Job. The tragic and disgraceful +death of good kings presented a crucial difficulty to the +chronicler's theology. A good man's other misfortunes +might be compensated for by prosperity in his latter +days; but in a theory of retribution which required a +complete satisfaction of justice in this life there could +be no compensation for a dishonourable death. Hence +the chronicler's anxiety to record any lapses of good +kings in their latter days. +</p> + +<p> +The criticism and correction of this doctrine belongs, +as we have said, to the exposition of the book of Job. +Here we are rather concerned to discover the permanent +truth of which the theory is at once an imperfect and +exaggerated expression. To begin with, there are sins +which bring upon the transgressor a swift, obvious, and +dramatic punishment. Human law deals thus with some +sins; the laws of health visit others with a similar +severity; at times the Divine judgment strikes down +men and nations before an awe-stricken world. Amongst +such judgments we might reckon the punishments of +royal sins so frequent in the pages of Chronicles. +<pb n='364'/><anchor id='Pg364'/> +God's judgments are not usually so immediate and +manifest, but these striking instances illustrate and +enforce the certain consequences of sin. We are dealing +now with cases in which God was set at nought; +and, apart from Divine grace, the votaries of sin are +bound to become its slaves and victims. Ruskin has +said, <q>Medicine often fails of its effect, but poison +never; and while, in summing the observation of past +life not unwatchfully spent, I can truly say that I have +a thousand times seen Patience disappointed of her +hope and Wisdom of her aim, I have never yet seen +folly fruitless of mischief, nor vice conclude but in +calamity.</q><note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Time and Tide</hi>, xii. 67.</note> Now that we have been brought into a +fuller light and delivered from the practical dangers of +the ancient Israelite doctrine, we can afford to forget +the less satisfactory aspects of the chronicler's teaching, +and we must feel grateful to him for enforcing the +salutary and necessary lesson that sin brings inevitable +punishment, and that therefore, whatever present +appearances may suggest, <q>the world was certainly +not framed for the lasting convenience of hypocrites, +libertines, and oppressors.</q><note place='foot'>George Eliot, <hi rend='italic'>Romola</hi>, xxi.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Indeed, the consequences of sin are regular and exact; +and the judgments upon the kings of Judah in Chronicles +accurately symbolise the operations of Divine discipline. +But pain, and ruin, and disgrace are only secondary +elements in God's judgments; and most often they are +not judgments at all. They have their uses as chastisements; +but if we dwell upon them with too emphatic an +insistence, men suppose that pain is a worse evil than +sin, and that sin is only to be avoided because it +causes suffering to the sinner. The really serious +<pb n='365'/><anchor id='Pg365'/> +consequence of evil acts is the formation and confirmation +of evil character. Herbert Spencer says in +his <hi rend='italic'>First Principles</hi><note place='foot'>Part II., Chap. IX.</note> <q>that motion once set up along +any line becomes itself a cause of subsequent motion +along that line.</q> This is absolutely true in moral and +spiritual dynamics: every wrong thought, feeling, word, +or act, every failure to think, feel, speak, or act rightly, +at once alters a man's character for the worse. Henceforth +he will find it easier to sin and more difficult to +do right; he has twisted another strand into the cord +of habit: and though each may be as fine as the threads +of a spider's web, in time there will be cords strong +enough to have bound Samson before Delilah shaved +off his seven locks. This is the true punishment of +sin: to lose the fine instincts, the generous impulses, +and the nobler ambitions of manhood, and become +every day more of a beast and a devil. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='366'/><anchor id='Pg366'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter IV. Jehoshaphat—The Doctrine Of Non-Resistance. +2 Chron. xvii.-xx.</head> + +<p> +Asa was succeeded by his son Jehoshaphat, and his +reign began even more auspiciously<note place='foot'>xvii., peculiar to Chronicles.</note> than that of +Asa. The new king had apparently taken warning +from the misfortunes of Asa's closing years; and as he +was thirty-five years old when he came to the throne, +he had been trained before Asa fell under the Divine +displeasure. He walked in the first ways of his father +David, before David was led away by Satan to number +Israel. Jehoshaphat's heart was lifted up, not with +foolish pride, like Hezekiah's, but <q>in the ways of +Jehovah.</q> He sought the God of his father, and +walked in God's commandments, and was not led astray +by the evil example and influence of the kings of Israel, +neither did he seek the Baals. While Asa had been +enfeebled by illness and alienated from Jehovah, the +high places and the Asherim had sprung up again like +a crop of evil weeds; but Jehoshaphat once more +removed them. According to the chronicler, this removing +of high places was a very labour of Sisyphus: +the stone was no sooner rolled up to the top of the hill +<pb n='367'/><anchor id='Pg367'/> +than it rolled down again. Jehoshaphat seems to have +had an inkling of this; he felt that the destruction of +idolatrous sanctuaries and symbols was like mowing +down weeds and leaving the roots in the soil. Accordingly +he made an attempt to deal more radically with +the evil: he would take away the inclination as well as +the opportunity for corrupt rites. A commission of +princes, priests, and Levites was sent throughout all +the cities of Judah to instruct the people in the law of +Jehovah. Vice will always find opportunities; it is +little use to suppress evil institutions unless the people +are educated out of evil propensities. If, for instance, +every public-house in England were closed to-morrow, +and there were still millions of throats craving for +drink, drunkenness would still prevail, and a new +administration would promptly reopen gin-shops. +</p> + +<p> +Because the new king thus earnestly and consistently +sought the God of his fathers, Jehovah was with him, +and established the kingdom in his hand. Jehoshaphat +received all the marks of Divine favour usually bestowed +upon good kings. He waxed great exceedingly; he +had many fortresses, an immense army, and much +wealth; he built castles and cities of store; he had +arsenals for the supply of war material in the cities of +Judah. And these cities, together with other defensible +positions and the border cities of Ephraim occupied by +Judah, were held by strong garrisons. While David +had contented himself with two hundred and eighty-eight +thousand men from all Israel, and Abijah had led +forth four hundred thousand, and Asa five hundred and +eighty thousand, there waited on Jehoshaphat, in +addition to his numerous garrisons, <emph>eleven hundred and +sixty thousand men</emph>. Of these seven hundred and eighty +thousand were men of Judah in three divisions, and +<pb n='368'/><anchor id='Pg368'/> +three hundred and eighty thousand were Benjamites in +two divisions. Probably the steady increase of the +armies of Abijah, Asa, and Jehoshaphat symbolises a +proportionate increase of Divine favour. +</p> + +<p> +The chronicler records the names of the captains of +the five divisions. Two of them are singled out for +special commendation: Eliada the Benjamite is styled +<q>a mighty man of valour,</q> and of the Jewish captain +Amaziah the son of Zichri it is said that he offered +either himself or his possessions willingly to Jehovah, +as David and his princes had offered, for the building +of the Temple. The devout king had devout officers. +</p> + +<p> +He had also devoted subjects. All Judah brought him +presents, so that he had great riches and ample means +to sustain his royal power and splendour. Moreover, +as in the case of Solomon and Asa, his piety was +rewarded with freedom from war: <q>The fear of +Jehovah fell upon all the kingdoms round about, so +that they made no war against Jehoshaphat.</q> Some of +his weaker neighbours were overawed by the spectacle +of his great power; the Philistines brought him presents +and tribute money, and the Arabians immense flocks of +rams and he-goats, seven thousand seven hundred of +each. +</p> + +<p> +Great prosperity had the usual fatal effect upon +Jehoshaphat's character. In the beginning of his reign +he had strengthened himself against Israel and had +refused to walk in their ways; now power had +developed ambition, and he sought and obtained the +honour of marrying his son Jehoram to Athaliah the +daughter of Ahab, the mighty and magnificent king of +Israel, possibly also the daughter of the Phœnician +princess Jezebel, the devotee of Baal. This family connection +of course implied political alliance. After a time +<pb n='369'/><anchor id='Pg369'/> +Jehoshaphat went down to visit his new ally, and was +hospitably received.<note place='foot'>1 Chron. xviii. 1-3.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Then follows the familiar story of Micaiah the son +of Imlah, the disastrous expedition of the two kings, +and the death of Ahab, almost exactly as in the book +of Kings. There is one significant alteration: both +narratives tell us how the Syrian captains attacked +Jehoshaphat because they took him for the king of +Israel and gave up their pursuit when he cried out, +and they discovered their mistake; but the chronicler +adds the explanation that Jehovah helped him and +God moved them to depart from him. And so the +master of more than a million soldiers was happy in +being allowed to escape on account of his insignificance, +and returned in peace to Jerusalem. Oded and +Hanani had met his predecessors on their return from +victory; now Jehu the son of Hanani<note place='foot'>xix. 1-3, peculiar to Chronicles.</note> met Jehoshaphat +when he came home defeated. Like his father, the +prophet was charged with a message of rebuke. An +alliance with the northern kingdom was scarcely less +reprehensible than one with Syria: <q>Shouldest thou +help the wicked, and love them that hate Jehovah? +Jehovah is wroth with thee.</q> Asa's previous reforms +were not allowed to mitigate the severity of his condemnation, +but Jehovah was more merciful to Jehoshaphat. +The prophet makes mention of his piety and his destruction +of idolatrous symbols, and no further punishment +is inflicted upon him. +</p> + +<p> +The chronicler's addition to the account of the king's +escape from the Syrian captains reminds us that God +still watches over and protects His children even when +they are in the very act of sinning against Him. +<pb n='370'/><anchor id='Pg370'/> +Jehovah knew that Jehoshaphat's sinful alliance with +Ahab did not imply complete revolt and apostacy. +Hence doubtless the comparative mildness of the +prophet's reproof. +</p> + +<p> +When Jehu's father Hanani rebuked Asa, the king +flew into a passion, and cast the prophet into prison; +Jehoshaphat received Jehu's reproof in a very different +spirit<note place='foot'>xix. 4-11, peculiar to Chronicles.</note>: he repented himself, and found a new zeal +in his penitence. Learning from his own experience +the proneness of the human heart to go astray, he +went out himself amongst his people to bring them +back to Jehovah; and just as Asa in his apostacy +oppressed his people, Jehoshaphat in his renewed +loyalty to Jehovah showed himself anxious for good +government. He provided judges in all the walled +towns of Judah, with a court of appeal at Jerusalem; +he solemnly charged them to remember their responsibility +to Jehovah, to avoid bribery, and not to truckle +to the rich and powerful. Being themselves faithful to +Jehovah, they were to inculcate a like obedience and +warn the people not to sin against the God of their +fathers. Jehoshaphat's exhortation to his new judges +concludes with a sentence whose martial resonance +suggests trial by combat rather than the peaceful proceedings +of a law-court: <q>Deal courageously, and +Jehovah defend the right!</q> +</p> + +<p> +The principle that good government must be a +necessary consequence of piety in the rulers has not +been so uniformly observed in later times as in the +pages of Chronicles. The testimony of history on +this point is not altogether consistent. In spite of +all the faults of the orthodox and devout Greek +<pb n='371'/><anchor id='Pg371'/> +emperors Theodosius the Great and Marcian, their +administration rendered important services to the +empire. Alfred the Great was a distinguished statesman +and warrior as well as zealous for true religion. +St. Louis of France exercised a wise control over +Church and state. It is true that when a woman +reproached him in open court with being a king of +friars, of priests, and of clerks, and not a true king of +France, he replied with saintly meekness, <q>You say +true! It has pleased the Lord to make me king; it +had been well if it had pleased Him to make some one +king who had better ruled the realm.</q><note place='foot'>Milman, <hi rend='italic'>Latin Christianity</hi>, Book XI., Chap. I.</note> But something +must be allowed for the modesty of the saint; apart +from his unfortunate crusades, it would have been difficult +for France or even Europe to have furnished a more +beneficent sovereign. On the other hand, Charlemagne's +successor, the Emperor Louis the Pious, and our own +kings Edward the Confessor and the saintly Henry VI., +were alike feeble and inefficient; the zeal of the Spanish +kings and their kinswoman Mary Tudor is chiefly remembered +for its ghastly cruelty; and in comparatively +recent times the misgovernment of the States of the +Church was a byword throughout Europe. Many +causes combined to produce this mingled record. The +one most clearly contrary to the chronicler's teaching +was an immoral opinion that the Christian should cease +to be a citizen, and that the saint has no duties to +society. This view is often considered to be the special +vice of monasticism, but it reappears in one form or +another in every generation. The failure of the administration +of Louis the Pious is partly explained +when we read that he was with difficulty prevented +<pb n='372'/><anchor id='Pg372'/> +from entering a monastery. In our own day there +are those who think that a newspaper should have +no interest for a really earnest Christian. According +to their ideas, Jehoshaphat should have divided his time +between a private oratory in his palace and the public +services of the Temple, and have left his kingdom to +the mercy of unjust judges at home and heathen enemies +abroad, or else have abdicated in favour of some +kinsman whose heart was not so perfect with Jehovah. +The chronicler had a clearer insight into Divine methods, +and this doctrine of his is not one that has been superseded +together with the Mosaic ritual. +</p> + +<p> +Possibly the martial tone of the sentence that concludes +the account of Jehoshaphat as the Jewish +Justinian is due to the influence upon the chronicler's +mind of the incident<note place='foot'>xx. 1-30, peculiar to Chronicles.</note> which he now describes. +</p> + +<p> +Jehoshaphat's next experience was parallel to that of +Asa with Zerah. When his new reforms were completed, +he was menaced with a formidable invasion. +His new enemies were almost as distant and strange as +the Ethiopians and Lubim who had followed Zerah. +We hear nothing about any king of Israel or Damascus, +the usual leaders of assaults upon Judah; we hear +instead of a triple alliance against Judah. Two of the +allies are Moab and Ammon; but the Jewish kings +were not wont to regard these as irresistible foes, so +that the extreme dismay which takes possession of king +and people must be due to the third ally: the +<q>Meunim.</q><note place='foot'>So R.V. marg., with the LXX. The Targum has <q>Edomites,</q> the +A.V. is not justified by the Hebrew, and the R.V. does not make sense.</note> The Meunim we have already met with +in connection with the exploits of the children of +<pb n='373'/><anchor id='Pg373'/> +Simeon in the reign of Hezekiah; they are also +mentioned in the reign of Uzziah,<note place='foot'>Cf. 1 Chron. iv. 41, R.V.; and 2 Chron. xxvi. 7.</note> and nowhere else, +unless indeed they are identical with the Maonites, who +are named with the Amalekites in Judges x. 12. They +are thus a people peculiar to Chronicles, and appear +from this narrative to have inhabited Mount Seir, by +which term <q>Meunim</q> is replaced as the story proceeds.<note place='foot'>One Hebrew manuscript is quoted as having this reading. A.R.V., +with the ordinary Masoretic text, have <q>Syria</q>; but it is simply absurd +to suppose that a multitude from beyond the sea from Syria would first +make their appearance on the western shore of the Dead Sea.</note> +Since the chronicler wrote so long after the events he +describes, we cannot attribute to him any very exact +knowledge of political geography. Probably the term +<q>Meunim</q> impressed his contemporaries very much as +it does a modern reader, and suggested countless hordes +of Bedouin plunderers; Josephus calls them a great +army of Arabians. This host of invaders came from +Edom, and having marched round the southern end of +the Dead Sea, were now at Engedi, on its western shore. +The Moabites and Ammonites might have crossed the +Jordan by the fords near Jericho; but this route would +not have been convenient for their allies the Meunim, +and would have brought them into collision with the +forces of the northern kingdom. +</p> + +<p> +On this occasion Jehoshaphat does not seek any +foreign alliance. He does not appeal to Syria, like Asa, +nor does he ask Ahab's successor to repay in kind the +assistance given to Ahab at Ramoth-gilead, partly +perhaps because there was no time, but chiefly because +he had learnt the truth which Hanani had sought to +teach his father, and which Hanani's son had taught +him. He does not even trust in his own hundreds of +<pb n='374'/><anchor id='Pg374'/> +thousands of soldiers, all of whom cannot have +perished at Ramoth-gilead; his confidence is placed +solely and absolutely in Jehovah. Jehoshaphat and his +people made no military preparations; subsequent events +justified their apparent neglect: none were necessary. +Jehoshaphat sought Divine help instead, and proclaimed +a fast throughout Judah; and all Judah gathered themselves +to Jerusalem to ask help of Jehovah. This +great national assembly met <q>before the new court</q> +of the Temple. The chronicler, who is supremely interested +in the Temple buildings, has told us nothing +about any new court, nor is it mentioned elsewhere; +our author is probably giving the title of a corresponding +portion of the second Temple: the place where the people +assembled to meet Jehoshaphat would be the great court +built by Solomon.<note place='foot'>2 Chron. iv. 9.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Here Jehoshaphat stood up as the spokesman of the +nation, and prayed to Jehovah on their behalf and on +his own. He recalls the Divine omnipotence; Jehovah +is God of earth and heaven, God of Israel and Ruler +of the heathen, and therefore able to help even in this +great emergency:— +</p> + +<p> +<q>O Jehovah, God of our fathers, art Thou not God +in heaven? Dost Thou not rule all the kingdoms of +the heathen? And in Thy hand is power and might, +so that none is able to withstand Thee.</q> +</p> + +<p> +The land of Israel had been the special gift of +Jehovah to His people, in fulfilment of His ancient +promise to Abraham:— +</p> + +<p> +<q>Didst not Thou, O our God, dispossess the inhabitants +of this land in favour of Thy people Israel, +<pb n='375'/><anchor id='Pg375'/> +and gavest it to the seed of Abraham Thy friend for +ever?</q> +</p> + +<p> +And now long possession had given Israel a prescriptive +right to the Land of Promise; and they had, +so to speak, claimed their rights in the most formal +and solemn fashion by erecting a temple to the God of +Israel. Moreover, the prayer of Solomon at the dedication +of the Temple had been accepted by Jehovah as +the basis of His covenant with Israel, and Jehoshaphat +quotes a clause from that prayer or covenant which +had expressly provided for such emergencies as the +present:— +</p> + +<p> +<q>And they</q> (Israel) <q>dwelt in the land, and built +Thee therein a sanctuary for Thy name, saying, If evil +come upon us, the sword, judgment, pestilence, or +famine, we will stand before this house and before +Thee (for Thy name is in this house), and cry unto +Thee in our affliction; and Thou wilt hear and save.</q><note place='foot'>Ver. 9; cf. 2 Chron. vi. 28, and the whole paragraph (vv. 22-30) +of which our verse is a brief abstract.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Moreover, the present invasion was not only an +attempt to set aside Jehovah's disposition of Palestine +and the long-established rights of Israel: it was also +gross ingratitude, a base return for the ancient forbearance +of Israel towards her present enemies:— +</p> + +<p> +<q>And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab +and Mount Seir, whom Thou wouldest not let Israel +invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but +they turned aside from them and destroyed them not—behold +how they reward us by coming to dispossess +us of Thy possession which Thou hast caused us to +possess.</q> +</p> + +<p> +For this nefarious purpose the enemies of Israel had +<pb n='376'/><anchor id='Pg376'/> +come up in overwhelming numbers, but Judah was +confident in the justice of its cause and the favour of +Jehovah:— +</p> + +<p> +<q>O our God, wilt Thou not execute judgment +against them? for we have no might against this great +company that cometh against us, neither know we +what to do, but our eyes are upon Thee.