Chapter 33 "The Legend of Maccabee"

"The Legend of Maccabee" Mattathia The Greek emperor Alexander the Great set out from Macedonia, defeated the Persian and Median king Darius, and conquered all the civilized world known to Westerners at that time.Before Alexander died, he summoned his generals and dignitaries, entrusted them to all parts of the empire to be kings.The descendants of these Hou princes inherited the throne and ruled the boundless territory.After Antiochus Epiphane, the third king of the Syrian Kingdom, inherited the throne, he brought a huge fleet, chariot troops, elephant troops, and horse troops to attack Egypt by sea and land, and beat Egypt away. king, and conquered all of Egypt.

Immediately afterwards, in 169 BC, Antiochus' army invaded Israel and Jerusalem.They broke into the temple and took away the golden altar, lampstands, and everything else in the temple, even scraping off the gold leaf that wrapped the temple doors and pillars.The whole country was looted.The invading army also slaughtered the people wantonly, and took women and children back to their home countries as slaves. Antiochus' occupying forces built high walls and strong towers on the north side of the temple, turning it into a citadel.The citadel became the headquarters for the control of Judea and Israel.Antiochus practiced iron-fisted politics in the country. He issued an edict stipulating that all the nations in his empire should abandon their original customs and habits and become one people.All non-Jews and even many Israelites obeyed this edict.A group of apostates also appeared among the Jews. They ignored the law of Moses, intermarried with foreigners, imitated foreign customs, and some even used surgical operations to conceal their circumcision.

Antiochus sent officials to the cities to supervise the people and compel the Jews to sacrifice to pagan gods.They also collected Jewish books in the country, and once found, they were burned immediately.Any mother who allowed her baby to be circumcised was put to death.A few people succumbed to their lives, and many would rather die than betray their religion, and many fled with their children to live in the wilderness.The officials of Antiochus sent troops out to destroy them, and they camped in the places where the Jews were hiding, preparing to attack them on the Sabbath.The soldiers shouted to the people of Judah: "Hey, brothers of Judah, come out. As long as you obey the king's order, we will spare you from death."

"We will not go out," replied the Judas. "Neither will we obey the king's orders," shouted other Jews. "We will not profane the Sabbath." The Syrian soldiers went to attack the Judahs on the Sabbath, but the Judahs didn't resist at all, they didn't even throw a stone, they didn't even block the hole where they hid, because it was the Sabbath.The occupying army burned them all, regardless of gender, age or age, and 1,000 people were martyred. Judah lived in dire straits.At that time, a priest named Mattathias, the son of Simeon and the family of Jehoiare, moved from Jerusalem to live in the country of Mod.He had 5 sons: John (aka Gadhi), Simon (aka Atasi), Judah (aka Maccabees), Eleazar (aka Aphron), and Jonathan (aka Apphes) ).Mattathia witnessed the atrocities of the occupying army and was very sad. He and his sons tore their clothes, put on mourning clothes, and swore blood for blood.Once, the court officials who persecuted the people to betray God came to the city of Modein and forced the people here to offer sacrifices to the pagan gods.

The evil officials said to Mattathia: "You are an influential person in this city, why don't you come out first and act according to the king's order? All the heathen, the people of Judah, and all the people who stayed in Jerusalem have already done so. Did it. If you do the same, then you and your sons will receive the Grand Dukeship, and you will be rewarded with silver, gold, and many gifts." Mattathias replied in a loud voice: "Whether every pagan in this empire obeys the king's order to renounce the religion of their ancestors is completely out of my control. But my son, my relatives, and myself will continue Keep the covenant that God made with our ancestors, and never depart from his commandments." As soon as he finished speaking, a Modein man came up from behind him and offered an offering to the cult altar there in front of everyone. sacrifice.Mattathia's eyes were wide open and his cheeks were flushed with anger. He rushed forward and killed the man on the altar.Then, he turned around and killed the imperial court official.He then went around the city calling, "All you who are faithful to God's covenant and obey God's law, come with me!"

His sons, as well as those Jews who swore to be loyal to the law of God, fled to the wild with their children and started a national war against alien rule.They often harass the occupying army by stealth, tear down the altars of paganism, and punish those apostates.All uncircumcised boys found in Israel are compulsorily circumcised. At the moment of national crisis, Mattathia opened up the road of armed uprising, but he was old and was about to die.When he was dying, he summoned his sons and said to them: "You must follow the example of the sages and sages of the nation of Israel. Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David, and Daniel are all our ancestors. You must learn from the sages and sages in the world, keep fighting until the enemy is wiped out from our land, and you will win the same lofty reputation.

Listen to your brother Simon, who is wise, as you listen to me.Judas Maccabee is brave and strong, he will be your commander and lead you into battle) You must unite all people who obey the law of God, and fight against the heathen together. "Then Mattathias blessed them, and then died. (1 Ma 1:1 1 2:70) Maccabees expelling the king's army Judah Maccabees succeeded his father as leader of the Israeli rebel army.He is even more heroic and skilled than his father, and the size of the army is getting bigger and bigger.Antiochus the Great sent Apollonius to lead an army to conquer, but was hit head-on by Maccabees.Apollonius died in battle, and the sword he wore became the trophy of Maccabees; Maccabees used it in battle until his death.

