126 the same influence over him that Jezebel had After the death of her husband and her son Ahaziah, who was slain by Jehu, Athaliah executed one of the boldest maneuvers recorded in Bible history. Determined, as it seems, to destroy the royal family of Judah, and establish the Zidonian dynasty and worship, she slew, as she thought, all of her own and her husband's male descendants. She then seized the throne, and ruled with absolute power for six years. But one of the sons of Ahaziah, an infant This named Joash, escaped Athaliah's massacre. child was carefully hidden by his nurse Jehosheba for six years, until the time should be ripe for him to be proclaimed king in his father's stead. During all this time, Athaliah was sedulously at work tearing down the worship and changing the developments of centuries, with the aim of so thoroughly establishing her power that it could not be overthrown. The restoration of the line of Judah to the throne was very sudden. The six year old boy was secretly taken into the temple, and anointed and proclaimed king by Jehoiada, the priest. In their joy at the restoration of the rightful line to the throne, the people shouted and sounded their trumpets, doubtless with the triumphal cry, "Long live the king!" Athaliah ran to the sanctuary, and saw her grandson, newly crowned, standing by a pillar. She raised the cry, "Treason! treason!” but no one responded to it. All were too weary of her wicked tyranny, to desire it extended. As she fled in despair, the stern order was given by Jehoiada that she be slain. She was followed to a place outside the sanctuary, and there put to death. The fact to be particularly noted in the lives of these two women is that they lived in violence and treachery, and died deaths of violence. To them the peace and tranquillity of purely domestic life were denied. Mingling as they did in the great affairs of state-leaving as they did the safe anchorage of the home, they were drawn into all the intrigues and contentions of corrupt monarchies. Coming into such relationship, they could no longer expect to be treated as women. but as political intriguers. Therefore they suffered, as they could not help anticipating, all the disrespect and danger attaching to such intrigue. In this respect as well as in their wickedness, Jezebel and Athaliah present a very marked contrast to most of the other women whose lives are recorded in the Old Testament. Happily, the two stand almost alone. As has been seen, the Old Testament women are noted for their domesticity. Home life, not public life, for women, is emphasized. In no respect is this more clearly manifested than in the fact that the women who are mentioned most prominently in pub lic life are shown to us in the most unfavorable light. Again is emphasized the lesson that woman's greatest honor, peace, and joy are to be found in the home. ` XIII. THE FRIENDS OF ELIJAH AND ELISHA. It is pleasing to record that during the troublous times of Jezebel and Athaliah, two women came into prominence whose lives and characters were in striking contrast to those of the two queens. Neither of these women is known to us by name, yet their influence is none the less striking on that account. The first is introduced during the great famine. in the days of Elijah. After he had appeared before Ahab and Jezebel, and predicted the famine, he was forced to flee to the brook Cherith to escape the fury of the queen. Here, as long as the brook contained water, he was miraculously fed by ravens. But when the brook dried up, he was told to go to a certain widow's house in the city Zarephath, or Sarepta, in the land of Phoenicia. Here is a striking illustration of the absence of true faith among the Israelites. The prophet of God was forced to flee from his own land, and the chosen people of God, to take refuge in the country of the Sidonians! So striking is it, that Christ made use of it to illustrate and explain his 130 own rejection, in the same land, eight centuries later. (Luke 4: 25, 26.) "But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months; when great famine was throughout all the land. But unto none of them was Elias sent save (but) unto Sarepta a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.' As Elijah neared the hut of this widow, he saw her outside the house, gathering sticks. proaching her, he asked for food. Ap- that she had in the house only a handful of meal and a little oil (for the famine prevailed there also) and she was about to bake a cake for her son and herself, that they might eat it and then die. The prophet's request was a strange one, calculated to test the faith of this poor widow. Said he, "Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first. and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day the Lord sends the rain upon the earth." She did as directed; and the handful of meal and the few drops of oil in the cruse lasted through the entire period of famine. But this was not the only trial of her faith. During Elijah's stay the child sickened and died. In the midst of her sorrow, Elijah carried the child into his own room and laid him on the bed, |