Alexander the Great, king of Macedonia, took Palestine, formerly
belonging to the king of Persia, as well as all the other kingdoms of
the latter. When Alexander died his great empire was divided, and the
Jews came first under Egypt and after that under Syria and were
oppressed in every way. At last the Syrian king, Antiochus Epiphanes,
sought to compel them to live as the heathens. Many renounced their
faith and sacrificed to the gods. But many also continued firmly in the
faith and chose rather to die than to turn from the law of the Lord.
Seven brothers were successively scourged and tormented to death. The
mother stood by and looked on and admonished them not to turn from the
Lord. At last the mother also was killed. (2 Macc. 7.)
At this time there lived in Judea a priest by the name of Mattathias. He
would not sacrifice to the idols, but fled with his sons to the
mountains, and those who feared God gathered about him. When he died his
son Judas Maccabaeus[2] became the leader. He was brave as a young lion;
he defeated the Syrians, took Jerusalem and purged the temple.--The
Maccabees ruled over the country for 103 years. Then the powerful
Romans, whose home country was Italy, came and conquered the country.
The Roman emperor Augustus made Herod king of Judea. Herod who is called
the Great, was an Edomite. He was very suspicious and cruel and killed a
great many innocent people, even his own wife and three of his sons. He
wished to flatter the people, and decorated the temple magnificently;
but the people turned their hearts from him.--During his reign the
fulness of time had come, and our Savior Jesus Christ was born in
Bethlehem, as the prophet Micah had foretold.
-----
Footnote 2: Maccabaeus means: The man with the hammer.
-----