Context No. 528 of 4322 · 2 Maccabees

2 Maccabees 15:1-5: in context

1But Nicanor, hearing that Judas and his company were in the region of Samaria, resolved to attack them with complete safety on the day of rest. 2When the Jews who were compelled to follow him said, “Don’t destroy so savagely and barbarously, but give due glory to the day which he who sees all things has honored and hallowed above other days.” 3Then the thrice-accursed wretch asked if there were a Sovereign in heaven who had commanded to keep the Sabbath day. 4When they declared, “There is the Lord, living himself as Sovereign in heaven, who told us observe the seventh day.” 5He replied, “I also am a sovereign on the earth, who commands you to take up weapons and execute the king’s business.” Nevertheless he didn’t prevail to execute his cruel plan.

The Greek general Nicanor is hunting the Jewish resistance under Judas Maccabeus, and he decides to attack them on the Sabbath, calculating that they will not defend themselves on their holy day and can be slaughtered in safety. Some Jews forced to march with his army beg him not to do it, appealing to the sanctity of the day that the God who sees all things has honored above others. And Nicanor sneers back a question that goes to the heart of everything: is there really a Sovereign in heaven who commanded you to keep the Sabbath day? When they answer, yes, there is the living Lord, Sovereign in heaven, who told us to keep the seventh day, Nicanor gives his reply. I too am a sovereign, he says, on earth, and I command you to take up arms and do the king's business.

There is the collision, stated as starkly as it can be. On one side, the claim that there is a Sovereign in heaven whose word stands over every human ruler. On the other, Nicanor, a man with real power over these people's lives, declaring himself sovereign, answerable to no higher authority, free to override God's command with his own. It is the ancient posture of every earthly power that recognizes nothing above itself. And the narrator adds a quiet, deadly comment at the end: nevertheless, he did not prevail to carry out his cruel plan. The man who declared himself sovereign discovered there was a Sovereign above him after all.

Nicanor's arrogance is easy to condemn in a tyrant, but its root runs through me in subtler form. In practice I often live as my own sovereign, treating my life as mine to run by my own command, acknowledging no authority above my preferences, quietly setting aside what God has said when it crosses what I want. Nicanor said out loud what that attitude actually claims: I am sovereign, and there is no one over me. Where am I living as though I were the highest authority over my own life, and have I honestly reckoned with the Sovereign in heaven who stands above my command?

Sources

2 Maccabees 15:1-3: Nicanor planning to attack on the Sabbath and mocking the holy day
2 Maccabees 15:4: the claim of a Sovereign in heaven against Nicanor's claim to rule
2 Maccabees 15:5: the note that Nicanor did not prevail