The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 287: Eleazar's Sacrifice (2023)

Episode Date: October 14, 2023

Fr. Mike illustrates the story of Eleazar and the abandonment of peace terms between the Jews and the Greeks. He also recognizes the pain that children and family members who don’t follow the Lord can bring about, and uses wisdom from Sirach to address this prevalent struggle. Today’s readings are 1 Maccabees 6, Sirach 16-18, and Proverbs 22:17-21. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz, and you're listening to the Bible in a Year podcast, where we encounter God's voice and live life through the lens of Scripture. The Bible in a Year podcast is brought to you by Ascension. Using the Great Adventure Bible timeline, we'll read all the way from Genesis to Revelation, discovering how the story of salvation unfolds. And how we fit into that story today is day 287. We're reading from 1 Maccabees chapter 6, as well as Sirach 16, 17, and 18. We've been doing those three days, three chapters a day with Sirach for the last

few days. We're also reading Proverbs chapter 22, verses 17 through 21. As always, the Bible translation that I'm reading from is the Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition. I'm using the Great Adventure Bible from Ascension. If you want to download your own Bible in a Year reading plan, you can visit ascensionpress.com slash Bible in a year. You can also subscribe to this podcast by clicking on subscribe and being subscribed and you get to receive daily episodes, daily updates. This day is day 287. And gosh, also let's just say it. This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad. Day 287. We're reading 1 Maccabees chapter 6, Sirach 16, 17 and 18 and Proverbs 22, 17 through 21.

The first book of Maccabees, chapter 6. The last days of Antiochus Epiphanes. King Antiochus was going through the upper provinces when he heard that Elimaeus in Persia was a city famed for its wealth in silver and gold. Its temple was very rich, containing golden shields, breastplates, and weapons left there by Alexander, the son of Philip, the Macedonian king who first reigned over the Greeks. So he came and tried to take the city and plunder it, but he could

not, because his plan became known to the men of the city, and they withstood him in battle. So he fled, and in great grief departed from there to return to Babylon. Then someone came to him in Persia and reported that the armies which had gone into the land of Judah had been routed, that Lysaeus had gone first with a strong force, but had turned and fled before the Jews, that the Jews had grown strong from the arms, supplies, and abundant spoils which they had taken from the armies they had cut down, that they had torn down the abomination which he had erected upon the altar in Jerusalem, and that they had surrounded the sanctuary with high walls as before, and also Bet-Zur, his city. When the king heard this news, he was astounded and badly shaken. He took to his bed and became

sick from grief because things had not turned out for him as he had planned. He lay there for many days because deep grief continually gripped him, and he concluded that he was dying. So he called all his friends and said to them, Sleep departs from my eyes, and I am downhearted with worry. I said to myself, To what distress I have come, and into what a great flood I now am plunged, for I was kind and beloved in my power. But now I remember the evils I did in Jerusalem.

I seized all her vessels of silver and gold, And I know that it is because of this that these evils have come upon me. And behold, I am perishing of deep grief in a strange land. Then he called for Philip, one of his friends, and made him ruler over all his kingdom. He gave him the crown and his robe and the signet, that he might guide Antiochus, his son, and bring him up to be king. Thus Antiochus the king died there in the 149th year. And when Lysaeus learned that the king was dead, he set up Antiochus, the king's son, to reign. Lysaeus had brought him up as a boy, and he named him Eupator. to reign. Lysaeus had brought him up as a boy, and he named him Eupator.