Salem, the Syrian military leader, learned that Maccabee's resistance troops were very brave and good at fighting, so he said to himself: "I want to defeat this rebel who defies the king's order, so that I can make myself famous in the empire." Troops march on Israel.As he approached Beth Horon's crossing, Maccabee led a small party out to meet him.When Maccabee's subordinates saw many enemies rushing towards them, they asked, "How can we fight against such a huge army? Besides, we haven't eaten all day, and we are exhausted." "It's not difficult," replied Maccabee. "The battle does not depend on who has a strong army. It doesn't matter to the Lord whether many will save us or only a few." Difference." Encouraged by the leader's words, the soldiers launched a surprise attack on Salem's troops, defeated the enemy in one breath, and chased and wiped them all the way until the intersection leading to the plain, killing about 800 enemies.Those who survived fled to the Philistines.From then on, the pagans never dared to despise the rebel army of the Jews.

The fame of Maccabee reached the ears of King Antiochus, which surprised him greatly.Antiochus ordered the armies of the whole empire to be assembled into one great force.From the treasury he pays his soldiers a year's pay, ordering them to be ready for any emergency.But not long after, Antiochus became worried: the funds in his treasury were beyond his means.Because he abolished the laws that have been effective since ancient times and brought turmoil and disaster to the world, the tax revenue was naturally reduced.He decided to go to Persia and collect taxes from the provinces there.He appointed Lycia, an important person who had been awarded the title of prince, as governor, to take care of the affairs of the kingdom from the Euphrates to the frontier of Egypt.The king also appointed Lycia as guardian of the prince Antiochus V until his own return.He also put Lycia in command of the army, and explained to him his plan for dealing with the Jews.

Lycia was ordered to send troops to crusade against the Jews and destroy their armed forces of resistance.Lycia chose Nicanor, Gorgia, and Dollyme as commanders of the army. These three were capable men who had been awarded the title of Grand Duke.They were in charge of commanding 40,000 infantry and 7,000 cavalry, and ordered them to invade the land of Judah.These commanders set out with a large army and came to camp on the plain near Emmaus.They were joined by an armed force of Idumeans and Philistines.When local merchants heard of the strength of this army, they came to the camp with chains and a lot of money, hoping to buy some Jewish slaves.

Maccabee assembled all the Judaeans, and marched to Mizpah after praying before the battle.They prayed again at Mizpah, fasted all day, wore mourning clothes, threw ashes on their heads, and tore their clothes.Maccabee assigns his subordinates to the commanders, centurions, etc. for hierarchical management, and according to the book of the law, those who are newly married, those who build houses, or those who plant vineyards, and those who are timid sent home.Finally, this army marched south of Emmaus and settled down to meet the king's army. General Gorgia, appointed by Lycia, led 5,000 infantry and 1,000 most experienced cavalry, planning to launch a surprise attack on the Jews under the cover of night.However, Maccabee had already learned of the enemy's plan for this operation in advance, and had already led his troops to move out to attack the royal army stationed in Emmaus.When Gorgias and his troops arrived at the Jewish camp that night, they found it deserted.They thought that Judah had fled with his people, so they searched everywhere in the mountains. Maccabi, who had withdrawn from the garrison, led 3,000 people and suddenly appeared on the plain of Emmaus at dawn.The king's troops rushed out of their camp to meet them, and Maccabee's men blew their trumpets and attacked.The king's army lost ground and fled to the plain; Maccabees pursued them as far as Gezer, the plain of Idumea, Ashdod, and the cities of Armenia. In total they killed about 3,000 enemies. Maccabi withdraws his troops and returns to Emmaus, saying to his subordinates: "Don't be greedy for this spoil. Gorgias and his army are still in the nearby mountains, and we still have bad battles to fight." No Thinking of the enemy who had searched for nothing on the mountain and was about to retreat to the plain, they saw from a distance that their remaining troops were driven away, and the camp was on fire and smoke was rising.They said to each other, "The LORD has given victory to the Jews. Run for your life!" The