1 Maccabees 11:30-37: a reflection

30“King Demetrius to his brother Jonathan, and to the nation of the Jews, greetings. 31The copy of the letter which we wrote to Lasthenes our kinsman concerning you, we have written also to you, that you may see it. 32‘King Demetrius to Lasthenes his father, greetings. 33We have determined to do good to the nation of the Jews, who are our friends, and observe what is just toward us, because of their good will toward us. 34We have confirmed therefore to them the borders of Judea, and also the three governments of Aphaerema, Lydda, and Ramathaim (these were added to Judea from the country of Samaria), and all their territory to them, for all who do sacrifice in Jerusalem, instead of the king’s dues which the king received of them yearly before from the produce of the earth and the fruits of trees. 35As for the other payments to us from henceforth, of the tithes and the taxes that pertain to us, and the salt pits, and the crown taxes due to us, all these we will give back to them. 36Not one of these grants shall be annulled from this time forth and forever. 37Now therefore be careful to make a copy of these things, and let it be given to Jonathan, and let it be set up on the holy mountain in a suitable and conspicuous place.’”

This passage records a king's letter to the Jews, full of generous promises: he confirms their borders, grants them territories, releases them from various taxes, and declares that none of these grants shall ever be annulled, from this time forth and forever. It sounds permanent, unshakable, a royal guarantee meant to last forever. And yet anyone who reads on in the history knows how such royal promises went: kings changed, alliances shifted, and grants declared permanent were revoked by the next ruler or the same one in a different mood.

Notice the gap between the language and the reality. The king says these grants shall never be annulled, forever. But an earthly king's forever is only as good as his throne and his goodwill, both of which pass. Political favor is fragile; the guarantees of rulers, however solemnly worded, rest on shifting foundations and are often undone. What one king grants, another takes away.

That is worth remembering when we are tempted to rest our security on the promises and favor of earthly powers, whose word, however grand, does not truly last forever. There is only one whose promises genuinely cannot be annulled: God, whose word stands firm when kings and their guarantees have long crumbled. Do not build your security on the shifting favor of earthly powers, whose forever is not forever. Build it on the God whose promises truly stand, whose word does not change with the mood of a ruler or the turning of an age. His forever is the only one that holds.

Lord, an earthly king declared his grants would never be annulled, forever, yet such royal promises shifted with thrones and moods. Keep me from resting my security on the fragile favor and guarantees of earthly powers, whose forever does not last. You alone are the one whose word truly cannot be annulled, whose promises stand firm when kings and their guarantees have crumbled. Let me build my security on you, whose forever holds.