The Makers and Teachers of Judaism Part 25

III. Date of the Visions in Daniel 7-12. A parallel but different type of character and hope is reflected in the latter part of the book of Daniel. In the form of visions or predictions, these chapters interpret the meaning of the great world movements from the beginning of the Babylonian to the end of the Greek period. Each vision culminates in a symbolic but detailed description of the rule and persecutions of Antiochus Epiphanes. Several pa.s.sages describe the destructive policies of this Syrian ruler almost as vividly as the books of Maccabees (Dan.

8:11, 12): "It (Antiochus) magnified itself even to the Prince of the Host (Jehovah), and took away from him the daily sacrifice, and cast down the place of his sanctuary, and set up the sacrilegious thing over the daily sacrifice, and cast down truth to the ground, and did it and prospered."

Daniel 11:20-44 contains a review of the chief events of Antiochus's reign. This description closes with the prediction: "He shall plant his palace between the Mediterranean and the glorious holy mountain; so he shall come to his end and none shall help him." Contemporary records indicate, however, that Antiochus died while engaged in a campaign in distant Persia and not in western Palestine as the author of Daniel antic.i.p.ated. In the other visions, after the description of Antiochus's persecutions, the details suddenly give place to general predictions, implying that at this point the author turned from the contemplation of past and present events to that which was to him future. The great victories of Judas and his followers that led to the restoration of the temple in 165 B.C. are nowhere mentioned. In 11:34 is found an allusion to the Maccabean uprising: "Now when they are falling they shall be helped with a little help; but many shall join themselves to them with false protestations." This movement, clearly, is not regarded by the author as significant. The date of these visions, therefore, may be fixed with great confidence between the years 168 and 166 B.C.

IV. Their Real Character and Aim. In interpreting these visions it is important to note that they belong to the so-called apocalyptic type of literature. Already Ezekiel and Zechariah had employed the complex symbolism of the apocalypse to stir the imagination and strengthen the faith of their discouraged countrymen. The aim of the author of the closing chapters of Daniel was primarily to present a religious philosophy of history. Through the rise and fall of nations Jehovah's purpose was slowly but surely being realized. They are the expression of the eternal optimism of the prophets. They voice their deathless hope that "the best is yet to be." They were intended to encourage those in the midst of persecution with the a.s.surance that G.o.d was still in his heaven, and that all would yet be right with his world.

V. The Four Heathen Kingdoms and the Kingdom of G.o.d. In the symbolism of the prophet the four beasts of Daniel 7 represented the Chaldean, Medean, Persian, and Greek Empires. The fourth beast with iron teeth that devoured and broke in pieces the rest was clearly the empire of Alexander, and the little horn that sprang up was the little horn which gored and mangled the helpless people of Jehovah. Opposed to the four beasts which represented the angels, or demons, the champions of each of the great heathen kingdoms, was Israel's patron angel Michael. It is this angel that is apparently referred to in 7:13 as coming from heaven, and in appearance like to a son of man. At Jehovah's direction he was to establish a glorious, universal kingdom, the citizens of which were to be the saints, the faithful Jews who remained loyal to Jehovah during the long, cruel persecutions. Not only those who survived but the martyrs sleeping in the dust of the earth were to awake and receive their glorious reward. The apostates were to be sentenced to everlasting shame and contempt. The wise teachers and martyrs who by word and example had striven to keep their race loyal to Jehovah were to be exalted in the coming messianic kingdom.

Thus these visions reveal the hopes that inspired certain of the Jewish race in its period of supreme trial: the belief that Jehovah through his angel would speedily overthrow the power of the heathen persecutor, that he would establish a universal kingdom in which his own people should have chief place, and finally that even the bonds of death would not hold those who had died for the law. Thus at last out of this struggle Judaism emerged with a new-found faith in individual immortality. It was still bound up in the belief in the bodily resurrection, but at last the imperishable worth of the individual had become one of the cornerstones of Israel's religion.

Section CX. THE VICTORIES THAT GAVE THE JEWS RELIGIOUS LIBERTY

[Sidenote: I Macc. 3:1-9]

Then his son Judas, who was called Maccabeus, rose up in his place. And all his brothers helped him, as did all those who had supported his father, and they fought with gladness the battle of Israel.

He spread far and wide the fame of his glory And put on his breastplate like a giant, And girded on his weapons of war, And set battles in array, Protecting the army with his sword.

He was like a lion in his deeds, And as a lion's whelp roaring for prey.

He pursued the lawless, seeking them out, And he burnt up those who troubled his people.

The lawless shrunk for fear of him, And all the workers of lawlessness were greatly terrified; And deliverance was attained through him.

