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The 400 Silent Years

(From Malachi to Matthew)

By Harry Ironside

 

 

Preface

 

SOME time ago I endeavored, though with no claim to originality of treatment, to draw practical lessons for the separated people of God from the captivity and post‑captivity books of the Old Testament. At the suggestion of the publishers I have now sought to trace the history the same people through the years of waiting that elapsed from the time when the voice of inspiration ceased until the heavens resounded with the glad announcement of "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good‑will toward men," thus heralding Messiah's long­ promised advent.

 

In preparing this work, I have been greatly helped by a series of papers entitled, "From Malachi to Matthew," which appeared a number of years ago in an English periodical now discontinued (Faithful Words, edited by H.F. Witherby). Dr. Grant's "Between the Testaments" has also been consulted, and had that volume been more in accord with a belief in the plenary inspiration of Scripture, the book now in my been pre­pared. The Old Testament Apocrypha, (especially

I Maccabees), Josephus, and various Jewish histories of recent date, have also afforded consider­able help.

 

It will be observed that my object has been, not merely to give a chronological outline of events, or a series of biographical sketches, but to trace throughout lessons and warnings for any who to‑day, as those in the days of Nehe­miah, have sought to return to and obey the word ot God, in separation from the infidelity and apostasy of the times. Such are exposed to sim­ilar dangers‑though of a spiritual character­s those which confronted the Jews. From their history we may therefore obtain valuable sug­gestions, and by carefully considering the causes of their failures, be preserved from falling into the same snares.

 

History repeats itself in manifold ways, and he who is wise will not despise its instruction. 6 ' Happy is the man that feareth alway;" for he who thinks he stands, is the one who is exhorted to take heed lest he fall.

 

H. A. IRONSIDE

March, 1914

 

CONTENTS

 

Chapter I. ‑ The Jews Under Priestly Rule

            From Darius to the fall of the Persian Empire -‑ 425‑335 B.C.

            Under the Macedonian Empire to the end of the hereditary priesthood.

 

Chapter II ‑ The Days Of The Maccabees

Chapter III‑ To The End Of The Asmonean Dynasty

Chapter IV‑ The Edomite Ascendancy

Chapter V ‑ The Literature of the Jews

 

CHAPTER I

 

The Jews Under Ptiestly Rule

 

 

Prom the times of "Darius the Persian " (Neh. 12: 22) to the fall of the Persian Empire‑about 425 to 335, B. C..

 

The average Bible reader seldom knows much of the stirring events which followed in rapid succession the days of rehabilitation, described in the interesting and instructive records of Ezra and Nehemiah. He gets more than an inkling of the fallen condition of the restored remnant in the sol­emn expostulation of the last prophet, Malachi; but when he opens the New Testament and begins to read the Gospel of Matthew, he finds an utter change of atmosphere and conditions. The Old Testament closes with the people of the Jews par­tially restored to their land, but under Persian dominion. The New Testament opens with the same people greatly multiplied and dwelling in the the same country, but under Roman sway, and yet with an Edomite vice‑king exercising jurisdiction over part of the land. In many other respects circumstances have undergone a marked change, and generally for the worse.

 

What brought about these changes? What move­ments, civil, religious, and political, were in progress during the four hundred silent years after prophetic testimony had died away with a last solemn warn­ing of a possible curse to smite the land and people, once so richly blessed? (Mal. 4: 6).

 

We cannot turn to the unerring word of God for an authentic and inspired answer to these questions; but we are able, nevertheless, to reply to them with a large measure of assurance, since God has been pleased to preserve, uninspired but fairly reliable, chronicles of the history of His chosen people in the four centuries that succeeded the days of the prophets. The Jewish historian, Josephus, and the un­known (save to God) author of the first book of the Maccabees, have left us records that are generally considered trustworthy, and are largely corroborated by Jewish traditions and historical side‑lights.

 

With Nehemiah, the history and experiences of the returned Remnant in the Land end, at a time when evil was creeping in and decay was beginning. In his lifetime Nehemiah earnestly endeavored to uphold their covenant‑relation with God, and zeal­ously sought to maintain that holy separation from the idolatrous nations surrounding them, as a pecu­liar people to Jehovah, wherein alone their strength lay. Balaam had declared, "The people shall dwell alone; they shall not be reckoned among the nations, "and he had also taught Balak to cast a stumbling block before Israel by breaking down this very sep­aration. "The doctrine of Balaam" had been their snare ever afterwards, and we see in the closing chapters of Nehemiah how difficult it was to stamp it out.

 

Nehemiah's efforts were largely successful; and while his godly life and testimony still had influence over the people there was a measure at least of out­ward separation. But Malachi is witness that peo­ple may be separated from outside evils and not be separated to the Lord. This is a constant danger. Who has not heard "heady, high‑minded" believers prating of  "separation from evil as God's principle of unity" (as indeed it is, other things being equal), who seem quite to forget that it is separation to Christ that alone gives power to the former.

 

Separation from, may end in mere Pharisaism. Separation to, will result in practical godliness, and be evidenced by devotedness, with brotherly love and unity.

 

But this truth ever needs consecrated men of God to insist upon its recognition; otherwise, there is always the likelihood of its being forgotten, and a form of godliness without the power usurping its place. Of Israel of old, when first settled in the land, we read: "And Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the Lord, that He had done for Israel " (Josh. 24: 31). We have something analogous to this in the case now under consideration. The Jewish remnant, generally speaking, walked before God in a measure of holy separation and cleaving to His name and His word during the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, and of the elders who outlived them; but even in Malachi's time declension had made very rapid progress.

 

After the death of Nehemiah the "Tirshatha," or Governor, they enjoyed a large measure of indepen­dence under the mild rule of the Persian kings, and even for a time after the Medo‑Persian "Bear" had been defeated and superseded by the four‑headed " Leopard " of Greece (Dan. 7)‑or, using the simile of Nebuchadnezzar's dream, after the silver king­dom had been displaced by the dominion of brass (Dan. 2).

 

Government was entrusted by these Gentile sover­eigns to the high‑priest, who previously was but a religious leader. In Nehemiah 12: 10,11,22,* we have the high‑priestly line traced down from Jeshua, or Joshua (who came up from Babylon, with Zerubbabel at the first return, and is the one described in Zech­ariah's vision, chap. 3), through Joiakim, Eliashib, Joiada, and Jonathan to Jaddua, the latest historical character mentioned in the Old Testament.

 

* "And Jeshua begat Joiakim; Joiakim also begat Eli­ashib, and Eliashib begat Joiada; and Joiada begat Jona­than, and Jonathan begat Jaddua . . . The Levites, in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, and Johanan, and Jaddua, were recorded chief of the fathers: also the priests, to the reign of Darius the Persian" -‑ which was nearly to the end of the Persian Empire.

 

Eliashib succeeded to the high‑priesthood during the life‑time of Nehemiah, and it was his grandson (Joiada's son), whom the Tirshatha indignantly "chased" from him because of his unhallowed alli­ance by marriage with the house of Sanballat the Horonite (Neh. 13: 28).

 

One tradition credits the closing of the canon of Old Testament to the days of Eliashib, before the death of Ezra. "The great synagogue" was supposed to have been presided over by this vener­able servant of God (Ezra), and he is generally con­sidered to have largely edited the books and arranged the Psalms in the order in which they are found in the Hebrew Bible. Some have thought to identify him with Malachi, supposing the title "Malachi" to be an untranslated word, simply meaning "My messenger," or Messenger of Jehovah." But this seems unlikely, as Malachi apparently portrays a later stage of declension. He may have prophesied in the days of Joiada or Jonathan. It is more than likely that another tradition, which gives Simon the just the credit of settling authoritatively the limits of the canon, is the correct one.

 

Of these high‑priests we know but little, save that Josephus implies that the former (Joiada) was ex­ceedingly friendly to the mixed nations surrounding Judea, as indeed seems very likely, from the fact referred to above; his son having wedded the daugh­ter of Sanballat, the arch‑conspirator (Neh. 13: 28). The Jewish historian, Josephus, declares that this young man, upon being driven out by Nehemiah, went over to the Samaritans, and with the aid of his wealthy and influential father‑in‑law, established the Samaritan system, and projected the building of a rival temple on Mount Gerizim. Such a temple was in existence as early as the days of Alexander the Great, but whether the unworthy son of Joiada had to do with its building is questionable. It is frequently the case, however, that one outwardly connected with the truth, without knowing its power in the soul, becomes the bitterest enemy of that which is of God, when repudiated for his unholy ways.

 

Jonathan (who is also called Johanan) left a most unsavory record. He was an insubject, god­less man; though he remained to the last among the Jews, even committing the horrid crime of murder to make more secure his own place of authority as high‑priest and ruler. He profaned the very temple of God by assassinating his brother Joshua (or Jesus) within its sacred precincts. Thus had corruption and violence so soon found a foothold among the separated remnant, emphasizing the solemn fact that mere correctness of position is of no real value, so far as maintaining what is of God is concerned, unless there be personal piety and devotedness to the Lord. We often hear of being "in the right place," "on the true ground," etc., but they are hol­low and empty expressions when divorced from right­eousness and holiness of truth. That believers on the Lord Jesus Christ should be a separated, un­worldly people, no right‑thinking Christian will deny or even question for a moment; but it is to the Holy and the True we are to be set apart, and only as we "go forth unto Him," will our separation be of any real value, and we ourselves it vessels unto honor, sanctified and meet for the Master's use."