Renewed attacks from Syria. Now, the men in the citadel kept hemming Israel in around the sanctuary. They were trying in every way to harm them and strengthen the Gentiles. So Judas decided to destroy them and assembled all the people to besiege them. They gathered together and besieged the citadel in the 150th year, and he built siege towers and other engines of war. But some of the garrison escaped from the siege, and some of the ungodly Israelites joined them. They went to the king and said, How long will you fail to do justice and to avenge our brethren? We were happy to serve your father, to live by what he said, and to follow his commands. For this reason, the sons of our people besieged the citadel and became hostile to us. Moreover, they have put to death as many of us

as they have caught, and they have seized our inheritances. And not against us alone have they stretched out their hands, but also against all the lands on their borders. And behold, today they have encamped against the citadel in Jerusalem to take it. They have fortified both the sanctuary and Beth-Zur. And unless you quickly prevent them, they will do still greater things, and you will not be able to take it. They have fortified both the sanctuary and Beth-tzur. And unless you quickly

prevent them, they will do still greater things, and you will not be able to stop them. The king was enraged when he heard this. He assembled all his friends, the commanders of his forces, and those in authority. And mercenary forces came to him from other kingdoms and from islands of the seas. The number of his forces was a hundred thousand foot soldiers, twenty thousand horsemen, and thirty-two elephants accustomed to war. They came from Idumea and encamped against Bet-Zer, and for many days they fought and built engines of war. But the Jews sallied out and burned these with fire and fought manfully. The Battle at Bet-Zechariah Then Judas marched away from the citadel and encamped at Bet-Zechariah,

opposite the camp of the king. Early in the morning, the king rose and took his army by a forced march along the road to Bet-Zechariah, and his troops made ready for battle and sounded their trumpets. They showed the elephants the juice of grapes and mulberries to arouse them for battle, and they distributed the beasts along the phalanxes. With each elephant they stationed a thousand men armed with coats of mail, and with brass helmets on their heads, and five hundred picked horsemen were assigned to each beast. These took their position beforehand wherever the beast was,

wherever it went, they went with it, and they never left it. And upon the elephants were wooden towers, strong and covered, they were fastened upon each beast by special harness, and upon each were four armed men beast by special harness, and upon each were four armed men who fought from there, and also its Indian driver. The rest of the horsemen were stationed on either side, on the two flanks of the army, to harass the enemy while being themselves protected by the phalanxes. When the sun shone upon the shields of gold and brass, the hills were ablaze with them and gleamed like flaming torches. Now a part of the king's army was spread out on the high hills,

and some troops were on the plain, and they advanced steadily and in good order. All who heard the noise made by their multitude, by the marching of the multitude, and the clanking of their arms trembled, for the army was very large and strong. But Judas and his army advanced to the battle, and six hundred men of the king's army fell. And Eleazar, called Avaron, saw that one of the beasts was equipped with royal armor. It was taller than all the others, and he supposed that the king was upon it. So he gave his life to save his people and to win for himself an everlasting name. He courageously ran into the midst of the phalanx to reach it.

He killed men right and left, and they parted before him on both sides. He got under the elephant, stabbed it from beneath, and killed it. But it fell to the ground upon him, and there he died. And when the Jews saw the royal might and the fierce attack of the forces, they turned away in flight. The soldiers of the king's army went up to Jerusalem against them, and the king encamped in Judea and at Mount Zion. He made peace with the men of Bet-Zor, and they evacuated the city because they had no provisions there to withstand a siege since it was a sabbatical year for the land. So the king took Bet-Zor and stationed a guard there to hold it. Then he encamped before the sanctuary for many days. He set up siege towers, engines of war to throw fire and stones, machines to shoot arrows and catapults.

The Jews also made engines of war to match theirs and fought for many days. But they had no food in storage because it was the seventh year. Those who found safety in Judea from the Gentiles had consumed the last of the stores. Few men were left in the sanctuary because famine had prevailed over the rest and they had been scattered each to his own place. Syria offers terms. Then Lysaeus heard that Philip, whom King Antiochus, while still living, had appointed to bring up Antiochus, his son to be king, had returned from Persia and Medea with the forces that had gone with the king and that he was trying to seize control of the government. So he quickly gave orders to depart and said to the king, to the commanders of the forces and to the men, we daily grow weaker. Our food supply is scant.