soldiers turned and fled to the Philistines, disobedient to the commander's order. Then Maccabee commanded the troops to go back and plunder the enemy's camp, and seized a large amount of gold and silver, blue and purple cloth, and many other things.The Jews sang joyfully: "Praise the Lord, whose mercies never fail." Someone fled back to Lycia and reported to him what had happened.Lysia was very shocked and disappointed.In the following year, Lycia again organized an army with 60,000 well-trained infantry and 5,000 cavalry, marched into Idumea, and stationed there, preparing to attack the Jews again.Maccabi led an army of 10,000 people to fight. Seeing how powerful the enemy was, he prayed to Yahweh: "O Yahweh, the God of the ancestors of Israel, we have worshiped you for thousands of years. Today we will fight The enemy of death will fight to the death, please destroy this enemy, so that we can sing praises to you." The battle began, and the Lord delivered the enemy into the hands of Maccabees.In hand-to-hand combat, about 5,000 royal troops were killed.When Lysias saw the defeat of his army, when he saw the unstoppable courage of Judas Maccabees and his men, he returned to Antioch.There, he replenished some foreign mercenaries, planning to lead a larger army back to Judah in the future. The victorious Maccabees returned to Jerusalem and commanded the Judah to clean up the temple. They dismantled the altars that offered pagan sacrifices, uprooted the weeds in the temple yard, and repaired the destroyed houses. , also built high walls and strong towers around Mount Zion to protect the temple.When all this was done, the Jews offered Pan offerings, friendship offerings, and thanksgiving offerings to God Yahweh with great joy. Maccabee reigns supreme When the surrounding countries heard that the Jews had built the altar and restored the temple as it was, they were very angry and decided to destroy all the Jews living among them. The Idumeans blockaded Israel, so Maccabees went to Akrabah to fight them, smashed them, and plundered them. The Bo'an also threatened Israel, always laying an ambush waiting to capture Jewish travelers.Maccabee sent troops against them, besieged them in a castle, and burned them all. Maccabees was marching against the Ammonites when he encountered a powerful army led by a man named Timothy.Maccabees confronted him for a long time and finally defeated them.He conquered Amon and the surrounding valley, and returned to Judah. The heathen gathered forces in Gilead to attack the Jews and destroy them.Many Jews were killed and their wives and children were taken captive.A similar situation took place throughout Galilee.Maccabee said to his brother Simon, "Choose a number of men to go to the camp of Galilee to rescue our people; our brothers Jonathan and I will go to Gilead." He also left some troops to defend the land of Judah, And appointed two chiefs, Azariah and the son of Zechariah, to manage the people. Simon marched against Galilee with 3,000 men, and fought against the heathen many times. He defeated them and chased them all the way to the city of Dolimae, where he killed about 3,000 of them and took the spoils.Then he returned to the land of Judea with him, the Jews living in Galilee and Abata, their wives and children, and all their property. Maccabee and his brother Jonathan had crossed the Jordan River and made the three-day trek across the desert.On the way, they got news: There are many Jews besieged in Bozla and Boshuo.The cities of Alima and others were at the same time besieged in the small town of Gilead; the enemy was ready to attack the Jewish citadel the next day and attempt to exterminate the Jews.Maccabee suddenly turned to attack Bozla, which is beside the desert road, occupied the city, and killed all the men in it.They plundered the city and then burned it to the ground. Maccabee did not stop and marched all night to reach Sima Castle.At dawn, Judah and his men saw a large army attacking the castle. Those men were setting up ladders and sieges, and pushing ramming carts to attack with all their strength; at the same time, noises, shouts, and trumpets sounded from the city.This shows that the Jews in the city and the foreigners who attacked the city have been hand-to-hand, and the battle has begun.Maccabee said to his subordinates: "Today is the day to fight for our fellow Judahs!" He ordered his subordinates to advance in three columns and outflank the enemy from behind.As they marched, they blew their trumpets and prayed loudly.When the army under Timothy's command saw that Maccabee's troops flanked them from outside the city, they turned and fled.Judah's troops pursued and