 

Man is prone to rest in what is merely outward, while neglecting or coolly ignoring what is inward; for "man looketh on the outward appearance, but God looketh on the heart." Hence the importance of insisting on reality, and not being content with mere outward conformity and ecclesiastical order. A Diotrephes will demand the latter while neglecting the former; but, on the other hand, another may be equally wrong if he lays stress only on what is subjective, while paying no attention to the ques­tion of association. The well‑balanced Christian will have a care as to both, and neglect neither.

 

But we must return to our task of tracing out the history of the Jewish people under the high‑priestly regime, during the years of Persian domination.

 

Jaddua was exercising the sacerdotal office when, in the course of God's ways, the time had arrived for setting the Persian rule aside and giving it to the Greek. Jaddua was a man of spotless integrity, and his name is held in veneration to the present time.

 

It is related of him that he was a faithful servant under the kings of Persia; but when Alexander the Great had destroyed Tyre, and driven the armies of Darius Codomanus to the east in confusion, Jaddua was assured that the time had come for the fulfil­lment of Daniel's prophecy as to the destruction of the second world‑emipire and its being replaced by the third. He recognized in the youthful Macedonian conqueror the rough he‑goat with the notable horn between its eyes, who was to run upon the two ­horned ram in the fury of his power and destroy it completely. Hearing that the cities of Syria were falling one by one before him, and that Alexander was actually on his way to besiege Jerusalem, Jad­dua is said to have put on his pontifical garments, and with the Scriptures of the Prophets in his hand, to have gone forth to meet the conqueror, attended, not by armed men, but by a body of white‑robed priests. As they drew near the army of Alexander, the latter is said to have hastened to meet them, prostrating himself on the ground before Jaddua, declaring he had but recently beheld the venerable pontiff in a vision, and recognized him as the repre­sentative of the God of heaven, who would show him what would be greatly to his advantage. Jad­dua opened the prophetic roll, and had one of the scribes in his company read the visions of Daniel and their interpretation. Alexander saw the undoubted reference to himself, and declared he would never permit Jerusalem to be touched nor its temple polluted, and sent the high‑priest back laden with gifts.

 

It is impossible at this late day to know whether this story is a mere tradition or sober history; but there is nothing unlikely about it; at least it teaches a valuable lesson, reminding us that the word of God has foretold the end from the beginning, and He who inspired it has declared, "My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure." Jaddua possessed those Scriptures which reveal God's plans as to the nations of the earth; for prophecy is but his­tory written prior to the events. Therefore it is not at all unreasonable to suppose that he acted as tra­dition relates.

 

This is the specific value of the study of prophecy, that it enables one to act in the present in the light of the things that are yet future. So writes the apostle Peter, when he tells us: "We have also the prophetic word made sure; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed in your hearts, as unto a lamp that shineth in a dark place till the day dawn and the day‑star arise. Knowing this first, that no proph­ecy of the Scripture is of its own interpretation; for the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man; but holy men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Pet. 1: 19‑21, 1911 Version). "Daniel the prophet," as our Lord calls him, was one of these; and his book was doubtless in Jaddua's hand -‑ not written by some unknown apocryphal romanist a hundred years later, as modem pseudo­critics would have us believe ‑‑ but a part of the in­spired word of God outlining events that were com­ing upon the earth long before some of the nations and many of the persons specified so distinctly were in existence.

 

Under the Macedonian or Greek Empire B.C. 230 to the end of the hereditary priesthood.

 

The "Scripture of truth," communicated to Daniel by the angel (Dan. 10: 21), gives in outline the his­tory of the wars following the death of Alexander the Great, but tells us nothing of the various high priests who succeeded one another as temporal and spiritual lords in Judea. They were frequently but the puppets of their imperial masters, whether Syrian or Egyptian; for Palestine throughout nearly a century was an almost continual battle‑ground, between the Kings of the North, (Syrian) and the Kings of the South (Egyptian) in their successive ware.

 

Alexander died at Babylon, B. C. 323, being only about 33 years of age, after a reign of 12-1/2 years. His was a life of remarkable achievement and marvelous conquests. With plans for greater things still to be accomplished, he died a sacrifice to his passions, when he ought to have been in the prime of manly vigor.

 

Having appointed no successor, nor given direc­tions as to the disposition of his vast and newly­formed empire, with no heir but the prospect of a yet unbom child, he left all in confusion. Disorder, intrigue, and ambition threatened to destroy the immense empire erected at so bloody a cost.

 

After a time, however, it was agreed among his principal generals that the empire should be held by them for the posthumous child who proved to be a son and was called Alexander II Another reputed son, Hercules, had been slain sometime before. The jealousies of the generals soon resulted in the same fate being meted out to the infant heir and his mother Roxana.

 

The dominions were then divided among the prin­cipal generals, only two of whom need particularly occupy us, as they are the progenitors of the two rival dynasties denominated the Kings of the North and of the South.

 

Antigonus, one of Alexander's most powerful gen­erals, together with his son Demetrius seized Syria and the adjacent region, and sought to control Pales­tine of which Ptolemy Lagus, another general, was governor. The Jews favored Antigonus, and Ptolemy's son, Soter, determined to wreak upon them a fearful vengeance for their treasonable actions. He besieged and sacked Jerusalem, entering it on the Sabbath, massacred vast numbers of the wretched inhabitants, and transported many more (some say, one hundred thousand) to Egypt, where he gave them such unexpected privileges that, despite all they had suffered from him, they were quite content to dwell in his land, and many of their co‑religionists joined them, as life in Egypt was far more peaceful than in war‑tom Palestine. These Egyptian Jews became largely Gentilized as the years went on, discarding their native tongue and many of their former cus­toms, speaking the Greek language and copying the ways of the nations. Henceforth they became a power to be reckoned with, and for a time threatened to completely annihilate the ancient Jewish faith.

 

Against Ptolemy Soter, Antigonus now turned his arms, and at first was successful in wresting the three provinces from him. But, for five years, triumph alternately turned between first Ptolemy then Antigonus, until the unhappy land of Palestine was about ruined, and its people completely crushed.

 

Many in their despair imagined that the only pos­sible and logical way out of their distresses was to become assimilated with the warring factions of one side or the other, as much as possible; and because of Ptolemy's superior enlightenment and hopeful in­ducements the majority clung to him.

 

But in these dark days, during which Palestine was "the Debatable Land," spoiled by her warring foes, there was always an election of grace, who held tightly to the now completed Scriptures of the Old Testament, embraced under three great heads, or divisions, viz., "The Law, the Prophets and the Psalms," and clung desperately to the apparently forlorn hope of the coming Deliverer. It was of such that Malachi had written: "They that feared the Lord spake often one to another, and the Lord harkened and heard it; and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name. And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels (or, peculiar treas­ure); and I will spare them as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not " (Mal. 3: 16‑18). It was just such a sep­arating or winnowing process that was then going on. Ptolemy and Antigonus were but the flails used to separate the wheat from the chaff, or the great rollers that crushed the ore, and freed God's jewels from the mass of the Jews in whom was but a traditional faith.

 

Nor were the sorrows of the remnant at an end when, in B.C. 301, the Battle of Ipsus put a quietus on the evil energy of Antigonus. In this great conflict -‑ one of the decisive battles of the world -- ­Antigonus and Demetrius were opposed by the re­nowned quartette of Alexander's generals, among whom his empire was ultimately divided, namely: Ptolemy Soter, Seleucus, Lysimachus, and Cassander. The allies were triumphant, slaying Antigonus, ut­terly routing his army, and causing Demetrius to flee for his life. He was apprehended several years later by Seleucus, and died in captivity.

 

The confederate generals, who had previously borne the titles of governors or satraps, now par­titioned the empire, Cassander becoming king of Greece; Lysimachus of Thrace, or Armenia; Seleucus, of Syria and the adjacent regions; and Ptolemy of Egypt, Palestine, Libya and Arabia. It was the four‑fold division of the Grecian em­pire pictured in the four horns of the rough goat seen in the vision by Daniel, and so plainly pre­dicted in the "writing of truth." In fact, the elev­enth chapter of Daniel gives a summary of the con­flicts of the Seleucus (as the successors of Seleucus were called) and the Ptolemies (the Egyptian rulers) for a century and a half after the battle of Ipsus.

 

But as it is rather the Jews than their Gentile rulers with whom we are concerned, we turn to trace again what little is left on record of their vicissitudes while the potsherds of the earth strove with one another.

 

Jaddua, the high‑priest, died sometime between Alexander's death and the agreement, about twenty years later, of which we have spoken. He was suc­ceeded by Onias I., of whom we know but little, who, in tum, died B. C. 300, one year after the battle of Ipsus. His son, known as Simon the Just, succeeded him ‑‑ so‑called, Josephus tells us, "because of his piety toward God and his kind disposition to those of his own nation." The 50th chapter of the apo­cryphal book of Ecclesiasticus is his best memo­rial. There he is described as "Simon the high‑priest, the son of Onias, who in his life repaired the house again, and in his days fortified the temple; and by him was built from the foundation the double height, the high fortress of the wall about the temple." And various other works of piety are credited to him. He is eulogized in terms that more befit Messiah Him­self, even described as the "morning star," "the sun shining upon the temple," and "the rainbow giving light in the bright clouds."