He angered many kings, And made Jacob glad with his acts; And his memory is blessed forever.

He went about among the cities of Judah, And destroyed the G.o.dless from the land, And turned away the wrath of G.o.d from Israel.

And he was renowned to the ends of the earth.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 3:10-12]

Then Apollonius gathered the heathen together and a great army from Samaria to fight against Israel. And when Judas learned of it, he went out to meet him, and defeated and slew him; and many fell mortally wounded, while the rest fled. And they captured their spoils, and Judas took the sword of Apollonius, with which he fought all his days.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 3:13-15]

When Seron, the commander of the army of Syria, heard that Judas had gathered a large force of faithful men about him, who went with him to war, he said, I will make myself famous and gain renown in the kingdom; for I will fight with Judas and those with him, who are defying the command of the king. And there went up with him also a mighty army of the G.o.dless to help him, to take vengeance on the Israelites.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 3:16-22]

As he approached the ascent of Bethhoron, Judas went forth to meet him with a small company. But when they saw the army coming to meet them, they said to Judas, How shall we, few as we are, be able to battle against so great a mult.i.tude? and we are faint also, having tasted no food to-day.

Then Judas said, It is an easy thing for many to be shut up in the hands of a few; and with Heaven it is equally easy to save by many or by few; for victory in battle does not depend upon the size of an army, but from Heaven comes the strength. They come to us full of insolence and lawlessness, to destroy us with our wives and children and to plunder us; but, as for us, we are fighting for our lives and our laws. And he himself will crush them before our face; so do not be afraid of them.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 3:23, 24]

Now when he had finished speaking, he leaped suddenly upon them, and Seron and his army were put to flight before him. And they pursued them by the descent of Bethhoron to the plain, and there fell of them about eight hundred men; but the rest fled into the land of the Philistines.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 3:25-31]

Now the fear of Judas and his brothers and the dread of them began to fall upon the nations round about them. And his reputation reached the king, for every nation was telling of the battles of Judas. But when King Antiochus heard these things, he was filled with indignation and sent and gathered together all the forces of his realm, a very strong army.

And he opened his treasury and gave his forces pay for a year, and commanded them to be ready for every emergency. And seeing that money was scarce in his treasury and that the tributes of the country were small, because of the dissension and calamity which he had brought upon the land, for the purpose of taking away the laws which had been in force from the earliest days, he feared that he should not have enough, as at other times, for the expenses and the gifts which he had formerly given with a liberal hand, in which he had surpa.s.sed the kings who had been before him.

And he was exceedingly perplexed in his mind, and determined to go into Persia and to take the tributes of the countries and to gather much money.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 3:32-37]

So he left Lysias, an honorable man and one of the royal family in charge of the affairs of the king from the River Euphrates to the borders of Egypt and to bring up his son Antiochus, until he returned. And he delivered to him the half of his forces and the elephants, and gave him charge of all the things that he wished to have done and concerning those who dwelt in Judea and in Jerusalem, that he should send a force against them, to root out and destroy the strength of Israel and the remnant of Jerusalem, and to take away their memory from the place, and that he should make foreigners dwell in all their territory and should divide their land to them by lot. Then the king took the remaining half of the forces and set out from Antioch his capital, in the one hundred and forty-seventh year, and, crossing the Euphrates, he went through the upper countries.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 3:38-41]

Now Lysias chose Ptolemy the son of Dorymenes, and Nicanor, and Gorgias, influential men among the king's Friends, and with them sent forty thousand footmen and seven thousand hors.e.m.e.n to go into the land of Judah to destroy it, as the king had ordered. And they set out with all their army and pitched their camp near Emmaus in the plain. And the merchants of the country heard the rumors about them, and taking silver and gold in large quant.i.ties, and shackles, they came into the camp to get the Israelites for slaves. There were added to them the forces of Syria and of the Philistines.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 3:42, 43, 46-54]

Then Judas and his brothers saw that evils were increasing and that the forces were encamping in their territory, and when they learned of the commands which the king had given to destroy the people and make an end of them, they said to each other,

Let us raise up the ruin of our people And let us fight for our people and the sanctuary;

So they gathered together and came to Mizpeh, opposite Jerusalem; for in Mizpeh there was a place of prayer for Israel. And they fasted that day, and put sackcloth and ashes on their heads and tore their clothes, and spread out the book of the law--one of those in which the heathen had been painting images of their idols. And they brought the priests' garments with the first-fruits, and the t.i.thes, and they cut the hair of the n.a.z.irites who had accomplished their days. And they cried aloud toward Heaven, saying, What shall we do with these and whither shall we carry them away? For thy sanctuary is trodden down and profaned, and thy priests are in sorrow, and humiliation. And now the heathen have a.s.sembled together against us to destroy us. Thou knowest what plans they are making against us. How shall we be able to stand before them, except thou be our help? And they sounded with the trumpets, and cried with a loud voice.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 3:55-60]

And after this Judas appointed leaders of the people, commanders over thousands, over hundreds, over fifties, and over tens. And he told those who were building houses and those who were planting vineyards and those who were afraid, to return, each to his own house, as the law commanded.

