The Hammer: A Story of the Maccabean Times

by Alfred John Church

  CHAPTER XXII.

  WARS AND RUMOURS OF WARS.

  The Feast of Dedication having been kept and made an ordinance in Israelfor ever,(19) Judas's next act was to fortify the restored Temple. It wasexposed, even more than the rest of the city, to a sudden attack from thegarrison of the fort, which might work irreparable mischief could it gain,even for an hour, possession of the sacred building. Accordingly a highwall, strengthened at intervals by towers, was now erected round it, and aforce was told off from the army to watch it. This done, the patriotleader could attend without anxiety to other cares. At Beth-zur a fortresswas erected and strongly garrisoned to guard the Eastern frontierespecially against the attacks of the Idumeans, who, under their new name,inherited all the old Edomite jealousy of Israel. After personallysuperintending the erection of this stronghold, Judas marched againstother tribes on the east and south, who had been taking advantage of thetroublous times to plunder their Jewish neighbours. The Arabs of theNegeb, or South Country, were defeated at a pass near the Dead Sea, whichbore the appropriate name of the Pass of the Scorpions; the Ammonites,another tribe whose kinship with the chosen people seems to haveembittered their hereditary enmity, were defeated under their Greekleader, Timotheus.

  Meanwhile life at Jerusalem had been settling down into a peaceful order.The younger of the two priests whom Eglah had befriended had found scopefor his energies by joining the army; Shemaiah, the elder, was again aninmate in the house which had sheltered him, where Eglah, who had neverforgotten the charity with which he had spoken of her husband, tended himwith all the care of a daughter. The old man was never tired of hearingthe story of the two dismal years during which he had been in hiding.

  "Ah, father!" she said to him one day, "you were not so ill off in yourpoor prison after all. Had you had your liberty you would have seen altarsto the false gods in every street. And it was not safe to pass themwithout showing some sign of reverence."

  "And how did you fare, my daughter?" asked the old man.

  "I could avoid them, knowing where they were, by passing by on the otherside, and my good Glaucus--the Lord have mercy on him!--was always kind andhelpful. He would fetch the water regularly from the fountain, where therewas an altar to the Naiad, as they called the demon of the spring, which Icould not have avoided. The people used to laugh at him for doing awoman's work, but he did not heed them. O why was he taken away before hecould learn the truth? I think that he would have known it if he couldhave lived a little longer."

  And the poor woman burst into a passion of tears. She was always hauntedwith this fear of her husband's fate, and reproached herself with nothaving been earnest enough in speaking of the truth to her husband.

  "Peace, my daughter," said the old man, gently; "the mercies of the Lordare without end, and His ways past finding out. Be sure that He will notforget the kindness that was showed to a daughter of Abraham. But tellme," he went on, anxious to change the subject--"tell me how we came tofind the courts of the Temple desolate and overgrown as though no one hadentered them for months? Did you not say that there were sacrifices there,and feasts to the demons whom the Greeks worship?"

  "Yes, father; it was so for a time. But soon there were few or none tomake sacrifices, for the city was utterly impoverished. So the priests,whom Philip the Phrygian and Apollonius--the curse of the Lord be uponhim!--brought in to serve at the altars, went elsewhere, for, of a truth,they would have died of hunger had they stayed here. O father, it was amournful existence; of a truth we were fed with the bread of afflictionand the water of affliction."

  As they talked Ruth came in with a troubled face.

  "O Eglah!" she cried, "I did hope that we should have peace and quiet, butthere are wars and rumours of wars on every side. This morning letterscame to the captain from our brethren in Gilead. That evil Timotheus--wouldto God he had not escaped out of the hand of Judas!--has gathered togethera host of the Ammonites and slain some--a thousand, 'tis said, with theirwives and children, and shut up the rest in the fortress of Dametha. Andnow my husband and my brother are in council with the captain, and I fearme much that they will be sent to the wars, for indeed," she added, with atouch of a woman's pride in those that are dear to her, "Judas esteemsthem highly, and will always have them in places of trust. Nor would Ikeep them back from helping the Lord's people. But hark! I hear his step."

