2 Maccabees 6:1-6: a reflection

1Not long after this, the king sent out an old man of Athens to compel the Jews to depart from the laws of their fathers and not to live by the laws of God, 2and also to pollute the sanctuary in Jerusalem and to call it by the name of Olympian Zeus, and to call the sanctuary in Gerizim by the name of Zeus the Protector of foreigners, even as the people who lived in that place did. 3The visitation of this evil was harsh and utterly grievous. 4For the temple was filled with debauchery and reveling by the heathen, who dallied with prostitutes, and had intercourse with women within the sacred precincts, and moreover brought inside things that were not appropriate. 5The altar was filled with those abominable things which had been prohibited by the laws. 6A man could neither keep the Sabbath, nor observe the feasts of their ancestors, nor so much as confess himself to be a Jew.

In a time when God's people were pressured and even forbidden to live by their faith, compelled to abandon the laws of their fathers and conform to what was demanded of them, we see the cost that faithfulness can carry, and the call to hold to God even then. The king sent to compel the people to depart from the laws of their fathers, and not to live by the laws of God, the account says; a man could not even keep the Sabbath, nor observe the feasts of his ancestors, nor so much as confess himself to be one of God's people. Faithfulness to God was pressured, penalized, forbidden; conformity was demanded, and to hold to God was costly. In such a time, the call is to remain faithful to God despite the cost. This shows remaining faithful to God even when faith is pressured or forbidden and conformity is demanded. Remain faithful to God even when faith is pressured or forbidden. Conformity may be demanded, but hold to God even at a cost. Faithfulness can carry a cost; hold to God even then. Do not abandon your faith under pressure to conform.

Notice the pressure God's people faced. They were compelled to abandon the laws of their fathers, forbidden to live by the laws of God, pressured to conform to what was demanded of them; a person could not even keep the Sabbath, observe the feasts, or openly confess to being one of God's people. Faithfulness to God had become costly, penalized, even forbidden, and there was enormous pressure to conform, to give up their faith, to go along with what was demanded. In such a time, the call, taken up by many who followed, was to remain faithful to God despite the cost, not to abandon their faith under pressure. This holds a lesson for us, though our pressures may be less severe. There can be pressure, of many kinds, to abandon or hide our faith, to conform to what the world around us demands, to give up faithfulness to God because it is costly, penalized, or unwelcome. But the call, then as now, is to remain faithful to God even when faithfulness carries a cost, not to abandon our faith under pressure to conform. Faithfulness can be costly; but we are called to hold to God even then, not letting pressure or the demand to conform turn us from him. We do well to remain faithful to God even when faith is pressured or unwelcome, holding to him despite the cost rather than abandoning our faith to conform. Remain faithful to God even when faith is pressured, penalized, or unwelcome. Do not abandon your faith under pressure to conform. Faithfulness can be costly; hold to God even then. Let neither pressure nor the demand to conform turn you from God.

That is worth taking to heart, for we are called to remain faithful to God even when faith is pressured or forbidden and conformity is demanded, holding to him despite the cost, as God's people faced pressure to abandon their faith. There can be pressure to give up or hide our faith and conform to what is demanded; but the call is to remain faithful to God even when it is costly. Hold to God. When you are pressured to abandon or hide your faith and conform, do not give way; remain faithful to God, holding to him even at a cost. Remain faithful to God even when faith is pressured, penalized, or forbidden and conformity is demanded, holding to him despite the cost rather than abandoning your faith to conform, as in a time when God's people were pressured and even forbidden to live by their faith, compelled to abandon the laws of their fathers and conform to what was demanded, we see the cost that faithfulness can carry and the call to hold to God even then, when the king sent to compel the people to depart from the laws of their fathers and not to live by the laws of God, so that a person could not even keep the Sabbath, observe the feasts, or confess to being one of God's people; for faithfulness to God was pressured, penalized, and forbidden, conformity was demanded, and to hold to God was costly, so that in such a time the call, taken up by many who followed, was to remain faithful to God despite the cost and not abandon their faith under pressure, which holds a lesson for us though our pressures may be less severe, since there can be pressure of many kinds to abandon or hide our faith and conform to what the world demands, to give up faithfulness because it is costly or unwelcome, but the call then as now is to remain faithful to God even when faithfulness carries a cost, not letting pressure or the demand to conform turn us from him, so that we do well to remain faithful to God even when faith is pressured or unwelcome, holding to him despite the cost.

Lord, in a time when your people were pressured and even forbidden to live by their faith, compelled to abandon the laws of their fathers and conform to what was demanded of them, I see the cost that faithfulness can carry, and the call to hold to you even then. The king sent to compel the people to depart from the laws of their fathers, and not to live by the laws of God, the account says; a man could not even keep the Sabbath, nor observe the feasts of his ancestors, nor so much as confess himself to be one of God's people. Faithfulness to you was pressured, penalized, forbidden; conformity was demanded, and to hold to you was costly. In such a time, the call is to remain faithful to you despite the cost. Show me the pressure your people faced. They were compelled to abandon the laws of their fathers, forbidden to live by your laws, pressured to conform; a person could not even keep the Sabbath, observe the feasts, or openly confess to being one of your people. Faithfulness to you had become costly, penalized, even forbidden, and there was enormous pressure to conform, to give up their faith. In such a time, the call, taken up by many who followed, was to remain faithful to you despite the cost. This holds a lesson for me, though my pressures may be less severe. There can be pressure, of many kinds, to abandon or hide my faith, to conform to what the world around me demands, to give up faithfulness to you because it is costly or unwelcome. But the call, then as now, is to remain faithful to you even when faithfulness carries a cost. Take that to my heart. When I am pressured to abandon or hide my faith and conform, keep me from giving way; help me remain faithful to you, Lord, holding to you even at a cost, and letting neither pressure nor the demand to conform turn me from you.