VICTORIES OF JUDAS MACCABEUS.
Rising of the Jews—Martyrs to the Law—Apollonius
Defeated—Seron Defeated—Lycias Defeated—The
Temple Cleansed—Death of Epiphanes—Siege of
Bethsura—Exploit of Eleazar—The Temple Besieged.
The noble family of the Asmoneans, so called from Asmoneus, one of
its ancestors, was amongst the most distinguished in Judea, and dwelt
at this period in the town of Modin. At the head of this family was
Mattathias, the father of five noble sons, Joanan, Simon, Eleazar,
Jonathan, and the illustrious Judas, surnamed Maccabeus.
Deeply did Mattathias mourn over the oppression of his people, and
the desecration of the altar of his God; and he heard with emotions
of indignation that the king’s officers had come to his own town, to
compel all to sacrifice to the gods of the heathen.
Mattathias being a person of great influence, the emissaries of
Antiochus spared no pains to induce him, by many promises, to give
an example of submission. But the brave old Jew answered with a loud
voice, “Though all the nations that are under the king’s dominion obey
him, and fall away every one from the religion of his fathers, yet will
I and my sons walk in the covenant. God forbid that we should forsake
the law and the ordinances! We will not hearken to the king’s words, to
go either to the right hand or the left.”
When Mattathias had concluded his declaration, there came a renegade
Jew, in the sight of all, to sacrifice at the altar at Modin. Filled
with indignation and inflamed with zeal, Mattathias, like another
Phinehas, rushed forward and slew him on the altar; then turning on the
commissioner, him he also slew, and pulled down the altar to the ground!
This was indeed drawing the sword and throwing away the scabbard!
Mattathias exclaimed, “Who is zealous for the law and maintaineth
the covenant, let him follow me!” and leaving all that he possessed,
he fled into the mountains with his sons, where they were joined by
numbers of the faithful and brave, who were ready, like themselves, to
yield up their lives rather than their faith.
A touching example of obedience to the law of God was given by a large
band of Jews who, with their wives and little ones, had tied into the
wilderness to escape the persecutions of the king. The fugitives were
pursued, and the forces of Antiochus came up to them at a place where
they had taken refuge in a cave. Philip, the leader of the soldiers,
endeavoured to induce the Jews to come forth and make submission,
but this they firmly refused to do. He then attacked them, and the
day being the Sabbath, the Jews, scrupulously observant of the law
which commands that day to be kept holy, neither stopped up the mouth
of their cave nor raised a weapon against their foes. “Let us die
all in our innocence,” they exclaimed; and thus all—men, women, and
children—were slain unresisting by the Syrians.
Mattathias and his followers were greatly grieved on receiving tidings
of this cruel massacre. In full debate, after due deliberation, they
came to the decision that self-defence is lawful on the Sabbath; and
that, if attacked by the foe on that day, they would fight for their
lives and their laws.
Mattathias, and the brave Jews whom he had gathered around him, now
leaving their fastnesses in the mountains, went to various cities of
Judea, throwing down the idol altars, and driving the enemy before
them. But the aged hero was soon worn out by the fatigues of warfare.
He felt that the time of his departure was drawing nigh, and gathering
his five sons around him, Mattathias gave them his dying exhortation.
He reminded them of the saints of old, whose faith had been crowned
with success; he bade them give their lives for the covenant of God,
and remember that they who trusted in Him never should be overcome.
He appointed Judas, his third son, to be the leader, and Simon the
counsellor of the patriots; and so, bestowing on his children his
parting blessing, Mattathias yielded up his soul to his God. _Truly
the hoary head is a crown of glory, when it is found in the way of
righteousness._
Then Judas, called Maccabeus from the motto on his standard, “Who is
like unto Thee amongst the gods, O Jehovah!” (the initials of which
in Hebrew form the word Maccabi), succeeded to the authority of his
father. There appear to have been no petty jealousies between the noble
sons of a glorious sire; they were united by a better tie than even
that of blood—fellowship in a holy cause.
Judas proved himself a bold and able commander, a hero treading in the
steps of Joshua, Gideon, and David. With a force not exceeding six
thousand men, he took the field against the large, well-disciplined
armies of Antiochus, commanded by warriors of renown.
