countries could carry on commercial intercourse by passing through only a small portion of its limits, while the incommodious harbors would not tempt its occupants to carry on foreign traffic. In addition to this, Moses established a multitude of regulations to make it difficult for the Hebrews to associate freely with other nations in their business, pleasures, or worship. These hedged them in, and daily proclaimed to the people their obligation to be "holiness unto the Lord."

Notwithstanding these restrictions, the Hebrews, in the later periods of their history, were prone to form foreign political alliances, against which the prophets remonstrated, as tending to impair confidence in the protection of Jehovah. In an evil hour, Ahaz, pressed by the united forces of Israel and Syria, called in the aid of Tiglath-pilezer. As the result of this measure, he became himself tributary to the Assyrians, on whom he had relied for deliverance, and at his death left the country in subjection to a foreign power. After the successful campaign of Hezekiah against the Philistines, which is supposed to have been during the siege of Samaria, he cast off the Assyrian yoke. A war with that kingdom would have followed immediately, if Shalmaneser had not been engaged in other enterprises which diverted his attention from Judah.

A period of several years preceding the invasion

of the country by Sennacherib now intervenes, respecting which the history is silent. It was probably a state of external peace; but there are indications in the sacred record that the high tone of religious feeling which so distinguished the early part of Hezekiah's reign, no longer existed. If the prince and people still maintained their zeal for the worship of Jehovah, it is difficult to believe that the Assyrians would have been permitted to inflict such calamities on the country. It is not analagous to the dealings of God with his ancient people, that they should be given up to the power of the enemy while they were faithful in his service. The rewards of obedience, in their case, were manifest in the present life; while disobedience and apostasy were followed by temporal punishment. God had specially promised that if they would "observe and do all his commandments," their enemies should be smitten before their face; but if they revolted from him, he threatened that they should be smitten before their enemies. The Bible contains many examples of the fulfilment both of the promise and the threatening.

If the faith of Hezekiah and the people was as vigorous at the time of the Assyrian invasion as in his early wars, we can scarcely believe he would have hired Sennacherib to withdraw from the land, with gold cut off from the doors of the temple and from the pillars which he had himself overlaid.

Such a contrast in the conduct of Hezekiah, and in the state of the country, seems to imply a change in its religious condition. If there were no evidences of declining piety during this period to be found in the scriptures or in profane history, it would be necessary to suppose such a declension to account for facts.

By a comparison of Jeremiah 26: 18 with Micah 3:12, it appears that the latter chapter was spoken in the time of Hezekiah. But it could not relate to the period before the reformation in the first months of his reign, for the circumstances mentioned in the prophecy are inconsistent with the condition of Judah at the death of Ahaz. At that time the temple was shut, the priests were scattered, idolatry was triumphant. Now, says the prophet, "The priests teach for hire, and the prophets divine for money; yet will they lean upon the Lord and say, Is not the Lord among us? none evil shall come upon us." This is manifestly a state of external religion, of professed service of Jehovah. It is formality, hypocrisy, worship separated from practice; not idolatry. Nor could the prediction relate to a period subsequent to the reign of Hezekiah, for the woe is denounced as a consequence of the state of things existing at that time. Therefore shall Zion for your sake be ploughed as a field." Hezekiah manifestly regarded the threatening as aimed against himself and his people, for

he "besought the Lord" to remove it; "and the Lord repented him of the evil which he had pronounced against them." The threatening was for the time averted.

It seems evident, then, that the description refers to Hezekiah's reign, and to a period later than the religious movement which we have described. It indicates a falling away both among the princes and the people, which, however much we may deplore it, the history of religion in other ages would prepare us to expect. How far Hezekiah shared in this declension, or what were its immediate causes, we have no means of ascertaining. The war against the Philistines, and the agitations connected with the revolt from Assyria, may have contributed to the result.

CHAPTER VIII.

ASSYRIAN INVASION.'

The

IN the time of Hezekiah, two great empires divided between them the sovereignty of most of the countries of Western Asia. These were the kingdom of Assyria on the north-east of Judah, and the kingdom of Egypt on the south-west. true policy of the Hebrews was to keep aloof from both these rival powers, as the prophets recommended; for an alliance with one of them would be sure to provoke the hostility of the other, and nothing could be gained from the friendship of either. Whether they came to aid the Hebrews, or with openly hostile designs, the result was uniformly pernicious. Their hostility was even less to be dreaded than their alliance; for the former might be averted at the expense of tribute or territory, while the latter involved the additional sacrifice of national morality and of the divine favor.

When Hezekiah threw off the Assyrian yoke, he doubtless expected that he should be obliged to maintain the independence of his kingdom by force. He must have known that he had not resources enough to contend with the mighty empire whose power he had defied; but his confidence was in the arm of the Lord who had wrought a victory for him