</q> +</p> + +<p> +Meanwhile the great assemblage stood in the attitude +of supplication before Jehovah, not a gathering of +mighty men of valour praying for blessing upon their +strength and courage, but a mixed multitude, men and +women, children and infants, seeking sanctuary, as it +were, at the Temple, and casting themselves in their +extremity upon the protecting care of Jehovah. Possibly +when the king finished his prayer the assembly +broke out into loud, wailing cries of dismay and agonised +entreaty; but the silence of the narrative rather +suggests that Jehoshaphat's strong, calm faith communicated +itself to the people, and they waited quietly +for Jehovah's answer, for some token or promise of +deliverance. Instead of the confused cries of an excited +crowd, there was a hush of expectancy, such as sometimes +falls upon an assembly when a great statesman +has risen to utter words which will be big with the +fate of empires. +</p> + +<p> +And the answer came, not by fire from heaven or +any visible sign, not by voice of thunder accompanied +by angelic trumpets, nor by angel or archangel, but +by a familiar voice hitherto unsuspected of any supernatural +gifts, by a prophetic utterance whose only +credentials were given by the influence of the Spirit +upon the speaker and his audience. The chronicler +relates with evident satisfaction how, in the midst of +that great congregation, the Spirit of Jehovah came, +<pb n='377'/><anchor id='Pg377'/> +not upon king, or priest, or acknowledged prophet, but +upon a subordinate minister of the Temple, a Levite +and member of the Temple choir like himself. He is +careful to fix the identity of this newly called prophet +and to gratify the family pride of existing Levitical +families by giving the prophet's genealogy for several +generations. He was Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the +son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, of +the sons of Asaph. The very names were encouraging. +What more suitable names could be found for a +messenger of Divine mercy than Jahaziel—<q>God gives +prophetic vision</q>—the son of Zechariah—<q>Jehovah +remembers</q>? +</p> + +<p> +Jahaziel's message showed that Jehoshaphat's prayer +had been accepted; Jehovah responded without reserve +to the confidence reposed in Him: He would vindicate +His own authority by delivering Judah; Jehoshaphat +should have blessed proof of the immense superiority +of simple trust in Jehovah over an alliance with +Ahab or the king of Damascus. Twice the prophet +exhorts the king and people in the very words that +Jehovah had used to encourage Joshua when the +death of Moses had thrown upon him all the heavy +responsibilities of leadership: <q>Fear not, nor be +dismayed.</q> They need no longer cling like frightened +suppliants to the sanctuary, but are to go forth at once, +the very next day, against the enemy. That they may +lose no time in looking for them, Jehovah announces +the exact spot where the enemy are to be found: +<q>Behold, they are coming by the ascent of Hazziz,<note place='foot'>Not Ziz, as A.R.V.</note> and +ye shall find them at the end of the ravine before the +wilderness of Jeruel.</q> This topographical description +was doubtless perfectly intelligible to the chronicler's +<pb n='378'/><anchor id='Pg378'/> +contemporaries, but it is no longer possible to fix +exactly the locality of Hazziz or Jeruel. The ascent +of Hazziz has been identified with the Wady Husasa, +which leads up from the coast of the Dead Sea north of +Engedi, in the direction of Tekoa; but the identification +is by no means certain. +</p> + +<p> +The general situation, however, is fairly clear: the +allied invaders would come up from the coast into the +highlands of Judah by one of the wadies leading inland; +they were to be met by Jehoshaphat and his people on +one of the <q>wildernesses,</q> or plateaus of pasture-land, +in the neighbourhood of Tekoa. +</p> + +<p> +But the Jews went forth, not as an army, but in +order to be the passive spectators of a great manifestation +of the power of Jehovah. They had no concern +with the numbers and prowess of their enemies; Jehovah +Himself would lay bare His mighty arm, and Judah +should see that no foreign ally, no millions of native +warriors, were necessary for their salvation: <q>Ye shall +not need to fight in this battle; take up your position, +stand still and see the deliverance of Jehovah with +you, O Judah and Jerusalem.</q> +</p> + +<p> +Thus had Moses addressed Israel on the eve of the +passage of the Red Sea. Jehoshaphat and his people +owned and honoured the Divine message as if Jahaziel +were another Moses; they prostrated themselves on +the ground before Jehovah. The sons of Asaph had +already been privileged to provide Jehovah with His +prophet; these Asaphites represented the Levitical clan +of Gershom: but now the Kohathites, with their guild +of singers, the sons of Korah, <q>stood up to praise +Jehovah, the God of Israel, with an exceeding loud +voice,</q> as the Levites sang when the foundations of +the second Temple were laid, and when Ezra and +<pb n='379'/><anchor id='Pg379'/> +Nehemiah made the people enter into a new covenant +with their God. +</p> + +<p> +Accordingly on the morrow the people rose early in +the morning and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa, +ten or twelve miles south of Jerusalem. In ancient +times generals were wont to make a set speech to their +armies before they led them into battle, so Jehoshaphat +addresses his subjects as they pass out before him. +He does not seek to make them confident in their own +strength and prowess; he does not inflame their passions +against Moab and Ammon, nor exhort them to be brave +and remind them that they fight this day for the ashes +of their fathers and the temple of their God. Such an +address would have been entirely out of place, because +the Jews were not going to fight at all. Jehoshaphat +only bids them have faith in Jehovah and His prophets. +It is a curious anticipation of Pauline teaching. Judah +is to be <q>saved by faith</q> from Moab and Ammon, +as the Christian is delivered by faith from sin and its +penalty. The incident might almost seem to have been +recorded in order to illustrate the truth that St. Paul +was to teach. It is strange that there is no reference +to this chapter in the epistles of St. Paul and St. James, +and that the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews does +not remind us how <q>by faith Jehoshaphat was delivered +from Moab and Ammon.</q> +</p> + +<p> +There is no question of military order, no reference +to the five great divisions into which the armies of +Judah and Benjamin are divided in chap. xvii. Here, +as at Jericho, the captain of Israel is chiefly concerned +to provide musicians to lead his army. When +David was arranging for the musical services before +the Ark, he took counsel with his captains. In this +unique military expedition there is no mention of +<pb n='380'/><anchor id='Pg380'/> +captains; they were not necessary, and if they were +present, there was no opportunity for them to show +their skill and prowess in battle. In an even more +democratic spirit Jehoshaphat takes counsel with the +people—that is, probably makes some proposition, which +is accepted with universal acclamation. +</p> + +<p> +The Levitical singers, dressed in the splendid robes<note place='foot'>הדרת קדש, literally, as A.R.V., <q>beauty of holiness</q>; <hi rend='italic'>i.e.</hi>, sacred +robes. Translate with R.V. marg. <q>praise in the beauty of holiness,</q> +not, as A.R.V., <q>praise the beauty of holiness.</q></note> +in which they officiated at the Temple, were appointed +to go before the people, and offer praises unto Jehovah, +and sing the anthem, <q>Give thanks unto Jehovah, for +His mercy endureth for ever.</q> These words or their +equivalent are the opening words, and the second +clause the refrain, of the post-Exilic Psalms: cvi., +cvii., cxviii., and cxxxvi. As the chronicler has already +ascribed Psalm cvi. to David, he possibly ascribes +all four to David, and intends us to understand that +one or all of them were sung by the Levites on this +occasion. Later Judaism was in the habit of denoting +a book or section of a book by its opening words. +</p> + +<p> +And so Judah, a pilgrim caravan rather than an army, +went on to its Divinely appointed tryst with its enemies, +and at its head the Levitical choir sang the Temple +hymns. It was not a campaign, but a sacred function, +on a much larger scale a procession such as may be +seen winding its way, with chants and incense, banners, +images, and crucifixes, through the streets of Catholic +cities. +</p> + +<p> +Meanwhile Jehovah was preparing a spectacle to +gladden the eyes of His people and reward their implicit +faith and exact obedience; He was working for +those who were waiting for Him. Though Judah was +<pb n='381'/><anchor id='Pg381'/> +still far from its enemies, yet, like the trumpet at Jericho, +the strain of praise and thanksgiving was the signal for +the Divine intervention: <q>When they began to sing +and praise, Jehovah set liers in wait against the children +of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir.</q> Who were these +liers in wait? They could not be men of Judah: <emph>they</emph> +were not to fight, but to be passive spectators of their +own deliverance. Did the allies set an ambush for +Judah, and was it thus that they were afterwards led +to mistake their own people for enemies? Or does the +chronicler intend us to understand that these <q>liers in +wait</q> were spirits; that the allied invaders were tricked +and bewildered like the shipwrecked sailors in the +<hi rend='italic'>Tempest</hi>; or that when they came to the wilderness of +Jeruel there fell upon them a spirit of mutual distrust, +jealousy, and hatred, that had, as it were, been waiting +for them there? But, from whatever cause, a quarrel +broke out amongst them; and they were smitten. +When Ammonite, Moabite, and Edomite met, there +were many private and public feuds waiting their +opportunity; and such confederates were as ready to +quarrel among themselves as a group of Highland +clans engaged in a Lowland foray. <q>Ammon and Moab +stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir utterly +to slay and destroy them.</q> But even Ammon and +Moab soon dissolved their alliance; and at last, partly +maddened by panic, partly intoxicated by a wild thirst +for blood, a very Berserker frenzy, all ties of friendship +and kindred were forgotten, and every man's hand was +against his brother. <q>When they had made an end of +the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy +another.</q> +</p> + +<p> +While this tragedy was enacting, and the air was +rent with the cruel yells of that death struggle, +<pb n='382'/><anchor id='Pg382'/> +Jehoshaphat and his people moved on in tranquil pilgrimage +to the cheerful sound of the songs of Zion. +At last they reached an eminence, perhaps the long, +low summit of some ridge overlooking the plateau of +Jeruel. When they had gained this watchtower of +the wilderness, the ghastly scene burst upon their gaze. +Jehovah had kept His word: they had found their +enemy. They <q>looked upon the multitude,</q> all those +hordes of heathen tribes that had filled them with terror +and dismay. They were harmless enough now: the +Jews saw nothing but <q>dead bodies fallen to the +earth</q>; and in that Aceldama lay all the multitude of +profane invaders who had dared to violate the sanctity +of the Promised Land: <q>There were none that +escaped.</q> So had Israel looked back after crossing +the Red Sea and seen the corpses of the Egyptians +washed up on the shore.<note place='foot'>Exod. xiv. 30.</note> So when the angel of +Jehovah smote Sennacherib,— +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>Like the leaves of the forest when autumn hath blown,</q></l> +<l><q rend='post'>That host on the morrow lay withered and strown.</q></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<p> +There is no touch of pity for the wretched victims +of their own sins. Greeks of every city and tribe +could feel the pathos of the tragic end of the Athenian +expedition against Syracuse; but the Jews had no ruth +for the kindred tribes that dwelt along their frontier, +and the age of the chronicler had not yet learnt that +Jehovah had either tenderness or compassion for the +enemies of Israel. +</p> + +<p> +The spectators of this carnage—we cannot call them +victors—did not neglect to profit to the utmost by +their great opportunity. They spent three days in +<pb n='383'/><anchor id='Pg383'/> +stripping the dead bodies; and as Orientals delight +in jewelled weapons and costly garments, and their +chiefs take the field with barbaric ostentation of +wealth, the spoil was both valuable and abundant: +<q>riches, and raiment,<note place='foot'>With R.V. marg.</note> and precious jewels, ... more +than they could carry away.</q> +</p> + +<p> +In collecting the spoil, the Jews had become dispersed +through all the wide area over which the fighting +between the confederates must have extended; but on +the fourth day they gathered together again in a +neighbouring valley and gave solemn thanks for their +deliverance: <q>There they blessed Jehovah; therefore +the name of that place was called the valley of Berachah +unto this day.</q> West of Tekoa,<note place='foot'>The identification of the valley of Berachah with the valley of +Jehoshaphat, close to Jerusalem and mentioned by Josephus, is a mere +theory, quite at variance with the topographical evidence.</note> not too far from the +scene of carnage, a ruin and a wady still bear the name +<q>Bereikut</q>; and doubtless in the chronicler's time the +valley was called Berachah, and local tradition furnished +our author with this explanation of the origin of the +name. +</p> + +<p> +When the spoil was all collected, they returned to +Jerusalem as they came, in solemn procession, headed, +no doubt, by the Levites, with psalteries, and harps, and +trumpets. They came back to the scene of their anxious +supplications: to the house of Jehovah. But yesterday, +as it were, they had assembled before Jehovah, terror-stricken +at the report of an irresistible host of invaders; +and to-day their enemies were utterly destroyed. They +had experienced a deliverance that might rank with +the Exodus; and as at that former deliverance they +had spoiled the Egyptians, so now they had returned +<pb n='384'/><anchor id='Pg384'/> +laden with the plunder of Moab, Ammon, and Edom. +And all their neighbours were smitten with fear when +they heard of the awful ruin which Jehovah had brought +upon these enemies of Israel. No one would dare to +invade a country where Jehovah laid a ghostly ambush +of liers in wait for the enemies of His people. The +realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, not because he was +protected by powerful allies or by the swords of his +numerous and valiant soldiers, but because Judah had +become another Eden, and cherubim with flaming +swords guarded the frontier on every hand, and <q>his +God gave him rest round about.</q> +</p> + +<p> +Then follow the regular summary and conclusion of +the history of the reign taken from the book of Kings, +with the usual alterations in the reference to further +sources of information. We are told here, in direct +contradiction to xvii. 6 and to the whole tenor of the +previous chapters, that the high places were not taken +away, another illustration of the slight importance the +chronicler attached to accuracy in details. He either +overlooks the contradiction between passages borrowed +from different sources, or else does not think it worth +while to harmonise his inconsistent materials. +</p> + +<p> +But after the narrative of the reign is thus formally +closed the chronicler inserts a postscript, perhaps by +a kind of after-thought. The book of Kings narrates<note place='foot'>Kings xxii. 48, 49.</note> +how Jehoshaphat made ships to go to Ophir for gold, +but they were broken at Ezion-geber; then Ahaziah +the son of Ahab proposed to enter into partnership +with Jehoshaphat, and the latter rejected his proposal. +As we have seen, the chronicler's theory of retribution +required some reason why so pious a king experienced +<pb n='385'/><anchor id='Pg385'/> +misfortune. What sin had Jehoshaphat committed to +deserve to have his ships broken? The chronicler has +a new version of the story, which provides an answer +to this question. Jehoshaphat did not build any ships +by himself; his unfortunate navy was constructed in +partnership with Ahaziah; and accordingly the prophet +Eliezer rebuked him for allying himself a second time +with a wicked king of Israel, and announced the +coming wreck of the ships. And so it came about that +the ships were broken, and the shadow of Divine displeasure +rested on the last days of Jehoshaphat. +</p> + +<p> +We have next to notice the chronicler's most important +omissions. The book of Kings narrates another +alliance of Jehoshaphat with Jehoram, king of Israel, +like his alliances with Ahab and Ahaziah. The narrative +of this incident closely resembles that of the +earlier joint expedition to Ramoth-gilead. As then +Jehoshaphat marched out with Ahab, so now he accompanies +Ahab's son Jehoram, taking with him his subject +ally the king of Edom. Here also a prophet appears +upon the scene; but on this occasion Elisha addresses +no rebuke to Jehoshaphat for his alliance with Israel, +but treats him with marked respect: and the allied +army wins a great victory. If this narrative had been +included in Chronicles, the reign of Jehoshaphat would +not have afforded an altogether satisfactory illustration +of the main lesson which the chronicler intended it +to teach. +</p> + +<p> +This main lesson was that the chosen people should +not look for protection against their enemies either to +foreign alliances or to their own military strength, but +solely to the grace and omnipotence of Jehovah. One +negative aspect of this principle has been enforced by +the condemnation of Asa's alliance with Syria and +<pb n='386'/><anchor id='Pg386'/> +Jehoshaphat's with Ahab and Ahaziah. Later on the +uselessness of an army apart from Jehovah is shown in +the defeat of <q>the great host</q> of Joash by <q>a small +company</q> of Syrians.<note place='foot'>2 Chron. xxiv. 24, peculiar to Chronicles.</note> The positive aspect has been +partially illustrated by the signal victories of Abijah and +Asa against overwhelming odds and without the help +of any foreign allies. But these were partial and +unsatisfactory illustrations: Jehovah vouchsafed to +share the glory of these victories with great armies +that were numbered by the hundred thousand. And +after all, the odds were not so very overwhelming. +Scores of parallels may be found in which the odds were +much greater. In the case of vast Oriental hosts +a superiority of two to one might easily be counterbalanced +by discipline and valour in the smaller army. +</p> + +<p> +The peculiar value to the chronicler of the deliverance +from Moab, Ammon, and the Meunim lay in the fact +that no human arm divided the glory with Jehovah. +It was shown conclusively not merely that Judah could +safely be contented with an army smaller than those of +its neighbours, but that Judah would be equally safe +with no army at all. We feel that this lesson is taught +with added force when we remember that Jehoshaphat +had a larger army than is ascribed to any Israelite or +Jewish king after David. Yet he places no confidence +in his eleven hundred and sixty thousand warriors, and +he is not allowed to make any use of them. In the case +of a king with small military resources, to trust in +Jehovah might be merely making a virtue of necessity; +but if Jehoshaphat, with his immense army, felt that his +only real help was in his God, the example furnished +an <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>à fortiori</foreign> argument which would conclusively show +<pb n='387'/><anchor id='Pg387'/> +that it was always the duty and privilege of the Jews to +say with the Psalmist, <q>Some trust in chariots, and +some in horses; but we will remember the name of +Jehovah our God.</q><note place='foot'>Psalm xx. 7.</note> The ancient literature of Israel +furnished other illustrations of the principle: at the Red +Sea the Israelites had been delivered without any +exercise of their own warlike prowess; at Jericho, as at +Jeruel, the enemy had been completely overthrown by +Jehovah before His people rushed upon the spoil; +and the same direct Divine intervention saved Jerusalem +from Sennacherib. But the later history of the Jews +had been a series of illustrations of enforced dependence +upon Jehovah. A little semi-ecclesiastical community +inhabiting a small province that passed from one great +power to another like a counter in the game of international +politics had no choice but to trust in Jehovah, +if it were in any way to maintain its self-respect. For +this community of the second Temple to have had +confidence in its sword and bow would have seemed +equally absurd to the Jews and to their Persian and +Greek masters. +</p> + +<p> +When they were thus helpless, Jehovah wrought +for Israel, as He had destroyed the enemies of +Jehoshaphat in the wilderness of Jeruel. The Jews +stood still and saw the working out of their deliverance; +great empires wrestled together like Moab, Ammon, and +Edom, in the agony of the death struggle: and over all +the tumult of battle Israel heard the voice of Jehovah, +<q>The battle is not yours, but God's; ... set yourselves, +stand ye still, and see the deliverance of Jehovah with +you, O Judah and Jerusalem.