History of the Jews, Vol. 1 (of 6). Graetz Heinrich

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ it prevent them from ill-treating the Israelites. Jephthah's victories over the Ammonites did not cause the enemy to relinquish his claims over the eastern tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half of Manasseh.

      After the deaths of Jephthah and Samson, the state of affairs became still more dismal. It was, however, precisely this sense of extreme weakness which led to a gradual recovery of strength. Several tribal leaders must have come to the conclusion that this connection with neighbouring populations, and the adoption of idolatrous customs had brought the people to the verge of ruin. The remembrance of the God of their fathers no doubt once more revived in their hearts, and awakened their sleeping consciences to a sense of duty. The men who had been thus aroused called to mind the Sanctuary dedicated to their God at Shiloh, and they repaired thither.

      Towards the close of the judges' period, Shiloh once more became a general rallying point. Here the Levites, the guardians of the Law, still resided, and they used their opportunities to urge, at the meetings held in times of distress, that a denial of Israel's God and the worship of Baal had brought all this misery upon the people. There also lived in Shiloh a priest who was worthy of his ancestors Aaron and Phineas. He was the first Aaronite, after a considerable time, whose name has been recorded for posterity. He was simply called Eli, without the addition of his father's name, and the only title of honour he bore was that of the priest at Shiloh. Eli is described as a venerable old man, on whose lips were words of gentleness, and who was incapable of giving utterance to severe censure, even of his unworthy sons.

      This aged man could not fail to exercise a beneficial influence, and win warm adherents to the Law which he represented, if only by the example of his moral worth, and by the holy life he led. When Shiloh was visited, in ever-increasing numbers, by desponding worshippers from the tribes of Ephraim and Benjamin, as also from the tribes on the trans-Jordanic side, some were murmuring at the sufferings imposed upon them, and others complaining of the hard treatment they endured at the hands of the Ammonites; but Eli would exhort them to rely on the ever ready help of the God of Israel, and to give up the worship of strange gods.

      By such exhortations he might have brought about a better state of mind among his hearers, if the respect felt for him had been likewise enjoyed by his two sons, Hophni and Phineas. They, however, did not walk in the ways of their father; and when the people and Eli were overtaken by severe misfortunes, these were supposed to be a punishment of heaven for the sins of Eli's sons, and for the weak indulgence displayed by the High Priest.

      The Philistines still held sway over the tribes in their vicinity, and made repeated attacks and raids on Israel's lands. The tribes attacked became so far skilled in warfare that they no longer sought to oppose the enemy in irregular skirmishes, but met them in open battle. The Israelites encamped on the hill Eben-ha-Ezer, and the Philistines in the plain near Aphek. As the latter possessed iron war-chariots they proved superior to the Israelites, of whom four thousand are supposed to have fallen in battle. The Israelite warriors, however, did not take to flight, but kept to their posts.

      In accordance with the counsel of the elders, the Ark of the Covenant was brought from Shiloh, it being believed that its presence would ensure victory. Eli's sons were appointed to escort it. Nevertheless, the second battle was even more disastrous than the first. The Israelite troops fled in utter confusion; the Ark of the Covenant was captured by the Philistines, and Hophni and Phineas, who attended it, were killed. The Philistines pursued the fleeing troops, and spread terror in every direction. Breathless with fear, a messenger of evil tidings arrived in Shiloh, and brought the sad news to the anxious people, and to the high priest Eli, who was sitting at the gate.

      The news that the Ark of the Covenant had been captured affected the aged priest even more than that of the death of his sons; he dropped down dead from his seat. It now seemed that all glory had departed from the house of Israel. The victorious Philistines, no longer content to make foraging expeditions through the country, forced their way from west to east until they reached the district of Shiloh. They destroyed that town, together with the Tabernacle, which had been a witness to the blissful days of Moses. A later poet describes this time of trial with a heavy heart.14

      The strength and courage of the people were entirely overcome by this defeat. Those tribes which until now had been foremost in every encounter were crushed. The tribe of Ephraim suffered – though not undeservedly – most severely by the overthrow of the Sanctuary, which, in Eli's time, had been recognised as a place for popular meetings. Every chance of union, especially amongst the northern tribes, who, however, had not been concerned in the disastrous strife, seemed to be cut off.

      The Philistines were impressed with the idea that by capturing the Ark of the Covenant – which they supposed to be the safeguard of the Israelites – and by destroying the Sanctuary, they had vanquished the Israelite people. But they were painfully undeceived. As soon as they had carried off the Ark of the Covenant to the neighbouring town of Ashdod, the country was visited by various plagues. In their terror, the Philistine princes determined to follow the advice of their priests and magicians, and send back the Ark, accompanied by expiatory offerings, after it had been in their possession for seven months. It was accordingly sent over the boundaries, and taken to the town of "Kirjath Jearim" (Forest Town), situated on a hill, where it was guarded by the Levites of the district; but it was so little missed by the people that decades passed before they even remembered their loss. In the eyes of the untutored Israelites, neither the contents nor the great age of the tablets of the Law preserved in the Ark were of great importance. Meanwhile these misfortunes – the destruction and loss of the Sanctuary at Shiloh – had aroused a desire for a better state of things. Those who were not utterly indifferent could perceive that the true cause of the evil lay in the religious and political dissensions. The Levites, who had escaped during the destruction of Shiloh, and had settled in other towns, probably prepared the public mind for a return to the belief in God. Perhaps also the return of the Ark of the Covenant from the land of the Philistines exercised an animating influence, and raised hopes of better days. The longing for the God of Israel became daily more widely diffused, and the want of a steadfast and energetic leader was keenly felt – a leader who would bring the misguided people into the right path, and raise up those who were bowed down with sorrow. And just at the right moment a man appeared who brought about a crisis in Israel's history.

      Samuel, the son of Elkanah, was the man who reunited the long-sundered bonds of communal life amongst the Israelites, and thereby averted the threatening decay and internal corruption. His greatness is illustrated by the circumstance that he is placed second to Moses not only in chronological sequence, but also in prophetic importance.15

      Samuel was an elevated character. He displayed the same unbending conscientiousness towards himself as towards others. Living amidst the people, coming into daily contact with them, he surpassed the men of his time in love of God, purity of heart, and unselfishness. In addition to these qualities he was distinguished by the gift of prophecy. His spiritual eye pierced the clouds which hid the future. He proclaimed his prophetic visions, and they came to pass. Samuel was descended from one of the most distinguished Levitical families, from the same Korah who had incited the rebellion against Moses in days of old. Samuel inherited intensity of feeling from his mother Hannah, whose fervent though inaudible prayer has formed a model for all ages. At a tender age his mother secured a place for him as one of the attendant Levites in the Sanctuary at Shiloh. He had daily to open its gates; he took part in the sacrificial service, and he passed his nights within the precincts of the tabernacle.

      At an early age the gift of prophecy, unknown to himself, was awakened within him. Whilst wrapped in deep sleep he heard himself called from the inner recess of the Sanctuary where the Ark of the Covenant reposed. This was Samuel's first vision, and happened previous to the defeat of the Israelites by the Philistines, the capture of the Ark of the Covenant, the death of Eli and his two sons, and the destruction of the Sanctuary. Samuel's services ceased with the last-named event, and he returned to his father's house at Ramah in deep affliction.

      The СКАЧАТЬ