1 Maccabees 12:39-45: a reflection

39And Tryphon sought to reign over Asia and to crown himself, and to stretch out his hand against Antiochus the king. 40He was afraid that Jonathan wouldn’t allow him, and that he would fight against him; and he sought a way to seize him, that he might destroy him. So he marched out and came to Bethshan. 41Jonathan came out to meet him with forty thousand men chosen for battle, and came to Bethshan. 42Tryphon saw that he came with a great army, and he was afraid to stretch out his hand against him. 43He received him honorably, and commended him to all his friends, and gave him gifts, and commanded his forces to be obedient to him, as to himself. 44He said to Jonathan, “Why have you put all these people to so much trouble, seeing there is no war between us? 45Now send them away to their homes, but choose for yourself a few men who shall be with you, and come with me to Ptolemais, and I will give it to you, and the rest of the strongholds and the rest of the forces, and all the king’s officers. Then I will turn around and depart; for this is why I came.”

In an act of treachery, a scheming commander named Tryphon, unable to overcome Jonathan by force, resorts to flattery and gifts to disarm him, persuading him to send away his army and come with only a few men. Tryphon saw that Jonathan came with a great army, and he was afraid to attack him, the account says; so he received him honorably, gave him gifts, and said, why have you troubled all these people? Send them home, and come with me with a few men. Unable to defeat Jonathan while he was strong and well-guarded, Tryphon used honor, gifts, and persuasion to talk him into giving up his safeguards, so that he might then seize him. Jonathan was safe while he kept his guard; the danger came when he was persuaded to set it aside. This is a sobering warning about being talked out of our safeguards by those who mean us harm. Beware being persuaded to give up your safeguards by those who mean harm. Flattery and gifts can be used to disarm us. We are safe while we keep our guard; danger comes when we set it aside. Do not let smooth persuasion talk you out of your protections.

Notice the tactic Tryphon used. He could not overcome Jonathan by force, because Jonathan came with a great army, well-guarded and strong. So he changed tactics: he received Jonathan with honor, gave him gifts, spoke persuasively, and urged him to send away his army and come with only a few men, as though there were no need for such precautions between friends. The flattery, the gifts, the reassuring words were all aimed at getting Jonathan to lower his guard, to give up the very safeguards that protected him. And once persuaded to set them aside, Jonathan would be vulnerable. This is a warning worth heeding. Those who mean us harm do not always come by open force; sometimes they come with flattery, gifts, and persuasion, aiming to talk us out of the safeguards, the caution, the protections that keep us safe. We can be disarmed by honor and reassurance, persuaded that our guardedness is unnecessary, and led to set aside the very things that protected us. We do well to be discerning, not to let flattery, gifts, or smooth persuasion talk us out of wise safeguards and caution, especially with those we have reason to be wary of. Keeping our guard is not distrust of everyone, but wisdom against those who would exploit our lowered defenses. Do not be talked out of your safeguards by flattery and persuasion. Those who mean harm may use gifts and reassurance to disarm us. Keep wise caution; do not let smooth words lower your guard. Be discerning against those who would exploit your lowered defenses.

That is worth taking to heart, for those who mean us harm may use flattery, gifts, and persuasion to talk us out of our safeguards, and we do well to be discerning, as Tryphon disarmed Jonathan with honor and gifts before seizing him. We can be disarmed by flattery and reassurance, persuaded to set aside wise caution and protections; but Jonathan, safe while he kept his guard, was endangered when persuaded to send away his army. Keeping wise caution is wisdom. Do not let flattery, gifts, or smooth persuasion talk you out of wise safeguards, especially with those you have reason to be wary of. Be discerning, not letting flattery, gifts, or smooth persuasion talk you out of wise safeguards and caution, especially with those you have reason to be wary of, as the scheming commander Tryphon, unable to overcome Jonathan by force because he came with a great army and was well-guarded, resorted to receiving him honorably, giving him gifts, and persuading him to send away his army and come with only a few men, so that he might then seize him; for unable to defeat Jonathan while he was strong and well-guarded, Tryphon used honor, gifts, and reassuring words to talk him into giving up his safeguards, and Jonathan was safe while he kept his guard but endangered when persuaded to set it aside, which is a warning worth heeding, since those who mean us harm do not always come by open force but sometimes with flattery, gifts, and persuasion aiming to talk us out of the safeguards, caution, and protections that keep us safe, so that we can be disarmed by honor and reassurance and led to set aside the very things that protected us, and we do well to be discerning, keeping wise caution, which is not distrust of everyone but wisdom against those who would exploit our lowered defenses.

Lord, in an act of treachery, a scheming commander named Tryphon, unable to overcome Jonathan by force, resorts to flattery and gifts to disarm him, persuading him to send away his army and come with only a few men. Tryphon saw that Jonathan came with a great army, and he was afraid to attack him, the account says; so he received him honorably, gave him gifts, and said, why have you troubled all these people? Send them home, and come with me with a few men. Unable to defeat Jonathan while he was strong and well-guarded, Tryphon used honor, gifts, and persuasion to talk him into giving up his safeguards, so that he might then seize him. Jonathan was safe while he kept his guard; the danger came when he was persuaded to set it aside. This is a sobering warning about being talked out of my safeguards by those who mean me harm. Show me the tactic Tryphon used. He could not overcome Jonathan by force; so he received him with honor, gave him gifts, spoke persuasively, and urged him to send away his army, as though there were no need for such precautions between friends. The flattery, the gifts, the reassuring words were all aimed at getting Jonathan to lower his guard. And once persuaded to set it aside, Jonathan would be vulnerable. This is a warning worth heeding. Those who mean me harm do not always come by open force; sometimes they come with flattery, gifts, and persuasion, aiming to talk me out of the safeguards and caution that keep me safe. I can be disarmed by honor and reassurance, persuaded that my guardedness is unnecessary. Take that to my heart, for those who mean harm may use flattery, gifts, and persuasion to talk me out of my safeguards, and I do well to be discerning. Keep me from letting flattery, gifts, or smooth persuasion talk me out of wise safeguards and caution, Lord, especially with those I have reason to be wary of, keeping wise caution as wisdom against those who would exploit my lowered defenses, not out of distrust of everyone but out of discernment.