Alright, this fifth and final lesson on our Bible study on Maccabees is entitled Wrath Turns to Mercy. Why I entitled it like that will be very very clear very soon. So hang tight. We're looking at the second half of Second Maccabees that would be chapters eight through fifteen.
So last lesson just to tie it in a little bit we saw the Persecutions and the Tortures, Torments or the Martyrdoms that had been taking place by the hand at the feet of Enchokus IV Epiphanes Or as people called them, Epimonese out of his mind. So it's really gruesome kind of stomach turning events going on there But it all plays a very important role leading up to the revolt of Judas, Speeding in here in chapter eight. So remember Judas had said before in previous episodes, Judas Maccabees, Maccabees means the hammer Which is interesting because a hammer is usually for a tool used for construction for building not really a weapon But really there's kind of a connection there because he's the hammer because he's hammering down his foes But he's also the hammer because he's rebuilding Judah. He's rebuilding the temple reconstructing literally But he's reconsecrating it rededicating it so the hammer can be used for warfare But I like the thought the reflection that the hammers also used for reconstruction rebuilding new beginnings So in that sense, he's the hammer So he's the big Mac as I joke before and he's gonna lead this revolt There's nothing discussed about Mattathias father That's all from First Maccabees So again remember First Maccabees covers the entire story of the Maccabees and revolt leading up to the Hasmonean dynasty and here in Second Maccabees We're going into a lot more detail about the persecutions about the martyrdoms and then Judas here his campaign in chapters 8 through 15 He is they're they're highlighted against Nicanor We're gonna see Nicanor is the main villain that is consistent throughout this story leading up to his death and Judas is not dead by the time We get to Second Maccabees So again just quickly first Maccabees is the broad view the wide-angle look second Maccabees is the narrow zoomed-in look And so that's what we're looking for that's what we're seeing here today now There is a lot of military history going on here a lot of campaigns campaign after campaign after campaign battle after battle I'm gonna try to summarize those as we get to it bringing out some of the important themes one of which is the theme of a Re echo of the conquest right Judas is as we've said before in previous lessons.
He's a new Joshua figure He's a new judges figure. He's a new David figure And that's all important because the whole idea of God's people conquering the land and sanctifying it for his name is really taking place here That's what Judas is doing reconquering the land and then sanctifying it for the holy name of our Lord So I'm gonna make some various connections for youth in this text with Alisha and Azakiah and Joshua who's mentioned explicitly So we'll see all that stuff as we go along And I also want to summarize the campaigns and the military history and battles as briefly as I'm able to do because I'm kind of long-winded Sometimes I want to summarize that because there's a lot of great theology still to talk about last lesson We saw some theological religious points that was not found in first Maccabees such as martyrdom Subsitutionary atonement suffering to obtain mercy for oneself or others a resurrection from the dead creation out of nothing all those names we talked about last lesson We have some which is awesome like I love second Maccabees But now we have some really great theological points about prayers for the dead and prayers by the dead and so it's really good Catholic stuff I mean this is everything true about Catholicism is found in kernel form explicitly implicitly in the Old Testament And so it's really important to understand that and I'm way ahead of myself right now But just to tee it up nicely for you. I hope it's really important to understand that what Catholic practices Catholic practices are biblical and the Jewish Observations here of and beliefs of the resurrection of the dead and how that's tied in for praying for the saints that they may be They may rise again It's all here in scripture and so it's important for Catholics to know that and I would also say for Protestants to know that as well Even even if Protestants do not accept first and second Maccabees as biblical They have to accept the fact that this practice of praying for the dead and receiving prayers by the dead is a Jewish custom I said just part of the Jewish culture and the Jewish religious mindset So you don't accept these books as inspired they definitely tell us the history that what the Jews were doing and thinking and practicing before the time of Christ But again, I'm ahead of myself. I'm getting really excited I love this particular section of scripture as hope we can tell and without any further ado Let's just jump into chapter eight.
