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Context No. 1314 of 4322 · 1 Maccabees

Context · Reflection

1 Maccabees 10:21-25: in context

21And Jonathan put on the holy garments in the seventh month of the one hundred sixtieth year, at the feast of tabernacles; and he gathered together forces and provided weapons in abundance. 22When Demetrius heard these things, he was grieved and said, 23“What is this that we have done, that Alexander has gotten ahead of us in establishing friendship with the Jews to strengthen himself? 24I also will write to them words of encouragement and of honor and of gifts, that they may be with me to aid me.” 25So he sent to them this message: “King Demetrius to the nation of the Jews, greetings.

Jonathan the Maccabee has just been made high priest, and suddenly he is a man everyone wants. Two rival claimants to the Seleucid throne, Alexander and Demetrius, both scramble to win the Jews to their side. When Demetrius hears that Alexander has gotten ahead of him in making friends with the Jews to strengthen his own hand, he is alarmed and resolves to outbid him: I too will write them words of encouragement and honor and gifts, that they may side with me. And he sends a flattering letter, King Demetrius to the nation of the Jews, greetings, full of concessions he had never offered before.

The scene is a study in the sudden courtship of those who want something from you. For years these kings had oppressed and ignored the Jews; now that Jonathan's support has become valuable, they compete to flatter him, each dangling honors and gifts, each professing friendship. But the friendship is transparently self-interested; Demetrius does not suddenly love the Jews, he needs them, and his lavish letter is a bid to buy what he cannot otherwise secure. There is wisdom worth taking from this about the flattery of those who court us only when we have become useful to them. Sudden attention, generous words, gifts, and honors from people who never cared before are worth examining rather than simply enjoying; often what looks like newfound friendship is really newfound need, and the warmth will last exactly as long as the usefulness does. It calls for a clear head, the discernment to tell genuine regard from the courtship of self-interest, and to remember that those who flatter us to get something will drop us just as quickly when we no longer serve their purposes. Being wanted is not the same as being valued; the wise learn to tell the difference.

When someone who never cared before suddenly courts me with warmth and flattery, can I keep a clear head and ask whether it is genuine regard or the courtship of self-interest that will last only as long as I am useful?

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