NOTES for Ma1 4:52-59
The preceding chapters of the First Book of Maccabees tell of a terrible time. War and devastation; those who have not been killed are in captivity. Israel is fighting for the right to live by its own law and to serve its God alone. The land is exhausted, the treasury is empty, everything has died out. Then Judas Maccabeus and his army prevail in an unequal struggle. And the first thing he does is restore the sanctuary. God, who kept and helped him, is the first to receive a house worthy of Him. The first part of the law to be restored is the worship and glorification of God.