Context No. 2844 of 4322 · 1 Maccabees

1 Maccabees 16:18-24: in context

18Ptolemy wrote these things and sent to the king, that he should send him forces to aid him, and should deliver him their country and the cities. 19He sent others to Gazara to do away with John. To the captains of thousands, he sent letters to come to him, that he might give them silver, gold, and gifts. 20He sent others to take possession of Jerusalem and the temple hill. 21One ran before to Gazara, and told John that his father and kindred had perished, and that he has sent to kill you also. 22When he heard, he was greatly shocked. He seized the men who came to destroy him and killed them; for he perceived that they were seeking to destroy him. 23And the rest of the acts of John and of his wars and of his valiant deeds which he did, and of the building of the walls which he built, and of his achievements, 24behold, they are written in the chronicles of his high priesthood, from the time that he was made high priest after his father.

The first book of Maccabees ends not in triumph but in a squalid palace intrigue. Ptolemy has murdered Simon the high priest, his own father-in-law, and now schemes to seize power, sending assassins to Gazara to kill Simon's son John as well and to take Jerusalem and the temple hill. Ambition is devouring its own family.

But John is warned in time. He seizes the men sent to destroy him and puts them down, and the book closes noting that his deeds are written in the chronicles of his priesthood. It is a jarring ending, and its honesty is worth sitting with: the story of God's people does not resolve into a neat victory, but continues through treachery and raw ambition. And still, through it, God preserves a remnant and a line to carry the work forward. The narrative refuses a tidy bow, and trusts that God's purpose survives even the ugliest scenes.

When treachery and raw ambition seem to have the upper hand, do I still trust that God preserves his purpose through it?

Sources

1 Maccabees 16:22: "When he heard, he was greatly shocked. He seized the men who came to destroy him and killed them."
Psalm 37:33: "The LORD will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged."
2 Timothy 2:19: "The Lord knows those who are his."