The remarkable story of Alexander the Great and his many conquests was interrupted when his formidable army approached Jerusalem. Typically, conquering armies destroyed cities, killed citizens and pillaged anything and all of value. But Jerusalem escaped this fate.

Flavius Joseph was a Jew who lived at the time of the destruction of the Temple by the Romans in 70 A.D. When Josephus speaks of the Temple, I think you can believe him because he was there. He saw the Temple with his own eyes.

On the other hand, the report of Josephus describing Alexander the Great coming to Jerusalem is derived from Jewish writers who lived at that time; about 332 B.C. So he is reporting second-hand.

The huge army of Alexander also included the armies of several countries whose kings joined this invincible force. The “generals” of Alexander the Great were actually kings of those countries. As they approached Jerusalem, they looked forward to pillaging such a rich prize. No doubt they had heard that the interior of the Temple of God, including the floor, was covered with gold.

But the spoiling of Jerusalem did not happen. Here is an explanation of why as found in Antiquities of the Jews, (Flavius Josephus), Book XI, Chapter 8, Paragraphs 4 & 5.

When the High Priest heard the Alexander, who had just destroyed Gaza, was headed toward Jerusalem, he was terrified. He and all the people made offerings and prayed to the Lord. In a dream the Lord instructed the High Priest to open the city gates and go out to meet the Greek king. He was to wear his priestly apparel and all the other priests were to follow in their white linen garments. The priest awoke greatly encouraged and he rejoiced in the Lord.

As the army of Alexander approached Jerusalem, the High Priest and the other priests, as well as many citizens of Jerusalem came out to greet the king in a “venerable procession.” To the astonishment of his leaders, Alexander went forward alone to meet the Jews. He saluted the High Priest and the people all saluted the king.

Alexander then went into Jerusalem and offered a sacrifice to the Lord, as directed by the High Priest. The scroll of the Prophet Daniel was brought out. Alexander was shown what we know as Daniel 8:5-7, in which a goat from the west flies at a ram and tramples it into the ground. (History tells us that the Greek army included goats with their entourage, and the Persian commanders wore a rams-horn headdress.) Alexander was delighted, because he knew he was the victorious goat.

Josephus reports that the kings with Alexander thought he was “disordered in his mind.” They thought he was crazy. But he explained to one of the kings, Parmenio, that he also had a dream while he was still in Macedonia, part of Greece. Alexander was considering how to conquer “Asia” and the High Priest in his priestly garb appeared in a dream and “exhorted Alexander to make no delay, but boldly to pass over the sea thither, for that he would conduct my army, and would give me the dominion over the Persians.”

Alexander had never before seen anyone dressed as the High Priest, and when he saw the High Priest approaching, he remembered the dream and came to the priest and saluted him. Alexander told Parmenio that he was not saluting the man, “but that God who hath honored him with that high-priesthood.”

Just as the Prophet Isaiah named Cyrus as the ruler who would cause Jerusalem and the Temple to be rebuilt, even before they had been destroyed (Isaiah 44:28), two centuries before Alexander, Daniel the prophet wrote about the Greeks defeating the Persians. Then Alexander the Great was shown that ancient writing and proceeded to complete the prophecy.

This is at least one story of how Jerusalem was spared from destruction by Alexander the Great. There may be other versions. This is not scriptural, and yet we know that the Most High God can most certainly orchestrate such events.

When we see the actions of our leaders, and wonder why they do as they do, we know that the Lord is in command. He is orchestrating history according to His will. May His name be praised and His ways trusted, always, even when we don't see or understand why – such as the times we are living in right now!