1 Maccabees 3:25-41

25 Then Judas and his brothers began to be feared, and terror fell on the Gentiles all around them. 26 His fame reached the king, and the Gentiles talked of the battles of Judas.

The Policy of Antiochus

27 When King Antiochus heard these reports, he was greatly angered; and he sent and gathered all the forces of his kingdom, a very strong army. 28 He opened his coffers and gave a year’s pay to his forces, and ordered them to be ready for any need. 29 Then he saw that the money in the treasury was exhausted, and that the revenues from the country were small because of the dissension and disaster that he had caused in the land by abolishing the laws that had existed from the earliest days. 30 He feared that he might not have such funds as he had before for his expenses and for the gifts that he used to give more lavishly than preceding kings. 31 He was greatly perplexed in mind; then he determined to go to Persia and collect the revenues from those regions and raise a large fund.

32 He left Lysias, a distinguished man of royal lineage, in charge of the king’s affairs from the river Euphrates to the borders of Egypt. 33 Lysias was also to take care of his son Antiochus until he returned. 34 And he turned over to Lysias half of his forces and the elephants, and gave him orders about all that he wanted done. As for the residents of Judea and Jerusalem, 35 Lysias was to send a force against them to wipe out and destroy the strength of Israel and the remnant of Jerusalem; he was to banish the memory of them from the place, 36 settle aliens in all their territory, and distribute their land by lot. 37 Then the king took the remaining half of his forces and left Antioch his capital in the one hundred and forty-seventh year. He crossed the Euphrates river and went through the upper provinces.

Preparations for Battle (2 Macc. 8.8—20)

38 Lysias chose Ptolemy son of Dorymenes, and Nicanor and Gorgias, able men among the Friends of the king, 39 and sent with them forty thousand infantry and seven thousand cavalry to go into the land of Judah and destroy it, as the king had commanded. 40 So they set out with their entire force, and when they arrived they encamped near Emmaus in the plain. 41 When the traders of the region heard what was said to them, they took silver and gold in immense amounts, and fetters, and went to the camp to get the Israelites for slaves. And forces from Syria and the land of the Philistines joined with them. (1 Maccabees 3:25-41, NRSV)

Antiochus hears of Israel's early victories under Judas Maccabaeus, and in anger "he sent and gathered all the forces of his kingdom, a very strong army" (1 Macc. 3:27), but their pay drains his treasury. So he goes to Persia in search of funding leaving Lysias in charge. Preparations continue for what prove to be decisive battle, the Battle at Emmaus, where Judas and his army defeat a Seleucid army under Gorgias, and meet and defeat the army of Lysias in Idumea.

NOTE: The following text and comment on Ezra 9:1-15 is repeated here from Saturday, November 5, 2005.

Ezra 9:1-15

Mixed Marriages

9:1 After these things had been done, the officials approached me and said, "The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands with their abominations, from the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. 2 For they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons. Thus the holy seed has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands, and in this faithlessness the officials and leaders have led the way." 3 When I heard this, I tore my garment and my mantle, and pulled hair from my head and beard, and sat appalled. 4 Then all who trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the faithlessness of the returned exiles, gathered around me while I sat appalled until the evening sacrifice. (Ezra 9:1-4, NRSV)

In the time of Ezra’s leadership, it turns out that there is a crisis, because” men, including Jewish leaders, marry foreign women. To ensure survival as a small (see Ezra 9:8) minority in the midst of surrounding cultures, Ezra-Nehemiah advocates separatist policies” (Tamara Cohn Eskenazi, NOAB, 3^rd ed., on Ezra 9:1-15). “Thus the holy seed has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands, and in this faithlessness the officials and leaders have led the way” (Ezra 9:2). The rule of Deuteronomy 7:3-4 (cf. vv. 1-5) is thus violated. The resulting remedy, with mass divorces and the break-up of families (10:44) seems very harsh to modern people, but the community apparently felt that its identity was being threatened. In the complaint that the people “have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands with their abominations, from the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites” (Ezra 9:1),

The implication is that the planned second exodus is not being carried out with the same attention to purified peoples as the original Exodus. . . . To understand this action, we must think in terms of minority consciousness of perceived threat and the response to insulate themselves from threatening influences. Mal. 2:10-16 even suggests that some of the Jewish women were first abandoned so that the men could take on the foreign wives.” (Daniel L. Smith-Christopher, The Oxford Bible Commentary, 317, on Ezra 9:1-15)

Ezra's Prayer

5 At the evening sacrifice I got up from my fasting, with my garments and my mantle torn, and fell on my knees, spread out my hands to the LORD my God, 6 and said,

"O my God, I am too ashamed and embarrassed to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens. 7 From the days of our ancestors to this day we have been deep in guilt, and for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been handed over to the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame, as is now the case. 8 But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the LORD our God, who has left us a remnant, and given us a stake in his holy place, in order that he may brighten our eyes and grant us a little sustenance in our slavery. 9 For we are slaves; yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, but has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to give us new life to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judea and Jerusalem.