His first great triumph was gained over Apollonius, whose sword the
victor wore to the end of his life. Judas then made head against Seron,
a prince of Syria, who came to attack him with a mighty host. Maccabeus
was then commanding a mere handful of men, and some of his companions,
disheartened at the fearful disparity of numbers, came to their chief
and said, “How shall we be able, being so few, to fight against so
great a multitude and so strong, seeing we are ready to faint with
fasting?”
“With the God of heaven,” replied the hero, “it is all one to deliver
with a great multitude or a small company; for the victory standeth
not in the multitude of a host, but strength cometh from Heaven. We
fight for our laws and our lives, wherefore, the Lord himself will
overthrow these men before our face!”
The result of the battle was the complete triumph of the Jews, who
overcame and pursued their enemies.
This victory made the name of Judas renowned through all the
neighbouring states, and it was speedily followed by others. Army
after army was sent against him, and fled in broken masses before the
conquering sword of him who trusted in the strength of the Omnipotent.
One of these engagements was with Lycias, a nobleman who acted as
regent of Syria during the absence of its king. Lycias, with a force
of sixty-five thousand choice infantry and five thousand horsemen, was
met by Judas Maccabeus at the head of ten thousand men. When the Jewish
leader beheld the immense host before him, before he closed in battle,
he had recourse to the powerful weapon of prayer.
“Blessed art Thou, O Saviour of Israel!” he cried, “who didst quell the
violence of the mighty man by the hand of Thy servant David, and gavest
the host of strangers into the hands of Jonathan, the son of Saul, and
his armour-bearer! Shut up this army in the hand of Thy people Israel,
and let them be confounded in their power. Cast them down with the
sword of them that love Thee, and let all that know Thy name praise
Thee with thanksgiving.”
The supplications of Judas were heard. The Lord God of Israel fought
for His people, and the vast Syrian host fled in confusion before them.
Then said Judas and his brethren, “Behold, our enemies are discomfited;
let us go up to cleanse and dedicate the sanctuary.”
With what joy and thanksgiving must the valiant deliverers have been
welcomed in Jerusalem, which they had freed from the oppressor! Judas
and his band of heroes proceeded at once to the temple; but when they
saw the sanctuary desolate, the altar profaned, the gates burned down,
and herbage growing in the courts once trod by the feet of so many
worshippers, they rent their clothes, and cast ashes on their heads,
and fell with their faces to the ground.
But Judas, like Nehemiah, did not content himself with lamentations
over the desolation which he saw—he zealously set himself to repair
and to reform. He chose priests of blameless lives to cleanse the
polluted sanctuary, pull down the altar which the heathen had profaned,
and build up another in its place. He also appointed warriors to fight
against the Syrian garrison, which still held a fortress which had been
erected by Apollonius to overlook the temple. New holy vessels were
made for the sanctuary, the lamps again were lighted and sacrifices
offered, and, with joy and exultation, songs of praise, and the music
of harps and cymbals, the conquerors returned thanks for victory in the
temple of the Lord of hosts.
By the command of Judas Maccabeus, high walls, strengthened with
towers, were raised around the sacred building, to protect it from
future attack, and a garrison was appointed to guard it, 164 B.C.
When Antiochus, who was on his way from Ecbatana to Babylonia, heard
how the Jews had defeated Lycias, recovered the temple of Jerusalem,
pulled down his idols, thrown their altars to the ground, and restored
the pure worship of Jehovah, he was enraged to the utmost pitch of
fury. He commanded his charioteer to double his speed, that he might
the sooner arrive in Judea to execute a fearful revenge. He threatened
to make Jerusalem one vast grave for the nation that had dared to defy
his power.
But the tyrant’s hour was come. He was now, according to the prophetic
words of the young martyr whom he had slain, to receive the just
punishment of his pride. Antiochus Epiphanes was smitten with a most
horrible and loathsome disease. Yet, hatred struggling against physical
pain, he endeavoured to pursue his course, till his chariot being
overturned, the king was so sorely injured by the fall, that it was
necessary to carry him in a litter to Tabœ, a town on the confines of
Persia and Babylonia.
