Hanukkah

I have the privilege of  facilitating a Tuesday morning and a Thursday evening ladies Bible study group with the name of WOW. I have learned so much from these  "Women Of Worth". Their dedication to and the love of studying the scriptures is very inspiring and makes me have to stay on my toes and learn more and more to keep up with these warriors of the Word of God.

Tonight we finished up our latest study. It was on the Feasts of the Bible. I have to say that this has been one of my favorite studies. I loved the history behind all of the feasts. I loved being reminded of how God brought His people out of captivity and kept them safe through the many dangers in the desert. I loved being reminded that even if we stray from the path God has set before us He can and will bring us back with love, traditions, and even the calendar.

The last feast we discussed tonight was the "Feast of Dedication" which is more commonly known as Hanukkah. Now this feast was not one that was set with the other feasts in the laws that were handed down. This feast came about as the temple needed to be purified after the Maccabees defeated  Antiochus IV and took it back. It was in about 165 BC. Pigs had been sacrificed on the alter and a statue 
of Zeus had been placed in the Holy of Holy's. Jewish worship could not begin again in the temple until cleansing took place.

The Maccabees discovered that almost all of the ritual olive oil had been profaned. They found only a single container that was still sealed by the High Priest, with enough oil to keep the menorah in the Temple lit for a single day. They were so anxious to begin worship again that they did not want to wait until they could make more consecrated olive oil. This process took eight days, so they used the one day's worth of oil having faith that God would keep the flames going until the purified oil could be finished. He did just that and the Feast of Hanukkah was born.

We can find this feast mentioned in the new Testament in John......

John 10:22

The Message (MSG)

22-24 They were celebrating Hanukkah just then in Jerusalem. It was winter. Jesus was strolling in the Temple across Solomon’s Porch. The Jews, circling him, said, “How long are you going to keep us guessing? If you’re the Messiah, tell us straight out.”

John 10:22

King James Version (KJV)

22 And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter.

Since this feast was in the winter it is celebrated close to Christmas. As we were discussing the closeness of these two traditions a questions was given tonight. What if the Jews had not defeated the Greeks? What if the Jews had eventually been assimilated into the Greek lifestyle? Would Jesus still have come from this nation? Would we even have Christmas? Something to think about.

But the wonderful thing is we do have Christmas.  The Jews do have Hanukkah. We all have a God that is so dedicated to His people that He would give up living in Holiness, for a time, and let Himself be given for us, so that we can have the chance to be purified ourselves.

So the next time you see a Menorah, even as a Christian, maybe you should say a little prayer, thanking God for His never ending love, dedication and especially Jesus!!!!

Blessings!