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Context No. 2059 of 4322 · 2 Maccabees

Context · Reflection

2 Maccabees 14:26-30: in context

26But Alcimus, perceiving the good will that was between them, and having taken possession of the covenants that had been made, came to Demetrius and told him that Nicanor was disloyal to the government, for he had appointed that conspirator against his kingdom, Judas, to be his successor. 27The king, falling into a rage, and being exasperated by the false accusations of that most wicked man, wrote to Nicanor, signifying that he was displeased at the covenants, and commanding him to send Maccabaeus prisoner to Antioch in all haste. 28When this message came to Nicanor, he was confounded, and was very troubled at the thought of annulling the articles that had been agreed upon, the man having done no wrong; 29but because there was no opposing the king, he watched his time to execute this purpose by strategy. 30But Maccabaeus, when he perceived that Nicanor was behaving more harshly in his dealings with him, and that he had become ruler in his customary bearing, understanding that this harshness came not of good, gathered together not a few of his men, and concealed himself from Nicanor.

The Syrian general Nicanor had come to a peaceable understanding with Judas Maccabeus, a goodwill between them. But Alcimus, resenting this friendship, goes to King Demetrius and slanders Nicanor, falsely accusing him of disloyalty for having befriended Judas. The king, inflamed by the false accusation, flies into a rage and orders Nicanor to seize Judas and send him prisoner. The slander poisons the friendship, provokes the king's wrath, and sets betrayal and conflict in motion where there had been peace.

This episode shows the destructive power of slander. There had been goodwill between Nicanor and Judas, a peaceable understanding. And a single slanderer, resenting that peace, poisoned it with false accusations, and the damage spread quickly: the king was inflamed, Nicanor was forced to betray a man who had done no wrong, and conflict replaced the peace that had been. Alcimus spoke no truth; he uttered false accusations out of resentment; and his slander sowed ruin, destroying a friendship and provoking a war. That is what slander does: it poisons relationships, provokes wrath, and sows destruction, often out of nothing but resentment and lies. There is a sober warning here on two sides. On one side, it warns us against being slanderers ourselves, against the resentful whispering of false or damaging words that poisons relationships and sows discord. Scripture names this among the things God hates: a false witness who utters lies, and one who sows discord among brothers. The slanderer, like Alcimus, does real harm, breaking friendships, provoking conflict, spreading ruin with the tongue. Let all slander be put away from you, Paul says. And on the other side, it warns us against being like the king, so quickly inflamed by a false report, believing the accusation without testing it, acting on slander in a rage. The king's readiness to believe and act on the slander made him its instrument; had he tested the report rather than flying into a rage, the ruin might have been averted. This searches both our speech and our hearing. Do we ever speak as Alcimus spoke, whispering damaging words out of resentment, sowing discord, poisoning relationships with slander? And do we receive slander too readily, believing accusations without testing them, letting a false report inflame us against another as the king was inflamed against Nicanor? The episode warns us to guard against both: neither to speak the slander that poisons and destroys, nor to be quickly inflamed by the false reports of others, but to put slander away from our lips and to test what we hear before we let it turn us against another.

Do I ever speak as Alcimus spoke, whispering damaging or false words out of resentment that poison relationships and sow discord, and do I receive slander too readily, believing accusations without testing them and letting a false report inflame me against another, and can this episode warn me both to put slander away from my lips and to test what I hear before I let it turn me against someone?

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