killed about 8,000 people. Then Maccabee marched straight to the city of Alima, captured the city, killed all the men in the city, robbed everything of value, and burned it.After that, he successively conquered Chaspher, Shocked, Boshuo and other towns of Gilead. Defeated, Timothy returned to his headquarters, gathered another army, and camped across the river against Laverne.Maccabees sent men to spy on the camp, and these men came back and said that all the heathens in the area had defected to Timothy and had formed a huge army.Timothy also hired an army of Arabs to come to his aid.As the army of Judah approached the water, Timothy said to his officers, "If he goes on to cross the river, we will not be able to repel his attack, and he will defeat us. But if he gets scared, stop On the other side of the river, we can attack across the river and defeat them." Maccabee was the first to cross the river to meet the enemy, and all his men followed him.Facing their valiant onslaught, the heretics, dismayed and throwing down their arms, fled into the temple of Kanem.Then the Judah troops who came after them surrounded the temple, and burned the enemy and the temple to ashes with a fire. After conquering the cities of Gilead, the Canaanite heathen could no longer hold back the Jewish forces.Maccabee gathered all the Judah in Gilead and led them back to Judah with him.This is a mighty procession, including all kinds of people, together with their wives and children and all their property.They made an expedition to Ephron, a large and fortified city.It is impossible to get around anywhere from outside the city, the passage goes all the way through the city.But the people in the city would not let them pass, and closed the city gate with stones.Maccabee sent someone to tell them kindly: "Let us go home through your territory. No one will hurt you. We just pass through." The combatants camped where they were.The combatants were ordered to take their positions and attack the city.They fought all day and all night, and at last they took the city.Maccabees ordered that all the men be put to death, and the city was plundered and razed to the ground.Then he led the procession through the city on the dead bodies.They crossed the Jordan River and entered the great plain opposite Beth Shan.During the whole journey, Maccabees kept gathering and encouraging the laggards until they reached the land of Judah.It was with gratitude and joy that they ascended Mount Zion and offered the proclamation, for they had returned safely, one by one. Maccabee and his brothers then went to war against the Edomites in the south.He attacked Hebron and its surrounding towns, destroyed its fortifications, and burned down the surrounding towers.Then he entered the land of the Philistines, passed through Marisa, and conquered Ashdod.They toppled pagan altars, burned their gods, plundered their towns, and returned to Judah. Judas Maccabees and his brothers commanded the respect of all Jews and all Gentiles.As soon as the people heard their names, they gathered to praise them. (Mas 5) peace with Antiochus V Antiochus lived in Persia, and a messenger brought him news that the Lycian army had been defeated by the Jewish army.Lycia and her army had been forced to flee from the Jews, whose strength had been strengthened by the replenishment of arms, provisions, and spoils taken from the defeated army.The king was stunned and trembling at this news, and he lay on his bed, terrified of grief, for things had turned out so unexpectedly as he had expected.He was ill for a long time, and it was not until finally that he realized that he was going to die.He called together all those to whom he had given the title of Grand Duke, and said to them: "I cannot sleep, my heart is torn with sorrow and trouble. At first I asked myself why these troubles kept pounding As for me, I have been merciful and philanthropic since I came to the throne. But then I remembered that I did a lot of bad things in Jerusalem, and I took all the gold and silver vessels from the temple. Righteously destroy the inhabitants of Judah. ​​I know that is why all these terrible things have come upon me, and I am about to die in the depths of despair in this foreign land." Then the king called to him Philip, his most faithful counsellor, and appointed him ruler of the empire.The king gave him his crown, court clothes, and ring seal, and granted him full authority to educate Prince Antiochus V, bring him up, and inherit the throne.Antiochus IV died in 163 BC.When Lysia learned of the king's death, he made the young Antiochus his father's successor.He brought up Antiochus and now named him Jupat. Meanwhile, the