Isaac Landman

“ Then Isaiah said:
"Hear now, O House of David! Is it too small a thing for you to weary men, that ye must also weary my God? Therefore the Lord, Himself, will give you a sign. Behold, a young woman will bear a son and call his name Immanuel (God is with us) . Before this child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good those two kings before whom thou tremblest shall be deserted."
Ahaz was tired of mere words. Advice he had enough; he wanted now to act. In fact, when the knowledge of the political intrigue in Jerusalem became known to him, he immediately made up his mind what to do. ”

“ Thus the people of Judah and Israel once more took upon themselves the duty and burden to be a holy people unto the Lord their God, as they had done at Sinai in the days of Moses.
There was one man in the assembly, however, who not entirely carried away by the enthusiasm of the moment. It was Jeremiah. He knew well enough how a people, excited by a new and novel situation, would make promises which perhaps later they would be disinclined to keep. The mere acceptance of the covenant did not already mean the carrying out of its statutes in their daily life. ”

“ After Damascus, must come Samaria!
In other words, Amos saw distinctly that the time was near when Israel would have to fight again for its independence and its very life; and he asked himself, "Is Israel prepared?"
Clearly it was not. The rich had become unfit for war, because of their luxuriant living. The poor had become unfit for war, because of their oppression by the rich. Should the Assyrians invade the land, how could such a nation of weaklings defend its home and its liberty? ”

“ The entirely unexpected assassination of King Amon, of Judah, in the year 639, surprised and appalled the entire country, as well as Jerusalem, the capital.
King Amon had succeeded his father, Manasseh, to the throne of Judah but two years before. He had had no chance to show the character of man he was and the type of a ruler he would be, and yet, without apparent knowledge on anybody's part that a conspiracy was brewing among the princes of the royal palace itself, Amon's life was snatched away in a most cruel manner. ”

“ To get rich seemed to be the aim of everybody; and, with riches, came ostentation and luxuriant living.
The city of Samaria, especially, was the center for Israel's most wealthy men. Their homes were wonders of stone and ivory. The furnishings rivaled in beauty the splendor of the outside. The rooms were high and spacious. The beds and tables and chairs were of the finest wood of Lebanon, carved by the craftsmen of Tyre, and inlaid with ivory. The coverings were of the richest purple and gold from Egypt and the Indies. ”

“ Always wanting to be fair and honest in his condemnation of the people, Jeremiah bethought himself that perhaps only the common people who "know not the way of the Lord and the law of their God" were at fault. Therefore he turned himself to the nobles, to the princes of the realm, to the wealthy and exalted, saying to himself, they "know the way of the Lord and the law of their God." But to his great dismay he found that these, too, "have all broken the yoke and burst the bonds" that made them the beloved of God in the ways of their righteousness. ”

“ It was true of the rich and mighty of the capital that
"They covet fields and seize them,
And houses, and take them away.
They oppress a man and his house,
Even a man and his heritage."
This much was clear on the surface of things. Rapacity on the part of the rich meant oppression of the poor; increase of power for the mighty meant decrease of opportunity for the humble tiller of the soil and for the wage earner.
Seeing all this and understanding it, Micah felt himself impelled to fight the cause of the common people.
Conditions and a sympathetic soul thus made Micah a Prophet. ”

“ They were pre-eminently preachers of righteousness. Fearless and undaunted, they told the house of Israel their sins and the house of Jacob their transgressions. They contemplated the facts of life from the highest point of view. For them religion and morality were blended, ethics and politics were one. Theirs was peculiarly a social message; the demand for justice underlies all their thinking and speaking. They had a veritable passion for righteousness; through all the ages their words have been torches lighting the way of men struggling upward towards the truth. ”

“ He knew that Tiglath-Pileser III, the successor of Assur-dan, had crushed all rebellions in Assyria, which Assur-dan III had failed to do, and was reorganizing the army of the great empire. He knew that Damascus, which had been weakened by Jeroboam II beyond hope of recovery, would be the first point of conquest for the young and energetic Pul, as Tiglath-Pileser was called. Next before him, to the south, lay the rich Kingdom of Israel, the booty from whose palaces and sanctuaries would be an enormous prize for the Assyrian emperor and his army. ”

