A Week of Instruction and Amusement Part 3

The two books of Chronicles contain a great many genealogical tables, and various circ.u.mstances omitted in the other historical books of Scripture.

Ezra, continues the Jewish history from the edict of Cyrus (which permitted the Jews to return to their own land, and rebuild their temple,) to the reform effected among them, by Ezra and Nehemiah. Ezra wrote part of this book in Chaldee.

Nehemiah gives an account of his own appointment to the government of Judea, and his administration to the year of the world 3595, at which period the scripture history closes.

Esther, contains the history of a Jewish captive of that name, who by her good qualities gained the affections of Ahasuerus, and was by him raised to the throne of Persia. It is supposed that by Ahasuerus is meant Artaxerxes Longima.n.u.s. There is great diversity of opinion concerning the author of this book; it has been ascribed to Ezra, to Mordecai, and to the joint labours of the great synagogue.

Job, contains the history of a man remarkable for his piety and patience, under severe afflictions. The author of this book is very uncertain. Some ascribe it to Moses, others to Job himself.

The Psalms, are a collection of hymns in praise of G.o.d, written by different persons, but as the greater part of them was composed by David, they are generally called the Psalms of David.

The Proverbs, are a collection of short sentences, written by Solomon, in which much excellent advice is contained.

Ecclesiastes, is supposed to have been written by Solomon, after he repented of the idolatry and sin into which he fell, towards the close of his life, and with the design to point out the vanity of worldly pursuits, in order to induce men to prepare for that state, where there will be no vanity nor vexation of spirit.

The Song of Solomon, is a pastoral dialogue, supposed to have been written by him, upon his marriage with the daughter of Pharoah.

It is universally allowed that the 16 Prophetical Books, and the Lamentations of Jeremiah, which describe the desolation of Judah, during the Babylonian captivity, and prophecy the still greater misfortunes to be suffered at a future time, were written by the persons whose names they bear.

The four great prophets were, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel.--The twelve minor prophets were, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habbakuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.

The books of the New Testament were all originally written in Greek; except St. Matthew's Gospel, and St. Paul's Epistle to the Hebrews, which many commentators suppose to have been originally composed in Hebrew, and then immediately translated into Greek; but opinions in this respect are much divided.

The Four Gospels, written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, give an account of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of our Saviour.

The Acts of the Apostles written by Luke, gives an historical account of the progress of Christianity after our Saviour's ascension. The latter part of the book is confined to the history of Saint Paul, of whom St.

Luke was the constant companion for many years.

Of the fourteen Epistles ascribed to St. Paul, viz. Romans, 1 and 2 to the Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 to the Thessalonians, 1 and 2 to Timothy, t.i.tus, Philemon, and Hebrews, the first thirteen have, in all ages of the Church, been universally acknowledged to be written by him. Many doubts have been entertained concerning the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews. St. Paul was born at Tarsus the princ.i.p.al city of Cilicia in Asia Minor, and was by birth both a Jew and a citizen of Rome. St. Paul is not mentioned in the Gospels, nor is it known whether he ever heard our Saviour preach. His name is first noticed in the account of St. Stephen's Martyrdom, which was followed by a severe persecution of the Church at Jerusalem, in which St. Paul, (who was then called Saul) distinguished himself among its enemies, by his activity and violence. He was going to Damascus, to bring back bound any Christians whom he might find there, when his miraculous conversion took place: after which, he became one of the most zealous preachers of the Gospel; and as he devoted much of his time to the instruction of the Gentiles, he is called the _Apostle of the Gentiles_. Gentiles, was the appellation by which all nations were distinguished, that were not Jews, and consequently the Gentiles were Pagans. St. Paul performed many voyages and journies in the service of the Christian religion, and the New Testament history closes A. D. 63, with his release from a two years imprisonment at Rome; no ancient author has left any particulars of the remaining part of this Apostle's life.

The Epistle of St. James was written by that Apostle, who is called James the Less, the son of Alphaeus or Cleophat, which are supposed to be the same name, differently written. It contains much excellent instruction.

