ALEXANDER THE GREAT.
Murder of Joshua—A Temple raised on Mount
Gerizim—Battle of Issus—Siege of Tyre—The
White Robe Procession—Murder of Darius.
We now lose the sure guidance of the sacred writings, and must pursue
our way by the dimmer light of uninspired history. “The two books of
the Maccabees,” writes Dr. Gray, “were certainly composed after the
succession of prophets had ceased among the Jews.” Of the first book
he observes, “It was probably written by a contemporary author, who
had witnessed in part the scenes which he so minutely and graphically
describes;” and of the second book, which contains the account of
Heliodoros and the martyrdom of the seven brethren, this writer
remarks, “The fathers in general cite the book as a useful history, but
not as of authority in points of doctrine.”
After the time of Nehemiah, Judea ceased to form a distinct government,
and was joined to the satrapy of Syria. Its internal government was,
however, in the hands of its own high priests, and the civil power
thus annexed to this office made it an object of great ambition, and
unhappily gave rise to disgraceful contests.
On the death of Eliashib, 413 B.C., his son Joiada or Judas succeeded
to the dignity of high priest. After he also had been removed by death,
a wicked dispute arose between two of his sons, Johanan and Joshua, as
to which should fill the sacred office. Johanan, like another Cain,
slew Joshua in the inner court of the temple, and the holy place was
polluted with blood shed by a brother’s hand.
Bagoses, the satrap of Syria, hearing of this horrible crime, came
to Jerusalem to take account of it. On his going into the temple to
examine the spot where Joshua had been killed, the priests would have
hindered his entrance, as no Gentile was permitted to cross the sacred
threshold.
“What! am I not more pure than the dead carcass of him whom ye have
slain in the temple?” exclaimed the indignant satrap; and after
rebuking the Jews for suffering the house of their God to be thus
defiled, he imposed upon them, as a punishment, a heavy tax upon the
lambs that were offered in sacrifice.
The nation at this time had fallen into a grievous state of coldness
and formality in religion. The priesthood were worldly and corrupted,
and looked upon the services of the temple as a weariness, unwilling to
perform even the smallest without some earthly reward. But there were
yet faithful ones left in the land—those who feared the Lord, and spake
often to each other, and feared the name of the Holy One of Israel.
“They shall be Mine,” said the Lord by the prophet Micah, “in that day
when I make up My jewels, and I will spare them as a man spareth his
own son that serveth him.”
Of such appears to have been the next high priest, Jaddua, who
succeeded his father, Johanan, 341 B.C. This faithful servant of God
endeavoured to follow in the steps of Nehemiah, expelling his own
brother Manasses for marrying the daughter of Sanballat, the Cuthite
governor of Samaria. Manasses then repaired to his wife’s father,
and the Samaritans availed themselves of the presence of a member of
the pontifical family to erect a temple of their own upon the Mount
Gerizim, of which Manasses was made high priest. This measure greatly
widened the breach between the Jews and the Samaritans; the rivalry of
the two nations increased the bitter antipathy which had long existed
between them.
The period at length arrived when the Jews were to exchange the yoke
of Persia for that of another foreign nation. The winged leopard of
Grecia, beheld in vision by Daniel, was now to follow the Assyrian
lion and the bear of Persia; the kingdom of brass, as the prophet had
foretold to Nebuchadnezzar, was to succeed to the kingdom of silver.
Alexander the Great, king of Macedon, at the head of his Greeks, in a
great victory at Issus crushed the power of the Persian Darius, which
he afterwards completely destroyed.
The conqueror marched into Syria after his victory, summoned its
various nations to yield submission, and laid siege to the city of
Tyre, a place of great strength and importance, 332 B.C.
[Illustration: TYRE.]
[Illustration: ALEXANDER THE GREAT.]
Tyre was a stronghold of superstition and idolatry. Celebrated for her
commerce, her merchants were princes, her traffickers the honourable
of the earth. But the destruction of this idolatrous city had been
foretold centuries previously, both by the prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel.
“I will cast thee to the ground, I will bring thee to ashes upon
the earth, in the sight of all them that behold thee,” had been the
message of the Lord while yet Tyre stood in her strength and beauty,
with no one to make her afraid. And now the prophecy was literally
though unconsciously fulfilled by Alexander. With extreme difficulty,
but with a perseverance which overcame every obstacle, the great
Macedonian seized upon the mighty city. He mercilessly burned it to the
ground, and destroyed or enslaved its people. In vain had the Tyrians
called upon their idols, prayed to the deaf ears that could not hear,
sought help of the hands that could not save! Eight thousand of the
unfortunate citizens fell in the sack of the town, and were buried
beneath its ashes; and two thousand were barbarously crucified by order
of the stern Alexander.
