Chapter 21

So they gathered together and came to Mizpeh, opposite Jerusalem; for in Mizpeh there was a place of prayer for Israel. And they fasted that day, and put sackcloth and ashes on their heads and tore their clothes, and spread out the book of the law--one of those in which the heathen had been painting images of their idols. And they brought the priests' garments with the first-fruits, and the tithes, and they cut the hair of the Nazirites who had accomplished their days. And they cried aloud toward Heaven, saying, What shall we do with these and whither shall we carry them away? For thy sanctuary is trodden down and profaned, and thy priests are in sorrow, and humiliation. And now the heathen have assembled together against us to destroy us. Thou knowest what plans they are making against us. How shall we be able to stand before them, except thou be our help? And they sounded with the trumpets, and cried with a loud voice.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 3:55-60] And after this Judas appointed leaders of the people, commanders over thousands, over hundreds, over fifties, and over tens. And he told those who were building houses and those who were planting vineyards and those who were afraid, to return, each to his own house, as the law commanded. Then the army removed and encamped upon the south side of Emmaus. And Judas said, Gird yourselves and be valiant men; and be ready in the morning to fight with these heathen who are assembled together against us to destroy us and our sanctuary. For it is better for us to die in battle than to see the misfortunes of our nation and of the sanctuary. Nevertheless, let Heaven do whatever be his will.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 4:1-6a] And Gorgias took five thousand footmen, and a thousand chosen horsemen, and the army set out by night, that it might fall upon the army of the Jews and attack them suddenly. And the men of the citadel were his guides. But when Judas heard of it, he broke camp with his valiant men, that he might attack the king's army which was at Emmaus, while as yet the forces were dispersed from the camp. And when Gorgias came to the camp of Judas by night, he found no one. Then he looked for them in the mountains, thinking that the men were fleeing from him.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 4:6b-11] But as soon as it was day, Judas appeared in the plain with three thousand men; only they had neither armor nor swords as they wished. When now they saw the camp of the heathen strongly fortified and cavalry about it and experienced warriors there, Judas said to the men who were with him, Fear not their multitude neither be afraid of their attack. Remember how our fathers were saved in the Red Sea, when Pharaoh pursued them with a host. And now let us cry to Heaven, if he will show favor to us and will remember the covenant made with our fathers and destroy this army before our face to-day, that all the heathen may know that there is one who redeemeth and saveth Israel.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 4:12-15] Then when the foreigners lifted up their eyes and saw them coming toward them, they went from their camp to battle. And those who were with Judas sounded their trumpets and joined battle; and the heathen were defeated and fled into the plain. But all who were in the rear fell by the sword, and they pursued them to Gazara and to the plains of Idumea and Azotus and Jamnia, and there fell of them about three thousand men.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 4:16-25] When Judas and his army returned from pursuing them, he said to the people, Do not be greedy for the spoils, since there is a battle before us, and Gorgias and his army are near us in the mountain. But stand now against our enemies and fight them, and afterward you may openly take the spoils. While Judas was still speaking there appeared a part of them, looking out from the mountain; and these saw that their army had been put to flight and that the Jews were burning their camp, for the smoke that was seen showed what had been done. And when they perceived these things, they were thrown into a panic, and seeing the army of Judas also in the plain ready for battle, they all retreated into the land of the Philistines. And Judas returned to sack the camp, and they took much gold and silver and blue and sea-purple and great riches. Then they returned home and sang a song of thanksgiving and gave praise to Heaven, because he is good, because his mercy endureth forever. Thus Israel had a great deliverance that day.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 4:26, 27] But the foreigners, as many as had escaped, came and told Lysias all the things that had happened. And when he heard it he was astonished and discouraged, because neither had Israel met with reverses as he wished nor had what the king commanded been realized.

[Footnote: I Macc. 4:28-34] Now in the next year [Lysias] gathered together sixty thousand picked footmen and five thousand horsemen, that he might subdue [the Jews]. When they came to Idumea and encamped at Bethsura, Judas met them with ten thousand men. As he saw that the army was strong, he prayed and said, Blessed art thou, O Saviour of Israel, who didst shatter the attacking power of the mighty man by the hand of thy servant David, and didst deliver the army of the heathen into the hands of Jonathan the son of Saul, and of his armor-bearer.

Shut up this army in the hand of thy people Israel, And let them be ashamed of their army and their horsemen. Give them faintness of heart, And let their bold courage melt away, And let them tremble at their destruction. Cast them down by the sword of those who love thee, So that all may know thy name who praise thee with thanksgiving.

