to the south of the temple, was still strongly garrisoned by apostate Jews
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.