The Makers and Teachers of Judaism Part 26

The familiar ill.u.s.trations are the Mohammedan conquests that swept victoriously across the Bosporus and conquered Constantinople, also across northern Africa, and surged into southern Europe over the Straits of Gibraltar and threatened for a time completely to engulf the Western civilization. Familiar modern ill.u.s.trations are the Mahdist insurrections that have from time to time taxed the resources of the English in northern Africa. In the third place the land of Judea, with its narrow western pa.s.ses rapidly ascending to the heights above, enabled Judas to choose his battle-field at a point where only a few of the enemy could be brought into action and where a handful of valiant men could keep an army at bay.

III. Defeat of Apollonius and Seron. At first Judas wisely confined himself to guerilla warfare. This enabled him in time to clothe and arm his followers with the garments and weapons taken from the enemy. The most important of these smaller engagements took place north of Jerusalem. As Apollonius, the Syrian governor of Samaria, was advancing into Judea, Judas suddenly fell upon the Syrians and slew their leader. Henceforth the sword of the Syrian governor was effectively wielded by Judas in behalf of religious liberty.

News of the victory soon brought Seron, the governor of Coele-Syria, with a large army. He advanced from the coast plain by the most direct road to Jerusalem over the famous pa.s.s of the Bethhorons. Within a distance of two miles the road ascended nearly fifteen hundred feet. At points it was merely a steep, rocky pa.s.s, so that an invading army was forced to march single file and to pull themselves up over the rocks. Here on the heights that looked out toward his home at Modein Judas, appealing to the faith and patriotism of his men, swept down upon the enemy and won his first great victory.

IV. The Battle of Emmaus. The first great Jewish victory was a severe blow to the power of Antiochus Epiphanes, for at that time he was confronted by a depleted treasury. He therefore left his kingdom in charge of Lysias, one of his n.o.bles, and set out on a campaign into Persia from which he never returned. Three generals with a large army were sent by Lysias against the Jews. So confident were they of a Syrian victory that a horde of slave merchants accompanied the army that they might purchase the Jewish captives. This time the Syrians avoided the difficult pa.s.s of Bethhoron and chose the Wady Ali, along which the modern carriage road winds up from the coast to Jerusalem. The main camp was pitched at Emmaus at the southeastern side of the Plain of Ajalon under the Judean hills.

Meantime Judas had selected as his head-quarters the lofty hill of Mizpah, a.s.sociated by earlier tradition with Samuel and the scene of the short-lived rule of Gedaliah. It was well chosen, for it commanded a view of the territory to the north, south, and west. While the army of the Syrians, sent by night to surprise Judas, were marching up the northern valley, the Jewish patriots were led westward toward the plain along one of the parallel valleys that penetrated the Judean hills. Having appealed to the patriotic memories and the religious zeal of his followers, Judas led them in a sudden early morning attack against the Syrians encamped near Emmaus. Soon the Syrians were in wild flight across the plain to the Philistine cities, and Judas and his followers were left in possession of the camp and its rich spoil. Panic also seized his pursuers when they saw their camp in possession of the enemy, and Judas was left for the moment undisputed master of the land of his fathers. This victory in the year 166 B.C. was in many ways the most sweeping and significant in early Maccabean history.

V. The Battle at Bethsura. The next year Lysias himself gathered a huge army of sixty thousand infantry and five thousand cavalry and led them against the Jews. This time the Syrians advanced through the broad valley of Elah where David had fought against the Philistine giant. Thence they followed the Wady Sur, turned southward and then eastward, penetrating to the top of the Judean plateau a little north of Hebron. Approaching from this point the Syrians were protected in their rear by the Idumeans, the descendants of the Edomites. They succeeded in reaching the point where the road from the west joins the central highway from Hebron to Jerusalem.

There on a sloping hill crowned with the border town of Bethsura, Judas was able to rally ten thousand followers to meet the huge Syrian army.

From the parallel account in II Maccabees it is clear that he did not succeed in winning a decisive victory, but a crisis in Antioch suddenly compelled Lysias to return, leaving the Jews in possession of the battle-field.

