God’s Word Is Amazing
Alexander the 3rd of Macedon is commonly known as Alexander the Great. He was the King of the ancient Greek Kingdom of Macedon. His empire was one of the four great ancient empires in Western Civilization. Until the age of 16 Alexander was tutored by Aristotle. In 336 B.C., at the age of 20, Alexander succeeded his father Philip II as king. By the age of 30, Alexander had forged an empire the stretched from Greece eastward to India and westward to Egypt. His military achievements and amazing success made Alexander the measure against which military leaders would be compared for centuries.
Many books have been written extoling the genius of Alexander the Great, yet there is an amazing story that most folks (even most history connoisseurs) do not know. In 334 B.C. Alexander the Great engaged in a major battle with a huge Persian army. While this was a decisive victory over his arch-rivals, the Persians, they were not completely defeated. Before Alexander would pursue the remainder of the Persian military, he determined he should conquer the Egyptians. Getting the Egyptians under control was important for two reasons: Reason #1 - Alexander did not want Egypt to attack him and catch him unaware at some future date. Alexander thought it would be wise to remove them from the conquest equation early on. Reason #2 - conquering Egypt would provide significant food supplies. Egypt was the “bread basket” of the ancient world. So, Alexander began a steady march south and west toward Egypt in 332 B.C. This path of conquest took Alexander through what we call the “Middle East” today. Alexander’s expanding Greek Empire conquered various minor kingdoms along the way. As Alexander moved closer to the area of Israel, he sent word to Jerusalem. He demanded their loyalty, men (soldiers), and food supplies.
Here our attention turns to a first-century Jewish historian named Flavius Josephus. Josephus records this slice of history in his book, The Antiquities of the Jews. Josephus writes that the Jewish high priest responded to Alexander’s demand by saying no. The high priest defended his refusal by explaining that Israel had sworn loyalty to the Persian king, Darius. While the Greeks had inflicted a major defeat on the Persians, the Persian king was still alive and not one to be trifled with. The Jews were afraid of breaking their word and incurring Persian retaliation. Not surprisingly, Alexander the Great was furious. He determined to march on Jerusalem and teach them the consequences of disobedience.
As word reached Jerusalem that the Greek army was marching their way, Josephus records that the people of Israel were terrified. They knew they were no match for the Greek army, so the Jewish high priest led the Israelite people in prayer and sacrifice to God. They entreated God to show mercy and to save them. In response, God gave the high priest a dream. In this dream, God told the people to decorate the city, open the gates of Jerusalem and welcome Alexander. They were told to invite the Greek king into the city, and God would bring salvation to Israel.
Josephus’ story gets even more interesting. Josephus writes that King Alexander had also had a dream from God. In his dream, Alexander the Great was told to go meet the Jewish high priest. When the time came and Alexander actually met the high priest, he looked exactly like the person in the king's dream! Alexander told the high priest that the God of the Israelites assured him (in his dream) that he would be victorious over the Persians when he engaged them again in battle. Here comes the best part of this amazing story - The Jewish high priest then brought out the Old Testament scrolls that made up their Scriptures and read from the Book of Daniel. In Daniel, it is recorded that God gave King Nebuchadnezzar a dream. This dream prophesied regarding the empires of Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome. Alexander hears this prophecy and agrees that he is the predicted conqueror of Persia. After the prophecies of Daniel are read to Alexander, he went into Jerusalem and offered sacrifices to the God of the Jews! The result was that Alexander the Great left Jerusalem and resumed his conquest of Egypt and ultimately Persia.
This reminds us that the Bible is an amazing book! It is not simply the collected writings of mere men; it is God’s inspired word. Take time to get into God’s word. Great stories, like the one I have shared today, are to motivate us and encourage us to read what God has shared with us. Read the Bible and keep looking up!