Chapter 9
Demetrius sends an army against the Jews. On the death of Judas Maccabeus. On the wicked men and the wickedness of Bacchides. On weddings turned into mourning. Jonathan obtains the leadership; Alcimus, wishing to destroy the temple, was struck dumb, etc.
9:1 Meanwhile, when Demetrius heard that Nicanor and his army had fallen in battle, etc.,
Demetrius again renews the war through Bacchides and Alcimus against Judas, because through pagans and heretics who have relapsed from the faith of Christ, the prince of this world daily renews, with new tricks, his old plots to harm the Church; with whom he also sent the right wing, when for the perpetration of such a crime he entrusted a strong band of auxiliaries; against whom Judas goes with three thousand, because against all the enemies of the faith the assembly of teachers, together with the faithful, resolves to fight, so that through faith in the Holy Trinity he may lay low the host of enemies, who, in arrogant pride, dares to raise itself up against its own author. But let us see what is written next in this passage:
9:6 And they saw the multitude of the army, because they were many, and they were greatly afraid, etc.
For although many seem to remain in the confession of the Catholic faith, yet when persecution blazes up, it will appear who have been steadfast in the faith, and who only seemed outwardly to be in it. Therefore it is written in the Gospel parable (Matt. 13:6) that when the sun rose, the crops that were on rocky ground and did not have much soil were scorched; because those who do not hold firm roots of belief in their heart, believing for a time, fall away in a time of temptation. Therefore, of the three thousand, none remained with Judah except only eight hundred men; because when the depraved fall away from the fellowship of the Church, only the elect, who are predestined to receive eternal blessedness, will remain in the stability of sound faith, etc.
9:11a And the army moved from the camp and they stood to meet them, and the cavalry was divided into two parts.
What does it mean that, when the army advanced from the camp, the cavalry is said to have been divided into two parts, if not that among the proud and the arrogant unity and firm concord can never be preserved? As Scripture bears witness, which says: Among the proud there are always quarrels (Prov. 13:10).
9:11b And, he says, the slingers and archers were going before the army.
What is meant by slingers and archers, if not those who, in order to entice human minds to idolatry or apostasy, either by flattering with empty promises of prosperity, like the whirling of a sling, strive to pervert the faithful, or by threatening them with torments, seek to deceive them by terrifying them, as though with the blows of arrows? And these are rightly described as going before the army, because it has always been the custom of persecutors to precede the infliction of tortures with such methods.
9:13a And the earth was moved at the sound of the armies, etc.
And, he says, the earth was moved at the sound of the armies; that is, the hearts of the fleshly were shaken with fear of persecutions.
9:13b And the battle was joined from morning until evening.
For from the rising of the dawning faith until the end of the world, the camp of the Devil does not cease to wage war against the Church of God, and by the adversity of tribulations it never stops trying to disturb the good. For, according to the judgment of Paul: All who wish to live piously in Christ suffer persecution (1 Tim. 3:12).
9:14 Judas saw that the stronger part of Bacchides’ army was on the right flank, and,
having gathered to himself all those who were steadfast in heart, he crushed it, while, with fitting supports offered by the faithful, the holy teachers strive to repel the assault of the pagans by the word of faith and to lead them to the peacefulness of faith. For that part of theirs seemed stronger, because on the side of pagan error they burned against the Church through the savagery of tortures, more than those who, with invented friendships, deceitfully arranged snares for their brethren. But Judas pursued the army of Bacchides as far as Azotus, just as the preachers of the Gospel strive to turn the fury of the pagans into the flame of holy love. For Azotus is interpreted as “the fire of a paternal uncle.” That love, which burned in the hearts of the patriarchs, can be so called, which the zeal of the teachers longs to shape in the minds of the children, so that what is written of Elijah may come to pass: “That he may turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the unbelieving to the wisdom of the Just, to prepare for the Lord a perfect people” (Luke 1:17).
9:16 And those who were in the left horn saw that the right horn was crushed, etc.