This is when Judas the big Mac. He begins his revolt now There's a segue here that's really important I touched upon at the end of the last lesson and various commentators will say it is one In fact, I have a quote for you from your new bar Bible But I want you to see the flow none of these stories are erratic or random There is a logical flow a golden thread from one event to another So if you remember back in chapter six towards the end of the last lesson We talked about the martyrdoms not just of the seven brothers specifically beginning with Eliezer and there's other martyrdoms that are just Just got wrenching and turn your stomach is brutal stuff in any case moving beyond that In fact, that's so funny because at one particular point even the author says in talking about all these gruesome punishments And it's chapter seven verse 42 Let this be enough then about the eating of sacrifices and extreme tortures and you kind of feel that way as the reader like yeah I can't take any more of this. Well, in any case zooming in on Eliezer. Remember, he's a 90 year old very righteous very holy well respected scribe And he is tempted by the Greek officials to say look you don't really have to eat this pork Just pretend like you're eating it and he says no for a variety of reasons I'm not going to in my old age disgrace my old age.
I'm not going to go to a foreign religion I'm gonna face God here soon enough. I live a long life. I'm gonna face judgment here soon He says all this stuff He also says in places like chapter six verse 28 Excuse me He does he want to leave to the young a noble example of how to die a good death willingly and nobly for the revered and holy laws And this is repeated again at the end of the chapter So he wants to leave a good example for the young that flows perfectly into chapter seven where seven young brothers, okay They are inspired Contextually here they're inspired by people like Eliezer to give up their lives to suffer and to endure these torments as a prayerful So prayerful sacrifice to the Lord why so that with the Lord would show mercy to Israel So chapter 7 verse 37 for example the youngest brother says I like my brothers give up body and life with the laws of our fathers Appealing to God to show mercy soon to our nation and by afflictions and plagues to make you confess that he alone is God That's a really important verse. I want you to underline that not just for the point I'm making right now about the golden thread of the story But later on I just I'm gonna come back to this because the younger brother says to Antioch is the fourth year God will make you confess that he alone is God so we're gonna come to that in just a little bit So Eliezer wants to leave an example to the young that's chapter 6 verse 28 the young seven brothers are inspired by this event They offer their own lives as a specific prayer that the Lord will show mercy to Israel and that brings us here to chapter 8 In chapter 8 Judas comes along on the scene in order to lead his rebellion against the Greeks So it says chapter 8 verse 1 Judas who is also called Macabass or the hammer in his companions secretly Inter the villages and summon their kismen and enlisted those who had continued in the Jewish faith and the gathered about 6,000 men they beg the Lord to look upon the people who are oppressed by all and have pity on the temple which had been profaned by Ungodly men and here's the point verse 3 and following and to have mercy on the city Which was being destroyed and about to be leveled to the ground and to you can underline this if you have your Bible to heed the blood that cried Out to him talk about that momentarily here the righteous innocent blood that cries out to God and to remember also The lawless destruction of innocent babies and to and the blasphemies committed against his name and to show his hatred of evil and verse 5 It is worth highlighting as well and as soon as Macabass God has army organized the gentles the Gentiles could not withstand him for the wrath of God Had turned to mercy and there's the title of today's lesson Okay, the wrath of God turning to mercy, but there's a flow first Eliezer leaves him gives an example to the young The young follow his example and they pray to God to show mercy on Israel and then boom in response to that in response to their prayers Judas is sent by God to lead the successful revolt wrath has turned to mercy and that's what this Navar quote here has for you from the New Bible it says as the sacred author reads events Judas wins his victories because God has he's harked into the blood that cried out to him And I'll talk about that again in a second that is he has accepted the offering made by the martyrs God's wrath has turned to mercy So I think this is really beautiful to keep in mind for this whole book What the what the sacred author is doing here inspired by the Holy Spirit is to show the sequence and it's so relevant for us Why am I spending you know ten minutes on this particular point?
