Day 74
1 Maccabees 1 - 4
Bible Time Period:
Maccabean Revolt
Mattathias and his sons stood up against the threats of Hellenization: Help me resist worldliness in the culture and
follow only you.
Period Preview
The Babylonian exile came to an end when Cyrus, King of Persia, came to power
and freed the Judeans to return and rebuild the Temple. Those who made the journey south did so in
three stages. Under the leadership of
Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah, they rebuilt the Temple and the Jerusalem walls
and learned from God’s Law. At the close
of our reading, we saw the people confess their sins and make another covenant –
a binding agreement – with the Lord.
After this “remnant” of Jews returned to the land, they
lived in relative peace for a century and were quite faithful to the
Covenant. Around 336 BC, Alexander the
Great swept across Asia, conquering nations and extending the rule of a new
power, Greece. He aimed to unify the
world under Greek language and culture – a process we know as hellenization.
The practice continued to a varying extent under his successors and reached its
height under Antiochus Epiphanes, who came to power in 175 BC. He began a policy of radical hellenization
under which he determined to eradicate the Jewish religion. This sets the scene
for our next period: Maccabean
Revolt. The time period begins with the
actual revolt of the Maccabees and takes us up to the end of the Old
Testament.
The crowing event of this period comes in chapter 4 with the
purification of the Temple three years after its desecration. According to the Talmud, oil that was only
enough for one lamp lasted miraculously eight days. The event is commemorated today as Hanukkah –
the Festival of Lights.
Today's Reading
Commentary
Discussion Boards Day 74
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Art
Mattathias Followers - Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld
Mattathias Followers - Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld
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