Saturday, July 15, 2017

Therefore do not be afraid of them.

1 Maccabees, Chapter 10, Verse 75-76

⁷⁵ He encamped near Joppa, but the people of the city shut him out because Apollonius had a garrison in Joppa. When they attacked it, ⁷⁶ the people of the city became afraid and opened the gates, and so Jonathan took possession of Joppa.

After Jonathan becomes the high priest, Demetrius (Greek) attempts to win back the Jews with offering them stuff. Jonathan and his supporters do not take the bait and the Hellenizing Jews are ignored. Jonathan takes to the offer and forms and alliance with Egypt (Rome) and Jonathan is honored by Alexander. Demetrius appoints Apollonius as governor to hold Joppa which is crucial to his campaign. Joppa switches sides and opens the gates to Jonathan. Checkmate.

Victory over Apollonius[1]

Demetrius tried to win back his father's throne (147), and Apollonius Taos, governor of Cœle-Syria, who probably had joined Demetrius, challenged Jonathan to battle, saying that the Jews might for once leave the mountains and venture out into the plain. Thereupon Jonathan and Simeon appeared, with 10,000 men, before Joppa, where the forces of Apollonius lay and the gates of which were opened to them out of fear. Reinforced from Azotus, Apollonius appeared with 3,000 men in the plain, relying on his cavalry, and forced Jonathan to engage in battle. The missiles of the horsemen rebounded from the shields of Simeon's men, who successfully resisted the enemy's onslaughts. Jonathan in the meantime vanquished the infantry, scattered it in wild flight, and pursued it to Azotus, which city he took by assault, burning it and its villages, including the Temple of Dagon.

Daily Devotions/Prayers

·         Drops of Christ’s Blood

·         Offering to the sacred heart of Jesus

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[1]http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/8773-jonathan-maccabeus