</q> Before their eyes there +passed the scenes of that great drama which for a time +<pb n='388'/><anchor id='Pg388'/> +gave Western Asia Aryan instead of Semitic masters. +For them the whole action had but one meaning: +without calling Israel into the field, Jehovah was +devoting to destruction the enemies of His people and +opening up a way for His redeemed to return, like +Jehoshaphat's procession, to the Holy City and the +Temple. The long series of wars became a wager +of battle, in which Israel, herself a passive spectator, +appeared by her Divine Champion; and the assured +issue was her triumphant vindication and restoration +to her ancient throne in Zion. +</p> + +<p> +After the Restoration God's protecting providence +asked no armed assistance from Judah. The mandates +of a distant court authorised the rebuilding of the +Temple and the fortifying of the city. The Jews +solaced their national pride and found consolation for +their weakness and subjection in the thought that their +ostensible masters were in reality only the instruments +which Jehovah used to provide for the security and +prosperity of His children. +</p> + +<p> +We have already noticed that this philosophy of +history is not peculiar to Israel. Every nation has a +similar system, and regards its own interests as the +supreme care of Providence. We have seen, too, that +moral influences have controlled and checkmated +material forces; God has fought against the biggest +battalions. Similarly the Jews are not the only people +for whom deliverances have been worked out almost +without any co-operation on their own part. It was not +a negro revolt, for instance, that set free the slaves of +our colonies or of the Southern States. Italy regained +her Eternal City as an incidental effect of a great war +in which she herself took no part. Important political +movements and great struggles involve consequences +<pb n='389'/><anchor id='Pg389'/> +equally unforeseen and unintended by the chief actors +in these dramas, consequences which would seem to +them insignificant compared with more obvious results. +Some obscure nation almost ready to perish is given a +respite, a breathing space, in which it gathers strength; +instead of losing its separate existence, it endures till +time and opportunity make it one of the ruling influences +in the world's history: some Geneva or +Wittenberg becomes, just at the right time, a secure +refuge and vantage-ground for one of the Lord's +prophets. Our understanding of what God is doing in +our time and our hopes for what He may yet do will +indeed be small, if we think that God can do nothing +for our cause unless our banner flies in the forefront +of the battle, and the war-cry is <q>The sword of Gideon!</q> +as well as <q>The sword of Jehovah!</q> There will be +many battles fought in which we shall strike no blow +and yet be privileged to divide the spoil. We sometimes +<q>stand still and see the salvation of Jehovah.</q> +</p> + +<p> +The chronicler has found disciples in these latter +days of a kindlier spirit and more catholic sympathies. +He and they have reached their common doctrines by +different paths, but the chronicler teaches non-resistance +as clearly as the Society of Friends. <q>When you have +fully yielded yourself to the Divine teaching,</q> he says, +<q>you will neither fight yourself nor ask others to fight +for you; you will simply stand still and watch a Divine +providence protecting you and destroying your enemies.</q> +The Friends could almost echo this teaching, not +perhaps laying quite so much stress on the destruction +of the enemy, though among the visions of the earlier +Friends there were many that revealed the coming judgments +of the Lord; and the modern enthusiast is still apt +to consider that his enemies, are the Lord's enemies and +<pb n='390'/><anchor id='Pg390'/> +to call the gratification of his own revengeful spirit a +vindicating of the honour of the Lord and a satisfaction +of outraged justice. +</p> + +<p> +If the chronicler had lived to-day, the history of the +Society of Friends might have furnished him with +illustrations almost as apt as the destruction of the +allied invaders of Judah. He would have rejoiced to +tell us how a people that repudiated any resort to +violence succeeded in conciliating savage tribes and +founding the flourishing colony of Pennsylvania, and +would have seen the hand of the Lord in the wealth +and honour that have been accorded to a once despised +and persecuted sect. +</p> + +<p> +We should be passing to matters that were still +beyond the chronicler's horizon, if we were to connect +his teaching with our Lord's injunction, <q>Whosoever +shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the +other also.</q> Such a sentiment scarcely harmonises +with the three days' stripping of dead bodies in the +wilderness of Jeruel. But though the chronicler's +motives for non-resistance were not touched and +softened with the Divine gentleness of Jesus of +Nazareth, and his object was not to persuade his +hearers to patient endurance of wrong, yet he had +conceived the possibility of a mighty faith that could +put its fortunes unreservedly into the hands of God +and trust Him with the issues. If we are ever to be +worthy citizens of the kingdom of our Lord, it can only +be by the sustaining power and inspiring influence of +a like faith. +</p> + +<p> +When we come to ask how far the people for whom +he wrote responded to his teaching and carried it +into practical life, we are met with one of the many +instances of the grim irony of history. Probably the +<pb n='391'/><anchor id='Pg391'/> +chronicler's glowing vision of peaceful security, guarded +on every hand by legions of angels, was partly +inspired by the comparative prosperity of the time at +which he wrote. Other considerations combine with +this to suggest that the composition of his work +beguiled the happy leisure of one of the brighter +intervals between Ezra and the Maccabees. +</p> + +<p> +Circumstances were soon to test the readiness of the +Jews, in times of national danger, to observe the +attitude of passive spectators and wait for a Divine +deliverance. It was not altogether in this spirit that the +priests met the savage persecutions of Antiochus. They +made no vain attempts to exorcise this evil spirit with +hymns, and psalteries, and harps, and trumpets; but the +priest Mattathias and his sons slew the king's commissioner +and raised the standard of armed revolt. We do +indeed find indications of something like obedience to +the chronicler's principles. A body of the revolted +Jews were attacked on the Sabbath Day; they made no +attempt to defend themselves: <q>When they gave them +battle with all speed, they answered them not, neither +cast they a stone at them, nor stopped the places +where they lay hid, ... and their enemies rose up +against them on the sabbath, and slew them, with their +wives, and their children, and their cattle, to the number +of a thousand people.</q><note place='foot'>1 Macc. ii. 35-38.</note> No Divine intervention +rewarded this devoted faith, nor apparently did the +Jews expect it, for they had said, <q>Let us die all in our +innocency; heaven and earth shall testify for us that +ye put us to death wrongfully.</q> This is, after all, a +higher note than that of Chronicles: obedience may not +bring invariable reward; nevertheless the faithful will +<pb n='392'/><anchor id='Pg392'/> +not swerve from their loyalty. But the priestly leaders +of the people looked with no favourable eye upon this +offering up of human hecatombs in honour of the +sanctity of the Sabbath. They were not prepared to +die passively; and, as representatives of Jehovah and +of the nation for the time being, they decreed that +henceforth they would fight against those who attacked +them, even on the Sabbath Day. Warfare on these +more secular principles was crowned with that visible +success which the chronicler regarded as the manifest +sign of Divine approval; and a dynasty of royal priests +filled the throne and led the armies of Israel, and +assured and strengthened their authority by intrigues +and alliances with every heathen sovereign within their +reach. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='393'/><anchor id='Pg393'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter V. Jehoram, Ahaziah, and Athaliah: The Consequences +of a Foreign Marriage. 2 Chron. xxi.-xxiii.</head> + +<p> +The accession of Jehoram is one of the instances +in which a wicked son succeeded to a conspicuously +pious father, but in this case there is no +difficulty in explaining the phenomenon: the depraved +character and evil deeds of Jehoram, Ahaziah, and +Athaliah are at once accounted for when we remember +that they were respectively the son-in-law, grandson, +and daughter of Ahab, and possibly of Jezebel. If, +however, Jezebel were really the mother of Athaliah, +it is difficult to believe that the chronicler understood +or at any rate realised the fact. In the books of Ezra +and Nehemiah the chronicler lays great stress upon the +iniquity and inexpediency of marriage with strange +wives, and he has been careful to insert a note into the +history of Jehoshaphat to call attention to the fact that +the king of Judah had joined affinity with Ahab. If he +had understood that this implied joining affinity with +a Phœnician devotee of Baal, this significant fact would +not have been passed over in silence. Moreover, the +names Athaliah and Ahaziah are both compounded +with the sacred name Jehovah. A Phœnician Baal-worshipper +may very well have been sufficiently eclectic +<pb n='394'/><anchor id='Pg394'/> +to make such use of the name sacred to the family into +which she married, but on the whole those names +rather tell against the descent of their owners from +Jezebel and her Zidonian ancestors. +</p> + +<p> +We have seen that, after giving the concluding +formula for the reign of Jehoshaphat, the chronicler +adds a postscript narrating an incident discreditable +to the king. Similarly he prefaces the introductory +formula for the reign of Jehoram by inserting a cruel +deed of the new king. Before telling us Jehoram's age +at his accession and the length of his reign, the +chronicler relates<note place='foot'>xxi. 2-4, peculiar to Chronicles.</note> the steps taken by Jehoram to +secure himself upon his throne. Jehoshaphat, like +Rehoboam, had disposed of his numerous sons in the +fenced cities of Judah, and had sought to make them +quiet and contented by providing largely for their +material welfare: <q>Their father gave them great gifts: +silver, gold, and precious things, with fenced cities in +Judah.</q> The sanguine judgment of paternal affection +might expect that these gifts would make his younger +sons loyal and devoted subjects of their elder brother; +but Jehoram, not without reason, feared that treasure +and cities might supply the means for a revolt, or that +Judah might be split up into a number of small principalities. +Accordingly when he had strengthened himself +he slew all his brethren with the sword, and with +them those princes of Israel whom he suspected of +attachment to his other victims. He was following +the precedent set by Solomon when he ordered the +execution of Adonijah; and, indeed, the slaughter by +a new sovereign of all those near relations who might +possibly dispute his claim to the throne has usually +<pb n='395'/><anchor id='Pg395'/> +been considered in the East to be a painful but necessary +and perfectly justifiable act, being, in fact, regarded +in much the same light as the drowning of superfluous +kittens in domestic circles. Probably this episode is +placed before the introductory formula for the reign +because until these possible rivals were removed +Jehoram's tenure of the throne was altogether unsafe. +</p> + +<p> +For the next few verses<note place='foot'>Vv. 5-10; cf. 2 Kings viii. 17-22.</note> the narrative follows the +book of Kings with scarcely any alteration, and states +the evil character of the new reign, accounting for +Jehoram's depravity by his marriage with a daughter +of Ahab. The successful revolt of Edom from Judah +is next given, and the chronicler adds a note of his +own to the effect that Jehoram experienced these +reverses because he had forsaken Jehovah, the God +of his fathers. +</p> + +<p> +Then the chronicler proceeds<note place='foot'>xxi. 11-19, peculiar to Chronicles.</note> to describe further +sins and misfortunes of Jehoram. He mentions +definitely, what is doubtless implied by the book of +Kings, that Jehoram made high places in the cities of +Judah<note place='foot'>So R.V. marg., with LXX. and Vulgate A.R.V. have <q>mountains,</q> +with Masoretic text.</note> and seduced the people into taking part in a +corrupt worship. The Divine condemnation of the +king's wrong-doing came from an unexpected quarter and +in an unusual fashion. The other prophetic messages +specially recorded by the chronicler were uttered by +prophets of Judah, some apparently receiving their +inspiration for one particular occasion. The prophet +who rebuked Jehoram was no less distinguished a +personage than the great Israelite Elijah, who, according +to the book of Kings, had long since been translated +<pb n='396'/><anchor id='Pg396'/> +to heaven. In the older narrative Elijah's work is +exclusively confined to the northern kingdom. But +the chronicler entirely ignores Elijah, except when his +history becomes connected for a moment with that of +the house of David. +</p> + +<p> +The other prophets of Judah delivered their messages +by word of mouth, but this communication is made by +means of <q>a writing.</q> This, however, is not without +parallel: Jeremiah sent a letter to the captives in +Babylon, and also sent a written collection of his prophecies +to Jehoiakim.<note place='foot'>Jer. xxix.; xxxvi.</note> In the latter case, however, the +prophecies had been originally promulgated by word +of mouth. +</p> + +<p> +Elijah writes in the name of Jehovah, the God of +David, and condemns Jehoram because he was not +walking in the ways of Asa and Jehoshaphat, but in the +ways of the kings of Israel and the house of Ahab. It +is pleasant to find that, in spite of the sins which +marked the latter days of Asa and Jehoshaphat, their +<q>ways</q> were as a whole such as could be held up as an +example by the prophet of Jehovah. Here and elsewhere +God appeals to the better feelings that spring +from pride of birth. <foreign lang='fr' rend='italic'>Noblesse oblige.</foreign> Jehoram held +his throne as representative of the house of David, and +was proud to trace his descent to the founder of the +Israelite monarchy and to inherit the glory of the great +reigns of Asa and Jehoshaphat; but this pride of race +implied that to depart from their ways was dishonourable +apostacy. There is no more pitiful spectacle than +an effeminate libertine pluming himself on his noble +ancestry. +</p> + +<p> +Elijah further rebukes Jehoram for the massacre of +<pb n='397'/><anchor id='Pg397'/> +his brethren, who were better than himself. They had +all grown up at their father's court, and till the other +brethren were put in possession of their fenced cities +had been under the same influences. It is the husband +of Ahab's daughter who is worse than all the rest; the +influence of an unsuitable marriage has already begun +to show itself. Indeed, in view of Athaliah's subsequent +history, we do her no injustice by supposing that, like +Jezebel and Lady Macbeth, she had suggested her +husband's crime. The fact that Jehoram's brethren +were better men than himself adds to his guilt morally, +but this undesirable superiority of the other princes +of the blood to the reigning sovereign would seem +to Jehoram and his advisers an additional reason for +putting them out of the way; the massacre was an +urgent political necessity. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>Truly the tender mercies of the weak,</q></l> +<l><q rend='post'>As of the wicked, are but cruel.</q></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<p> +There is nothing so cruel as the terror of a selfish +man. The Inquisition is the measure not only of the +inhumanity, but also of the weakness, of the mediæval +Church; and the massacre of St. Bartholomew was due +to the feebleness of Charles IX. as well as to the +<q>revenge or the blind instinct of self-preservation</q><note place='foot'>Green's <hi rend='italic'>Shorter History</hi>, p. 404.</note> of +Mary de Medici. +</p> + +<p> +The chronicler's condemnation of Jehoram's massacre +marks the superiority of the standard of later Judaism +to the current Oriental morality. For his sins Jehoram +was to be punished by sore disease and by a great +<q>plague</q> which would fall upon his people, and his +<pb n='398'/><anchor id='Pg398'/> +wives, and his children, and all his substance. From +the following verses we see that <q>plague,</q> here as in +the case of some of the plagues of Egypt, has the sense +of calamity generally, and not the narrower meaning +of pestilence. This plague took the form of an +invasion of the Philistines and of the Arabians <q>which +are beside the Ethiopians.</q> Divine inspiration prompted +them to attack Judah; Jehovah stirred up their spirit +against Jehoram. Probably here, as in the story of +Zerah, the term Ethiopians is used loosely for the +Egyptians, in which case the Arabs in question would +be inhabitants of the desert between the south of +Palestine and Egypt, and would thus be neighbours of +their Philistine allies. +</p> + +<p> +These marauding bands succeeded where the huge +hosts of Zerah had failed; they broke into Judah, and +carried off all the king's treasure, together with his sons +and his wives, only leaving him his youngest son: +Jehoahaz or Ahaziah. They afterwards slew the princes +they had taken captive.<note place='foot'>xxii. 1<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>, peculiar to Chronicles.</note> The common people would +scarcely suffer less severely than their king. Jehoram +himself was reserved for special personal punishment: +Jehovah smote him with a sore disease; and, like +Asa, he lingered for two years and then died. The +people were so impressed by his wickedness that <q>they +made no burning for him, like the burning of his +fathers,</q> whereas they had made a very great burning +for Asa.<note place='foot'>The Hebrew original of the A.R.V., <q>departed without being +desired,</q> is as obscure as the English of our versions. The most +probable translation is, <q>He behaved so as to please no one.</q> The +A.R.V. apparently mean that no one regretted his death.</note> +</p> + +<pb n='399'/><anchor id='Pg399'/> + +<p> +The chronicler's account of the reign of Ahaziah<note place='foot'>We need not discuss in detail the question of Ahaziah's age at his +accession. The age of forty-two, given in 2 Chron. xxii. 2, is simply +impossible, seeing that his father was only forty years old when he +died. The Peshito and Arabic versions have followed 2 Kings viii. +26, and altered forty-two to twenty-two; and the LXX. reads twenty +years. But twenty-two years still presents difficulties. According to +this reading, Ahaziah, Jehoram's youngest son, was born when his +father was only eighteen, and Jehoram having had several sons before +the age of eighteen, had none afterwards.</note> +does not differ materially from that given by the book +of Kings, though it is considerably abridged, and there +are other minor alterations. The chronicler sets forth +even more emphatically than the earlier history the +evil influence of Athaliah and her Israelite kinsfolk over +Ahaziah's short reign of one year. The story of his +visit to Jehoram, king of Israel, and the murder of the +two kings by Jehu, is very much abridged. The +chronicler carefully omits all reference to Elisha, +according to his usual principle of ignoring the religious +life of Northern Israel; but he expressly tells us that, +like Jehoshaphat, Ahaziah suffered for consorting with +the house of Omri: <q>His destruction or treading down +was of God in that he went unto Jehoram.</q> Our English +versions have carefully reproduced an ambiguity in +the original; but it seems probable that the chronicler +does not mean that visiting Jehoram in his illness was +a flagrant offence which God punished with death, but +rather that, to punish Ahaziah for his imitation of the +evil-doings of the house of Omri,<note place='foot'>xiii. 7<hi rend='italic'>a</hi>, peculiar to Chronicles.</note> God allowed him to +visit Jehoram in order that he might share the fate of +the Israelite king. +</p> + +<p> +The book of Kings had stated that Jehu slew forty-two +brethren of Ahaziah. It is, of course, perfectly +<pb n='400'/><anchor id='Pg400'/> +allowable to take <q>brethren</q> in the general sense of +<q>kinsmen</q>; but as the chronicler had recently mentioned +the massacre of all Ahaziah's brethren, he avoids even +the appearance of a contradiction by substituting <q>sons +of the brethren of Ahaziah</q> for brethren. This +alteration introduces new difficulties, but these difficulties +simply illustrate the general confusion of numbers and +ages which characterises the narrative at this point. In +connection with the burial of Ahaziah, it may be noted +that the popular recollection of Jehoshaphat endorsed the +favourable judgment contained in the <q>writing of +Elijah</q>: <q>They said</q> of Ahaziah, <q>He is the son of +Jehoshaphat, who sought Jehovah with all his heart.</q> +</p> + +<p> +The chronicler next narrates Athaliah's murder of +the seed royal of Judah and her usurpation of the throne +of David, in terms almost identical with those of the +narrative in the book of Kings. But his previous +additions and modifications are hard to reconcile with +the account he here borrows from his ancient authority. +According to the chronicler, Jehoram had massacred all +the other sons of Jehoshaphat, and the Arabians had +slain all Jehoram's sons except Ahaziah, and Jehu had +slain their sons; so that Ahaziah was the only living +descendant in the male line of his grandfather Jehoshaphat; +he himself apparently died at the age of twenty-three. +It is intelligible enough that he should have a +son Joash and possibly other sons; but still it is +difficult to understand where Athaliah found <q>all the +seed royal</q> and <q>the king's sons</q> whom she put to +death. It is at any rate clear that Jehoram's slaughter +of his brethren met with an appropriate punishment: +all his own sons and grandsons were similarly slain, +except the child Joash. +</p> + +<p> +The chronicler's narrative of the revolution by which +<pb n='401'/><anchor id='Pg401'/> +Athaliah was slain, and the throne recovered for the +house of David in the person of Joash, follows substantially +the earlier history, the chief difference being, +as we have already noticed,<note place='foot'>Cf. p. 20.