Synopsis of Jewish History / From the Return of the Jews from the Babylonish Captivity, to the Days of Herod the Great

by H. A. Henry

Judas and his party, grateful to heaven for this great and glorious success over such powerful enemies, immediately repaired to Mount Sion, where they saw the sanctuary of God made desolate, deserted and neglected; even the altar was polluted, the gates and walls thrown down, the courts of the Temple, the beautiful edifice itself bedecked, not with sweet or odoriferous herbs, but with wild shrubs and grass which the hand of time had allowed to grow on that sacred spot. What a heart-rending scene for the pious Judas and his followers! Grieved at beholding such a devastation of God's holy place, they fell on their faces, rent their clothes, and made great lamentations; at the same time imploring the aid of heaven to repair the loss thus sustained.

Judas and his party diligently applied themselves to repair the Temple, and to restore the worship of God. They selected some of the good priests to purify the sanctuary; they removed the altar, which had been profaned by the heathens, and built a new one as the law directs. They then made some new vessels for the use of the Temple, from the gold which they had taken from the enemy in the late battle. The regular order of divine worship was again introduced, and sacrifices offered up according to the law of Moses.

It is somewhat remarkable, and worthy of our attention, that that very day three years, on which the heathen had profaned the altar by offering up unclean beasts, the Temple was dedicated with great rejoicings and grateful acknowledgments to God, which continued during eight days. It was on this occasion that Judas and his brethren ordained that this feast of dedication should be celebrated annually on the return of this period, with mirth and gladness, together with praises and thanksgiving to God. This feast of dedication is known among Israelites by the name "Honucha," Hebrew word for dedication. The fact related is, that when Judas and his men had purified the Temple, a very small lamp of consecrated oil was miraculously found, capable of furnishing sufficient to supply all the established holy lights in the Temple during eight days, until a fresh portion could be procured. This circumstance occurred about two years after Judas had the chief command, and upwards of three years after the city and the Temple had been laid desolate by Appollonius. History informs us, that the holy worship in the Temple continued with little interruption from the heathen, until the destruction of the Temple by the Romans, though Jerusalem itself was often in the power of its enemies.

Notwithstanding the success achieved by Judas and his party, they were much annoyed by their enemies, from the fact that the fortress built by Appolonius still remained in the hands of the heathens. It stood on Mount Acra, a rising ground facing the Temple. The heathens placed themselves here to annoy the Jews, on their going to, and returning from the Temple. Judas finding that he could not drive out the enemy at once, endeavored to prevent these annoyances by building up Mount Sion with high walls and strong towers. He also placed guards there to protect the priests and the people when they went to the Temple, with the view of preventing the Gentiles from invading the sanctuary.

Though Judas and his men continued the Temple worship, they were still in constant warfare. The neighboring nations were all jealous of the success gained by the Jews, and dissatisfied that they had restored the sacred worship in the Temple of the Lord. To show their displeasure they attacked the Jews on all sides; war ensued, and fierce battles were fought, in most of which Judas proved victorious, sustaining but little loss in his army.

Judas, encouraged by such success, which he always acknowledged to be from the hand of God, and not from his own power, led forth his army against Georgius, a general of Antiochus, as also against the Idumeans, who had in their turn proved vexatious to the Jews. In these attacks Judas lost many of his men, but nevertheless proved victorious. Judas was a noble and valiant general; his policy was at all times to encourage his men by inducing them to put their trust in God, who had done so much for their ancestors, and instilling in their minds the belief that he would continue his protection to them as long as they were inclined to act righteously to each other. During this time, Antiochus was visiting Persia in order to receive his tribute from the people of that country—and plunder the Temple of Diana, erected at Elymos, which was said to contain great riches in gold and silver, and a very valuable armory. The people of Persia having gained intelligence of the king's intention, boldly defended the Temple of their idol, and succeeded in totally defeating the enemy.

Antiochus enraged at this discomfiture, and at the reports he had received of the defeat of his generals in Judea, resolved to march toward Jerusalem, and threatened to make the whole city as one grave, in which to bury all the Jews then in the Holy Land. How far this wicked man succeeded in his cruel resolve, the following facts will show; they need no comment on our part, to prove that it was the finger of God that was directing all that befel Antiochus, and other persecutors of mankind. It is generally supposed by historians, that the same disaster which befel the tyrant Antiochus, was visited on many persecutors of God's people, both in former and latter times—hence supporting our views on the subject, that Heaven ordained all that had happened. Whilst on his journey, Antiochus was smitten with an incurable plague; his chariot was upset, and he was seriously hurt. He was then carried to a small town on the road side, put to bed, in which he lingered for some time, suffering the most excruciating agonies of body, and torments of mind, until he died. On his death-bed, Antiochus showed great contrition of mind for the crimes which he had perpetrated against God and man. The heathens declared that it was a punishment inflicted for his intended sacrilege of the Temple of Diana; but the Jewish historians acquaint us, that the tyrant himself imputed his sufferings as a punishment for the cruelties towards Israel, and the impieties he practised against the Lord and his holy Temple. Thus ended the life of this great and relentless tyrant.

The pleasing tidings of the death of the tyrant having reached the ears of Judas, he was encouraged to besiege the garrison of the Syrians, in the town of Acra, in which enterprise he succeeded by a stratagem which will be hereafter related.

At the death of Antiochus Epiphanes, his son Antiochus Eupator became his successor. He proved to be no better than his father, whose footsteps he followed by persecuting the Jews wherever found throughout his empire. Antiochus Eupator commenced his career by bringing a vast army against Judas, consisting of one hundred thousand foot, twenty thousand horse, thirty-two elephants, and three hundred armed chariots of war. Judas's army being so small, compared with that of the enemy, encouraged his men by the watchword which he issued among them: "Victory is of the Lord." Animated by the hope of success, they managed to surprise the enemy at night, and slew upwards of four thousand of them, and then made a safe retreat to Jerusalem. In this encounter, Eleazer, one of the brothers of Judas, evinced great courage; he saw one of the elephants raised much higher than the rest. Supposing that the king himself must be mounted thereon, he ran through the camp, made his way to the beast, and thrust him through with his spear. The wound proving mortal, the beast with his heavy burthen fell down and crushed Eleazer to death.

Antiochus Eupator's army then marched to Jerusalem under the command of Lysias, and besieged the sanctuary. During this siege, the Jews suffered much from the want of provisions. They were on the point of surrendering to the enemy, when, by the providence of the Almighty, they were strangely released from the impending danger. It happened that Lysias, the general, heard that the city of Antioch was seized by one Philip, a favorite of the late king, who had taken upon himself the government of Syria; Lysias, on this account, persuaded the present king to declare peace with the Jews, to which proposal he readily consented.