Before we get started, I've got a quick invitation for you. If you happen to be in Rapid City, South Dakota, this Sunday, November 9th, I'm going to be guest preaching at Bible Fellowship Church at 9.45 in the morning. We're going to be talking about stuff from Galatians 3, Abraham, the Man of Faith, some Old Testament stuff. It's going to be fun. Come by, we'll go to church together.

We'll say hello. It'd be awesome. All right, let's get on with the episode.

Hey, everybody, it's Matt. this is the 10 minute Bible hour podcast and let me tell you Ben Folds and his band the Ben Folds five were on an absolute heater in the early

2000s those guys were great I still think Ben Folds is a genius,

but one of the songs that I remember from back then when he was absolutely on fire was a song

called The Ascent of Stan. And it's about a hippie who grows up to become a corporate stooge.

He's the critic of the man. He's the revolutionary when he's young.

But then he wins. And what is it like to be the one in charge now? Stan, once you wanted

revolution, now you're the institution. How's it feel to be the man? It's no fun to be the man.

Likewise, Judas Maccabees, Judah Maccabees.

He was a really good revolutionary. He was excellent at it. Brilliant strategist. He could rally

people. He was principled. But I think a fair reading of his life and first and second Maccabees

and other historical sources on him is is it like so many revolutionaries?

This is pretty hard to know what to do next after you got the thing.

It's, you know, the old metaphor about what happens that the dog actually catches the garbage truck.

What do you do?

Bark at it?

Bite it?

I mean, it's a garbage truck.

Well, in our last conversation, we talked about how effectively Judas

Maccabees defeated the Seleucid invaders, made his way into Jerusalem, purified the temple from all the

horrible things that had happened there. And then, what do you do next? Well, he goes around and he tries to

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