Synopsis of Jewish History Part 3

This zealous and brave man was one of the first who was determined to oppose the future progress of Antiochus. Mattathias, who was known to be a man of considerable influence among his brethren, was highly complimented by the king's officers, and tempted by them to comply with the request of the king to renounce the Jewish religion and embrace that of the heathen. The priest boldly and fearlessly rejected their entreaties; and in the hearing of all the people he declared that no consideration whatever should induce him, or any of his family, to forsake his G.o.d and his holy religion; they would continue to walk in the sacred path of their fathers, and that no king on earth could be found to compel them to adopt any heathen worship.

This bold declaration of the valiant priest, created great sensation among the people--and some of them fearing the torments threatened to be inflicted on all such who refused to obey the king's orders, consented to offer sacrifices on the altar set up for heathen worship; this altar was placed at Modin. The priest, zealous in the cause of his religion, was determined to be avenged of this outrage committed by some of his brethren; he exhorted the people in general, not to be led away by the acts of these apostates, but to remain true to their holy faith, and that he and his family would pour out their life's blood for their sacred cause.

At this time a Jew presented himself at the altar, and sacrificed to the idol there erected. Mattathias, fired by religious zeal, fell upon the apostate and slew him on the spot. His sons, actuated by the same religious spirit, slew the king's chief officer and his men who enforced his wicked commands. They then destroyed both the altar and the images, declaring aloud to all their brethren, "Ye who are zealous for the cause of the Lord and His religion, follow us! Follow, follow!" The priest then collected together all the members of his family, and took up his abode in the neighboring mountains. Many of the Jews followed this example, and fled--some to the deserts, some to the mountains, and there a.s.sembling together, formed themselves into a little army--bold, resolute, zealous and brave in their just and n.o.ble cause.

The king's troops pursued them, and attacked them on the Sabbath day.

The people unwilling to profane the Sabbath, made no resistance, unanimously declaring, "Let us rather die in innocence than triumph in guilt." The enemy taking advantage of this, slew them in great numbers. The venerable Mattathias grieved at seeing his brethren so cruelly and innocently murdered, made a decree, (having previously consulted his brother priests,) and published it throughout the land, that it should be lawful, should it be found requisite, for the people to defend themselves against their enemies, in the event of their being attacked, on the Sabbath day. This resolution was adopted and followed in all the subsequent wars, under the direction of their able and pious champions.

When Antiochus heard of this bold and daring resolution, so much beyond his expectations, he perpetrated the most frightful cruelties on every Jew who would not forsake his religion. On this occasion happened the martyrdom of the venerable and pious Eleazer, a priest of great learning, probity and zeal in the cause of religion. At the advanced age of ninety years, this poor man was led forth to the scaffold, and was desired to make a public declaration that he would renounce his religion--that he should eat swine's flesh in the presence of all the people, as a proof of his conversion. With resolute firmness, and becoming resentment, the venerable priest refused to comply with the wishes of the tyrant, and preferred death rather than forsake the religion of the one true G.o.d.

At this period it occurred, that a mother and her seven sons were scourged in order to compel them to eat swine's flesh. Both the mother and her sons publicly declared their resolution to die under the hands of the executioner, rather than transgress the laws of G.o.d. The tyrant then ordered their limbs to be cut off, their tongues to be cut out, and the skin of their heads to be stripped off with the hair; all which was executed in the presence of the mother, who encouraged her children to suffer their tortures bravely in the cause of their religion. She soothed their afflictions by the tenderest affections, beseeching them to fear G.o.d, and not the tyrant--and patiently to endure the torment, in the hope and expectation of a happy and glorious resurrection, where she would meet them again in mercy, and under the protection of an all gracious father, who never forsakes the truly righteous. The mother having witnessed the sufferings of all her sons, martyrs to the cause of their religion, shared the same sad fate, and under similar torments was ushered into eternity.

What a n.o.ble example to parents of the present day to watch over the conduct of their children, and exert all the means in their power to induce them to walk in the path of virtue; to inculcate in them true religion, and not suffer them to think so lightly of the precepts of the Lord--for it must be admitted that the apathy evinced in the present day by all cla.s.ses of society, is the sole contributing cause of the infidelity so prevalent amongst us. If we are asked what is the cause of this infidelity, the answer is, the Holy Bible is not studied sufficiently, either privately or publicly; and not being understood, is consequently rejected by thousands of those who grow up in ignorance; hence, in the hour of distress, they have nothing to console them, as in olden times, as exhibited in the history before us.

