Books Jesus Read

142

Books Jesus Read

had become a traitor both to the laws and to his country. He took the holy vessels with his impure hands, and swept away the votive offerings which other kings had donated in order to enhance the glory and honor of the place. Antiochus was puffed up in spirit, not perceiving that the Lord was angered for a little while because of the sins of those who dwelt in the city, and that therefore he was disregarding the holy place. If not for the many sins of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Antiochus himself would have been scourged and put down like Heliodorus when he attempted to rob the treasury. Yet, the Lord had not chosen the nation for the sake of the holy place, but the holy place for the sake of the nation. 8 So, Jerusalem shared in the misfortunes that befell the nation, and later participated in its benefits. For all that was forsaken at the wrath of the Almighty was later restored in all its glory once reconciled to the great Lord. Now, however, Antiochus carried away eighteen hundred talents from the temple to Antioch, believing in his arrogance that he could sail on the land and walk on the sea. In Jerusalem he left behind rulers who would afflict the people: Philip, Phrygian by birth, whose character was more barbarous than the man who appointed him. At Mount Gerizim he left Andronicus and Menelaus in charge, who lorded it over their fellow citizens worse than all others. Later, Antiochus dispatched an army of twenty-two thousand to Judea, to slay all the adult males and to sell the women and boys as slaves. When their commander, Apollonius of the Mysians, came to Jerusalem, he pretended to come on peaceful terms. It being the sabbath day,

8 Compare Mark 2:27.