</note> that the chronicler substitutes +the Levitical guard of the second Temple for +the bodyguard of foreign mercenaries who were the +actual agents in this revolution. +</p> + +<p> +A distinguished authority on European history is +fond of pointing to the evil effects of royal marriages as +one of the chief drawbacks to the monarchical system of +government. A crown may at any time devolve upon +a woman, and by her marriage with a powerful reigning +prince her country may virtually be subjected to a +foreign yoke. If it happens that the new sovereign +professes a different religion from that of his wife's +subjects, the evils arising from the marriage are seriously +aggravated. Some such fate befell the Netherlands as +the result of the marriage of Mary of Burgundy with the +Emperor Maximilian, and England was only saved +from the danger of transference to Catholic dominion by +the caution and patriotism of Queen Elizabeth. +</p> + +<p> +Athaliah's usurpation was a bold attempt to reverse +the usual process and transfer the husband's dominions +to the authority and faith of the wife's family. It is +probable that Athaliah's permanent success would have +led to the absorption of Judah in the northern kingdom. +This last misfortune was averted by the energy and +courage of Jehoiada, but in the meantime the half-heathen +queen had succeeded in causing untold harm +and suffering to her adopted country. Our own history +furnishes numerous illustrations of the evil influences +that come in the train of foreign queens. Edward II. +<pb n='402'/><anchor id='Pg402'/> +suffered grievously at the hands of his French queen; +Henry VI.'s wife, Margaret of Anjou, contributed considerably +to the prolonged bitterness of the struggle +between York and Lancaster; and to Henry VIII.'s +marriage with Catherine of Aragon the country owed +the miseries and persecutions inflicted by Mary Tudor. +But, on the other hand, many of the foreign princesses +who have shared the English throne have won the +lasting gratitude of the nation. A French queen of +Kent, for instance, opened the way for Augustine's +mission to England. +</p> + +<p> +But no foreign queen of England has had the opportunities +for mischief that were enjoyed and fully utilised +by Athaliah. She corrupted her husband and her +son, and she was probably at once the instigator of +their crimes and the instrument of their punishment. +By corrupting the rulers of Judah and by her own +misgovernment, she exercised an evil influence over the +nation; and as the people suffered, not for their sins +only, but also for those of their kings, Athaliah brought +misfortunes and calamity upon Judah. Unfortunately +such experiences are not confined to royal families; the +peace and honour, and prosperity of godly families in +all ranks of life have been disturbed and often destroyed +by the marriage of one of their members with a woman +of alien spirit and temperament. Here is a very +general and practical application of the chronicler's +objection to intercourse with the house of Omri. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='403'/><anchor id='Pg403'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter VI. Joash and Amaziah. 2 Chron. xxiv.-xxv.</head> + +<p> +For Chronicles, as for the book of Kings, the main +interest of the reign of Joash is the repairing of +the Temple; but the later narrative introduces modifications +which give a somewhat different complexion to +the story. Both authorities tell us that Joash did that +which was right in the eyes of Jehovah all the days of +Jehoiada, but the book of Kings immediately adds that +<q>the high places were not taken away: the people +still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.</q><note place='foot'>Cf. xxv. 2 with 2 Kings xiv. 4, xxvi. 4 with 2 Kings xv. 4, xxvii. 2 +with 2 Kings xv. 34, where similar statements are omitted by the +chronicler.</note> +Seeing that Jehoiada exercised the royal authority +during the minority of Joash, this toleration of the high +places must have had the sanction of the high-priest. +Now the chronicler and his contemporaries had been +educated in the belief that the Pentateuch was the +ecclesiastical code of the monarchy; they found it +impossible to credit a statement that the high-priest +had sanctioned any other sanctuary besides the temple +of Zion; accordingly they omitted the verse in +question. +</p> + +<p> +In the earlier narrative of the repairing of the Temple +<pb n='404'/><anchor id='Pg404'/> +the priests are ordered by Joash to use certain sacred +dues and offerings to repair the breaches of the house; +but after some time had elapsed it was found that the +breaches had not been repaired: and when Joash +remonstrated with the priests, they flatly refused to +have anything to do with the repairs or with receiving +funds for the purpose. Their objections were, however, +overruled; and Jehoiada placed beside the altar a chest +with a hole in the lid, into which <q>the priests put +all the money that was brought into the house of +Jehovah.</q><note place='foot'>2 Kings xii. 9.</note> When it was sufficiently full, the king's +scribe and the high-priest counted the money, and put +it up in bags. +</p> + +<p> +There were several points in this earlier narrative +which would have furnished very inconvenient precedents, +and were so much out of keeping with the +ideas and practices of the second Temple that, by the +time the chronicler wrote, a new and more intelligible +version of the story was current among the ministers +of the Temple. To begin with, there was an omission +which would have grated very unpleasantly on the +feelings of the chronicler. In this long narrative, wholly +taken up with the affairs of the Temple, nothing is said +about the Levites. The collecting and receiving of +money might well be supposed to belong to them; and +accordingly in Chronicles the Levites are first associated +with the priests in this matter, and then the priests +drop out of the narrative, and the Levites alone carry +out the financial arrangements. +</p> + +<p> +Again, it might be understood from the book of Kings +that sacred dues and offerings, which formed the +revenue of the priests and Levites, were diverted by +<pb n='405'/><anchor id='Pg405'/> +the king's orders to the repair of the fabric. The +chronicler was naturally anxious that there should +be no mistake on this point; the ambiguous phrases +are omitted, and it is plainly indicated that funds +were raised for the repairs by means of a special tax +ordained by Moses. Joash <q>assembled the priests and +the Levites, and said to them, Go out into the cities of +Judah, and gather of all Israel money to repair the +house of your God from year to year, and see that ye +hasten the matter. Howbeit the Levites hastened it +not.</q> The remissness of the priests in the original +narrative is here very faithfully and candidly transferred +to the Levites. Then, as in the book of Kings, Joash +remonstrates with Jehoiada, but the terms of his +remonstrance are altogether different: here he complains +because the Levites have not been required <q>to bring +in out of Judah and out of Jerusalem the tax appointed +by Moses the servant of Jehovah and by the congregation +of Israel for the tent of the testimony,</q><hi rend='italic'>i.e.</hi>, the +Tabernacle, containing the Ark and the tables of the +Law. The reference apparently is to the law<note place='foot'>Exod. xxx. 11-16.</note> that +when a census was taken a poll-tax of a half-shekel a +head should be paid for the service of the Tabernacle. +As one of the main uses of a census was to facilitate +the raising of taxes, this law might not unfairly be +interpreted to mean that when occasion arose, or +perhaps even every year, a census should be taken in +order that this poll-tax might be levied. Nehemiah +arranged for a yearly poll-tax of a third of a shekel +for the incidental expenses of the Temple.<note place='foot'>Neh. x. 32.</note> Here, +however, the half-shekel prescribed in Exodus is +intended; and it should be observed that this poll-tax +<pb n='406'/><anchor id='Pg406'/> +was to be levied, not once only but <q>from year to +year.</q> The chronicler then inserts a note to explain +why these repairs were necessary: <q>The sons of +Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken up the +house of God; and also all the dedicated things of the +house of Jehovah they bestowed upon the Baals.</q> +Here we are confronted with a further difficulty. All +Jehoram's sons except Ahaziah were murdered by the +Arabs in their father's life-time. Who are these <q>sons +of Athaliah</q> who broke up the Temple? Jehoram +was about thirty-seven when his sons were massacred, +so that some of them may have been old enough to +break up the Temple. One would think that <q>the +dedicated things</q> might have been recovered for +Jehovah when Athaliah was overthrown; but possibly, +when the people retaliated by breaking into the house +of Baal, there were Achans among them, who appropriated +the plunder. +</p> + +<p> +Having remonstrated with Jehoiada, the king took +matters into his own hands; and he, not Jehoiada, had +a chest made and placed, not beside the altar—such an +arrangement savoured of profanity—but without at +the gate of the Temple. This little touch is very +suggestive. The noise and bustle of paying over +money, receiving it, and putting it into the chest, would +have mingled distractingly with the solemn ritual of +sacrifice. In modern times the tinkle of threepenny +pieces often tends to mar the effect of an impressive +appeal and to disturb the quiet influences of a communion +service. The Scotch arrangement, by which +a plate covered with a fair white cloth is placed in the +porch of a church and guarded by two modern Levites +or elders, is much more in accordance with Chronicles. +</p> + +<p> +Then, instead of sending out Levites to collect the +<pb n='407'/><anchor id='Pg407'/> +tax, proclamation was made that the people themselves +should bring their offerings. Obedience apparently +was made a matter of conscience, not of solicitation. +Perhaps it was because the Levites felt that sacred +dues should be given freely that they were not forward +to make yearly tax-collecting expeditions. At +any rate, the new method was signally successful. +Day after day the princes and people gladly brought +their offerings, and money was gathered in abundance. +Other passages suggest that the chronicler was not +always inclined to trust to the spontaneous generosity +of the people for the support of the priests and Levites; +but he plainly recognised that free-will offerings are +more excellent than the donations which are painfully +extracted by the yearly visits of official collectors. He +would probably have sympathised with the abolition +of pew-rents. +</p> + +<p> +As in the book of Kings, the chest was emptied at +suitable intervals; but instead of the high-priest being +associated with the king's scribe, as if they were on +a level and both of them officials of the royal court, the +chief priest's <emph>officer</emph> assists the king's <emph>scribe</emph>, so that the +chief priest is placed on a level with the king himself. +</p> + +<p> +The details of the repairs in the two narratives differ +considerably in form, but for the most part agree in +substance; the only striking point is that they are +apparently at variance as to whether vessels of silver +or gold were or were not made for the renovated +Temple. +</p> + +<p> +Then follows the account<note place='foot'>xxiv. 14-22, peculiar to Chronicles.</note> of the ingratitude and +apostacy of Joash and his people. As long as Jehoiada +lived, the services of the Temple were regularly performed, +<pb n='408'/><anchor id='Pg408'/> +and Judah remained faithful to its God; but +at last he died, full of days: a hundred and thirty years +old. In his life-time he had exercised royal authority, +and when he died he was buried like a king: <q>They +buried him in the city of David among the kings, +because he had done good in Israel and toward God +and His house.</q><note place='foot'>Curiously enough, Jehoiada's name does not occur in the list of +high-priests in 1 Chron. vi. 1-12.</note> Like Nero when he shook off the +control of Seneca and Burrhus, Joash changed his +policy as soon as Jehoiada was dead. Apparently he +was a weak character, always following some one's +leading. His freedom from the influence that had +made his early reign decent and honourable was not, +as in Nero's case, his own act. The change of policy +was adopted at the suggestion of the princes of Judah. +Kings, princes, and people fell back into the old wickedness; +they forsook the Temple and served idols. Yet +Jehovah did not readily give them up to their own +folly, nor hastily inflict punishment; He sent, not one +prophet, but many, to bring them back to Himself, but +they would not hearken. At last Jehovah made one +last effort to win Joash back; this time He chose for +His messenger a priest who had special personal claims +on the favourable attention of the king. The prophet +was Zechariah the son of Jehoiada, to whom Joash +owed his life and his throne. The name was a favourite +one in Israel, and was borne by two other prophets +besides the son of Jehoiada. Its very etymology constituted +an appeal to the conscience of Joash: it is +compounded of the sacred name and a root meaning +<q>to remember</q>. The Jews were adepts at extracting +from such a combination all its possible applications. +<pb n='409'/><anchor id='Pg409'/> +The most obvious was that Jehovah would remember +the sin of Judah, but the recent prophets sent to recall +the sinners to their God showed that Jehovah also +remembered their former righteousness and desired to +recall it to them and them to it; they should remember +Jehovah. Moreover, Joash should remember the +teaching of Jehoiada and his obligations to the father +of the man now addressing him. Probably Joash did +remember all this when, in the striking Hebrew idiom, +<q>the spirit of God clothed itself with Zechariah the +son of Jehoiada the priest, and he stood above the +people and said unto them, Thus saith God: Why +transgress ye the commandments of Jehovah, to your +hurt? Because ye have forsaken Jehovah, He hath +also forsaken you.</q> This is the burden of the prophetic +utterances in Chronicles<note place='foot'>1 Chron. xxviii. 9; 2 Chron. vii. 19, xii. 5, xiii. 10, xv. 2, xxi. 10, +xxviii. 6, xxix. 6, xxxiv. 25.</note>; the converse is stated +by Irenæus when he says that to follow the Saviour +is to partake of salvation. Though the truth of +this teaching had been enforced again and again by +the misfortunes that had befallen Judah under apostate +kings, Joash paid no heed to it, nor did he remember +the kindness which Jehoiada had done him; that is to +say, he showed no gratitude towards the house of +Jehoiada. Perhaps an uncomfortable sense of obligation +to the father only embittered him the more against +his son. But the son of the high-priest could not be +dealt with as summarily as Asa dealt with Hanani +when he put him in prison. The king might have +been indifferent to the wrath of Jehovah, but the son +of the man who had for years ruled Judah and +Jerusalem must have had a strong party at his back. +<pb n='410'/><anchor id='Pg410'/> +Accordingly the king and his adherents conspired against +Zechariah, and they stoned him with stones by the king's +command. This Old Testament martyr died in a very +different spirit from that of Stephen; his prayer was, +not, <q>Lord, lay not this sin to their charge,</q> but +<q>Jehovah, look upon it and require it.</q> His prayer +did not long remain unanswered. Within a year the +Syrians<note place='foot'>Cf. 2 Kings xii. 17, 18, of which this narrative is probably an +adaptation.</note> came against Joash; he had a very great host, +but he was powerless against a small company of +the Divinely commissioned avengers of Zechariah. +The tempters who had seduced the king into apostacy +were a special mark for the wrath of Jehovah: the +Syrians destroyed all the princes, and sent their spoil +to the king of Damascus. Like Asa and Jehoram, +Joash suffered personal punishment in the shape of +<q>great diseases,</q> but his end was even more tragic +than theirs. One conspiracy avenged another: in his +own household there were adherents of the family of +Jehoiada: <q>Two of his own servants conspired against +him for the blood of Zechariah, and slew him on his +bed; and they buried him in the city of David, and not +in the sepulchres of the kings.</q> +</p> + +<p> +The chronicler's biography of Joash might have been +specially designed to remind his readers that the most +careful education must sometimes fail of its purpose. +Joash had been trained from his earliest years in the +Temple itself, under the care of Jehoiada and of his aunt +Jehoshabeath, the high-priest's wife. He had no +doubt been carefully instructed in the religion and +sacred history of Israel, and had been continually surrounded +by the best religious influences of his age. For +<pb n='411'/><anchor id='Pg411'/> +Judah, in the chronicler's estimation, was even then +the one home of the true faith. These holy influences +had been continued after Joash had attained to manhood, +and Jehoiada was careful to provide that the young +king's harem should be enlisted in the cause of piety +and good government. We may be sure that the two +wives whom Jehoiada selected for his pupil were +consistent worshippers of Jehovah and loyal to the Law +and the Temple. No daughter of the house of Ahab, +no <q>strange wife</q> from Egypt, Ammon, or Moab, +would be allowed the opportunity of undoing the good +effects of early training. Moreover, we might have +expected the character developed by education to be +strengthened by exercise. The early years of his +reign were occupied by zealous activity in the service +of the Temple. The pupil outstripped his master, and +the enthusiasm of the youthful king found occasion to +rebuke the tardy zeal of the venerable high-priest. +</p> + +<p> +And yet all this fair promise was blighted in a day. +The piety carefully fostered for half a life-time gave +way before the first assaults of temptation, and never +even attempted to reassert itself. Possibly the brief +and fragmentary records from which the chronicler had +to make his selection unduly emphasise the contrast +between the earlier and later years of the reign of +Joash; but the picture he draws of the failure of +best of tutors and governors is unfortunately only too +typical. Julian the Apostate was educated by a +distinguished Christian prelate, Eusebius of Nicomedia, +and was trained in a strict routine of religious +observances; yet he repudiated Christianity at the +earliest safe opportunity. His apostacy, like that of +Joash, was probably characterised by base ingratitude. +At Constantine's death the troops in Constantinople +<pb n='412'/><anchor id='Pg412'/> +massacred nearly all the princes of the imperial family, +and Julian, then only six years old, is said to have been +saved and concealed in a church by Mark, Bishop of +Arethusa. When Julian became emperor, he repaid this +obligation by subjecting his benefactor to cruel tortures +because he had destroyed a heathen temple and refused +to make any compensation. Imagine Joash requiring +Jehoiada to make compensation for pulling down a high +place! +</p> + +<p> +The parallel of Julian may suggest a partial explanation +of the fall of Joash. The tutelage of Jehoiada +may have been too strict, monotonous, and prolonged; +in choosing wives for the young king, the aged priest +may not have made an altogether happy selection; +Jehoiada may have kept Joash under control until he +was incapable of independence and could only pass from +one dominant influence to another. When the high-priest's +death gave the king an opportunity of changing +his masters, a reaction from the too urgent insistence +upon his duty to the Temple may have inclined Joash +to listen favourably to the solicitations of the princes. +</p> + +<p> +But perhaps the sins of Joash are sufficiently +accounted for by his ancestry. His mother was Zibiah of +Beersheba, and therefore probably a Jewess. Of her +we know nothing further good or bad. Otherwise his +ancestors for two generations had been uniformly bad. +His father and grandfather were the wicked kings +Jehoram and Ahaziah; his grandmother was Athaliah; +and he was descended from Ahab, and possibly from +Jezebel. When we recollect that his mother Zibiah +was a wife of Ahaziah and had probably been selected +by Athaliah, we cannot suppose that the element she +contributed to his character would do much to counteract +the evil he inherited from his father. +</p> + +<pb n='413'/><anchor id='Pg413'/> + +<p> +The chronicler's account of his successor Amaziah is +equally disappointing; he also began well and ended +miserably. In the opening formulæ of the history of +the new reign and in the account of the punishment of +the assassins of Joash, the chronicler closely follows the +earlier narrative, omitting, as usual, the statement that +this good king did not take away the high places. +Like his pious predecessors, Amaziah in his earlier and +better years was rewarded with a great army<note place='foot'>xxv. 5-13, peculiar to Chronicles, except that the account of the +war with Edom is expanded from the brief note in Kings. Cf. ver. +11<hi rend='italic'>b</hi> with 2 Kings xiv. 7.</note> and +military success; and yet the muster-roll of his forces +shows how the sins and calamities of the recent wicked +reigns had told on the resources of Judah. Jehoshaphat +could command more than eleven hundred and sixty +thousand soldiers; Amaziah has only three hundred +thousand. +</p> + +<p> +These were not sufficient for the king's ambition; by +the Divine grace, he had already amassed wealth, in +spite of the Syrian ravages at the close of the preceding +reign: and he laid out a hundred talents of silver in +purchasing the services of as many thousand Israelites, +thus falling into the sin for which Jehoshaphat had +twice been reproved and punished. Jehovah, however, +arrested Amaziah's employment of unholy allies at the +outset. A man of God came to him and exhorted him +not to let the army of Israel go with him, because +<q>Jehovah is not with Israel</q>; if he had courage and +faith to go with only his three hundred thousand Jews, +all would be well, otherwise God would cast him down, +as He had done Ahaziah. The statement that Jehovah +was not with Israel might have been understood in a +sense that would seem almost blasphemous to the +<pb n='414'/><anchor id='Pg414'/> +chronicler's contemporaries; he is careful therefore +to explain that here <q>Israel</q> simply means <q>the +children of Ephraim.