When the right horn, which was stronger, fell, the left horn pursues Judah from behind; because, with the grave persecution of the pagans somewhat put to sleep, the heretics, with a misguided (left-sided) intention, by deceitfully plotting against the holy Church and secretly wounding it as if from behind, by no means cease to persecute it. Therefore it follows:
9:17 And the battle grew intense and many fell wounded from among them, etc.
The battle grows intense when the pagans, by open persecution, and the heretics, by deceitful seduction, assail the Church of Christ. And many fall wounded from both these and those, when the wicked, envying the good, fall stricken by the weapons of their own hatred in great numbers: they are forced by the torments inflicted by the wicked to blaspheme, which very often happens where the common people are left without the help of their teachers. Therefore it is added:
9:18 And Judas fell, and the others fled.
For when the shepherds are slaughtered, the flocks are driven to flee in different directions, as it is written in the prophet Zechariah in the foretelling of the passion of Christ: “Strike,” he says, “the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered” (Zech. 13:7). The evangelist brought this forward as testimony in the Lord’s passion, where, when He Himself was arrested by the crowds, all the disciples, leaving Him, fled; (Matt. 26:56 and Mark 14:50) because what came first in the Head must necessarily be followed in the Body.
9:19 And Jonathan and Simon took Judas their brother and buried him in the tomb of their fathers in the city of Modin, etc.
The fall of death’s historical ruin in good teachers cannot pass without their disciples’ sorrow: therefore it is said that all the people of Israel had wept for Judas with great weeping (9:20). Something similar to this is also found written in the passion of Stephen: Devout men took care of Stephen and made great weeping over him (Acts 8:2). But although the departure of their own touches the minds of the faithful with compassion, nonetheless they are not without the comfort they possess concerning the future rest of souls through sure hope. For the saints grieve in some manner in the pain of their body, but they rejoice at least in spirit over the reward assigned to them in the heavenly kingdom. Where the Savior, preaching in the Gospel to his disciples about the greatness of his passion and the certain reward of his triumph, says: Blessed are you when men shall insult you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my name’s sake. Rejoice in that day and exult, for your reward is great in heaven (Matt. 5:11-12).
9:22 And so forth are the other words of the wars of Judas and of the virtues which he performed, etc.
There are many wars and virtues which the saints accomplish, or rather the Lord in them, the knowledge of all of which no one can grasp, but they endure only in the recognition of their author. Therefore, concerning them the Lord says in the Gospel: My sheep hear my voice, and I, the Lord, know them (Jn. 10:27); and again: Rejoice and be glad, he says, because your names are written in heaven; for, he says, even the hairs of your head are all numbered, and not a hair of your head shall perish (Luke 10:30). Of this, it is also written elsewhere: The Lord knows those who are his (Matt. 10:33); and again: He alone knows the hearts of all the sons of Adam (Luke 21:34). Therefore in the psalm the Prophet says: Who counts the multitude of the stars and calls all of them by name (Ps. 147:4); and again: Wonderful, he says, is the Lord in his saints; he himself will give strength and power to his people (Ps. 68:35). Therefore it is necessary that each one may say, and all may say: Blessed be the Lord who alone has done great marvels, and blessed be the name of his majesty forever, and unto the age of ages (Ps. 72:18).
9:23 And it came to pass, after the death of Judas, that wicked men arose in all the borders of Israel, etc.