pagans in Jerusalem kept causing trouble for the Jews by sealing them off in the area around the Temple.Maccabee decides to get rid of them, and all his men gather together and lay siege to the castle.Unexpectedly, some of the besieged enemies escaped, and they united some Jewish traitors to the king and said: "How long will you wait to avenge my people? We are willing to serve your father, follow his teachings, and obey his instructions." Edict. But what good is that to us? Now our own countrymen are our enemies. In fact, they kill us on sight and steal from us. We are not the only victims, they attack all the neighbors. Now they have surrounded the citadel of that Lusalem, and are about to take it. They have also fortified the Temple and Bassu. If you do not act quickly, they will advance further, and then you will block Can't stop." The king was very annoyed when he heard this.He called together all the army commanders, cavalry chiefs, and his most loyal counselors to discuss strategies.Foreign mercenaries were hired from other countries and Greek islands.His armed forces included 100,000 infantry, 20,000 cavalry, and 32 elephants trained to fight.The king led his troops through Idumea and surrounded Besu.But here, they can't hold back for a long time.They set up ramming vehicles and siege towers, but the Jews guarding the city rushed out of the city and burned the siege towers.However, the Judah army eventually withdrew from the castle and set up camp in Beth Zechariah, blocking the advance of the king's army.The next day, at dawn, the kings showed grape juice and mulberry juice to the elephants in order to prepare them for battle.These behemoths were assigned to infantry battalions.Around each elephant, surrounded in an orderly manner: thousands of warriors wearing bronze helmets and armor, each elephant is accompanied by 500 special cavalry, inseparable from the elephant.A solid armored wooden platform is firmly fixed on the back of each elephant by a special harness.In addition to the elephant driver, there are three warriors riding on the back of each elephant.Lysia placed the rest of the cavalry on the left and right flanks of the army so that they would be covered by infantry while they harassed the enemy.The sun shone on the bronze and gold shield, against the backdrop of the mountains, flickering like a burning torch.The king's army spread out in depth, winding and undulating, some walked on high hillsides, some walked on low-lying valleys, but they all moved forward firmly and in an orderly manner.The clanging of weapons and the marching footsteps of the army are intertwined, and it is frightening to hear. Maccabee led the army into the battlefield and killed 600 of the king's army in the blink of an eye.Eleazar.Aphron saw a particularly tall elephant in the herd, wearing a royal armor, and he knew that the king was riding on the elephant.Elias rushed bravely up to the elephant that was guarding the infantry battalion, got under the elephant's belly, stabbed it to death, and the elephant fell on him, crushing him also.But the men of Judah knew how strong the king's army was, and they withdrew afterward.The king's army moved forward, attacked the Jews in Jerusalem, and surrounded all Judea and Jerusalem.They made peace with the Jews of Beth, who left the city.The king took Bosu and sent a regiment of troops to garrison there. Afterwards, they surrounded the temple.When the food in the temple storehouse ran out, the Jews had to evacuate home, and only a few people stayed there.The last bastion of Judaism is at stake.At this time, Philip, who was in charge of educating the prince, returned from Persia and Medes.He led the king's army back and wanted to control the power of the court.When Lycia heard the news, she hurriedly said to the king: "The enemy is short of food, and our life is also difficult. I think we will lose in this war. Let us negotiate a truce and make peace with the Jews and their entire country.We allow them to obey their own laws and customs, as they have done before.All trouble is caused by our abrogation of their laws. " The king accepted this remonstrance, and Lysias offered the Judas the terms of peace, and after the king and officials had solemnly sworn to abide by them, the Jews came out of their fortifications.But when the king entered the temple area on Mount Zion and saw the strong fortifications, he broke his promise and ordered the walls around the temple to be demolished.Then he left in a hurry and returned to Antioch.There he discovered that Philip had taken control of the city.It took the king by force to regain control. (1 Ma 6) death of macabee In 161 BC, Demetrius, the