Then they joined battle; and there fell of the army of Lysias about five thousand men, and they fell on the spot before them.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 4:35] But when Lysias saw that his army was retreating, and the boldness that had come upon those who were with Judas, and how they were ready either to live or to die nobly, he removed to Antioch and gathered together hired soldiers, that he might come again into Judea with a still greater force.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 4:36-51] Then Judas and his brothers said, Now that our enemies have been defeated, let us go up to cleanse the sanctuary and to dedicate it again; so they went up to Mount Zion. And all the army was gathered together and went up to Mount Zion. And when they saw the sanctuary laid desolate, the altar profaned, the gates burnt, and shrubs growing in the courts, as in a forest or as on one of the mountains, and the priests' chambers pulled down, they tore their garments and made great lamentation, and putting ashes upon their heads, they fell prone upon the ground. Then they blew a signal on the trumpets and cried to Heaven. And Judas appointed certain men to fight against those who were in the citadel, until he should have cleansed the sanctuary. And he chose priests who were unimpeachable observers of the law, who cleansed the sanctuary and carried out the polluted stones to an unclean place. And they deliberated as to what they should do with the altar of burnt-offerings which had been profaned. They finally reached this wise decision: to pull it down lest it should be a reproach to them, because the heathen had defiled it. So they pulled down the altar and laid the stones on the temple mount in a convenient place, until there should come a prophet to give an oracle concerning them. Then they took whole stones as the law required and built a new altar after the design of the former. They also rebuilt the sanctuary and the inner parts of the temple and consecrated the courts. They also made the holy vessels new and brought the candlestick and the altar for burnt-offerings and for incense and the table into the temple. And they burned incense on the altar and lighted the lamps that were on the candlestick, and they gave light in the temple. Then they set loaves upon the table and spread out the veils. So they finished all the work they had undertaken.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 4:52-61] And they arose early in the morning of the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, which is the month Chislev, in the one hundred and forty-eighth year (165 B.C.) and offered sacrifice according to the law upon the new altar of burnt-offering which they had made. About the same time and on the same day, in which the heathen had profaned it, was it dedicated again with songs and harps and lutes and with cymbals. And all the people prostrated themselves and worshipped and gave praise to Heaven, who had given them good success. And they celebrated the dedication of the altar eight days, and offered burnt-offerings with gladness and sacrificed a sacrifice of deliverance and praise. And they decorated the front of the temple with crowns of gold and small shields and rededicated the gates and the priests' chambers and made doors for them. And great joy reigned among the people, because the reproach of the heathen had been removed. And Judas and his brothers and the whole congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the dedication of the altar should be kept in their seasons from year to year for the period of eight days, from the twenty-fifth day of the month Chislev, with gladness and joy. At that time also they fortified Mount Zion with high walls and strong towers all round, lest by any chance the heathen should come and tread them down, as they had done before. And he stationed there a force to keep it, and they fortified Bethsura, that the people might have a stronghold in Idumea.

I. The Character of Judas. Judas Maccabeus was a man of unquestioned courage. In the many battles which he fought he was always found at the forefront in the most desperate engagement. More than that he was able to arouse courage in a people that for centuries had learned only to bow unresistingly before their conquerors. All the evidence found in the two books of Maccabees indicates that he was inspired by the noblest patriotism. The motive power in his patriotism was devotion to the law and customs of his race. In this respect he was a leader supremely acceptable to the Hasideans or Pious, who rallied about his standard. In any other age or setting his devotion would have seemed but fanaticism. The situation, however, was extremely critical. Disloyalty to the law and the distinctive rites of Judaism was treason. If ever in the world's history it was justifiable to meet force by force and to unshield the sword in behalf of religion, this certainly was the occasion. In his military tactics Judas revealed the cunning that characterizes the hunted. He developed great skill in choosing a strategic position and in launching his followers against a vulnerable point in the enemy's line. In this respect he showed himself a disciple of David's able general Joab. They were the same tactics that Napoleon employed so effectively in later days and on larger battle-fields. Judas resembled in many ways Israel's first king, Saul. He was impetuous, patriotic, intense, and energetic. He was especially skilled in leading a sudden attack. His task also was strikingly similar to that of Israel's first king, and like Saul in his later days he showed the same inability to organize and hold his followers in a time of comparative peace.

