The Hammer: A Story of the Maccabean Times

by Alfred John Church

  CHAPTER XI.

  NEWS BAD AND GOOD.

  As the weeks went by fugitives continued to arrive at the little asylumwhich Seraiah and Azariah had founded among the hills. There was not oneof them but brought with him some dismal story of the cruelty of theheathen and the renegades who acted as their instruments, and of thesufferings of the faithful. We should weary our readers were we to relatethem in their monotony of horror. One will suffice, for it is the mostfamous as it is the most tragic of all the tales of that reign of terror.

  One night the sentinels, whom the chiefs of the little colony were alwayscareful to post, heard the sound of approaching footsteps. They challengedthe new comer, and bade him stand, and tell them his errand. He could notarticulate his answer, so spent was he with fatigue and distress; but itwas evident that he was harmless, a mere youth, solitary, and unarmed.Unwilling to disturb the little colony at so late an hour--it was indeedpast midnight--the sentinels bade the stranger rest before theirwatch-fire. He was so exhausted and weary that he could swallow but verylittle of the food which his entertainers offered him. A few mouthfuls ofbarley cake, and a draught of milk more than satisfied him. Then he sankdown on the ground overpowered with sleep, and his hosts wrapped him in acloak and left him to his repose. Yet, wearied as he was, his slumberswere broken. Again and again he started up with a cry of horror on hislips. Those who listened to him felt sure that he must be going over inhis dreams some dreadful scenes which he had witnessed.

  The next day he could scarcely be recalled to consciousness. Indeed it wasjudged well to leave nature to recover herself. The women of the colonytook it in turns to watch by his side, and were ready, when he awoke for afew moments, with a cup of milk, the only thing which he seemed to relish.By degrees his slumbers grew more peaceful, and on the morning of thesecond day after his arrival he woke calm and collected.

  It was Ruth who then happened to be on duty at his side. When he saw her,he said, "Lady, I have a story to tell, and the chief of this place shouldhear it. Let him make haste to come, for I feel that I cannot rest whileit is untold."

  Ruth sent one of her children to fetch her husband. The stranger refusedto postpone his narrative till he should have gathered a little morestrength. "Nay," said he; "it is like a weight upon my soul, and I wouldlighten me of it by committing it to faithful ears."

  "Speak on," said Seraiah.

  Then the lad told his story.

  "My name is Abimelech, and I come from Jerusalem. My father and mother aredead; but I lived with my grandmother, the mother of my father, and hisbrethren, my uncles. There were seven of them, the eldest being somethirty-and-three years of age, and the youngest twenty; but my father thatis dead was the first-born. On the first day of the month, coming homeabout the eleventh hour from the school of the Rabbi Zechariah----"

  "Are there then yet those who teach in the city?" interrupted Seraiah.

  "Yes," answered the lad, "but they do it by stealth, for the reading ofthe Law is strictly forbidden by the Governor. But we learn itnotwithstanding, and verily if the heathen should destroy every roll thatthere is of the Holy Books in the whole world there are those who couldreplace them from memory. I pretend not to so much; but I could say threeout of the five books of Moses, the man of God."

  "Praised be the Lord God of Israel," cried Seraiah, "who hath not leftHimself without a witness! But go on with your story."

  "Coming home, then, from school I found the soldiers of Philip thePhrygian in the house, Philip himself being there. They had set forth atable in the court of the house, whereon they had placed abominable flesh.My uncles were standing bound, guarded by soldiers, and with them was mygrandmother. Then said the Governor, Philip, to the eldest of the seven,whose name was Judah, 'Pleasure me, my friend, by eating this excellentmeat; 'tis of the most savoury, believe me.' My uncle Judah answered, 'Icannot obey thee in this matter, for it is forbidden by the Law.' Philipsaid, 'Maybe he lacks an appetite. Give him that which shall sharpen histaste.' Thereupon the executioner stepped forth with his lash, and gavehim ten stripes. 'Dost feel hungry now?' said the Governor. 'I had soonerstarve,' said Judah, 'than eat the abominable thing.' 'Nay,' cried theGovernor, 'miscall not the good things which are provided for you at thecharge of thy lord the King.' Then he said to the executioner, 'Thisfellow uses not his tongue for any good purpose, but only to rail againstmy lord. Cut it out, therefore.' So they cut the tongue out of my uncle'smouth; and after that they cut off his hands and his feet. And afterwards,he being yet alive, they put him in a pan and burnt him over the fire.Then the Governor said to the second in age, whose name was Eleazar, 'Ah!friend, like you this better than the swine's flesh? You may have yourchoice, if you will.' But he answered nothing. Then they tortured him mostcruelly till he died. And so they did to all, one after the other. Whatthey did I cannot bear to tell; nor, indeed, do I know the whole truth,for when three had perished in this manner I fainted for the horror of thething; nor did I come to myself till the sixth was ready to suffer. Him Iheard say these words to the Governor--'Be not deceived, or think that ourGod has abandoned us. He has given us over to your hand because we haveoffended against Him; nor do we suffer beyond what we have deserved. Butas we have not escaped the punishment of our sins, so neither will you,but will perish miserably!' After this he did not speak another word; nay,nor give a sign of pain, but stood steadfast and unmoved.