</q> +</p> + +<p> +Amaziah obeyed the prophet, but was naturally +distressed at the thought that he had spent a hundred +talents for nothing: <q>What shall we do for the +hundred talents which I have given to the army of +Israel?</q> He did not realise that the Divine alliance +would be worth more to him than many hundred +talents of silver; or perhaps he reflected that Divine +grace is free, and that he might have saved his money. +One would like to believe that he was anxious to +recover this silver in order to devote it to the service +of the sanctuary; but he was evidently one of those +sordid souls who like, as the phrase goes, <q>to get their +religion for nothing.</q> No wonder Amaziah went +astray! We can scarcely be wrong in detecting a vein +of contempt in the prophet's answer: <q>Jehovah can +give thee much more than this.</q> +</p> + +<p> +This little episode carries with it a great principle. +Every crusade against an established abuse is met +with the cry, <q>What shall we do for the hundred +talents?</q>—for the capital invested in slaves or in +gin-shops; for English revenues from alcohol or Indian +revenues from opium? Few have faith to believe that +the Lord can provide for financial deficits, or, if we +may venture to indicate the method in which the Lord +provides, that a nation will ever be able to pay its way by +honest finance. Let us note, however, that Amaziah was +asked to sacrifice his own talents, and not other people's. +</p> + +<p> +Accordingly Amaziah sent the mercenaries home; and +they returned in great dudgeon, offended by the slight +put upon them and disappointed at the loss of +prospective plunder. The king's sin in hiring Israelite +<pb n='415'/><anchor id='Pg415'/> +mercenaries was to suffer a severer punishment than +the loss of money. While he was away at war, his +rejected allies returned, and attacked the border cities,<note place='foot'>In the phrase <q>from Samaria to Beth-horon,</q> <q>Samaria</q> +apparently means the northern kingdom, and not the city, <hi rend='italic'>i.e.</hi>, from +the borders of Samaria; the chronicler has fallen into the nomenclature +of his own age.</note> +killed three thousand Jews, and took much plunder. +</p> + +<p> +Meanwhile Amaziah and his army were reaping +direct fruits of their obedience in Edom, where they +gained a great victory, and followed it up by a massacre +of ten thousand captives, whom they killed by throwing +down from the top of a precipice. Yet, after +all, Amaziah's victory over Edom was of small profit +to him, for he was thereby seduced into idolatry. +Amongst his other prisoners, he had brought away the +gods of Edom; and instead of throwing them over a +precipice, as a pious king should have done, <q>he set +them up to be his gods, and bowed down himself +before them, and burned incense unto them.</q> +</p> + +<p> +Then Jehovah, in His anger, sent a prophet to +demand, <q>Why hast thou sought after foreign gods, +which have not delivered their own people out of thine +hand?</q> According to current ideas outside of Israel, +a nation might very reasonably seek after the gods of +their conquerors. Such conquest could only be attributed +to the superior power and grace of the gods of +the victors: the gods of the defeated were vanquished +along with their worshippers, and were obviously +incompetent and unworthy of further confidence. But +to act like Amaziah—to go out to battle in the name of +Jehovah, directed and encouraged by His prophet, to +conquer by the grace of the God of Israel, and then to +desert Jehovah of hosts, the Giver of victory, for +<pb n='416'/><anchor id='Pg416'/> +the paltry and discredited idols of the conquered +Edomites—this was sheer madness. And yet as +Greece enslaved her Roman conquerors, so the victor +has often been won to the faith of the vanquished. The +Church subdued the barbarians who had overwhelmed +the empire, and the heathen Saxons adopted at last +the religion of the conquered Britons. Henry IV. of +France is scarcely a parallel to Amaziah: he went to +mass that he might hold his sceptre with a firmer +grasp, while the king of Judah merely adopted foreign +idols in order to gratify his superstition and love of +novelty. +</p> + +<p> +Apparently Amaziah was at first inclined to discuss +the question: he and the prophet talked together; but +the king soon became irritated, and broke off the +interview with abrupt discourtesy: <q>Have we made +thee of the king's counsel? Forbear; why shouldest +thou be smitten?</q> Prosperity seems to have been +invariably fatal to the Jewish kings who began to reign +well; the success that rewarded, at the same time +destroyed their virtue. Before his victory Amaziah +had been courteous and submissive to the messenger of +Jehovah; now he defied Him and treated His prophet +roughly. The latter disappeared, but not before he +had declared the Divine condemnation of the stubborn +king. +</p> + +<p> +The rest of the history of Amaziah—his presumptuous +war with Joash, king of Israel, his defeat and degradation, +and his assassination—is taken verbatim from the book +of Kings, with a few modifications and editorial notes +by the chronicler to harmonise these sections with the +rest of his narrative. For instance, in the book of +Kings the account of the war with Joash begins +somewhat abruptly: Amaziah sends his defiance before +<pb n='417'/><anchor id='Pg417'/> +any reason has been given for his action. The +chronicler inserts a phrase which connects his new +paragraph very suggestively with the one that goes +before. The former concluded with the king's taunt +that the prophet was not of his counsel, to which the +prophet replied that the king should be destroyed +because he had not hearkened to the Divine counsel +proffered to him. Then Amaziah <q>took advice</q>; <hi rend='italic'>i.e.</hi>, he +consulted those who were of his counsel, and the sequel +showed their incompetence. The chronicler also explains +that Amaziah's rash persistence in his challenge to +Joash <q>was of God, that He might deliver them into +the hand of their enemies, because they had sought +after the gods of Edom.</q> He also tells us that the +name of the custodian of the sacred vessels of the +Temple was Obed-edom. As the chronicler mentions +five Levites of the name of Obed-edom, four of whom +occur nowhere else, the name was probably common +in some family still surviving in his own time. But, +in view of the fondness of the Jews for significant +etymology, it is probable that the name is recorded here +because it was exceedingly appropriate. <q>The servant +of Edom</q> suits the official who has to surrender his +sacred charge to a conqueror because his own king had +worshipped the gods of Edom. Lastly, an additional +note explains that Amaziah's apostacy had promptly +deprived him of the confidence and loyalty of his subjects; +the conspiracy which led to his assassination +was formed from the time that he turned away from +following Jehovah, so that when he sent his proud +challenge to Joash his authority was already undermined, +and there were traitors in the army which he +led against Israel. We are shown one of the means +used by Jehovah to bring about his defeat. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='418'/><anchor id='Pg418'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter VII. Uzziah, Jotham, and Ahaz.<note place='foot'>For the discussion of the chronicler's account of Ahaz see Book +III., Chap. VII.</note> 2 Chron. xxvi.-xxviii.</head> + +<p> +After the assassination of Amaziah, all the people +of Judah took his son Uzziah, a lad of sixteen, +called in the book of Kings Azariah, and made him +king. The chronicler borrows from the older narrative +the statement that <q>Uzziah did that which was right +in the eyes of Jehovah, according to all that his father +Amaziah had done.</q> In the light of the sins attributed +both to Amaziah and Uzziah in Chronicles, this is a +somewhat doubtful compliment. Sarcasm, however, +is not one of the chronicler's failings; he simply allows +the older history to speak for itself, and leaves the +reader to combine its judgment with the statement of +later tradition as best he can. But yet we might +modify this verse, and read that Uzziah did good and +evil, prospered and fell into misfortune, according to all +that his father Amaziah had done, or an even closer +parallel might be drawn between what Uzziah did and +suffered and the chequered character and fortunes of +Joash. +</p> + +<p> +Though much older than the latter, at his accession +Uzziah was young enough to be very much under +<pb n='419'/><anchor id='Pg419'/> +the control of ministers and advisers; and as Joash +was trained in loyalty to Jehovah by the high-priest +Jehoiada, so Uzziah <q>set himself to seek God during +the life-time</q> of a certain prophet, who, like the son of +Jehoiada, was named Zechariah, <q>who had understanding +or gave instruction in the fear of Jehovah,</q><note place='foot'>So R.V. marg., with LXX., Targum, Syriac and Arabic versions, +Talmud, Rashi, Kimchi, and some Hebrew manuscripts (Bertheau, i. +1). A.R.V., <q>had understanding in the visions</q> (R.V. vision) <q>of +God.</q> The difference between the two Hebrew readings is very +slight. Vv. 5-20, with the exception of the bare fact of the leprosy +are peculiar to Chronicles.</note> <hi rend='italic'>i.e.</hi>, +a man versed in sacred learning, rich in spiritual +experience, and able to communicate his knowledge, +such a one as Ezra the scribe in later days. +</p> + +<p> +Under the guidance of this otherwise unknown +prophet, the young king was led to conform his private +life and public administration to the will of God. In +<q>seeking God,</q> Uzziah would be careful to maintain +and attend the Temple services, to honour the priests +of Jehovah and make due provision for their wants; +and <q>as long as he sought Jehovah God gave him +prosperity.</q> +</p> + +<p> +Uzziah received all the rewards usually bestowed +upon pious kings: he was victorious in war, and exacted +tribute from neighbouring states; he built fortresses, +and had abundance of cattle and slaves, a large and +well-equipped army, and well-supplied arsenals. Like +other powerful kings of Judah, he asserted his supremacy +over the tribes along the southern frontier of +his kingdom. God helped him against the Philistines, +the Arabians of Gur-baal, and the Meunim. He +destroyed the fortifications of Gath, Jabne, and Ashdod, +and built forts of his own in the country of the +<pb n='420'/><anchor id='Pg420'/> +Philistines. Nothing is known about Gur-baal; but +the Arabian allies of the Philistines would be, like +Jehoram's enemies <q>the Arabians who dwelt near the +Ethiopians,</q> nomads of the deserts south of Judah. +These Philistines and Arabians had brought tribute +to Jehoshaphat without waiting to be subdued by his +armies; so now the Ammonites gave gifts to Uzziah, and +his name spread abroad <q>even to the entering in of +Egypt,</q> possibly a hundred or even a hundred and +fifty miles from Jerusalem. It is evident that the +chronicler's ideas of international politics were of very +modest dimensions. +</p> + +<p> +Moreover, Uzziah added to the fortifications of +Jerusalem; and because he loved husbandry and had +cattle, and husbandmen, and vine-dressers in the open +country and outlying districts of Judah, he built towers +for their protection. His army was of about the same +strength as that of Amaziah, three hundred thousand +men, so that in this, as in his character and exploits, he +did according to all that his father had done, except +that he was content with his own Jewish warriors and +did not waste his talents in purchasing worse than +useless reinforcements from Israel. Uzziah's army +was well disciplined, carefully organised, and constantly +employed; they were men of mighty power, and went +out to war by bands, to collect the king's tribute and +enlarge his dominions and revenue by new conquests. +The war material in his arsenals is described at greater +length than that of any previous king: shields, spears, +helmets, coats of mail, bows and stones for slings. +The great advance of military science in Uzziah's reign +was marked by the invention of engines of war for the +defence of Jerusalem; some, like the Roman <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>catapulta</foreign>, +were for arrows, and others, like the <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>ballista</foreign>, to hurl +<pb n='421'/><anchor id='Pg421'/> +huge stones. Though the Assyrian sculptures show +us that battering-rams were freely employed by them +against the walls of Jewish cities,<note place='foot'>Cf. Ezek. xxvi. 9.</note> and the <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>ballista</foreign> is +said by Pliny to have been invented in Syria,<note place='foot'>Pliny, vii. 56 <hi rend='italic'>apud</hi> Smith's <hi rend='italic'>Bible Dictionary</hi>.</note> no other +Hebrew king is credited with the possession of this +primitive artillery. The chronicler or his authority +seems profoundly impressed by the great skill displayed +in this invention; in describing it, he uses the root +ḥāshabh, to devise, three times in three consecutive +words. The engines were <q><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>ḥishshebhōnôth maḥăshebheth +ḥôshēbh</foreign></q>—<q>engines engineered by the ingenious.</q> +Jehovah not only provided Uzziah with ample military +resources of every kind, but also blessed the means +which He Himself had furnished; Uzziah <q>was +marvellously helped, till he was strong, and his name +spread far abroad.</q> The neighbouring states heard +with admiration of his military resources. +</p> + +<p> +The student of Chronicles will by this time be prepared +for the invariable sequel to God-given prosperity. +Like David, Rehoboam, Asa, and Amaziah, when +Uzziah <q>was strong, his heart was lifted up to his +destruction.</q> The most powerful of the kings of Judah +died a leper. An attack of leprosy admitted of only +one explanation: it was a plague inflicted by Jehovah +Himself as the punishment of sin; and so the book of +Kings tells us that <q>Jehovah smote the king,</q> but says +nothing about the sin thus punished. The chronicler +was able to supply the omission: Uzziah had dared +to go into the Temple and with irregular zeal to +burn incense on the altar of incense. In so doing, he +was violating the Law, which made the priestly office +<pb n='422'/><anchor id='Pg422'/> +and all priestly functions the exclusive prerogative of +the house of Aaron and denounced the penalty of +death against any one who usurped priestly functions.<note place='foot'>Num. xviii. 7; Exod. xxx. 7.</note> +But Uzziah was not allowed to carry out his unholy +design; the high-priest Azariah went in after him with +eighty stalwart colleagues, rebuked his presumption, +and bade him leave the sanctuary. Uzziah was no +more tractable to the admonitions of the priest than +Asa and Amaziah had been to those of the prophets. +The kings of Judah were accustomed, even in +Chronicles, to exercise an unchallenged control over +the Temple and to regard the high-priests very much +in the light of private chaplains. Uzziah was wroth; +he was at the zenith of his power and glory; his heart +was lifted up. Who were these priests, that they should +stand between him and Jehovah and dare to publicly +check and rebuke him in his own temple? Henry II.'s +feelings towards Becket must have been mild compared +to those of Uzziah towards Azariah, who, if the king +could have had his way, would doubtless have shared +the fate of Zechariah the son of Jehoiada. But a +direct intervention of Jehovah protected the priests, +and preserved Uzziah from further sacrilege. While his +features were convulsed with anger, leprosy brake forth +in his forehead. The contest between king and priest +was at once ended; the priests thrust him out, and he +himself hasted to go, recognising that Jehovah had +smitten him. Henceforth he lived apart, cut off from +fellowship alike with man and God, and his son Jotham +governed in his stead. The book of Kings simply +makes the general statement that Uzziah was buried +with his fathers in the city of David; but the +<pb n='423'/><anchor id='Pg423'/> +chronicler is anxious that his readers should not +suppose that the tombs of the sacred house of David +were polluted by the presence of a leprous corpse: he +explains that the leper was buried, not in the royal +sepulchre, but in the field attached to it. +</p> + +<p> +The moral of this incident is obvious. In attempting +to understand its significance, we need not trouble +ourselves about the relative authority of kings and +priests; the principle vindicated by the punishment of +Uzziah was the simple duty of obedience to an express +command of Jehovah. However trivial the burning +of incense may be in itself, it formed part of an +elaborate and complicated system of ritual. To interfere +with the Divine ordinances in one detail would mar +the significance and impressiveness of the whole Temple +service. One arbitrary innovation would be a precedent +for others, and would constitute a serious danger for a +system whose value lay in continuous uniformity. +Moreover, Uzziah was stubborn in disobedience. His +attempt to burn incense might have been sufficiently +punished by the public and humiliating reproof of the +high-priest. His leprosy came upon him because +when thwarted in an unholy purpose he gave way to +ungoverned passion. +</p> + +<p> +In its consequences we see a practical application +of the lessons of the incident. How often is the +sinner only provoked to greater wickedness by the +obstacles which Divine grace opposes to his wrongdoing! +How few men will tolerate the suggestion that +their intentions are cruel, selfish, or dishonourable! +Remonstrance is an insult, an offence against their +personal dignity; they feel that their self-respect +demands that they should persevere in their purpose, +and that they should resent and punish any one who +<pb n='424'/><anchor id='Pg424'/> +has tried to thwart them. Uzziah's wrath was perfectly +natural; few men have been so uniformly patient of +reproof as not sometimes to have turned in anger +upon those who warned them against sin. The most +dramatic feature of this episode, the sudden frost +of leprosy in the king's forehead, is not without +its spiritual antitype. Men's anger at well-merited +reproof has often blighted their lives once for all with +ineradicable moral leprosy. In the madness of passion +they have broken bonds which have hitherto restrained +them and committed themselves beyond recall to evil +pursuits and fatal friendships. Let us take the most +lenient view of Uzziah's conduct, and suppose that he +believed himself entitled to offer incense; he could not +doubt that the priests were equally confident that +Jehovah had enjoined the duty on them, and them +alone. Such a question was not to be decided by +violence, in the heat of personal bitterness. Azariah +himself had been unwisely zealous in bringing in his +eighty priests; Jehovah showed him that they were +quite unnecessary, because at the last Uzziah <q>himself +hasted to go out.</q> When personal passion and +jealousy are eliminated from Christian polemics, the +Church will be able to write the epitaph of the <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>odium +theologicum</foreign>. +</p> + +<p> +Uzziah was succeeded by Jotham, who had already +governed for some time as regent. In recording the +favourable judgment of the book of Kings, <q>He did that +which was right in the eyes of Jehovah, according to +all that his father Uzziah had done,</q> the chronicler is +careful to add, <q>Howbeit he entered not into the temple +of Jehovah</q>; the exclusive privilege of the house of +Aaron had been established once for all. The story +of Jotham's reign comes like a quiet and pleasant oasis +<pb n='425'/><anchor id='Pg425'/> +in the chronicler's dreary narrative of wicked rulers, +interspersed with pious kings whose piety failed them +in their latter days. Jotham shares with Solomon +the distinguished honour of being a king of whom +no evil is recorded either in Kings or Chronicles, +and who died in prosperity, at peace with Jehovah. +At the same time it is probable that Jotham owes the +blameless character he bears in Chronicles to the +fact that the earlier narrative does not mention any +misfortunes of his, especially any misfortune towards +the close of his life. Otherwise the theological school +from whom the chronicler derived his later traditions +would have been anxious to discover or deduce +some sin to account for such misfortune. At the end +of the short notice of his reign, between two parts of +the usual closing formula, an editor of the book of +Kings has inserted the statement that <q>in those days +Jehovah began to send against Judah Rezin the king +of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah.</q> This verse +the chronicler has omitted; neither the date<note place='foot'>Kimchi interprets <q>those days</q> as meaning <q>after the death of +Jotham.</q></note> nor the +nature of this trouble was clear enough to cast any +slur upon the character of Jotham. +</p> + +<p> +Jotham, again, had the rewards of a pious king: +he added a gate to the Temple, and strengthened the +wall of Ophel<note place='foot'>The reference to the wall of Ophel is peculiar to Chronicles: +indeed, Ophel is only mentioned in Chronicles and Nehemiah; it was +the southern spur of Mount Moriah (Neh. iii. 26, 27). Vv. 3<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>-7 +are also peculiar to Chronicles.</note>, and built cities and castles in Judah; +he made successful war upon Ammon, and received +from them an immense tribute—a hundred talents of +silver, ten thousand measures of wheat, and as much +barley—for three successive years. What happened +<pb n='426'/><anchor id='Pg426'/> +afterwards we are not told. It has been suggested +that the amounts mentioned were paid in three yearly +instalments, or that the three years were at the end +of the reign, and the tribute came to an end when +Jotham died or when the troubles with Pekah and +Rezin began. +</p> + +<p> +We have had repeated occasion to notice that in his +accounts of the good kings the chronicler almost +always omits the qualifying clause to the effect that +they did not take away the high places. He does so +here; but, contrary to his usual practice, he inserts a +qualifying clause of his own: <q>The people did yet +corruptly.