The place against which we are fighting is strong and the affairs of the kingdom press urgently upon us. Now then let us come to term with these men and make peace with them and with all their nation and agree to let them live by their laws as they did before. For it was on account of their laws which we abolished that they became angry and did all these things. The speech pleased the king and the commanders, and he sent to the Jews an offer of peace, and they accepted it. So the king and the commanders gave them their oath. On these conditions the Jews evacuated the stronghold. But when the king entered Mount Zion and saw what a strong fortress the place was, he broke the oath he Mount Zion and saw what a strong fortress the place was, he broke the oath he had sworn and gave orders to tear down the wall all around. Then he departed

with haste and returned to Antioch. He found Philip in control of the city, but he fought against him and took the city by force. The Book of Sirach, chapter 16. and to die childless is better than to have ungodly children. For through one man of understanding, a city will be filled with people, but through a tribe of lawless men, it will be made desolate. Many such things my eye has seen, and my ear has heard things more striking than these. In an assembly of sinners, a fire will be kindled, and in a disobedient nation, wrath was kindled. He was not propitiated for the ancient giants who revolted in their might. He did not spare the neighbors of Lot, whom he loathed on account of their insolence. He showed no pity for a nation devoted to destruction, for those

destroyed in their sins, nor for the 600,000 men on foot who rebelliously assembled in their stubbornness. Even if there is only one stiff-necked person, it will be a wonder if he remains unpunished. For mercy and wrath are with the Lord. He is mighty to forgive, and he pours out wrath. As great as his mercy, so great is also his reproof. He judges a man according to his deeds. The sinner will not escape his plunder, and the patience of the godly will not be frustrated. He will make room for every act of mercy everyone will receive in accordance with his deeds. Do not say, I shall be hidden from the Lord, and who from on high will remember me?

Among so many people I shall not be known, for what is my soul in the boundless creation? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven, the abyss and the earth will tremble at his visitation. The mountains also and the foundations of the earth shake with trembling when he looks upon them. And no mind will reflect on this. Who will ponder his ways? Like a tempest which no man can see, so most of his works are concealed. Who will announce his acts of justice? Or who will await them? For the covenant is far off. This is what one devoid of understanding thinks, a senseless and misguided man thinks foolishly. Listen to me, my son, and acquire knowledge, and pay close attention to my words.

I will impart instruction by weight and declare knowledge accurately. The works of the Lord have existed from the beginning by his creation, and when he made them, he determined their divisions. He arranged his works in an eternal order and their dominion for all generations. They neither hunger nor grow weary, and they do not cease from their labors. They do not crowd one another aside, and they will never disobey his word. After this, the Lord looked upon the earth and filled it with his good things. With all kinds of living beings he covered its surface, and to it they return. Chapter 17. Wisdom Concerning God's Gifts to Men.

The Lord created man out of the earth and made him into his own image. He turned him back into earth again, but clothed him in strength like his own image. With a tongue and eyes and ears, he gave them a mind for thinking and filled them with the discipline of discernment. He created in them the knowledge of the Spirit. He filled their hearts with understanding and showed them good and evil. He placed the fear of him into their hearts, showing them the majesty of his works. He made them glory in his wondrous deeds, that they might praise his holy name to proclaim the grandeur of his works. He bestowed knowledge upon them and allotted to them the law of life. He established with them an eternal covenant and showed them his justice and his judgments.

Their eyes saw his glorious majesty and their ears heard the glory of his voice. And he said to them, beware of all unrighteousness. And he gave commandment to each of them concerning his neighbor. Their ways are always before him. They will not be hidden from his eyes. He appointed a ruler for every nation, but Israel is the Lord's own portion. All their works are as the sun before him, and his eyes are continually upon their ways. Their iniquities are not hidden from him, and all their sins are before the Lord.