Here the miserable tyrant endured tortures more intolerable than any
that he himself had inflicted, and was forced openly to acknowledge
them to be God’s retribution for his impiety and cruelty. His reason
at length gave way beneath them, spectres appeared to haunt him, and
this enemy of God and of his people expired at length in the greatest
agonies both of body and mind.
Meanwhile Judas gained victory after victory. He defeated the people
of Edom, Bean, and Ammon; took Gazer, with the towns belonging to it;
won a great triumph over a vast host, under a leader named Timotheus;
and subdued the cities of the country of Galaad. He smote Hebron,
and passed through Samaria; turned to Azotus, in the land of the
Philistines; and when he had levelled their altars, and burned their
carved images with fire, he returned back in triumph to Judea.
Antiochus had been succeeded by his son of the same name, to which was
added that of Eupator. The king being too young to assume the reins of
power, Lycias took the government into his own hands. The regent raised
an enormous army to crush the forces of Judas. A hundred thousand
foot soldiers, twenty thousand horse, thirty war elephants, and three
hundred chariots were gathered together, and headed by the young
monarch in person, who laid siege to the town of Bethsura.
Judas collected his forces, far inferior in number to those of the
enemy, and falling upon the Syrians by night, put the camp into
confusion, and retreated on break of day, without suffering loss by his
bold exploit, while many of the enemy were slain.
When the rising sun shed its full light on the glittering ranks of
the host of Antiochus, the opposing armies closed in fierce battle.
In the fight, Eleazar, a brother of Judas, sacrificed his life in a
desperate attempt to kill the young king of Syria. Seeing an immense
elephant, adorned with gorgeous harness, and supposing that the monarch
himself must be upon it, Eleazar furiously fought his way up to the
spot, slaying all who opposed him, and thrusting his weapon into the
elephant, was crushed to death by its fall.
The Jews, perhaps discouraged by the loss of Eleazar, fell back before
the overwhelming hosts of Syria, and made good their retreat to
Jerusalem. Bethsura then surrendered to Lycias, but upon honourable
conditions.
From thence Antiochus Eupator marched to Jerusalem, where he laid siege
to the sanctuary, which Judas, as before related, had fortified in case
of attack. The Jews were now in extreme peril, those who defended the
temple being in the utmost distress for want of provisions. Instruments
for casting stones, darts, and slings, and other formidable weapons of
war, were brought against the handful of men who made their desperate
stand within the wall which had been raised to guard the temple. Famine
stared them in the face, and their only alternative seemed to be to
perish by hunger or the sword.
[Illustration: BALISTA, FOR THROWING STONES.]
But man’s extremity is God’s opportunity. Lycias received tidings that
Philip, a favourite of the late king, and appointed by him guardian of
his successor, had seized upon Antioch, and set up his own power in
opposition to that of the regent. Lycias found it necessary at once
to make peace with the Jews, that he might be at liberty to march
himself against this dangerous rival. He therefore proposed honourable
and advantageous terms, which were accepted by Judas. The hero was
recognized both by the king and the regent as the ruler of Judea; and
from this period is dated the commencement of the Asmonean dynasty,
which for a hundred and twenty-six years held sway over the Jewish
people, 163 B.C.
The treaty between Antiochus and Judas Maccabeus having been ratified
by oath, the king and Lycias were admitted into the stronghold
which had been so bravely defended. But seeing the strength of the
fortification, they, contrary to stipulation, pulled down and destroyed
the wall before departing for Syria.
Menelaus, the treacherous high priest, had accompanied Lycias in his
expedition against Jerusalem, probably in hope of being restored to his
office by the enemies of his people. But divine vengeance at length
overtook this traitor to his country and his God. Menelaus lost favour
with those whom he had served at the price of conscience, and they
became the instruments of his just punishment. He was, by the royal
command, cast headlong from a high tower into ashes, where the renegade
miserably perished.
CONTEMPORANEOUS EVENTS.
170-163 B.C.
B.C.
Macedon made a province of Rome 168
The first library erected at Rome 168