In the earlier passages, where the death of Mattathias is mentioned, it is found written that he died in the one hundred and forty-sixth year. In his place his son Judas arose and fought the battle of Israel. Likewise, in what follows it is written that Jonathan, after Judas his brother, took up the leadership. After him Alcimus, in the one hundred and fifty-third year, ordered the walls of the holy house and the works of the prophets to be destroyed, and he died at that time. Josephus, however, relates that after Alcimus, who is also Joachim, having held the leadership of the priesthood for four years, entered upon the priesthood, the people of Judah opposed him; and he says that after he had exercised the leadership of the priesthood for three years, he died. In all this it is understood that Judas, after the death of Mattathias his father, bore the leadership of the people for seven years; during which, for four years he expelled by battle the generals of Antiochus from Judea, and, cleansing the temple from the images of idols, he then restored the ancestral laws to his fellow citizens, in the one hundred and fourth [first] Olympiad, and therefore he received the leadership of the priesthood and completed three years in it. Therefore also in the Chronicles it is found that Jonathan, in the sixth year of Demetrius Soter, received the leadership of the Jews, which he held for nineteen years, that is, ten years after the death of his father Mattathias, in the one hundred and fifty-fifth Olympiad. Therefore that harassment by wicked men, which after the death of Judas troubled the sons of Israel, mystically signifies that, when good teachers are taken away, the faithful hearers experience no small loss, since, once the opportunity is seized, not only pagans but also heretics weary the Church of God with grievous persecutions. From this Paul, when he was about to go up to Jerusalem, having called together the elders of the Ephesians, among other things said: Now behold, I know that you all, among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more. Wherefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all. For I have not shrunk from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. Take notice to yourselves and to the whole flock, in which the Holy Spirit has placed you as bishops to rule the Church of God, which he acquired with his own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will enter in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among yourselves will arise men speaking wicked things, in order to draw away disciples after them. Therefore be watchful, remembering that for three years I did not cease, night and day, with tears, to caution every one of you. And now I hand over you to God and to the word of his grace, who is able to build up and to give an inheritance among those who are sanctified (Acts 20:25-32).
9:24 In those days there arose a very great famine, etc.
When the famine arose, the whole region surrendered itself to Bacchides: because, with preachers failing on account of a famine of the word of God, from which souls ought to be nourished, for, according to the verdict of Truth: “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4), some, forced by torments, and others enticed by empty persuasions, deliver themselves from the number of ministers over to the nations. These search out the friends of the true Judah, whom, as Scripture bears witness, all his brothers praise; and when they have found them, they mock them and inflict punishment on them. Everyone who reads ecclesiastical history knows that this interpretation came to pass in the earliest times among the worshipers of Christ in the Church. But also the spiritual forces of wickedness, which serve the will of the ancient enemy, when they see the souls of men lacking the bread of the word of God, strive to lead them into error and draw them into vices, so that from the friends of Judah they may make prey for Satan and turn the vessels of God into fuel for eternal fire.
9:27 And there was great tribulation in Israel, such as had not been, etc.
For after a prophet was no longer seen in Israel, great tribulation arose; because, when teaching ceases among the people, the scourge of sins is stirred up, and from there God’s vengeance goes forth against them. Therefore it is necessary that the teachers of the Church be zealous in teaching those under them, and that the hearers be attentive in listening to the word of God. Therefore also it is said through Solomon: Good instruction will give grace (Prov. 13:25). The lips of the wise keep them. Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty; where there are many crops, there is evident strength (Prov. 14:4). For the good there will be abundance in every good work. Mercy and truth prepare good things (Prov. 14:22).
9:28 And all the friends of Judas were gathered together and said to Jonathan, etc.
What does it mean that, after the death of Judas, Jonathan is read to have been chosen by the people to the priesthood, to fill the place of his brother, if not that, when the first teachers of the Church depart through martyrdom, their successors, by the governing grace of the Holy Spirit, are appointed in their place? The effectiveness of this governance is shown by the meaning of the name Jonathan: for it is interpreted “their dove,” as has been shown above, bringing close the preachers of the word so that they may worthily bear the office of their leadership among the people of God and provide fitting defense to their subjects against their enemies. But just as against the earlier, so also against the later teachers of the people of God, cruel darts are hurled by unbelievers and heretics, and the savage hostility of enemies opposes them. Therefore it follows:
9:31 And Jonathan took upon himself the leadership at that time, etc.
Jonathan fled, as the battle was drawing near, into the desert of Tekoa, because, when the persecution of the enemies blazes up, holy teachers, together with their followers, by their prayers penetrate the secret court of heaven, so that by calling upon Almighty God there they may find help, whom with the full intention of their heart they ask to come to their aid. For Tekoa is interpreted as “trumpet” or “clang.” But what is added:
9:33 And they sat down by the water of the lake Asphar,
signifies that they devote themselves to the tears of regret, so that they may more easily strive to obtain the support of Almighty God, when they seek refuge not elsewhere, but solely in His mercy. Therefore Asphar is interpreted as “he sat” or “ground,” because when the heart is healed of vices and is pierced with regret, the moisture of tears is poured forth more abundantly from the eyes, to provoke the mercy of God.
