ands forth in the Bible
as the very worst exemplification of the dark possibilities of human
nature. Tennyson says men do not mount as high as the best of
women--but they scarce can sink as low as the worst. For men at most
differ as heaven and earth; but women, worst and best, as heaven and
hell. And this woman became, alas, the mother of kings; and all who
went forth from her inherited her nature, and forgot nothing of her
training. For several generations the taint of her evil influence was
felt throughout the whole court life of Israel, and the licentious
abominations which she had introduced infected the whole national life.
Ahab married for money and position, and this was what came of it.

Her influence extended also to the southern kingdom of Judah. Jehoram,
King of Judah, must needs marry Ahab's daughter, Athaliah, who was the
exact counterpart of her mother, Jezebel. Another wedding in which
morals and religion were sacrificed on the altar of gain--for by means
of it a small kingdom was to be cemented in alliance with a greater,
and another rich dowry to be secured. And the same dreary results
followed--a court corrupted with all manner of impurity, sons and
daughters initiated into all the mysteries of wickedness,
demoralisation spreading all around.

In this atmosphere Ahaziah was trained. His mother's name, says the
record briefly, was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri, that is, the direct
daughter of Jezebel. He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab,
for his mother was his counsellor to do wickedly--wherefore he did evil
in the sight of the Lord, for they were his counsellors after the death
of his father to his destruction. What else could result in a home of
which Athaliah was the head, in which the main training and influence
were supplied by one of Jezebel's brood. The significant feature in
all these Chronicles is the immense influence of women in shaping the
lives and characters of kings. The men seem to have little to do with
it; the women are almost supreme. Sons do not take after their fathers
but after their mothers. Again and again we read of a good king who
had a wicked father--Josiah, Hezekiah, and others. They shake off
their evil inheritance; they refuse to follow in their fathers' steps;
they destroy idolatry, and endeavour to redeem Israel from its
iniquity. But whenever this is the case you do not look far without
discovering the cause. A good mother has been at work