The Maccabee's Rule

The nation of Israel, for several centuries, was under a theocracy of God. Their king was God instead of a human. When Israel was in distress, God sent judges to deliver them and turn them back to Him. Unfortunately, instead of worshipping God after their deliverance, they turned against Him in their sin. Israel began to become like the other nations and kings reigned over them. The kingships of Saul, David, and Solomon significantly influenced the nation of Israel. When these kings obeyed God, He blessed them and the nation. However, when the kings disobeyed God, He removed his blessings from them and the nation of Israel. The disobedience to and disregarding of God eventually lead to the downfall of the nation of Israel.

Titus, backed by four legions, began his assault on the beleaguered city in the spring of 70 CE. In less than four weeks, he had breached the walls of Jerusalem, and by that August, the outer Temple court had been reached, the Temple burned to the ground and its captives killed. With the fall of Jerusalem and the end of the revolt, Titus was hailed as imperator, or commander, by his troops. This was a necessary step in order for a general to apply to the Senate for a triumph, which Titus shared with his father Vespasian when he returned to Rome.

The surrounding nations had an influence on the people of Israel and this was not pleasing to God. They wanted a king. They wanted to be like other nations and have a leaded. A king they could see.

Many of the societal factors that affect to the mental and physical health of Native Americans include, education, economic development and acculturation. It is estimated per the documentary, “The Canary Effect,” the Native population was 12 – 15 Million, but the 1880’s, that number was decreased to 250,000.00. Among the causes that contributed to the decimation of their population were killing or moving of tribes for westward expansion of new settlers and diseases like small pox’s, which decimated almost 50% of the population of some tribes.

Alexander the Great was a very strong leader and a fierce warrior. He was known for conquering many civilizations and leading his army to many victories. When he died, his family (who did not have good relations) took over Macadonia. They split the civilization into four separate areas and one family member and a general would rule each sector. The four

He removed the righteousHigh Priest, Yochanan, from the Temple in Jerusalem, and in his place installed Yochanan'sbrother Joshua, who loved to call himself by the Greek name of Jason.For he was a member of the idol-worshiper party, and he used his high office to spread more andmore of the Greek customs among the priesthood. Jason was later replaced by another man,Menelaus, who had promised the king that he would bring in more money than Jason made.When Yochanan, the former High Priest, protested the spread of the idol-worshiper's influence inthe Holy Temple, the ruling High Priest hired murderers to assassinate him. Antiochus was atthat time engaged in a successful war against Egypt. But messengers from Rome arrived andcommanded him to stop the war, and he had to yield. Meanwhile, in Jerusalem, a rumor spreadthat a serious accident had befallen Antiochus. Thinking that he was dead, the people rebelledagainst Menelaus.The treacherous High Priest fled together with his friends. Antiochus returned from Egyptenraged by Roman interference with his ambitions. When he heard, what had taken place inJerusalem, he ordered his army to fall upon the Jews. Thousands of Jews were killed. Antiochusthen enacted a series of harsh decrees against the Jews. Jewish worship was forbidden; the scrollsof the Law were confiscated and burned. Sabbath rest, circumcision and the dietary laws wereprohibited under penalty of death. Even one of the respected elders of that generation, RabbiEliezer, a man of 90, was ordered by the servants of Antiochus to eat pork so that others woulddo the same. When he refused, they suggested to him that he pick up the meat to his lips toappear to be eating. But Rabbi Eliezer refused to do even that and was put to death.Antiochus's men went from town to town and from village to village to force the

By 704 BC, Hezekiah’s opportunity came. The assassination of Sargon II, lead to Sennacherib becoming the leader in Assyria. Under his leadership, he attempted to hold the Empire together. Due to Hezekiah wanting to relinquish his tides with Assyria, he withheld tribute. This was an open signal of rebellion. Other states in the area joined the rebellion and Hezekiah, in brokering an alliance with Egypt over the objections of Isaiah became the leader of the revolt. It took Sennacherib until 701 BC to quiet the other provinces sufficiently to turn his attention to Hezekiah. However, the Bible records an invasion of Sennacherib king of Assyria, in the 14th year of Hezekiah king of Judah. Assyrian records also give the account of the invasion of

The Maccabean Revolt and the Hasmonean Dynasty (167–63 BC) The Maccabean revolt started in 167 B.C. by the leadership of Mattathias' family, that is the Hasmonean Period (167-63 BC) , his sons Judah , Jonathan , and Simon began a military campaign ,initially with disastrous results: one thousand Jewish men, women, and children were killed by Seleucid troops because they refused to fight, even in self-defense, on the Sabbath. In 164 BC, Judah captured Jerusalem and the Temple in Jerusalem was freed and reconsecrated.The Maccabean revolt, like the events that led up to it, intensified Jew-Gentile hatred to a degree not typically found in Old Testament times. This enmity, with its accompanying Jewish nationalism.

