The decree of Cyrus to release the Jews from their exile in 538BC was a momentous event, but it would not be the end of Israel’s subjugation. Daniel foretells that his people would be subject to successive kingdoms over hundreds of years: to the Persians, and then to Alexander’s Greeks. After that the Jews would find themselves caught in the middle of a struggle between two of the four heirs of Alexander’s empire, one to the south in Egypt and the other to the north in Syria. The purpose of the predictions was to warn the Jews of a terrible time of persecution that eventually arose under Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175–164BC). Antiochus banned the Jewish religion and desecrated the temple with “the abomination that makes desolate”. This led to one of the most famous events of Jewish history: the Maccabean revolt (c. 167BC) and the establishment of an independent Judean kingdom that was even larger than that of Solomon and that lasted 100 years. Against all odds the Jews were able to defeat the vast armies of Antiochus in a series of events that can only be explained by divine intervention (recorded in the apocryphal books of Maccabees and still celebrated by Jews today in the feast of Hanukkah). But it was also due to the uncompromising faith of godly people who chose to risk death rather than abandon the faith of their fathers. These people carried within them the seeds planted by Daniel and Ezra. Daniel’s and Ezra’s influence was multigenerational. You too can have that kind of influence if you are intentional about it.
Reflect on the legacy you are leaving for the generations to come.
Read Daniel 11
