The main aspect that I saw in these three chapters is just more of the hardships and troubles that the people of Jerusalem went through. Yet, it was nice to see that there were some moments of not peace, but I suppose more tolerate times would be the best way of explaining it. I also enjoyed reading about Herod and how politicians back then were not much different than they are today. By that statement, I mean that they will switch back in forth in order to "stay in power".
After the readings I could not help but think of the religion as a business and all these facts about constant chaos always seemed to have power and money mixed into the story. For example, when Menelaus went behind Jason's back and offered a better bribe in order to have the high priesthood position for himself. It was also relevant when the Persian Army said that all temples would be rebuilt. Then, after living in tolerance many Jew's claimed that he was here because of Yahweh and went again to the most powerful. Again it is seen when people were even segregated in their own religion until they "sacrificed" or gave something up could a person be let back into Jerusalem. The best example is with Herod always switching companions to the person that would most likely let him stay in power. The withholding of power is even seen when "disciples" and "prophets" were killed because they were creating an uproar in the city that could create another revolution and possibly kill the power for the one in charge. The history within these three chapters just seem like the exploitation of religion in order to obtain power and money in my mind and I find it interesting how this theme is still common in today's' society.
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