Single lesson
Judas Faces Lysias at Bethsura
1 Maccabees 4:26–35
After hearing of defeat, Lysias returned with a far larger army, and Judas prayed before the battle at Bethsura.
Before you teach
Some survivors from the foreign army escaped and told Lysias what had happened. When he heard the report, he was thrown into confusion and lost heart. What he had hoped to do against Israel had not happened, and the king’s command had not been fulfilled. The next year, Lysias prepared another campaign. He gathered sixty thousand chosen infantry and five thousand cavalry to subdue Judas and his people. They came into Idumaea and camped at Bethsura, and Judas met them with ten thousand men.
Explain the central teaching of Judas Faces Lysias at Bethsura, using two details from the reading. After hearing of defeat, Lysias returned with a far larger army, and Judas prayed before the battle at Bethsura.
Welcome: Judas Faces Lysias at Bethsura
5 minIntroduce “Judas Faces Lysias at Bethsura” and locate 1 Maccabees 4:26–35. After hearing of defeat, Lysias returned with a far larger army, and Judas prayed before the battle at Bethsura. Invite each learner to name a detail or question they will listen for.
1 Maccabees 4:26, 1 Maccabees 4:31, 1 Maccabees 4:35
Read and explain the passage
12 minSome survivors from the foreign army escaped and told Lysias what had happened. When he heard the report, he was thrown into confusion and lost heart. What he had hoped to do against Israel had not happened, and the king’s command had not been fulfilled.
When Judas saw how strong the army was, he prayed. He blessed the Saviour of Israel and remembered earlier rescues, when God had brought down a mighty attacker in David’s day and had delivered the Philistine army into the hand of Jonathan son of Saul and his armour-bearer.
Then the battle began. About five thousand men from Lysias’s army fell. When Lysias saw his troops put to flight, and saw the courage of Judas’s men, ready either to live or to die nobly, he withdrew to Antioch. There he gathered hired soldiers, intending to return to Judea with an even larger army.
Read the selected verses together, pausing at “Judas Faces Lysias at Bethsura”. Use the source reading below and check the explanation against the words of the passage.
1 Maccabees 4:27, 1 Maccabees 4:26, 1 Maccabees 4:35, 1 Maccabees 4:30, 1 Maccabees 4:31, 1 Maccabees 4:34, 1 Maccabees 4:28
Discuss the details and their meaning
8 minUse the three questions below. Begin with ““The next year, Lysias prepared another campaign.” Which details explain how the account reaches this point?” and allow time to find the supporting verses. After hearing of defeat, Lysias returned with a far larger army, and Judas prayed before the battle at Bethsura. Ask learners to explain which details support their answer and to identify a question they would like to explore further.
1 Maccabees 4:28, 1 Maccabees 4:29, 1 Maccabees 4:34, 1 Maccabees 4:30, 1 Maccabees 4:35, 1 Maccabees 4:31
Make and respond: Choices and outcomes evidence map
12 minWork on “Judas Faces Lysias at Bethsura: Choices and outcomes evidence map”. Follow the materials and steps below, using “Judas Faces Lysias at Bethsura” as reading headings. Each learner should include at least two accurate details and their verse references. Share one observation from the finished sheet and explain how it connects with the central teaching.
1 Maccabees 4:26, 1 Maccabees 4:31, 1 Maccabees 4:35
Closing: return to Judas Faces Lysias at Bethsura
3 minRevisit 1 Maccabees 4:26–35. Invite a learner to summarise what the group has learned about Judas Faces Lysias at Bethsura and another to support the summary with a verse. Give learners a moment to complete their response sheet. They can share a question or, if appropriate for the group, join the optional prayer.
1 Maccabees 4:26, 1 Maccabees 4:31, 1 Maccabees 4:35
Questions to explore
“The next year, Lysias prepared another campaign.” Which details explain how the account reaches this point?
The next year, Lysias prepared another campaign. He gathered sixty thousand chosen infantry and five thousand cavalry to subdue Judas and his people. They came into Idumaea and camped at Bethsura, and Judas met them with ten thousand men.
1 Maccabees 4:28, 1 Maccabees 4:29, 1 Maccabees 4:34
How does this moment affect the rest of the account: “When Judas saw how strong the army was, he prayed.”?
When Judas saw how strong the army was, he prayed. He blessed the Saviour of Israel and remembered earlier rescues, when God had brought down a mighty attacker in David’s day and had delivered the Philistine army into the hand of Jonathan son of Saul and his armour-bearer.
1 Maccabees 4:30, 1 Maccabees 4:35, 1 Maccabees 4:31
“Then the battle began.” How does this ending connect with the beginning?
Then the battle began. About five thousand men from Lysias’s army fell. When Lysias saw his troops put to flight, and saw the courage of Judas’s men, ready either to live or to die nobly, he withdrew to Antioch. There he gathered hired soldiers, intending to return to Judea with an even larger army.
1 Maccabees 4:35, 1 Maccabees 4:34, 1 Maccabees 4:28
Make, think or respond
Judas Faces Lysias at Bethsura: Choices and outcomes evidence map
What you’ll need
- plain paper or card
- pencils or pens
- a Bible or the source reading on this page
Try it together
- Fold a sheet into three panels or draw three columns. Label them “Words or actions”, “What happens next”, “Verse reference”.
- Read 1 Maccabees 4:26–35. Use “Judas Faces Lysias at Bethsura” as your reading headings and add a short quotation or detail with its verse reference to each panel.
- Compare your notes with a partner. Check that every quotation is accurate and every conclusion has support in the passage.
- Compare two actions or statements in the account and explain their different outcomes.
The finished sheet keeps the details of Judas Faces Lysias at Bethsura connected to their Bible references and gives the group a way to explain what they noticed.
Adapt for your group
- For learners who need more support, prepare the reading headings “Judas Faces Lysias at Bethsura” and let them match short quotations to the correct heading.
- For confident readers, compare two sections of 1 Maccabees 4:26–35. Ask for a written explanation with two supporting references and one question that the text leaves open.
An optional closing prayer
“God, help us listen carefully as we read 1 Maccabees 4:26–35. Help us understand what we have read, ask thoughtful questions and respond with care for others. Amen.”
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
1 Maccabees 4
26 The foreigners who had escaped came and told Lysias all the things that had happened.
27 When he heard of it, he was confounded and discouraged, because the things he desired had not been done to Israel, nor had such things happened as the king commanded him.
28 In the next year, he gathered together sixty thousand chosen infantry and five thousand cavalry, that he might subdue them.
29 They came into Idumaea and encamped at Bethsura. Judas met them with ten thousand men.
30 He saw that the army was strong, and he prayed and said, “Blessed are you, O Savior of Israel, who defeated the attack of the mighty warrior by the hand of your servant David, and delivered the army of the Philistines into the hands of Jonathan the son of Saul, and of his armor bearer.
31 Hem in this army in the hand of your people Israel, and let them be ashamed for their army and their cavalry.
32 Give them faintness of heart. Cause the boldness of their strength to melt away, and let them quake at their destruction.
33 Strike them down with the sword of those who love you, and let all who know your name praise you with thanksgiving.”
34 They joined in battle; and about five thousand men of Lysias’ army fell. They fell down near them.
35 But when Lysias saw that his troops were put to flight, and the boldness that had come upon those who were with Judas, and how they were ready either to live or to die nobly, he withdrew to Antioch, and gathered together hired soldiers, that he might come again into Judea with an even greater army.
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.