As many of you know or don’t know this evening begins the celebration of Hanukkah. Jesus was a Jew and probably celebrated Hanukkah. The bible talks about the Feast of the Dedication in John 10:22. Jesus may not have grown up in a Jewish society if the Maccabees didn’t stand up against the Greek/Syrian army around 160 years before.

The feast lasts 8 days, and commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem. Many miracles happened during the feast of Hannukah. The Maccabees stood against the Greek/Syrian army in 165 BC, and defeated those wanting to defile the Temple of God. God was their strength. There was no way for a little army of the Maccabees to go up against the Greek/Syrian army unless God was on their side. The Bible is replete with these kinds of stories, David (a little shepherd) defeats a mighty giant Goliath in I Samuel 17, Gideon and 300 men against the Midianites in the book of the Judges. Joshua at the battle of Jericho, and more recently, the 6 day war.

Zechariah 4:6 says:

6 So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.

God did a miracle then, not only for the army of the Maccabees, but the oil for the lamp which should have lasted only 1 day, lasted 8 days.

I know God has made a little of my money, which should have lasted only a little time, last longer than expected. I am sure you can testify to this as well. It may not be money. Maybe food, clothing, your house, whatever.

Since I do a lot of contract work, that’s all I do, God has made the contract extend past the date it was supposed to stop. You can say what you want, “companies normally do that”, but I believe that God was responsible for it. (That’s my story, and I am sticking to it!)

The feast of Hanukkah teaches us a few things:

1. Religious liberty and the right people have to celebrate their faith freely.

2. We are the temple of God. We need to rededicate ourselves to God. We need to purify our hearts and change.

Psalm 101:2 says, “I will walk in my house with blameless heart.”

Read it, it will put you in check. It doesn’t matter if you’re a man or woman, this verse knocks me into shape.

3. We need to discern for ourselves, our family, and our children the society we are a part of, and choose the good things and reject the evil things.

This is what I pray for my kids, I have 5, “Let them choose the good, and reject the bad”.

The same was in ancient times “Hellenism” (Romanistic secularism) was an attractive option for the Jews. The Jews could leave their faith and move toward this popular “modern and secular” way of life, just like the “secular” way of life is a popular option for folks today.

4. Trust in God

It took great trust in God for the Maccabees to stand up for right, and fight against the Greek/Syrian army, and stand against the “Hellenistic”, secular, society.

It also took a great faith to light the candle in the temple, knowing it would quite possibly go out in 24 hours, unless God did some kind of miracle. Whether or not it would go out, the light had to be lit.

Like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego when faced with being thrown in the fiery furnace, they said in Daniel 3:16:

“16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up”.

God chose to do a miracle that day for the 3 Hebrew children, and He made the oil in the lamp in the temple last for 8 days.

The video below shows the procedure for the lighting of the menorah (I found it very educational.)

The following is a wonderful children’s book of how one family keeps the traditions of two holidays, both Hanukkah and Christmas.

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