9:34 And Bacchides became aware of it, and on the sabbath day he himself came, and all his army, across the Jordan, etc.
What does it mean that Bacchides came with his army against the Jews on the sabbath day across the Jordan, if not that the persecutors of Christians, envying the peace and serenity of the Church, strive, by breaking in with tumult, to disturb the sacrament of baptism and to overturn the condition of the faith? For this purpose they call the Nabuthaeans, their friends, to their aid, because they associate heretics and ill‑inclined men with themselves for the crushing of the faithful. For the Nabuthaeans, as some affirm, are interpreted as “profaners,” according to the wickedness of their heart; and heretics can rightly be called profaners in this passage, for by their teaching they do not praise the truth of sound faith, but, according to the wickedness of their heart, they bring forth the falsity of error. Therefore also in the Law the prophets who dreamed vain things and prophesied lies were, according to the judgment of the Lord, condemned to death; and it is most certain that this happens to heretics, who through useless schisms and sects separate themselves from God and, through error and blasphemy, join themselves to the Devil.
9:34 And the sons of Jambri went out from Madaba and seized John and everything he had, etc.
By the sons of Jambri, those who are devoted to the pleasures of this world are represented, who are said to go out from Madaba, that is, from the birth of the Lord, when they strive, without any change, to indulge the carnal desire which they have contracted originally on the side of the flesh. These therefore seize John and everything he had and went away possessing them, when they draw someone from the sons of the Church, washed in the water of baptism and reborn by the grace of God, over to themselves through unlawful desires, and by corrupting the good pursuits with which he served God, they pervert them to the allurements of pleasures. But Jonathan and Simon, desiring to avenge these things, overthrew and killed the bridegroom who had taken as wife
9:37 the daughter of one of the great princes of Canaan in great ambition,
together with all his display and his friends: when holy teachers rescue from their evil intention some of those whom they see with all their effort to be eagerly clinging to the pleasures of the world and inclined to luxury (for whom the prince of this age, to deceive them, also sets before them those who burn with carnal desire, drawing them into his fellowship), and in them they slay, with the sword of the divine word, that which was harmful and opposed to the divine commandments. For such a victory well suits those who have learned from the heavenly Master to love their enemies and to do good to those who hate them; to pray for those who persecute and slander them, to bless those who curse and not to curse in return. They receive their spoils when they convert all their efforts and activities to ecclesiastical use. Therefore it is rightly added:
9:41 And the weddings were turned into mourning, and the sound of their music into weeping.
For the holy preachers teach them to change the empty joy of the world into the mourning of repentance, and vain jests and useless songs into divine psalmody with regret of tears, those whom they seize as a saving prey and utterly slay from a carnal life and from the deeds of the old man. And therefore they return to the bank of the Jordan, when they lead them to the condition of the Christian religion and to the reception of holy baptism, so that there the evangelical rite may be fulfilled, for the sake of which all this labor was undertaken.
9:43 And Bacchides heard of it and came on the sabbath day as far as the bank of the Jordan with great force, etc.
When the persecutors of the faithful, on the spiritual sabbath, on which the worshipers of Christ themselves withdraw from earthly desires to hear the word of God and to sing praise to the Lord, stirred up by envy strive to disturb them, and attempt to profane the sacrament of baptism by secular power, the mystical Jonathan urges his followers to spiritual combat; that is, that by patience of mind and strength of faith they may fight in opposition against their enemies, not that by fighting or striking they might harm them, but that by patience and gentleness, enduring and repaying with benefits, they may conquer them more effectively, according to that saying of the Savior, who said to his disciples: You have heard that it was said to those of old: An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth; but I say to you not to resist evil; but if anyone strikes you on your right cheek, offer him the other also; and to him who wishes to struggle with you in court and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well (Matt. 5:38-42). And again: In your patience you shall possess your souls (Luke 21:29). Therefore Paul also says: If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for in doing this you will heap coals of fire upon his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Rom. 12:20-21). By such offerings God is propitiated, who grants victory to his servants and lays their enemies low beneath their feet. Therefore, it is written later that Jonathan made peace with Bacchides, and that Bacchides, having sworn that he would do him no harm all the days of his life, restored to him the captives he had previously taken from the land of Judah. (9:71-72)
9:54 And in the one hundred and fifty-third year, in the second month, Alcimus ordered the walls of the house to be destroyed.
