and Syrian soldiers. For nearly a quarter of a century, until the days of
Simon, it continued to be held by Syrian forces, and remained a constant
menace to the peace of Jerusalem. The vivid account of the purification of
the temple reveals the intense devotion of the Jews to this ancient
sanctuary, and throws clear light upon the nature of its service. This
epoch-making act is commemorated even to-day by the Jews throughout the
world and is known as the Feast of Lights. It is a memorial of that
successful struggle for religious freedom in which Principles were
established that have affected the thought and action of all succeeding
generations. Through all their many vicissitudes and under their many
Gentile rulers, with few exceptions, the Jews have enjoyed uninterruptedly
the right of worshipping in accordance with the dictates of their law and
the customs of their fathers.

VII. The New Spirit in Judaism. Henceforth the law for which their
fathers had poured out their life-blood and for which the Jews had fought
so valiantly was regarded with new and deeper veneration and its commands
gained a new authority. Again the Jews had enjoyed a taste of freedom and
had learned that by united and courageous action they could shake off the
hated heathen yoke. This new warlike note is sounded in many of the later
psalms of the Psalter. Chapters 9-14, appended to the older books of
Zechariah, apparently come from this same period and voice the thought of
the conquerors. The words of the ninth chapter express their joy and
exultation:

For I have bent Judah to me,
As a bow which I have filled with Ephraim;
I will urge thy sons against the sons of Greece,
And I will make thee like the sword of a hero.
Then Jehovah shall be seen above them,
And his shaft shall go forth like lightning.
Jehovah shall blow a blast upon a trumpet,
And travel on the whirlwinds of the south.
Jehovah of hosts shall defend them;
And they shall devour and tread down the slingstones,
They shall drink their blood like wine,
They shall be filled with it like the crevices of an altar.
And Jehovah their God shall give them victory in that day.
Like sheep he shall feed them in his land.
Yea, how good and how beautiful shall it be!
Corn shall make the young men flourish, and new wine the maidens.

The victories of Judas in all probability also inspired the messianic hope
expressed in 9:9-10:

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion.
Shout aloud, O daughter o