Bible Reading: 1 Maccabees 6 {Ecumenical thread}

[1] Now king Antiochus was going through the higher countries, and he heard that the city of Elymais in Persia was greatly renowned, and abounding in silver and gold. [2] And that there was in it a temple, exceeding rich: and coverings of gold, and breastplates, and shields which king Alexander, son of Philip the Macedonian that reigned first in Greece, had left there. [3] Lo, he came, and sought to take the city and to pillage it: But he was not able, because the design was known to them that were in the city. [4] And they rose up against him in battle, and he fled away from thence, and departed with great sadness, and returned towards Babylonia. [5] And whilst he was in Persia, there came one that told him, how the armies that were in the land of Juda were put to flight:

[6] And that Lysias went with a very great power, and was put to flight before the face of the Jews, and that they were grown strong by the armour, and power, and store of spoils, which they had gotten out of the camps which they had destroyed: [7] And that they had thrown down the abomination which he had set up upon the altar in Jerusalem, and that they had compassed about the sanctuary with high walls as before, and Bethsura also his city. [8] And it came to pass when the king heard these words, that he was struck with fear, and exceedingly moved: and he laid himself down upon his bed, and fell sick for grief, because it had not fallen out to him as he imagined. [9] And he remained there many days: for great grief came more and more and more upon him, and he made account that he should die. [10] And he called for all his friends, and said to them: Sleep is gone from my eyes, and I am fallen away, and my heart is cast down for anxiety.

[11] And I said in my heart: Into how much tribulation am I come, and into what floods of sorrow, wherein now I am: I that was pleasant and beloved in my power! [12] But now I remember the evils that I have done in Jerusalem, from whence also I took away all the spoils of gold, and of silver that were in it, and I sent to destroy the inhabitants of Juda without cause. [13] I know therefore that for this cause these evils have found me: and behold I perish with great grief in a strange land. [14] Then he called Philip, one of his friends, and he made him regent over all his kingdom. [15] And he gave him the crown, and his robe, and his ring, that he should go to Antiochus his son, and should bring him up for the kingdom.

[16] So king Antiochus died there in the year one hundred and forty-nine. [17] And Lysias understood that the king was dead, and he set up Antiochus his son to reign, whom he brought up young: and he called his name Eupator. [18] Now they that were in the castle, had shut up the Israelites round about the holy places: and they were continually seeking their hurt, and to strengthen the Gentiles. [19] And Judas purposed to destroy them: and he called together all the people, to besiege them. [20] And they came together, and besieged them in the year one hundred and fifty, and they made battering slings and engines.

[21] And some of the besieged got out: and some wicked men of Israel joined themselves unto them. [22] And they went to the king, and said: How long dost thou delay to execute the judgment, and to revenge our brethren? [23] We determined to serve thy father and to do according to his orders, and obey his edicts: [24] And for this they of our nation are alienated from us, and have slain as many of us as they could find, and have spoiled our inheritances. [25] Neither have they put forth their hand against us only, but also against all our borders.

[26] And behold they have approached this day to the castle of Jerusalem to take it, and they have fortified the stronghold of Bethsura: [27] And unless thou speedily prevent them, they will do greater things than these, and thou shalt not be able to subdue them. [28] Now when the king heard this, he was angry: and he called together all his friends, and the captains of his army, and them that were over the horsemen. [29] There came also to him from other realms, and from the islands of the sea hired troops. [30] And the number of his army was an hundred thousand footmen, and twenty thousand horsemen, and thirty-two elephants, trained to battle.

[31] And they went through Idumea, and approached to Bethsura, and fought many days, and they made engines: but they sallied forth and burnt them with fire, and fought manfully. [32] And Judas departed from the castle, and removed the camp to Bethzacharam, over against the king's camp. [33] And the king rose before it was light, and made his troops march on fiercely towards the way of Bethzacharam: and the armies made themselves ready for the battle, and they sounded the trumpets: [34] And they shewed the elephants the blood of grapes, and mulberries to provoke them to fight. [35] And they distributed the beasts by the legions: and there stood by every elephant a thousand men in coats of mail, and with helmets of brass on their heads: and five hundred horsemen set in order were chosen for every beast.

