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Prophets and Kings Ellen G. White 1917 Information about this Book Overview This ePub publication is provided as a service of the Ellen G. White Estate. It is part of a larger collection. Please visit the Ellen G. White Estate website for a complete list of available publications. About the Author Ellen G. White (1827-1915) is considered the most widely translated American author, her works having been published in more than 160 languages. She wrote more than 100,000 pages on a wide variety of spiritual and practical topics. Guided by the Holy Spirit, she exalted Jesus and pointed to the Scriptures as the basis of one’s faith. Further Links A Brief Biography of Ellen G. White About the Ellen G. White Estate End User License Agreement The viewing, printing or downloading of this book grants you only a limited, nonexclusive and nontransferable license for use solely by you for your own personal use. This license does not permit republication, distribution, assignment, sublicense, sale, preparation of derivative works, or other use. Any unauthorized use of this book terminates the license granted hereby. © Copyright 2010 by the Ellen G. White Estate, Inc. For more information about the author, publishers, or how you can support this service, please contact the Ellen G. White Estate: (email address). We are thankful for your interest and feedback and wish you God’s blessing as you read. FOREWORD The Story of Prophets and Kings is the second in a series of five outstanding volumes spanning sacred history. It was, however, the last book of the series to be written, and the last of many rich works to come from the gifted pen of Ellen G. White. Through her seventy years of speaking and writing in America and abroad, Mrs. White ever kept before the public the larger significance of the events of history, revealing that in the affairs of men are to be detected the unseen influences of righteousness and evil—the hand of God and the work of the great adversary. The author with deep insight in providential workings draws the curtain aside and reveals a philosophy of history by which the events of the past take on eternal significance. She expressed this philosophy in this way: “The strength of nations and of individuals is not found in the opportunities and facilities that appear to make them invincible; It is not found in their boasted greatness. That which alone can make them great or strong is the power and purpose of God. They themselves by their attitude toward his purpose, decide their own destiny. “Human histories relate man’s achievements, his victories in battle, his success in climbing to worldly greatness. God’s history describes man as heaven views Him.” This volume, Prophets and Kings, opens with the account of Solomon’s glorious reign over Israel, a united kingdom, with the temple of Jehovah—the center of true worship. Here are traced the vicissitudes of a favored and chosen people, torn between allegiance to God and serving the Gods of the nations about them. And here are seen vividly, through a crucial period of this world’s history, the dramatic evidences of the raging conflict between Christ and Satan for the hearts and allegiance of men. The book abounds in fascinating character studies—the wise Solomon, whose wisdom did not keep him from transgression; Jeroboam, the self-serving man of policy, and the evil results which followed his reign; The mighty and fearless Elijah; Elisha, the prophet of peace and healing; Ahaz, the fearful and wicked; Hezekiah, the loyal and good-hearted; Daniel, the beloved of God; Jeremiah, the prophet of sorrow; Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, prophets of the restoration. Beyond them all rises in glory the coming King, the Lamb of God, the only-begotten Son, in whom the typical sacrifices find fulfillment. Patriarchs and Prophets, the first book of the series, spans world history from creation to the close of David’s reign; The Desire of Ages, the third book, treats of the life and ministry of Christ; this volume, Prophets and Kings fits between these two. The Acts of the Apostles, The fourth, portrays the history of the early Christian church, and The Great Controversy, the last in the series, traces the conflict story to our day and then on in a prophetic vein to the earth made new. The Story of Prophets and Kings, having enjoyed a circulation which has demanded many printings since its first appearance, is now presented to the public in attractive form with type reset, but with no change of text or pagination. This new edition is embellished with attractive illustrations, many of them original paintings designed especially for this work. That this volume with its rich lessons of faith in God and His Son, the Saviour of the world, and the stories of his providence in the lives of great men and women of Old Testament times may deepen the religious experience and enlighten the minds of all who read its pages is the sincere wish of the Publishers and The Board of Trustees of the Ellen G. White Publications. Contents Information about this Book . .1 Overview . .1 About the Author . .1 Further Links . .1 End User License Agreement . .1 FOREWORD . .9 The Vineyard of the Lord . 