Context No. 2600 of 4322 · 1 Maccabees

1 Maccabees 11:38-44: in context

38When King Demetrius saw that the land was quiet before him, and that no resistance was made to him, he sent away all his troops, each man to his own place, except the foreign troops, which he had raised from the islands of the Gentiles. So all the troops of his fathers hated him. 39Now Tryphon was one of those who previously had been on Alexander’s side, and he saw that all the forces murmured against Demetrius. So he went to Imalcue the Arabian, who was raising up Antiochus the young child of Alexander, 40and urgently insisted to him that he should deliver him to him, that he might reign in his father’s place. He told him all that Demetrius had done, and the hatred with which his forces hated him; and he stayed there many days. 41Now Jonathan sent to King Demetrius, that he should remove the troops of the citadel from Jerusalem, and the troops who were in the strongholds; for they fought against Israel continually. 42Demetrius sent to Jonathan, saying, “I will not only do this for you and your nation, but I will greatly honor you and your nation, if I find an opportunity. 43Now therefore you shall do well if you send me men who will fight for me; for all my forces have revolted.” 44So Jonathan sent him three thousand valiant men to Antioch. They came to the king, and the king was glad at their coming.

King Demetrius, once he feels secure, dismisses the troops who had served his family, keeping only foreign mercenaries. The result is immediate: all the soldiers of his fathers hate him, and when a rival named Tryphon begins to stir, the discontented forces are ready to revolt against Demetrius. A king who used and discarded his own people finds himself abandoned by them.

Demetrius made a simple, fatal miscalculation: he treated the men who had served his house as disposable, and loyalty does not survive that. The troops who had once fought for his family turned on him, because he had shown them they were expendable. There is a plain lesson in leadership here. Those who use people while convenient and cast them aside when they are no longer needed should not be surprised when the loyalty evaporates. Devotion is earned by how we treat the ones who serve and support us; treat them as tools, and you will one day stand, like Demetrius, deserted by your own.

Do I treat the people who serve and support me in a way that earns their loyalty, or use them while convenient and discard them, breeding resentment?

Sources

1 Maccabees 11:38: he sent away all his troops, each man to his own place, except the foreign troops... So all the troops of his fathers hated him.
1 Maccabees 11:39: Tryphon... saw that all the forces murmured against Demetrius.
Colossians 4:1: Masters, give to your servants that which is just and equal, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.