What happened in the Maccabean Revolt?

The scene changes once more. One of Alexander's successors, Antiochus Epiphanes, and the Maccabean victory is the topic of these verses. On this invader see Daniel 8, where he is predicted as the little horn and his abominable work there is fully described. He entered "the pleasant land," the land of Israel. A bitter struggle commenced, for Antiochus tried to exterminate the Jews, and their religion as well. Every observance of the Jewish religion was forbidden, the Sabbath had to be profaned, and unclean food had to be eaten. Idols were set up in the temple. Instead of the Jewish feasts, the feasts of idols, with all their shocking abominations and immoralities, were introduced, and the Jews were forced to join in them. Thousands suffered martyrdom. But all at once a few people stood up against the abominations, the Maccabeans, and in a struggle lasting about twenty-five years, they fought successfully against the enemies.

This terrible visitation of the land and the wonderful victory of the Maccabeans are foretold by the prophet in the closing verses of the ninth chapter. We will quote the passage:

Antiochus determined once and for all to suppress these efforts.

The Maccabees At this juncture an extraordinary family of deep patriotism and remarkable ability appeared on the scene. The Hasmonean priestly family, headed by the priest, Mattathias, with his five gallant sons, gave the signal for open rebellion, and declared a holy war. The Maccabees (from Maccabeus, a name given to one of this remarkable family, meaning the Hammerer) performed wonderful feats of bravery. The father, Mattathias, his sons, Judas Maccabeus, Jonathan and Simon, proved to be able generals. At last the Greek yoke was cast off, only to be succeeded by the mightier Roman power. Palestine became tributary to Rome.

Name of a noted Jewish family not mentioned in scripture. When Antiochus (Epiphanes) was expelled from Egypt by the Romans, he vented his anger on the Jews, and sought to abolish their worship at Jerusalem, putting multitudes to death (B.C. 168). Mattathias the Asmonean, an aged priest, rallied together the national party, and his son JUDAS, surnamed MACCABEUS, succeeded in defeating their enemies; and for a time a degree of national freedom was enjoyed. He was succeeded by his brother; but the country soon after became subject to Rome. Their history is given in Josephus and in the Apocryphal Books of the Maccabees. See ANTIOCHUS

THE MACCABEES. It may be well to describe in few words the history of the Jews during the four hundred years that elapsed between the writing of the Book of Malachi, the last of the Old Testament writings, and the birth of our Lord as given in the gospels according to Matthew and Luke. The story is told by Josephus. This period is chiefly remarkable for the rising up and exploits of Mattathias, a great-grandson of the celebrated Asamoneus, and his five sons, commonly called the Maccabees. The uprising of this wonderful family was occasioned by the daring sacrilege of Antiochus Epiphanes, who gained possession of Jerusalem by guile, and then proceeded to rob the Temple of its golden candlesticks, golden altar of incense, table of showbread, and altar of burnt offering. He forbad the Jews to offer their daily sacrifices. Added to this, he built an idol altar upon God’s altar, and offered swine—the abomination of the Jews—upon it. He commanded that Jewish sons should no longer be circumcised, and ordered that temples should be built in every city and village, and swine offered on their altars in idol worship. All this was prophesied as to take place by Daniel the prophet centuries before (Chap. 8:9-14).

When Mattathias was commanded to offer sacrifice in this sacrilegious manner, he refused; and, daringly overthrowing the idol altar, called upon all who were zealous for the worship of the true God, to support him. He fled to the desert with his sons, and all who sympathised with him. After a year of heroic resistance the brave old man died, leaving his son, Simon as their counsellor, and Judas, his third son, as their general, who was called Maccabeus; meaning the Hammerer.

After many conflicts and brilliant feats of arms, sometimes victories, sometimes defeats, at last Judas recovered Jerusalem, and after three-and-a-half years of profanation had the sanctuary cleansed, as Daniel had prophesied four hundred and eight years previously. “The feast of the dedication” (John 10:22) refers to the annual celebration of this event. After a long struggle Judas died in battle, indeed father and five sons all laid down their lives in this great struggle.

Judas Maccabees, the chief of five brethren, was used by God to punish many of the proud oppressors of the land, recover possession of the temple, and restore the worship of Jehovah. The Feast of the Dedication, instituted by Judas in 165 B.C., which we read of in John 10, was intended to keep in remembrance this great national event. The feast began on the twenty-fifth of the month Chesleu (our December). The nations around them were celebrating the heathen Festival of the Sun. The Jews were joining in praise to Jehovah, the only true God.

The worst of the Seleucidæ was Antiochus Epiphanes, called by others Epimanes or the madman. This man went far in his endeavours to stamp out not only the Jews but also the Jewish religion. He placed a statue of Zeus Olympius in the most holy place, and did what none but the most profane men would have thought of — put swine's flesh and blood in the sanctuary of God. The consequence is that his history is dwelt on with greater minuteness than anyone's. But the resistance to his aim at the close of his history led to a famous revival amongst the Jews. The Maccabees, as the Jewish heroes were called, resisted his generals, which is what is meant by "arms shall stand on his part" — a sufficiently definite way of describing a general acting for him against the Maccabees. Their history is given among the uninspired books that compose the Apocrypha. These Maccabees were no models of piety or long-suffering; but, as Daniel says, they were strong and "did [exploits]." No phrase could more accurately characterize them (Dan. 11:32). "The people that do know their God shall be strong and act." They were far from possessing the martyr spirit in their ways, such as will be found in the godly remnant by-and-by at the end of the age. Then indeed none but those willing to lose their lives for the truth's sake will be owned by the God of Israel. Their strength will be in their weakness, they themselves ready to suffer — yea, even unto death for Him Who died and, little known by them, is now in glory. It is needless to say that such suffering is a far harder thing, and entails more blessing from God than anything of power displayed in the theatre of the world.

