m of Judah. Jerusalem remained its capital,
and God was worshipped in the magnificent temple built by King
Solomon. It also maintained the regular priesthood, its
officers descending as formerly from father to son.

Among the twenty sovereigns of Judah, there were a few who
served God sincerely. The best four of the kings were Asa,
Jehosaphat, Hezekiah and Josiah. Asa fought against the
worship of idols which had corrupted the people, yet he made
an alliance with the King of Syria, who was an idolater.
Jehosaphat, his son, ruled the kingdom of Judah for
twenty-five years, and, although he did not always do right,
his reign was a quiet one.

[Image: ASA READ THE LAW OF GOD TO THE PEOPLE.]

Hezekiah waged a vigorous war against the worship of idols,
and, as far as he was able, restored the worship of God in the
temple. The Bible says of everything he undertook for the
glory of God that _"he did it with all his heart, and
prospered."_

[Image: HEZEKIAH DESTROYED THE IDOLS IN THE TEMPLE.]

Hezekiah was a very brave man, and when Sennacherib, the King
of Assyria, sent an army against Jerusalem, his speech to the
people, telling them to be strong and courageous, for God
would help them and fight for them, was not unlike that of
Joshua when he exhorted the Israelites to trust in God, at the
time when they were about to enter the land of Canaan.

[Image: SENNACHERIB, KING OF ASSYRIA.]

The prophet Isaiah lived during the reign of Hezekiah. At one
time when the king was very sick he prayed to God that his
life might be spared. God told Isaiah to tell him that He had
heard his prayer, and that He would heal him, and prolong his
life for fifteen years.

When Isaiah had delivered God's message, Hezekiah asked for a
sign that these things should be done, and Isaiah said that he
might decide whether the shadow upon the sundial should go
forward ten degrees or go backward ten degrees.

Hezekiah replied that it was an easy thing for the shadow to
go forward ten degrees, and asked that it might go backwards.
God moved the shadow as the king had asked, and he accepted it
as a sign that his life was to be spared and his days
lengthened.

[Image: GOD MOVED THE SHADOW BACKWARDS.]

Josiah was only eight years old when he came to the throne of
Judah. He served God while yet a child, and devoted his life
to His service. He reigned for more than thirty years, and was
killed at last by an arrow while defending his kingdom again