  "When there was but one of the seven left alive, Benjamin by name, theGovernor seeing him, and, I take it, having some pity on his youth, for hewas fair as a woman, said to him, 'Young man, you see how all these haveperished miserably, because of their pride and obstinacy. Learn, then, bytheir fate to behave yourself more wisely. And hark! I will give youriches, more than you can desire, and promote you to honour, if you willhumour my lord the King in this small matter.' Benjamin said, 'Your gifts,my lord, be to another, and your honours to such as are worthy of them;but as for me, I will not depart from the law of my God.' Then Philip saidto the mother of the seven, 'Persuade him, for I would not have you leftchildless, if there is any help. These your sons were stout fellows, andcould have done good service for my lord if they had been better advised;and I would fain save this one that is left. Reason with him, then, thathe save his life, and that you be not wholly bereaved.' Then the womansaid, 'Trust me, my lord; I will reason with him.' Then Philip smiled andsaid, 'Your wisdom comes somewhat late'; and he whispered to one thatstood by, 'You see that I have prevailed at last.' But the man shook hishead. Then the woman said to her son, 'O, my child, have pity on me, for Ibore for you the pangs of childbirth, and spent on you the labour ofnurture, bringing you up to this age. Repay me, therefore, for all that Ihave done.' Then she paused awhile, and those that stood by scarcely knewwhat was in her heart. But the young man said, 'Mother, how shall I repayyou?' And she answered, 'By remembering that the Lord made heaven andearth, and all that is therein. Depart not from His Law, nor forget Him.Heed not this tormentor, who has power over your body for a short moment;but stand steadfast, as your brethren have stood steadfast; so shall Ireceive you with them into the everlasting glory.' Then the young mansmiled, as a bridegroom might smile when the veil is lifted from the faceof his bride, and said, 'Fear not, my mother; so it shall be, the Lordhelping me.' As for the Governor, he was mad with rage, and cried to theexecutioner, 'Smite him, and this fool also.' And the man, who indeed, Itake it, was weary of his work, smote the youth and mother, and killedthem, dealing each but one blow. So they escaped the torture."

  On the following Sabbath Seraiah read to the congregation the story of theThree Children in the fire, and then delivered a stirring address on thefaith and courage of the heroic mother and her sons. The people listenedwith a breathless attention, and when he had finished, drew, so to speak,together that deep sigh of relief which tells the speaker that he has beenholding the hearts of his hearers. He was one of those trustful souls whoamidst all dangers find their strength in quietness and
confidence. Butthe other leaders of the settlement could not help feeling somewhatanxious as to the future. What was to be the end? This constancy undersuffering was grand beyond all praise; but were they and their brethren tostand still and see the religion of their fathers trampled out in blood?Was there no one to strike a blow for their faith and their fatherland?For they could measure the average strength and depth of human nature, andknew that there are ten who are ready to do and dare for one who cansuffer and be strong. "Do you remember," said Seraiah to hisbrother-in-law, as they were talking over the position of affairs afterthe gathering for worship--"do you remember that day when we fought againstthe Edomites, how our line crumbled away while we had to stand still as atarget for the Edomite arrows, and how it grew solid again in a momentwhen our general gave the signal to charge? One was ready before to thinkthat half the men were cowards, and then one could almost have sworn thatthere was not a coward among them. Yes, Azariah, we must strike when thetime comes; but when the time will come is more than I can tell."

  The next day brought an answer to his question.

  The people were dispersing after the usual morning prayer when a strangerwas seen hurrying up the pass. Arrived at the top, where a party of themen had gone to meet him, he threw himself breathless on the ground; atthe same time he drew a small piece of folded parchment from the pouchwhich was fastened to his girdle, and handed it to one of the men. It ranthus: "Mattathias to Seraiah, in the wilderness of Bethaven, greeting.Listen to the young man who brings this present without doubting, for heis faithful, and speaks words of truth." In a few moments Seraiahappeared. By this time the messenger had recovered his breath, and wasready to tell his tale.

  "What news bring you?" said Seraiah.

  "Great news; for the Lord has smitten His enemies hip and thigh by thehand of Mattathias, son of Asmon, and by the hand of his sons."

  A murmur of delight ran through the little audience, and every eyebrightened at the prospect of action.

  "Tell on. We hear!" cried Seraiah.

