1 Maccabees 6:55-63: a reflection

55Lysias heard that Philip, whom Antiochus the king, while he was yet alive, appointed to raise his son Antiochus to be king, 56had returned from Persia and Media, and with him the forces that went with the king, and that he was seeking to take control of the government. 57He made haste, and gave orders to depart. He said to the king and the leaders of the army and to the men, “We get weaker daily, our food is scant, the place where we encamp is strong, and the affairs of the kingdom lie upon us. 58Now therefore let’s negotiate with these men, and make peace with them and with all their nation, 59and covenant with them, that they may walk after their own laws, as before; for because of their laws which we abolished they were angered, and did all these things.” 60The speech pleased the king and the princes, and he sent to them to make peace; and they accepted it. 61The king and the princes swore to them. On these conditions, they came out from the stronghold. 62Then the king entered into mount Zion. He saw the strength of the place, and broke the oath which he had sworn, and gave orders to pull down the wall all around. 63Then he left in haste and returned to Antioch, and found Philip master of the city. He fought against him, and took the city by force.

In this account, a king makes peace with the Jews, and swears an oath to let them live by their own laws. On the strength of that sworn oath, they come out from their stronghold. But then the king, seeing the strength of their fortifications, breaks the oath he had sworn and orders their wall torn down. He gave his solemn word, and then broke it when it suited him. His sworn oath meant nothing to him when advantage lay in breaking it.

Notice the treachery of the broken oath. The king had sworn a solemn oath; the Jews trusted it, and acted on it. But when breaking his word seemed advantageous, the king broke it without hesitation. His oath was not a binding commitment, but a convenience to be discarded when it no longer served him. And this breaking of a sworn word is a real wrong; a word given and then broken when convenient is treachery, and it destroys the trust on which all dealings depend.

That wrong, of breaking one's word when advantage lies in it, is one to guard against in ourselves. We can be tempted, like this king, to treat our commitments and promises as binding only so long as they serve us, to break our word when keeping it becomes costly or inconvenient. But a word given is a word to be kept, even when keeping it is costly; to break it when advantage lies in breaking it is treachery, and it destroys trust. Do not break your word when it becomes costly or inconvenient to keep; let your commitments be binding, kept even when breaking them would be to your advantage. The king broke his sworn oath when it suited him; do not be like him, treating your word as a convenience to be discarded. Keep your word, even at cost; let your promises be binding, so that you are trustworthy, unlike the king whose broken oath was treachery. A word kept even when costly is the mark of integrity; keep yours.

Lord, in this account a king made peace with the Jews and swore an oath to let them live by their own laws; but then, seeing the strength of their fortifications, he broke the oath and ordered their wall torn down, breaking his solemn word when advantage lay in it. Guard me against that wrong in myself. I can be tempted, like this king, to treat my commitments and promises as binding only so long as they serve me, to break my word when keeping it becomes costly or inconvenient. But a word given is a word to be kept, even when keeping it is costly; to break it when advantage lies in breaking it is treachery, and it destroys the trust on which all dealings depend. Keep me from breaking my word when it becomes costly or inconvenient; let my commitments be binding, kept even when breaking them would be to my advantage. The king broke his sworn oath when it suited him; keep me from being like him, treating my word as a convenience to be discarded. Help me keep my word, even at cost; let my promises be binding, so that I am trustworthy, unlike the king whose broken oath was treachery. A word kept even when costly is the mark of integrity; help me keep mine, Lord.