[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 horsemen, 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 horsemen.
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 nobly, 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 prone 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 worshipped 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 shields 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 noblest 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 unshield 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.