A Gentle Ramble Through the Bible - Class 083

        


The Persecution Begins  

The Abomination That Causes Desolation

Things are about to get bad. The High Priest Menelaus goes to Antioch and instigates murder and bribery. He gets caught, but he uses his ill-gotten riches to make the charges roll off his back. 

Antiochus IV Epiphanes attacks Egypt and is humiliated by the Romans. Enraged, he vents his anger on Jerusalem. After ransacking the Temple (with the help of the high priest!) and setting up “the abomination that causes desolation,” he returns to Antioch where he begins an aggressive campaign to Hellenize his empire.

And that spells disaster for the Jews. Forced to worship the Greek pantheon and desecrate all that is holy to Israel, many Jews forsake their faith rather than face torture and death. But many others would rather be martyred than renounce YHWH. 

One family in particular, the Hasmoneans, fight back hard. The father, Mattathias, is a local priest. He has five sons, one of whom is Judas Maccabeus. Judas the Hammer. Here come the Maccabees!
The Hebrew Bible ends around 400 BCE. There are no more tribes of Israel--only scattered families which are gradually coalescing into geographic communities. Around 330 BCE, Alexander the Great conquers the world but dies suddenly, leaving the world in chaos. 

After 40 years of infighting, the world settles (more or less) into four major kingdoms: Macedonia, Thrace, Egypt, and the Seleucid Empire. Judea (named Palestine by the Romans who were themselves a rising world power) is fought over by Egypt and the Seleucids. The Seleucids eventually win. 

As the story of the Maccabees opens, the high priest has become a political appointee of the Seleucid king. It is a position of power that goes to the highest bidder. Prepare yourself for a whirlwind of politics and intrigue.

1&2 Maccabees overlap, so refer to the Maccabees Chronology to guide your reading.

A free Study Guide is available. A video version of the class is available on YouTube. More info at EversBibleClass.com.

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