During this time, Mattathias who still remained concealed in the mountains, encouraged his brethren to remain firm in their cause. He spoke so emphatically to them that he gained their confidence, in consequence of which, great numbers declared themselves true to the n.o.ble enterprise before them. Those who more particularly were devoted to the cause, were such as were called _chasideem_, or pious; of this sect we shall have to speak in a future chapter, and therefore we shall proceed with our narrative, in which we shall see the result of true piety and honest zeal in the defence of upright principles.

Mattathias and his party then marched, well armed, through all the towns and villages, destroyed all the altars and places of worship belonging to the heathens. They then circ.u.mcised all the male children, who had been neglected in this matter in consequence of the edict pa.s.sed by the tyrant Antiochus. In this affair they met with very strong opposition, and in their defence they committed great slaughter among their enemies. They succeeded on this occasion in recovering many copies of the law, which had been hid at the time the mandate was issued to destroy all the copies of the law, or any other Hebrew ma.n.u.scripts which might be found among the people. The venerable and pious priest had now grown grey in the service, and appeared to be fast approaching the verge of the grave. Sensible of his position, Mattathias a.s.sembled together all his children, together with his friends, and on his death bed he thus addressed them:

"My sons, be ye valiant and zealous in the cause I have so long advocated--expose your lives in its defence, and hereafter you will share the glorious reward of your perseverance. Let me, says the dying man, bring to your memory the spirit, the n.o.ble spirit and pious zeal of your ancestors, to animate your hope, and to encourage your steady reliance on the power and protection of your all-gracious G.o.d. Thus inspired, my dear children, and thus determined to defend your laws, your liberties, and your religion, you _will_ not, you _cannot_ fail of success. My son Simon has proved himself a man of wisdom, follow his advice as a father, and as a counselor. Judas, your brother, is well known for his courage and valorous conduct, let him be your general, let him head your army and lead you to the battle-field. My sons, may G.o.d Almighty ever protect you and prosper you in all your righteous undertakings, and crown all your laudable efforts with success."

After this tender and affectionate interview, this, his last and farewell advice to his sons, Mattathias in a good old age expired, and was honorably buried at Modin, in the sepulchre of his ancestors--beloved and esteemed by all who knew him in life, and revered and lamented by all who attended his mortal remains to the grave.

CHAPTER VIII.

The Government of the Jewish nation under the Maccabees, or as they were otherwise called, the Asmoneans, this being the family name.

Judas, at the dying request of his father, and with the full consent of his brothers, took upon himself the command of the forces, and at once erected his standard. Judas is henceforth called Judas Maccabees, because he chose for the motto of his banner in the field of battle, the sentence from the song of Moses, Exodus, chap, XV: "Who is like unto thee, amongst the powers, oh Lord!" In Hebrew the initials of the words in the sentence form the word "_Mochbee_." Hence it is, that all those who fought under the banner of Judas, were called "_Maccabees_,"

and all of that race were known by that name.

Judas and his brethren achieved many very valiant deeds, in defending the cause of the holy law, and the holy religion of the G.o.d of Israel, of which they were the bold champions. Judas was successful in gaining the many battles he fought with Antiochus; and to encourage his army to fight bravely, he exhorted them to put their trust in G.o.d and that they would conquer. This inducement held out to the army, appears to have produced the desired effect.

The tyrant Antiochus, seeing their repeated success, became resolute and determined to be avenged of his powerful opponents, the Maccabees.

To effectuate this, he adopted the following stratagem: when he went into Persia to gather the tribute of the countries round about, he left Lysias with half his army, with express orders to destroy and root out all the Jews from their land.

Lysias proved as cruel as his master; he collected numerous forces and encamped near Jerusalem; his army consisted of forty thousand foot, and seven thousand horse. Encouraged by the hope of success on the part of Lysias, a body of merchants, about a thousand in number, repaired to the place of action, provided with large quant.i.ties of gold and silver, with the full expectation of buying the captive Jews for slaves. Whilst the enemy contemplated a complete victory, Judas and his brethren gathered themselves together unto Mizpah; here they fasted, put on sackcloth, and prayed to G.o.d to help them in their great distress. They opened the book of the law before G.o.d, where the heathens had polluted it by painting their images which they worshiped. They then sounded the trumpets and prepared for battle, resolved to a man to die in defence of their country and their religion. The result of this zeal and courage on the part of Judas, proved successful; Judas and his army put to flight and destroyed several large forces which Lysias had sent against them. They drove the enemy out of Jerusalem, and almost out of the land of Judea, and succeeded in possessing themselves of a large booty, both from the army and the merchants, who expected to become their masters.

