Almost two hundred years before the birth of Christ there was a very bad and evil king of Syria named Antiochus. Now this Antiochus was not the first King of Syria to bear that name, and since he was not a great king (his father claimed the distinction of calling himself Antiochus the Great), he had a number after his name. He was Antiochus IV, the fourth King Antiochus of Syria, a descendent of one of Alexander the Great’s generals.

Even though Syria was a rich and powerful kingdom, King Antiochus was not satisfied with his dominion. He wanted even more riches and power, and as he looked around him he saw the kingdom of Egypt, and decided that it should also be part of his kingdom. The kingdom of Egypt was ruled by his cousins, descendents of another of Alexander’s generals. Their names were Ptolemy Philometor, Ptolemy Euergetes Gross Belly, and Cleopatra (being the second Cleopatra, she had a number after her name also, and was known as Cleopatra II).

I wish I could say that the three siblings ruled happily together to increase the prosperity of their kingdom, but they did not. For many years since their father had died they had been fighting with each other, and had almost destroyed the fair and fertile land of the great Nile River. So when Antiochus IV of Syria decided to conquer Egypt, he knew it would not be a difficult job, thanks to the fighting of his cousins, the two Ptolemies and Cleopatra II.

So the king set out with a huge army to take Egypt, but alas, the moment he turned his back on Syria, a few unpleasant and treasonous acts (and rivals to his throne) forced him to turn around again with his army to chop off a few heads, dismember a few bodies, and pull a few teeth (this being perfectly normal political procedure in Syria). And it was four years before sufficient heads, arms, legs and teeth were pulled from their owners’ bodies and King Antiochus IV could feel safe in venturing abroad to conquer a cousin’s kingdom. This time, Syria in his absence, remained very quiet and obedient.

King Antiochus IV took his army and invaded Egypt, conquered the great city of Pelusium, marched down the delta to Memphis where the priests of Egypt had their capital, took it, and began to march up the other side of the delta toward Alexandria.

Having ruined the army and the country of Egypt, the brothers Ptolemy and Cleopatra II could not defend themselves. They had learned nothing from the near miss they had had four years earlier and kept on fighting rather than uniting to prepare for the invasion of King Antiochus IV. So now, with no army to defend them, and no money to buy off King Antiochus IV, the rulers of Egypt had no choice but to appeal to Rome for help, Rome being the best and greatest of all nations and everyone’s hero.

At this time Rome was still a republic ruled by a Senate and a committee of the people called the Tribunes of the Plebs. It was not yet the ruler of a large empire across the middle sea, but was beginning to make its presence felt as a major world leader. To the rescue of Egypt, the Senate and People of Rome sent their consular (like a former President in today’s terms) Gaius Popillius Laenas.

Now, any other country would have sent a whole army with its hero to stop the invading Syrian horde, but the Senate and People of Rome gave Gaius Popillius Laenas only twelve lictors (body guards) and two clerks. Off this little entourage went on a little ship across the big sea, to the big port of Alexandria. They landed at the harbor early in the morning, just as King Antiochus IV was marching up the Nile toward the great capital of Egypt where the Ptolemies where waiting to be conquered by King Antiochus IV.

Clad only in his toga, and with his little entourage, Gaius Popillius Laenas walked out of Alexandria without even seeing the three sibling-rulers. He walked from the city into the desert, but since he was no longer a young man, he had to lean upon a staff. Just before the sun was at its hottest, in the middle of the afternoon, Gaius Popillius Laenas ran into a wall of Syrian soldiers, and had to stop.

The soldiers had never seen a Roman senator before, and they were shocked to see this man stand in their way without any armour on, and only twelve body guards and two servant-scribes. Seeing that the army had stopped its advance, King Antiochus IV came to the front to see what was happening and recognized the presence of a Roman senator from the clothes which he wore.

“Rome has no business in Egypt,” the king said in a tone of voice that said he meant business.

But Gaius Popillius Laenas was not afraid of this king. He replied, “Syria has no business in Egypt either.”

“Go back to Rome,” said King Antiochus IV with a frown.

“Go back to Syria,” said Gaius Popillius Laenas with a smile. “I have been ordered to make you go home.”

When King Antiochus IV heard this he began to laugh very loud, and his soldiers also laughed very loud. How could this old man stop him? “Where is your army to stop me?” he said. “I have no need of an army to stop you,” said Gaius Popillius Laenas. “Everything that Rome was, is, and will be is standing before you now. I am Rome no less than Rome’s greatest army, and I say to you for the last time, go home.” As he said this Gaius Popillius Laenas took his staff and drew a circle around the king of Syria. “Before you step out of this circle, King Antiochus, I suggest you think very hard. And when you step out of it, I suggest you turn around and go east.”

The king said nothing. The king didn’t move. Gaius Popillius Laenas said nothing more. Gaius Popillius Laenas did not move. Time went on and the sun reached its hottest point of the day. Still neither man moved. The sweat began to pour down the king, both from the heat and the worry. He could not understand why he was afraid of this one man!

And then, suddenly, still inside the circle, the mighty king of Syria turned on his heel to face east, stepped out of the circle, and took his army home. Gaius Popillius Laenas also turned around, and again without stopping to see the three sibling-rulers of Egypt, he boarded his ship and went home, his task completed.

You might think that this taught the three siblings the lesson they needed, but it did not. They just went on fighting, and eventually destroyed their country so far that the Romans who saved them from the Syrians conquered them.

God’s remnant people are a small number. When they compare themselves to the world around them, they feel small and powerless. But God wants us to remember that He is on our side. We should never be afraid to take on the enemy.

God instructed Joshua to never fear, so long as he stayed on the Lord’s side. “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed; for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest” (Joshua 1:9).

To be sure of this divine strength, Joshua never strayed far from the Lord. At the end of his life he told the people of Israel: “Choose you this day whom ye will serve ... but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). If we strive to come closer to God each day, we too will be able to say (like Gaius Popillius Laenas) to those who would attack our faith: “Everything that the gospel was, is, and will be is before you, for Christ is with me!”