Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. STATE OP JUDEA — EXPECTATION OP THE MESSIAH — SIGNS OF SIS COMING —HIS FORERUNNER. In order to understand aright the circumstances and spirit of our Saviour's ministry, it is necessary to know many things respecting the state of the country and the history of the times in which he lived. There was much in them that was peculiar; and the knowledge of which will aid us to interpret our Lord's character, works, and manner of teaching, as well as his reception and success. I have already said that the Jewish nation was in a state of degeneracy and decay. It was now just about a thousand years, since it was at its height of prosperity in the glorious reign of Solomon. The period of its greatness had been brief, for it was abused. Corruption of morals and of religion came in with prosperity. Immediately upon Solomon's death, ten of the tribes revolted, and set up a separate government under a separate king. From that day we read of two kingdoms—that of Judah, comprehending only the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, whose capital was Jerusalem, and that of Israel, which comprized the other ten tribes, and whose capital was Samaria. These two nations continued to exist by the side of each other, sometimes at war, sometimes at peace, for two hundred and fifty-four years. The kingdom of the ten tribes was then conquered by Shalmanezer, king of Assyria, and the people were carried into captivity. Here their history ends. What became of them, never has been discovered. Some suppose that they were utterly destroyed, some that they were scattered over the various countries of Assyria, and many have fancied that their descendants still exist in Asia, Africa, or America. But this is all uncertain. It is more important to observe, that their country was not wholly depopulated... --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.