CHAPTER XXXVIII.
THE VICTOR'S RETURN.
Is there a more glorious, a more soul-stirring sight than that of abrave nation bursting from foreign bondage, casting from her the chainsthat bound and the sackcloth that covered her, rising victorious andfree--free to worship the one God in purity and truth? Even so, whenthe shadow of the eclipse is over, the moon bursts forth intobrightness, to shine again in beauty in the firmament of heaven.
It was thus with Jerusalem when Maccabeus and his followers went up tothe holy city which they had delivered, through God's blessing on theirarms. The town was in a delirium of joy, which there was now no needto conceal. The voice of thanksgiving and rejoicing was heard in everystreet; women wept for very happiness; and while the youngerinhabitants made the walls ring with their shouts, the old men blessedGod that they had been spared to see such a day. The advanced seasonforbade any profusion of flowers; but on every side palm branches werewaving, doors and windows were decked with evergreens, and goodlyboughs were strewed in the way. Every trace of heathenism was eagerlydestroyed in the streets, and the very children fiercely trampled underfoot the fragments of idol or altar.
Again was the song of Miriam heard, "Sing ye unto the Lord, for He hathtriumphed gloriously;" and women went forth with timbrels to welcomethe warriors of Judah. Though it was the month of Casleu,[1] the sunshone with cheerful radiance and warmth, as if Nature herself shared inthe general rejoicing.
Up Mount Zion they come, the brave, the true, the devout; they whothrough much tribulation have kept the faith; they who have never bowedthe knee to idol, nor forsaken the covenant of God. Maccabeus isforemost now in glory as once in danger. Press ye to see him, childrenof Judah! shout to welcome him, sons of the free!
A group of matrons and maidens surrounded the entrance to the Temple.Zarah and Rachel were amongst them.
"You should stand foremost, my daughter, to greet the conquerors,"cried Rachel to her fair young companion, who was rather inclined toshrink back. "The Asmonean blood flows in your veins; you arekinswoman to our prince; and you have yourself nobly sufferedpersecution for the faith. What! tears in your eyes, maiden, on such amorning as this!"
"Oh, that my beloved mother, Hadassah, had lived to behold it!" thoughtZarah. "She would have deemed this glorious day a type and forerunnerof that even more blessed time when _the ransomed of the Lord shallreturn to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: theyshall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away_"(Isa. xxxv. 10).
Yes; as that bright, warm day in winter, soon to be succeeded by frostsand storms, was in regard to the long, glorious summer, so was thehappiness of Judaea under the sway of her first Asmonean princes,compared to the glory which will be hers when her many ages oftribulation shall be ended. In the time of Maccabeus and hissuccessors, the "discrowned queen" had arisen from the dust; but shehas not yet, even at this late period, mounted her throne. Morefearful judgments, more terrible desolation, were to succeed aninterval of prosperity and freedom in the history of Zion. The Romans,more formidable even than the Syrians, were to give Jerusalem's sons tothe sword and her Temple to the flames; and God's ancient people wereto be scattered throughout all nations, to be a by-word and a hissingamongst them. But the glory is not departed for ever. We may--or ourdescendants must--see the Vine brought out of Egypt, budding into newbeauty and life at the breath of the promised Spring.
"He comes, he comes! Maccabeus, our hero!" Such were the shouts whichburst from every side as the war-worn victors appeared, with palmbranches in their hands. Was not exultation in the heart of Maccabeusat that moment? Perhaps not. Perhaps he would gladly have exchangedthe shouts of all the people for a loving welcome from one dear voice.Judas caught a glimpse of Zarah. Hers were the only eyes in all thecrowd that were not fixed upon himself. She was eagerly looking at theform of one a little way in the rear of the chief---the form of herbetrothed husband, the Gentile proselyte whom she loved.
The conquerors entered the Temple of Zion. They came, not only toworship, but to purify. No sacrifice could be offered in the sanctuarytill what the heathen had denied the Hebrew should cleanse. Withindignant horror Maccabeus and his followers beheld the image ofJupiter, which for years had desecrated the Temple. Since thedeparture of Antiochus, no worshipper indeed had bowed down before theidolatrous shrine: the edifice had been deserted and left to neglect.The place had now an appearance of wildness and desolation, as if thecurse of God were upon it, and presented such a contrast to what it hadbeen in former days as struck sadness into the hearts of Maccabeus andhis warriors. In the words of the historian: "When they saw thesanctuary desolate, and the altar profaned, and the gates burned up,and shrubs growing in the courts as in a forest or in one of themountains, yea, and the priests' chambers pulled down, they rent theirclothes and made great lamentations, and cast ashes upon their heads,and fell down to the ground upon their faces, and blew an alarm withthe trumpets, and cried towards heaven."
But no long time was given to lamentations. With all the energy of hisnature, Maccabeus at once set about the work of restoration. He choseout the most zealous and virtuous of the priests to cleanse thesanctuary, destroy every vestige of idolatry, carry away even thestones that had been defiled, and pull down the altar which had beenprofaned. New vessels were made, shew-bread and incense were prepared,all in the renovated sanctuary was made ready, for the joyful Feast ofDedication, This festival was appointed by Judas Maccabeus to beannually held; and it was from thenceforth celebrated from year to yearfor more than two centuries--till her darkest, most lengthened trialcame upon Jerusalem. Who shall now keep the Feast of the Dedication ofthe Temple when that glorious Temple has itself become a thing of thepast?
[1] Answering to December. Of this time of the year, Dr. Kitto tellsus: "Gumpenberg in Jerusalem, on the 6th, 10th, 11th, and 16th,experienced weather which he describes as almost equal to that of Mayin our latitudes."