 

That the temple service was had in honor, and a measure of reverence and godliness preserved among the priests and people in his days, must be the con­clusion of all who read the chapter through.

 

Simon was one who sought to stem the Hellenizing or Grecianizing spirit, and to recall the people to that separation to God which would have been their strength had they known what it was to main­tain it in holy humility. In verses 22 to 26 we may have the language of Jesus, the son of Sirach, but we undoubtedly have the sentiment of Simon the Just. Verses 25 and 26 are noteworthy: "There be two manner of nations which my heart abhorreth, and the third is no nation. They that sit upon the mountain of Samaria, and they that dwell among the Philistines, and that foolish people that dwell in Sichem (Shechem)."

 

The dwellers in Shechem, whom he stigmatizes so bitterly, were the Samaritans, who had built their hated rival temple upon Mount Gerizim, and had with abhorrent effrontery dared to add an eleventh commandment to the law: "Thou shalt build an altar on Mount Gerizim, and there only shalt thou worship!" How apt we all are, unconsciously, to arrogate such pretentious claims to that with which we have decided to associate ourselves.

 

The other two classes were the temporizers who sought a league with these Samaritans, and the apos­tates who had gone over to Israel's ancient foes, the Philistines; both alike were thorns in the side of the pious and patriotic. To the fourth party belonged Simon himself; those who repudiated all that was foreign to the spirit of Judaism and clung tenaciously to the holy writings and the sacred temple services. That these largely drifted into ceremonialism and heady exclusiveism should be a sad warning to those who attempt to maintain divine truth in a fleshly way, without the Spirit's power. From these arose the sect of the Pharisees; rigid separatists, but hard and legal, having " a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof." On the other hand, we see in the Hellenizers the forerunners of the contemptuous, cultured, but unsound Sadducees of our Lord's day.

 

Simon was president of the Sanhedrim or High Council of the Jews, and the first of the great Rabbis whose oral teaching was embodied in the Mishna, which almost superseded the word of God itself. Alas, how ready are well‑meaning people to put the min­istry of human teachers in the place of the Holy Scriptures, and almost unconsciously begin "teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." That Simon himself never contemplated this is evident; for, if tradition speaks truly, he it was who added the finishing touches to the work accredited to Ezra, and established authoritatively the canon of the Old Testament. He ever emphasized the supreme importance of the word of God, though he himself was looked up to in later days as if among the in­spired, and in this we have another serious lesson for our own times. For there is the constant dan­ger of either setting aside God‑given teachers, or else actually allowing their ministry to supersede the Bible. Such men would indeed be the last to wish that such a place be given them. The object of all divinely‑gifted servants of God would be to assert the authority of Scripture; their one desire in oral or written ministry would be the elucidation of the Word, and recalling the people of God to the Book, in place of giving them a substitute for it. But again and again has the ministry of great gifts, justly valued, been put in place of the Word of the living God, and thus made into a creed, which to maintain is to be Orthodox, and to vary from is to be accounted heterodox.

 

The death of Simon the Just occurred in 291 B. C. He left an infant son; so his brother Eleazar was honored with the high‑priesthood, a position he held until his death fifteen years later. Though wars abounded about them, and rumors of wars distracted them, the Jews enjoyed comparative peace in hip, time. The rival kings of the North and the South might carry on their struggles as they would, but Jehovah was to His people, during the reigns of the first three Ptolemies, who exercised suzerainty over Palestine, "a little sanctuary," in which the righteous found safety and peace. God was watch­ing over them. His good hand was upon them, and they found blessing, both temporal and spiritual, though the heathen raged without, and sects within threatened eventual ruin.

 

Ptolemy Soter reigned twenty years, and was suc­ceeded, 284 B.C., by his son, known as Ptolemy Philadelphus. Considerable importance attaches to his reign; for it was while he was king and Eleazar high‑priest, that the first translation of the Holy Scriptures was made. The Pentateuch, or five books of Moses was, by his request, translated into Greek, about the year 277 B. C., and book after book fol­lowed until the entire Old Testament was rendered in the same language, and deposited in the Imperial Library at Alexandria. This translation is generally known as the Septuagint (seventy), from a tradition that it was the joint production of seventy translators, though it is generally supposed the correct number was seventy‑two. Another tradition says it was so ­named because of the idea of the Jews that there were just seventy Gentile nations, and as Greek was at that time the world‑language, this was the Bible for the entire seventy.

 

The version thus produced rapidly grew in favor even among the Jews, few of whom could read their own Hebrew Scriptures, as the Hebrew was already fast becoming a dead language. This was the Bible used in the days of our Lord and His apostles; and largely accounts for apparent discrepancies between Old Testament texts and New Testament quotations, which are generally from the Septuagint. This Greek translation of the Old Testament is often ex­pressed by the Roman numerals LXX.

 

In later days the strictly orthodox Rabbis of the Pharisaic school bitterly regretted this translation, and declared that it was "as great a calamity as the making of the golden calf." This was because some of its renderings were rather paraphrases than translations, and were of such a character as to be a great aid to the Hellenizing Jews in their efforts to introduce the new learning and to overthrow the so‑called orthodox teaching.

 

Upon Eleazar's death, 276 B. C., his brother Man­asseh became high‑priest, and held office until his own decease, 251 B. C., which was the thirty‑fourth year of Ptolemy Philadelphus. Little of moment occurred during his incumbency. He was succeeded by Onias II, the son of Simon the Just, who was an infant at his father's death. This man was an un­worthy son of so worthy a father. Josephus de­scribes him as "a man of little soul." During the reign of Ptolemy Euergetes, who came to the throne 247 B. C., the evil behaviour of Onias brought the nation of the Jews into grave trouble and danger. He ne­glected the annual tribute of twenty talents of silver for some years until the amount due to Euergetes be­came exceedingly high; and at last he sent an official called Athenion to demand the entire sum, or threaten the destruction of the Jewish state.

 

Onias and the inhabitants of Jerusalem were panic-­stricken and knew not what to do. Only through the diplomacy of a nephew of the high‑priest, Joseph, son of Tobias, was the calamity averted. He opened his house to the Egyptian ambassador and entertained him in a magnificent manner, and so pleaded for the Jews that Athenion returned to his royal master to give a most favorable report of the young man, and to counsel consideration for his nation. Joseph himself set out after him to plead in person for the royal clemency. On the way he traveled in a caravan of merchants from Coele‑Syria and Phce­nicia. Overhearing certain of those declaring their business, he determined to outwit them. It was their object to endeavor to purchase from the king for eight thousand talents the right to farm the taxes throughout Coele‑Syria, Phoenicia, Judea and Samaria. Joseph saw how he might profit by such an appointment if he could obtain it for himself, so he determined to offer double the amount for the privilege, depending upon more than making it up out of the people. On the proper occasion he made his offer and was able to secure the position, and two thousand men were appointed to assist him. He was thus the first Jewish publican‑the beginning of a detestable class in the eyes of all lovers of Israel, and put on the same level as the "sinners" of the nations, or even considered beneath them.

 

For twenty‑two years Joseph kept this place. For a time, during the ascendancy of Antiochus the Great (of whose wars we shall speak later on), he lost his lucrative post, but recovered it again when the Egyptian arms triumphed, and held it until his death.

 

We can well understand the abhorrence that Jo­seph's course would inspire in the breasts of true Jewish patriots. As the servant of a foreign poten­tate, and under his protection, he enriched himself at the expense of his own people, grinding the faces of the poor, and extorting from them all he possibly could by taxes on their lands and goods, of which he kept for himself all that was over and above the yearly fee paid to the king of Egypt for the privilege. No wonder the name "publican" came to be a synonym for all that was disgraceful to the Jew, and unworthy.

 

Upon the demise of Onias II, his son Simon II, succeeded him as high priest.

 

In his days grave conflicts were continually go­ing on among the nations around, but there was comparative peace in Judea, save that warring fac­tions among themselves did much to disturb the equanimity of the Jewish commonwealth. Parti­cularly was this the case between the family of Joseph, known as "the sons of Tobias," and the house of the high‑priest. The ill‑gotten gains of the publican‑priest brought joy neither to himself nor his family, but resulted in a household feud of fier­cest intensity, into the details of which we need not now enter, but shall advert to later.

The kings of the North and South continued their struggle for the possession of the Land, and once more Palestine played the part of a "buffer state."

 

Seleucus Nicator, the founder of the dynasty of the Seleucidae, reigned thirty‑three years, and was succeeded by Antiochus Soter, who reigned nineteen years. His successor, Antiochus Theos, wedded Berenice, a daughter of Ptolemy Philadelphus, who hoped thereby to strengthen his hold on Syria, but the ruse was a failure, and only made matters worse.

 

Antiochus Theos was followed by Seleucus Calli­nicus. He was killed, 226 B. C., by a fall from his horse. This was the year after Onias II sent his crafty nephew Joseph into Egypt to make peace with Ptolemy. Seleucus Ceraunas, a weakling, and an object of contempt, succeeded Callinicus, but was poisoned within a short time. He was suc­ceeded by his brother, destined to become one of the most renowned of the Syrian kings, and known in history as Antiochus the Great. He be­came king 223 B. C., while Ptolemy Euergetes; was on the Egyptian throne. This prince died two years later, poisoned, it is supposed, by his son Ptolemy IV, known as Philopater, who soon after­wards murdered his mother and brother. Against him Antiochus the Great declared war, with the ostensible purpose. of recovering Palestine and the adjacent lands for himself. At first he was success­ful, but at the battle of Raphia, 217 B. C., he was defeated with tremendous loss.

