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Context No. 1604 of 4322 · 1 Maccabees

Context · Reflection

1 Maccabees 7:10-17: in context

10They marched away and came with a great army into the land of Judah. He sent messengers to Judas and his kindred with words of peace deceitfully. 11They paid no attention to their words; for they saw that they had come with a great army. 12A group of scribes gathered together to Alcimus and Bacchides to seek just terms. 13The Hasidaeans were the first among the children of Israel who sought peace from them, 14for they said, “One who is a priest of the seed of Aaron has come with the army, and he will do us no wrong.” 15He spoke with them words of peace, and swore to them, saying, “We won’t seek to harm you or your friends.” 16They trusted him. Then he seized sixty men of them, and killed them in one day, according to the word which was written, 17The flesh of your saints and their blood was shed all around Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them.

Bacchides and Alcimus come against Judah with a great army, sending messengers with deceitful words of peace. The people do not trust them at first, seeing the army. But a group of scribes, and the devout Hasidaeans, seek terms, reasoning that Alcimus is a priest of the line of Aaron and surely will not wrong them. He speaks peaceful words and swears an oath not to harm them or their friends. They trust him. And then, having gained their trust, he seizes sixty of them and kills them in a single day.

The tragedy here turns on a misplaced trust. The Hasidaeans, devout men, trusted Alcimus because he bore a holy office, a priest of the line of Aaron; surely, they reasoned, such a man would not betray them. His credentials and his sworn oath seemed guarantee enough. And on the strength of his office and his oath, they trusted him, and he slaughtered them. There is a hard warning in this against trusting appearances, credentials, and even holy office in place of discernment. The Hasidaeans assumed that a man who held a sacred position must be trustworthy; the office stood in for any closer scrutiny of the man. But office is no guarantee of integrity; a holy title can clothe a treacherous heart, and a sworn oath can be broken by one who never meant to keep it. This does not mean we should trust no one; but it means that credentials and position and even religious office are not, by themselves, proof of trustworthiness, and that discernment is still needed, even, or especially, toward those who bear holy titles and speak fair words. The Hasidaeans let the priest's office do their discerning for them, and it cost sixty lives. There have always been those who wear a sacred office or speak peaceable, pious words while harboring treachery, and the fact that someone holds a holy position or swears a solemn oath does not exempt them from the discernment we owe to everyone. To trust a person because of their credentials or office alone, without regard to the fruit of their actual character, is the mistake that undid the Hasidaeans. Discernment weighs the person, not merely the title they bear or the fair words they speak.

Do I trust people because of their credentials, position, or even holy office alone, letting the title stand in for discernment, as the Hasidaeans trusted the priest who betrayed them, or do I weigh the actual character and fruit of a person rather than being disarmed by their office and their fair words?

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