The two Epistles of St. Peter, were written by that Apostle, who enjoyed the favour of his divine master, in a peculiar degree. St. Peter seems to have been almost the constant companion of our Lord, and was extremely zealous in propagating his religion, though he was occasionally led into great errors, particularly the denial of his master, but his bitter remorse and repentance, prove that his sorrow for this crime was sincere. He admitted Cornelius, the first Gentile convert, into the Christian faith, but as the chief of his instructions were confined to the Jews, he is called the apostle of the Jews.

The three Epistles of St. John, were written by the apostle who was favoured with the greatest share of our Saviour's affection. He leaned on his bosom at the last supper, and was one of the first who were made acquainted with his resurrection.

The Epistle of St. Jude was written by the apostle, who was also called Lebbaeus and Thaddaeus, he was the brother of James the Less, and excepting in the catalogue of the apostles, is only once mentioned in the Gospels. (John chap. 14, verse 22).

The Revelation of John the divine, was written by the same Evangelist and Apostle who wrote the Gospels and Epistles bearing that name. The Revelation is a prophetical book, and was written by St. John, during his banishment to the isle of Patmos, in the time of Domitian. St. John is supposed to have been the youngest of the Apostles, and to have survived all the rest. He died at Ephesus in Asia Minor, in the third year of the emperor Trajan's reign, A. D. 100.--The Apostles were twelve good men, whom Jesus chose to be the ministers of his gospel. They were entrusted with the power of working miracles: and their names were, Simon Peter, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus (called also James the Less,) Thaddeus whose sirname was Jude, Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot.--After the death of Judas Iscariot who betrayed our Saviour, Matthias was chosen in his stead.

The Disciples of Christ, were those who learned of him as their master.

Thus, my dear, I have given you a short account of all the books contained in the sacred volumes. I will now mention to you, a few of the princ.i.p.al Jewish sects, and then proceed to some description of the history of that people.

There does not appear to have been any difference of religious opinions among the Jews, till after the cessation of prophecy: most of them sprang up, subsequent to the return from the Babylonian captivity.

The Scribes are not usually considered as a religious sect: they were writers of the law, and often perverted the meaning of the text, instead of explaining it. "Scribes," "doctors of the law," and "lawyers," were only different names for the same cla.s.s of men.

The Pharisees believed in the immortality of the soul, the resurrection of the dead, and in a future state of rewards and punishments. "Trusting in themselves that they were righteous," they despised the rest of mankind, were entirely dest.i.tute of humility towards G.o.d, and paid more attention to outward ceremonies than to the duties of moral virtue.

The Sadducees denied the resurrection of the dead, and the immortality of the soul; therefore, confining all their hopes to this present world, they devoted themselves to its pleasures, and only punished the crimes which disturbed the public tranquillity.

The Nazarites, of whom we read in the Old and New Testament, were persons either devoted to G.o.d by their parents, or who devoted themselves for life, or for a limited time. The only three instances of Nazarites devoted to G.o.d by their parents before their birth, are Sampson, Samuel, and John the Baptist.

The Herodians were partizans of Herod the Great.

The Galileans, so called from their leader Judas of Galilee, were a very turbulent and seditious sect, and by degrees united to themselves almost all the other sects.

The Publicans were not of any sect, civil or religious, but merely tax-gatherers, and collectors of customs due to the Romans. The Publicans were generally Jews, and by their employment were rendered odious to their brethren.

Proselytes were those persons, who being Gentiles by birth, came over to the Jewish religion, but retained that name, till they were admitted into the congregation of the Lord, as adopted children.

The land of Canaan, so named from Canaan the son of Ham, whose posterity possessed this land, as well as Egypt or Mizraim, lies in the western part of Asia. Its boundaries were to the north, Coelo Syria; to the west, the Mediterranean Sea; to the east, Arabia Deserta; and to the south and south west, Arabia Petrea and Egypt. Its extent was about 200 miles from north to south, and its breadth 100.--It was divided into two parts, by the river Jordan; the capital was Jerusalem, (supposed to have been the Salem of Melchisedek.) The whole country was also called Palestine from the Philistines, who inhabiting the western coast, were first known to the Romans, and being by them corruptly called Palestines, gave that name to the country; but it was more commonly called Judea, as the land of the Jews. Since our Saviour's advent it has been called the Holy land, but in modern writers, all distinction is frequently lost in the name of Syria, which is given to the whole country east of the Mediterranean, between the sea and the desert.