</q> He probably had in view the unmitigated +wickedness of the following reign, and was glad to +retain the evidence that Ahaz found encouragement +and support in his idolatry; he is careful, however, to +state the fact so that no shadow of blame falls upon +Jotham. +</p> + +<p> +The life of Ahaz has been dealt with elsewhere. +Here we need merely repeat that for the sixteen years +of his reign Judah was to all appearance utterly given +over to every form of idolatry, and was oppressed and +brought low by Israel, Syria, and Assyria. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='427'/><anchor id='Pg427'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter VIII. Hezekiah: The Religious Value Of Music. +2 Chron. xxix.-xxxii.</head> + +<p> +The bent of the chroniclers mind is well illustrated +by the proportion of space assigned to +ritual by him and by the book of Kings respectively. +In the latter a few lines only are devoted to ritual, and +the bulk of the space is given to the invasion of +Sennacherib, the embassy from Babylon, etc., while +in Chronicles ritual occupies about three times as +many verses as personal and public affairs. +</p> + +<p> +Hezekiah, though not blameless, was all but perfect +in his loyalty to Jehovah. The chronicler reproduces +the customary formula for a good king: <q>He did that +which was right in the eyes of Jehovah, according to +all that David his father had done</q>; but his cautious +judgment rejects the somewhat rhetorical statement +in Kings that <q>after him was none like him among all +the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him.</q> +</p> + +<p> +Hezekiah's policy was made clear immediately after +his accession. His zeal for reformation could tolerate +no delay; the first month<note place='foot'>This is usually understood as Nisan, the first month of the ecclesiastical +year.</note> of the first year of his reign +<pb n='428'/><anchor id='Pg428'/> +saw him actively engaged in the good work.<note place='foot'>xxix. 3-xxxi. 21 (the cleansing of the Temple and accompanying +feast, Passover, organisation of the priests and Levites) are substantially +peculiar to Chronicles, though in a sense they expand 2 Kings +xviii. 4-7, because they fulfil the commandments which Jehovah +commanded Moses.</note> It was +no light task that lay before him. Not only were +there altars in every corner of Jerusalem and idolatrous +high places in every city of Judah, but the Temple +services had ceased, the lamps were put out, the sacred +vessels cut in pieces, the Temple had been polluted +and then closed, and the priests and Levites were +scattered. Sixteen years of licensed idolatry must +have fostered all that was vile in the country, have put +wicked men in authority, and created numerous vested +interests connected by close ties with idolatry, notably +the priests of all the altars and high places. On the +other hand, the reign of Ahaz had been an unbroken +series of disasters; the people had repeatedly endured +the horrors of invasion. His government as time went +on must have become more and more unpopular, for +when he died he was not buried in the sepulchres of +the kings. As idolatry was a prominent feature of his +policy, there would be a reaction in favour of the +worship of Jehovah, and there would not be wanting +true believers to tell the people that their sufferings +were a consequence of idolatry. To a large party in +Judah Hezekiah's reversal of his father's religious +policy would be as welcome as Elizabeth's declaration +against Rome was to most Englishmen. +</p> + +<p> +Hezekiah began by opening and repairing the doors +of the Temple. Its closed doors had been a symbol +of the national repudiation of Jehovah; to reopen them +<pb n='429'/><anchor id='Pg429'/> +was necessarily the first step in the reconciliation of +Judah to its God, but only the first step. The doors +were open as a sign that Jehovah was invited to return +to His people and again to manifest His presence in the +Holy of holies, so that through those open doors Israel +might have access to Him by means of the priests. +But the Temple was as yet no fit place for the presence +of Jehovah. With its lamps extinguished, its sacred +vessels destroyed, its floors and walls thick with dust +and full of all filthiness, it was rather a symbol of the +apostacy of Judah. Accordingly Hezekiah sought +the help of the Levites. It is true that he is first said +to have collected together priests and Levites, but +from that point onward the priests are almost entirely +ignored. +</p> + +<p> +Hezekiah reminded the Levites of the misdoings of +Ahaz and his adherents and the wrath which they had +brought upon Judah and Jerusalem; he told them it +was his purpose to conciliate Jehovah by making a +covenant with Him; he appealed to them as the chosen +ministers of Jehovah and His temple to co-operate +heartily in this good work. +</p> + +<p> +The Levites responded to his appeal apparently +rather in acts than words. No spokesman replies to +the king's speech, but with prompt obedience they set +about their work forthwith; they arose, Kohathites, +sons of Merari, Gershonites, sons of Elizaphan, Asaph, +Heman, and Jeduthun—the chronicler has a Homeric +fondness for catalogues of high-sounding names—the +leaders of all these divisions are duly mentioned. +Kohath, Gershon, and Merari are well known as the +three great clans of the house of Levi; and here we find +the three guilds of singers—Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun—placed +on a level with the older clans. Elizaphan +<pb n='430'/><anchor id='Pg430'/> +was apparently a division of the clan Kohath,<note place='foot'>Exod. vi. 18, 22; Num. iii. 30, mention Elizaphan as a descendant +of Kohath.</note> which, +like the guilds of singers, had obtained an independent +status. The result is to recognise seven divisions of +the tribe. +</p> + +<p> +The chiefs of the Levites gathered their brethren +together, and having performed the necessary rites of +ceremonial cleansing for themselves, went in to cleanse +the Temple; that is to say, the priests went into the +holy place and the Holy of holies and brought out +<q>all the uncleanness</q> into the court, and the Levites +carried it away to the brook Kidron: but before the +building itself could be reached eight days were spent +in cleansing the courts, and then the priests went into +the Temple itself and spent eight days in cleansing it, +in the manner described above. Then they reported +to the king that the cleansing was finished, and especially +that <q>all the vessels which King Ahaz cast +away</q> had been recovered and reconsecrated with due +ceremony. We were told in the previous chapter that +Ahaz had cut to pieces the vessels of the Temple, but +these may have been other vessels. +</p> + +<p> +Then Hezekiah celebrated a great dedication feast; +seven bullocks, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven he-goats +were offered as a sin-offering for the dynasty,<note place='foot'>So Strack-Zockler, i. 1.</note> for +the Temple, for Judah, and (by special command of the +king) for all Israel, <hi rend='italic'>i.e.</hi> for the northern tribes as well +as for Judah and Benjamin. Apparently this sin-offering +was made in silence, but afterwards the king +set the Levites and priests in their places with their +musical instruments, and when the burnt offering began +<pb n='431'/><anchor id='Pg431'/> +<q>the song of Jehovah began with the trumpets together +with the instruments of David king of Israel. And all +the congregation worshipped, and the singers sang, and +the trumpeters sounded,</q> and all this continued till the +burnt offering was finished. +</p> + +<p> +When the people had been formally reconciled to +Jehovah by this representative national sacrifice, and +thus purified from the uncleanness of idolatry and +consecrated afresh to their God, they were permitted +and invited to make individual sacrifices, thank-offerings +and burnt offerings. Each man might enjoy for himself +the renewed privilege of access to Jehovah, and +obtain the assurance of pardon for his sins, and offer +thanksgiving for his own special blessings. And they +brought offerings in abundance: seventy bullocks, a +hundred rams, and two hundred lambs for a burnt +offering; and six hundred oxen and three thousand +sheep for thank-offerings. Thus were the Temple +services restored and reinaugurated; and Hezekiah +and the people rejoiced because they felt that this +unpremeditated outburst of enthusiasm was due to +the gracious influence of the Spirit of Jehovah. +</p> + +<p> +The chronicler's narrative is somewhat marred by a +touch of professional jealousy. According to the +ordinary ritual,<note place='foot'>Lev. i. 6.</note> the offerer flayed the burnt offerings; but +for some special reason, perhaps because of the exceptional +solemnity of the occasion, this duty now devolved +upon the priests. But the burnt offerings were abundant +beyond all precedent; the priests were too few for +the work, and the Levites were called in to help them, +<q>for the Levites were more upright in heart to purify +themselves than the priests.</q> Apparently even in the +<pb n='432'/><anchor id='Pg432'/> +second Temple brethren did not always dwell together +in unity. +</p> + +<p> +Hezekiah had now provided for the regular services +of the Temple, and had given the inhabitants of Jerusalem +a full opportunity of returning to Jehovah; but the +people of the provinces were chiefly acquainted with +the Temple through the great annual festivals. These, +too, had long been in abeyance; and special steps had to +be taken to secure their future observance. In order +to do this, it was necessary to recall the provincials to +their allegiance to Jehovah. Under ordinary circumstances +the great festival of the Passover would have +been observed in the first month, but at the time +appointed for the paschal feast the Temple was still +unclean, and the priests and Levites were occupied in its +purification. But Hezekiah could not endure that the +first year of his reign should be marked by the omission +of this great feast. He took counsel with the princes +and public assembly—nothing is said about the priests—and +they decided to hold the Passover in the second +month instead of the first. We gather from casual +allusions in vv. 6-8 that the kingdom of Samaria had +already come to an end; the people had been carried into +captivity, and only a remnant were left in the land.<note place='foot'>According to 2 Kings xviii. 10, Samaria was not taken till the +sixth year of Hezekiah's reign. It is not necessary for an expositor of +Chronicles to attempt to harmonise the two accounts.</note> +From this point the kings of Judah act as religious heads +of the whole nation and territory of Israel. Hezekiah +sent invitations to all Israel from Dan to Beersheba. +He made special efforts to secure a favourable response +from the northern tribes, sending letters to Ephraim +and Manasseh, <hi rend='italic'>i.e.</hi>, to the ten tribes under their leadership. +He reminded them that their brethren had gone +<pb n='433'/><anchor id='Pg433'/> +into captivity because the northern tribes had deserted +the Temple; and held out to them the hope that, if they +worshipped at the Temple and served Jehovah, they +should themselves escape further calamity, and their +brethren and children who had gone into captivity +should return to their own land. +</p> + +<p> +<q>So the posts passed from city to city through the +country of Ephraim and Manasseh, even unto Zebulun.</q> +Either Zebulun is used in a broad sense for all the +Galilean tribes, or the phrase <q>from Beersheba to Dan</q> +is merely rhetorical, for to the north, between Zebulun +and Dan, lay the territories of Asher and Naphtali. It +is to be noticed that the tribes beyond Jordan are +nowhere referred to; they had already fallen out of the +history of Israel, and were scarcely remembered in the +time of the chronicler. +</p> + +<p> +Hezekiah's appeal to the surviving communities of +the northern kingdom failed: they laughed his +messengers to scorn, and mocked them; but individuals +responded to his invitation in such numbers that they +are spoken of as <q>a multitude of the people, even many +of Ephraim and Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun.</q> +There were also men of Asher among the northern +pilgrims.<note place='foot'>Cf xxx. 11, 18.</note> +</p> + +<p> +The pious enthusiasm of Judah stood out in vivid +contrast to the stubborn impenitence of the majority of +the ten tribes. By the grace of God, Judah was of one +heart to observe the feast appointed by Jehovah through +the king and princes, so that there was gathered in +Jerusalem a very great assembly of worshippers, +surpassing even the great gatherings which the chronicler +had witnessed at the annual feasts. +</p> + +<pb n='434'/><anchor id='Pg434'/> + +<p> +But though the Temple had been cleansed, the Holy +City was not yet free from the taint of idolatry. The +character of the Passover demanded that not only the +Temple, but the whole city, should be pure. The paschal +lamb was eaten at home, and the doorposts of the +house were sprinkled with its blood. But Ahaz had +set up altars at every corner of the city; no devout +Israelite could tolerate the symbols of idolatrous worship +close to the house in which he celebrated the solemn +rites of the Passover. Accordingly before the Passover +was killed these altars were removed.<note place='foot'>xxx. 14; cf. 2 Kings xviii. 4. The chronicler omits the statement +that Hezekiah destroyed Moses's brazen serpent, which the people had +hitherto worshipped. His readers would not have understood how +this corrupt worship survived the reforms of pious kings and priests +who observed the law of Moses.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Then the great feast began; but after long years of +idolatry neither the people nor the priests and Levites +were sufficiently familiar with the rites of the festival to +be able to perform them without some difficulty and +confusion. As a rule each head of a household killed +his own lamb; but many of the worshippers, especially +those from the north, were not ceremonially clean: and +this task devolved upon the Levites. The immense +concourse of worshippers and the additional work +thrown upon the Temple ministry must have made +extraordinary demands on their zeal and energy.<note place='foot'>Cf. xxix. 34, xxx. 3.</note> +At first apparently they hesitated, and were inclined to +abstain from discharging their usual duties. A passover +in a month not appointed by Moses, but decided on by +the civil authorities without consulting the priesthood, +might seem a doubtful and dangerous innovation. Recollecting +Azariah's successful assertion of hierarchical +<pb n='435'/><anchor id='Pg435'/> +prerogative against Uzziah, they might be inclined to +attempt a similar resistance to Hezekiah. But the pious +enthusiasm of the people clearly showed that the Spirit +of Jehovah inspired their somewhat irregular zeal; so +that the ecclesiastical officials were shamed out of their +unsympathetic attitude, and came forward to take their +full share and even more than their full share in this +glorious rededication of Israel to Jehovah. +</p> + +<p> +But a further difficulty remained: uncleanness not +only disqualified from killing the paschal lambs, but +from taking any part in the Passover; and a multitude +of the people were unclean. Yet it would have been +ungracious and even dangerous to discourage their newborn +zeal by excluding them from the festival; moreover, +many of them were worshippers from among the ten +tribes, who had come in response to a special invitation, +which most of their fellow-countrymen had rejected with +scorn and contempt. If they had been sent back because +they had failed to cleanse themselves according to +a ritual of which they were ignorant, and of which +Hezekiah might have known they would be ignorant, +both the king and his guests would have incurred +measureless ridicule from the impious northerners. +Accordingly they were allowed to take part in the +Passover despite their uncleanness. But this permission +could only be granted with serious apprehensions +as to its consequences. The Law threatened with +death any one who attended the services of the +sanctuary in a state of uncleanness.<note place='foot'>Lev. xv. 31.</note> Possibly there +were already signs of an outbreak of pestilence; at +any rate, the dread of Divine punishment for sacrilegious +presumption would distress the whole assembly and +<pb n='436'/><anchor id='Pg436'/> +mar their enjoyment of Divine fellowship. Again it is +no priest or prophet, but the king, the Messiah, who +comes forward as the mediator between God and man. +Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, <q>Jehovah, in His +grace and mercy,<note place='foot'>So Bertheau, i. 1, slightly paraphrasing.</note> pardon every one that setteth his +heart to seek Elohim Jehovah, the God of his fathers, +though he be not cleansed according to the ritual of +the Temple. And Jehovah hearkened to Hezekiah, and +healed the people,</q> <hi rend='italic'>i.e.</hi>, either healed them from actual +disease or relieved them from the fear of pestilence. +</p> + +<p> +And so the feast went on happily and prosperously, +and was prolonged by acclamation for an additional +seven days. During fourteen days king and princes, +priests and Levites, Jews and Israelites, rejoiced before +Jehovah; thousands of bullocks and sheep smoked +upon the altar; and now the priests were not backward: +great numbers purified themselves to serve the popular +devotion. The priests and Levites sang and made +melody to Jehovah, so that the Levites earned the +king's special commendation. The great festival ended +with a solemn benediction: <q>The priests<note place='foot'>A.R.V., with Masoretic text, <q>the priests the Levites</q>; LXX., +Vulg. Syr., <q>the priests and the Levites.</q> The former is more likely +to be correct. The verse is partly an echo of Deut. xxvi. 15, so that +the chronicler naturally uses the Deuteronomic phrase <q>the priests +the Levites</q>; but he probably does so unconsciously, without intending +to make any special claim for the Levites: hence I have omitted +the word in the text.</note> arose and +blessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their +prayer came to His holy habitation, even unto heaven.</q> +The priests, and through them the people, received the +assurance that their solemn and prolonged worship had +met with gracious acceptance. +</p> + +<p> +We have already more than once had occasion to +<pb n='437'/><anchor id='Pg437'/> +consider the chronicler's main theme: the importance of +the Temple, its ritual, and its ministers. Incidentally +and perhaps unconsciously, he here suggests another +lesson, which is specially significant as coming from an +ardent ritualist, namely the necessary limitations of +uniformity in ritual. Hezekiah's celebration of the +Passover is full of irregularities: it is held in the wrong +month; it is prolonged to twice the usual period; there +are amongst the worshippers multitudes of unclean +persons, whose presence at these services ought to have +been visited with terrible punishment. All is condoned +on the ground of emergency, and the ritual laws are set +aside without consulting the ecclesiastical officials. +Everything serves to emphasise the lesson we touched +on in connection with David's sacrifices at the threshing-floor +of Ornan the Jebusite: ritual is made for man, +and not man for ritual. Complete uniformity may be +insisted on in ordinary times, but can be dispensed with +in any pressing emergency; necessity knows no law, +not even the Torah of the Pentateuch. Moreover, in +such emergencies it is not necessary to wait for the initiative +or even the sanction of ecclesiastical officials; the +supreme authority in the Church in all its great crises +resides in the whole body of believers. No one is entitled +to speak with greater authority on the limitations +of ritual than a strong advocate of the sanctity of ritual +like the chronicler; and we may well note, as one of the +most conspicuous marks of his inspiration, the sanctified +common sense shown by his frank and sympathetic +record of the irregularities of Hezekiah's passover. +Doubtless emergencies had arisen even in his own +experience of the great feasts of the Temple that had +taught him this lesson; and it says much for the +healthy tone of the Temple community in his day that +<pb n='438'/><anchor id='Pg438'/> +he does not attempt to reconcile the practice of Hezekiah +with the law of Moses by any harmonistic quibbles. +</p> + +<p> +The work of purification and restoration, however, was +still incomplete: the Temple had been cleansed from the +pollutions of idolatry, the heathen altars had been +removed from Jerusalem, but the high places remained +in all the cities of Judah. When the Passover was at +last finished, the assembled multitude, <q>all Israel that +were present,</q> set out, like the English or Scotch +Puritans, on a great iconoclastic expedition. Throughout +the length and breadth of the Land of Promise, +throughout Judah and Benjamin, Ephraim and Manasseh, +they brake in pieces the sacred pillars, and hewed down +the Asherim, and brake down the high places and +altars; then they went home. +</p> + +<p> +Meanwhile Hezekiah was engaged in reorganising +the priests and Levites and arranging for the payment +and distribution of the sacred dues. The king set +an example of liberality by making provision for the +daily, weekly, monthly, and festival offerings. The +people were not slow to imitate him; they brought first-fruits +and tithes in such abundance that four months +were spent in piling up heaps of offerings. +</p> + +<p> +<q>Thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah; and he +wrought that which was good, and right, and faithful +before Jehovah his God; and in every work that he +began in the service of the Temple, and in the Law, and +in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with +all his heart, and brought it to a successful issue.