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Show : Rent ThefecondBookeof thefirstpart 5 - CHAP.20.6.3 oe ores §.1II. Pe e of the Eliftorie ofthe World, euoltedTribesby any of the Religious Kings, whoratherin vited the Ifraeli therjandgaue them kinde entertainement : vnder eC laters they mutt haue bin y it, whethertheyliue d free: orin fubie@ion. Yetit feemes that priuat ereafons were The doings of Ichoramwhea he raigned vilone ; and the rebellion of wanting, which might moue themtatherto doe than fufferthat w Edom and Libnas Vrall this prouidence auailed nothing;foran higher prouidetice had otherwife determined of the fequell. When once the good old man, their Father, was 8 dead,the yongerfonnes of.lohofaphat found {trong Cities, a weake defence, a gainit the powerof him yato whom the Citizens were obedient. Tf-they came jin vpn the fummons of aking their brother, then hadhe them without any more ado0 44 ifthey food vpon their. guard,then were they. Traitors,&fo ivnable eshae hin, whobefides his owne power, was able to bring the for ces of the frac itif i king, dome againft them;fo thatthe apparant likelihoodof their finall onerthrow, fixficed to makeall forfake themin the very beginning. Howfoeuer it was,they wereall taken and flaine,and with them for company manygreat menof the Land; fuch belike, as either had takentheir part, when the Tyrant foughttheir liues,or had been appointed Rulers ofthe Country, when Iehoram was depofed from his Gouernment ; in Which Office they, without forbearing to doe iuftice,could hardly auoide the doing of manythings, derogatoryto their yong Mafter; which if he would, nowcall treafon, faying that hee Was then king,who durft fay the contrary ¢ CH aPagiS4. ' | After this /ehoramtook vponhim,as being now Lord alone,to make innouationsin Religion: wherein he was not contented as other Idolatrous Princes, to giue way and fife conduét ynto Superftition and Idolatry, norto prouoke and encouragethe people to that finne,wheretoit is wonderfull that they werefo much addicted,hauing {uch knowledge of God, and ofhis detefting that aboue all otherfinnes ; buthe vied com hich was vi ble; Forinthe general vifitation before remem bred, wherein Tehofbaphat reforme j ome, the good old king appointing new Gouernours and , givin eto doeiuftice withoutrefpec of perfons, vfed thefewor 5, Theg Lenite ‘s beforeyon, Be ofgoodcouraye, and doe it, and the Lordfb all bee with 5 fb the good, By thefe phrafes, itfeemtes, that he encouraged thema gainft the more powerfull, thaniui » proceedings ofhis fon; whom iftheLeuites did(a ccording tothetrugt repofed inthem) negleé in difcharging their dueties,likelyit isthat hee meant to be even with them, and makethem nowto feele, as many Princes of the land had done,his heanie indigna Howit happened that Libna was not hereupon deftr oyed,yea,thatit was not(for ough that wecan read) fo much as befieged or molef te d, may iuftly feeme very ftrange, And the moreftrangeit is imregard ofthe mightyArmi es which lehofophatwas ableto raife, being fuificient to haueouer-whelmed any one Towne, and buried it-vnderthe earth, whichthey might well in one moneth haue caft into it with {houels, by ordinary approaches. Butit feemes that ofthofe great numbers which his Father could have lenied, there 20 Werenotmanywhom Ieroboam could well truft; and therefore perhaps hethoughtit an eafierloffe,to let one Town goe, than to put weapons into their hands, who more likely to follow the exampleof Libna; than to punifhit. So defperate is the con n of Tyrants, who thinking it a greater happineffeto bee feared, than'to beloued : fainethemfeluesto ftandin feare of thofe, by whom they might haue beene dreadfir vnto others. pulfion, and was (ifnot the very firft) the firft that is regiftred,to haue fer vp Irreligi- on byforce, a Whileft he was thus bufied at home,in doing what he lifted,the Edomiteshis Tribu- taries rebelled againft him abroad;andhauin g hitherto, fince Dawids time,beene gouer- ned by a vice-Roy,did now make ynto themfeluesa king.Againft thefe Zehoramin per-j@ fon made an expedition,taking along with himhis Princes, andall his Chariots, with which he obtained victory in the field, compelling the rebels to flie intotheir places of aduantage,whereof he forced no one,but went away contented