We have said above that Alcimus, a defiler of the law and a traitor to his country, signifies the heretics, who do not fear to profane the Testament of God with wicked sects and to disturb the Church of God; he now destroys the walls of the holy inner house and is said to demolish the works of the prophets, which can fittingly be applied to those same heretics, who not only corrupt the oracles of the prophets with empty traditions, but also strive, in whatever way they can, to violate and dispute the bulwark of faith (which is kept in the hearts of believers with a mind intent on the observance of the mystical law of God). But let us see what follows in common:
9:56a In that time Alcimus was struck down and his undertakings were ruined, etc.
For although heretics may boast in empty pride, although for a time they may seem to prevail over the faithful through the support of the powerful of this world, yet by the judgment of Almighty God they will in the end be overthrown, and the strength of their perverse will shall be dissolved, when they are unable to bring to completion what they wish to accomplish. Nor is it even permitted that anything be ordered from their own house, that is, from their following manner of life, once the sentence of the heavenly Judge is already awaiting; instead, what is said through the Psalmist will be fulfilled: “May the Lord destroy all deceitful lips and the boastful tongue. Who have said: We will magnify our tongue; our lips are our own; who is Lord over us?” (Ps. 12:3-4).
9:56b And Alcimus died at that time with great torment.
For when heretics persist in their wickedness until the end of this present life, the second death follows, and they shall be sent, according to the sentence of the Apocalypse of John, into the lake of eternal fire, and they shall be tormented with fire and sulphur in the sight of the holy angels and in the sight of the Lamb, and the smoke of their torments shall rise for ever and ever, and they shall have no rest day or night, those who adored the beast and its image, and they gnaw their tongues for pain, and they blaspheme the Lord of heaven because of the pains of their wounds, and they did not do fruitful penance for their deeds, because they were unwilling, while it was permitted, to purge themselves beforehand from their errors. (Rev. 14:9-11)
9:57 And Bacchides saw that Alcimus was dead, and he returned to the king, and the land was silent for two years.
From the persecution of the unbelievers and the harassment of the heretics, the Church had peace for a time, according to that which is read in the Acts of the Apostles: “The Church indeed throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being edified, walking in the fear of the Lord, and was filled with the comfort of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 9:31) But because peace and security in this present life will not be long-lasting and enduring, the following statement makes this clear, where it is written:
9:58 And all the wicked thought, saying, etc.
All the enemies envy the peace and quiet of the Church of God. Therefore, whatever arises with happy success for the good, they seek the help of the wicked in order to harm it. This is signified by the letter of Bacchides, secretly sent to his associates who were in Judea so that they might seize Jonathan and those who were with him in Judea; because the savage persecutors from without, when they cannot overthrow the confessors of Christ by tortures, construct snares from within through false brothers, who appear to remain in the Church, so that those whom the former could not destroy by the sword, the latter may deceive by trickery. Therefore the Apostle Paul also frequently complains in his Epistles (Gal. 2) of the deceit of false brothers, who slipped in and perverted the truth of the Gospel, but they could not prevail, because their plan became known; for a good teacher’s diligence acts so that he may know how to provide for the people subject to him and to guard them against the cunning of the perverse.
9:61 And he seized, he says, the men of the region who were leaders of the army, and they were being put to death by Bacchides.
