1 Maccabees 15:10-14: a reflection

10In the one hundred seventy-fourth year, Antiochus went into the land of his fathers; and all the forces came together to him, so that there were few men with Tryphon. 11King Antiochus pursued him, and he came, as he fled, to Dor, which is by the sea; 12for he knew that troubles had come upon him all at once, and that his forces had deserted him. 13Antiochus encamped against Dor, and with him one hundred twenty thousand men of war and eight thousand cavalry. 14He surrounded the city, and the ships joined in the attack from the sea. He harassed the city by land and sea, and permitted no one to go out or in.

As a usurper who had risen to power by treachery is pursued, his forces desert him and troubles close in on him all at once, a picture of the insecurity of power built on wrong. He came, as he fled, to Dor by the sea, the account says; for he knew that troubles had come upon him all at once, and that his forces had deserted him. This man had grasped at power through treachery and murder. But now, pursued, he found his position collapsing: his own forces abandoned him, troubles came upon him all at once, and he was hemmed in with no way of escape. The power he had seized by wrong did not hold; it fell apart under pressure, his supporters melting away. This shows the insecurity of power and gain built on wrong. Power and gain built on wrong are insecure and do not hold. What is grasped by treachery falls apart under pressure. Do not build your security on what is gained by wrong. The support of those won by wrong deserts in the day of trouble.

Notice the collapse of this usurper's position. He had risen to power through treachery and violence, grasping what was not rightly his by wrong means. For a time, perhaps, his power seemed secure, backed by his forces, his position established. But when he was pursued and pressure came, everything fell apart at once: his forces deserted him, troubles came upon him all together, and he found himself hemmed in, fleeing, with no way out. The power he had built by wrong proved insecure; it did not hold under pressure, and those who had supported him abandoned him in the day of trouble. This holds a sobering truth about ill-gotten power and gain. What is grasped by wrong, treachery, dishonesty, injustice, may seem for a time to give security, position, and support; but it is built on a poor foundation. Power and gain gained by wrong tend to be insecure; they can fall apart under pressure, and those won to our side by wrong means, or bound to us only by advantage, tend to desert us when trouble comes. There is no lasting security in what is built on wrong. This warns us against seeking our security in ill-gotten power or gain, or in support won by wrong; such things do not hold. We do well not to build our security on what is gained by wrong, which is insecure and does not hold, but to seek a security founded on what is right and on God. Do not build your security on power or gain grasped by wrong; it does not hold. What is gained by treachery falls apart under pressure. Support won by wrong or bound only by advantage deserts in trouble. Seek a security founded on what is right and on God, not on ill-gotten gain.

That is worth taking to heart, for power and gain built on wrong are insecure and do not hold, and we do well not to build our security on them, as the usurper's forces deserted him and troubles closed in. We can seek security in ill-gotten power or gain; but the one who rose by treachery found his support melt away and troubles close in all at once. It does not hold. Do not build your security on what is grasped by wrong, which falls apart under pressure; seek a security founded on what is right and on God. Do not build your security on power or gain built on wrong, which is insecure and falls apart under pressure and whose supporters desert in the day of trouble, but seek a security founded on what is right and on God, as a usurper who had risen to power by treachery, when pursued, found his forces desert him and troubles close in on him all at once, a picture of the insecurity of power built on wrong, since he fled to Dor knowing that troubles had come upon him all at once and his forces had deserted him; for this man had grasped at power through treachery and murder, but now pursued he found his position collapsing, his own forces abandoning him, troubles coming all at once, and himself hemmed in with no escape, the power he had seized by wrong not holding but falling apart under pressure, which holds a sobering truth about ill-gotten power and gain, that what is grasped by wrong, treachery, dishonesty, or injustice may seem for a time to give security and support but is built on a poor foundation, so that power and gain gained by wrong tend to be insecure and can fall apart under pressure, those won to our side by wrong or bound only by advantage tending to desert us when trouble comes, there being no lasting security in what is built on wrong, which warns us against seeking our security in ill-gotten power or support won by wrong, so that we do well not to build our security on what is gained by wrong but to seek a security founded on what is right and on God.

Lord, as a usurper who had risen to power by treachery is pursued, his forces desert him and troubles close in on him all at once, a picture of the insecurity of power built on wrong. He came, as he fled, to Dor by the sea, the account says; for he knew that troubles had come upon him all at once, and that his forces had deserted him. This man had grasped at power through treachery. But now, pursued, he found his position collapsing: his own forces abandoned him, troubles came upon him all at once, and he was hemmed in with no way of escape. The power he had seized by wrong did not hold; it fell apart under pressure, his supporters melting away. Show me the collapse of this usurper's position. He had risen to power through treachery, grasping what was not rightly his by wrong means. For a time, his power seemed secure. But when he was pursued and pressure came, everything fell apart at once: his forces deserted him, troubles came upon him all together, and he found himself fleeing, with no way out. The power he had built by wrong proved insecure; those who had supported him abandoned him in the day of trouble. This holds a sobering truth about ill-gotten power and gain. What is grasped by wrong, treachery, dishonesty, injustice, may seem for a time to give security, position, and support; but it is built on a poor foundation. Power and gain gained by wrong tend to be insecure; they can fall apart under pressure, and those bound to us only by advantage tend to desert us when trouble comes. There is no lasting security in what is built on wrong. This warns me against seeking my security in ill-gotten power or gain, or in support won by wrong. Take that to my heart. Keep me from building my security on power or gain grasped by wrong, which does not hold and falls apart under pressure; help me seek a security, Lord, founded on what is right and on you, not on ill-gotten gain or on support bound only by advantage, which deserts in the day of trouble.