Scripture Daily

Context No. 1581 of 4322 · 1 Maccabees

Context · Reflection

1 Maccabees 9:19-27: in context

19Jonathan and Simon took Judas their brother, and buried him in the tomb of his ancestors at Modin. 20They wept for him. All Israel made great lamentation for him, and mourned many days, and said, 21“How the mighty has fallen, the savior of Israel!” 22The rest of the acts of Judas, and his wars, and the valiant deeds which he did, and his greatness, are not written; for they were exceedingly many. 23It came to pass after the death of Judas, that the lawless emerged within all the borders of Israel. All those who did iniquity rose up. 24In those days there was an exceedingly great famine, and the country went over to their side. 25Bacchides chose the ungodly men and made them rulers of the country. 26They inquired and searched for the friends of Judas, and brought them to Bacchides, and he took vengeance on them and used them spitefully. 27There was great suffering in Israel, such as was not since the time prophets stopped appearing to them.

Judas Maccabeus, the leader who had saved Israel from its oppressors, falls in battle. His brothers bury him in the tomb of their ancestors, and all Israel mourns him many days, lamenting the fallen savior of Israel. His deeds, the writer says, were too many to record. And then the consequences of his loss: with Judas gone, the lawless rise up throughout the land, a great famine strikes, the enemy installs wicked rulers, the friends of Judas are hunted down, and there is distress in Israel such as had not been seen since the prophets ceased.

The passage sets a good leader's death beside the trouble that followed it, and both are worth feeling. The grief is genuine and honorable, a lament for the fallen savior of Israel. Judas had spent himself for his people, and his deeds were too many to record; his death was a real loss, worth deep mourning. It is right to grieve and to honor a faithful leader who has poured out their life for others; scripture does not rush past the lament. But the passage also shows, soberly, what the loss of such a leader can mean: with Judas gone, the lawless rose, and hard times came. A community can be held together and protected by a faithful leader in ways not fully seen until that leader is gone, and the vacuum their death leaves can be filled by trouble. There is something to reckon with in both halves. We should honor and value the faithful leaders God gives, not taking them for granted while we have them, and grieve them rightly when they are gone. And we should recognize that no community can rest permanently on one leader; when the faithful leader falls, the burden of standing firm passes to those who remain. Judas fell, and the lawless rose; but the story of the Maccabees did not end there, for his brothers took up the work. The death of a faithful leader is a real loss to be mourned; and it is also a call to those left behind to step into the gap rather than let the lawless fill it.

Do I honor and value the faithful leaders God has given while I have them, grieving them rightly when they are gone, and when a faithful leader falls, am I willing to step into the gap and take up the work rather than leaving the vacuum to be filled by trouble?

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