Did you know Jesus celebrated Hanukkah? I didn't know that before this past few months. It got me thinking.
In fact there has been a whole strain of events that have gotten me thinking about our relationship to Judaism, the Jews, God's people, and the paths He had them travel in order to both preserve them, sanctify them, relate to them, and ultimately save them. How does this relate to us as believers? Does it relate to us as believers? Is Hanukkah even something we should consider celebrating or is it a tradition of old that doesn't apply to us as Gentile believers?
I'm finding, we are very misinformed or have greatly misunderstood the OT as Modern Christians, and we have lost so many of the beautiful feasts and festivals God put into place to create pictures of His greatness and His ultimate provision of Salvation.
As a Gentile believer I have been grafted into the Salvation intended and planned for the Jews. God has adopted me into His Chosen People. How beautiful. And, if that is so, why then would I put to rest the traditions and celebrations God laid out in scripture for His People? Rather, I contend we should have adopted them and incorporated them into our worship.
Although we are no longer under the Law, because Jesus came to fulfill it, we can practice the law along with the feasts and festivals in order to Worship the still, unchanged, Magnificent God. The same God who pursued and preserved the Jews, displaying for them His great Love through feasts, festivals, traditions, and practices.
It is the Feast of Dedication, put into place about 160 years before Jesus. Fulfilling prophecy laid out in Daniel. It is a festival of lighting candles for eight days to remember the dedication of the temple and the relighting of the lampstand which God commanded should never go out (Exodus 27:20-21).
Judah the Hammer set out with an Army (the Freedom Fighters) to defeat Antiochus Epiphanies. Antiochus Epiphanies ruled over Israel and commanded all Jews to renounce their way of life, practice pagan observances, and live like the Greeks. He erected the "abomination of desolation" in the temple. Thus defiling the temple God had built and persecuting the rights of the Jews to obey God's law.
Many Jews turned their back on their God to avoid persecution from Antiochus, but some stood firm, facing death, death of their children, and their families in order to stand against Antiochus. Judah the Hammer, a priest, and his family led the war against Antiochus Epiphanies defeating them only through God's perfect strength and will.
We don't face being killed for our faith today. But, we do face subtle indoctrination to succumb to the Satan's plans and give in to humanist, progressive ideology. Will we be those who give in or will we have courage, individually and as families. to stand for God, even if no one else is standing?
Once Judah the Hammer defeated Antiochus, they went to restore and rebuild the Temple, set into place the altars God had designed, and found 1 cruse of oil. Traditionally 1 cruse of oil would only last 1 day, but in this case God provided yet another miracle and the light lasted 8 days while they rebuilt and rededicated the temple to their One True God.
As the Jews move through the 8 days of Hanukkah they remember God's ever faithfulness and the dedication of the Temple, the significance of the Light, and the Temple.
As we (Christians) move through the 8 days, lighting the candles, placing the light in the window, and remembering Gods preservation and salvation of the Jews and the dedication of His people, we can see a completeness to the picture through Christ.
We can see Jesus as the Light, the resurrected Temple, our own bodies as the Temple of the Spirit and the fulfillment of this picture by Jesus the Messiah and His death on the Cross. We can see the need and desire to rededicate ourselves to Him each day, each season, and the value of the practices laid out by God as a beautifully painted picture of His Grace, Mercy, Love, and Atonement. We see evidence of God through the Jewish People. Through the preservation of the promise, the Covenant, and we, as Christians, get to partake in this Covenant with His people.
A great little snippet from Above Rubies:
Jesus Christ, the Son of God was never reticent to speak the truth, even in the face of death. When he came to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Dedication, he was walking in Solomon's Porch (on the eastern side of the temple) and people gathered around him.
Jesus knew the Jews would be remembering more than the rededication of the temple and the lighting of the
In the midst of this thinking Jesus boldly and publically declared, "I and my Father are one (John 10:30). In other words, He confessed that He was God, which of course, He was! This was too much for the Jews who, remembering Antiochus Epiphanes the evil blasphemer, took up stones to stone him (John 10:22-33).
It was no coincidence that Jesus chose this timing to speak these words. Everything about Hanukah speaks of standing up for truth even in the face of danger.
Our "naos" may not be desolate, but it is very easy for us to allow things to come into our lives which grieve the Holy Spirit and spoil and dirty our temple.
It is a lovely idea to have a rededication of our temples one night during Hanukah. Choose which morning or evening you would like to do together as a family. Explain to your children about it, and then ask each one of them to confess to the Lord anything in their lives that grieves the Holy Spirit and to rededicate their body temple to the Lord. This includes mom and dad too, of course. When we have all dedicated ourselves individually, then the father can rededicate the whole family to be living sacrifice to the Lord and to be set apart for His purposes (Romans 12:1-2). I pray that the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you mightily as you experience this dedication service in your home.
Scriptures for Hanukkah
Day 1
God is the Source of Light
Genesis 1:3-5
Exodus 27:20-21, cf. Leviticus 24:1-4
Psalm 36:9
John 10:22-33
Matthew 6:22-23
Day 2Jesus is the Light of the World
John 1:4-9
John 3:19-21
John 8:12
John 12:44-46
Day 3
Shine your Light
Proverbs 4:18
Isaiah 58:6-8, 10
Isaiah 60:1-2
Matthew 5:14-16
Philippians 2:14-15
Day 4
The Word of God is our Light
Psalm 19:7-11
Psalm 119:105, 130
Proverbs 6:20-24
Ephesians 1:17-18
Day 5
Walk in the Light
Isaiah 2:5
1 John 1:6-9
1 John 2:8-11
Romans 13:12-14
Ephesians 5:8-20
Day 6
We are to be a Great Light
Psalm 18:28
Isaiah 9:2, cf. Matthew 4:12-17
2 Corinthians 4:6-7
1 Peter 2:9
Day 7
God is my Light
Psalm 27:1
Psalm 37:3-6
Psalm 89:15-16
Psalm 112:4
Micah 7:8
Acts 26:18
Day 8
God is the Light of Heaven
Isaiah 24:23
Isaiah 60:19-20
Revelation 21:22-25
Revelation 22:3-5
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