  As she spoke Seraiah came in from the council.

  "How is it?" cried Ruth, with trembling voice, her fears again getting theupper hand. "Do you go? and Azariah?"

  "Yes, my dearest, I go, and next in command to the captain and hisbrothers."

  Ruth flung her arms round her husband's neck. "Oh! I am proud of you; butyet if you could have stayed, for our little Daniel is so young----"

  And she could say no more.

  "Nay, wife, be of good cheer, and do not grudge us to the Lord's service,for indeed there is need of us all. Even while the letters from Gileadwere being read there came messengers from Galilee with their clothesrent. From them we heard that the men of Ptolemais and of Tyre and Sidonand all Galilee of the Gentiles were gathered together. Then it wasdetermined that Simon should go to Galilee with three thousand men, andJudas and Jonathan to Gilead."

  "And what of Azariah?"

  "He and Joseph, the son of Zachariah, are to be left in the city with theremnant of the army as captains of the people. They are to have theGovernor's house, and you, with our little Daniel, will live there while Iam away. This will be well for you, and for Miriam and Judith also, forthere will be many coming and going, and Miriam is a fair maiden, as sheshould be, being kin to you."

  Ruth smiled through her tears at the lover-like compliment.

  "Come now," Seraiah went on, "and get ready what I shall want for myjourney, for we set out at sunset."

  The two women kissed each other, and the old priest blessed Seraiah. "TheLord give thee strength in the day of battle, and deliver thee out of thehand of the enemy, and bring thee back to the house of thy fathers."

  At sunset exactly--for Judas was one of the commanders who are exactly andpunctually obeyed--the two expeditions set forth.

  Their departure was, of course, observed by the garrison of the fort, whowere encouraged by it to make some fierce sallies on the diminished forcesof the patriots. These were as fiercely repelled, and in a few days thingssettled down again into the virtual truce which had existed for some timebetween besiegers and besieged.

  Eight days after the departure of the expeditions tidings of victory camefrom the main army under Judas. The captain of the host had taken Bozrah,in Edom. The place lay at least a hundred miles to the east; but thepatriots had covered the distance with unexpected rapidity, and, reachingthe place before there had been any notion of their approach, had taken italmost without resistance. The messenger had left, he said, as soon as theplace was taken, but Judas had marched the same night to Dametha, whichwas in urgent need of relief.

  The next day came in tidings of further success. Dametha and its garrison,with the crowd of helpless fugitives which had sought shelter within itswalls, was safe. The night march from Bozrah had been made just in time.Had it been delayed till morning it might well have been too late. TheAmmonites had chosen that very day for a fierce assault upon the place.Just as the day was dawning and the assailants were close under the wallsJudas had appeared. His approach had been observed by the besieged, whohad watched it from the citadel, but the assailants were taken bysurprise. Hemmed in between two attacking forces, the garrison who made asortie from the town and the army of the patriots in the rear, they hadbeen utterly routed. Timotheus had barely escaped with his life, and hadfled northward, followed by Judas in hot pursuit. A few days afterwardscame the news that the campaign was at an end--begun and finished withinthe space of two weeks. This time the captain had found time to write adespatch. It ran thus:--

  "Judas, Captain of the Lord's host, to Azariah, greeting. Know that theLord has delivered
the enemy into our hands. Timotheus, having suffereddefeat at Dametha, fled northward to a temple where the heathen worshipthe 'Two-horned Ashtaroth,' a strong place by nature and skilfullyfortified. I judged it better that I should not spill the blood of thepeople of the Lord in assaulting it, and so, having cleared the walls ofdefenders by help of my slingers, I surrounded it with great quantities offaggots. To these I caused fire to be set, nor did my slingers suffer theAmmonites to approach to put out the flames. In the end the whole wasconsumed, and Timotheus perished in the fire. The Lord has rewarded himaccording to his deeds. So much for what has been done: now for whatremains to do. This country is not as yet a safe dwelling-place, and willnot be till the heathen shall be more thoroughly subdued. It is mypurpose, therefore, to bring the people of this land to Jerusalem.Provide, to the best of your ability, for their food and lodging.Farewell!"

