In the winter of 164 BC the priests of Jerusalem had a problem made of stone. Judas Maccabeus had won back the sanctuary, and while his men kept the Syrian garrison pinned in its citadel, the priests set about cleansing the temple (1 Maccabees 4:41).
In the winter of 164 BC the priests of Jerusalem had a problem made of stone.
Judas Maccabeus had won back the sanctuary, and while his men kept the Syrian garrison pinned in its citadel, the priests set about cleansing the temple (1 Maccabees 4:41).
So the priests pulled the altar down and "laid up the stones in the mountain of the temple in a convenient place, until there should come a prophet to shew what should be done with them" (1 Maccabees 4:46).
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In the winter of 164 BC the priests of Jerusalem had a problem made of stone. Judas Maccabeus had won back the sanctuary, and while his men kept the Syrian garrison pinned in its citadel, the priests set about cleansing the temple (1 Maccabees 4:41). So the priests pulled the altar down and "laid up the stones in the mountain of the temple in a convenient place, until there should come a prophet to shew what should be done with them" (1 Maccabees 4:46).
The heathen had defiled the altar of burnt offering. You couldn't offer sacrifice on those stones. You couldn't throw them away either, for they had once been holy.
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