1 Maccabees 12:46-53: a reflection

46He put his trust in him, and did even as he said, and sent away his forces, and they departed into the land of Judah. 47But he reserved to himself three thousand men, of whom he left two thousand in Galilee, but one thousand went with him. 48Now as soon as Jonathan entered into Ptolemais, the people of Ptolemais shut the gates and seized him. They killed all those who came in with him with the sword. 49Tryphon sent troops and cavalry into Galilee, and into the Great Plain, to destroy all Jonathan’s men. 50They perceived that he had been seized and had perished, along with those who were with him. They encouraged one another and went on their way close together, prepared to fight. 51Those who followed them saw that they were ready to fight for their lives, and turned back again. 52They all came in peace into the land of Judah, and they mourned for Jonathan and those who were with him, and they were very afraid. All Israel mourned with a great mourning. 53And all the Gentiles who were around them sought to destroy them utterly; for they said, “They have no ruler nor anyone to help them. Now therefore let’s fight against them, and take away their memory from among men.”

When Jonathan, the leader of the Jews, is treacherously seized and his men killed, fear sweeps through Israel. The people mourn deeply, and the surrounding nations, sensing weakness, close in: They have no leader nor anyone to help them, they say; let us destroy them and blot out their memory. With their leader taken and their protector gone, the people feel exposed and vulnerable, and their enemies press in to finish them.

Notice the fear that comes when a human support is removed. As long as Jonathan led them, the people felt secure; when he was taken, they were afraid, and their enemies grew bold, precisely because they seemed to have no one to help them. Their sense of security had rested heavily on a human leader, and when he was gone, they felt they had nothing. It is a natural fear, but it points to a deeper truth: human supports, however good, can be taken away.

That speaks to our own fears when the people or supports we lean on are removed. We can rest our sense of security on a leader, a protector, a person we depend on, and feel utterly exposed when they are gone. But God's people are never actually without help, for God himself is their unfailing helper, who is not seized, does not fail, and cannot be taken away. When the human supports you have leaned on are removed, and you feel you have no one to help you, do not despair. Your ultimate help was never in them but in God, who remains when every human support is gone. He is the leader who is never lost and the helper who never fails.

Lord, when Jonathan was seized and killed, the people were afraid and their enemies pressed in, saying they had no leader or helper left. When the people and supports I lean on are removed, and I feel exposed and helpless, remind me where my true help lies. Human supports, however good, can be taken away; but you are my unfailing helper, who cannot be seized, who does not fail, who remains when every other support is gone. Keep me from resting my whole security on any person or prop that can be lost. You are the leader who is never lost and the helper who never fails; help me trust in you, and never to feel truly without help while I have you.