 

Philopater marched through the land in triumph, and the people everywhere submitted to the exultant victor. In Jerusalem he gained the favor of the Jews by giving rich gifts to the temple and offering many sacrifices and oblations. But he undid all this a little later by insisting upon entering the Holy of holies against the vehement protests of priests and people. Tradition says that as he impiously pressed forward he was smitten with paralysis and carried out half dead. As a result, he left Judea in dismay, but with intense hatred for all things Jewish.

 

A peace was shortly afterwards patched up be­tween Ptolemy and Antiochus, whereby Coele‑Syria and Palestine were confirmed to the king of Egypt. For a few years following, the Jews in Palestine had rest, but it was far otherwise with those who were settled in Alexandria and other parts of Egypt. Against them the resentment of Ptolemy burned fiercely, and he persecuted them unmercifully, thus proving that Egypt was, as the prophet had long ago declared, "a bruised reed " to rest upon.

 

Philopater died 204 B. C., succeeded by his son Ptolemy Epiphanes, a child of but five years of age. In his minority Antiochus the Great re‑asserted his claim to the lost territories, and seized them in 203‑2, B. C. A few years later Scopas, an Egyptian general, led an army into Palestine and recovered the two provinces, but the following year, 198 B. C., Antiochus recaptured them. In 193 B. C., a marriage was consummated between the youthful Ptolemy and Cleopatra, daughter of Antiochus, and on the basis of this a peaceful agreement entered into whereby the revenues should be divided between the two kingdoms, and Palestine be nominally subject to Egypt. On Antiochus' further troubles, his war with Rome, his defeat, his sacrilegious pillaging of the temple of Jupiter‑Belus (187 B. C.), and his death by the hands of the mob, when according to Daniel's words, "He stumbled and fell, and was not found," we need not here dwell, as it is with the Jews we are immediately concerned.

 

Their sufferings had been fearful to contemplate in the awful years referred to above. Whichever party won, they lost. Whoever prospered, they were robbed. But in those days of terror and nights of anguish, who can doubt that "many were purified and made white" who otherwise would have been living in ease and careless indifference toward God?

 

Seleucus Philopater followed his father as king of Syria, but died by the treachery of his treas­urer, Heliodorus, 175 B. C. This Seleucus is the "raiser of taxes" spoken of in Daniel 11; his father's war with Rome having made it necessary to pur­chase peace at a great price.

 

Ptolemy Epiphanes died by poison while yet a youth, 180 B. C., and his son, Ptolemy Philometer reigned in his stead; his mother, Cleopatra, being queen-regent. At this time Seleucus Philopater held au­thority over Palestine, though how he obtained it is not clear, but it seems that the Jews themselves preferred Syrian to Egyptian rule, and readily submitted to him. This was during the high‑priesthood of Onias III, in whose days the second book of the Maccabees says, "The holy city was inhabited in all peace, and the laws were kept very well, because of the godliness of Onias, the high‑priest, and his hatred of wickedness" (2 Macc. 3 : 1). Thus we have again illustrated the proverb, "Like priest like people." On the other hand, we have evidence of an easy‑going self‑confidence which rested in keep­ing the laws of the Lord "very well," when, in re­ality, there was the gravest reason to be in the dust of humiliation before God for the centuries of failure that had resulted in the Lo‑ammi condition in which they were still found. For they are never owned as God's people after the Babylonian cap­tivity, nor will be again till their repentance in the time of the end yet to come.

 

Onias III. was the last to obtain the high‑priest, hood by inheritance. He was eventually deposed by Antiochus Epiphanes, brother and successor to Se­leucus Philopater. With his setting aside, the high ­priestly epoch closes and a new period begins, which we leave, with the events leading up to it, for a dis­tinct chapter.

 

The century we have been considering, was one in which the Jews had practically no national his­tory, and we have been chiefly occupied with their rulers and neighbors. They were, nevertheless, ever under the eye of God, and nothing happened to them but what his love and wisdom allowed.

 

Throughout all the darkness, He kept a lamp of testimony burning in Jerusalem, according to the word He had sworn to His servants of old, for David's sake and for His own glory.

 

In the next period He gave them unexpected de­liverances that remind us of the days of the judges, and to the consideration of this heroic epoch we will now turn.*

 

* I have endeavored to trace out a little more in detail the history of the Ptolemies and the Seleucidae in my Lectures on Daniel. The inquiring reader might consult the address on chapter 11:1‑35.

 

 

CHAPTER II

 

The Days of the Maccabees

 

FOR a long time there had been two main parties striving for the domination in Judea. One, and that the weaker company, clinging tenaciously to the law and its observance, though continually add­ing to it, and becoming more and more legal. These eventually became known as the Pharisees (from a root meaning to separate), and whom the apostle Paul describes long after this as " the straitest sect of our religion," and whose self‑righteousness and hypocrisy the Lord had to condemn so severely in His days on earth. Only by degrees, of course, and after a long time did the Jewish party reach the condition depicted in the New Testament. It was the result of holding the truth in a carnal way­ contending for what was divine while neglecting spirituality and self‑judgment. They thus became censorious judges of others and complacent condoners of themselves.

 

On the other hand, the dominant party in the days of Simon II and Onias III was the Hellenizing faction ‑ bringing in Grecian ways and customs. They saw no deliverance for the Jews save in following the ways of the nations. They cried, "Let us go and mak3 a covenant with the heathen " (I Macc. 1: 11), and sought to popularize as far as possible the new ways. Greek philosophy, Greek games, and even tolerance of Greek religion were persistently advo­cated. Even Onias II, the high‑priest, had been suspected of thus trying to break down the middle wall of separation; and later priests openly con­fessed their desire to see all that was distinctively Jewish replaced by what was Grecian. These were the predecessors of the polished, but infidel Sad­ducees.

 

Besides these two great parties, there was a third, if it be right to stigmatize them by the appellation party. They were a feeble and afflicted people, (I the poor of the flock," who abhorred the ways of the heathen, yet refused the legal pretensions of the Nationalists, and clung devotedly to the word of God and the promise of the coming Messiah. From these sprang, in after‑years, the Essenes7‑a sect whose actual tenets are difficult to define, but who placed spirituality above outward conformity. They have been called the Quakers of Judea, and by others the Pietists.

 

But there were also purely political factions dis­turbing the peace of Judea. An "Egyptian" and a "Syrian" party had been gradually developed among the Jews, the names plainly indicating the object of each. In addition to these features of un­rest, corruption had made sad inroads among the priesthood and the heads of the people. Avarice and covetousness, love of power and of ease, were eating the very life out of the great families and those who should have been examples to the flock.

We have already mentioned Joseph, the son of Tobias, who first bought the privilege of farming the taxes from Ptolemy Eurgetes. This lucrative office was held by him and his sons for many years, giving them thereby an importance almost as great as that of the high‑priest. But the love of money is a root for all evils, and it brought disaster to the house of Tobias. Joseph was the husband of two wives, one of whom bore him seven sons; the other, but one, who was named Hyrcanus. The father's own character was thoroughly reproduced in this youth, in greed and cunning. In his father's old age, he was sent by him to Egypt to congratulate the king and queen on the birth of a son. Hyrcanus used the opportunity to bribe the king with money obtained from his father's agent, and by these un­worthy means secured the royal authority to become collector of revenues on the east of Jordan. This greatly enraged his father Joseph and his brothers, who waylaid Hyrcanus and sought to kill him. They were themselves defeated, however, and two of them slain, while Hyrcanus escaped unharmed. Joseph did not long survive this event. After his death matters went from bad to worse.

 

The strife overleaped the family of Tobias and became a national affair. Some of the people, amongst whom was Simon the high‑priest, espoused the cause of the five brothers, while others supported Hyrcanus, who retreated beyond Jordan, and seven years later committed suicide, fearing the wrath of Antiochus, the Syrian king, who then held sway over the land. Before he died, he appears to have obtained the favor of Onias III, the last hereditary high‑priest (who succeeded Simon his father, 195 B. C.), for the ill‑gotten treasure of Hyrcanus was deposited in the temple, and Onias described the publican as "a man of great dignity."

 

At this time the governor of the temple was a Simon who is supposed to have been the eldest brother of Hyrcanus. Between him and Onias a bitter feud developed, and in 176 B. C., Simon, find­ing Onias too powerful for him to cope with in Jerusalem, went to Apollonius, governor of all that region (under Seleucus Philopater, the "raiser of taxes," of whom we have spoken in the previous chapter), and told him of the immense treasure of Hyrcanus and others deposited for safe‑keeping in the sanctuary.

 

Apollonius lost no time in acquainting the king with the welcome news, and the needy monarch at once sent Heliodorus, his treasurer, to take possess­ion of the money. In some way he was hindered, and the treasure was not removed. The story told in 2 Macc. 3: 5‑40 is that Heliodorus came to Jeru­salem and made inquiry of Onias, who informed him that the treasure was indeed there, but that it would be sacrilege to touch it. The king's treasurer, however, demanded the money, and upon his being denied he attempted to enter the temple to secure it, when he saw an apparition in the form of "a horse with a terrible rider upon him, and adorned with a very fair covering, and he ran fiercely, and smote at Heliodorus with his forefeet, and it seemed that he that sat upon the horse had complete harness of gold. Moreover two other young men appeared be­fore him, notable in strength, excellent in beauty, and comely in apparel, who stood by him at either side, and scourged him continually, and gave him many sore stripes " (2 Macc. 3: 25, 26). This turned the treasurer from his purpose, and he departed to his master without the object of his quest.