II. Obstacles against Which Judas Contended. When Judas was called to champion the cause of the Jews, they were hated by the rest of the world. It was a disorganized band of fugitives that rallied about him, without homes, resources, or arms. Opposed to him were the large armies of a powerful empire. The Greek mercenaries that fought in the Syrian ranks were armed with coats of mail and the best weapons known to the ancient world. They were also thoroughly trained in the art of war and under the direction of experienced generals. On every battle-field the Syrians outnumbered the Jews almost six to one. Pitted against Judas and his followers were apostates of his own race, who knew the land, were able to spy out the movements of the Jews, and were inspired by the bitterest hatred. The few advantages on the side of Judas were: first, his followers were aroused to heroic deeds by the peril of the situation. In the second place they were inspired by an intense religious zeal. The one force throughout Semitic history that has bound together tribes and nations and made the Semite an almost invincible fighting power has been religion. The familiar illustrations are the Mohammedan conquests that swept victoriously across the Bosporus and conquered Constantinople, also across northern Africa, and surged into southern Europe over the Straits of Gibraltar and threatened for a time completely to engulf the Western civilization. Familiar modern illustrations are the Mahdist insurrections that have from time to time taxed the resources of the English in northern Africa. In the third place the land of Judea, with its narrow western passes rapidly ascending to the heights above, enabled Judas to choose his battle-field at a point where only a few of the enemy could be brought into action and where a handful of valiant men could keep an army at bay.

III. Defeat of Apollonius and Seron. At first Judas wisely confined himself to guerilla warfare. This enabled him in time to clothe and arm his followers with the garments and weapons taken from the enemy. The most important of these smaller engagements took place north of Jerusalem. As Apollonius, the Syrian governor of Samaria, was advancing into Judea, Judas suddenly fell upon the Syrians and slew their leader. Henceforth the sword of the Syrian governor was effectively wielded by Judas in behalf of religious liberty.

News of the victory soon brought Seron, the governor of Coele-Syria, with a large army. He advanced from the coast plain by the most direct road to Jerusalem over the famous pass of the Bethhorons. Within a distance of two miles the road ascended nearly fifteen hundred feet. At points it was merely a steep, rocky pass, so that an invading army was forced to march single file and to pull themselves up over the rocks. Here on the heights that looked out toward his home at Modein Judas, appealing to the faith and patriotism of his men, swept down upon the enemy and won his first great victory.

IV. The Battle of Emmaus. The first great Jewish victory was a severe blow to the power of Antiochus Epiphanes, for at that time he was confronted by a depleted treasury. He therefore left his kingdom in charge of Lysias, one of his nobles, and set out on a campaign into Persia from which he never returned. Three generals with a large army were sent by Lysias against the Jews. So confident were they of a Syrian victory that a horde of slave merchants accompanied the army that they might purchase the Jewish captives. This time the Syrians avoided the difficult pass of Bethhoron and chose the Wady Ali, along which the modern carriage road winds up from the coast to Jerusalem. The main camp was pitched at Emmaus at the southeastern side of the Plain of Ajalon under the Judean hills. Meantime Judas had selected as his head-quarters the lofty hill of Mizpah, associated by earlier tradition with Samuel and the scene of the short-lived rule of Gedaliah. It was well chosen, for it commanded a view of the territory to the north, south, and west. While the army of the Syrians, sent by night to surprise Judas, were marching up the northern valley, the Jewish patriots were led westward toward the plain along one of the parallel valleys that penetrated the Judean hills. Having appealed to the patriotic memories and the religious zeal of his followers, Judas led them in a sudden early morning attack against the Syrians encamped near Emmaus. Soon the Syrians were in wild flight across the plain to the Philistine cities, and Judas and his followers were left in possession of the camp and its rich spoil. Panic also seized his pursuers when they saw their camp in possession of the enemy, and Judas was left for the moment undisputed master of the land of his fathers. This victory in the year 166 B.C. was in many ways the most sweeping and significant in early Maccabean history.

V. The Battle at Bethsura. The next year Lysias himself gathered a huge army of sixty thousand infantry and five thousand cavalry and led them against the Jews. This time the Syrians advanced through the broad valley of Elah where David had fought against the Philistine giant. Thence they followed the Wady Sur, turned southward and then eastward, penetrating to the top of the Judean plateau a little north of Hebron. Approaching from this point the Syrians were protected in their rear by the Idumeans, the descendants of the Edomites. They succeeded in reaching the point where the road from the west joins the central highway from Hebron to Jerusalem. There on a sloping hill crowned with the border town of Bethsura, Judas was able to rally ten thousand followers to meet the huge Syrian army. From the parallel account in II Maccabees it is clear that he did not succeed in winning a decisive victory, but a crisis in Antioch suddenly compelled Lysias to return, leaving the Jews in possession of the battle-field.

VI. Restoration of the Temple Service. With mingled sadness and rejoicing Judas proceeded at once to Jerusalem and with his followers took up the task of restoring the desecrated temple and its service. The citadel of Acra, which appears to have been situated on the Hill of Ophel to the south of the temple, was still strongly garrisoned by apostate Jews and Syrian soldiers. For nearly a quarter of a century, until the days of Simon, it continued to be held by Syrian forces, and remained a constant menace to the peace of Jerusalem. The vivid account of the purification of the temple reveals the intense devotion of the Jews to this ancient sanctuary, and throws clear light upon the nature of its service. This epoch-making act is commemorated even to-day by the Jews throughout the world and is known as the Feast of Lights. It is a memorial of that successful struggle for religious freedom in which Principles were established that have affected the thought and action of all succeeding generations. Through all their many vicissitudes and under their many Gentile rulers, with few exceptions, the Jews have enjoyed uninterruptedly the right of worshipping in accordance with the dictates of their law and the customs of their fathers.

