n thereof in his first-born, and in his youngest
son shall he set up the gates of it." Joshua 6:26.

The hands of angels had thrown down its walls, and its ruin was to stand
as a memorial. More than five hundred years later, when the apostate
Ahab was ruling, and Israel and Judah had departed from the Lord, Hiel
the Bethelite set out to rebuild Jericho. "He laid the foundation
thereof in Abiram his first-born."

But accident and death may come at any time. The work on the walls went
on, no one thinking of the neglected Scriptures with their warning of
long ago. So the full account runs:

"He laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his first-born, and set up the
gates thereof in his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the
Lord, which He spake by Joshua the son of Nun." 1 Kings 16:34.

The fate of some of the mightiest cities the world ever saw has borne
testimony through the centuries to the fulfilment of the prophetic word.

The Witness of Nineveh

Nineveh was founded by Nimrod. He built not only his capital here by the
Tigris, but other towns round about, conceiving first of all the idea of
grouping the capital and its suburbs into one great city, the "Greater
Nineveh," as we would say in these days of Greater London and Greater
New York. At the dawn of history Nineveh was "a great city." Gen. 10:11,
12. In Jonah's day it was an "exceeding great city."[A] Sennacherib, of
the Bible story, was its beautifier. Rawlinson says:

"The great palace which he raised at Nineveh surpassed in size
and splendor all earlier edifices."--_"Second Monarchy," chap.
9._

A description is preserved on the clay cylinder in the king's own words:

"For the wonderment of multitudes of men
I raised its head--'the palace which has no rival'
I called its name."--_Taylor Cylinder, "Records of the Past."
Vol. XII, part 1_.

At the preaching of Jonah the city had repented; but in later years
pride of conquest and luxury and wealth were filling it with blood. The
prophet Nahum warned it of certain doom, appealing to those who had any
fear of God to turn to Him. The message was:

[Illustration: THE SITE OF NINEVEH

"How is she become a desolation!" Zeph. 2:15.]

"The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knoweth
them that trust in Him." Nahum 1:7.

Some, no doubt, heeded the warning and turned to God for refuge. But the
city's life of sin ran on. Then the prophet Zephaniah sp