 

It is related, however, that Simon was not so credulous as Heliodorus, but boldly insinuated trickery, and declared that Onias was responsible in some way for the supposed apparition. Bitterness and strife increased; partisans were assassinated, and dissension grew so intolerable that Onias de­parted on a mission to the king, determined to se­cure his intervention. Things had fallen to a low ebb indeed when a heathen monarch had thus to be appealed to with a view to settling a dispute among the descendants of those zealous Jews returned out of Babylonish captivity in the days of Zerubbabel Seleucus, the king, died, however, before Onias reached him, and the king's brother, Antiochus, who surnamed himself Epiphanes (the illustrious), was declared king. He is called by an opposite designa­tion Daniel 11 : 21, R. V., namely, "a contemptible person." His own courtiers evidently concurred in this last appellation, for they changed one Greek letter in this self‑assumed name, which made it Epimanes

 

This wretched king is the persecuting " King of the North," a synopsis of whose history had been pre‑written in Daniel 11: 21‑35. He has been well­ named "The Antichrist of the Old Testament " At first he came in peaceably, and by flatteries sought to gain the confidence of the Jews, but afterwards became their bitterest persecutor, and the profaner of the temple. Ere Onias could gain his ear, Joshua, the high‑priest's brother, offered this Antiochus four hundred and forty talents in all if he would sell him the high‑priestly position, and set aside his venerable brother. Joshua further promised to do all in his power toward Grecianizing the Jews, even to the changing their name to "Antiochians." This offer delighted the avaricious ruler, who declared Onias no longer high‑priest, but gave the office to Joshua, who at once began to carry out his pledges, giving up his own honored name for that of Jason, after a Greek hero. He constructed a gymnasium, and fur­thered in every way the adoption of Greek learning, fashions and games; even going " so far as to send special messengers from Jerusalem to Tyre bearing money for offerings to Melcarth, the Phoenician Hercules, on the occasion of the games in his honor" (see 2 Macc. 4:18-20).

 

Thus was the rationalistic pre‑Sadducean party completely in power, and it seemed as though both the national and the spiritual parties were thoroughly crushed, if not ready to be annihilated. The first chapter of the first book of the Maccabees gives us a vivid picture of the wretched estate of the Jews, who had begun so well under Ezra and his cojutors.

 

Four years passed, and Jason, the pseudo‑priest, sent a younger brother named Onias, to Antioch, bearing the tribute‑money for Antiochus. Jason now was to prove that " whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." He had sown deceit and treachery through flattery and bribery. He reaped the same. For Onias determined to obtain the lucrative and honorable title of high‑priest for himself. He there­fore flattered and fawned upon the vain, covetous king, and offered him three hundred talents niore than Jason for the position. He was successful, therefore, and returned to Jerusalem, bearing the royal commission, with the intention of ousting his brother from the office. The "sons of Tobias" rallied to his support, but Jason and his friends re­fused to relinquish their place and power, so that Onias was forced to retire to Antioch, temporarily outwitted. There he besought the king's aid, pledg­ing himself to go further than his brother in Gre­cianizing the Jews, and changing his own name to Menelaus. This won the king to hearty support of his cause, and he returned once more to Jerusalem with a royal escort. At this Jason fled in terror and Menelaus held the priesthood.

 

The senior Onias, the last legitimate high‑priest, still lived, and " vexed his righteous soul " as he saw the evil deeds of the apostate party. Finally, when Mene­laus, in order to make up the tribute‑money, robbed the temple of its golden vessels, selling them at Tyre and elsewhere, Onias sternly spoke out, calling the false priest to account for his unhallowed ways. For this he was hated by the sacrilegious wretch whom he had reproved, and he appointed Andronicus to assassinate him. The aged pontiff was foully murdered, and Menelaus congratulated himself on having his stern reprover out of the way. But the vile deed inflamed many lovers of Israel, and so great a protest was made to Antiochus, that he felt com­pelled to interfere by causing Andronicus to be put to death, though Menelaus himself escaped. As time went by he became more and more abandoned, reveling in shameful iniquity, and guilty of horrible enormities ‑ yet wearing the sacred mitre inscribed with " Holiness unto the Lord! "

 

Again he laid hands on other of the holy vessels, but this time the mass of the people, among whom were ever found many who " looked for redemption in Israel," rose up in their wrath, determined to de­fend the house of God against‑ this sacrilegious plunderer. They joined battle with three thousand of the partisans of Menelaus, led by Lysimachus his brother. Lysimachus was killed and his party de­feated. Menelaus chagrined and disgraced appealed to the king, sending a delegation of rationalistic members of the Sanhedrim bearing the most potent of arguments ‑money in abundance. The people protested, but all their complaints were ignored at the sight of Menelaus' gold, and the king acquitted the high‑priest and slew his accusers.

 

Antiochus Epiphanes invaded Egypt, about 171 B. C., and soon a rumor reached Jerusalem that he was dead. Upon the circulation of this report there ‑was great rejoicing, and the Jason party again gathered courage, knowing that the people detested Menelaus. With a thousand men they carried the walls, slew their opponents, and drove Menelaus into the castle. But a sudden turn of affairs enabled the latter to get the upper hand, and Jason was driven out and retreated to a strange land, where he died " detested by all," as one historian says, and as we can well believe.

 

News that Jerusalem had been overjoyed to hear of his death reached Antiochus in Egypt and threw him into a fury. The troubles between Jason and Menelaus were reported as though there had been a popular uprising and a revolt against the royal authority. In a paroxysm of rage he led his armies like an overwhelming flood through the land, and assaulting Jerusalem with wrathful energy, took the city by storm, upon which followed a fearful sack and carnage. Over 40,000 persons were slain in three days, and an equal number torn from their homes and led away as captives. Nor was this all. Guided by the wretched apostate Menelaus, he forced his way into the Holiest of all, carried off the golden candlestick, the table, the incense altar, and other vessels; destroyed the books of the law, and set up the " abomination of desolation " by erecting an idol‑altar upon the holy altar of burnt‑offerings, upon which he sacrificed a great sow, and with a broth made of its unclean flesh, sprinkled and defiled all the temple.

 

The horror with which a godly Jew regarded this terrible desecration is almost beyond our conception. Never till the personal Antichrist sits in the temple of God yet to be erected in Jerusalem, in the days of the coming tribulation, will such dreadful scenes be repeated. Both are called by the same name. In Daniel 11: 31 the past deed is depicted years be fore the event: "And armed men going forth from him shall pollute the sanctuary, the fortress, am shall take away the continual sacrifice, and the3 shall set up the abomination that maketh desolate.' In Daniel 9: 26, 27, the future is before us, when the Antichrist will again defile the temple, " and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate." This is what Daniel 12: 11 refers to, and i the passage to which our Lord directed the attention of His disciples in Matt. 24: 15, as a sign of the end of the age.

 

The impious acts of Antiochus became a signal for the revival of the ancient spirit in a remnant, ac cording to Daniel 11: 32: "And such as do wicked13 against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries but the people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits." Thus the Maccabean period is introduced ‑ the time of the great Jewish war of in dependence. Then it was that the following verses 33 to 35, were literally fulfilled:* "And they that have understanding among the people shall instruct many yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil many days. Now when they shall fall they shall be helped with a little help: but many shall join themselves to them with flatteries And some of them of understanding shall fall to trythem, and to purify, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed."

 

* The reader will observe that this concludes the past history of the Jews in Daniel 11. Verse 36, which has not yet come to pass, refers to the days of Antichrist.

 

For twenty‑three hundred days, or about six and a half years, the temple was to be polluted, according to the same prophet Daniel. Then the sanctuary was to be cleansed and divine service re‑instituted. And so it was. In 171 B. C. the abomination that made desolate was set up. In 165‑4 B. C. the temple was purified and re‑dedicated by command of Judas Maccabeus. The intervening 2300 days were the strenuous times of which we now proceed to take note.

 

For a time the Jews were utterly disheartened, yet a remnant cried to God: " 0 Lord, how long? " and hoped in Him who had ever been the Helper of Israel.

 

In 169 B. C. Antiochus made another inroad against Egypt, and was at first successful, until met by a Roman embassage demanding that he return to his own land. The decree of the Roman senate was handed to the haughty tyrant, who asked for time to consider it; but with his rod, Popillius, one of the ambassadors, drawing a circle around Anti­ochus, demanded an answer of yes or no before he left the circle. Antiochus, alarmed, submitted and left Egypt, determined to vent his rage on Palestine again. He sent an army under Apollonius to destroy the already ruined city of Jerusalem, the name of which signifies "Foundation of peace," but which has known more sieges and bloodshed than any other existing city ‑ having been sacked twenty‑seven times already, and God's word clearly predicts two fearful sieges for the future.

