CHAPTER IV.
ANALYSIS OF THE REIGNS OF JUDAH AND ISRAEL.
1. Of the twenty sovereigns of Judah, Manasseh reigned the longest, namely fifty-five years. He was the fourteenth king and began to reign at twelve years of age, B. C. 698.
The shortest reigns in Judah were those of Jehoiachin and Jehoahaz, who reigned only about three months each, near the close of the kingdom, B. C. 600 and B. C. 610. Both of these kings were deposed by foreign kings.
2. Of the nineteen sovereigns of Israel, the one who continued longest upon the throne was Jeroboam, the second of that name. His reign continued forty-one years, from B. C. 825 to B. C. 784. He was the thirteenth king.
The shortest reign was that of Zimri, who committed suicide by burning himself in his palace at Tirzah, with all its riches, B. C. 930, when he found he was about to be taken. He usurped the throne and held it only seven days. He was the fifth king.
MORAL CHARACTER OF THE KINGS.
3. Of the twenty sovereigns of Judah, twelve were continually idolatrous. They seemed to be entirely unmindful of the previous historyof the nation and of the claims of Jehovah upon their reverence or gratitude. The Temple service seems to have been continued by the priests at Jerusalem, but, from the warnings of the prophets, it appears that even the priests proved faithless and frequently allowed themselves to be led in accordance with the passions and violence of the kings, so that irreverence and sacrilege were common.
The treasures of the Temple, those vessels, ornaments, and trophies which were sacred to its use, or placed there in commemoration of victories and in honor of the Lord, were repeatedly seized by the kings and given to their enemies, or used for private purposes, and, in some instances, removed to give place for idolatrous practices. Parts of the Temple considered sacred to the name of Jehovah were desecrated by altars built for the worship of the hosts of heaven, and graven images were erected upon the Temple grounds, in defiance of the law.
4. The kings themselves frequently gave public examples of their contempt for Jehovah by the service and worship of the gods of surrounding nations, by erecting temples and altars and by planting groves upon high places and setting up images of Baal and Ashtoreth throughout the land and in prominent towns, so that the people were constantly drawn into idolatry and their children made to dwell in the presence and under the influence of idolatrous emblems, as seen throughout the kingdom.