Judas and his party, grateful to heaven for this great and glorious success over such powerful enemies, immediately repaired to Mount Sion, where they saw the sanctuary of G.o.d made desolate, deserted and neglected; even the altar was polluted, the gates and walls thrown down, the courts of the Temple, the beautiful edifice itself bedecked, not with sweet or odoriferous herbs, but with wild shrubs and gra.s.s which the hand of time had allowed to grow on that sacred spot. What a heart-rending scene for the pious Judas and his followers! Grieved at beholding such a devastation of G.o.d's holy place, they fell on their faces, rent their clothes, and made great lamentations; at the same time imploring the aid of heaven to repair the loss thus sustained.

Judas and his party diligently applied themselves to repair the Temple, and to restore the worship of G.o.d. They selected some of the good priests to purify the sanctuary; they removed the altar, which had been profaned by the heathens, and built a new one as the law directs. They then made some new vessels for the use of the Temple, from the gold which they had taken from the enemy in the late battle.

The regular order of divine worship was again introduced, and sacrifices offered up according to the law of Moses.

It is somewhat remarkable, and worthy of our attention, that that very day three years, on which the heathen had profaned the altar by offering up unclean beasts, the Temple was dedicated with great rejoicings and grateful acknowledgments to G.o.d, which continued during eight days. It was on this occasion that Judas and his brethren ordained that this feast of dedication should be celebrated annually on the return of this period, with mirth and gladness, together with praises and thanksgiving to G.o.d. This feast of dedication is known among Israelites by the name "_Honucha_," Hebrew word for dedication.

The fact related is, that when Judas and his men had purified the Temple, a very small lamp of consecrated oil was miraculously found, capable of furnishing sufficient to supply all the established holy lights in the Temple during eight days, until a fresh portion could be procured. This circ.u.mstance occurred about two years after Judas had the chief command, and upwards of three years after the city and the Temple had been laid desolate by Appollonius. History informs us, that the holy worship in the Temple continued with little interruption from the heathen, until the destruction of the Temple by the Romans, though Jerusalem itself was often in the power of its enemies.

Notwithstanding the success achieved by Judas and his party, they were much annoyed by their enemies, from the fact that the fortress built by Appolonius still remained in the hands of the heathens. It stood on Mount Acra, a rising ground facing the Temple. The heathens placed themselves here to annoy the Jews, on their going to, and returning from the Temple. Judas finding that he could not drive out the enemy at once, endeavored to prevent these annoyances by building up Mount Sion with high walls and strong towers. He also placed guards there to protect the priests and the people when they went to the Temple, with the view of preventing the Gentiles from invading the sanctuary.

Though Judas and his men continued the Temple worship, they were still in constant warfare. The neighboring nations were all jealous of the success gained by the Jews, and dissatisfied that they had restored the sacred worship in the Temple of the Lord. To show their displeasure they attacked the Jews on all sides; war ensued, and fierce battles were fought, in most of which Judas proved victorious, sustaining but little loss in his army.

Judas, encouraged by such success, which he always acknowledged to be from the hand of G.o.d, and not from his own power, led forth his army against Georgius, a general of Antiochus, as also against the Idumeans, who had in their turn proved vexatious to the Jews. In these attacks Judas lost many of his men, but nevertheless proved victorious. Judas was a n.o.ble and valiant general; his policy was at all times to encourage his men by inducing them to put their trust in G.o.d, who had done so much for their ancestors, and instilling in their minds the belief that he would continue his protection to them as long as they were inclined to act righteously to each other. During this time, Antiochus was visiting Persia in order to receive his tribute from the people of that country--and plunder the Temple of _Diana_, erected at _Elymos_, which was said to contain great riches in gold and silver, and a very valuable armory. The people of Persia having gained intelligence of the king's intention, boldly defended the Temple of their idol, and succeeded in totally defeating the enemy.

Antiochus enraged at this discomfiture, and at the reports he had received of the defeat of his generals in Judea, resolved to march toward Jerusalem, and threatened to make the whole city as one grave, in which to bury all the Jews then in the Holy Land. How far this wicked man succeeded in his cruel resolve, the following facts will show; they need no comment on our part, to prove that it was the finger of G.o.d that was directing all that befel Antiochus, and other persecutors of mankind. It is generally supposed by historians, that the same disaster which befel the tyrant Antiochus, was visited on many persecutors of G.o.d's people, both in former and latter times--hence supporting our views on the subject, that Heaven ordained all that had happened. Whilst on his journey, Antiochus was smitten with an incurable plague; his chariot was upset, and he was seriously hurt. He was then carried to a small town on the road side, put to bed, in which he lingered for some time, suffering the most excruciating agonies of body, and torments of mind, until he died. On his death-bed, Antiochus showed great contrition of mind for the crimes which he had perpetrated against G.o.d and man. The heathens declared that it was a punishment inflicted for his intended sacrilege of the Temple of Diana; but the Jewish historians acquaint us, that the tyrant himself imputed his sufferings as a punishment for the cruelties towards Israel, and the impieties he practised against the Lord and his holy Temple. Thus ended the life of this great and relentless tyrant.

