1. Look up in the Bible dictionary, Maccabees and Herod.
2. Read Hebrews 11. 32-40. Verses 33-38 are probably in large part a description of the heroic martyrs before the Maccabees.
3. Was the Maccabean rule a failure because it did not last?
4. How did these rulers contribute to the great ends which Jews had always dreamed of.
CHAPTER XXX[ToC]
THE DISCONTENT OF THE JEWS UNDER ROMAN RULE
In spite of the fact that the Jews still had some power of self-government through the Sanhedrin, the great mass of the people hated the Romans with an almost inconceivable fury. The world had never before seen such cruel rulers. The Assyrians had been bad, but the Romans were worse. Think of that form of punishment which they inflicted carelessly every day even for minor crimes—crucifixion! The poor victim was nailed by the hands and feet to a pole and left to hang in agony till death mercifully ended it all. Think of the gladiatorial combats in the city of Rome and in other Roman cities, where every day for centuries slaves or condemned criminals fought each other with swords to the death, or fought with wild beasts while the gloating multitudes looked on in rapture.