It's because it's totally relevant for us in our own lives If especially if we're older not even if we're older like Eliezer was we need to leave a noble example for the young in our communities Whether it's just getting up on time to go to church or go to work and raising kids right and doing the right thing living a virtuous Godly life all of that and sometimes we have to give up our lives literally Maybe not that might not be the case but in many other ways we give up our lives And we offer up our sufferings so that we others would be inspired and they would be inspired and we all do this and or that God would show mercy on us our families our church and the nation so what they're experiencing here to the extreme level of blood Persecution which does happen in the world today in the Far East and in the Middle East There's all kinds of individuals who are literally dying spilling their blood for the faith in the western world that may happen soon perhaps I mean it wouldn't surprise me because that's what Satan does he always tries to kill God's faithful ones But nevertheless even now we can follow Understand and follow their example that we could do the same thing in our own lives That's why I get really excited about it because it's all relevant It's all absolutely relevant to us that we can pray for others and we ask that God shows us mercy and that we are an example to other people Young and old alike you see all right. That's why I get real excited now What about this point about the blood of the innocent? I told you to highlight that in verse 3 they pray that God would heed the blood that cries out to him This is the blood of the innocent that goes even back to the story of Abel Cain and Abel how the blood of Abel cried out to God So there are various sins that cry out to God for vengeance The first is this the murder of the innocent and so I just wanted to share that with you the connection with them with Abel But also all the martyrs their innocent blood. It's a witness the spilt in fact That's what martyrdom is right in Greek is witness So that spilled blood is itself a witness that cries out to God for vengeance And there are other sins that do cry out to God for vengeance I just decided for the sake of completion here to give you the catechism paragraph 1867 Which explains the catechical tradition also recalls that there are sins that cry out to heaven Which is number one we've been talking about the blood of Abel and by extension I would say any of the blood of the martyrs and certainly the blood of Jesus Christ right He's the most innocent of them all so the blood of Abel the blood of innocence the sin of the sodomites the cry of the Oppressed in Egypt the cry of the former widow in orphan and injustice to the wage earner Okay, so we can't talk about all that I just wanted you to know there are certain sins that are so grave because and we'll talk about this actually later the difference between Grave or mortal sins versus venial sins as we pray for those who have died that's coming up pretty soon So hang tight but right now these sins are so bad And so the prayer is God listen to the blood that cries out to you like the blood of Abel Then this is all a foreshadowing to the blood of Jesus Christ So that way you would show mercy on us you would show mercy in the Lord hears the prayer So Judas comes on the scene as a result of the prayer of the martyrs who offer up their blood that God would show mercy Judas is an answer to prayer so God's punishment now this ending and his mercy is being poured out in the leadership of Judas And that's another connection I want to tie in with what we've seen before I've been spending a lot now granted at the time of this recording When I'm teaching this class, we're in a very important election season 2024 just to date the lesson here But it's a very very important election for many reasons I'm not gonna get into all the politics we're gonna study scripture here But what I can absolutely say is that leadership is either going to destroy or it will help or build up society If you have bad leaders, everything's gonna go to pot and the people are gonna fall into sin And then there's gonna be the natural consequences that people send and then God's wrath comes in the form of just Again, there are many different forms It's always you know, just punishment, it's discipline of God's people as we talked about last lesson Remember just to point out this line here if you go back and re-reach chapter 6 verse 12 and following The author gives a little aside and explains what God's punishment is in the form of discipline But my point is that leaders really steer things in the right or the wrong direction Think back to O'Naius the righteous high priest when he was in charge the people were good by and large, right?
