Fear God, not men: Do not fear the words of sinners, for their glory ends in corruption and worms. 1 Maccabees 2:62

The story of the priest Mattathias and his sons, as told in the First Book of Maccabees, instructs Bible readers that only God should be feared, not men. And this is a spiritual teaching related to the fulfillment of the first two commandments of the law of Moses.
The First Book of Maccabees begins by recounting that the peace in the Middle East established by the Achaemenid Persian dynasty for two centuries was broken by the conquest of Alexander the Great, who, before his death, divided his kingdom among his successors, an event that, as stated by the Bible, filled the earth with calamities.
After Alexander's death, an impious king named Antiochus IV Epiphanes emerged, who developed the idea to force all the nations of his empire to form a single people, forcing the Jews to abandon the law of Moses. The First Book of Maccabees relates that an oppression was unleashed from the tyranny of this ruler that was impossible to tolerate. And it is in this context that the revolt of the priest Mattathias and his sons to defend their customs and fidelity to the law began in the holy land. The Bible recounts that this priest managed to assemble a small army that defeated the oppressors, thus establishing a dynasty and a small independent state in the region.
The First Book of Maccabees recounts that the priest Mattathias, before dying, gave his sons an important speech to motivate them to continue the fight for Jewish independence, and told them with wisdom: "My children, be zealous for the law and give your lives for the covenant of our ancestors" 1 Maccabees 2:50. And then he reminded them of the feats of their ancestors like Abraham, Joshua, David, Elijah, and that they achieved glory and were blessed through the spiritual gift of fear of God. He then concluded his speech by teaching that fear of men is a mistake: "Do not fear the words of sinners, for their glory ends in corruption and worms. Today exalted, tomorrow not to be found, they have returned to dust, their schemes have perished" 1 Maccabees 2:62-63.
As Mattathias taught, the fear of God was always that gift and that spiritual strength that led the Israelites to become a people and a nation, making them prosper and emerge victorious.

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