Bees are one of nature’s biggest celebrities. They have been on the cover of Time magazine, written about in The New York Times, and featured in multiple documentaries with various celebrities. And there is good reason for it. Bees are responsible for the pollination of the majority of foods, including almonds, blueberries, avocados, and watermelons, as well as the pollination of many flowering landscape plants. Bees are a keystone species, and we need to rehabilitate their populations or face a serious change in the composition of our landscape and meals…which is not something I take lightly. Take away blueberries and avocados and I would have an anxiety attack. But my work is about much more than just saving the bees. It’s about biological

The Jewish People in the Land of Israel are in the midst of a very difficult period. A war is raging all around us, as the Arab population turns against us with stones, knives and bullets. Despite the terror all around us, Israelis are continuing to walk the streets and the malls and shops are busy, but the price for a can of pepper spray has more than tripled from 60 NIS to 200 NIS. Jews are ready to defend themselves and will take no chances.

This was the foundation of the Hasmonean dynasty, which reigned from 166–63 BC. The Hasmonean dynasty's main proponent was Judas Maccabees. While Judas was in power, Menelaus was appointed as high priest by the Syrian king. The Syrian king sent an army against Judas. Judas met this army with 3,000 men who had advised him not to fight. Nevertheless, Judas fought and was defeated. Judas advised Antiochus to make peace. Peace was

Aside from conflicting religions, Jewish people also encountered other problems with the monarchy. Hebrews believed that Yahweh was their king and his laws were their laws. In the monarchy, the tribes of Israel appointed a human king and obeyed his laws instead of divine law. This created conflict between the Hebrews that followed the laws of the king, and the Jewish that followed Yahweh and the law of the Torah. The Children of Israel that settled in Palestine between 1250 and 1050 BC found themselves amidst a corrupt monarchy. The monarchy thrived on arbitrary power, large divisions in the economical gap, vast poverty, heavy taxation, slavery, bribery and

The nation of Israel was set apart as holy to the LORD. But they When the children of Israel demanded a king, they did so to be like the other nations. The first three kings were Saul, (outwardly tall, handsome and strong—a seemingly good choice for a king, but inwardly arrogant, proud and unrepentant—not God’s choice), David (a man after God’s own heart who repented of his sins and as such was God’s choice), and Solomon (the wisest man who ever lived, but because of covenant disobedience became the catalyst for the division and ultimate exile of Israel.

Alexander the Great of Macedon died in 323 B.C.E., marking the beginnings of a great political transition both in the region of Palestine as well as the Macedonian Empire as a whole. While the nation of Israel experienced foreign dominance during the Persian period (538-322 B.C.E.), Alexander’s death brought a unique struggle for power in the region as his generals (the Diadochi) attempted to maintain control of the fragmented empire. Ptolemy I Soter, a Macedonian general who ruled in Egypt, defeated general Antigonus in 301 B.C.E, and as a result was given control of the region of Palestine at the agreement of the Diadochi. Nevertheless, conflict arose between Ptolemy I Soter and Seleucus I Nicator since the latter, a post-Alexander ruler of Syria, claimed the agreement between the Diadochi and Ptolemy regarding Palestine was void. A series of military conflicts were then waged over control of the Palestine region for the better part of a century, and yet the interior region was largely left unaffected, leaving Jerusalem to thrive both financially and politically under Ptolemaic rule.

Before, King David gathered a surplus of wealth when in power to bring the Jewish culture into the Golden Age. “With Solomon...the surplus accumulated...rapidly dissipated in ambitious building.” (Asali p.53) through large fortifications and military armaments. At his old age, he placed a heavy tax burden on his people, and in turn they became largely bitter towards him. After his death, massive conflicts came before the people to eventually split Israel and Judah into separate kingdoms. In 800 B.C.E., “two centuries later, the Assyrians conquered the north, and many of the Jews of Israel were deported” (Ardito, Gambaro and Torrefranca p.42). Later, in 600 B.C.E., the kingdom of Judah was overthrown by the Babylons. In turn, this lead to their captivity as slaves; entering a new era of a nomadic culture spread across the western world. On the other hand, it was this captivity which strengthened their religious identity, and evidently propagated the largest monolithic deity known throughout the 21st century: Jesus Christ.