And then Hyliodorus comes in to rob and plunder the temple and God defends the temple if you remember the story We just talked about last time so he got defense the temple Hyliodorus is knocked on his rear end by three heavenly angelic figures Whatever they might be remembered I speculated and wondered if this was a vestige or hint of the Trinity, which is possible Go back to lesson we listen if you need to but nevertheless God defends his temple because the leadership was good and that helped the general populace Then what happens afterwards is Jason and Minnalau so they basically kill O'Naius the third They oust them from power by bribery and corruption and they bring the gymnasiums in the Greek culture and the Greek Idolatry all of it and then everything goes really really badly That's when all the persecutions and suffering really begins because leadership brought this horrible thing into their culture Now Judas comes in the form of answered prayer and once he comes into power I mean granted it's there's military warfare going on and all this stuff is happening But nevertheless he's leading the people and rebellion against the Greeks good things are happening again So I can't help it just to reflect a little bit and this is me you know a little tirade It's just really important who you have in charge that that's my point here put in good leaders and things will go better for you Alright, that's again end of my tirade here. That's fine. Alright, so moving on now This is all Judas beginning as revolt and the reason how and this my whole point here in the past 15 minutes is to explain how Judas comes Into his position if to the answered prayers of the martyrs Alright, so then point B in your notes then just to summarize the king This is still Antiochus the fourth at this time Antiochus worth epiphanies which because remember he thought he was God manifested He has his awful super arrogant hubris He thought he was a manifestation of God people called him a madman Which he was so he sets up a couple of commanders Nichenor and Gorgias to get them think of them as Nick and George if you want to that helps you to remember their names But Nick and or is kind of the most important commander throughout the rest of the story There are many commanders that come and go especially as you go back to first Maccabees But Nick and or is really really important So he's kind of our main villain if you want to think of him that way for this lesson So Judas fights Nick and or this is when his guerrilla warfare really begins And I mean I've read in different places that this is really when guerrilla warfare is actually kind of invented now I'm not an expert at all in military history, but I've seen I've had it substantiated by other military History buffs guerrilla warfare kind of begins now with Judas and his brothers fighting against the Greeks They're hiding in the caves. They come down at particular points to have these surprise attacks.
They attack at night It's a very systematic organized guerrilla warfare. I think that's kind of interesting here How that tactic begins in the period of the Maccabees so he fights and defeats Nick and or with guerrilla warfare There's an ongoing battle because this is gonna go all the way to chapter 15 There's all kinds of battles Nick and or does not die yet He won't die till the end of the story But one of the things I want to call to your attention in these battles of chapter 8 is when Judas Faces and Nick and or in battle Judas is well overmashed Nick and or is army as is often the case in these stories the Greek armies are really large Overwhelming odds against the Jews and yet they still have great victory One of the things that Judas said to his men in chapter 8 verse 19 is he evokes a very famous story From second Kings chapters 8 to 19. He says in verse. So this is chapter 8 verse 19 It says that Judas is telling his men He told them at the time is when he helped came to their ancestors both at the time of Seneca Reb the Assyrian army When 185,000 of their army perished this is a very very famous episode and just to give you a quick background to this story So the Assyrian army there the new kids on the block are the new superpower in the ancient years turn met a Mesopotamian Landscape so the Assyrians are the superpowers they destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 and now they're really threatening the southern kingdom of Judah Alright King Hezekiah is the king of Judah.
He's a righteous reformer king his heart is in the right place He's a heart after God but the mass of Syrian Assyrian excuse me Assyrian not Syrian It's different but the Assyrian army is at his doorstep and there they want to conquer Hezekiah So Hezekiah being righteous he turns to God right he tears his clothes he puts on sack off and ashes he consults Isaiah And because he's faithful and turns to God what ends up happening is one evening 185,000 soldiers died in the middle of the night I don't know what this no one knows what this was some kind of plague some kind of illness went through and killed them off Right and so this was a victory that Hezekiah had over the Assyrians But he didn't really lift a finger God did everything so the point that Judas is making is look we are outmatched big time We're facing overwhelming odds big time But God has delivered his people before such as the Assyrian death of hundred eighty five thousand soldiers He will defend us also and that's a huge thing throughout all the Old Testament God brings the victory You can go to Joshua go to judges going Moses go to go to everybody anyone you want to David himself fighting a life and other Stories God is the one who brings victory. It doesn't matter how big and bad you are It doesn't matter how strong you are doesn't matter how large your army is doesn't matter how brave you are God is the one who brings the victory And so this is a very important story I think a cool story that's being echoed here by Judas saying the same thing and we talked about this again I think in lesson two when we're going through these stories in first Mac at least always trusting God he brings the victory That's point number one point number two is of course the parallel I said at the very beginning of this lesson some whatever 20 minutes ago It was that there's all these echoes of the conquest and whatnot so well He recalls this great victory against the Assyrian army because again you've got the Jews they're faithful to God with you the leadership of Hezekiah's They cry out to God they trust him the Assyrian army is formidable and scary and yet God gives them victory the same thing is gonna happen here That's the parallel right so Judas is the new leader. He's faithful to God He leaves the people in righteousness and the Greek army is formidable and scary and yet God still brings them victory in a miraculous way So these are the parallels that we're seeing in the story All right Well Nick and Orr in this in the story here He starts to fight Judas in these battles with the purpose of enslaving the Jews because he wants to impress the king And he wants to capture and enslave a whole bunch of Jews as many as he possibly can to sell them as slaves in order to pay some Fee imposed by Rome. Okay, the problem is he came out to enslave all the Jews But he himself was defeated by Judas and he ran away himself like a slave would do It's kind of an interesting turn of events here chapter 8 verse 34 It says the thrice accursed Nick and or who had brought the thousand merchants to buy the Jews having been humbled with the help of the Lord by Opponents whom he regarded as the least account He took off his splendid uniform and made his way alone like a runaway slave across the country till he came back to Antioch So that's kind of a nice little twist there So Nick and or comes boldly and pridefully to enslave all the Jews But he himself runs away with his tail between his legs like a slave himself So he'll be back Nick and or is gonna come back don't worry He he flees to fight another day But then chapter 9 gets us to get this to the story of the death of Antiochus the fourth which is not too pretty just to give you a head What a heads up fair warning about that.