son of Roman Emperor Seleucus, left the capital with a few people, landed in a city on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, and then became king here.While he was on his way to the palace of his ancestors, the warriors arrested Antiochus V and Lycia to deliver them to Demetrius.When Demetrius heard this, he said: I don't want to see you. "Then the warriors killed them, and Demetrius took the throne. At this time, all the godless rebels of Judas went to Alsimo, who wanted to be the high priest, and went to see Demetrius together.They charged: "Judah Maccabee and his brothers have killed all those who supported you, and they have driven us out of the country. We ask you to send some trustworthy people to investigate our property and your territory. All losses suffered, and punish Maccabee and his brothers and all supporters." King Demetrius chose a man from among his counselors.The name of this man was Bakshid, and he was the governor of Greater Syria.He was an important figure in the empire and loyal to the king.He was ordered to go with the godless Alsimo, who had been appointed high priest by the king.They left Antioch with a large army and came to the land of Judah. Some Jews had illusions about Almosi and Bacxides, thinking that Alsimo as a priest would do them no harm, but they were wrong.On the very day that Almosi assured them of protection, he arrested and killed sixty Jews;After that, Bacxi had to leave Alcimo to stay here while he went back to meet the king.Bakshid brought great disaster to the Jews. He and his followers harassed the people everywhere, and people gritted their teeth against them.Maccabee is determined to avenge the Jews who have sold themselves for glory, and will not let their momentum continue.Maccabee's efforts were not in vain, the crowd around him gradually increased, and their strength grew stronger day by day.Alcimo felt that he was in danger, so he went to ask the king for help.The king sent his favorite commander, Nicano, to suppress the Jewish uprising troops. Nicanor led a large army to Jerusalem. He tried to trap Maccabees with a false peace.He first went to see Maccabee, greeted him politely, and said to him: "There is no need to quarrel between you and me. I have only brought a small number of guards to meet you and have a private conversation with you." But Nicanor's men were ready to kidnap him.Maccabee discovered the plot in time and decided not to see him again; so, the two sides met on the battlefield.Maccabee won another victory. They killed 500 Nicanor's soldiers and made Nicanor hide in the castle of Lusalem, not daring to come out easily. The priests of Judah who remained in the temple performed sacrifices and asked Nicanor to inspect them, but Nicanor ruthlessly laughed at them and spit on them, making the ceremony dirty.He gave an ultimatum to the priests: "You must ask Maccabees to come and surrender to me immediately, or I will burn this temple immediately when I return in triumph." Nica moved his soldiers to Beth Horon, preparing to attack Maccabee.Maccabee was camped in Odessa at that time, and he prayed to the Lord: "God of my ancestors, the holy book tells me that when a king sent an envoy to insult you, your angels went and killed you. They have 185,000 soldiers. Now please use the same method and smash this army before us today because he defiled your temple and deserves to be punished." On the 13th of Adar, the battle began.Nicano was the first to be killed. Seeing that the commander was killed, the soldiers dropped their weapons and fled.The Jews took advantage of the victory and pursued them from Odessa to Gilead, and wiped out all the enemies. The Jews cut off Nicanor's head and right arm, and brought them to the outskirts of Jerusalem for public display.On this day, the Jews felt proud, so they decided to celebrate the 13th of Adar. However, Demetrius did not stop there. After Nicanor's army was wiped out, he sent Baxide and Alsimo to lead the Syrian army to conquer the Jews.This formidable army marched on to Berea. Maccabi led 3,000 battle-hardened soldiers to set up camp in Irasha.However, when the soldiers saw the huge enemy team, they were frightened. Some fled, and some surrendered. The number of soldiers became smaller and smaller, until finally there were only 800 soldiers left.Seeing this, Maccabee knew it was over, because he had no time to regroup.Still, he said to his loyal soldiers: "Maybe we can beat them, get ready to fight!" The subordinates also saw the situation very clearly: "Our strength is not enough, and the contrast with the enemy is too great." They tried their best to persuade him to give up his illusions: "We can