[31] "But they sallied forth"... That is, the citizens of Bethsura sallied forth and burnt them, that is, burnt the engines of the besiegers.

[36] These before the time wheresoever the beast was, the were there: and withersoever it went, they went, and they departed not from it. [37] And upon the beast, there were strong wooden towers, which covered every one of them: and engines upon them: and upon every one thirty-two valiant men, who fought from above; and an Indian to rule the beast. [38] And the rest of the horsemen he placed on this side and on that side at the two wings, with trumpets to stir up the army, and to hasten them forward that stood thick together in the legions thereof. [39] Now when the sun shone upon the shields of gold, and of brass, the mountains glittered therewith, and they shone like lamps of fire. [40] And part of the king's army was distinguished by the high mountains, and the other part by the low places: and they marched on warily and orderly.

[41] And all the inhabitants of the land were moved at the noise of their multitude, and the marching of the company, and the rattling of the armour, for the army was exceeding great and strong. [42] And Judas and his army drew near for battle: and there fell of the king's army six hundred men. [43] And Eleazar the son of Saura saw one of the beasts harnessed with the king's harness: and it was higher than the other beasts: and it seemed to him that the king was on it: [44] And he exposed himself to deliver his people and to get himself an everlasting name. [45] And he ran up to it boldly in the midst of the legion, killing on the right hand, and on the left, and they fell by him on this side and that side.

[46] And he went between the feet of the elephant, and put himself under it: and slew it, and it fell to the ground upon him, and he died there. [47] Then they seeing the strength of the king and the fierceness of his army, turned away from them. [48] But the king's army went up against them to Jerusalem: and the king's army pitched their tents against Judea and mount Sion. [49] And he made peace with them that were in Bethsura: and they came forth out of the city, because they had no victuals, being shut up there, for it was the year of rest to the land. [50] And the king took Bethsura: and he placed there a garrison to keep it.

[51] And he turned his army against the sanctuary for many days: and he set up there battering slings, and engines and instruments to cast fire, and engines to cast stones and javelins, and pieces to shoot arrows, and slings. [52] And they also made engines against their engines, and they fought for many days. [53] But there were no victuals in the city, because it was the seventh year: and such as had stayed in Judea of them that came from among the nations, had eaten the residue of all that which had been stored up. [54] And there remained in the holy places but a few, for the famine had prevailed over them: and they were dispersed every man to his own place. [55] Now Lysias heard that Philip, whom king Antiochus while he lived had appointed to bring up his son Antiochus, and to reign, to be king,

[56] Was returned from Persia, and Media, with the army that went with him, and that he sought to take upon him the affairs of the kingdom: [57] Wherefore he made haste to go, and say to the king and to the captains of the army: We decay daily, and our provision of victuals is small, and the place that we lay siege to is strong, and it lieth upon us to take order for the affairs of the kingdom. [58] Now therefore let us come to an agreement with these men, and make peace with them and with all their nation. [59] And let us covenant with them, that they may live according to their own laws as before. For because of our despising their laws, they have been provoked, and have done all these things. [60] And the proposal was acceptable in the sight of the king, and of the princes: and he sent to them to make peace: and they accepted of it.

[61] And the king and the princes swore to them: and they came out of the stronghold. [62] Then the king entered into mount Sion, and saw the strength of the place: and he quickly broke the oath that he had taken, and gave commandment to throw down the wall round about. [63] And he departed in haste, and returned to Antioch, where he found Philip master of the city: and he fought against him, and took the city.

OK. I give up. What is Maccabees?

Old Testament

Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
1 Samuel
2 Samuel
1 Kings
2 Kings
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Esther
Job
Psalm
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song of Solomon
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Ezekiel
Daniel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi

New Testament

Matthew
Mark
Luke
John
Acts
Romans
1 Corinthians
2 Corinthians
Galatians
Ephesians
Philippians
Colossians
1 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians
1 Timothy
2 Timothy
Titus
Philemon
Hebrews
James
1 Peter
2 Peter
1 John
2 John
3 John
Jude
Revelation

No Macacabees.

