Footnote 49: Isaiah x. 5. “Where once the tribes of Israel, the sons of Joseph, Ephraim, and Manasseh had dwelt, strangers from the east had settled themselves, and being infested with lions, they requested from the king that Israelitish priests might be sent them; and so they polluted the land, the village of Jacob, and many other sacred spots, by a mixture of the worship of God with that of idols, which continues to defile it even to this day. “Thus had Jehovah manifested, both by deed and precept, his retributory judgments in the case of Israel. Would that Judah had been wise, and had learned from the fate of her sister kingdom that lesson which they who will not read must feel! “Rehoboam sat upon the throne of David, but had no resemblance to him in character. He built high places and pillars, and planted groves, and committed the abominations of the heathens, whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel, upon every hill and under every green tree. Jehovah sent Sisak, king of Egypt, who conquered all the cities and Jerusalem itself, and carried away both the royal treasure and that of the temple into his own country. Jehovah had foretold this by the prophet Shemaiah[50] and the king and the princes of Judah humbled themselves. And when the Lord saw that they had humbled themselves, he said, I will not destroy them, but I will grant them a little deliverance, and my wrath shall not be poured out upon them by the hand of Sisak. Nevertheless they shall be his servants, that they may know what it is to serve me, and what to serve the kingdoms of the countries. Footnote 50: 2 Chron. xiii. 5. “Abijah followed him. He trusted in Jehovah, and was successful in a great battle against Israel, in which he defeated an enemy who was at least twice as numerous.[51] He entered the battle with the words, ‘With us is the Lord our God and we have not forsaken him, and the priests which minister unto the Lord, the sons of Aaron and the Levites in their occupations.’ Footnote 51: 2 Chron. xiii.