only retreat now to save our lives and wait for the joint reinforcements to fight again later." But Maccabee's mind is set: "I don't want to be pointed at the back and say I ran away from the battlefield, and I never want to leave any stain. If the time comes, let us die heroically for our fellow Jews Bar." Maccabee really did it.In this cruel and tragic battle, he died, and his body was carried back and buried in Modein's family tomb.The Israelites mourned him for 7 days, and until a long time later, they did not believe that the great hero and savior of Israel was really dead. (2 Ma 7:1-7:22) Jonathan succeeded as leader After the death of Maccabee, there was a severe famine, and more people in Judea betrayed Jehovah, and the whole country was almost completely in the hands of the apostates.Baxide carefully selected some Jewish apostates to serve as leaders at all levels and rule the country.The Jewish rebels were purged and suppressed on a large scale.In this bloody terror, a group of old comrades in Maccabee gathered together and elected Maccabee's younger brother Jonathan as the leader and commander to lead the Jewish struggle against alien rule.In order to avoid the pursuit of Baxide, Jonathan and his followers fled to the wilderness of Tekoa and set up camp by the spring of Asfa. Once Jonathan sent his men to send all the luggage to his friend Nabatea for safekeeping. On the way, they were attacked by Jamboli people from Madaba, and all the luggage was taken away, and the officers who escorted the luggage were also killed. They were taken prisoner, and not long after, a great family of the Jamboli was married, and the bride was the daughter of a prince of the land of Canaan.Jonathan led his troops to ambush Jamboly's wedding party, killed many of them, and took all the dowry. Jonathan took revenge, and he led the people back to the swamps on the banks of the Jordan.When Buck and Sid heard the news, they personally led the army to the bank of the Jordan River on a Sabbath day.Jonathan said to his men: "Now we must fight for our lives. The situation we are in is more dangerous than ever. The enemy is in front of us, the river is behind us, and the swamp and jungle are on both sides. If we cannot Defeat the enemy, and we are doomed." The battle broke out, with heavy casualties on both sides.Bakshi lost about 1,000 troops, and Jonathan and his men could not support them anymore, so they had to jump into the Jordan River and swim to the opposite bank; Bakshid did not cross the river to pursue. In February 159 BC, High Priest Alsimo ordered the walls of the inner courtyard of the Temple to be demolished in order to destroy the deeds of the sages.On the day the demolition began, Alsimo suffered a stroke and the work had to be stopped.Alcimo was paralyzed, unable to speak, and died without leaving a will.When Baxide heard about this, he went back to King Demetrius, and Judah had two years of peace. Two years passed, and Jonathan's power grew day by day.All the apostates conspired and said, "Look, Jonathan and the others are living in peace. If we get Baxter now, he can arrest these people overnight." " Baxi had to get their request, and led the army to the land of Judah.He sent someone to send a secret letter to the party members in Judah in advance, asking them to arrest Jonathan and his accomplices. But when the news got out, Jonathan captured 50 of the traitor leaders involved in the conspiracy and executed them.Jonathan, Simon, and their followers then withdrew to Beth Pasir in the wilderness and built strong fortifications.Baxed's troops besieged Bethpasir from all sides. Jonathan sent Simon to lead some men to defend Bethpasir, and he led a small group of men to try to sneak out of the city and attack Baxed's troops from the outside.They repelled two groups of enemies one after another, and then collected the surrendered soldiers to strengthen their strength and attack Baxed together.与此同时，西门他们从城里冲出来，烧毁了围城台。最后，约拿单和西门他们打败了巴克西得。巴克西得对怂恿他进入犹大地的犹大叛徒非常恼火，将他们许多人都处以死刑。 巴克西得决定回国，约拿单获悉此事之后，派出使节去见巴克西得，请求缔结和平条款和遣返犹大战俘。巴克西得答应了约拿单的条件，并向他许诺，在约拿单有生之年不再来骚扰犹大地。 约拿单在密抹定居，开始治理他的人民，把犹太叛徒清理、驱逐出去。 约拿单迁任大祭司 公元152年，安提阿哥四世之子亚历山大·伊皮法纽在多利买登陆，并且占领了这座城。之后，处于两大帝国之间的犹大地就成了争夺的对象。底米丢首先给约拿单伸出橄榄枝，给他送来一封信，向他讨好，希望他与自己站在一边，共同对抗亚历山大。 为了表示过去对犹太人的所作所为表示忏悔，底米丢下令把监禁在耶路撒冷的人质交还给约拿单，还授权他招募一支军队。约拿单在耶路撒冷设立司令部，并着手修复工作。异族人也放弃了巴克西得建筑的城堡，纷纷离开哨所，回自己的国家去了。 亚历山大获悉底米丢向约拿单所作的一切，决定也把约拿单当作自己的盟友。他给约拿单写了一封信：亚历山大王向他的朋友约拿单致意：我听说您是一位勇敢的人。曾经赢得了大公爵位。我今天任命您为本国大祭司，并授予您大公爵位。您是我的盟友，会支援我们的。 约拿单就这样成了大祭司。他招募了一支军队，积蓄了大量的武器给养。 底米丢听到亚历山大拉拢约拿单的消息以后，沮丧他说："怎么能让亚历山大走在我们前面呢？他和犹太人结盟，一定会来攻击我们。我还要给约拿单写信，奉送他高官厚禄，好叫他支持我。" 于是，底米丢给他写了一封长信，信中写道：底米丢王向犹大国王致意：我们高兴地获悉，你一直按照我们的条约履行自己的义务，保持着对我们的忠诚，并没有投到我们敌人那边去。