VI. Restoration of the Temple Service. With mingled sadness and rejoicing Judas proceeded at once to Jerusalem and with his followers took up the task of restoring the desecrated temple and its service. The citadel of Acra, which appears to have been situated on the Hill of Ophel to the south of the temple, was still strongly garrisoned by apostate Jews and Syrian soldiers. For nearly a quarter of a century, until the days of Simon, it continued to be held by Syrian forces, and remained a constant menace to the peace of Jerusalem. The vivid account of the purification of the temple reveals the intense devotion of the Jews to this ancient sanctuary, and throws clear light upon the nature of its service. This epoch-making act is commemorated even to-day by the Jews throughout the world and is known as the Feast of Lights. It is a memorial of that successful struggle for religious freedom in which Principles were established that have affected the thought and action of all succeeding generations. Through all their many vicissitudes and under their many Gentile rulers, with few exceptions, the Jews have enjoyed uninterruptedly the right of worshipping in accordance with the dictates of their law and the customs of their fathers.

VII. The New Spirit in Judaism. Henceforth the law for which their fathers had poured out their life-blood and for which the Jews had fought so valiantly was regarded with new and deeper veneration and its commands gained a new authority. Again the Jews had enjoyed a taste of freedom and had learned that by united and courageous action they could shake off the hated heathen yoke. This new warlike note is sounded in many of the later psalms of the Psalter. Chapters 9-14, appended to the older books of Zechariah, apparently come from this same period and voice the thought of the conquerors. The words of the ninth chapter express their joy and exultation:

For I have bent Judah to me, As a bow which I have filled with Ephraim; I will urge thy sons against the sons of Greece, And I will make thee like the sword of a hero.

Then Jehovah shall be seen above them, And his shaft shall go forth like lightning.

Jehovah shall blow a blast upon a trumpet, And travel on the whirlwinds of the south.

Jehovah of hosts shall defend them; And they shall devour and tread down the slingstones, They shall drink their blood like wine, They shall be filled with it like the crevices of an altar.

And Jehovah their G.o.d shall give them victory in that day.

Like sheep he shall feed them in his land.

Yea, how good and how beautiful shall it be!

Corn shall make the young men flourish, and new wine the maidens.

The victories of Judas in all probability also inspired the messianic hope expressed in 9:9-10:

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion.

Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!

Behold thy king will come to thee; Vindicated and victorious is he, Humble, and riding upon an a.s.s.

Upon the foal of an a.s.s.

He shall cut off chariots from Ephraim, And horses from Jerusalem; The battle-bow shall also be cut off, And he shall speak to the nations; His rule shall be from sea to sea, From the river to the ends of the earth.

Section CXI. THE LONG CONTEST FOR POLITICAL INDEPENDENCE

[Sidenote: I Macc. 5:1-5]

Now when the heathen round about heard that the altar had been built and the sanctuary dedicated as it was formerly, they were very angry and concluded to destroy the race of Jacob that was in the midst of them, and they began to slay and destroy among the people. Judas, however, fought against the people of Esau in Idumea at Akrabattine, because they besieged Israel, and he defeated them with a great slaughter and humbled their pride and took their spoils. He remembered the wickedness of the inhabitants of Baean, who were a source of annoyance and of danger, lying in ambush for them along the roads. And they were shut up by him in the towers, and he besieged them and destroyed them utterly and burned the towers of the place, with all who were in them.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 5:6-8]

Then he pa.s.sed over to the Ammonites and found a strong force and many people, with Timotheus as their leader. And he fought many battles with them, and they were defeated before him, and he conquered them. Then when he had gained possession of Jazer and its villages, he returned again into Judea.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 5:9-15]

Then the heathen who were in Gilead gathered together against the Israelites who were on the borders to destroy them. And they fled to the stronghold of Dathema and sent letters to Judas and his brothers, saying,

The heathen who are about us have gathered together against us to destroy us, and they are preparing to come and get possession of the stronghold to which we have fled for refuge, and Timotheus is the leader of their forces. Now therefore come and rescue us from their power, for many of our men have fallen; and all our countrymen who dwell in the land of Tob, have been put to death, and they have carried into captivity their wives and children and their possessions. And they destroyed there about a thousand men. While the letters were being read, there came other messengers from Galilee with their garments torn, bringing a message of similar import, saying, That there were gathered together against them men of Ptolemais, of Tyre, of Sidon, and from all heathen Galilee to destroy them completely.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 5:16-20]

Now when Judas and the people heard these things, a great a.s.sembly came together to consult what they should do for their kinsmen who were in distress and being attacked by the heathen. And Judas said to Simon his brother, Choose men, and go, rescue your countrymen who are in Galilee, but Jonathan my brother and I will go into the land of Gilead. And he left Joseph the son of Zacharias and Azarias, as leaders of the people, with the rest of the army in Judea, in order to guard it. And he gave orders to them, saying, Take charge of the heathen until we return. And to Simon were a.s.signed three thousand men to go to Galilee and to Judas eight thousand men to go into the land of Gilead.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 5:21-23]

Then Simon went into Galilee and fought many battles with the heathen, and the heathen were defeated by him. And he pursued them to the gate of Ptolemais. And there fell of the heathen about three thousand men, and he took the spoils from them. They took with them those who were in Galilee and in Arbatta, with their wives and their children and all that they had, and brought them into Judea with great rejoicing.

