The Lord strengthens those who believe in Him, and He delivers them from their enemies. This, in a nutshell, is the theme of this section (and the preceding section) of 1 Maccabees. Upon learning of the defeat of Lysias at the hands of the Maccabees, King Antiochus IV is grief-stricken and dies. But not before realizing that his evil treatment of the Israelites, and his desecration of their holy place, is what brought on his defeat. He appoints an heir, and a royal consul, Philip, to oversee his upbringing, and dies. Meanwhile, Lysias continues his pursuit of the Jewish people--until he hears that the king has died. He appoints his own heir to the king and fights on. But when he hears that Philip is returning with an army, he makes peace with the Jews, granting them the freedom to practice their own religion. He returns to fight and defeat Philip.
The scene shifts to the reign of Demetrius, an heir in the line of Antiochus. Spurred on by "impious men of Israel", he sends emissaries to the Jewish people to feign a desire for peace, but with the ultimate aim of conquering them. Judas and his brothers are not fooled, and they are victorious in the battles that follow. At least until Bacchides and Alcius are sent back again by Demetrius with an even larger army. Some of the troops under Judas' command flee in fear, but Judas takes his small band of men into battle. They fight valiantly for a time, but are ultimately overwhelmed and Judas is slain.
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