“ Rich and fertile sections like the Shefelah were the backbone, the strength and the power of Israel and Judah. While the high and mighty princes and merchants lived in the capitals and squandered their wealth, the simple and hard-working farm folk and wage earners made up the bone and muscle of the population, raised the necessities of life and, in times of need, furnished the sinews of war. ”

“ But Isaiah did not lose sight of the fact that just as little as an Ahaz could accomplish the destruction of the nation, so little could an ideal king, even if his fond dream would come true, accomplish the reconstruction of the nation, single-handed and alone.
What was necessary, therefore, was the raising and educating of a new generation of citizens in Judah; a just, patriotic, God-fearing company of men who, when the hoped-for king shall have come to the throne, would support him, with their valor and their lives, in building up the entire nation to walk in God's way. ”

“ And the little kingdom of Judah lay directly in their path, as it did during former attempted conquests of Egypt.
Jeremiah once more recalled the vision of the seething caldron, with the strong wind from the north, threatening to pour out the hot contents over the land.
Poor Judah! The country was seething with destructive idolatry within, and the seething hordes of Scythians were endangering its life from without.
Poor Jeremiah! What was there for him to do now? A double calamity was hanging over his people and his beloved country. Even if he stood alone he must try to save them both. ”

“ King Shallum soon discovered that a stolen throne is no sweeter than any other stolen thing. A palace is no more protection against conscience than a hovel; and Shallum passed miserable days of fear and nights of sleeplessness, because of his murder of Zechariah.
Smitten by his conscience and tortured in mind, Shallum was not able to collect a large force of followers to protect him or his ill-gotten throne. ”

“ So Jeremiah's course was not to be smooth and easy! He would encounter opposition from the common people, the princes, the king himself! But there was no turning back for him now! Though his heart was heavy, it was determined. Jeremiah went down to Jerusalem to preach.
His first pleadings were in line with Josiah's reforms:
"A voice is heard upon the bare heights, the weeping and the supplications of the children of Israel; because they have perverted their way, they have forgotten the Lord their God. Return ye backsliding children; I will heal your backsliding." ”

“ Every one, from the least even unto the greatest, is given to covetousness; from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.
"And they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, 'Peace, peace,' when there is no peace."
Instantly there came to Jeremiah's mind the story of the Kingdom of Israel with its deceitful priests and false prophets, who, at Bethel and Shiloh, taught and preached untruths about God—and the sad end of them all. They, too, had thought everything was well with them and their sanctuary and the peace of the land. ”

“ Where are the gods of the land of Samaria that they have delivered Samaria out of my power? Who are they among all the gods of the countries, that have delivered their country out of my power, that God should deliver Jerusalem out of my power!'"
This speech cast a deep gloom upon the people gathered upon the wall. All were silent. Not a single man, not even the representatives of the king, could answer the Assyrians' arguments.
Then Eliakim, Shebnah and Joah hastened back to Hezekiah and repeated to him the message of Sennacherib through his Commander-in-Chief. ”

“ And how mighty are your sins—
Ye, that trample upon the poor,
That afflict the just, that take a bribe,
And that turn away the needy in the gate."
It was Amos who first cried out against the mistaken idea that animal sacrifices were what God asked of His people:
"Did ye bring unto me sacrifices and meal-offerings
In the wilderness, forty years, O house of Israel?"
It was Amos who first brought forward the great and universal truth that God judges every human being, no matter what the race or color, according to his or her acts:
"Seek good and not evil,
That ye may live ”

“ Sacrifices were brought at all the sanctuaries of Israel—in Bethel, in Dan, in Gilgal, in Beersheba.
Priests and people brought thank-offerings, and, together, sang praises to God:
"God is my light and my salvation,
Whom shall I fear?
God is the strength of my life,
Of whom shall I be afraid?"
Truly, God was on the side of Israel, or else the Syrians could not have been defeated. He was showing favor to the Northern Kingdom, and was pleased with Israel, for was not Judah, the Southern Kingdom, too, paying tribute to Jeroboam? ”

