standard. In any other
age or setting his devotion would have seemed but fanaticism. The
situation, however, was extremely critical. Disloyalty to the law and the
distinctive rites of Judaism was treason. If ever in the world's history
it was justifiable to meet force by force and to unshield the sword in
behalf of religion, this certainly was the occasion. In his military
tactics Judas revealed the cunning that characterizes the hunted. He
developed great skill in choosing a strategic position and in launching
his followers against a vulnerable point in the enemy's line. In this
respect he showed himself a disciple of David's able general Joab. They
were the same tactics that Napoleon employed so effectively in later days
and on larger battle-fields. Judas resembled in many ways Israel's first
king, Saul. He was impetuous, patriotic, intense, and energetic. He was
especially skilled in leading a sudden attack. His task also was
strikingly similar to that of Israel's first king, and like Saul in his
later days he showed the same inability to organize and hold his followers
in a time of comparative peace.

II. Obstacles against Which Judas Contended. When Judas was called to
champion the cause of the Jews, they were hated by the rest of the world.
It was a disorganized band of fugitives that rallied about him, without
homes, resources, or arms. Opposed to him were the large armies of a
powerful empire. The Greek mercenaries that fought in the Syrian ranks
were armed with coats of mail and the best weapons known to the ancient
world. They were also thoroughly trained in the art of war and under the
direction of experienced generals. On every battle-field the Syrians
outnumbered the Jews almost six to one. Pitted against Judas and his
followers were apostates of his own race, who knew the land, were able to
spy out the movements of the Jews, and were inspired by the bitterest
hatred. The few advantages on the side of Judas were: first, his followers
were aroused to heroic deeds by the peril of the situation. In the second
place they were inspired by an intense religious zeal. The one force
throughout Semitic history that has bound together tribes and nations and
made the Semite an almost invincible fighting power has been religion.
The familiar illustrations are the Mohammedan conquests that swept
victoriously across the Bosporus and conquered Constantinople, also across
northern Africa, and surged into southern Europe over