[Illustration: BATTLE OF ISSUS.]
And now the conqueror, flushed with success, turned his march towards
Jerusalem. Terror and alarm spread through that city. The Jews,
faithful in their allegiance to Persia, had refused to supply the
enemy of King Darius with the provisions which he had demanded for
the sustenance of his army. This had greatly irritated Alexander,
whose spirit was little able to brook such opposition to his despotic
will. As soon as the ruin of Tyre was complete, the fierce conqueror
therefore advanced upon Jerusalem, with intention to punish its people
for daring to disobey his commands.
In the extremity of their danger, Jaddua and his countrymen threw
themselves on the protection of their God. They implored his succour in
their distress, and their prayers were heard and answered.
In a vision of the night Jaddua was directed to go out and meet
Alexander dressed in the gorgeous robes of his office, and attended
by a company of the priests, and all the people in white garments.
They were not to draw the sword or lift the spear, but go forth to the
destroyer of Tyre with no protection but that of the invisible arm of
Jehovah stretched out to defend them. Jaddua obeyed the command, and on
the next day left Jerusalem in the manner directed.
The white-robed procession slowly mounted a hill which commanded a
prospect of the country around them. Doubtless many a heart trembled,
and many a cheek grew pale with fear, when a cloud of dust in the
distance showed the approach of the terrible foe! Alexander’s army drew
nearer and nearer, the sunlight flashing from their weapons. Would not
these weapons soon be dimmed in the blood of their unarmed, unresisting
victims?
Once more the Lord showed his irresistible power over the hearts of
men. No sooner did Alexander see the high priest, followed by the
people, advancing towards him, than, as if struck by sudden awe, he
hastened forward to meet the procession, and, to the astonishment of
his own troops, did obeisance to the venerable Jaddua. While all stood
amazed at this most unexpected conduct on the part of the offended
conqueror, Parmenio, who was one of his friends, ventured to ask him
the reason of it, and to inquire why he, whom every one adored, should
pay such adoration to a Jew.
Alexander answered that it was not to him, but to the God whom Jaddua
served, that he paid adoration; for that when he had been in Macedonia,
meditating the war against Persia, which had been since so successfully
begun, he had beheld in a dream this very high priest arrayed in such a
dress as that which he now wore, who bade him pass boldly into Persia,
promising that God should be his guide, and bestow upon him victory and
success. Then turning to the high priest Jaddua, Alexander cordially
embraced him, and entered Jerusalem in his company, where the proud
conqueror of Persia offered sacrifices to the God of Jacob.
Jaddua having shown to Alexander the prophecies in which his triumphs
were predicted, the king of Macedon left Jerusalem assured of that
success which followed his arms. He called the Jews together before
his departure, and graciously bade them ask of him whatever they might
desire. They petitioned that they might be permitted the free exercise
of their religion and laws, and be exempted from taxes every seventh
year, during which they neither sowed nor reaped, but left the land to
enjoy her Sabbaths, according to the commandment of God.
To all this Alexander graciously acceded; but when similar petitions
were offered by the Samaritans, who had merited well of the Macedonian
monarch, by sending the supplies which the Jews had refused, Alexander
returned a courteous but evasive reply, deferring compliance till, at
some future period, he should have leisure fully to inform himself on
the subject of their demands.
Alexander then pursued his victorious career. Darius, after a defeat at
Arbela, fled towards Bactria, but was traitorously murdered by Bessus,
one of his own nobles. Alexander reached the summit of power and pride.
But he who was the lord of many nations was the slave of his own sinful
passions: Alexander conquered his outward foes, but not the more
dangerous ones within. Intoxicated with vainglory, he fancied himself
to be more than man. Addicted to intemperance, in a drunken revel he
killed his own friend Clitus, and by his wild excesses shortened his
own existence. This extraordinary man died in the prime of his days
and the zenith of his power, 323 B.C., leaving the vast empire which
his prowess had subdued to be split into various kingdoms, and to be
made the object of fearful strife and bloodshed amongst his contending
generals.
CONTEMPORANEOUS EVENTS.
441-323 B.C.
B.C.
Peloponnesian War began 431
Retreat of the 10,000 Greeks 401
Death of Socrates 400
Battle of Leuctra 371