A History of the Jews (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: HISTOEY OF THE JEWS. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY. 1. That idolatry was the besetting sin of the Jews, cannot have escaped the observation of any one who has carefully read their history from their first existence as a separate people, till the period which falls more immediately under the scope of this little treatise. It was that which ultimately brought upon them all those calamities which were so emphatically predicted by Moses in his last address to their forefathers in the wilderness (read Deut. xxviii.) So long as they followed the true God all their undertakings, according to his promise, were crowned with success. Hence we find that their greatest outward prosperity was during the reigns of David and Solomon, when their kingdom extended from the borders of Egypt to the river Euphrates. From the death of the latter king may be dated the decline of their national greatness. 2. The calamitous revolt of the ten tribes?the commencement of God's punishment for their apostasy? while it gave rise to contentions and wars between the rival kingdoms, presented opportunities to the neighbouring nations, which had been subjugated by David and Solomon, to regain their independence, and to retaliate upon their former conquerors. Of these, Syria, from a A very early period, proved a formidable enemy. From its proximity to Israel (the ten tribes), its attacks were chiefly directed against that people, who thus began to reap the bitter fruits of their idolatry. In this sin they were most deeply involved, having, from the time of their separation from Judah, almost wholly apostatized. 3. These harassing wars with Syria continued till that kingdom itself was subdued by a more powerful enemy. This was the modern Assyrian empire. It will be necessary here to give a short outline o...