15 Section I – From Strength to Weakness 23 Chap. 1 - Solomon . 25 Chap. 2 - The Temple and Its Dedication . 35 Chap. 3 - Pride of Prosperity . 51 Chap. 4 - Results of Transgression . 61 Chap. 5 - Solomon’s Repentance . 75 Chap. 6 - The Rending of the Kingdom . 87 Chap. 7 - Jeroboam . 99 Chap. 8 - National Apostasy . 109 Section II – Prophets of the Northern Kingdom 117 Chap. 9 - Elijah the Tishbite . 119 Chap. 10 - The Voice of Stern Rebuke . 129 Chap. 11 - Carmel . 143 Chap. 12 - From Jezreel to Horeb . 155 Chap. 13 - “What Doest Thou Here?” . 167 Chap. 14 - “In the Spirit and Power of Elias” . 177 Chap. 15 - Jehoshaphat . 190 Chap. 16 - The Fall of the House of Ahab . 204 Chap. 17 - The Call of Elisha . 217 Chap. 18 - The Healing of the Waters . 229 Chap. 19 - A Prophet of Peace . 235 Chap. 20 - Naaman . 244 Chap. 21 - Elisha’s Closing Ministry . 254 Chap. 22 - “Nineveh, That Great City” . 265 Chap. 23 - The Assyrian Captivity . 279 Chap. 24 - “Destroyed for Lack of Knowledge” . 293 Section III – A Preacher of Righteousness 301 Chap. 25 - The Call of Isaiah . 303 Chap. 26 - “Behold Your God!” . 311 Chap. 27 - Ahaz . 322 Chap. 28 - Hezekiah . 331 Chap. 29 - The Ambassadors From Babylon . 340 Chap. 30 - Deliverance From Assyria . 349 Chap. 31 - Hope for the Heathen . 367 Section IV – National Retribution 379 Chap. 32 - Manasseh and Josiah . 381 Chap. 33 - The Book of the Law . 392 Chap. 34 - Jeremiah . 407 Chap. 35 - Approaching Doom . 422 Chap. 36 - The Last King of Judah . 440 Chap. 37 - Carried Captive Into Babylon . 452 Chap. 38 - Light Through Darkness . 464 Section V – In the Lands of the Heathen 477 Chap. 39 - In the Court of Babylon . 479 Chap. 40 - Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream . 491 Chap. 41 - The Fiery Furnace . 503 Chap. 42 - True Greatness . 514 Chap. 43 - The Unseen Watcher . 522 Chap. 44 - In the Lions’ Den . 539 Section VI – After the Exile 549 Chap. 45 - The Return of the Exiles . 551 Chap. 46 - “The Prophets of God Helping Them” . 567 Chap. 47 - Joshua and the Angel . 582 Chap. 48 - “Not by Might, nor by Power” . 593 Chap. 49 - In the Days of Queen Esther . 598 Chap. 50 - Ezra, the Priest and Scribe . 607 Chap. 51 - A Spiritual Revival . 618 Chap. 52 - A Man of Opportunity . 628 Chap. 53 - The Builders on the Wall . 635 Chap. 54 - A Rebuke Against Extortion . 646 Chap. 55 - Heathen Plots . 653 Chap. 56 - Instructed in the Law of God . 661 Chap. 57 - Reformation . 669 Section VII – Light at Eventide 679 Chap. 58 - The Coming of a Deliverer . 681 Chap. 59 - “The House of Israel” . 703 Chap. 60 - Visions of Future Glory . 722 The Vineyard of the Lord It was for the purpose of bringing the best gifts of Heaven to all the peoples of earth that God called Abraham out from his idolatrous kindred and bade him dwell in the land of Canaan. “I will make of thee a great nation,” He said, “and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing.” Genesis 12:2. It was a high honor to which Abraham was called—that of being the father of the people who for centuries were to be the guardians and preservers of the truth of God to the world, the people through whom all the nations of the earth should be blessed in the advent of the promised Messiah. Men had well-nigh lost the knowledge of the true God. Their minds were darkened by idolatry. For the divine statutes, which are “holy, and just, and good” (Romans 7:12), men were endeavoring to substitute laws in harmony with the purposes of their own cruel, selfish hearts. Yet God in his mercy did not blot them out of existence. He purposed to give them opportunity for becoming acquainted with him 15 through his church. He designed that the principles revealed through his people should be the means of restoring the moral image of God in man. God’s law must be exalted, his authority maintained; and to the house of Israel was given this great and noble work. God separated them from the world, that He might commit to them a sacred trust. He made them the depositaries of his law, and He purposed through them to preserve among men the knowledge of himself.