[Sidenote: I Mac. 5:45, 54]

Then Judas gathered all the Israelites who were in the land of Gilead, from the least to the greatest, with their wives and children and their household possessions, a very great host, that they might go into the land of Judah. And they went up to Mount Zion with gladness and joy and offered whole burnt-offerings, because not one of them had been slain, but they had returned safe and sound.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 5:65-68, 63]

Then Judas and his brothers went out and fought against the people of Esau in the land toward the south. And he smote Hebron and the villages belonging to it and pulled down its citadel and burned the surrounding towers. Then he set out to go into the land of the Philistines; and he went through Marissa. On that day certain priests, desiring to do exploits there, were slain in battle, when they unwisely went out to fight. Then Judas turned aside to Azotus, to the land of the Philistines, and pulled down their altars and burned the carved images of their G.o.ds and, taking the spoil of their cities, he returned to the land of Judah. And the hero Judas and his brothers were greatly honored by all Israel and by all the heathen wherever their name was heard.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 6:18-27]

Now those who were in the citadel were hindering Israel round about the sanctuary and were always seeking to do them harm and were a support to the heathen. But Judas determined to destroy them and called all the people together to besiege them. And they were gathered together and besieged them in the hundred and fiftieth year, and he made mounds from which to shoot and engines of war. Then some of those who were shut up came out and certain apostate Israelites joined them. And they went to the king and said, When will you finally satisfy justice and avenge our brothers? We were willing to serve your father and to live as he enjoined, and to obey his commands; but because of this our own people besieged us in the citadel and were alienated from us; and as many of us as they could find, they killed and despoiled our inheritances. And not against us only have they stretched out their hand, but also against all that bordered on them. And now they are to-day encamped against the citadel at Jerusalem, to take it, and they have fortified the sanctuary and Bethsura. And if you do not quickly antic.i.p.ate them, they will do greater things than these, and you will not be able to check them.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 6:28-41]

When the king had heard this, he was angry, and gathered together all his Friends, the officers of his army, and those who commanded the cavalry.

There came to him also from other kingdoms and from isles of the sea, bands of hired soldiers. So the number of his forces was a hundred thousand footmen and twenty thousand hors.e.m.e.n and thirty-two elephants trained for war. Then they went through Idumea and encamped against Bethsura and carried on the siege a long time and made engines of war.

The besieged, however, sallied out and burned them and fought valiantly.

And Judas departed from the citadel and encamped at Beth-zacharias, opposite the king's camp. Then the king rose early in the morning and had his army set out at full speed along the road to Beth-zacharias and his forces prepared for battle and the trumpets were sounded. And they showed the elephants the blood of grapes and mulberries, in order to excite them for the battle. Then they distributed the beasts among the phalanxes and stationed by each elephant a thousand men armed with coats of mail and helmets, with bra.s.s on their heads; and to each beast five hundred chosen hors.e.m.e.n were appointed. These were already there, wherever the beast was, and wherever the beast went, they went with him and did not separate themselves from him. And upon them were towers of wood, strong, covered, one girded upon each beast. Upon them were engines and two or three men, who fought upon them, besides the Indian who guided the elephant. The rest of the hors.e.m.e.n he stationed on both sides of the two wings of the army to inspire terror and to protect the phalanxes. And when the sun struck the golden and bronze shields, the mountain shone with them and blazed like torches of fire. And a part of the king's army was spread out on the heights, and some on the low ground, and they moved firmly and in good order. And all who heard the noise of their mult.i.tude, and the marching of the great numbers, and the rattling of the arms, trembled because the army was very great and strong.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 6:42-47]

Then Judas and his army approached for battle, and there fell of the king's army six hundred men. Now when Eleazar, who was called Avaran, saw one of the beasts armed with royal breastplates, which was higher than all the beasts, and it looked as though the king was upon it, he gave himself to save his people and to gain for himself an everlasting fame; and he ran upon him courageously in the midst of the phalanx and slew on the right hand and on the left, and they scattered from before him on either side.

Then he crept under the elephant, thrust him from beneath, and slew him.