“ Jehudi pushed his way roughly through the crowd to Baruch. He laid his hand upon the speaker's shoulder and ordered him, in the name of the princes, to accompany him.
Baruch did not hesitate. His mind had been made up to face any consequences that might result from his mission. His heart, therefore, was strong and he accompanied Jehudi without protest.
Some of the princes marveled at the youth of Baruch, when they beheld him. He felt much reassured when Gemariah stepped forward, smiled at him and took the scroll from his hands. ”

“ The people whispered to each other and an expectant silence followed, as the venerable priest walked through the row of bowed heads, toward the sanctuary. He stopped in front of Amos and looked at him curiously.
Amaziah was an old man, but as erect as a cedar in Lebanon. He was dressed in an ephod, the holy garment of his office. The robe was of fine twined linen, with threads of blue, scarlet and purple, embroidered in gold. ”

“ One source of strength he always had to rely upon. Close to the soil, seeing the Creator's handiwork in the fields at his feet by day and in the wonders of the starry firmament by night, he was full of the spirit of God. ”

“ Here was a people that had been adding evil to evil and transgression to transgression for many generations. Just as a person who keeps on sinning and sinning, without reforming in his heart and in his deeds, arrives at a time when, no matter how anxious he is to turn from his evil ways, it is too late and he must finally pay the penalty for his misspent life, so this nation of Judah, into the very heart of which the cancer of wrongdoing had long been eating, could not, at this late date, escape its final destruction. ”

“ But Jeremiah laid a new plan for rehabilitating the land. Neither Jerusalem nor the Temple were to be rebuilt, for the present. All efforts were to be bent toward building up a new conscience in the simple farmers and vine dressers; to fit these for entering a new covenant with their God and to make them worthy, indeed, to be God's people.
In politics the land was to stand, above all, for faithfulness and loyalty to Babylonia. That was what Nebuchadrezzar expected from Gedaliah and that was what Gedaliah proposed to do. With the religion Nebuchadrezzar never did and never would interfere. ”

“ So is Pharaoh King of Egypt to all who
trust in him."
Eliakim, speaking of his king, attempted to make clear to the Assyrians that they were misjudging Hezekiah. He did not lean upon Egypt; no alliance had been entered into between the two nations; Judah did not desire to enter into this quarrel at all and relied upon neither Egypt nor Assyria. "We trust in the Lord our God," concluded Eliakim. ”

“ Syria, with Israel, hath purposed evil against thee, saying, 'Let us go up against Judah and distress it and overpower it and appoint the son of Tabeal king in its midst.' But thus saith the Lord God: It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass, for, the head of Syria is Damascus and the head of Damascus is Rezin, and the head of Israel is Samaria and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. Verily, if you will not hold fast, ye shall not stand fast. ”

“ It was Amos who first made clear, that God demands of men, above all things, justice and righteousness:
"Let justice roll down as a flood of water,
And righteousness like a never-failing stream."
We do not know definitely what became of Amos.
One tradition has it that he came to Jerusalem and, while he was denouncing Uzziah, king of Judah, Uzziah struck him on the forehead with a piece of glowing iron. As a result of the blow, Amos died while preaching in the hope of saving his people in Jerusalem, as his father died while fighting in defense of Jerusalem, in the hope of saving his country. ”

“ On the other hand, Isaiah knew that, if Ahaz did anything that would in any way displease the mighty King of Assyria, the latter would, after finishing his campaign in Syria and Israel, attack Judah. Therefore, he warned Ahaz in these words:
"God will bring upon thee and upon thy people and upon thy father's house days such as have not been, since the day Ephraim departed from Judah, through the King of Assyria. Curds and honey will be that child's food (in the wilderness) when he knows to refuse evil and choose the good." ”

“ Jeroboam II, thus had the great distinction of restoring the boundaries of the Kingdom of Israel to the proportions of the empire of David and Solomon, "from the entrance of Hamath unto the sea of Arabah," which is the Dead Sea.
Wonderful was the reception prepared for the king and his victorious army on their return to Samaria. More people had come to the city to join in the welcoming demonstration than had pilgrimed to Jerusalem on the Passover, in the days before the division of the kingdom. ”