  The exultation felt by the people at Jerusalem when the tidings of theirfinal victory reached them passes description. The times of David, theywere sure, were about to return. The promise was once again to befulfilled--"He shall reign from the flood [the Euphrates], unto the world'send." In the Temple chant of the day the words went--"I will not be afraidof ten thousands of the people that have set themselves against me roundabout. Up, Lord, and help me, O my God, for Thou smitest all Thine enemiesupon the cheek-bone. Thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly."

  But when tidings of still further victories, won by Simon in Galilee, camein to swell the popular enthusiasm, there was a certain change of feeling,something of the jealousy that almost inevitably springs up when greatdeeds are done. Joseph and Azariah chafed at the life of inaction whichthey were forced to live at Jerusalem, and what they thought in theirhearts the soldiers did not hesitate to express openly. "Let us also," soran the common talk--"let us also get for ourselves a name, and go andfight against the enemies of the Lord."

  On the day after the tidings of Simon's victories came in the two captainswere waited upon by a deputation of soldiers, who came to urge that theymight be relieved from the inaction to which they were condemned, aninaction made all the more hard to bear by the glories that were being wonelsewhere. Azariah and Joseph listened with attention, and, indeed, wereat no pains to hide their sympathy.

  "The men are right," said Joseph, when the deputation had withdrawn. "Theywill lose all heart if we keep them idling here."

  "In my heart I am inclined to agree with you," answered his colleague;"but what did the captain say?--'Watch the garrison of the heathen thatthey do no hurt to the city and the Holy Place while we are away.' But hesaid nothing of going elsewhere, and I should be unwilling to disobey him,for, beyond all doubt, the Lord is with him."

  "Nay, brother, you are too narrow in your thoughts of obeying. We obey himbest if we do the best that we can for the cause of the Lord. And though Ihonour Judas greatly, yet he is but a captain in the Lord's host, even aswe are. Why should we not do as he has done? And tell me, Azariah," hewent on, "do you think that the vision which you saw when the angel of theLord brought you a sword with the Name written on it has been altogetherfulfilled? Shall this sword which he bade you use for the Lord alwaysabide in the scabbard? Is this the life to which you are called?"

  "You speak truly," said Azariah. "I can scarcely be faithful to my trustif I suffer the sword of the Lord to rust. But tell me, what think you wehad best do?"

  "Gorgias," said Joseph, "is encamped at Jamnia, and does great mischief tothe land and the people; if we can drive him out we shall earn greatthanks both from the captain and from our brethren."

  The resolution of the commanders was heard with unmingled delight by theirmen, and with almost equal pleasure by the inhabitants of the city. Someof the more cautious disapproved, and Shemaiah even made his way to theGovernor's house--no easy task for his scanty strength--and remonstratedwith Azariah. "My son," said he, "your strength is to sit still. Make nottoo much speed, and be not over-bold." He was listened to with respect,and even with some compunction on Azariah's part. But it seemed too lateto retreat. To hold back now would infallibly give rise to the charge ofcowardice, and Azariah, brave as a lion against all outward danger, hadnot the rare moral courage which would have enabled him to face such anaccusation.

  At sunrise on the day after the resolution had been taken, the expeditionset out with confident expectation of victory, and watched from the wallsby an eager multitude. At sunset a miserable remnant came straggling backinto the city. They had fared, as their fathers had fared many centuriesbefore, when, with the like unauthorized daring, they had assaulted thehill fortress of Ai, and had returned, bringing discouragement with them.Gorgias had sallied out from his hill fortress, had charged the Jewishforce with full advantage of the ground, and had driven them in headlongflight before them. Azariah and Joseph had done all that leaders could doto turn the tide of battle, but their efforts had been in vain. Twothousand men had fallen, the wounded being, perforce, left to the mercy orcruelty of the enemy.

  The city was filled with mourning for the dead; and, of course, there wasa rapid revulsion of feeling against the leaders whose rash action hadended in such disaster. "Who are these men," was the general cry, "whohave caused the people of the Lord to perish? They are not of the seed ofthose by whose hand deliverance is given to Israel."