1 Maccabees is a book from the Apocrypha, meaning that it was not considered to be inspired by the Jews. The Protestant church follows their example, but the Catholic church (as well as some other Christian groups) do not, meaning that they include it in their Bible. Here are some of my thoughts after having read the book of 1 Maccabees.
On a personal level, I feel like I understand the Jewish people in the New Testament a little better. After all, we end the Old Testament with the Jewish people having rebuilt their city and the temple, at least to some degree. Then we turn the page to the New Testament, and in doing so, we skip almost 400 years of history! While we can read the New Testament, and understand why they dislike being in subordination to another people group, in this instance the Romans, I do not believe that we can fully understand just how much they hate it. I am speaking here purely about the Jews in Jerusalem and the surrounding area. There were other Jews who were “Hellenized,” meaning that they took on the Greek culture.
1 Maccabees gives us the Jewish perspective on the events of that 400-year period, known as the Intertestamental period. Certain Greek rulers, namely of the Seleucid kingdom, desecrated the temple at Jerusalem by sacrificing a pig to Zeus on its alter. A pig was considered by the Jews to be an unclean animal, and it would never have been used as a sacrifice to Yahweh. And of course, a sacrifice to any god other than Yahweh would not have been tolerated either. This led to revolts and ongoing fighting.
The book also tells us about how these oppressive people groups would appoint certain people as the high priest for the Jews. These “high priests” could be people who had no right to that title, and they were always people who would side with the oppressors. This led to a major dislike for anyone who helped other oppressors, for example, look at how they viewed tax collectors. Of course, the tax collectors were also known to take extra money and keep it for themselves.
I also find that I can relate to the Jews of this time. Today in America, the church is facing a similar circumstance. The Seleucids, and others at time, tried to get the Jews to tolerate and even practice other religions. Some of the Jews capitulated, and followed the culture. Others, however, started a revolt and fought back. The cry in America is the same. We are told to be tolerant of other people’s beliefs, and it is not enough to say that we still respect them and love them. We cannot say that they are wrong or are going to hell simply because they do not believe in Jesus or follow His commands. Like the Jews, we too have some people who follow the culture, and celebrate sin, which they claim is nothing more than diversity. And then we have people who stand up for their beliefs, do not bow the knee, and pay for it.
I am worried that we may end up having a Maccabean type revolt on our hands at some point. I do not know if it would be the right thing to do or not. We can see in history where Christians have fought for religious freedom before, but that does not make it right. Ultimately, I suppose it is up to the Holy Spirit’s guidance as to what we should do at any given time.