  "May I crave a drink of water? for the way is long, and I have beentravelling since the sun set yesterday."

  The water was fetched. When he had quenched his thirst, young Asaph--thatwas the messenger's name--began his story.

  "You know Mattathias, the son of Asmon, and the five young men, his sons,how they dwelt at Modin? Two months since, Philip the Phrygian--may theLord cut him off in his sins!" and the speaker paused, and spat upon theground to emphasize his disgust. "This Phrygian, then, sent one of hisofficers two months since to build an altar to one of the false godsbefore whom these children of perdition bow down. So the altar was built,none hindering, for the people were without a leader. This being finished,the Governor's officer proclaimed a sacrifice and a feast to one of thedemons whom these heathen worship. I know not the evil thing's name, andif I knew it, would not take the accursed word upon my lips. On theappointed day there was a great gathering of the inhabitants of Modin. Itwas about the tenth hour when the Governor's deputy came, with histrumpeters and a small company of soldiers--it may be a score. When he hadtaken his seat the ministers brought up the ox that was for the sacrifice,a great beast, altogether white; and they had gilded his horns and putgarlands of flowers about his neck, as their custom is. Then the deputycalled to one Menahem, a usurer that dwelt in the village, and one ofthose who would sell their souls for a shekel. 'Menon,' he said--for theyhad changed his name after their fashion to one of their owntongue--'Menon, come forth, and do your office.' And then he turned to thepeople, and said, 'Hearken to me, ye Jews. This Menon here, who is knownto all of us, has been promoted to great honour, for my lord Philip, whois the lieutenant of the Divine Antiochus, has made him priest. Honour himhenceforth accordingly. And be sure also that if you are obedient, andgive up your own dull and senseless superstition, and worship henceforthas the King commands, it shall be well with you and your children.' Whenhe had ended, the fellow approached the altar, and cut some hairs from theforehead of the beast, and sprinkled some meal mingled with salt betweenits horns. And it chanced, or, I should rather say, it was ordered of theLord, that as the man did this Mattathias and his sons passed by on theoutskirts of the crowd. And when he perceived the abominable thing thatwas being done, and that he who did it was a Jew, his spirit was movedwithin him. Then he ran forward, he and his sons with him. And when theywere come into the space before the altar the old man cried, 'He that ison the Lord's side come hither!' And some threescore of the people thatwere there came to him, and the rest stood still, and did nothing, forthey knew that the sons of Asmon were mighty men of valour. As for thedeputy and his soldiers, they were astonished beyond measure, and beforethey came to themselves some of the company of Mattathias rushed upon themand disarmed them. But Mattathias himself, with Judas his son, laid holdon Menahem. Then that miserable creature fell on his knees and begged forpardon, saying that he had done this thing on compulsion. 'Nay,' saidMattathias, 'the compulsion was of thy own evil and greedy heart. Thouhast sinned beyond all mercy of man; but the mercies of the Lord are pastall measure. Die thou must; but I would have thee die in the faith of ason of Israel.' Then the poor wretch--I had never thought to pity him, forhe turned my own mother, when she lay dying, on to the public road, but noone could have refused him pity then--the wretch, I say, repeated with astammering tongue, 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord thy God is one Lord.' And nowhe said, 'I give thee for thy prayers to the All-Merciful, till the shadowof this staff come so far,' and he planted a staff in the ground. And whenthe time was spent, the old man took his sword, and sheared off thewretch's head with one blow. I had not thought that there was suchstrength in his arm. Then they brought the deputy and his soldiers toMattathias. First he dealt with the deputy. 'Slay him,' he said, 'for hehas made the people of the Lord to transgress.' So they slew him. Thenthey made the soldiers stand before him. Four out of their number wereJews. These he commanded to be slain, after giving them the same gracethat he had given to Menahem. To the others he said, 'You have not sinnedas these your fellows, for you were born in darkness. Take, therefore,your choice: depart, and take good heed not to fall into our hands again,for, if you so fall, you die without further mercy; or, if ye will, staywith us. Only you must follow our ways, so far as it is commanded that thestranger should follow them.' Half chose to depart, and half to stay.

  "After this, Mattathias chose some of the young men to go as messengers tothe villages round about, and carry the tidings of what had been done, andto say, 'The Lord hath lifted up His ensign; gather yourselves togetherunto it.' Also he appointed a place where they should meet--that is to say,Michmash."

  "And when may we look for his coming?" asked Seraiah.

  "Doubtless he will come to-morrow."

  That night there was much rejoicing in the little colony. No one, indeed,deceived himself with the thought that he could look forward to easy andpleasant days. All knew perfectly well that a time of struggle andsuffering was before them. But there was hope. The darkness had parted,and they saw a far-off gleam of light. At the least they would have thechance of striking a blow for their country and their God.