The Piety of Eleazar Until the Very End
2 Maccabees 6:18-31
In the Bible, piety is defined as reverent devotion to God, encompassing both inner worship and outward actions of obedience and love. It is characterized by a heartfelt commitment to God, which is demonstrated through prayer, worship, kindness, and caring for others, rather than mere external religious acts. Piety can also refer to a dutiful reverence. All of these characteristics are portrayed masterfully by Eleazar when offered the chance to save his life by compromising his faith and witness.
In 2 Maccabees chapter 6, we read of the martyrdom of Eleazar. The king had sent an Athenian senator to compel the Jews to forsake the laws of their fathers and cease to live by the Laws of God (Mac. 6:1). The temple was defiled and the Jews were being forced to partake in pagan idolatry. Eleazar was a man advanced in age and nobility. When it was his moment of persecution, he acted with courage and resolve. As he was being forced to eat swine we read,
“But he, welcoming death with honor rather than life with pollution, went up to the rack of his own accord, spitting out the flesh, as men ought to go who have the courage to refuse things that it is not right to taste, even for the natural love of life.”
There is so much we can learn about being pious on purpose in this one moment of scripture. Not only did he refuse to defile the commands of the Lord by eating the swine, he made a decision to go to the rack willingly. Notice it says the rack is where men ought to go, for what? For having COURAGE to stand up for what is right in God’s eyes. Not even for the natural love of life did he waiver.
Then the temptation to waiver would get even stronger. The men in charge looked favorably on him as, due to his character and friendship they had with him, devised a plan whereby Eleazar could eat meat that was lawful for him to give the appearance to the king that he was complying, while not actually defiling the Law of God. But even this he refused making what scripture called a “High Resolve” and declared, “take me quickly to hades.” His reasoning was that he had lived an excellent life and his dignity and faith was more worthy than more time on this earth. He also states the importance of the fact that the youth are watching. Would he show them that after 90 years of serving the Lord and being an example, he would throw it all away for just a few more years of life? He would not disgrace his old age. He may be able to avoid the punishment of men by pretending to eat the swine, but he knew he could not escape the hands of the Almighty. The next thing we read in verse 27 is so very inspiring to us as men desiring to grow in piety and holiness. Eleazar says he ‘manfully’ will give up his life now to show himself worthy of his old age, to leave the young a noble example of how to die a good death, and to nobly revere the holy laws of God. These are 4 attributes we can all incorporate into our character and life:
Show yourself worthy.
Leave the young a noble example.
Die a good death.
Nobly revere the holy laws of God.
We have so many opportunities in everyday life to perform these traits and actions. Everytime we are tempted to sin, everytime we have an easy way out of responsibility or from doing the right thing, remember these paths to piety.
As Eleazar goes to the rack to be tortured and killed, he sends up a prayer. It is much like that of the New Testament martyrs. Much like Steven, he proclaims these sufferings may be awful and painful, “but in my soul I am glad to suffer these things because I fear Him.” Not man, but God. Do we love Him enough to make the holy choice in our daily interactions? Do we fear Him enough to refrain from sin when the onslaught of temptations come our way? Do we want to come to the end of our days and have shown ourselves worthy, ready to die a good death, having set an example for the future generations of Catholics? It may come down to our Faith in Christ and our revering of His holy laws and His prescribed way of life. We have our whole lives to achieve this. And we can’t say we achieved it, until the very end.