 

Apollonius fell upon the defenceless people in a manner worthy of the madman he served. Pretend­ing peace, he entered unopposed, and on the holy Sabbath day fell upon the wretched inhabitants, slaying the men by thousands, and carrying the women and children captive. The houses and walls were demolished and the city set on fire. Thus, in the pathetic language of 1 Macc. 1: 39, " Her sanctu­ary was laid waste like a wilderness; her feasts were turned into mourning, her Sabbaths into reproach, her honor into contempt."

 

And over and above all this an Act of Uniformity was passed compelling all the people in the domin­ions of Antiochus to worship his gods and no others. Athenaeus was sent to Jerusalem to dedicate the temple to Jupiter Olympus, in whose honor sacrifices were instituted, and the miserable Jews still remain­ing among the ruins of their old homes were forced to take part in the horrid services and to eat of the unclean sacrifices. Defilement could not further go. Israel had been made to know to the full the tender mercies of the heathen, whose culture and brilliancy had been so attractive to the rationalizers among them. The outward contamination was but the manifestation of what God's holy eye had seen long since; even as the leprosy on king Uzziah's forehead had but made known before all the corruption that had been working within.

 

Antiochus and his minions knew no mercy. They spared neither age, sex, nor condition. Young and old, men and women, priests and people, rich and poor, suffered alike in those fearful days of ven­geance. Women who attempted to keep the law and circumcise their sons, were led publicly through the city with their babes at their breasts and flung bodily from the city walls, thus being literally bro­ken to pieces. Any who were discovered observing the Sabbath day were apprehended and burnt alive.

 

Josephus' account of those dire and sorrowful times remarkably coincides with the epistle to the Hebrews' account of former saints' sufferings. Says the Jewish historian: "They were whipped with rods, and their bodies were torn to pieces, and were crucified while they were still alive and breathed." The apostle wrote of the same heroes of faith: " They were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection; and others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented (of whom the world was not worthy); they wandered in deserts and mountains, and dens and caves of the earth " (Heb. 11: 35‑38).

 

One incident will show how truly these words applied to the faithful among the Jews in this time of trouble. One woman and her seven sons were apprehended together and dragged before the vile and infamous king, who commanded them to cast off their faith and to become worshipers of his gods. As they boldly refused, the first son was seized in the presence of his heroic mother and his six brethren, his tongue tom out, his members cut off, and he burned alive over a slow fire. Again the alternative was presented to worship the demon‑gods and live, or be faithful to Jehovah and die. Unyielding, the second son was taken and flayed alive before the eyes of the rest. And so the horrid trial went on till but one son was left, and he the youngest. The king personally pleaded with him to renounce his faith and bow to the gods, promising riches, ease and honor for himself and his mother if he obeyed. Fearing he might weaken, the devoted wo­man encouraged his heart in the Lord, saying, "O, my son, have pity upon me that bare thee . . . I be­seech thee, my son, look upon heaven and earth, and all that is therein, and consider that God made them of things that were not; and so was mankind made likewise. Fear not this tormentor, but be worthy of thy brethren; take thy death, that I may receive thee again in mercy with thy brethren " (2 Macc. 7: 27‑29). How strong was this testimony to the Jewish faith in the resurrection when uncor­rupted by Sadducean influence!

The youth, thus encouraged, defied the king, re­buked him for his iniquity, and predicted his final judgment, till the wretched monarch was so enraged that, we are told, he " handled him worse than all the rest," and " this man died undefiled, and put his whole trust in the Lord " (chap. 7: 39, 40). The mother was then dispatched, and the eight faithful spirits rested together in Abraham's bosom.

 

It would only be soul‑harrowing to dwell longer on details such as these. The night was indeed dark the storm raged relentlessly; hope almost died within the breasts of the faithful; when, like the shining forth of the star of morning arose Mattahias who dwelt in Modin.

 

This man was the father of five sons, and he and his sons are the Maccabees of everlasting renown. The name means, " The hammer of God," and was originally the appellation given to the third sor Judas, but is generally now applied to them all.

It is not possible at this late da to locate the village of Modin, where dwelt this devoted family o priestly descent. Mattathias was of the house of Asmonaeus, of the course of Joarib, so his family are called Asmonaeans. They were among those who bewailed before God the corruption and violence oi the times, and in secret were being prepared by the mighty One in whom they trusted, for public service

 

There came one day to Modin, Apelles, king Antiochus' commissioner, to force all the inhabitants to conform to the heathen rites. Recognizing in Matta­thias a ruler and an honorable man, Apelles came first to him, demanding that he set the example by sacrificing on the heathen altar which had been set up in the midst of the village. Mattathias indig­nantly refused, and declared without reservation that neither he nor his sons would harken to the king's words. As he spoke, a renegade Jew pressed through the throng to offer before the idol. This so stirred the venerable old man that he ran forward and slew not only the transgressor himself, but ere the astonished commissioner realized his danger, he also was slain by Mattathias, who then destroyed the altar. Thus had a second Phinehas arisen in Israel.

 

The breach was made; the king was openly defied So, crying, " Whosoever is zealous of the law, and maintaineth the covenant, let him follow me," the aged Mattathias fled from the city into a mountain retreat, leaving all his goods behind him. Unto him as to David in the hold, a company of devoted men gathered, his own sons leading the way. So had God again visited the Jews, even in the days when they were still under the Lo‑ammi sentence ‑ "Not My people " ‑because of their sins. The flame of insurrection spread far and wide, and as of old, the "discontented, in debt, and distressed," rallied to the

 

From Jerusalem an army of Syrians was at once dispatched to crush the rebellion in its very inception. They fell upon a heterogeneous mass of Jews who were encamped in the wilderness, on their way to the hiding place of Mattathias. It was the holy Sabbath, and the patriotic band felt they dared not violate its sanctity by armed resistance, so a thous­and were butchered like defenceless sheep. But this led to a change of judgment, and 'decided the Jews never again to refuse to defend their country and their families on the holy day, but to fight manfully for all that was dearer to them than life itself, even on the Sabbath, the rest of which had been so rudely disturbed by the ferocious heathen. The most devoted Jews joined Mattathias; those known as the Assidwans. or Chasidim (i.e., the Pious), who detested all that savored of idolatry, and clung tenaciously to the old paths, as well as the nationalist party, who were actuated more by mere patriotism than true piety.

 

From place to place this band of insurrectionists went through the country, daily augmented by fresh recruits, tearing down idol‑altars, overthrowing heathen temples, circumcising the children who were without the covenant‑sign, and proclaiming the triumph of the law of God.

 

For less than a year was Mattathias spared, the intensity of the times being too much for his years; and in 166 B. C. the venerable old patriarch died. Ere he resigned his laborious work he gathered his sons about him, and charged them not to turn aside from the service he now committed to them till the land and the temple were cleansed of the pollutions of the heathen. His son Judas, " Maccabeus " (the hammer of God), he appointed to succeed himself as leader of the revolutionary army, while he called upon all to weigh well the wise counsels of his son Simon, who was noted for his sagacity and single­ness of purpose. The aged leader was buried in Modin, amid great lamentation, and at his tomb the people consecrated themselves anew to the service of God and their brethren.

 

Victory everywhere crowned the efforts of Judas. He surprised the enemy time after time, bursting in upon their encampments in the middle of the night, spreading terror and confusion among them, and causing himself to be dreaded by them all.

 

Apollonius, the governor of Samaria, went out against him with a great host, but was ignominiously defeated, and at last himself slain, while his army was scattered and their arms and accoutrements left in the hands of the Jews. With the sword of Apollonius the great Maccabean chieftain fought ever afterwards.

 

Another and greater army, commanded by Seron, was sent by king Antiochus to annihilate the Jewish company. The two forces met at Beth‑horon. Seron, haughty and defiant, at the head of a vast host; Judas, intrepid and strong in faith, but leading a small company, who had been obliged to fast all that day, and were weak and discouraged as they beheld their insolent foes. "How," they asked, "shall we be able, being so few, to fight against so great a multitude, and so strong? " Like a second Asa, Judas replied: "With the God of heaven it is all one to deliver with a great multitude, or a small company." Nor was his faith disappointed. En­couraged by the remembrance of the past mercies of Jehovah, the Jews threw themselves, in the appar­ent recklessness of faith, upon their disdainful foes, and under the daring leadership of Judas, scattered them like chaff before the flails, and completely de­feated the Syrians, who fled wildly in all directions, leaving a vast number of dead and wounded on the bloody field. Thus was it demonstrated that one should chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, in reliance upon God their strength.

 

News of these events threw Antiochus into a fury; he raged like a maniac as report of success after success on the part of Judas and his bands reached the Syrian capital. A great army was at once plan­ned, to be led by the king in person, which would utterly annihilate the detested Jews. But money was lacking; the treasury being practically empty, the angry king set off to Persia to collect tribute, and with other means to raise the much‑needed funds. Meantime, half of the army was sent to Pales­tine, headed by Lysias, one of his mightiest generals, who was charged to completely extirpate all Israel, and blot out of the land every memorial in existence of the insolent nation that had dared to defy so mighty a king!

 

It seems to have been Satan's great effort to de­stroy the seed of Abraham, and so to nullify the Messianic promise. Often had he sought thus to bring to nought the word of God in the past, but had been divinely defeated on every occasion; and he, the great arch‑enemy of God and men, was again to find that he was powerless against the fiat of the Eternal.

