We find ourselves in a time of great upheaval. The story unfolds in the First Book of Maccabees (I Maccabees 2), a historical account, not part of the Hebrew Bible itself, but deeply important for understanding the Hanukkah story. The Seleucid Empire, under King Antiochus IV Epiphanes, is cracking down on Jewish practice. They're demanding sacrifices to idols, desecrating the Temple in Jerusalem… essentially trying to erase Judaism.
Imagine the scene: Mattathias, a priest from the Hasmonean family, witnesses a fellow Jew about to offer a sacrifice to a pagan god. Publicly. An act of ultimate betrayal.
The text tells us, "Which thing when Mattathias saw, he was inflamed with zeal, and his reins trembled, neither could he forbear to shew his anger according to judgment." (I Maccabees 2:24). His reins trembled! That’s powerful imagery. The reins, understood as the seat of emotions, were shaking. He was consumed by righteous fury.
What did he do? He didn’t just stand there and wring his hands.
"Wherefore he ran, and slew him upon the altar. Also the king’s commissioner, who compelled men to sacrifice, he killed at that time, and the altar he pulled down." (I Maccabees 2:25).
Boom.
Mattathias didn't just kill the man offering the sacrifice; he also killed the king’s commissioner – the enforcer of this religious oppression. And he destroyed the altar itself, the symbol of this forced idolatry. It was a radical, violent act.
The text explicitly compares Mattathias’s act to that of Phinehas (also spelled Phinees), who similarly took zealous action against those who were openly flouting God's covenant, as recounted in Numbers 25. "Thus dealt he zealously for the law of God like as Phinees did unto Zambri the son of Salom." (I Maccabees 2:26). This is a powerful allusion, linking Mattathias to a figure known for his uncompromising devotion.
What happens next is crucial. Mattathias doesn’t stay silent. He takes a stand. He calls out, "Whosoever is zealous of the law, and maintaineth the covenant, let him follow me." (I Maccabees 2:27). He rallies the faithful, those who still held the brit, the covenant, close to their hearts.
And that, my friends, is where the Maccabean revolt truly begins. It starts not with a grand army, but with one man's act of courageous (and yes, violent) defiance and a call to others to join him.
It makes you wonder, doesn't it? What would you do in a similar situation? Where would you draw the line? And would you have the courage to stand up for what you believe in, even when the consequences are dire?