NEW OPPRESSORS AND NEW WARS FOR FREEDOM
After the death of Alexander the Great his empire was broken into
fragments ruled by those of his generals who were able to snatch these
smaller kingdoms for themselves. One of them named Ptolemy seized
Egypt. His descendants, known as the Ptolemies, reigned there for
centuries. Another, named Seleucus, gained control of the greater part
of the old Persian empire. He built the city of Antioch, in northern
Syria, naming it after his father Antiochus. His descendants, on the
throne of the new kingdom, are known in history as the Seleucids.
THE JEWS UNDER GREEK RULERS
Canaan at first became part of the kingdom of the Ptolemies, and this
continued for about a century. During this period the Jews seemed to
have been treated with a fair degree of kindness and justice. At least
they were left most of the time in peace. But about B.C. 200, Canaan
was taken from the Ptolemies by the Seleucids, and this turned out to
be for the Jewish people an unhappy change. In the year 175 B.C.,
there came to the throne in Antioch a young prince named Antiochus
Epiphanes who, like Alexander the Great, thought of himself as a kind
of missionary for Greek art and civilization. He became more and more
angry because so many of the Jews refused to worship Greek gods. About
B.C. 170, he issued a decree that all persons in his dominion must
offer sacrifices to Zeus. When the Jews refused they were put to
death.
=New persecutions.=--A terrible persecution was thus begun. A Greek
officer would come into a Jewish town or village, set up an altar to
Zeus, and summon all the people to join in the sacrifice of worship.
As many as possible of those who refused were hunted down and killed.
All copies of the Jewish law that could be found were burned. Every
month a search was made throughout Judæa to see whether any Jew still
had copies of the Scriptures. A heathen altar was set up in the temple
at Jerusalem and swine were sacrificed upon it. To the Jews, who were
taught to regard swine's flesh as unclean and unholy, nothing could
have seemed more horrible.
Of course there were some traitors and renegades. But the great
majority of the Jewish people were nobly true to the faith of their
fathers. Hundreds and thousands, young and old, allowed themselves to
be tortured and slain rather than take part in a heathen sacrifice.
Many even of those who had fallen in with some of the evil customs of
the Greeks now refused to be known as anything else than faithful
Jews, even though it might cost them their lives.
THE MACCABEAN REVOLTS AND VICTORIES
In the midst of this cruel persecution a rebellion flamed up under the
leadership of a certain brave old priest named Mattathias. After his
death his sons took up the cause. The greatest of them was Judas, who
was surnamed Maccabeus, which some have thought meant the Hammerer.
The whole family is known as the Maccabees. Under the skillful
command of Judas victory after victory was won by his little band of
Jewish warriors fighting against great armies of Greek hired soldiers.
The city of Jerusalem was cleared of the detested oppressors, all
except a garrison that maintained itself in the citadel. The temple
was purified and rededicated to Jehovah.
After some twenty years the soldiers from Antioch were driven out
altogether and the little Jewish kingdom under Simon, a brother of
Judas, was recognized as independent. For nearly a century the
descendants of the Maccabees reigned in Jerusalem. Most of them turned
out to be greedy and selfish men unworthy of Judas and Simon. Yet
during this period the Jews tasted once again something of the joys of
freedom.
THE VICTORIES OF ROME
During the last two centuries before Christ a new empire had been
growing up in the west, that of Rome. In the year B.C. 63, two princes
of the Maccabean line fell into a quarrel as to which one should be
king. There was a civil war, which was ended by the Roman general
Pompey, who annexed the country as a province of the Roman Empire.
This was the end of the independence of the Jewish nation.
=The Herods.=--Sometimes Roman provinces were ruled by Roman
governors, and at other times they were left to native kings who were
allowed to do pretty much as they pleased so long as they paid tribute
to Rome. There was a certain Edomite, or Idumean, as the name was
pronounced by the Greeks and Romans, who partly by flattery and partly
by real ability persuaded Romans to make him king over the whole land
of Palestine.
This man is known in the history books as Herod the Great, although
he was sadly lacking in true greatness, being fearfully cruel and
absolutely selfish. He built many beautiful palaces in various Jewish
cities and also rebuilt very beautifully the temple at Jerusalem. He
himself had no interest in religion, but he hoped in this way to win
back with the Jews some of the popularity which he had lost through
his many crimes. It was during his reign that Jesus was born. When
Herod died the land was divided among his sons. When Jesus began his
public career as a teacher one of these sons, Herod Antipas, was the
ruler of the northern part of the country, that is Galilee. Judæa, in
the south, and Samaria between Galilee and Judæa, were directly under
Roman rule with a Roman governor or procurator.
=The Sanhedrin.=--To a certain extent even after the Roman conquest
the Jews were permitted to govern themselves. There was in Jerusalem a
council, or court, of leading priests and rabbis, called the
Sanhedrin. There were in it seventy-one members. When any member died
the others elected some one to fill the vacancy. All Jews everywhere
were supposed to be under the authority of the Sanhedrin. But except
in purely religious matters it had little power outside of Judæa. In
Judæa, however, this court, or council, decided all questions except
those which the Roman procurator reserved for himself. They were not
allowed to condemn a criminal to death. So when the Sanhedrin voted to
put Jesus out of the way it was necessary to take him before Pilate
the Roman procurator and persuade Pilate to ratify the sentence of
death. How galling it was to a proud nation like the Jews to be
obliged to go to a hated enemy for permission to carry out their
decrees we can well imagine; and we shall learn more of it in the next
chapter.
STUDY TOPICS
1. Look up in the Bible dictionary, Maccabees and Herod.
2. Read Hebrews 11. 32-40. Verses 33-38 are probably in large part a
description of the heroic martyrs before the Maccabees.
3. Was the Maccabean rule a failure because it did not last?
4. How did these rulers contribute to the great ends which Jews had
always dreamed of.