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Context No. 321 of 4322 · 1 Maccabees

Context · Reflection

1 Maccabees 10:15-20: in context

15King Alexander heard all the promises which Demetrius had sent to Jonathan. They told him of the battles and the valiant deeds which he and his kindred had done, and of the troubles which they had endured. 16So he said, “Could we find another man like him? Now we will make him our friend and ally.” 17He wrote a letter and sent it to him, in these words, saying, 18“King Alexander to his brother Jonathan, greetings. 19We have heard of you, that you are a mighty man of valour, and worthy to be our friend. 20Now we have appointed you this day to be high priest of your nation, and to be called the king’s friend, and to take our side, and to keep friendship with us.” He also sent to him a purple robe and a golden crown.

For years the Maccabees had been hunted rebels, fighting the Seleucid Empire that outlawed their faith. This passage catches the moment the tables turn, and it turns out that being courted can be more dangerous than being hunted. Two rival claimants to the Seleucid throne, Demetrius and Alexander, are now competing for the loyalty of Jonathan, the guerrilla leader, because he has become too strong to ignore.

Watch how Alexander goes about winning him. He hears the generous promises Demetrius has already made to Jonathan, and rather than fight for the loyalty, he outbids. Could we ever find another man like him, he says. Then he writes a warm letter, addressing Jonathan as brother, praising him as a mighty man of valor worthy to be the king's friend. And he attaches the gifts: he appoints Jonathan high priest of his own nation, grants him the title of the king's friend, and sends along a purple robe and a golden crown. The empire that could not crush this man now flatters him and drapes him in royal colors. But every honor in the letter comes with a small, buried instruction: take our side, and keep friendship with us. The flattery is a bid to own him. And notice what is being handed out as a political favor, the high priesthood, a sacred office, now dispensed by a foreign king as a bribe.

That is how the world often approaches the person it could not defeat. It arrives with a robe, a crown, and the words we could never find another like you, and the price, written small, is your allegiance. What flattering honor or recognition have I been tempted by, that comes dressed as appreciation but is really an attempt to purchase my loyalty, and to turn something of mine into someone else's favor?

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