2 Maccabees

Persecutory Laws

After some time, the king sent an older Athenian to force the Jews to abandon their ancestral laws and stop living according to the laws of God.

and to also desecrate the temple in Jerusalem and dedicate it to the Olympian god. Similarly, he wanted them to dedicate the temple on Mount Gerizim to the hospitable god, according to the wishes of the local inhabitants.

This worsened the evil and made it more difficult and unbearable for everyone.

The temple was desecrated by the pagan orgies, where people went to enjoy themselves with prostitutes and had sex in the sacred areas. Moreover, they brought into the temple items that were not allowed by law.

The altar was covered with unclean victims forbidden by law.

It was no longer permitted to celebrate the Sabbath, observe our ancestors’ customs, or even declare ourselves Jews.

On the contrary, they were driven by harsh necessity to celebrate the king’s birthday with a monthly sacrifice. When the feast of Dionysus came around, they were also forced to join in the procession and wear floral wreaths.

At the suggestion of the residents of Ptolemy, a decree was issued to neighboring Greek cities, instructing them to treat the Jews living there in the same manner and requiring them to participate in the sacrifices.

Those who refused to adopt the Greek customs were to be executed. So, it was easy to foresee the deadly outcome.

Two women were charged with performing the rite of circumcision on their sons. They publicly paraded the women throughout the city with their babies hanging from their breasts. Then they hurled them down from the city wall.

Others who had gathered in nearby caves to celebrate the Sabbath were reported to Philip, and they chose to be burned rather than defend themselves. Because of the sacredness of the Sabbath day, they hesitated to fight back.

I now ask the readers of this book not to be alarmed by these calamities. Remember that they did not happen to destroy our race, but rather to teach us a lesson.

God shows His kindness by not allowing sinners to continue on their way for long but punishing them immediately.

Regarding the other nations, the patient Master doesn’t punish them until they have fully sinned. But he treats us differently:

he does not wait until we reach the full measure to punish us.

Therefore, he never withdraws his mercy from us or abandons his people, even when he punishes us with some adversity.

After reminding our readers of these truths, let’s continue the story.

Martyrdom of Eleazar

Eleazar, one of the prominent teachers of the law, already old and of noble appearance, was forced to open his mouth to eat the flesh of a pig.

But he preferred to die honorably rather than to live in disgrace and voluntarily came to the place where they beat him to death. He spat out bravely the piece of meat,

as should be done by those who do not want to do things prohibited by the law, even to save their life.

Since they had known him for a long time, those in charge of this impious banquet took him aside and tried to persuade him to pretend to eat the meat, but instead, to eat something permitted by the law and prepared by himself.

In this way, he could avoid death and be treated with humanity due to their long-standing friendship.

But he chose to make a noble decision worthy of his age—his noble years, shining white hair, and his flawless life since childhood. Above all, showing respect for the holy laws established by God, he responded that he would instead be sent to the place of the dead. And he added:

“It would be unworthy to pretend at our age and to lead many young people to believe that I, at ninety years old, have abandoned pagan customs.

If I mislead them for the sake of this short life, I will bring shame to my old age.

Even if I could now be saved from mortals, I cannot—whether living or dead—escape from the hands of the Almighty.

I prefer to sacrifice my life now bravely, as fits my age.

I shall leave an excellent example to the young, dying voluntarily and courageously for the sacred and holy laws.” Having said this, he gave himself over to death.

Those who escorted him thought his words foolish, so their earlier gentleness turned into harshness.

When he was almost at the point of death, he said, groaning: “The Holy Lord, who sees all, knows that although I could have saved myself from death, I now endure terrible suffering in my body. But in my soul, I suffer gladly because I respected him.”

In his death, he leaves a noble example and a memorial of virtue and strength for the young and the entire nation.