Stories of the Prophets (Before the Exile)

ntful

ay, and, in addition, when his little sister and brother were ordered to go with him

ed him out of reach and sound. Twice before, on similar occasions, after he had recited his night prayer a

talking to each other loudly, but could not make out just what they were saying. Their voices,

, his seven-year-old sister, and Lo-ammi, his four-year-old brother, Jezreel

ays did, when he came home from the sanctuary, to bring the usual little gifts; but the father seemed to have forgotten them.

mised all three of the children that, in the morning, he would tak

ns. Her robes were long and flowing. A veil, woven of golden threads and imported from Assyria, set off her jet-black ha

to their mother, except little Lo-ammi, wh

lung to their father and quite ignored her. After a formal greeting to

and, immediately after they had eaten, Jezreel,

p, left the room and went about her business. Thereupon Jezreel go

indistinct. There were short periods of silence, followed by explosive sentences that sounded like threats. If

d the street door

It was an unusually moonlit night. Samaria, a beautiful city in the daytime, was a very dark and gloomy place at n

, dark and foreboding against the moonlight. Above all the houses towered the royal palace-in which Zechariah, Jeroboam II's so

of the window of his room into the moonlit and shado

e door, but did not dare open it. He listened until the sobbing ceased. Then he returned

chair from the door to the table, sat down and listened. In the room below he heard his father

gular heavy walking in the room under him, made him drowsy. His little heart ached, though he could not explain why. He tried hard to keep awake, bu

march up and down the room. He was brooding over the events that

Samaria. Diblaim, Gomer's father, was a poor man and could not give his daughter the advant

Bethel sanctuary. He was thus able to give Gomer not only a beautiful home in one of the city'

he used to be away from the house and the children most of the time; she did not understand her husband, his desire for quiet evenings at home with th

ushed out of the house into the night, into the open, where he could breathe more freely-an

ought for five consecutive minutes. And yet he was so thoroughly absorbed in his

ealized that he was not alone on the streets of Samaria was when he found

or in which he had left his home by

all

ive the

ife to

hy was the name being shout

was asking himself these questions

of the royal palace. From the palace, which was brightly illuminated, soldiers and plain citizens were pouring for

is dead! Long li

echaria

recalled that down at Bethel, the king's sanctuary, someone had

refused to pay the annual tribute, revolted, and Zechariah could not help himself. The wealth of the people, the luxury they lived in, the disorganization of the army by corrupti

e, lost all that had been gained by his illustrious father.

ed king. When Shallum was spoken of, down at Bethel, Hosea had paid no particular attention. He was occupied with his own family troubles then, as he w

her of the two events that had occurred that night, he was jostl

ed and the horror, nor to listen to the story of the

. As he walked on, his feet grew heavy and dragged. Just how he got there

rning mist and playing on the bedewed stones of the house. Hosea entered quietly, and walked up

d Jezreel up from the chair. The boy, asleep, clung tightly about his father's neck. Hose

e house and shook it, carried it away to a beautiful valley and brought back his mother