“Pray for Us.
Say a chapter in the Book of Psalms.
Do another good deed.
Pass it on. “
PRAY FOR US. That we won't see another mother bury her son, or women as widows raising our children in tears. Pray that our children will grow up knowing who their fathers; that we can eliminate the terrorists aimed to destroy us & that we do not harm more innocent women and children. Pass it on. You fight alongside us in your prayers. - An Israeli Soldier in Gaza
In today’s podcast episode, Ben Shapiro of the Daily Wire shared these words written by a soldier in Gaza. I only listened as Shapiro described the videos of horrendous acts done (also recorded and posted) by Hamas over the weekend. He compared this barbaric attack on the Jews to the Holocaust.
Listening was difficult enough…
Even then, I opted to skip over one of the accounts involving little ones.
SO much evil there.
Physically, it makes my body shutter & pains my heart.
Listen to Ben Shapiro’s podcast episode #1824 here.
Or WATCH the episode content here. There will be graphic images.
1 Maccabees & 2 Maccabees are among a handful of deuterocanonical books included within the Catholic Bible (these two are considered canonical by the Catholic Church but you won’t find them in Protestant-friendly Bibles. I use the NABRE version – the New American Bible Revised Edition.) The Books of the Maccabees, in particular, detail the history of the leaders of the Jewish rebellion against the Seleucid Dynasty.
A brief description per my NABRE Bible: The name Maccabee, probably meaning “hammer”, is actually applied in the Books of Maccabees to only one man, JUDAS, 3rd son of the priest Mattathias and first leader of the revolt against the Seleucid kings who persecuted the Jews. Traditionally the name has come to be extended to the brothers of Judas, his supporters, and even to other Jewish heroes of the period, such as the 7 brothers (2 Mc 7).
The two Books of Maccabees contain independent accounts of events (in part identical) that accompanied the attempted suppression of Judaism in Palestine in the 2nd century BC. The vigorous reaction to this attempt established for a long time the religious and political independence of the Jews.
The author’s purpose in writing is to record the deliverance of Israel that God worked through the family of Mattathias (5:62) – especially through his three sons, Judas, Jonathan, and Simon, and his grandson, John Hyrcanus. The writer compares their virtues and their exploits with those of Israel’s ancient heroes, the Judges, Samuel, and David.
To Note about 2 Maccabees: it is not a sequel to 1 Maccabees. This 2nd Book is the earliest known source of stories that glorify God’s holy martyrs (6:18-7:42; 14:37-46).
Of theological importance are the author’s teachings on Israel’s sufferings (5:17-20; 6:12-17), the resurrection of the just on the last day (7:9, 11, 14, 23; 14:46), the intercession of the saints in heaven for people living on earth (15:11-16), and the power of the living to offer prayers and sacrifices for the dead (12:39-46) (THINK All Saint’s Day & especially All Soul’s Day!).