现在如果你继续忠于我们，我们会给你厚赏，免除许多赋税，还给你们其他特权。……我还将放弃那路撤冷城堡的主权，并且把它置于大祭司的管辖之下，他可以在那里派驻他所喜欢的任何人来防守。我愿意将王国各处的犹大战俘释放出去。 ……犹太人可以应征入伍加入王军，限额3万名，他们将获得与其他王军同样的薪饷。……从撤玛利亚划归犹大的3个地区将完全并入犹太版图，置于大祭司个人控制之下。我将从多利买城及其所属地区的岁入中支付耶路撤冷的管理费用。我还批准从国库中每年拨出相当于15000块银市的款项作为岁礼。……但是约拿单并没有响应这个倡议，涸为他还记得他底米丢过去如何残暴地对付自己，带来过多么可怕的灾难。他们宁愿与亚历山大结盟，因为他是第一个发出和平倡议的人。约拿单在有生之年里，一直保持着与他的和睦关系。（玛上10：1一10：66） 底米丢二世背信 底米丢一世在与亚历山大的争战中失败身亡，他的儿子继承王位。新王任命阿波罗尼为大叙利亚总督，拨给他一支庞大的部队去征讨犹大地。 阿波罗尼在亚美尼亚附近安营扎寨，并且派人给大祭司约拿单送来了如下的信息："如果你对自己的军队真有什么信心的话，那就下到平原来战斗吧，在这里我们可以较量一下彼此的力量。你将会发现，你没有抵抗我们的机会。你的前辈已经在他们自己的土地上被打败两次了。因此，你怎么能够期望打败我的骑兵和我在平原上所拥有的这种军队呢？" 约拿单接到这一消息，非常生气。他从耶路撤冷率领1万名精锐部队，他兄弟西门也带来了军队，这两支军队驻扎在约帕城外。城里人不让他们进去，因为阿波罗尼的分遣队驻在那里。约拿单发起进攻，占领了约帕。 阿波罗尼听说之后，率领3千骑兵和一支庞大的步兵，企图向亚实突以南撤退。约拿单从背后追上，两军在亚实突开战。不料约拿单中了敌人的埋伏，他们被层层包围，利箭像雨点般地落在他们身上。但约拿单的军队按照他的命令坚持战斗，前来攻击的骑兵变得疲倦不堪了。 随后，西门领兵出现在战场上，冲击敌人的步兵，步兵乱了阵脚，逃跑了。散布在战场上的骑兵向亚实突逃跑，到那里后，他们藏在大衷神庙里避难。约拿单放火烧了神庙，把藏在里面的人全都烧死。接着，他放火焚烧了周围的城邑，并且掠夺这些地方。 那天，在战场上被杀的连被烧死的共有8000名。 约拿单大获全胜，荣耀地回到耶路撒冷。亚历山大王听说约拿单所做的事，又给他更高的荣誉。他送给他一副金质肩章，此物仅仅颁发给那些荣获亲王爵位的人。国王还把以革伦城及其周围地区赐给了他。可是，后来埃及王多利梅进入安提阿，赶走了亚历山大·伊皮法纽，潜取了叙利亚的王位。这样他头上带着叙利亚王和埃及王两顶王冠。多利梅本人不久就去世了。底米丢成了迦南、埃及和叙利亚的唯一国王。 这以后，底米丢二世召见约拿单。约拿单冒着生命危险去多利买见他，他还带去了许多别的礼物，他给这位国王留下了良好的印象。底米丢当面夸奖他，承认他是大祭司，恢复他以前的一切荣誉，并且授予他在大公中居于最高的地位。国王还解除了犹大地和撒玛利亚三个地方的税赋。 底米丢王看到他治理下的土地上出现了太平的景象，他便遣散了他的全部军队，送每个士兵返回家园，只将他从希腊岛上雇佣来的士兵留下。许多老兵因为解散军队失去了生活来源，他们怨恨底米丢。有一个旧部叫做特利弗，去找阿拉伯人伊马尔克。此人负责养育亚历山大的幼子安提阿哥，特利弗怂恿他把孩子交给他，以便为这孩子取得其父亲的王位。当时有12万人暴动，控制了首都，要杀死底米丢。约拿单带兵前去援助国王，帮助他巩固了王位。国家在底米丢的治理下又出现了和平景象。不料底米丢背叛了自己的诺言，转而反对约拿单。他不仅没有因为约拿单的援助给予赏赐，反而继续骚扰他。（玛上11：1一11：53） 与叙利亚新王结好 过了一些时候，特利弗带着幼童安提阿哥回来了，并且加冕他为国王。所有那些被底米丢遣散了的士兵全都反过来支持年轻的国王，他们打跑了底米丢，控制了安提阿。年轻的国王向约拿单写信，承认他是大祭司兼四地区首领，并且授予他大公爵位。国王送给他一套金质餐具，授权他用金杯饮酒，穿朝服，佩带授予"亲王"的金质肩章。国王还任命西门为总督，管辖从腓尼基海滨至埃及边界的地区。 约拿单便支持安提阿哥对抗底米丢。他带领军队穿越了叙利亚诸城，使全叙利亚的人都与他结盟。他远征大马士革，并在加利利湖畔打垮了底米丢的部队。底米丢让司令官们带着更多的军队来回击他。约拿单不想给他们进入领土的机会，于是他便离开耶路撒冷，去到哈马的境内迎击他们。约拿单派侦察员进入敌营，侦察员向他报告说，敌方正在拟定夜袭犹太人的计划。日落时分，约拿单命令全军处于戒备状态，准备好武器，应付夜间任何时候的突然袭击。他还在营地四周布置了警卫。当敌人听说约拿单准备迎战时，他们便吓跑了，留下了熊熊的营人。约拿单及部下只看见了营火，但是不清楚发生了什么事情，一直到第二天早晨，才知道敌人已经逃之夭夭了。约拿单赶忙发兵追赶，但没有追上。 与此同时，西门也出征在外，长驱直入亚实基伦及其周围的城堡。接着他转向约帕，在那里派兵驻守，因为他听说当地人正在计划把约帕的城堡交给底米丢的士兵。（玛上11：54一12：38）约拿单落入虎日 后来，特利弗策划政变，反对安提阿哥王，他自己想当叙利亚国王。可是他恐怕约拿单不会同意这事，可能出兵阻止他的行动。于是特利弗整备军队开向伯珊，希望捉到约拿单，把他处死。 不料正赶上约拿单也带着4万名训练有素的士兵来到伯珊。 特利弗看到约拿单带着这样一支庞大的军队，便不敢动手了。他转而隆重接待约拿单，把他介绍给自己的全体谋士，送给他礼物，又吩咐自己的谋士和士兵，服从约拿单就像服从他本人一样。他对约拿单说："我们又没有开仗，你干吗带军队来呀，这么多人，多不方便，你干吗不送他们回家呢？选一小部分人留在身边，然后陪我回去。我这次来的目的就是要把这座城送给你。"约拿单相信了他的话，采纳了他的意见，把士兵遣送回犹大地。他只留下3000人，又将其中的2000人留在加利利，陪他继续上路的只有1000人。 不料，当约拿单走进了多利买以后，城里人就把城门锁上，将他捉起来，又把随他来的人全都杀光。 特和弗派步兵和骑兵去加利利和耶斯列谷，杀害约拿单留在那里的士兵。犹太兵认为约拿单连同所有陪伴他的人全都被害了，于是便互相鼓起勇气，以战斗的队形开了出来。迎面而来的敌兵看到犹太人准备拼死战斗、保卫自己，便转回去了。这时犹太全国陷入了沉痛的哀悼之中。（玛上12：39一53） 西门解放犹大地 听说约拿单遇害了，所有的邻国都想趁机消灭犹大人，特利弗也集结了大批的军队，准备入侵和蹂躏犹大地。犹太人陷入一片恐慌，西门召集人民，鼓励他们说："你们知道，为着摩西律法和圣殿，我父亲的家族，我的兄弟们，以及我本人，曾经付出过多么大的代价。你们知道，我们所进行的战争以及我们所遭受的苦难。我的所有兄弟都为着自己，为着律法、圣殿和国土战死疆场了。现在所有的非犹大国家都联合起来要消灭我们。出路只有一条，就是为保卫祖国、圣殿和各位的妻子儿女而战斗。" 这些话鼓舞了士气，大家高呼："现在你就代替犹大和约拿单作我们的领袖吧。率领我们战斗，我们听你的。" 特利弗率领大军离开多利买，侵入犹大地，把约拿单当作人质随军带着。西门和他的部队在平原边沿的阿迪达安营扎寨。特利弗派人对西门说："我这里正拘留着你的兄弟约拿单，因为他以往拖欠税赋，如果你付给我30万银币并送他的两个儿子来当人质，保征以后不再反对我们，我就放了他。" 尽管西门知道这是欺骗，他还是把钱和两个孩子送去了，因为他怕人们会说，约拿单被杀是因为西门舍不得把钱和孩子送去。 果然不出所料，特利弗背叛了自己的诺言，并没有释放约拿单。 随后，特利弗便挥军侵入犹大地，西门引兵与他展开周旋。在耶路撒冷的敌军不住地给特利弗送情报，怂恿他赶快从荒野之路到他们那里去给他们送给养。特利弗命令骑兵做好增援耶路撒冷的准备，不料那天夜里天降大雪，积雪封山，队伍只好撤回基列。 当接近巴士卡马的时候，他把约拿单处死。然后特利弗掉头回国。 西门派人把约拿单的尸体运到莫得因，埋在他们祖先的城里。 每个以色列人都为失去约拿单而深感忧伤，他们为他哀悼了好长时间。西门在父亲和兄弟们的坟上竖起一座高高的纪念碑，人们远远地就望得见。他还为父亲母亲和四个兄弟修了7座金字塔，一个挨一个地并列着。金字塔后面衬托着一组高大的圆柱，柱上刻着浮雕，有些雕着全副盔甲，有些雕着船队。 特利弗回国后，杀了年轻的国王安提阿哥五世，夺取了他的叙利亚王国。 西门重建了犹大地的重要城堡，在城堡上筑起高高的塔楼。并在各城中设置放给养的仓库。他派使节去见国王底米丢二世，请求减免犹大地的税收，因为特利弗除了掠夺他们之外什么也不干。 国王底米丢送来回信，准予免除犹太人的赋税。从此异教徒压迫者锁在犹太人身上的枷锁解除了。但是其他异教徒和犹大叛徒还占据着一些重要城市，如耶路撤冷和基色。西门首先领兵围困基色，筑起一座活动围城台攻克了一座塔楼。围城台上的人飞快地跃进城里，引起了一片慌乱。城里的壮丁及其妻子儿女们撕裂衣裳，爬到城墙上，大声地向西门求饶："可怜可怜我们吧，别给我们应得的惩罚。" 西门许他们谈判，和平地占了这座城池。他和他的部下唱着圣诗和赞歌列队进入城里，清除了一切不洁的东西，把虔敬的犹大人迁移进来。他加固了城防，并在其中为自己修了一座宫殿。 耶路撒冷城内的敌人也被困在里面了，陷入了严重的饥荒之中，街上到处都是饿死了的人的尸体。最后，敌人向西门投降了。 西门把他们赶了出去，忠诚的犹太人被请回来居住，举行了大规模的清洁运动。然后，犹太人在耶路撒冷举行了盛大的庆祝活动。 西门和部下走进城堡，唱着赞美诗和感恩歌，擎着棕桐枝，奏着竖琴、铙钹和七弦琴。西门发布命令，每年这一天都要举庆祝活动。西门把司令部设在耶路撤冷，并任命自己年轻的儿子约翰为全军的元帅，元帅府设在基色。（玛上13） 多利梅谋弑西门 大祭司西门任命亚巴巴之子多利梅为耶利哥平原总司令。多利梅是西门的女婿，特别富有，可是他野心太大，企图篡夺领导权。公元前134年，西门同他的两个儿子玛他提和犹大一起视察耶利哥诸城。他们到达耶利哥，多利梅谋划着杀害西门及其两个儿子，他把他们接到一座称为道克的小城堡里。他在那里为他们举行盛大的宴会，当西门及其儿子们喝得醺醺欲醉的时候，事先埋伏好的刀斧手从暗处冲进宴会厅，把西门和他的两个儿子杀死，还杀死了一些仆人。 得手以后，多利梅向宗主国叙利亚报告，要求国王派兵来援助他，并把犹大地转交给他管理。他还给军官们写信，让他们投奔他，并且许给他们银子、金子和其他礼物。接着他派人去基色去刺杀约翰，以及其他控制着耶路撒冷和圣殿山的人们。不料有人在这之前赶到基色，向约翰报告了他父亲和兄弟们遇害的消息，并告诉他，多利梅正派人来杀害他。约翰又气又恨，派人把刺客抓住处死。 约翰继承他祖父、伯父和父亲的遗志，为了犹太人的自由、信仰而与异教统治者和犹大叛徒们进行了艰苦卓绝的战斗。以后的漫长岁月里，犹太民族还有许许多多这样的英雄。 但是犹太人背离上帝的律法越来越远，无数的先知和领袖都没有能够成功地拯救他们，直到上帝派遣他的亲生儿子耶稣降临人间，施行救赎的神功。耶稣爱每一个人，他创造了许多奇迹，向人们传达上帝的教导。他向人们显示他如何爱夭国的父亲，为人们的罪孽忍受苦难。不过又有许多人连耶稣也不相信，他们恨他，把他钉死在十字架上。他死去然后复活……这些已是《新约》中的故事了。（玛上11一24）