1 Maccabees 2 - Mattathias of a priestly family and his
five sons—John, Simon, Judas, Eleazar, and Jonathan—are all desolate because of
the shame to Israel this desecration of their Temple has brought. The king’s
commissioners come to their town, Modein, and approach Mattathias about being
the first to comply with what the Jews consider an “apostasy” so as to make a
“good example” to others, who are also being asked to conform their religious
practices to what the Seleucid rulers demand.
They promise
him riches, but Mattathias refuses to comply. “Heaven preserve us from
forsaking the Law and its obserances . . . We will not swerve from our own
religion either to right or to left” (2:20-22).
Furthermore,
when another man does step forward to comply, Mattathias is overcome with
righteous fury and “slaughters” him AND the king’s representative. Then he, his
sons and other similarly-sentimented go with them into the desert.
A detachment
of soldiers goes after them and finds a group. That group decides it is fitting for them to die for the testimony they
wish to give, but they do not fight. They say, Let us all die innocent; let
heaven and earth bear witness that you are massacring us with no pretense of
justice” (2:37).
They are all killed
with their wives, children and cattle on the Sabbath.
News of this
reaches Mattathas. They decide that if they pursue this non-violent resistance policy,
they all will be destroyed. So they decide if anyone attacks them on the Sabbath,
“whoever he may be, we will resist him; we must not all be killed” (2:41).
They are joined by some Hasidaeans
(devout who had resisted Hellenization even before the time of the Maccabees). They organize themselves into an armed
force and start to go around forcibly circumcising boys, overthrowing the
altars and hunting down “upstarts.” The time of turmoil is the time when the godly should have a
“burning fervour” (2:50) for the Law.
Men must
remember their ancestors and try to live up to their example. The heroes are
set before them—Abraham, Joseph, Phinehas, Joshua, Caleb, David, Elijah,
Hananiah, Azariah and Mishael, Daniel—“Do not fear the threats of the sinner,
all his brave show must come to the dunghill and the worms” (2:62). Mattathias,
at the end of his time, appoints his son Simeon to lead them and Judas Maccabaeus
to be their general. He dies in 166 BC.
1 Timothy 3 – The chief “elder” must be a
man of “impeccable character” (3:2). He can’t have been married more than
once; he must be “temperate, discreet and courteous, hospitable and a good
teacher, not a heavy drinker, nor hot-tempered, but kind and peaceable” (3:3).
He must lead his own family well and bring his children up well. He should not
be a new convert, and he should have a good reputation outside the church as
well.
The
requirements for becoming a Deacon are also gone over in some detail. But here
women candidates are also mentioned – a little surprising after what was
written earlier in the letter. They must be respectable and reliable.
Paul
writes that is hoping he will be with them soon, but he wants them to know his
thoughts on these matters in case he should be delayed.
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