The name Hoshea--The king and the prophet--Occasional gleams of hope and promise--A humiliating reign--Death of Tiglath-Pileser--Hoshea revolts to Sabaco of Egypt--Seized by Shalmaneser--Samaria besieged--Terrible state of the city--Sabaco renders no help--Usurpation of Sargon--Capture of the city--Greatness of Sargon--Fall of the Northern Kingdom--Blighted destiny--God's mercy--"God, and not man"--Despoliation of the tribes--Moral of the story--Assyria and Egypt--The strength and weakness of a nation--Machiavelli--Mixture of alien emigrants--Their worship--The lions--Strange syncretism--The Jews and the Samaritans. CHAPTER XXII THE REIGN OF AHAZ (B.C. 735-715) 260 The chronology--A distracted kingdom--Dark pictures from Isaiah--No sign of repentance--Grapes and wild grapes. CHAPTER XXIII ISAIAH AND AHAZ 265 Isaiah--Rezin and Pekah--Ahaz meets Isaiah--He receives a promise of deliverance--He refuses a sign--The sign given him--Immanuel--Birth of Messianic prophecy--Maher-shalal-hash-baz--The promised Deliverer. CHAPTER XXIV THE APOSTASIES OF AHAZ 273 Moloch-worship--Sacrifice of children--Ahaz appeals to Assyria for help--Ruin of Damascus and death of Rezin--Ahaz does homage to Tiglath-Pileser at Damascus--Records of Tiglath-Pileser--The new altar--Complaisance of the priest Urijah--Unpopularity of Ahaz--Further misgivings--His death. CHAPTER XXV HEZEKIAH (B.C. 715-686) 287 Dates--Importance of the reign--Hezekiah's age--His character--His reformation--Partial suppression of the _bamoth_--Removal of the _matstseboth_ and _Asherim_--Destruction of the brazen serpent--Trust in Jehovah--Psalm xlvi.--Chastisement of the Philistines--Three parties in Jerusalem--1. The Assyrian party--2. The Egyptian party--3. The national party--Its attitude to the others--Micah--Mockery of Egypt--Anger and insults of the priests against Isaiah--Confidence of Isaiah--Waverings of Hezekiah. CHAPTER XXVI HEZEKIAH'S SICKNESS--THE BABYLONIAN EMBASSY 305 The story of Hezekiah's illness misplaced--At the point of death--Isaiah's message--The king's agony of mind--The prayer--The reprieve--The sun-dial of Ahaz--The king's gratitude and thanksgiving--Merodach-Baladan--Rising power of Babylon--Object of the embassy--The king's action--The prophet's reproof--The king's humble submission. CHAPTER XXVII HEZEKIAH AND ASSYRIA (B.C. 701) 319