Then the army removed and encamped upon the south side of Emmaus. And Judas said, Gird yourselves and be valiant men; and be ready in the morning to fight with these heathen who are a.s.sembled together against us to destroy us and our sanctuary. For it is better for us to die in battle than to see the misfortunes of our nation and of the sanctuary.

Nevertheless, let Heaven do whatever be his will.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 4:1-6a]

And Gorgias took five thousand footmen, and a thousand chosen hors.e.m.e.n, and the army set out by night, that it might fall upon the army of the Jews and attack them suddenly. And the men of the citadel were his guides.

But when Judas heard of it, he broke camp with his valiant men, that he might attack the king's army which was at Emmaus, while as yet the forces were dispersed from the camp. And when Gorgias came to the camp of Judas by night, he found no one. Then he looked for them in the mountains, thinking that the men were fleeing from him.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 4:6b-11]

But as soon as it was day, Judas appeared in the plain with three thousand men; only they had neither armor nor swords as they wished. When now they saw the camp of the heathen strongly fortified and cavalry about it and experienced warriors there, Judas said to the men who were with him, Fear not their mult.i.tude neither be afraid of their attack. Remember how our fathers were saved in the Red Sea, when Pharaoh pursued them with a host.

And now let us cry to Heaven, if he will show favor to us and will remember the covenant made with our fathers and destroy this army before our face to-day, that all the heathen may know that there is one who redeemeth and saveth Israel.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 4:12-15]

Then when the foreigners lifted up their eyes and saw them coming toward them, they went from their camp to battle. And those who were with Judas sounded their trumpets and joined battle; and the heathen were defeated and fled into the plain. But all who were in the rear fell by the sword, and they pursued them to Gazara and to the plains of Idumea and Azotus and Jamnia, and there fell of them about three thousand men.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 4:16-25]

When Judas and his army returned from pursuing them, he said to the people, Do not be greedy for the spoils, since there is a battle before us, and Gorgias and his army are near us in the mountain. But stand now against our enemies and fight them, and afterward you may openly take the spoils. While Judas was still speaking there appeared a part of them, looking out from the mountain; and these saw that their army had been put to flight and that the Jews were burning their camp, for the smoke that was seen showed what had been done. And when they perceived these things, they were thrown into a panic, and seeing the army of Judas also in the plain ready for battle, they all retreated into the land of the Philistines. And Judas returned to sack the camp, and they took much gold and silver and blue and sea-purple and great riches. Then they returned home and sang a song of thanksgiving and gave praise to Heaven, because he is good, because his mercy endureth forever. Thus Israel had a great deliverance that day.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 4:26, 27]

But the foreigners, as many as had escaped, came and told Lysias all the things that had happened. And when he heard it he was astonished and discouraged, because neither had Israel met with reverses as he wished nor had what the king commanded been realized.

[Footnote: I Macc. 4:28-34]

Now in the next year [Lysias] gathered together sixty thousand picked footmen and five thousand hors.e.m.e.n, that he might subdue [the Jews]. When they came to Idumea and encamped at Bethsura, Judas met them with ten thousand men. As he saw that the army was strong, he prayed and said, Blessed art thou, O Saviour of Israel, who didst shatter the attacking power of the mighty man by the hand of thy servant David, and didst deliver the army of the heathen into the hands of Jonathan the son of Saul, and of his armor-bearer.

Shut up this army in the hand of thy people Israel, And let them be ashamed of their army and their hors.e.m.e.n.

Give them faintness of heart, And let their bold courage melt away, And let them tremble at their destruction.

Cast them down by the sword of those who love thee, So that all may know thy name who praise thee with thanksgiving.