</q> +</p> + +<p> +Then follow an account of the deliverance from +Sennacherib and of Hezekiah's recovery from sickness, +a reference to his undue pride in the matter of the +embassy from Babylon, and a description of the +prosperity of his reign, all for the most part abridged +<pb n='439'/><anchor id='Pg439'/> +from the book of Kings. The prophet Isaiah, however, +is almost ignored. A few of the more important +modifications deserve some little attention. We are +told that the Assyrian invasion was <q>after these things +and this faithfulness,</q> in order that we may not forget +that the Divine deliverance was a recompense for +Hezekiah's loyalty to Jehovah. While the book of +Kings tells us that Sennacherib took all the fenced +cities of Judah, the chronicler feels that even this +measure of misfortune would not have been allowed to +befall a king who had just reconciled Israel to Jehovah, +and merely says that Sennacherib purposed to break +these cities up. +</p> + +<p> +The chronicler<note place='foot'>xxxii. 2-8, peculiar to Chronicles.</note> has preserved an account of the +measures taken by Hezekiah for the defence of his +capital: how he stopped up the fountains and watercourses +outside the city, so that a besieging army might +not find water, and repaired and strengthened the +walls, and encouraged his people to trust in Jehovah. +</p> + +<p> +Probably the stopping of the water supply outside +the walls was connected with an operation mentioned at +the close of the narrative of Hezekiah's reign: <q>Hezekiah +also stopped the upper spring of the waters of Gihon, +and brought them straight down on the west side of +the city of David.</q><note place='foot'>xxxii. 30.</note> Moreover, the chronicler's statements +are based upon 2 Kings xx. 20, where it is +said that <q>Hezekiah made the pool and the conduit +and brought water into the city.</q> The chronicler was +of course intimately acquainted with the topography +of Jerusalem in his own days, and uses his knowledge +to interpret and expand the statement in the book of +Kings. He was possibly guided in part by Isa. xxii. +<pb n='440'/><anchor id='Pg440'/> +9, 11, where the <q>gathering together the waters of the +lower pool</q> and the <q>making a reservoir between the +two walls for the water of the old pool</q> are mentioned +as precautions taken in view of a probable Assyrian +siege. The recent investigations of the Palestine +Exploration Fund have led to the discovery of aqueducts, +and stoppages, and diversions of watercourses which +are said to correspond to the operations mentioned +by the chronicler. If this be the case, they show a +very accurate knowledge on his part of the topography +of Jerusalem in his own day, and also illustrate his +care to utilise all existing evidence in order to obtain +a clear and accurate interpretation of the statements +of his authority. +</p> + +<p> +The reign of Hezekiah appears a suitable opportunity +to introduce a few remarks on the importance +which the chronicler attaches to the music of the +Temple services. Though the music is not more prominent +with him than with some earlier kings, yet in +the case of David, Solomon, and Jehoshaphat other +subjects presented themselves for special treatment; +and Hezekiah's reign being the last in which the music +of the sanctuary is specially dwelt upon, we are able +here to review the various references to this subject. +For the most part the chronicler tells his story of the +virtuous days of the good kings to a continual accompaniment +of Temple music. We hear of the playing +and singing when the Ark was brought to the house +of Obed-edom; when it was taken into the city of +David; at the dedication of the Temple; at the battle +between Abijah and Jeroboam; at Asa's reformation; +in connection with the overthrow of the Ammonites, +Moabites, and Meunim in the reign of Jehoshaphat; at +the coronation of Joash; at Hezekiah's feasts; and +<pb n='441'/><anchor id='Pg441'/> +again, though less emphatically, at Josiah's passover. +No doubt the special prominence given to the subject +indicates a professional interest on the part of the +author. If, however, music occupies an undue proportion +of his space, and he has abridged accounts of +more important matters to make room for his favourite +theme, yet there is no reason to suppose that his +actual statements overrate the extent to which music +was used in worship or the importance attached to it. +The older narratives refer to the music in the case of +David and Joash, and assign psalms and songs to +David and Solomon. Moreover, Judaism is by no +means alone in its fondness for music, but shares this +characteristic with almost all religions. +</p> + +<p> +We have spoken of the chronicler so far chiefly as +a professional musician, but it should be clearly understood +that the term must be taken in its best sense. +He was by no means so absorbed in the technique of +his art as to forget its sacred significance; he was not +less a worshipper himself because he was the minister +or agent of the common worship. His accounts of +the festivals show a hearty appreciation of the entire +ritual; and his references to the music do not give us +the technical circumstances of its production, but rather +emphasise its general effect. The chronicler's sense of +the religious value of music is largely that of a devout +worshipper, who is led to set forth for the benefit of +others a truth which is the fruit of his own experience. +This experience is not confined to trained musicians; +indeed, a scientific knowledge of the art may sometimes +interfere with its devotional influence. Criticism may +take the place of worship; and the hearer, instead of +yielding to the sacred suggestions of hymn or anthem, +may be distracted by his æsthetic judgment as to the +<pb n='442'/><anchor id='Pg442'/> +merits of the composition and the skill shown by its +rendering. In the same way critical appreciation of +voice, elocution, literary style, and intellectual power +does not always conduce to edification from a sermon. +In the truest culture, however, sensitiveness to these +secondary qualities has become habitual and automatic, +and blends itself imperceptibly with the religious consciousness +of spiritual influence. The latter is thus +helped by excellence and only slightly hindered by +minor defects in the natural means. But the very +absence of any great scientific knowledge of music +may leave the spirit open to the spell which sacred +music is intended to exercise, so that all cheerful and +guileless souls may be <q>moved with concord of sweet +sounds,</q> and sad and weary hearts find comfort in +subdued strains that breathe sympathy of which words +are incapable. +</p> + +<p> +Music, as a mode of utterance moving within the +restraints of a regular order, naturally attaches itself +to ritual. As the earliest literature is poetry, the +earliest liturgy is musical. Melody is the simplest +and most obvious means by which the utterances of +a body of worshippers can be combined into a seemly +act of worship. The mere repetition of the same words +by a congregation in ordinary speech is apt to be +wanting in impressiveness or even in decorum; the +use of tune enables a congregation to unite in worship +even when many of its members are strangers to each +other. +</p> + +<p> +Again, music may be regarded as an expansion of +language: not new dialect, but a collection of symbols +that can express thought, and more especially emotion, +for which mere speech has no vocabulary. This new +form of language naturally becomes an auxiliary of +<pb n='443'/><anchor id='Pg443'/> +religion. Words are clumsy instruments for the expression +of the heart, and are least efficient when they +undertake to set forth moral and spiritual ideas. Music +can transcend mere speech in touching the soul to fine +issues, suggesting visions of things ineffable and +unseen. +</p> + +<p> +Browning makes Abt Vogler say of the most +enduring and supreme hopes that God has granted to +men, <q>'Tis we musicians know</q>; but the message of +music comes home with power to many who have no +skill in its art. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='444'/><anchor id='Pg444'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter IX. Manasseh: Repentance And Forgiveness. +2 Chron. xxxiii.</head> + +<p> +In telling the melancholy story of the wickedness of +Manasseh in the first period of his reign, the +chronicler reproduces the book of Kings, with one or +two omissions and other slight alterations. He omits +the name of Manasseh's mother; she was called +Hephzi-bah—<q>My pleasure is in her.</q> In any case, +when the son of a godly father turns out badly, and +nothing is known about the mother, uncharitable people +might credit her with his wickedness. But the chronicler's +readers were familiar with the great influence of +the queen-mother in Oriental states. When they read +that the son of Hezekiah came to the throne at the age +of twelve and afterwards gave himself up to every form +of idolatry, they would naturally ascribe his departure +from his father's ways to the suggestions of his mother. +The chronicler is not willing that the pious Hezekiah +should lie under the imputation of having taken delight +in an ungodly woman, and so her name is omitted. +</p> + +<p> +The contents of 2 Kings xxi. 10-16 are also omitted; +they consist of a prophetic utterance and further +particulars as to the sins of Manasseh; they are virtually +replaced by the additional information in Chronicles. +</p> + +<p> +From the point of view of the chronicler, the history +<pb n='445'/><anchor id='Pg445'/> +of Manasseh in the book of Kings was far from +satisfactory. The earlier writer had not only failed to +provide materials from which a suitable moral could +be deduced, but he had also told the story so that +undesirable conclusions might be drawn. Manasseh +sinned more wickedly than any other king of Judah: +Ahaz merely polluted and closed the Temple, but +Manasseh <q>built altars for all the host of heaven in +the two courts of the Temple,</q> and set up in it an +idol. And yet in the earlier narrative this most wicked +king escaped without any personal punishment at all. +Moreover, length of days was one of the rewards which +Jehovah was wont to bestow upon the righteous; but +while Ahaz was cut off at thirty-six, in the prime of +manhood, Manasseh survived to the mature age of +sixty-seven, and reigned fifty-five years. +</p> + +<p> +However, the history reached the chronicler in a +more satisfactory form. Manasseh was duly punished, +and his long reign fully accounted for.<note place='foot'>xxxiii. 11-19, peculiar to Chronicles.</note> When, in spite +of Divine warning, Manasseh and his people persisted +in their sin, Jehovah sent against them <q>the captains +of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh +in chains, and bound him with fetters,<note place='foot'>So R.V.: A.V., <q>among the thorns</q>; R.V. marg., <q>with hooks</q>, if +so in a figurative sense. Others take the word as a proper name: +Hohim.</note> and carried him +to Babylon.</q> +</p> + +<p> +The Assyrian invasion referred to here is partially +confirmed by the fact that the name of Manasseh occurs +amongst the tributaries of Esarhaddon and his +successor, Assur-bani-pal. The mention of Babylon as +his place of captivity rather than Nineveh may be +accounted for by supposing that Manasseh was taken +<pb n='446'/><anchor id='Pg446'/> +prisoner in the reign of Esarhaddon. This king of +Assyria rebuilt Babylon, and spent much of his time +there. He is said to have been of a kindly disposition +and to have exercised towards other royal captives the +same clemency which he extended to Manasseh. For +the Jewish king's misfortunes led him to repentance: +<q>When he was in trouble, he besought Jehovah his God, +and humbled himself greatly before the God of his +fathers, and prayed unto him.</q> Amongst the Greek +Apocrypha is found a <q>Prayer of Manasses,</q> doubtless +intended by its author to represent the prayer referred +to in Chronicles. In it Manasseh celebrates the Divine +glory, confesses his great wickedness, and asks that his +penitence may be accepted and that he may obtain +deliverance. +</p> + +<p> +If these were the terms of Manasseh's prayers, +they were heard and answered; and the captive +king returned to Jerusalem a devout worshipper and +faithful servant of Jehovah. He at once set to work +to undo the evil he had wrought in the former period +of his reign. He took away the idol and the heathen +altars from the Temple, restored the altar of Jehovah, +and re-established the Temple services. In earlier +days he had led the people into idolatry; now he +commanded them to serve Jehovah, and the people +obediently followed the king's example. Apparently +he found it impracticable to interfere with the high +places; but they were so far purified from corruption +that, though the people still sacrificed at these illegal +sanctuaries, they worshipped exclusively Jehovah, the +God of Israel. +</p> + +<p> +Like most of the pious kings, his prosperity was +partly shown by his extensive building operations. +Following in the footsteps of Jotham, he strengthened +<pb n='447'/><anchor id='Pg447'/> +or repaired the fortifications of Jerusalem, especially +about Ophel. He further provided for the safety +of his dominions by placing captains, and doubtless +also garrisons, in the fenced cities of Judah. The +interest taken by the Jews of the second Temple in the +history of Manasseh is shown by the fact that the +chronicler is able to mention, not only the <q>Acts of the +Kings of Israel,</q> but a second authority: <q>The History +of the Seers.</q> The imagination of the Targumists and +other later writers embellished the history of Manasseh's +captivity and release with many striking and romantic +circumstances. +</p> + +<p> +The life of Manasseh practically completes the +chronicler's series of object-lessons in the doctrine of +retribution; the history of the later kings only provides +illustrations similar to those already given. These +object-lessons are closely connected with the teaching +of Ezekiel. In dealing with the question of heredity in +guilt, the prophet is led to set forth the character and +fortunes of four different classes of men. First<note place='foot'>Ezek. xviii. 20.</note> we +have two simple cases: the righteousness of the +righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of +the wicked shall be upon him. These have been +respectively illustrated by the prosperity of Solomon +and Jotham and the misfortunes of Jehoram, Ahaziah, +Athaliah, and Ahaz. Again, departing somewhat from +the order of Ezekiel—<q>When the righteous turneth +away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, +and doeth according to all the abominations of the +wicked man, shall he live? None of his righteous deeds +that he hath done shall be remembered; in his trespass +that he hath trespassed and in his sin that he hath +<pb n='448'/><anchor id='Pg448'/> +sinned he shall die</q>—here we have the principle that +in Chronicles governs the Divine dealings with the +kings who began to reign well and then fell away into +sin: Asa, Joash, Amaziah, and Uzziah. +</p> + +<p> +We reached this point in our discussion of the +doctrine of retribution in connection with Asa. So far +the lessons taught were salutary: they might deter from +sin; but they were gloomy and depressing: they gave +little encouragement to hope for success in the struggle +after righteousness, and suggested that few would +escape terrible penalties of failure. David and Solomon +formed a class by themselves; an ordinary man could +not aspire to their almost supernatural virtue. In his +later history the chronicler is chiefly bent on illustrating +the frailty of man and the wrath of God. The +New Testament teaches a similar lesson when it asks, +<q>If the righteous is scarcely saved, where shall the +ungodly and sinner appear?</q><note place='foot'>Peter iv. 18.</note> But in Chronicles not +even the righteous is saved. Again and again we are +told at a king's accession that he <q>did that which was +good and right in the eyes of Jehovah</q>; and yet before +the reign closes he forfeits the Divine favour, and at +last dies ruined and disgraced. +</p> + +<p> +But this sombre picture is relieved by occasional +gleams of light. Ezekiel furnishes a fourth type of +religious experience: <q>If the wicked turn from all his +sins that he hath committed, and keep all My statutes, +and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live; he +shall not die. None of his transgressions that he hath +committed shall be remembered against him; in his +righteousness that he hath done he shall live. Have +I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, saith the +<pb n='449'/><anchor id='Pg449'/> +Lord Jehovah, and not rather that he should return +from his way and live?</q><note place='foot'>Ezek. xviii. 21-23.</note> The one striking and +complete example of this principle is the history of +Manasseh. It is true that Rehoboam also repented, +but the chronicler does not make it clear that his +repentance was permanent. Manasseh is unique alike +in extreme wickedness, sincere penitence, and thorough +reformation. The reformation of Julius Cæsar or of our +Henry V., or, to take a different class of instance, the +conversion of St. Paul, was nothing compared to the +conversion of Manasseh. It was as though Herod +the Great or Cæsar Borgia had been checked midway +in a career of cruelty and vice, and had thenceforward +lived pure and holy lives, glorifying God by ministering +to their fellow-men. Such a repentance gives us hope +for the most abandoned. In the forgiveness of +Manasseh the penitent sinner receives assurance that +God will forgive even the most guilty. The account of +his closing years shows that even a career of desperate +wickedness in the past need not hinder the penitent +from rendering acceptable service to God and ending +his life in the enjoyment of Divine favour and blessing. +Manasseh becomes in the Old Testament what the +Prodigal Son is in the New: the one great symbol of +the possibilities of human nature and the infinite mercy +of God. +</p> + +<p> +The chronicler's theology is as simple and straightforward +as that of Ezekiel. Manasseh repents, submits +himself, and is forgiven. His captivity apparently had +expiated his guilt, as far as expiation was necessary. +Neither prophet nor chronicler was conscious of the +moral difficulties that have been found in so simple a +<pb n='450'/><anchor id='Pg450'/> +plan of salvation. The problems of an objective atonement +had not yet risen above their horizon. +</p> + +<p> +These incidents afford another illustration of the +necessary limitations of ritual. In the great crisis of +Manasseh's spiritual life, the Levitical ordinances played +no part; they moved on a lower level, and ministered to +less urgent needs. Probably the worship of Jehovah +was still suspended during Manasseh's captivity; none +the less Manasseh was able to make his peace with God. +Even if they were punctually observed, of what use were +services at the Temple in Jerusalem to a penitent +sinner at Babylon? When Manasseh returned to Jerusalem, +he restored the Temple worship, and offered +sacrifices of peace-offerings and of thanksgiving; +nothing is said about sin-offerings. His sacrifices were +not the condition of his pardon, but the seal and token +of a reconciliation already effected. The experience of +Manasseh anticipated that of the Jews of the Captivity: +he discovered the possibility of fellowship with Jehovah, +far away from the Holy Land, without temple, priest, +or sacrifice. The chronicler, perhaps unconsciously +already foreshadows the coming of the hour when men +should worship the Father neither in the holy mountain +of Samaria nor yet in Jerusalem. +</p> + +<p> +Before relating the outward acts which testified the +sincerity of Manasseh's repentance, the chronicler devotes +a single sentence to the happy influence of forgiveness +and deliverance upon Manasseh himself. +When his prayer had been heard, and his exile was at +an end, then Manasseh knew and acknowledged that +Jehovah was God. Men first begin to know God +when they have been forgiven. The alienated and +disobedient, if they think of Him at all, merely have +glimpses of His vengeance and try to persuade themselves +<pb n='451'/><anchor id='Pg451'/> +that He is a stern Tyrant. By the penitent +not yet assured of the possibility of reconciliation God +is chiefly thought of as a righteous Judge. What +did the Prodigal Son know about his father when +he asked for the portion of goods that fell to him or +while he was wasting his substance in riotous living? +Even when he came to himself, he thought of the +father's house as a place where there was bread +enough and to spare; and he supposed that his father +might endure to see him living at home in permanent +disgrace, on the footing of a hired servant. When he +reached home, after he had been met a great way on +with compassion and been welcomed with an embrace, +he began for the first time to understand his father's +character. So the knowledge of God's love dawns +upon the soul in the blessed experience of forgiveness; +and because love and forgiveness are more strange +and unearthly than rebuke and chastisement, the sinner +is humbled by pardon far more than by punishment; +and his trembling submission to the righteous Judge +deepens into profounder reverence and awe for the +God who can forgive, who is superior to all vindictiveness, +whose infinite resources enable Him to blot +out the guilt, to cancel the penalty, and annul the +consequences of sin. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>There is forgiveness with Thee,</q></l> +<l><q rend='post'>That Thou mayest be feared.</q><note place='foot'>Psalm cxxx. 4, probably belonging to about the same period as +Chronicles.