Context No. 4120 of 4322 · 1 Maccabees

1 Maccabees 5:1-8: in context

1It came to pass, when the Gentiles all around heard that the altar had been rebuilt and the sanctuary dedicated as before, they were exceedingly angry. 2They took counsel to destroy the race of Jacob that was in the midst of them, and they began to kill and destroy among the people. 3Judas fought against the children of Esau in Idumaea at Akrabattine, because they besieged Israel. He struck them with a great slaughter, humbled them, and took their spoils. 4He remembered the wickedness of the children of Baean, who were a snare and a stumbling block to the people, lying in wait for them on the highways. 5They were shut up by him in the towers. He encamped against them, and destroyed them utterly, and burned with fire the towers of the place with all who were in them. 6He passed over to the children of Ammon, and found a mighty band and many people, with Timotheus for their leader. 7He fought many battles with them, and they were defeated before his face. He struck them, 8and took possession of Jazer and its villages, and returned again into Judea.

No sooner had the temple been cleansed and rededicated, a great spiritual victory for God's people, than the surrounding nations, enraged by it, banded together to destroy them. The very success of restoring true worship provoked a fresh wave of hostility, and Judas had to go out and defend his people on multiple fronts.

There is a pattern here worth noticing. The opposition did not fade after the victory; it intensified. Precisely because God's people had accomplished something for God, rededicating his sanctuary, their enemies were stirred to greater anger and renewed attack. Spiritual progress often provokes spiritual opposition. We might expect that after a spiritual victory, a breakthrough, a season of renewal, things would get easier. But often the opposite is true: fresh opposition arises precisely because ground has been gained for God. To be prepared for this is to avoid being blindsided and discouraged when, after a victory, we face renewed struggle.

When fresh opposition arises after a spiritual victory or season of renewal, do I understand that spiritual progress often provokes opposition, so that I am not blindsided or discouraged, but stand ready to defend the ground that has been gained for God?

Sources

1 Maccabees 5:1-2: "When the Gentiles all around heard that the altar had been rebuilt and the sanctuary dedicated as before, they were exceedingly angry. They took counsel to destroy the race of Jacob."
1 Maccabees 5:3: "Judas fought against the children of Esau in Idumaea at Akrabattine, because they besieged Israel."
1 Peter 5:8: "Be sober and self-controlled. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, walks around like a roaring lion."