Let's read chapter 9 verse 5 It says the all-seeing Lord the God of Israel struck him in curable and unseen unseen blow as soon as he sees speaking He was seized with the pain in his bowels for which there was no relief with sharp internal tortures and that very justly for he Tortured the bowels of others with many strange afflictions yet He did not in any way stop his insolence But was even more filled with arrogance breathing fire in his rage against the Jews giving orders to hasten the journey And so it came about that he fell out of his chariot as it was rushing along and the fall was so hard as to torture every limb of his body Thus he would been thinking that he would command the waves of the sea in a super human arrogance and imagining that he could weigh the high Mountains in a balance was brought down to earth and carried in a litter making the power of God manifest all and so the Undoubtedly man's body swarmed with worms and while he was still living in anguish and pain his flesh rotted away because of the stench of the whole army The whole army felt revulsion at his decays. So I told you this is pretty ugly here Now first Maccabees does not get into much detail and honestly He knows me save something really quickly in the notes I didn't overlap first and second Maccabees because of course there are plenty of commentaries out there who overlap like Transparency slides how first and second Maccabees fit together I just thought that would make the notes a little bit cumbersome So I'm just going through the story as it appears here in second Maccabees But don't forget this is described a little bit in first Maccabees But not with all this kind of detail. This is very very gruesome vivid descriptive stuff So here he is sick somehow stricken with some kind of really awful gas or something is just like just getting him in his Intestimal track making him very very sick and ill then he falls out of a chariot and he wounds his like every But he breaks multiple bones apparently and he suffers terribly and his flesh is rotting away That's probably gangrene. There's probably a lot of natural reasons for this But it is a situation that's gone very very bad So he's suffering terribly and the author says look this is this is very just it's ironic justice Just as he had imposed all kinds of tortures on other people he himself is tortured Just like he ripped the bowels and the intestines out of them the martyrs now He is suffering in his bowels and his intestines So it's it's a very just punishment But what you also see here is that the as this quote here says the recompense promised by the martyr brothers now finds its fulfillment What does this mean?