And the elephant fell to the earth upon him, and he died there. But when they saw the strength of the king and the fierce onset of the armies, they turned away from them.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 6:48-54]

But those who were in the king's army went up to Jerusalem to meet them, and the king encamped for a struggle with Judea and Mount Zion. And he made peace with those in Bethsura; for they surrendered the city, because they had no food there to endure the siege, because the land had a sabbath. So the king took Bethsura and stationed a garrison there to keep it. Then he encamped against the sanctuary for a long time; and he set there mounds from which to shoot and engines of war and instruments for casting stones and fire, and pieces to cast darts and slings. And they also erected engines against those of the besiegers and fought for a long time. But since there was no food in the sanctuary, because it was the seventh year and those who had fled for safety into Judea from among the heathen had eaten up what remained of the store of provisions, there were but a few left in the sanctuary, because the famine became so severe upon them, and they scattered, each man to his own home.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 6:55-63]

Now Lysias heard that Philip, whom Antiochus the king, had appointed during his lifetime to bring up his son Antiochus that he might be king, had returned from Persia and Media and with him the forces that went with the king, and that he was trying to get control of the government, he hastily decided to depart. And he said to the king, and to the officers of the army and to the men, We are growing weaker every day, our supplies are scanty, and the place which we are besieging is strong, and the welfare of the kingdom depends upon us; now therefore let us give the right hand to these men and make peace with them and with all their nation, and covenant with them that they may live according to their own customs as formerly; for because of their laws, which we abolished, they were angered and did all these things. This counsel pleased the king and the princes, and he sent to them to make peace. They accepted it, and when the king and the princes took oath to them, they came out of the stronghold. But when the king entered Mount Zion and saw the strength of the place, he broke the oath which he had sworn and gave orders to pull down the wall round about.

Then he set out in haste and returned to Antioch and found Philip master of the city; and he fought against him and took the city by force.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 7:1-4]

In the one hundred and fiftieth year, Demetrius the son of Seleucus escaped from Rome and went up with a few men to a city by the sea, and there proclaimed himself king. And when he entered the palace of his fathers, the army seized Antiochus and Lysias, to bring them to him. But when the fact was made known to him, he said, Do not show me their faces.

And the army slew them. So Demetrius sat upon the throne of his kingdom.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 7:5-18]

And there came to him all the lawless and the apostate men of Israel, with Alcimus, their leader, desiring to be high priest. And they accused the people before the king, saying, Judas and his brothers have destroyed all your Friends, and have scattered us from our own land. Now therefore send a man whom you trust, and let him go and see all the havoc which he has made of us and of the king's country, and how he has punished them and all who helped them. So the king chose Bacchides, one of the king's Friends, who was ruler in the province beyond the River Euphrates, and was a great man in the kingdom, and faithful to the king. He sent him and also that G.o.dless Alcimus, and confirmed him in the high priesthood, and commanded him to take vengeance upon the Israelites. So they set out and came with a great army into the land of Judah, and he sent messengers to Judas and his brothers with words of peace, deceitfully. But they paid no attention to their words for they saw that these men had come with a great army. Then there were gathered together to Alcimus and Bacchides a company of scribes, to seek for justice. And the Hasideans were the first among the Israelites who sought peace with them; for they said, One who is a descendant of Aaron has come with the forces and he will do us no wrong.

And he spoke words of peace to them, and took oath to them, saying, We will seek the hurt neither of you nor of your friends. And they put confidence in him. But he seized sixty of them, and slew them in one day, as it is written in the Scriptures,

The flesh of thy saints...

And their blood they poured out round about Jerusalem; And there was no man to bury them.

And the fear and hatred of them fell upon all the people, for they said, There is neither truth nor justice in them; for they have broken the covenant and the oaths which they made.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 7:13-26]

And when Judas saw that Alcimus and his company had done more mischief among the Israelites than the heathen, he went out into the whole territory of Judea round about and took vengeance on the men who had deserted from him, and they were restrained from going forth into the country. But when Alcimus saw that Judas and his company were growing strong and knew that he was not able to withstand them, he returned to the king and brought evil charges against them. So the king sent Nicanor, one of his honored princes, a man who hated Israel and was their enemy, and commanded him to destroy the people.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 7:27-32]

When Nicanor came to Jerusalem with a great army, he sent to Judas and his brother a message of peaceful words with deceitful intent, saying, Let there be no battle between us. I will come with a few men, that I may see your faces in peace. And he came to Judas, and they saluted one another peaceably. But the enemies were prepared to take away Judas, by violence.