Scripture Daily

Context No. 876 of 4322 · 1 Maccabees

Context · Reflection

1 Maccabees 11:8-12: in context

8But King Ptolemy took control of the cities along the sea coast, to Selucia which is by the sea, and he devised evil plans concerning Alexander. 9He sent ambassadors to King Demetrius, saying, “Come! Let’s make a covenant with one another, and I will give you my daughter whom Alexander has, and you shall reign over your father’s kingdom; 10for I regret that I gave my daughter to him, for he tried to kill me. 11He accused him, because he coveted his kingdom. 12Taking his daughter from him, he gave her to Demetrius, and was estranged from Alexander, and their enmity was openly seen.

This is the tangled power politics of the Maccabean era. King Ptolemy of Egypt, marching up the coast, decides to betray his ally Alexander. He sends word to Demetrius offering an alliance, takes back the daughter he had given Alexander in marriage, hands her instead to Demetrius, and the enmity between him and Alexander is out in the open.

There is no hero in these verses, and that is worth noticing. First Maccabees does not clean up the record; it simply shows kings using a daughter as a token, breaking covenants the moment advantage shifts, coveting each other's kingdoms and saying so out loud. Ptolemy regrets giving his daughter to Alexander because Alexander, he claims, tried to kill him, so he trades her away like a coin. Marriages here are treaties, and treaties last exactly as long as they are useful. Against this backdrop of scheming rulers, the small nation of Judah is trying to survive and keep its worship intact, watching empires make and break their word overhead. Scripture records the treachery plainly, without pretending the strong keep their promises. We are meant to see how differently God keeps covenant.

Do I treat my own commitments as binding only while they serve me, the way these kings treated theirs?

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