with the honout that he hadgottén in beating and killing fome of thofe whomhee fhould haue fubdued, and kept his feruants. Now began the prophecy ofYaacto take effect, wherin he fore told, that £/au in proceffe oftime fhould breake the yoke of /acob. Forafter this the Edomites could neuer be reclaimed by anyofthe kings of Iuda, but heldtheir owne fo well, that when,after manyciuill andforraine wars, the Iewes by fundry Nations had beene brought low; dutipater the Edomite, with Herod his fon, and others ofthat race i following them,became Lordsof the Tewes,in the decrepit ageofIfrael, & reigned' # Kings,eucn in Terufalem it felfe, The freedome ofthe Edomites,though purchafed fomewhat dearlyencouraged! na,a great Citie within Iuda, which inthe time ofIofua had a peculiarking, to rebel oF gaint (ehoram, and fet it felfeat liberty. Libna ftoodin theconfines of Beniamin &08 Dan farre fromthe affiftance ofany bordering enemies lyit was to haue maintained it felfe in liberty that to Iuda,.and therfore fo vei' it may feem ftrange how itcoulde® cap: fromviter deftruétion,orat the leaft from fometerrible haus beene taken, by their powerfull, cruel], and throughly vengeance,mottlikely , incenfed Lord. Th ; lite held fuch good intelligence at that time withIuda,that he would not haue acc the Tr hadit offeredit felfe ynto him : neither doc wereade thatit foughth caft it felfeinto a new fubiection, but continued a free eftate. Therebellion of rebyon1.10, 4040"4 AWS, Because hehadforfaken the Lord Godofhis Fathers:which I take ton onelybeen the firft and remote caufe,but euen the next and immediate reafon, = the inhabitants to doe as they did: forir was a Town ofthe muft a a driveninto gteat extremitics > Whena religion,contrary to Leuites;who Gods Law, had nok, fom=allowance to countenance it by the king, but compulfiue authority to force itallthat were ynwilling.As forthe vfe ofthe Temple at Terufalem which ot Houtimen,they mightfeare to lofe by this rebellion) it was neuer deniedto tholeo §..1V. Of the miferiesfalling upon Iehoram,and of bis death. &@ Hefe afflictions not fufficing to make any impreffion of Gods difpleafure if the minde of the'wicked Prince 3 Prophecy in Writing was deliueredvnto him,which threatned bothhis people,his children,his vviues,and his owne body.. Hereby likewife it appeares that he wasa cruell Perfecutor of Gods feruants in.as muchas the Prophets durft not reprouehimto his face,as they had done nany of his predeceffors,both goodand cuill kings ; but were faineto denounce Gods ludgements againft him byletters, keeping themfelucs clofe and farre from him. This Epiftleis faid to haue been fent ynto him from E/izs the Prophet. But E42 was tr. anila- s.chrongr.r ted, id Elizeus prophefiedinhis fteadbefore this time,etien in the daiés ofIehofbaphar. Le o Wherfore it may be that Elias left this prophefie in writing behind him;or that(as fome 2Kjn2e3.2% conieCure) the errourofone letterin writing, was the occafion thatwe reade Eliz for Elizews, Indeed anything mayrather be the Tewith Rabbins, that Elias from heauenbeleeued thanthe Tradition held by fomeof didfend this Epiftle; atalé fomewhat like ¢fable of our Ladies letters,deuifed icauen to S, Giles. by Era/ieus,or oftheVerfe that was fent from Whofoeuer was the Authorof this threa tning Epiftle; the accomplifhment of the Was as terrible asthe fentence. For thePh iliftims dadArabians brake into Tu he Kings houfe, wherein they foundall, ormanyofhis children; and 3 all which they flew,orcarried aw ay, with *¢ not prelumed fince thetime of Dayéd great part of his goods. Thefe Phili,to make any offenfiiie warre til! now; vere by. him almoftconfumed, and had lofttheebeft of their Townes, maintaiues in thereft of their{mall Territorie s;by defenfiue'armes,to which they ained at Gibbethon bytheIffraclit es. The Arabians were likelyto hauebin arenow, a naked lhorfemen;andillappointed 3 their countr ie 4§ No. other: furniture.) than fuch as might make themfitteito rob and {poyle 1 en fields, than to.offendftrong Cities fucha sw erethicke fet in Iuda. Truei ‘Ein ageslong after followi onqueredall theSouthparts of the worldthent he, 10. very thort. {pace of ying fome,andbuilding other fome very Hately Cities, But it mutt bee confide this was whenthey hadlearned ofthe c Lomanes |