 

Lysias divided the army among three generals, Ptolemy, Nicanor, and Gorgias, with 40,000 foot and 7,000 horsemen, sending this great host into Judea to preclude all possibility of defeat. So certain were the Syrians of victory that Nicanor had it publicly proclaimed that upon his return ninety Jews would be sold for one talent; thus arousing the cupidity of the dealers in slaves, whose money it was supposed would soon be pouring into the coffers of Antiochus.

 

Against this mighty army Judas could only op­pose a visible force of 6,000 men; but can we doubt that the armies of heaven, visible only to faith, were encamping round about the little Jewish band, as of old in the mountains surrounding Dothan?

The Syrians pitched at Emmaus, and at Mizpeh was the camp of the Jews. With ashes on their heads and sackcloth on their bodies, they fell down before God in prayer and confession. Eleazar, the brother of Judas, read from the Holy Scriptures as they fasted and humbled themselves before the mighty One who had been their Help in ages past. He was their reliance in the hour of trial then ap­proaching. For their battle‑cry they took the words, "The help of God;" and with hearts strong in the Lord and the power of His might, they waited for the morrow.

 

And while they waited, they watched. Faithful sentries noted every move of the ‑over‑confident Syrians. Ere daylight scouts came to Judas to tell him that the division of the enemy under Gorgias was already preparing to march, hoping by an early attack to surprise the sleeping Jews and to carry all before them. The little army of Israel were roused .at once. When Gorgias arrived at the Jewish camp he found it deserted, for Judas and his men were already marching down upon the Syrians by a different road. Suddenly the cry of Judas, " Fear ye not! " rang out on the still air, and a loud blast of trumpets sounded the assault. Like men who knew neither fear nor danger the Jews flung themselves upon the great army before them, and in a few mo. ments the enemy were scattered in all directions. Three thousand Syrians fell, and when Gorgias re‑, turned, in ignorance of the events of the early morning, he imagined the Jews were in retreat "These fellows flee from us," he cried, and led hi band on in haste to the plain, only to find the tent, on fire and the Syrians fleeing in disorder on every side. Amazed and disheartened, Gorgias and ME men turned and fled as a company of Jews bore down upon them.

 

Thus was the battle ended, and the army of Lysias, disgracefully defeated. The Jews gathered the spoil together, then rested for the Sabbath, praising God for His marvelous ways and mercy to Israel.

 

Determined to retrieve the good name of his army, Lysias gathered a force of nearly twenty thousand more men the following year and again descended upon Judea. But the army of Judas was now ten thousand strong, and with these zealots, relying on dc the Saviour of Israel," he boldly met the 65,000 Syrians in Idumea, and drove Lysias in defeat and disgrace to Antiochia. So overwhelming was this blow, that it was years before the Syrian army re­covered from its effects, and in the meantime (164 B. C.), less than a year after the triumph of Judas, the vile Antiochus Epiphanes died a horrible death, raving in madness and foul with an evil disease that rotted the flesh upon his bones while life was yet in his filthy body. He had reigned eleven years, and came to his end as he was hastening home from Persia to avenge the defeat of his generals upon the exultant Jews.

 

But ere the king's death, an event of great impor­tance occurred at Jerusalem : the cleansing of the temple, as predicted by Daniel, at the expiration of the 2,300 days of defilement. It was in 171 B. C. that the sanctuary was first polluted. In 165 and 164, the holy place was purified, and the ancient service reestablished amid the joyful acclamations of the Chasidim and the enthusiastic shouts of the nationalists.

 

When Judas and his brethren went up to Jerusa­lem it was a dreadful sight that greeted them. The holy city was in ruins, the temple disfigured and desolate, the courts overgrown with shrubs, the sacred altar profaned, the beautiful gate burned, and the entire place a scene of desolation. . Rending their garments, the people gave way to wailing and tears, but the sound of the trumpet called them to labor, not to weep; and with a small armed company set aside to keep the Syrian garrison in the fortress in check, the rest began the labor of repairing the sanctuary and cleansing the building and the hal­lowed vessels. The altar was set aside altogether as too unclean for purification, and a new one built in its place. The temple was renovated and decorated, and at last, all was in readiness for its re‑dedication. This took place on the 25th Chisleu, 165 B. C., ex­actly three years from the day when the first offering had been made on the altar to Jupiter, and some six and a half years after it had been first polluted by Antiochus. Ever after, the Jews kept " The Feast of the Dedication" as a yearly festival (see John 10 : 22), in the wintry month of Chisleu, or December. Ere the next year, 164 B. C., was well advanced, the temple service was going on again as before the desecration.

 

For the greater part of the next three years the work of ridding the land of its enemies and restoring the cities of Israel was vigorously carried on by the heroic Judas. He fortified Mount Zion and placed a Jewish garrison there, rebuilt the walls, and re­habilitated the waste places, bringing order out of chaos, and changing despair to hopeful contempla­tion of the future. Upon an uprising of Israel's ancient foes, the Idumeans, or Edomites, and the Ammonites, Judas and his brother Jonathan led an army into their territories and discomfited them at every turn, till they were glad to make peace and refrain from further interference. Simon, a brother of Judas, commanded an army that overran Galilee, subjugating lawless bands which were inflicting ter­ror by pillaging and slaying the defenceless people who had sought refuge there. Wherever the Mac­cabean brothers were in command victory followed; but on several occasions, when led by rash and mis­guided men, the Jews were defeated.

 

Antiochus Epiphanes was succeeded by his nine-­year‑old son, known as Antiochus Eupator; Lysias, the old enemy of the Jews, was regent, and again he determined to wipe out the stain upon his honor by crushing Judas and his forces. He invaded the land, therefore, with an army vastly greater than that commanded by Judas. The two hosts met in Judea, and, for the first time, the Jews suffered a serious reverse. Eleazar, the brother of Judas, was slain while attempting to destroy what he supposed was the king's beast. He observed a large elephant, gorgeously bedecked, and thought it was ridden by the boy‑king and his guards. Thinking to win un­dying renown, and to stem the assault of the foe, he cut his way through a company of Syrians, got underneath the mighty beast and thrust his spear into its belly. The great creature fell, crushing Eleazar by its weight. It was not the king's beast, however, and nothing was really accomplished by the indiscretion of Eleazar. His death greatly dis­couraged the Jews, while it did not hinder the progress of the invaders, who drove their stubborn ,foes before them, so that they retreated to Jerusa­lem.

 

Lysias laid siege to the city, and cutting off all supplies, threatened all the inhabitants with death by famine if they attempted to hold out against him. But the God of Israel intervened again, and caused the purpose of Lysias to be frustrated by the break­ing out of rebellion in Syria: Philip, a rival of Lysias, having attempted to overthrow the government in the latter's absence.

 

This made it imperative for Lysias to raise the siege and to return in haste to the capital; which he did, after concluding peace with the Jews, guar­anteeing them protection. But when the king was admitted to the city and his officers saw the strength of the walls, the pledge was partially violated by the destruction of the defenses. The army then marched away in haste to Antiochia, where Philip was outwitted and the rebellion crushed.

 

It will be remembered that the treacherous high-priest Menelaus was in office when Mattathias first rose against the Syrians. He continued to hold the title through all the stormy years of revolution, but met his death at this time. Lysias, declaring that he was the real cause of the revolt, impeached him be­fore the king. He was slain, then, and the high-­priesthood conferred upon one named Alcimus, who, unfortunately, was every whit as vile as his infamous predecessor. This was in 163 B. C.

 

The rest of the story of Judas is soon told. During the next year he labored earnestly for the blessing of Israel, though he it was who first formed the Roman alliance as a result of which Judea became eventually a Roman province. The circumstances were these: In 162 B. C., Demetrius, son of Seleucus Philopater, and therefore nephew of Antiochus Epi­phanes and cousin of Eupator, appeared in Syria to contest the authority of the boy‑king. He had been carried to Rome as a hostage some years before, but had escaped and made his way to Tripolis in Syria, where he gave out that the Roman senate had au­thorized him to take over the kingdom from his cousin. Many rallied to his standard, and after a desperate conflict the king and Lysias were appre­bended by the pretender and put to death. Demet­rius then ascended the throne, taking the title Soter, meaning Saviour.

 

Alcimus, the newly‑appointed high‑priest, bought his favor with a present of a golden crown and other gifts, and thus his office was confirmed to him. This hypocritical, self‑seeking prelate lost no time in slandering Judas Maccabaeus; and his followers to the king, and command was given to Nicanor, the old enemy of the Jewish commonwealth, to ad­vance against Judas, put him to death, and destroy his army. But Nicanor knew from past experience that this was easier said than done. Instead of en­gaging Judas in battle, therefore, he entered into a peace compact with the Jews, which seemed honor­able and satisfactory to both sides. This did not suit the policy of Alcimus, and he boldly accused Nicanor to the king, who sent instructions that the original plans or orders must be carried out. Upon this Nicanor, much against his own judgment, ad­vanced upon the army of Judas, who had been apprized. of the violation of the compact in time to be prepared for war. At Beth‑horon and Adasa the opposing hosts encamped, and, joining battle, Judas was again triumphant, and the king's soldiers beat an ignominious retreat. Nicanor was killed, and his head and right hand were carried to Jerusalem in triumph. " For this cause," says the author of I Maccabees (chap. 7: 48‑50), " the people rejoiced greatly, and they kept that day a day of great glad­ness. Moreover they ordained to keep yearly this day, being the thirteenth of Adar. Thus the land of Judea was in rest a little while."