The government of the Jews partook of the patriarchal form, as much as was consistent with the condition and circ.u.mstances of a nation.

The leaders or princes of the 12 tribes, possessed a peculiar and supreme authority over each tribe, as their chief magistrate and leader in time of war.

The elders or rulers of cities, only exercised authority in their own respective cities, and as well as the princes were subject to the great council.

The Sanhedrim or great national council of the Jews was established by Moses: it consisted of 70 persons, besides the president, who after the time of Moses was usually the High Priest.

The Septuagint is a Greek translation of the Bible, made at Alexandria, when Ptolemy Philadelphus was king of Egypt. It is often signified in books by "the LXX."

The Vulgate was a very ancient version of the Bible in Latin.

The Bible commences with an account of the creation of the world, 4004 B. C., the history of our first parents, their deviation from virtue, and the evil consequences that ensued. To Adam and Eve were born sons and daughters. The only three mentioned by name, are Cain, Abel and Seth, and the sacred historian has chiefly confined himself to the posterity of Seth, from whom Noah descended: in his time mankind became very wicked, and to punish them, G.o.d sent a violent rain upon the earth which caused a general deluge, and all the inhabitants of the world were drowned, except Noah, his wife, their three sons, Shem, Ham, and j.a.phet, and their wives, and a few animals of every kind. The descendants of Noah and his sons multiplied greatly, and "they were all of one language," after a time the whole race of men moved from their original habitations in Armenia, and settled in the plains of Shinar near the Euphrates. Here they determined to establish themselves, and build a tower whose top might reach the heavens. G.o.d was displeased with this work, which seems to have been undertaken in defiance of his power, and he confounded the language of those who were engaged in it. This obliged them to discontinue their labour; they soon after dispersed, and the different parts of the world became inhabited.

Terah the father of Abraham was a descendant of Shem; he settled with his family in Haran in Mesopotamia, where he died: G.o.d soon after commanded Abraham to remove with his wife Sarah into the land of Canaan, and here when they were far advanced in age, their son Isaac was born.

G.o.d made many remarkable promises to Abraham, and one of them was, "that in him all the families of the earth should be blessed." This was a declaration that the Messiah should be a descendant of Abraham. To make trial of his obedience, G.o.d ordered him to offer up Isaac, as a burnt offering on Mount Moriah, but just as he was going to slay him, an angel of the Lord appeared, and told him not to touch the lad, but to take a ram and offer it up in his stead. It was upon this mountain that Solomon's temple was afterwards built and here our Saviour was crucified, the mountain being then called Calvary.

Isaac married Rebekah, and had two sons, Esau and Jacob. Jacob though the younger obtained the rights of primogeniture; he also procured his father's blessing by very unjustifiable means; and then repaired to Padan-aram to take a wife out of his own family. He married Leah and Rachel, and had twelve sons, who were called the twelve Patriarchs or fathers of the 12 tribes of Israel, their names were, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphthali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zabulon, Joseph and Benjamin. They were all born in Padan-aram; but Jacob returned to Canaan before his father's death. Joseph was the favourite son of Jacob; on which account his brethren hated him, and at length sold him to some Ishmaelites, who were merchants, and the descendants of Ishmael a son of Abraham; these Ishmaelites carried Joseph into Egypt, where he became a slave to Potiphar, the chief officer under the king. His good conduct soon gained the esteem and confidence of his master, but the wickedness of Potiphar's wife caused him to be thrown into prison. He was released from this confinement, in order to interpret two dreams of Pharoah's.

