Beacon Lights of History, Volume 02: Jewish Heroes and ProphetsLord, John
Religion
Beacon Lights of History, Volume 02: Jewish Heroes and Prophets
Lord, John
History, Ancient; Jews -- History -- To 70 A.D.
In the mean time, Jezebel from her palace window at Jezreel had seen the
murder of her son. She was then sixty years of age. The first thing she
did was to paint her eyelids, and put on her most attractive apparel, to
appear as beautiful as possible, with the hope doubtless of attracting
Jehu,--as Cleopatra, after the death of Antony, sought to win Augustus.
Will a flattered woman, once beautiful, ever admit that her charms have
passed away? But if the painted and bedizened queen anticipated her
fate, she determined to die as she had lived,--without fear, imperious,
and disdainful. So from her open window she tauntingly accosted Jehu as
he approached: "What came of Zimri, who murdered his master as thou hast
done?" "Are there any on my side?" was the only reply he deigned to
make, as he looked up to a window of the palace, which was a part of the
wall of the city. Two or three eunuchs, looking out from behind her,
answered the summons, for the wicked and haughty queen had no real
friends. "Throw her down!" ordered Jehu; and in a moment the blood from
her mangled body splashed upon the walls and upon the horses. In another
instant the wheels of the chariot passed over her lifeless remains. Jehu
would have permitted a decent burial, "for," said he, "she is a king's
daughter;" but before her mangled corpse could be collected, in the
general confusion, the dogs of the city had devoured all that remained
of her but the skull, the feet, and hands.
So perished the most infamous woman that ever wore a royal diadem, as
had been predicted. With her also perished the seventy sons of Ahab, all
indeed that survived of the royal house of Omri. And the work of
destruction did not end until the courtiers of the late king and all
connected with them, even the palace priests, were killed. Then followed
the massacre of the other priests of Baal, the destruction of the
idolatrous temples, and the restoration of the worship of Jehovah, not
only at Samaria, but at Jerusalem, for the revolution extended far and
wide on the death of Ahaziah as of Joram. Athaliah, the daughter of
Jezebel, who reigned over Judah, also perished in those
revolutionary times.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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