 

But it was evident to Judas that the era of quiet could not last long, for the Syrian king would not be likely to allow this dishonor to his army to pass un­avenged. The stem old warrior, Judas, therefore, determined to make an alliance with Rome, which was now the dominant power of the West, and al­ready making her influence felt in the East. Had Judas read and understood the words of Daniel as to the rise of the fourth empire, and realized that the third was doomed ? It can scarcely be doubted. He knew, too, how potent had been the word of a Roman senator in the days of Epiphanes; so it was natural enough that he should seek an alliance with the " beast dreadful and terrible, having great iron teeth." Better be a friend than a foe of such a power, he may have thought. Yet it is evident that Judas had dropped to a lower level than he had occupied in days gone by when his reliance had been alone upon the God of Israel. Rome was but an arm of flesh, and the Jews were to find in her an oppressor beyond all others ere the fruit of this pact had fully been gathered.

 

Negotiations were entered into with the Roman senate, and a treaty drawn up and signed, which seemed likely to ensure peace to Israel. But Judas was not to live to see it, nor indeed did the wished­ for peace prove as lasting as he had hoped. Before Demetrius could be notified of the alliance with Rome and warned ‑to beware of harming or acting unjustly toward her "friends and confederates the Jews," the energetic Syrian monarch had dispatched a force of 22,000 men against Judas, led by Bacchi­des and the infamous high‑priest Alcimus. The army of patriots numbered but 3000. The old spirit of confidence in God seemed to be gone. Judas was anxious and troubled; his men were in fear, and urged a retreat. The worthy old warrior could not consent to this, and, because of his stem refusal, his force was farther reduced by numerous desertions.

 

Yet he led the forlorn hope when the Syrians came upon him, and fought bravely and doggedly to the last; but ere the battle ended the hero of Israel was no more. Judas, "the hammer of God," was overwhelmed and slain!

 

What his death meant to the Jews, words fail to express. They were broken‑hearted and in despair; though God had not left them without a leader, for his brother Jonathan at once took his place as cap­tain‑general of the little army. This was in the year 161 B.C.

 

The troubles of the Jews were multiplied. The Syrian party," headed by Alcimus, endeavored with all its power to defeat the Roman alliance and re‑establish the Syrian sway; and for a time there was distress and civil war. But the wretched Alci­mus died the next year (160 B. C.), and a measure of quiet was restored. But there were other dis­tresses; a great famine brought fearful suffering to many, and the activity of Bacchides kept Jonathan's little army continually on the defensive until, with­drawing to the wilderness of Tekoa, he managed to wear out by guerilla tactics the trained soldiers of his opponent who sought again and again to capture him, only to be repulsed and outwitted each time.

 

For two years there was comparative quiet; then in 158 B. C. Bacchides came again into Judea to seek the destruction of Jonathan. He was defeated, however, and favorable terms of peace concluded between the two armies.

 

Troubles in Syria, in connection with the claim., of a pretender to the throne named Balas cause king Demetrius to desist from further efforts to sub­jugate the Jews, and for several years there was quiet in Judea, while both Demetrius and Balas sought the favor and support of Jonathan and his army. In vain Demetrius offered him privilege after privilege; Jonathan could not or would not trust him. Balas, who took the name of Alexander, offered to confer the high‑priesthood upon him if Jonathan would espouse his cause. After months of negotiations his offer was accepted, and at the Feast of Tabernacles, 153 B. C., Jonathan was solemnly robed in the high‑priestly garments, which he as­sumed for the good of his people. Yet it is clear that all this was opposed to the plain word of God. Trusting to or acting in the flesh to procure a de­sirable end, can never be of the Holy Spirit.

 

When Alexander Balas and Demetrius met, the latter was defeated and slain while in retreat. Thus was Alexander confirmed as king of Syria, and to strengthen himself he entered into an alliance with the king of Egypt, who gave him his daughter as wife. Balas professed to be the natural son of Anti­ochus Epiphanes, and, because it served their pur­pose, he got the Romans to own his claim.

 

It seemed now as though all must be well with the Jews: a Maccabean was high‑priest; the foreign party was crushed; a Roman Puppet was on the Syrian throne; and a Roman‑Jewish alliance was in force. What more could be needed to secure peace and prosperity? Alas, that which was most impor­tant of all now seemed to be lacking‑simple trust in the living God!

 

The future was to prove that " vain is the help of man," and that no human arrangements can stand, or procure the end in view, if they be opposed to the word of the Lord, and spring from expediency in place of faith.

 

In 148 B. C. trouble again loomed large on the horizon of the Jews. The son of Demetrius, after­wards known as Nicator (the Conqueror), who had been in hiding since his father's death, determined to regain the throne and kingdom. This prince first attacked Jonathan as a supporter of the usurper Balas, but was defeated, though not until Ptolemy, the king of Egypt, had come into Palestine with an army to assist Alexander, his son‑in‑law. While en­gaged in thus helping the Jews, he learned of a plot against his own life, laid by one of Alexander's officers. Ptolemy demanded that the offender be delivered up to him. Upon Alexander's refusal, he justly concluded that the upstart‑king had sanctioned the attempt to destroy him. This caused him to demand the return of his daugh­ter and the severance of the Syro‑Egyptian alliance. Ptolemy now espoused the cause of Demetrius against Alexander, and the wife of the latter was given to Demetrius, his rival.

 

Alexander was soon defeated and slain. His head was sent to Ptolemy, who, however, only lived three days after receiving it. In 146 B. C. Demetrius was proclaimed king of Syria and hailed as " Nica­tor." A rather flimsy compact existed for a time between this prince and Jonathan, but when in 144 B. C. Antiochus, the son of Balas, arose to contest the crown with Demetrius Nicator, Jonathan severed all relations with the latter, and threw his influence on the side of Antiochus, who confirmed his right to the high‑priesthood and sent him a present of golden vessels for use in the temple; also giving him per­mission to be clothed in purple and to wear a golden buckle, only wom by those of royal blood.

 

Jonathan proved an able ally. He led his army in person against Demetrius, defeating his forces; and renewing the alliance with Rome, cast all his influence on the side of the son of Balas, who was triumphantly hailed king of Syria and Palestine. He was an able and generous prince and a real friend of the Jews, who appreciated fully the part Jonathan had taken in aiding his cause; but he was destined to reign for a very short season, falling a victim to the treachery of Tryphon, one who was largely instru­mental in placing him upon the throne. Ere Anti­ochus fell, Jonathan was also fated to die by the machinations of the same traitorous commander.

 

Tryphon coveted the crown for himself, and real­izing that the son of Mattathias was as a bulwark of the throne, he craftily sought to obtain possession of his person. Under a pretence of inviting him for friendly conference, Jonathan was prevailed upon to enter the city of Ptolemais, accompanied by less than a thousand men. These troops were cruelly massacred and their leader imprisoned. Upon this news reaching the surrounding nations, they pre­pared to invade Judea now that the veteran leader was powerless to aid his people. Tryphon also set out at the head of an army to overrun the land, determined to subjugate the "eternal" nation. Fear filled the souls of the men of Israel, and they were in de­spair until Simon, the brother of Jonathan, came to the front, encouraged their hearts by recounting the deeds of valor performed of old, and was unanimously chosen as captain of the host.

 

Hearing this, Tryphon notified Simon that Jonathan had been apprehended and imprisoned because of his failure to pay the tribute‑money, and that if he, Simon, would send two hundred talents of silver and two sons of the high‑priest and commander as hos­tages, their father would be released. Simon had little faith in the traitor's promises, but lie thought it best to comply, hoping thereby to save his broth­er's life. All was of no avail, however; for after receiving the money and securing the hostages, Tryphon had Jonathan brutally murdered, and re­sumed operations against the Jews. This was in 144 B. C. ‑ seventeen years after Jonathan had become the leader of his people. His body was later recov­ered, and buried at Modin, his former home.

 

Tryphon shortly afterwards secretly slew the youth­ful king Antiochus and laid hands on the crown, declaring himself king. He was a relentless enemy of the Jews, and during his troublous reign caused them much discomfort.

 

Demetrius Nicator, the deposed king, who had been driven out by the armies of Antiochus, was still alive and plotting to regain the royal dignity. It seemed to Simon that he was much to be pre­ferred to the detestable Tryphon, so he decided to espouse his cause. Sending him a crown of gold and a robe of scarlet, Simon sought to make a treaty with him which would insure peace between them. This greatly pleased Demetrius, who readily agreed and confirmed the high‑priesthood to Simon, forgave the Jews all tribute, and declared all past faults for­given. He really surrendered his title to Palestine as a whole, so that Simon was virtually governor of a free people, if able to hold their own against Tryphon. Thus the Syrian servitude of 170 years came to an end in that year, 143 B. C. At the same time the Romans confirmed their former league on plates of brass, and the La6edemonians also entered into a peaceful alliance with Israel, so that Tryphon dared no longer molest them.

 

For a brief period the land enjoyed rest and pros­perity under the wise leadership of Simon. The cities were rebuilt, the lands tilled, and the arts of peace pursued. So pleased were the people of the Jews with Simon, that they held a general assembly in his third year, 141 B. C., when they conferred the priesthood and the government upon him and his heirs forever, engraving their decision in brass and fixing it upon pillars in Mount Zion.

 

But again misfortune loomed darkly on the hori­zon; for in the same year they b