G.o.d enabled him to discover that they predicted seven years of plenty which would be followed by seven years of famine; and the wise advice Joseph gave the king on this subject, induced the monarch to raise him to a very high office in his kingdom, and entrust to him the whole care of collecting and managing the corn. This famine was severely felt in Canaan, and Jacob sent his sons into Egypt to purchase corn. Joseph recognised his brethren, and after putting them to several trials, for the purpose of making them properly sensible of their former cruel conduct, he discovered himself to them in a very affectionate manner; he enquired concerning his father, and when he found the old man was still alive, he desired his brothers to fetch him, and their families out of Canaan. Jacob who had bitterly wept the loss of his favourite son, whom he believed from the accounts of his other children to have been devoured by a wild beast, rejoiced when he heard of his safety, and desired to go to Egypt to see him before he died. Pharoah gave Joseph's family the land of Goshen for their residence; and during his reign, the Hebrews were held in great estimation. The descendants of Jacob multiplied to so great a degree, that about sixty years after the death of Joseph, the king who then reigned over Egypt became jealous of their numbers, and endeavoured to check their increase by slaying the infants, and reducing the parents to a state of slavery. They suffered many hardships during several years, but at length G.o.d was pleased to deliver them in a miraculous manner by the hand of Moses, who would soon have conducted them into the promised land, had not their disobedience and perverseness brought upon them the punishment of a forty years'

wandering in the wilderness. During this time, G.o.d commanded Moses to deliver his laws to the people of Israel. Aaron the brother of Moses was made High Priest, and to him was committed the superintendance of religious ceremonies.

Neither Moses nor Aaron were permitted to enter the promised land on account of their disobedience to a command of G.o.d; and they both died in the wilderness during the last year of their wandering. Joshua was appointed to succeed Moses in the important office of leader of the people, G.o.d promised him his support, and when all things were prepared, he led the Israelites to the banks of the river Jordan: as soon as their feet touched the water, the current was stopped, the river became dry ground, and the people entered the country opposite to the city of Jericho, which was taken in a miraculous manner.

Some time after Joshua's death, Judges were appointed to govern Israel: they were 12 in number and their government lasted rather more than 300 years. Othniel was the first of the Judges, and Samuel the last. In his time the people desired to have a king like other nations, and G.o.d commanded him to anoint Saul of the tribe of Benjamin 1095 years B. C., to be the first king of Israel. Johim succeeded David of the tribe of Judah, and at his death the throne devolved to his son Solomon, who built a temple to the name of the "Lord his G.o.d;" in it were deposited the ark--the holy Scriptures, and other sacred things.--Solomon was succeeded by his son Rehoboam, the folly and wickedness of whose conduct induced ten of the tribes to revolt, and they chose Jeroboam one of his officers for their king. The two tribes that remained faithful to Rehoboam were Judah and Benjamin. Rehoboam's kingdom was called Judah, and the capital of it was Jerusalem. Jeroboam's kingdom was named Israel and its chief city was Samaria.

Jeroboam was succeeded by his son Nadab; and after he had reigned two years, he was killed by Baasha, who usurped the crown and destroyed the whole race of Jeroboam, a man remarkable for his impiety.--All the succeeding kings of Judah were descendants of Rehoboam, which fulfilled the promise made by G.o.d to David, that he would "establish his house and the throne of his kingdom for ever:" this was a declaration that the Messiah was to be a descendant of David.

There were frequent wars between the kings of Judah and Israel, and between them and the neighbouring kings,--the kings and people both of Judah and Israel, soon fell into the greatest depravity; and at length G.o.d suffered Shalmaneser king of a.s.syria, by the capture of Samaria in the reign of Hoshea, to put an end to the kingdom of Israel 721 years B. C. and about 250 years after its first establishment into a separate kingdom. And 606 years B. C. and about 115 years after the destruction of the kingdom of Israel, G.o.d permitted Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, to invade Judea in the reign of Jehoiakim, and to besiege and take Jerusalem. Jehoiakim was carried prisoner to Babylon, though afterwards restored to his kingdom, and succeeded by two other kings, yet, from this period may be dated the commencement of the Babylonian captivity, which according to the prediction of Jeremiah was to last 70 years. When this time was completed, Cyrus, under whom were united the kingdoms of Persia, Media, and Babylon, permitted the Jews to return to their own land, and rebuild their temple at Jerusalem.

They were conducted by Zerubbabel the grandson of Jeconias, and Joshua the son of Josedec the high priest. The second temple was finished in the reign of king Darius of Persia.