VII. The New Spirit in Judaism. Henceforth the law for which their fathers had poured out their life-blood and for which the Jews had fought so valiantly was regarded with new and deeper veneration and its commands gained a new authority. Again the Jews had enjoyed a taste of freedom and had learned that by united and courageous action they could shake off the hated heathen yoke. This new warlike note is sounded in many of the later psalms of the Psalter. Chapters 9-14, appended to the older books of Zechariah, apparently come from this same period and voice the thought of the conquerors. The words of the ninth chapter express their joy and exultation:

For I have bent Judah to me, As a bow which I have filled with Ephraim; I will urge thy sons against the sons of Greece, And I will make thee like the sword of a hero. Then Jehovah shall be seen above them, And his shaft shall go forth like lightning. Jehovah shall blow a blast upon a trumpet, And travel on the whirlwinds of the south. Jehovah of hosts shall defend them; And they shall devour and tread down the slingstones, They shall drink their blood like wine, They shall be filled with it like the crevices of an altar. And Jehovah their God shall give them victory in that day. Like sheep he shall feed them in his land. Yea, how good and how beautiful shall it be! Corn shall make the young men flourish, and new wine the maidens.

The victories of Judas in all probability also inspired the messianic hope expressed in 9:9-10:

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold thy king will come to thee; Vindicated and victorious is he, Humble, and riding upon an ass. Upon the foal of an ass. He shall cut off chariots from Ephraim, And horses from Jerusalem; The battle-bow shall also be cut off, And he shall speak to the nations; His rule shall be from sea to sea, From the river to the ends of the earth.

Section CXI. THE LONG CONTEST FOR POLITICAL INDEPENDENCE

[Sidenote: I Macc. 5:1-5] Now when the heathen round about heard that the altar had been built and the sanctuary dedicated as it was formerly, they were very angry and concluded to destroy the race of Jacob that was in the midst of them, and they began to slay and destroy among the people. Judas, however, fought against the people of Esau in Idumea at Akrabattine, because they besieged Israel, and he defeated them with a great slaughter and humbled their pride and took their spoils. He remembered the wickedness of the inhabitants of Baean, who were a source of annoyance and of danger, lying in ambush for them along the roads. And they were shut up by him in the towers, and he besieged them and destroyed them utterly and burned the towers of the place, with all who were in them.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 5:6-8] Then he passed over to the Ammonites and found a strong force and many people, with Timotheus as their leader. And he fought many battles with them, and they were defeated before him, and he conquered them. Then when he had gained possession of Jazer and its villages, he returned again into Judea.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 5:9-15] Then the heathen who were in Gilead gathered together against the Israelites who were on the borders to destroy them. And they fled to the stronghold of Dathema and sent letters to Judas and his brothers, saying,

The heathen who are about us have gathered together against us to destroy us, and they are preparing to come and get possession of the stronghold to which we have fled for refuge, and Timotheus is the leader of their forces. Now therefore come and rescue us from their power, for many of our men have fallen; and all our countrymen who dwell in the land of Tob, have been put to death, and they have carried into captivity their wives and children and their possessions. And they destroyed there about a thousand men. While the letters were being read, there came other messengers from Galilee with their garments torn, bringing a message of similar import, saying, That there were gathered together against them men of Ptolemais, of Tyre, of Sidon, and from all heathen Galilee to destroy them completely.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 5:16-20] Now when Judas and the people heard these things, a great assembly came together to consult what they should do for their kinsmen who were in distress and being attacked by the heathen. And Judas said to Simon his brother, Choose men, and go, rescue your countrymen who are in Galilee, but Jonathan my brother and I will go into the land of Gilead. And he left Joseph the son of Zacharias and Azarias, as leaders of the people, with the rest of the army in Judea, in order to guard it. And he gave orders to them, saying, Take charge of the heathen until we return. And to Simon were assigned three thousand men to go to Galilee and to Judas eight thousand men to go into the land of Gilead.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 5:21-23] Then Simon went into Galilee and fought many battles with the heathen, and the heathen were defeated by him. And he pursued them to the gate of Ptolemais. And there fell of the heathen about three thousand men, and he took the spoils from them. They took with them those who were in Galilee and in Arbatta, with their wives and their children and all that they had, and brought them into Judea with great rejoicing.