</note></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<p> +The words that stand in the forefront of the Lord's +Prayer, <q>Hallowed be Thy name,</q> are virtually a +petition that sinners may repent, and be converted, and +obtain forgiveness. +</p> + +<pb n='452'/><anchor id='Pg452'/> + +<p> +In seeking for a Christian parallel to the doctrine +expounded by Ezekiel and illustrated by Chronicles, +we have to remember that the permanent elements in +primitive doctrine are often to be found by removing +the limitations which imperfect faith has imposed on +the possibilities of human nature and Divine mercy. +We have already suggested that the chronicler's somewhat +rigid doctrine of temporal rewards and punishments +symbolises the inevitable influence of conduct +on the development of character. The doctrine of +God's attitude towards backsliding and repentance +seems somewhat arbitrary as set forth by Ezekiel and +Chronicles. A man apparently is not to be judged by +his whole life, but only by the moral period that is +closed by his death. If his last years be pious, his +former transgressions are forgotten; if his last years +be evil, his righteous deeds are equally forgotten. +While we gratefully accept the forgiveness of sinners, +such teaching as to backsliders seems a little cynical; +and though, by God's grace and discipline, a man +may be led through and out of sin into righteousness, +we are naturally suspicious of a life of <q>righteous +deeds</q> which towards its close lapses into gross and +open sin. <q>Nemo repente turpissimus fit.</q> We are +inclined to believe that the final lapse reveals the true +bias of the whole character. But the chronicler suggests +more than this: by his history of the almost uniform +failure of the pious kings to persevere to the end, he +seems to teach that the piety of early and mature life is +either unreal or else is unable to survive as body and +mind wear out. This doctrine has sometimes, inconsiderately +no doubt, been taught from Christian pulpits; +and yet the truth of which the doctrine is a misrepresentation +supplies a correction of the former principle +<pb n='453'/><anchor id='Pg453'/> +that a life is to be judged by its close. Putting aside +any question of positive sin, a man's closing years +sometimes seem cold, narrow, and selfish when once +he was full of tender and considerate sympathy; and +yet the man is no Asa or Amaziah who has deserted +the living God for idols of wood and stone. The man +has not changed, only our impression of him. Unconsciously +we are influenced by the contrast between his +present state and the splendid energy and devotion of +self-sacrifice that marked his prime; we forget that +inaction is his misfortune, and not his fault; we +overrate his ardour in the days when vigorous action +was a delight for its own sake; and we overlook the +quiet heroism with which remnants of strength are still +utilised in the Lord's service, and do not consider that +moments of fretfulness are due to decay and disease +that at once increase the need of patience and diminish +the powers of endurance. Muscles and nerves slowly +become less and less efficient; they fail to carry to the +soul full and clear reports of the outside world; they are +no longer satisfactory instruments by which the soul can +express its feelings or execute its will. We are less +able than ever to estimate the inner life of such by that +which we see and hear. While we are thankful for the +sweet serenity and loving sympathy which often make +the hoary head a crown of glory, we are also entitled +to judge some of God's more militant children by their +years of arduous service, and not by their impatience of +enforced inactivity. +</p> + +<p> +If our author's statement of these truths seem unsatisfactory, +we must remember that his lack of a doctrine +of the future life placed him at a serious disadvantage. +He wished to exhibit a complete picture of God's +dealings with the characters of his history, so that +<pb n='454'/><anchor id='Pg454'/> +their lives should furnish exact illustrations of the +working of sin and righteousness. He was controlled +and hampered by the idea that underlies many discussions +in the Old Testament: that God's righteous +judgment upon a man's actions is completely manifested +during his earthly life. It may be possible to assert an +<emph>eternal</emph> providence; but conscience and heart have long +since revolted against the doctrine that God's justice, to +say nothing of His love, is declared by the misery of +lives that might have been innocent, if they had ever +had the opportunity of knowing what innocence meant. +The chronicler worked on too small a scale for his +subject. The entire Divine economy of Him with +whom a thousand years are as one day cannot be even +outlined for a single soul in the history of its earthly +existence. These narratives of Jewish kings are only +imperfect symbols of the infinite possibilities of the +eternal providence. The moral of Chronicles is very +much that of the Greek sage, <q>Call no man happy till +he is dead</q>; but since Christ has brought life and +immortality to light through the Gospel, we no longer +pass final judgment upon either the man or his happiness +by what we know of his life here. The decisive +revelation of character, the final judgment upon conduct, +the due adjustment of the gifts and discipline of God, +are deferred to a future life. When these are completed, +and the soul has attained to good or evil beyond +all reversal, then we shall feel, with Ezekiel and the +chronicler, that there is no further need to remember +either the righteous deeds or the transgressions of +earlier stages of its history. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='455'/><anchor id='Pg455'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter X. The Last Kings Of Judah. +2 Chron. xxxiv.-xxxvi.</head> + +<p> +Whatever influence Manasseh's reformation +exercised over his people generally, the taint +of idolatry was not removed from his own family. +His son Amon succeeded him at the age of two-and-twenty. +Into his reign of two years he compressed +all the varieties of wickedness once practised +by his father, and undid the good work of Manasseh's +later years. He recovered the graven images which +Manasseh had discarded, replaced them in their shrines, +and worshipped them instead of Jehovah. But in his case +there was no repentance, and he was cut off in his youth. +</p> + +<p> +In the absence of any conclusive evidence as to the +date of Manasseh's reformation, we cannot determine +with certainty whether Amon received his early training +before or after his father returned to the worship of +Jehovah. In either case Manasseh's earlier history +would make it difficult for him to counteract any evil +influence that drew Amon towards idolatry. Amon +could set the example and perhaps the teaching of his +father's former days against any later exhortations to +righteousness. When a father has helped to lead his +children astray, he cannot be sure that he will carry +them with him in his repentance. +</p> + +<pb n='456'/><anchor id='Pg456'/> + +<p> +After Amon's assassination the people placed his son +Josiah on the throne. Like Joash and Manasseh, Josiah +was a child, only eight years old. The chronicler +follows the general line of the history in the book of +Kings, modifying, abridging, and expanding, but introducing +no new incidents; the reformation, the repairing +of the Temple, the discovery of the book of the Law, +the Passover, Josiah's defeat and death at Megiddo, are +narrated by both historians. We have only to notice +differences in a somewhat similar treatment of the same +subject. +</p> + +<p> +Beyond the general statement that Josiah <q>did that +which was right in the eyes of Jehovah</q> we hear +nothing about him in the book of Kings till the +eighteenth year of his reign, and his reformation and +putting away of idolatry is placed in that year. The +chronicler's authorities corrected the statement that +the pious king tolerated idolatry for eighteen years. +They record how in the eighth year of his reign, when +he was sixteen, he began to seek after the God of +David; and in his twelfth year he set about the work of +utterly destroying idols throughout the whole territory +of Israel, in the cities and ruins of Manasseh, Ephraim, +and Simeon, even unto Naphtali, as well as in Judah +and Benjamin. Seeing that the cities assigned to +Simeon were in the south of Judah, it is a little +difficult to understand why they appear with the +northern tribes, unless they are reckoned with them +technically to make up the ancient number. +</p> + +<p> +The consequence of this change of date is that in +Chronicles the reformation precedes the discovery of +the book of the Law, whereas in the older history this +discovery is the cause of the reformation. The +chronicler's account of the idols and other apparatus of +<pb n='457'/><anchor id='Pg457'/> +false worship destroyed by Josiah is much less detailed +than that of the book of Kings. To have reproduced +the earlier narrative in full would have raised serious +difficulties. According to the chronicler, Manasseh had +purged Jerusalem of idols and idol altars; and Amon +alone was responsible for any that existed there at the +accession of Josiah: but in the book of Kings Josiah +found in Jerusalem the altars erected by the kings +of Judah and the horses they had given to the sun. +Manasseh's altars still stood in the courts of the +Temple; and over against Jerusalem there still remained +the high places that Solomon had built for +Ashtoreth, Chemosh, and Milcom. As the chronicler in +describing Solomon's reign carefully omitted all mention +of his sins, so he omits this reference to his idolatry. +Moreover, if he had inserted it, he would have had to +explain how these high places escaped the zeal of the +many pious kings who did away with the high places. +Similarly, having omitted the account of the man of +God who prophesied the ruin of Jeroboam's sanctuary at +Bethel, he here omits the fulfilment of that prophecy. +</p> + +<p> +The account of the repairing of the Temple is +enlarged by the insertion of various details as to the +names, functions, and zeal of the Levites, amongst +whom those who had skill in instruments of music +seem to have had the oversight of the workmen. We +are reminded of the walls of Thebes, which rose out +of the ground while Orpheus played upon his flute. +Similarly in the account of the assembly called to hear +the contents of the book of the Law the Levites are +substituted for the prophets. This book of the Law is +said in Chronicles to have been given by Moses, but +his name is not connected with the book in the parallel +narrative in the book of Kings. +</p> + +<pb n='458'/><anchor id='Pg458'/> + +<p> +The earlier authority simply states that Josiah held a +great passover; Chronicles, as usual, describes the +festival in detail. First of all, the king commanded the +priests and Levites to purify themselves and take their +places in due order, so that they might be ready to perform +their sacred duties. The narrative is very obscure, +but it seems that either during the apostacy of Amon or +on account of the recent Temple repairs the Ark had been +removed from the Holy of holies. The Law had specially +assigned to the Levites the duty of carrying the Tabernacle +and its furniture, and they seem to have thought +that they were only bound to exercise the function of +carrying the Ark; they perhaps proposed to bear it in +solemn procession round the city as part of the celebration +of the Passover, forgetting the words of David<note place='foot'>1 Chron. xxiii. 26, peculiar to Chronicles.</note> that the +Levites should no more carry the Tabernacle and its +vessels. They would have been glad to substitute this +conspicuous and honourable service for the laborious +and menial work of flaying the victims. Josiah, however, +commanded them to put the Ark into the Temple +and attend to their other duties. +</p> + +<p> +Next, the king and his nobles provided beasts of +various kinds for the sacrifices and the Passover meal. +Josiah's gifts were even more munificent than those of +Hezekiah. The latter had given a thousand bullocks +and ten thousand sheep; Josiah gave just three times as +many. Moreover, at Hezekiah's passover no offerings +of the princes are mentioned, but now they added their +gifts to those of the king. The heads of the priesthood +provided three hundred oxen and two thousand six +hundred small cattle for the priests, and the chiefs of +the Levites five hundred oxen and five thousand small +<pb n='459'/><anchor id='Pg459'/> +cattle for the Levites. But numerous as were the +victims at Josiah's passover, they still fell far short of +the great sacrifice<note place='foot'>2 Chron. vii. 5. The figures are peculiar to Chronicles; 1 Kings +viii. 5 says that the victims could not be counted.</note> of twenty-two thousand oxen and a +hundred and twenty thousand sheep which Solomon +offered at the dedication of the Temple. +</p> + +<p> +Then began the actual work of the sacrifices: the +victims were killed and flayed, and their blood was +sprinkled on the altar; the burnt offerings were +distributed among the people; the Passover lambs were +roasted, and the other offerings boiled, and the Levites +<q>carried them quickly to all the children of the people.</q> +Apparently private individuals could not find the means +of cooking the bountiful provision made for them; +and, to meet the necessity of the case, the Temple +courts were made kitchen as well as slaughterhouse +for the assembled worshippers. The other offerings +would not be eaten with the Passover lamb, but would +serve for the remaining days of the feast. +</p> + +<p> +The Levites not only provided for the people, for +themselves, and the priests, but the Levites who +ministered in the matter of the sacrifices also prepared +for their brethren who were singers and porters, so that +the latter were enabled to attend undisturbed to their +own special duties; all the members of the guild of +porters were at the gates maintaining order among the +crowd of worshippers; and the full strength of the +orchestra and choir contributed to the beauty and +solemnity of the services. It was the greatest Passover +held by any Israelite king. +</p> + +<p> +Josiah's passover, like that of Hezekiah, was followed +by a formidable foreign invasion; but whereas +<pb n='460'/><anchor id='Pg460'/> +Hezekiah was rewarded for renewed loyalty by a +triumphant deliverance, Josiah was defeated and slain. +These facts subject the chronicler's theory of retribution +to a severe strain. His perplexity finds pathetic +expression in the opening words of the new section, +<q>After all this,</q> after all the idols had been put +away, after the celebration of the most magnificent +Passover the monarchy had ever seen. After all this, +when we looked for the promised rewards of piety—for +fertile seasons, peace and prosperity at home, victory +and dominion abroad, tribute from subject peoples, and +wealth from successful commerce—after all this, the +rout of the armies of Jehovah at Megiddo, the flight +and death of the wounded king, the lamentation over +Josiah, the exaltation of a nominee of Pharaoh to the +throne, and the payment of tribute to the Egyptian king. +The chronicler has no complete explanation of this +painful mystery, but he does what he can to meet the +difficulties of the case. Like the great prophets in +similar instances, he regards the heathen king as charged +with a Divine commission. Pharaoh's appeal to Josiah +to remain neutral should have been received by the +Jewish king as an authoritative message from Jehovah. +It was the failure to discern in a heathen king the +mouthpiece and prophet of Jehovah that cost Josiah +his life and Judah its liberty. +</p> + +<p> +The chronicler had no motive for lingering over the last +sad days of the monarchy; the rest of his narrative is +almost entirely abridged from the book of Kings. Jehoahaz, +Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah pass over the +scene in rapid and melancholy succession. In the case +of Jehoahaz, who only reigned three months, the chronicler +omits the unfavourable judgment recorded in the +book of Kings; but he repeats it for the other three, +<pb n='461'/><anchor id='Pg461'/> +even for the poor lad of eight<note place='foot'>Jehoiachin. The ordinary reading in 2 Kings xxiv. makes him +eighteen.</note> who was carried away +captive after a reign of three months and ten days. The +chronicler had not learnt that kings can do no wrong; +on the other hand, the ungodly policy of Jehoiachin's +ministers is labelled with the name of the boy-sovereign. +</p> + +<p> +Each of these kings in turn was deposed and carried +away into captivity, unless indeed Jehoiakim is an +exception. In the book of Kings we are told that he +slept with his fathers, <hi rend='italic'>i.e.</hi>, that he died and was buried +in the royal tombs at Jerusalem, a statement which +the LXX. inserts here also, specifying, however, that +he was buried in the garden of Uzza. If the pious +Josiah were punished for a single error by defeat and +death, why was the wicked Jehoiakim allowed to reign +till the end of his life and then die in his bed? The +chronicler's information differed from that of the +earlier narrative in a way that removed, or at any rate +suppressed the difficulty. He omits the statement that +Jehoiakim slept with his fathers, and tells us<note place='foot'>2 xxxvi. 6<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>, peculiar to Chronicles.</note> that +Nebuchadnezzar bound him in fetters to carry him to +Babylon. Casual readers would naturally suppose +that this purpose was carried out, and that the Divine +justice was satisfied by Jehoiakim's death in captivity; +and yet if they compared this passage with that in +the book of Kings, it might occur to them that after +the king had been put in chains something might have +led Nebuchadnezzar to change his mind, or, like +Manasseh, Jehoiakim might have repented and been +allowed to return. But it is very doubtful whether +the chronicler's authorities contemplated the possibility +of such an interpretation; it is scarcely fair to credit +<pb n='462'/><anchor id='Pg462'/> +them with all the subtle devices of modern commentators. +</p> + +<p> +The real conclusion of the chronicler's history of the +kings of the house of David is a summary of the sins +of the last days of the monarchy and of the history of +its final ruin in xxxvi. 14-20.<note place='foot'>Mostly peculiar to Chronicles.</note> All the chief of the priests +and of the people were given over to the abominations +of idolatry; and in spite of constant and urgent admonitions +from the prophets of Jehovah, they hardened +their hearts, and mocked the messengers of God, and +despised His words, and misused His prophets, until +the wrath of Jehovah arose against His people, and +there was no healing. +</p> + +<p> +However, to this peroration a note is added that the +length of the Captivity was fixed at seventy years, in +order that the land might <q>enjoy her sabbaths.</q> This +note rests upon Lev. xxv. 1-7, according to which +the land was to be left fallow every seventh year. The +seventy years captivity would compensate for seventy +periods of six years each during which no sabbatical +years had been observed. Thus the Captivity, with the +four hundred and twenty previous years of neglect, +would be equivalent to seventy sabbatical periods. +There is no economy in keeping back what is due to +God. +</p> + +<p> +Moreover, the editor who separated Chronicles from +the book of Ezra and Nehemiah was loath to allow the +first part of the history to end in a gloomy record of +sin and ruin. Modern Jews, in reading the last chapter +of Isaiah, rather than conclude with the ill-omened +words of the last two verses, repeat a previous portion +of the chapter. So here to the history of the ruin of +<pb n='463'/><anchor id='Pg463'/> +Jerusalem the editor has appended two verses from the +opening of the book of Ezra, which contain the decree +of Cyrus authorising the return from the Captivity. +And thus Chronicles concludes in the middle of a +sentence which is completed in the book of Ezra: +<q>Who is there among you of all his people? Jehovah +his God be with him, and let him go up....</q> +</p> + +<p> +Such a conclusion suggests two considerations which +will form a fitting close to our exposition. Chronicles +is not a finished work; it has no formal end; it rather +breaks off abruptly like an interrupted diary. In like +manner the book of Kings concludes with a note as to +the treatment of the captive Jehoiachin at Babylon: the +last verse runs, <q>And for his allowance there was a +continual allowance given him of the king, every day a +portion, all the days of his life.</q> The book of Nehemiah +has a short final prayer: <q>Remember me, O my God, +for good</q>; but the preceding paragraph is simply +occupied with the arrangements for the wood offering +and the first-fruits. So in the New Testament the +history of the Church breaks off with the statement that +St. Paul abode two whole years in his own hired house, +preaching the kingdom of God. The sacred writers +recognise the continuity of God's dealings with His +people; they do not suggest that one period can be +marked off by a clear dividing line or interval from +another. Each historian leaves, as it were, the loose +ends of his work ready to be taken up and continued +by his successors. The Holy Spirit seeks to stimulate +the Church to a forward outlook, that it may expect and +work for a future wherein the power and grace of God +will be no less manifest than in the past. Moreover, +the final editor of Chronicles has shown himself unwilling +that the book should conclude with a gloomy +<pb n='464'/><anchor id='Pg464'/> +record of sin and ruin, and has appended a few lines to +remind his readers of the new life of faith and hope +that lay beyond the Captivity. In so doing, he has +echoed the key-note of prophecy: ever beyond man's +transgression and punishment the prophets saw the +vision of his forgiveness and restoration to God. +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +</body> +<back rend="page-break-before: right"> + <div id="footnotes"> + <index index="toc" /> + <index index="pdf" /> + <head>Footnotes</head> + <divGen type="footnotes"/> + </div> + <div rend="page-break-before: right"> + <divGen type="pgfooter" /> + </div> +</back> +</text> +</TEI.2> |