A man's almsgiving is like a signet with the Lord, and he will keep a person's kindness like the apple of his eye. Afterward, he will arise and repay them, and he will bring their recompense on their heads. Yet to those who repent, he grants a return, and he encourages those whose endurance is failing, and he has appointed to them the lot of truth. Turn to the Lord and forsake your sins. Pray in his presence and lessen your offenses. Return to the Most High and turn away from iniquity and hate abominations intensely. Know the justice and the judgments of God and stand firm the lot that is set before you in prayer to God the Almighty. Who will sing praises to the Most High in Hades, as do those who are alive and give thanks?

Tarry not in the waywardness of the ungodly, and give thanks before death. From the dead, as from one who does not exist, thanksgiving has ceased. He who is alive and well sings the Lord's praises. How great is the mercy of the Lord, and his forgiveness for those who turn to him! Chapter 18, God and Man. He who lives forever created the whole universe. The Lord alone will be declared righteous. To none has he given power to proclaim his works, and who can search out his mighty deeds? Who can measure his majestic power, and who can fully recount his mercies? It is not possible to diminish or increase them, nor is it possible

to trace the wonders of the Lord. When a man has finished, he is just beginning, and when he stops, he will be at a loss. What is man, and of what use is he? What is his good, and what is his evil? The number of a man's days is great if he reaches a hundred years. Like a drop of water from the sea and a grain of sand, so are a few years in the day of eternity. Therefore, the Lord is patient with them and pours out his mercy upon them. He sees and recognizes that their end will be evil. Therefore, he grants them forgiveness in abundance. The compassion of man is for his neighbor,

but the compassion of the Lord is for all living beings. He rebukes and trains and teaches them and turns them back as a shepherd his flock. He has compassion on those who accept his discipline and who are eager for his judgments. My son, do not mix reproach with your good deeds, nor cause grief by your words when you present a gift. Does not the dew assuage the scorching heat?

So a word is better than a gift. Indeed, does not a word surpass a good gift? Both are to be found in a gracious man. A fool is ungracious and abusive, and the gift of a grudging man makes the eyes dim. Before you speak, learn, and before you fall ill, take care of your health. Before judgment, examine yourself, and in the hour of visitation you will find forgiveness. Before falling ill, humble yourself, and when you are on the point of sinning, turn back. Let nothing hinder you from paying a vow

promptly, and do not wait until death to be released from it. Before making a vow, prepare yourself, and do not be like a man who tempts the Lord. Think of his wrath on the day of death, and on the moment of vengeance when he turns away his face. In the time of plenty, think of the time of hunger, and in the days of wealth, think of poverty and need. From morning to evening conditions change and all things move swiftly before the Lord. A wise man is cautious in everything. And in days of sin, he guards against wrongdoing.

Every intelligent man knows wisdom and he praises the one who finds her. Those who understand sayings become skilled themselves and pour forth apt proverbs. Do not follow your base desires, but restrain your appetites. If you allow your soul to take pleasure in base desire, it will make you the laughingstock of your enemies. Do not revel in great luxury,

lest you become impoverished by its expense. Do not become a beggar by feasting with borrowed money when you have nothing in your purse. The book of Proverbs chapter 22 verses 17 through 21. Sayings of the wise. Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise and apply your mind to my knowledge. For it will be pleasant if you keep them within you, if all of them are ready on your lips, that your trust may be in the Lord. I have made them known to you today, even to you. Have I not written for you 30 sayings of admonition and knowledge to show you what is right and true, that you may give a true answer to those who sent you.

give a true answer to those who sent you. Father in heaven, we just give you thanks. Thank you so much, God, for your word. Thank you for, again, continuing to unfold this history of the people of Israel in front of us. Thank you for continuing to shape us with the wisdom of Ben Sirach. We ask that you please give us your grace this day and every day so we can belong to you and give glory to you in everything that we do. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. So more battles. Surprise, surprise. In Maccabees, there's more battles. And I just want to highlight what happened is, so here's the waning. I mean, it's remarkable what is happening with the Jews against the Greeks. I mean, what is happening with the Jews against the Greeks.