Though we find that Saul is manifested as king before the people at the end of chapter 10, yet Samuel remains in power as the servant of God until the people are stirred in heart to receive Saul by his courageous deliverance of Jabesh-Gilead from the hand of Nahash the Ammonite. So we find that, though the former rule was never established after the return of the Jews from Babylon, yet as to its spirit and power it still continued in the persons of Zerubbabel and Joshua — the prince and the priest — of Ezra and Nehemiah and onward, though ever more and more brought under completer subjugation by foreign powers — Greece, Egypt, Syria, until at length God raised up a temporal deliverer, such as they had sighed and groaned for, in the person of the Maccabean princes upon the occasion of the intolerable ignominy and tyranny brought upon them by Antiochus Epiphanes; who for three and a half years deprived them of all civil and religious liberty, suspended the daily sacrifice, profaned the temple, prohibited the worship of God — the observance of His law, and destroyed every copy of the sacred books that he could find.

In the Maccabean dynasty there were united as an outward thing the functions of priest and king, and so remained until the usurpation of Herod. This was to be the character of the new order of government which God was about to set up in a man after His own heart, but which must first be manifested as a thing in the flesh to prove the weakness of the flesh, and the instability of everything founded on it. Of the circumstances above mentioned we find an exact antitype in the transactions between Nahash the Ammonite and the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead. The words "Jabesh-Gilead" signify a "dry heap of witness." This is a most accurate description of the state of the people or worship and government of the Jews — the witness for God truly, but dry and lifeless. Against Jabesh-Gilead comes Nahash the Ammonite, and encamps against it. Nahash is a striking type of Antiochus, and indeed of Antichrist to come, not only oppressing the people of God, but hating and setting himself above God Himself. This was plainly so with Antiochus as just noted, and as to Nahash, whose name means the "serpent born of incest," we see that it was not so much his desire to slay the men of Jabesh as to lay a reproach upon Israel (1 Sam. 11:2); and that by putting out their right eyes. And nothing could more aptly describe what the temple and the law were to the Jews than the right eye, and also that it was the only means the Jew had of seeing the light. And just as it was at this time of imminent peril, Saul comes forward for the honour of the Lord, and delivers Jabesh, is made king before the Lord in Gilgal, and rejoices greatly with all the men of Israel. So also the Maccabeans encourage the people to stand up for the law and the name of Jehovah, deliver Jerusalem, reconsecrate the temple; and having already taken the place of king one assumes in addition the office of high priest, celebrating the renewal of the worship of God and the deliverance of their country by a yearly feast and the commencement of a new epoch.

Over 500 years had passed away since Ezra, by the decree of Cyrus the Persian, had led a little remnant of the people back from Babylon to rebuild the shattered fortunes of the nation, after the terrible overthrow by Nebuchadnezzar, which began about 606 B.C. It was but a small proportion of the many thousands who had been carried away, but their hearts were towards the land of Israel, and the Lord had blessed and multiplied them greatly. The intervening years had been times of varying fortunes for the little hierarchical state. The Persian monarchy, which had been the means of their restoration, had been overthrown by Alexander the Great in 330 B.C., and Palestine then came under the power of Greece. Daniel had described, in few words, the character of the "mighty king" and the break up of his kingdom, "divided towards the four winds of heaven" (Dan. 11:3). This was an event of much political importance to Judea, for it found itself — as it will be in a later day — the bone of contention between the king of the South, Egypt, and the king of the North, Syria. The first hundred years of this period the land was under the power of Egypt, and though ill-governed at the best, it had not reached the depth of suffering measured out to it during the Syrian oppression. The terrible cruelty and madness of Antiochus Epiphanes (175-164 B.C.) has seldom been equalled in the world's history. The ruling passion of his wicked life was hatred to the Jew and the religion of Jehovah. On one occasion he captured the city of Jerusalem, slaughtered 40,000 of the inhabitants, sacrificed a sow upon the brazen altar, and erected a statue to Jupiter in the Temple courts. This brought matters to an issue. Under Judas Maccabeus and his brethren the War of Independence began, which resulted in Judea once more becoming a free state in 161 B.C.

Rescued thus from Syrian oppression, it was wisely ruled by the Maccabean family for over one hundred years, but it then fell under the power of the Romans, about 60 B.C.

The Great Roman Empire Angered by the excesses of Antiochus Epiphanes, the Romans sent their navy (“ships of Chittim,” v. 30) against him. Caius Popilius, Laenas, and other leaders of the Roman army demanded that Antiochus should cease troubling the Jews and Egypt. Antiochus endeavouring to evade the demand, Caius Popilius swiftly drew a circle round him, sternly demanding an answer before he should step out of the ring. Unwilling, with outward complaisance but with inward rage, Antiochus agreed to the Roman conditions, but immediately broke his word, by wreaking his vengeance on the Jews in his northward march. In his blind hatred he ordered the Temple at Jerusalem to be dedicated to the Olympian Zeus. The statue of Zeus was set up, and a pig was sacrificed in his honour.

This horrible “abomination” (Dan. 11:31) led to rebellion on the part of the people, and reprisals on the part of Antiochus.

The news coming to Antiochus' ears that the Jews were rejoicing at his reported death in Egypt, he wreaked his rage on them in his northward journey by sacking Jerusalem, sparing neither man, woman, nor child.