Then they joined battle; and there fell of the army of Lysias about five thousand men, and they fell on the spot before them.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 4:35]

But when Lysias saw that his army was retreating, and the boldness that had come upon those who were with Judas, and how they were ready either to live or to die n.o.bly, he removed to Antioch and gathered together hired soldiers, that he might come again into Judea with a still greater force.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 4:36-51]

Then Judas and his brothers said, Now that our enemies have been defeated, let us go up to cleanse the sanctuary and to dedicate it again; so they went up to Mount Zion. And all the army was gathered together and went up to Mount Zion. And when they saw the sanctuary laid desolate, the altar profaned, the gates burnt, and shrubs growing in the courts, as in a forest or as on one of the mountains, and the priests' chambers pulled down, they tore their garments and made great lamentation, and putting ashes upon their heads, they fell p.r.o.ne upon the ground. Then they blew a signal on the trumpets and cried to Heaven. And Judas appointed certain men to fight against those who were in the citadel, until he should have cleansed the sanctuary. And he chose priests who were unimpeachable observers of the law, who cleansed the sanctuary and carried out the polluted stones to an unclean place. And they deliberated as to what they should do with the altar of burnt-offerings which had been profaned. They finally reached this wise decision: to pull it down lest it should be a reproach to them, because the heathen had defiled it. So they pulled down the altar and laid the stones on the temple mount in a convenient place, until there should come a prophet to give an oracle concerning them. Then they took whole stones as the law required and built a new altar after the design of the former. They also rebuilt the sanctuary and the inner parts of the temple and consecrated the courts. They also made the holy vessels new and brought the candlestick and the altar for burnt-offerings and for incense and the table into the temple. And they burned incense on the altar and lighted the lamps that were on the candlestick, and they gave light in the temple. Then they set loaves upon the table and spread out the veils. So they finished all the work they had undertaken.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 4:52-61]

And they arose early in the morning of the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, which is the month Chislev, in the one hundred and forty-eighth year (165 B.C.) and offered sacrifice according to the law upon the new altar of burnt-offering which they had made. About the same time and on the same day, in which the heathen had profaned it, was it dedicated again with songs and harps and lutes and with cymbals. And all the people prostrated themselves and wors.h.i.+pped and gave praise to Heaven, who had given them good success. And they celebrated the dedication of the altar eight days, and offered burnt-offerings with gladness and sacrificed a sacrifice of deliverance and praise. And they decorated the front of the temple with crowns of gold and small s.h.i.+elds and rededicated the gates and the priests' chambers and made doors for them. And great joy reigned among the people, because the reproach of the heathen had been removed. And Judas and his brothers and the whole congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the dedication of the altar should be kept in their seasons from year to year for the period of eight days, from the twenty-fifth day of the month Chislev, with gladness and joy. At that time also they fortified Mount Zion with high walls and strong towers all round, lest by any chance the heathen should come and tread them down, as they had done before. And he stationed there a force to keep it, and they fortified Bethsura, that the people might have a stronghold in Idumea.

I. The Character of Judas. Judas Maccabeus was a man of unquestioned courage. In the many battles which he fought he was always found at the forefront in the most desperate engagement. More than that he was able to arouse courage in a people that for centuries had learned only to bow unresistingly before their conquerors. All the evidence found in the two books of Maccabees indicates that he was inspired by the n.o.blest patriotism. The motive power in his patriotism was devotion to the law and customs of his race. In this respect he was a leader supremely acceptable to the Hasideans or Pious, who rallied about his standard. In any other age or setting his devotion would have seemed but fanaticism. The situation, however, was extremely critical. Disloyalty to the law and the distinctive rites of Judaism was treason. If ever in the world's history it was justifiable to meet force by force and to uns.h.i.+eld the sword in behalf of religion, this certainly was the occasion. In his military tactics Judas revealed the cunning that characterizes the hunted. He developed great skill in choosing a strategic position and in launching his followers against a vulnerable point in the enemy's line. In this respect he showed himself a disciple of David's able general Joab. They were the same tactics that Napoleon employed so effectively in later days and on larger battle-fields. Judas resembled in many ways Israel's first king, Saul. He was impetuous, patriotic, intense, and energetic. He was especially skilled in leading a sudden attack. His task also was strikingly similar to that of Israel's first king, and like Saul in his later days he showed the same inability to organize and hold his followers in a time of comparative peace.

II. Obstacles against Which Judas Contended. When Judas was called to champion the cause of the Jews, they were hated by the rest of the world.

It was a disorganized band of fugitives that rallied about him, without homes, resources, or arms. Opposed to him were the large armies of a powerful empire. The Greek mercenaries that fought in the Syrian ranks were armed with coats of mail and the best weapons known to the ancient world. They were also thoroughly trained in the art of war and under the direction of experienced generals. On every battle-field the Syrians outnumbered the Jews almost six to one. Pitted against Judas and his followers were apostates of his own race, who knew the land, were able to spy out the movements of the Jews, and were inspired by the bitterest hatred. The few advantages on the side of Judas were: first, his followers were aroused to heroic deeds by the peril of the situation. In the second place they were inspired by an intense religious zeal. The one force throughout Semitic history that has bound together tribes and nations and made the Semite an almost invincible fighting power has been religion.