Are you waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem?

If you are, then I have something to tell you!

A baby boy was born in Bethlehem about six weeks ago, and this little baby is special.  Very special.

He will bring redemption to Jerusalem.  Imagine that!  No more slavery; no more Roman domination – and no more domination by sin either.  That’s what this boy will bring.  I can’t wait for him to grow up – but I probably won’t live that long.

Abraham was promised the land of Israel for himself and for his descendants forever.  This child will fulfil that promise too.

I have waited many years for what happened today.  And now, God has shown me his salvation.

Maybe you are wondering why you should listen to an old woman like me.  Of course, you don’t have to, but I hope that you will.  I’m telling the truth, and it’s important.

My past life is nothing special, except that I have lived for quite a long time and seen God’s hand at work.  You see, when I was a young girl, life seemed “normal”.  But as I grew older, I realised that I had grown up in a time of important international change.  Often, we don’t seem to recognise the importance of events until later – but today I recognised immediately just how important the child I met will be.

I’ve been told that Rome changed from a republic into an empire during my lifetime.  All I know is that my country was once independent, but now is part of the Roman empire.  I don’t quite understand how having Rome fighting civil wars and putting down rebellions everywhere could result in Rome taking over so many more nations, but that’s how it worked.

When I was young, I lived in the north of Israel in the area of Galilee and looked forward to marriage – as most young girls do.  My parents’ friends had a son who caught my eye; a handsome young man he was, and godly and courageous as well.  Apparently I caught his eye too.  Before I turned 19, I was married and very happy to be so.

Israel – or Judea as it was called – was fractured, but not completely helpless.  The Samaritans were a problem in the middle of the country.  They knew very little about Israel’s religion, but thought that they knew a lot.  The nations around us were a constant source of trouble too, although Syria in the north was weak enough that we had started to expand into some of their territory and take over some of their cities.  Living where we did was safer than it had been when my parents were young.

But then Pompey came.  First he went to Syria and threw his weight around there.  The kingdom of the Seleucids in Syria had been around since just after the reign of Alexander the Great.  I’m told that it was falling apart by the time I was born, and Pompey merely finished it off.  He turned it into a Roman province and ordered Judea to return the cities we had taken from Syria.

Pompey also created the league which he called “The Decapolis” – ten cities in Galilee and further north that were to be autonomous, but protected by the Roman legions of the province of Syria.  More than half of those cities were under our control, so these demands were unwelcome and significant.

What can a small country do when the Roman Empire gives it orders?  As you might expect, our leaders gave in.  Mostly.  But they also toyed with thoughts of rebellion.

Even before Pompey travelled south, living in Galilee had become quite dangerous, and it was obvious that things were going to get worse.

So, we decided to move to Jerusalem.  My husband, Samuel, wanted to be able to defend God’s temple if necessary.

Then, Pompey arrived in Jericho and demanded that Jerusalem be handed over.  Aristobulus, our king, promised to give him Jerusalem and money, as long as he could still remain king.  Pompey sent his representative to receive the money and the city, but the soldiers refused to let him in.

It was a very confused situation.  Pompey took Aristobulus prisoner, then, while the soldiers defending the city were busy getting all upset about that, some of the people went and opened the gates.

In poured the Roman soldiers, and the defenders quickly withdrew to the temple, which had been heavily fortified to withstand an earlier attack.

Samuel was with them, while I was busy buying food in the market, blissfully ignorant of the terrifying events unfolding elsewhere in the city.

My first hint that the Romans were inside the city came when I heard screams from a nearby market stall and saw a group of soldiers coming toward me.  Their swords were unsheathed, and they were obviously on edge.  Men and women alike were scrambling to get out of their way, and any who were too slow were pushed out of the way with shields or struck down with swords.  I was able to get out of their way without injury, but only just.  No-one tried to fight, so there weren’t many casualties.  The soldiers were looking for organised resistance – they weren’t interested in a crowd of unarmed people buying vegetables.

But many of us were worried about what they would do when they did find organised resistance – as we knew they would.  We had husbands, fathers and other relatives who we knew would not allow the Romans to take over all of the city without resistance: the temple would never be handed over as long as dedicated men remained alive to defend it.

Several other groups of soldiers were gradually working their way through other parts of the market, but there was still no resistance and only a few had suffered for being too slow to get out of the way.

Meanwhile, I was frantic.  What had happened to Samuel?  I knew him well enough to be sure that if there was any organised defence of the temple, he would be part of it.

My husband was a godly man, and the temple was more important to him than life itself.  By that time, we had been married for seven years – seven years of happiness.  But Rome’s insatiable desire for power had threatened our happiness by threatening the temple of God.

There was no way to get news without going to the temple myself, so I started to make my way there.  Before the temple was even in sight, though, I saw a line of Roman soldiers forming a barrier, their spears and swords poised.  Anyone who walked near was accosted by other soldiers who stood nearby, so I quickly turned around and walked away.  I made my way around towards a different part of temple, but once again, a cordon of soldiers aggressively barred my way.

After trying a couple more places, I gave up and returned to the house in which we were staying.  The city was swarming with Roman soldiers, and I passed many on the way.  Most were not interested in a lone woman walking quietly through the streets, carrying a basket of vegetables and avoiding eye contact.  But one was looking for trouble.

“A sweet young lady with a basket of food,” he said in rough Greek.  “Trying to smuggle it into the temple, no doubt.  Helping the rebels, eh, miss?”

I quickly weighed up the risks and decided that getting some information was more important.  But I had to be careful – my Greek was no better than his.

“I didn’t know that there were any rebels, sir.”  I used a sweet voice, but not too sweet.

“There are always rebels among you Jews,” he replied.  “Women, too,” he added, suspiciously.

“But you mentioned the temple, sir.  I was there just this morning and there was no problem then.”

“A whole bunch of rebels has taken over the temple and they’re fighting us.  Maybe one of them is your father – or your husband.”  He still sounded suspicious, and I didn’t like the look in his eyes.

“I don’t know of any rebels, sir,” I answered, then decided to risk one question.  “How will you fight them?”

“That will be up to Pompey the Great,” he replied loftily, “but it’s been suggested that we build a wall all around the temple and then….”

An officer approached as he spoke, and said something to him in another language – I suppose it must have been Latin.  He was obviously warning the soldier not to talk too much about the army’s plans.  From the way they both looked at me, I decided to go before I got into trouble.

I turned and hurried away – just in time, I think.

Back at our lodgings, nobody knew exactly what was happening.  That the Romans had taken control of Jerusalem was clear, but it seemed that the temple was not included.

From the noise that I heard late in the afternoon, I guess that the Romans attacked the temple several times before dark but were driven back.

Samuel didn’t come home that night.  I hoped and prayed that he was alright, and that God would keep him safe while he was defending God’s temple.

Not knowing what was happening was the heaviest burden to bear.  I knew that Samuel was willing to die defending the temple, but oh, how I hoped that he would not need to do so!  I loved God as much then as I do now, but I loved Samuel too.  Would I be able to keep them both?

As I lay awake alone that night, I remembered how the Roman soldier had suggested that women might help the rebels.  Maybe I could help Samuel somehow.  Tomorrow might show me the way.