I mean, obviously there's a lot of political intrigue happening and the kingdom of Alexander the Great has already been divided. I mean, it started out divided after Alexander died and gave it to the four generals. But there's even more drama happening because I imagine it's pretty hard to keep a kingdom unified when you're fighting all over the place.

And that's what Antiochus kind of figures out at some point. And Lysaeus and all these folks who are trying to battle against the Jews, but they're also battling against a number of other people on all different fronts. In this one battle, it's just really cool. Bet Zechariah. I say it's really cool because there's this scene in chapter, well, chapter six, verse 43, where Eleazar called Averon, they're fighting against elephants. You guys, this is like not Lord of the Rings. This is actually history. They're fighting against elephants. And it just blows my mind where Eleazar saw that one of the beasts, one of the elephants was equipped with royal armor, taller than all the others. He

supposed the king was up on it. So what happens? And I love how the author says, so he gave his life to save his people and to win for himself an everlasting name. He courageously ran into the midst of the phalanx to reach it and just think, man, you know, those phalanxes, how it was described even when the sun shone upon the shields of golden brass, the hills were ablaze with them and gleamed like flaming torches. Here is this guy, Eleazar, running into them and, you know, killed men on his right and his left, parted before him on both sides, got under the elephant, stabbed it from beneath, killed it, but it falls to the ground and kills him.

And this dramatic, I mean, you guys, you can picture this in your mind's eye, I imagine, when you hear these words. Of course, what's going to happen is they're going to offer terms. And as we noted, they offered terms to the Jewish people. And that was great. It's going to be fine. But when the Greeks entered into Jerusalem and they entered Mount Zion and they saw how strong Judas Maccabeus and his brothers and the people of Israel had built it up, what did they do? They tore down, they attempted to tear down the wall all around it. They succeeded

in tearing down the wall all around it and then departed with haste. And you think, hmm, that's a little dirty, dirty trick, dirty pool to be able to do after they've already made terms with the Jewish people. Now, as we move on, there are going to be continued battles against the Greeks, but also the Jewish people are going to look towards Rome to maybe think of making an alliance with Rome. Now, think about this in the context of not just history here, not just the history of the people of Israel, not just even preparing for the time of Jesus, but think of this in terms of the prophecy that Daniel described to the king. Remember that prophecy where it was, here's the king and the king had a massive statue with a head of gold and a chest of silver and then

bronze and then iron and then iron mixed with clay. And Daniel was able to say, you, O king, are the king of kings. You're the one, you're the head of gold. And then another kingdom's coming, the Persians, and this is the Babylonians. And then the Persians are come, they're the kingdom of silver. And then the Greeks, the bronze kingdom, and then the Romans, the iron kingdom. And so we can see this being played out here in Maccabees. And it's just, it's pretty remarkable as we continue to follow the story. Now, I think I already mentioned this, but when we get to second Maccabees, what we're going to do is we're going

to get some of the details. Like we got some battle stuff. We got some drama and action kind of a situation, but in 2 Maccabees, there are more stories that are more particular to here's what was going on on the ground level. You know, sometimes we hear the big battles and that's fine. It's good. It's history. It's what we need to know. It's God's word. But at the same time, the stories on the ground of people being faithful or people being faithless, we need to hear those stories because remember, this continues to be the word of God speaking of faithless. Let's go to the book of Sirach in chapter 16. There is this word that chapter 16 starts off with, and that is, do not desire a multitude of useless children, nor rejoice in ungodly sons.