10 "And now, our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken your commandments, 11 which you commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, 'The land that you are entering to possess is a land unclean with the pollutions of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations. They have filled it from end to end with their uncleanness. 12 Therefore do not give your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters for your sons, and never seek their peace or prosperity, so that you may be strong and eat the good of the land and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.' 13 After all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, seeing that you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a remnant as this, 14 shall we break your commandments again and intermarry with the peoples who practice these abominations? Would you not be angry with us until you destroy us without remnant or survivor? 15 O LORD, God of Israel, you are just, but we have escaped as a remnant, as is now the case. Here we are before you in our guilt, though no one can face you because of this." (Ezra 9:5-15, NRSV)

Although the problem of mixed marriages was first brought to Ezra’s attention by “the officials” (Ezra 9:1), he takes the lead in prayer of repentance . He acknowledges the repeated unfaithfulness “from the days of our ancestors to this day” which has recently led to punishment by “the sword, captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame” (v. 7). He acknowledges the LORD’s favor “for a brief moment” (v. 8), though “we are slaves” (v. 9). But it seems the pattern is repeating. “And now, our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken your commandments” (v. 10). And the prayer specifies the problems of an unclean land (v. 11), the command not to “give your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters for your sons” (v. 12). Ezra fears that God may “be angry with us until you destroy us without remnant or survivor” (v. 14).

Revelation 21:1-8

            21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

                        “See, the home of God is among mortals.

                        He will dwell with them as their God;

                        they will be his peoples,

                        and God himself will be with them;

                        4 he will wipe every tear from their eyes.

                        Death will be no more;

                        mourning and crying and pain will be no more,

                        for the first things have passed away.”

            5 And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children. 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, the murderers, the fornicators, the sorcerers, the idolaters, and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:1-8, NRSV)

John tells us what he saw: "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more” (Rev. 21:1). “All creation will be renewed,” says Bruce M. Metzger, “freed from imperfections, and transformed by the glory of God (Rom. 8:19-21)” (NOAB, 2^nd ed., on Rev. 21:1). “And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband" (Rev. 21:2). John tells us what he heard: "See, the home of God is among mortals./He will dwell with them as their God;/they will be his peoples,/and God himself will be with them;/he will wipe every tear from their eyes./Death will be no more,/mourning and crying and pain will be no more,/for the first things have passed away" (vv. 3-4).

The statement of God, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end” (v. 6) echoes 1:8 and so encloses the book in brackets—God is in control, and though the battles with the powers of darkness rage throughout the book, the outcome is sure. There are, of course, “the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, the murderers, the fornicators, the sorcerers, the idolaters, and all liars,” who miss out on the victory but find their place “in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death” (v. 8), but we strive and expect to be among “the thirsty,” to whom “I [God] will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life” (v. 6), and among “Those who conquer” who “will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children” (v. 7).

Matthew 17:14-21

14 When they came to the crowd, a man came to him, knelt before him, 15 and said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly; he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 And I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him.” 17 Jesus answered, “You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him here to me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was cured instantly. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” [21 But this kind does not come out except by prayer and fasting.] (Matthew 7:14-21, NRSV)

Note that verse 21 is relegated to a footnote by the NRSV. “Other ancient authorities add verse 21, But this kind does not come out except by prayer and fasting” (NRSV text note d). The verse is lacking in several of the older and better manuscripts of Matthew, but is present in many other manuscripts, probably under the influence of Mark 9:29, where the wording of manuscripts varies between “prayer” and “prayer and fasting,” but the statement itself is well attested.

Although the boy is called “an epileptic” in Matthew’s account of this healing story, note that it is the father who calls him that, not Jesus (Mt. 17:15). The term used is not a technical medical term. Literally, it means something like “moonstruck,” selêniazomai, a verb form related to selênê “moon,” and in that sense appears only twice in the New Testament (cf. Mt. 4:24). In Mark’s parallel account, the father says, “Teacher, I brought you my son; he has a spirit that makes him unable to speak; and whenever it seizes him, it dashes him down; and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid” (Mk. 9:17-18; cf. Lk. 9:39). That sounds like epileptic symptoms, but Vincent Taylor, who uses the term “epileptic” in his subtitle for the section, says, “”The case is one of hysteria or epilepsy, afflictions which are difficult to distinguish” (Vincent Taylor, The Gospel According to St. Mark, 1952, p. 397 on Mk. 9:16-18). Either way, the relation to modern “epilepsy” is problematic, and it is out of the question to fault persons so afflicted with lack of faith or accusations of demon possession. The point of the story is not a diagnosis of the boy’s condition, but the power of Jesus to deliver him from that condition, and the role of faith in that healing. “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you” (Mt. 17:20).

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

rworden@houston.rr.com