The pleasing tidings of the death of the tyrant having reached the ears of Judas, he was encouraged to besiege the garrison of the Syrians, in the town of Acra, in which enterprise he succeeded by a stratagem which will be hereafter related.

At the death of Antiochus Epiphanes, his son Antiochus Eupator became his successor. He proved to be no better than his father, whose footsteps he followed by persecuting the Jews wherever found throughout his empire. Antiochus Eupator commenced his career by bringing a vast army against Judas, consisting of one hundred thousand foot, twenty thousand horse, thirty-two elephants, and three hundred armed chariots of war. Judas's army being so small, compared with that of the enemy, encouraged his men by the watchword which he issued among them: "Victory is of the Lord." Animated by the hope of success, they managed to surprise the enemy at night, and slew upwards of four thousand of them, and then made a safe retreat to Jerusalem. In this encounter, Eleazer, one of the brothers of Judas, evinced great courage; he saw one of the elephants raised much higher than the rest.

Supposing that the king himself must be mounted thereon, he ran through the camp, made his way to the beast, and thrust him through with his spear. The wound proving mortal, the beast with his heavy burthen fell down and crushed Eleazer to death.

Antiochus Eupator's army then marched to Jerusalem under the command of Lysias, and besieged the sanctuary. During this siege, the Jews suffered much from the want of provisions. They were on the point of surrendering to the enemy, when, by the providence of the Almighty, they were strangely released from the impending danger. It happened that Lysias, the general, heard that the city of Antioch was seized by one Philip, a favorite of the late king, who had taken upon himself the government of Syria; Lysias, on this account, persuaded the present king to declare peace with the Jews, to which proposal he readily consented.

About this time Demetrius, the cousin of Antiochus, became king in his place, under the following circ.u.mstances: Demetrius was the son of Seleucus Philopater, the eldest brother of Antiochus Epiphanes; at his death, Seleucus endeavored to persuade the Romans to a.s.sist him in obtaining the kingdom of Syria, but without success. Being disappointed in his expectations, Demetrius went to Syria and there induced the people to believe that the Romans had sent him. On the strength of this report, Antiochus Eupator, and his general, Lysias, were seized by their own soldiers, and put to death by order of Demetrius.

Demetrius being seated on the throne, one Alcimus, a descendant of the tribe of Aaron, applied to him to be a.s.sisted in procuring the appointment of high priest, to which office he had been raised by the late king, Antiochus Eupator. Alcimus had been refused by the Jews, he having complied with the heathen superst.i.tion in the time of the persecution, in order to gain favor with the king and his generals.

Judas and his party, now, as before, strenuously opposed the appointment of Alcimus, though strongly recommended by Demetrius. This opposition to his wishes, induced Demetrius to send one Bacchides to enforce the command of the king, but to no purpose. Demetrius then selected Nicanor, who was master of his elephants, as the future governor of Judea, with instructions to kill Judas, and bring the people under still greater subjection. Nicanor was at first unwilling to make war against Judas, but being urged on by the king, he pursued it with fresh fury; he boldly declared his intention to demolish the Temple at Jerusalem, and build one on the same spot in honor of the idol Bacchus. Nicanor was slain in the battle, and his army entirely routed by Judas and his party. Judas, desirous of making an example of this wicked man, for his blasphemous words which he uttered against the Temple of the Lord, cut off the head and right hand of Nicanor, and placed them in a conspicuous situation on one of the towers in Jerusalem. Judas then gave orders that a day should be annually appointed as a day of thanksgiving, in memory of this victory, which was called Nicanor's day. This day is not however celebrated as a holiday among the Jews in the present generation; it has been discontinued for many ages past.

At this period the Romans were growing great and powerful; Judas, aware of the danger likely to result from such power, deemed it advisable for the good of his country to propose a league with the Romans, to which they readily consented, and acknowledged the Jews as their friends and allies. Demetrius then received orders not to interfere with the Jews any more. Unhappily for Judas and his people, before the orders had reached Demetrius, he had already despatched Bacchides a second time to avenge the course of Nicanor, who had been slain, and to insist on establishing Alcimus in the priesthood. This circ.u.mstance proved very unfortunate for both Judas and his countrymen. Judas having but three thousand men with him, was overpowered by the strong forces of Bacchides; so little chance was there of success on the part of Judas, that many of his men deserted him through fear and fright. Judas, brave and valiant to the last in defence of his country's cause, and scorning to flee even for his life, fell a victim to the fury of the enemy.