Well if you go back to chapter 7 you're gonna find the various brothers say things like in chapters 7 Verse let's see 17 we'll start right there find it here Okay, and one of the brothers says speed is they're all speaking to Antiochus the fourth He says in verse 17 of chapter 7 keep on and see how his mighty power will torture you and your descendants All right So Antiochus is going to be tortured as well verse 19 something similar do not think that you will go unpunished for having tried to fight against God verse 31 But you who have contrived all sorts of evil against the Hebrews will certainly not escape the hands of God and so on and so forth There's other references here from this from this quote that you could consult for yourself All right, so it's it's very just it's poetic justice that again Antiochus inflicted all kinds of pains on others he himself is suffering too But in his prior this line here in verse 8 where he thought I mean remember he thought he was God Manifested he had this divinity complex this hubris that saw no bounds He thought he was a manifestation of the divine But it says in verse 8 he who had been thinking that he could command the waves in the scene is super human arrogance imagine that he can weigh The high mountains laying the balance was brought forth and carried in the litter making the power of God manifest all Basically, he thought he could be like God It's just a personal reflections of mine here This whole concept that he could be like God and command the waves This isn't echo I think of or at least the attitude itself It's implicit that this is an echo of serpent and Genesis Satan himself thought he could be like God and rebelled against God It would not serve and he was cast down from the heavens Then he tempted Adam and Eve that they could be like God determining good and evil right so the whole attitude of Rebelliousness and sin and pride is very satanic. That's my point here, right? Honestly, he's an anti-Christ figure I forget which lesson might have been less than two I put in a footnote somewhere in there that the church fathers thought Antiochus was a Antichrist figure and that's certainly the case because here he is Authority setting himself against God claiming to be God fighting against God's people That's what the ultimate Antichrist will do so Antiochus is an anti-Christ figure So he thought it could be like God that's very satanic that's what Satan himself thought and that's how he tempted Adam and Eve And he thought that he says explicitly in quotations he could command the waves in verse 8 that is basically having authority over creation That's what that means command the waves raise the mountains and everything else that he said right carry the earth in a litter etc etc He's greater than creation itself, right? Obviously only God can do this now.
There's some passage in the Old Testament that you can consult I have one for you and there's others others listed but one I put in your notes Psalm 107 verse 28 following says Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble. He delivered them from their distress He made the storm be still and the waves of the sea were hushed So only God can obviously have mastery and authority and power over creation And see achus thought he was God and could be like God and have control over creation But obviously that's pathetically stupid and wrong only Yahweh the one true God as Psalm 107 says and joke 26 and other passages Only that one true God has power over the seas and over the waves Which makes me reflect of another story in the gospels of someone who has the powers over the water and the waves This would be Jesus Christ the true Christ Antiochus is an anti-Christ figure and it's the opposite He thought he can control the waves, but he can't he's an anti-Christ, right? But Jesus is truly God He is truly the anointed one and he does have command over the waves when he calmed the storm in Matthew chapter 8 And when he walked on water in Matthew chapter 14 So those events are not just cool little miracles in the gospel according to the Old Testament it proves that he is God That's why the apostles freak out and they geek out and they say who is this? Who is this man that even the wind and the waves obey him because in their mind?
This is a a divine act only God has mastery over the elements only God has mastery over creation And here comes Jesus just push posh waves calm down You know be still be quiet and they're kicking out like this is amazing it blows their mind So I just I was preparing this lesson for you I was thinking about these things I wanted to share it with you And see obviously he could control the waves command the waves he can't but Jesus did because Jesus really is God Alright, so I'm sure that it says and which was kind of gruesome Not kind of it was gruesome the stench from his wounds and there's worms developing in his body It's decomposing all of this reveals his weak humanity before God right and this is the case and for many of God's enemies other anti-Christ figures For example acts chapter 12 verse 23 Herod famously died the same way It says in acts 12 23 immediately an angel of the Lord struck Herod because he did not give glory to God and he was eaten by worms and died So that's not very fun. That's not a good way to go Also the Babylonian king is described here in Isaiah 14 11 your pump is brought down to Shail That's the realm of the dead the sound of your harps maggots are the bed beneath you and worms are you're covering Alright, so you're starting to see a little pattern here. Don't you think one more about the Assyrians Joel 220 I will remove the northern or far from you and drive them into a parched in desolate land The stench and foul smell of him will rise for he has done great things So this is all pretty gruesome But I think it's it's very vivid because again I got his life and death is the opposite of life obviously sin brings death and so the more sinful you are the more corrupt Stenchful is that even a word stenchful full of stench the more foul you're gonna smell you're you're literally gonna rot for the lack of life And because of your sin I think that's the imagery right here So it's it's pretty bad stuff. He is suffering tremendously and he's gonna make one more little last gas Attend at getting better by quote unquote repenting of his sins Hey, this is dr.
Nick Thank you so much for listening to this course sample if you enjoyed it and want to listen to the entire lesson Please become a student over at scripture and tradition calm where you can listen to this entire course But also all the other courses that we have available in the S&T audio library where you can listen to them on demand However, and whenever you want so thank you so much God bless you and keep setting your vitals