If they multiply, if you have a lot of kids, don't rejoice in them unless the fear of the Lord is in them. And just there's an element there's an element here where it goes on the author. And remember, this is a father speaking to his son. This is a parent speaking to their child. And there's this word that just is, you can hear the parents saying the one thing I want more from you than anything is I don't just want you to be powerful. I don't just want you to be wealthy. I don't just want you to be successful. I want you to be holy. I want you to belong to the Lord. To be ungodly is worse than if you never existed. For me, for you to say no to the Lord would be worse than if you hadn't ever existed. And now I highlight this because, and I say it in such a dramatic way, because I know that so many of us in this community have family members. Maybe there are parents who have

children. Maybe there are children who have parents who don't walk in the Lord, don't walk in faith. And sometimes it's just like, gosh, I love them so much. I just wish they knew the Lord. I wish they knew Christ. I wish they knew his love for them. And I wish they would walk with him. And you realize the pain. Again, here's the author, the parents speaking to their child. And, you know, we can think of it in a number of different ways. We can interpret it in a number of different ways. But one of the ways I think to interpret this is to hear the parent saying, I want you to know how important this is, that here I am speaking to my child and I could have a dozen children, I could have a thousand children.

And if they're not walking with the Lord, I wouldn't want any of them. Again, this isn't, it's a dramatic way to say, here's how important walking in the Lord is to me. Does that make sense? Again, I can understand that so many of us who have family members who don't walk in the way of the Lord can relate to this. And so we just pray. We keep praying for those family members, keep praying for ourselves and for each other, because we know that every one of us can turn away from the Lord. In fact, in chapter 16, verse 14, what happens? The word of God says, he'll make room for every act of mercy. He will make room for every act of mercy. Everyone will receive in accordance with his deeds that recognize that every one of us is going to be judged. And that's why he goes on to say,

do not say I shall be hidden from the Lord and who from on high will remember me. That again, we've, we've said this so many times, the prophets have pointed out so often that the temptation is that, you know, my sins aren't that big of a deal. My actions aren't that big of a deal. The choices I make, they're not significant. Why would God care what I do with my life? And yet here is the word of God. And here are the words of the prophets we read before that are repeating and repeatedly going back to this reality that God sees it all. And he cares about it all because why? Because he sees you and cares about you. And this is so, so important for us, which is why we can repent. In fact, that's one of the things

that God says in chapter 17, verse 15. It says, And this is just, again, so important for us to hear this because we're all called to repent. We're all called to belong to the Lord. And we're called to be wise and be holy. So last thing in chapter 18, again, these books of wisdom have so much in them that they deserve to be gone back over with a fine tooth comb and pray with when you get a chance to pray with them. But there's two interesting notes in chapter 18, verse 15. The father says, my son did not mix

reproach with your good deeds, nor cause grief by your words when you present a gift. And there's something interesting that is, when you give a gift, let it be consistent. Like there's such a thing, right? As I'm giving you a gift, but I'm going to either begrudgingly give it, I'm going to give you a gift, but I'm giving it backhandedly. I'm giving you a gift, but I'm giving it to you in a way that doesn't honor you in the way that the gift should. So let that word and that gift be united. Let that word and that gift both be a gift. And last note, in chapter 18, beginning with verse 19, the father says, before you speak, In chapter 18, beginning with verse 19, the father says, before you speak, learn.

Before you fall ill, take care of your health. Before judgment, examine yourself. Before falling ill, humble yourself and let nothing hinder you from paying a vow promptly and do not wait until death to be released from it. There's something about just, you know, hey, before you get into this place, before you make a decision, before you act, think. Before you know, hey, before you get into this place, before you make a decision, before you act, think. Before you act, listen. Before you speak, learn. And there's something that I think I know for myself I can learn from and put into practice in my life. Gosh, you guys, here we are. It is day 287, and I got to say, it's been a gift. It's been a grind in so many ways, right?

Like even in 1 Maccabees and in Sirach, there's a lot of wisdom and there's these incredible stories, but at times it can be hard to keep our focus. So I just want to let you know that I'm praying for you. Please pray for me that we continue to say yes to the Lord. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.