, continually.

And Jehoahaz besought the Lord, and the Lord hearkened unto him: for
he saw the oppression of Israel, how that the king of Syria oppressed
them. And the Lord gave Israel a saviour, so that they went out from
under the hand of the Syrians: and the children of Israel dwelt in
their tents, as beforetime. Nevertheless they departed not from the
sins of the house of Jeroboam, wherewith he made Israel to sin, but
walked therein: and there remained the Asherah also in Samaria.

And there were left to Jehoahaz of the people only fifty horsemen, and
ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen; for the king of Syria
destroyed them, and made them like the dust in threshing. And Jehoahaz
died; and they buried him in Samaria: and Joash his son reigned in his
stead.

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JOASH.

(The oppression of the Syrians continued into the reign of Joash, but
in the later days of the reign, Joash gained the ascendency over his
foes in three great battles, according to the prophecy of Elisha when
he was about to die, as is told in the "Stories of Elijah and Elisha"
in another chapter of this volume.)

And Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz.
But the Lord was gracious unto them, and had compassion on them, and
had respect unto them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob, and would not destroy them, neither cast he them from his
presence as yet. And Hazael king of Syria died; and Ben-hadad his son
reigned in his stead. And Joash the son of Jehoahaz took again out of
the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael the cities which he had taken
out of the hand of Jehoahaz his father by war. Three times did Joash
smite him, and recovered the cities of Israel.

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JEROBOAM II.

(Jeroboam II. was an evil king, but as a soldier he was one of the
greatest in the history of Israel. He extended the territory of the
people in every direction. The country was prosperous in a commercial
sense as it never had been before. The rich people lived in the most
luxurious houses and spent their time in idleness and dissipation. But
there was another side to the picture. The poor were terribly
oppressed, and there was no such thing as justice. The people
worshiped idols and indulged in all kinds of evil practices. We know
most about the reign through the prophet Amos, who sternly denounced
all this wickedness.)

In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah
Jeroboam the s