Hello.

The 2 biblical books of the Maccabees are about the leaders of the Jewish rebellion against their Greek overlords in the years between 175-150 BC. These were the guys who created the separate Jewish Kingdom and gave the Jews a solid, religious state.

They talk of how the salvation of the Jewish people in this crisis came through Mattathias' family, particularly his sons, Judas Maccabeus, Jonathan Maccabaeus, and Simon Maccabaeus, and Simon's son, John Hyrcanus.

These books were in the original KJV Bible and one can read, enjoy and be inspired by the story of Jude Macchabeus (the Hammer) and the struggle of the Jewish peoples.

Here is a non-denominational source for information on the books:

http://mb-soft.com/believe/txs/maccabee.htm

The list of books is:

Old Testament

Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Josue
Judges
Ruth
1 Kings
2 Kings
3 Kings
4 Kings
1 Paralipomenon
2 Paralipomenon
1 Esdras
2 Esdras
Tobias
Judith
Esther
Job
Psalms
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Canticles
Wisdom
Ecclesiasticus
Isaias
Jeremias
Lamentations
Baruch
Ezechiel
Daniel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Abdias
Jonas
Micheas
Nahum
Habacuc
Sophonias
Aggeus
Zacharias
Malachias
1 Machabees
2 Machabees

New Testament

Matthew
Mark
Luke
John
Acts of Apostles
Romans
1 Corinthians
2 Corinthians
Galatians
Ephesians
Philippians
Colossians
1 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians
1 Timothy
2 Timothy
Titus
Philemon
Hebrews
James
1 Peter
2 Peter
1 John
2 John
3 John
Jude
Revelations

you're welcome.

What I find fascinating about this is that when we when we read Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 of 1 Maccabees, we read how Antiochus defiled the Holy Temple and put an abomination in there and the righteous Jews fled to the mountains.

And this connects with Matthew 24:15-20

[15] When therefore you shall see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place: he that readeth let him understand.
[16] Then they that are in Judea, let them flee to the mountains:
[17] And he that is on the housetop, let him not come down to take any thing out of his house:
[18] And he that is in the field, let him not go back to take his coat.
[19] And woe to them that are with child, and that give suck in those days.
[20] But pray that your flight be not in the winter, or on the sabbath.

And you see the parallels in 1 Macc 1.34 "And they took the women captive, and the children, and the cattle they possessed" and 39 "And they shed innocent blood round about the sanctuary, and defiled the holy place"
and 1 MAcc 2:32-38

And forthwith they went out towards them, and made war against them on the sabbath day, [33] And they said to them: Do you still resist? come forth, and do according to the edict of king Antiochus, and you shall live. [34] And they said: We will not come forth, neither will we obey the king's edict, to profane the sabbath day.
[35] And they made haste to give them battle.
[36] But they answered them not, neither did they cast a stone at them, nor stopped up the secret places,
[37] Saying: Let us all die in our innocency: and heaven and earth shall be witnesses for us, that you put us to death wrongfully.
[38] So they gave them battle on the sabbath: and they were slain with their wives, and their children, and their cattle, to the number of a thousand persons

Jesus was no doubt drawing on the historical memory of the Jews

The background is that after Alexander the Great died in 323 BC, there were two dynasties of his generals that ruled over the historic lands of the Middle-East.

There were the Ptolemies in Egypt and the Seleucids in Persia. These were descended from Alexander's two main generals: Ptolemy and Seleucus

one of Seleucus' descendents, Antiochus IV Epiphanes was determined to impose hellenic religion and civilization on the Jews. He wanted to (and DID) put an idol in the Temple on Jerusalem.

Maccabees tells about how the Jews struggled for decades against an all-powerful enemy, how they came close to being destroyed forever

These books were included in Martin Luther's German Bible and in the first King James Version (1611) and the Gutenberg Bible (15th century). They were included in nearly all Bibles until removed by the Edinburgh Committee in 1825

These books are referred to in the NT, for example, in Hebrews 11:35

35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection

links to 2 Maccabees 7.

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