1 Maccabees 2:1 "In those days Mattathias, the son of John, son of Simeon, a priest of the sons of Joarib, moved from Jerusalem and settled in Modein."

Mattathias was the father of five sons, including Judas Maccabeus. These sons, led by Judas, would eventually begin the Maccabean revolt. Mattathias had moved his family from Jerusalem because "He saw the blasphemies being committed in Judah and Jerusalem" (1 Maccabees 2:6). After the move, he and his sons put on sackcloth and mourned the sins of their people. (1 Maccabees 2:14). Evil does not let go that easily, though, and "the king's officers who were enforcing the apostasy came to the city of Modein to make them offer sacrifice." (1 Maccabees 2:15). So Mattathias did not escape the evils of Jerusalem with his move, in fact he may have led the apostasy right to his doorstep by trying to avoid it. Yet it was in this demand that his new town engage in false sacrifice that Mattathias had the opportunity to stand up publicly against it. In the crowd assembled around him and the king's officers, he proclaimed "We will not obey the king’s words by turning aside from our religion to the right hand or to the left" (1 Maccabees 2:22), and, "in righteous anger", he killed one of the Jews who did offer false sacrifice, along with the officer who was enforcing the sacrifice. (1 Maccabees 2:24-25).

This was, in a way, the beginning of the revolt, although at first Mattathias and those following him tried to escape into the wilderness and live in peace there. (1 Maccabees 2:29-30) Once again, the king's men pursued them and prepared for battle against them. (1 Maccabees 2:32). So evil still would not let them go; it was time to fight. I wrote about how we have to eventually fight evil before in We Can't Hide From Evil We Must Fight It, but I struggle with when and how to engage in this battle.

As we live in a similar time of great evil, sometimes I wonder whether it is time to move, to try to get away from its influence. I see many people doing this, or taking other steps to protect themselves and their children from the evil all around us. But evil won't stop, it will keep coming until it is time for us to face it and do battle with it (that's what my prior blog post was about). I do not think, however, that the time is now for us to engage, I think we are still meant to try to work within the system as best we can. God will let us know when it is time to engage, just as Mattathias "burned with zeal and his heart was stirred" (1 Maccabees 2:24).

We should always try to avoid violence and bloodshed, removing ourselves as best we can from situations that might lead to that, and praying for all involved. The more we pray, fast, and stand firmly for truth, the more hopeful it is that our "enemies" will have a change of heart and repent. There is still time for that, and that is what we should all be hoping for. In the meantime, if the Holy Spirit prompts us to move, or to make other changes in our lives, we should do so. He is arranging the pieces on the chess board exactly where they should be, just as Mattathias and his sons needed to be in Modein for the necessary confrontation that would begin the Maccabean revolt.