st
Necho, King of Egypt.

[Image: "JOSIAH WAS ONLY EIGHT YEARS OLD."]

[Image: JOSIAH WAS KILLED BY AN ARROW.]

In spite of the repeated warnings of God's prophets, the
people continued to worship idols, until as a punishment the
kingdom was entirely broken up. After a siege lasting sixteen
months, Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, took the city of
Jerusalem, burned the Temple, and carried away as prisoners
all the inhabitants who had survived the horrors of the siege.
This was the end of the Kingdom of Judah, and the beginning of
the period known as "the captivity."

For some time after the separation of Israel from Judah, there
was war between the two kingdoms, but later they formed an
alliance to prevent the King of Syria from encroaching upon
them. Still later the old enmity broke out again. There were
nineteen Kings of Israel in all, and city after city became
the capital of the kingdom, until in the time of its sixth
king Samaria became the seat of government.

Omri was the King who built Samaria, The monarchs who preceded
him were conspicuous for evil doing, but Omri exceeded them in
wickedness. The reign of his son Ahab was still worse, and of
this King of Israel the Bible says, _"Ahab did more to provoke
the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the Kings of Israel
that were before him."_

[Image: RUINS OF SAMARIA. From a photograph.]

Ahab married Jezebel, a Phoenician princess, and this was the
crowning point of his sinful career. Jezebel was unprincipled
and intolerant, and as Ahab was a weak man, he became little
more than a tool in her hands. She introduced at once the
worship of Baal and Ashtoroth, the male and female gods of her
own country. She caused a great temple to be built on the brow
of a hill, and there the worship of these idols was carried
on. Four hundred and fifty priests and attendants administered
the services of Baal, and four hundred those of Ashtoroth.

Not content with introducing this heathen worship, Jezebel
persecuted the few among the nation who remained faithful to
the worship of God. She caused their altars to be destroyed,
and to save their lives they fled to the wildest solitudes,
and hid in caves, as their forefathers had done in the days of
the Judges.

While all this was taking place, and while Ahab was occupying
himself with the building of a splendid palace at Jezreel, a
new and startling figure appeared upon the scene. None knew
whence the mysterious stranger