So in the time
of Zechariah, son to Jeroboam, came the doom of the House of Jehu, and
in 773 the king was murdered by Shallum, who only reigned a month, being
killed by his general, Menahem. Again, Menahem's son, Pekahiah, was
killed by his captain Pekah, a great warrior, who made an attack upon
Ahaz of Judah, and slew one hundred and twenty thousand Jews in one day.
Many more with all their spoil were brought captives to Samaria; but
there was some good yet left in Israel, and at the rebuke of the prophet
Oded, the Ephraimites remembered that they were brethren, gave back to
the prisoners all their spoil, fed them, clothed them, and mounted them
on asses to carry them safely back to their own land. But Pekah, and his
ally, Rezin of Damascus, were sore foes to Ahaz, and cruelly ravaged his
domains; and though God encouraged him, by the words of Isaiah, to trust
in Him alone, and see their destruction, Ahaz obstinately resolved to
turn to a new power for protection.
LESSON IX.
NINEVEH.
"Where is the dwelling-place of the lions, and the feeding-place of the
young lions?"--_Nahum_, ii. 11.
When the confusion of tongues took place at Babel, and men were
dispersed, the sons of Ham's grandson, Cush, remained in Mesopotamia,
which took the name of Assyria, from Assur, the officer of Nimrod, the
first king.
Pages:
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64