What else are these but those who, content with the surface of the legal letter, wish to observe the Pentateuch of the Law not spiritually but carnally, in circumcision and in words; whom the teacher of the Gentiles reproves when writing to the Galatians, where he says: O foolish Galatians! who has bewitched you? How is it that you are turning again to the weak and poor elements, to which you wish to be enslaved once more? You observe days, and months, and seasons, and years. I fear lest perhaps I have labored among you in vain. You were running well; who has hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion is not from him who calls you: for a little leaven corrupts the whole mass; I have confidence in you in the Lord that you will think nothing else; but whoever is troubling you will bear the judgment, whoever he may be. (Gal. 3:1-3 and parts of Gal. 5:9-10) But with such persons, having been destroyed by the deceit of the ancient enemy in the death of the soul, let us see what follows:
9:62 And Jonathan withdrew, and Simon, and those who were with him, etc.
What does it mean that Jonathan, when Bacchides caused an uproar, gathered himself with his men into Bethbessen, which is in the desert, and rebuilt its ruins, strengthening it, if not that holy preachers, when they see the power of persecutors prevailing so that they cannot go out openly with the word of preaching, for a time withdraw into hidden places, so that there they may devote themselves to fasting and prayers, and whatever, through carelessness while mingling with the crowds, had slipped back in the certainty of their own life, may, being set apart through diligent good study, be renewed again in full? For Bethbesse is interpreted “house of the flowering mouth.” For the mouth blossoms when it resonates with prayers and psalmody and the hymns of God its companion. This also appears to be what the Lord commands the disciples in the Gospel, when he says: “When they persecute you in one city, flee into another” (Matt. 10:23). Therefore the Truth himself, when the Jews were plotting to kill him, no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went into a region near the desert, into a city called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples (Jn. 11:54); and elsewhere it is read that he went out to the mountain to pray, where he spent the night in the prayer of God (Luke 6:12). Therefore also Paul and Barnabas, when they were preaching the word of God in Iconium (Acts 14), and an assault was made by the Gentiles and Jews with their rulers, to mistreat them with insults and stones and to stone them, understanding this, fled to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra and Derbe, and the whole region round about, and there they preached the gospel. But the hatred of the ancient enemy allows no place in the world to become safe from ambushes. Therefore also Bacchides leads an army against Bethbessen to attack it, and does not allow the worshippers of God to live in peace.
9:65 And Jonathan left his brother Simon in the city and went out into the region, etc.
What does it mean that Jonathan left his brother Simon in the city and himself went out into the region to pursue his adversaries, if not that holy teachers labor inwardly at the virtues, and yet outwardly do not cease to fight against enemies with the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit? But these enemies of the Church are not uniform; rather, they are many through the various kinds of persecutions: Jews, pagans, heretics, and schismatics, as well as false Christians, who manufacture disasters to harm the good, as has been shown above. This is also not inappropriately set forth by the meanings of the names themselves in their interpretations. For Odaren means “his generation,” and Phaseron means “confusion.” Therefore, through Odaren and his brothers those can be indicated who, under the unity of Catholic confession, pretend that the same hidden mystery belongs to the good and the simple, yet by their evil deeds show themselves to be different from their company; of whom the Apostle says: “They profess that they know God, but in deeds they deny Him” (Titus 1:16). Through Phaseron, however, the others are designated who differ from the unity of the Church not only in religion but also in the profession of faith, and such people never cease to prepare schisms, quarrels, and calamities for true Christians, but their conspiracies and deceits are turned back upon themselves by spiritual leaders, and they do not allow the soldiers of Christ to be harmed by their frauds.
9:72 And he turned and went back to his own land, and no longer continued to come into his borders, etc.
With the storms of war ceasing, Jonathan goes out to Michmash, and dwelling there he judges the people and exterminates the wicked from Israel; because, when the wars of the wicked have been quieted, holy preachers strive to restore what previously, on account of the impending storms of battles, was proclaimed concerning the morality of their subjects, but they also in every way labor that, by good morals, they may render to their Creator the due of just service. For Michmash, historically, is a large village, which to this day is shown within the borders of Aelia, retaining its ancient name, and distant nine miles from it, near the village of Ramah. For Michmash is interpreted “village of the tribes” or “decree,” by which, namely, the holy Church is designated, where God is diligently served every day, and where, according to the decrees of the law of God, just judgments are carefully carried out by learned members of the faithful, and the wickedness of the perverse is utterly exterminated from the true Israel.