The death of Judas created great excitement among the people, and sorely depressed their spirits. They became absorbed in sorrow and in grief for the loss of their n.o.ble chieftain. The people had fallen into such a state of lethargy, that they became an easy prey to the tyrant Bacchides, who, taking advantage of this state of things, committed great havoc among the people, and put to the sword all of Judas's friends and companions on whom he could lay hand.

Alcimus also availed himself of this opportunity, and exercised his authority in the office of the priesthood. He introduced into the worship of the Temple, imitations of heathen idolatry, and gave orders that the sanctuary should be thrown open, with equal freedom and liberty, both to Gentiles and to Jews. Alcimus, however, did not long prosper in his wicked career; in a very short time he was struck with palsy, deprived of his speech, and ultimately died in great anguish of mind and torment of body.

After the death of Judas Maccabees, his brother Jonathan was unanimously appointed by the people as their leader. Jonathan was ably a.s.sisted by his brother Simon; they both bravely resisted the many inroads made upon them by their enemies. Bacchides finding himself so powerfully opposed, sued for peace, which was granted on condition that he should restore all the captive Jews, depart from Judea forever, and in no way molest the people of that country. These conditions were cheerfully accepted by Bacchides, who left Judea in peace and in tranquility.

Jonathan, happy in having restored peace, commenced to govern his people under the old Jewish polity; he resumed all the rites and ceremonies of the Jewish religion, and succeeded in obtaining the confidence of his people by the zeal which he evinced in the performance of the duties of his office.

After the death of Alcimus, the office of high priest remained vacant seven years, when a man calling himself Alexander, appeared, and declared that he was a son of Antiochus Epiphanes. He seized the kingdom of Africa, and solicited Jonathan to join him against Demetrius, who had proved himself a formidable enemy of the Jews. As an inducement to Jonathan, Alexander made the following proposals to him: That Jonathan should be const.i.tuted both the Governor and the High Priest of the Jews, and be called the king's friend and counselor.

Jonathan considering these proposals likely to prove beneficial to his people, and there not being any one else for the priesthood, consulted them on the subject, and with their unanimous consent he accepted the offer made by Alexander.

At the following Feast of Tabernacles, Jonathan was duly installed in his new office, and vested with the sacerdotal robes usually worn by the high priests. Being thus dignified, he joined Alexander, and proceeded to battle against Demetrius, whose army was totally routed, and he himself, slain on the battle field.

It is said that from this time forward the high priesthood continued in the family of the Asmoneans or Maccabees, till the days of Herod, who changed it from an office of inheritance to an arbitrary appointment. Herod appointed those whom he pleased, without reference to merit or ability. This practice was continued until the total extinction of the priesthood at the final destruction of the Temple by the Romans.

Jonathan succeeded by his judicious conduct, in securing for his people their possessions, with free scope to exercise all their religious rites, without any interruption from their neighbors. He occasionally extended his a.s.sistance to those of the nations who proved kind to him, by which means the bond of friendship became strongly cemented between both parties.

Like most great men, Jonathan had his enemies: among them was one Tryphon, who sought to possess the kingdom of Syria, and by whose treachery, Jonathan was made prisoner in Ptolemais, and was afterwards cruelly murdered, together with his two sons.

The death of Jonathan and his two sons caused great lamentations among the people. Being in constant fear of their enemies, and now without a leader, they were at a loss what to do. In this dilemma they applied to Simon, the only surviving brother of Judas, to become their chief.

Simon consenting to become their general, a council of war was called, at which meeting he was unanimously appointed and vested with power equal to his predecessors. Simon having been regularly installed into his new office, commenced his career by addressing his brethren in the following manner:

"You, my countrymen, are not ignorant how bravely my father, brothers, and myself, have fought in defence of our laws and our religion, our Temple and our people. They have sacrificed their lives in that glorious cause; I, only I, survive to maintain it. G.o.d forbid I should value my life at a higher price than they did theirs. Behold me then as they were, to glory in this undertaking, to die in defence of our nation, our Temple, our wives and our children." "Take courage my friends; the Lord is with us, and success will crown our righteous intentions."

Simon at the request of the people, then a.s.sumed the sacred office of the priesthood.

Having now entered into his new office, he procured the dead bodies of his brother Jonathan and his two sons, and buried them with great honors in the sepulchre of his fathers at Modin, and erected a stately monument to their memory.