Why Hanukkah?

Hanukkah is a multifaceted holiday that bears much significance for today’s Believers in Messiah. It’s one of those customs that many believers think, “Hanukkah is not part of my heritage, I am not Jewish. Why would I ever consider celebrating Hanukkah?” when in fact it is a part of our heritage as Children of the Most High if we aim to walk as our Master walked. Hanukkah is a festival that centers around themes of holiness without compromise, trusting in G-d for protection, deliverance, provision and more.

The word hanukkah means dedication so the Festival of Hanukkah means the Festival of Dedication. Hanukkah is not one of the festivals of the L-RD as outlined in Leviticus 23 but it is a comemeration of a historical event. It is a remembrance of a time of great persecution of G-d’s people and their triumph over it, it is a time to remember the re-dedication of the Temple after a time of desecration by pagans. It is a festival to remember the Father’s deliverance in days gone by and to praise Him for His faithfulness in such a dark time. The stories related to Hanukkah can be found in the Apocrypha, in the first and second books of Maccabees specifically. These books are history books and not inspired Scripture but they contain a lot of information that we, as believers, would do well to know about. We also read about Hanukkah in the Gospels.

Hanukkah in the Gospels
Mention of the Festival of Dedication is found in

John 10
22 And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. 23 And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon’s porch.

The only times we read of Yeshua being in Jerusalem were for the pilgrimage feasts (Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot) and again here at Hanukkah. There was something important enough about Hanukkah, the Festival of Dedication, that He would make the 3 to 5 day journey from His hometown to Jerusalem  to celebrate with others and to teach at the Temple. If it was an important time in the mind of our Master, we would do well to investigate it for ourselves.

Today Hanukkah is often referred to as The Festival of Lights. We have been taught that Yeshua is the Light of the World. We have also been taught that we are to be lights to the nations. There is so much symbolism in Scripture related to light and darkness that a study on these subjects alone would be a wonderful family endeavor. In this darkest time of the year, when we light our Hanukkiahs each night we are reminded that a city on a hill cannot be hidden and that only a fool would hide his lamp underneath something. We are to let our light shine before all men that they may see our good deeds and glorify our Father Who is in heaven. Each night of Hanukkah as the light grows, we remember.

History
In the days of the 164 BCE there was great persecution of the Jews who would not compromise their faith in G-d.  Years prior to this, Alexander the Great had conquered a vast territory and at his death it was divided between his 4 top generals.  The Selucids inherited the territory containing the Land of Israel and yet the Ptolemies of Egypt also wanted this land so there was constant political unrest over who would control this vital territory – the Land of Israel.  With the introduction of the Greek ways into the Jewish territory and lifestyles – architecture, art, philosophy, science, sports and leisure – many were tempted to compromise in the ways they walked out their faith. A little compromise here, a little there and soon whole generations would consider the compromises of the previous generation as “normal” and “right” while they continue to compromise in their own walks more than their fathers did.  It’s the same bell curve we see today. By the time of the Maccabees, in 164 BCE, there rose the leader of the Selucid Empire named Antiochous. He was a despicable man, one who decided that he was a god and thus named himself Antiochus Epiphanes (meaning the divine). He decided it was his primary goal to hellenize his whole kingdom – making his whole kingdom Greek.  He thought the Greek ways were the right ways and besides, who would argue with a god? He issued his own commandments for the Jews and among them were these:
Thou shalt not circumcise your sons
Thou shalt not study Torah
Thou shalt not offer sacrifices to any gods but Zeus
Thou shalt defile Shabbat (the Sabbath)
Thou shalt eat unclean meats
The penalty for defying these commandments was death, no exceptions.

The devoted Jews living in Israel knew this was in direct opposition to the Most High G-d and His Word. There were many Hellenized Hebrews who did not find any difficulty in adjusting their lives to suit the King’s new commands and they were at odds with those who stubbornly held to HaShem’s Torah. Many of those who would not compromise were slaughtered – they and their entire families. Women were killed for having their sons circumcised and their infants hung around their necks.  Observant Jews were hunted down, tortured and killed.  The holy books were cut into shreds and publicly burned. The holy Temple was defiled, the holy implements stolen, an idol of Zeus erected in the Most Holy Place, and offerings to Zeus daily burned upon the Altar of Burnt Offerings in the Temple courtyard. It was a terrible time of persecution for the faith and desecration of what is holy to HaShem.

The Selucid army went to every town and erected an idol and altar to Zeus.  The first people to be contacted in every town were the leaders of that town, the local priestly family.  In a little town called Moidi’in the local Priestly family of Mattathias were the first ones to be contacted and ordered to publicly eat the unclean meat that had been offered as a sacrifice to Zeus. Mattathias would have none of it!  Then  a man from Moidi’in stepped forward to show his allegiance with the Antiochus. This infuriated Mattathias who slew both the man and the King’s officials in his righteous indignation. His call to his countrymen was “Whoever is zealous for the L-RD and for His Torah, follow me!” and they headed up to the hills. They were able to put together a small band of guerrilla fighters to stand against Antiochus Epiphanies and his army. The goal was to defend their way of life, their call to live righteously before G-d.  The observant Children of HaShem were in danger of being either assimilated or wiped out completely. This was a dangerous time indeed.  One son of Mattathias was named Judah, whose nickname became “The Hammer” or Maccabe. The band of guerrilla fighters was lead by Judah and it is said that they hit like a hammer and then disappeared into the hills, hence the little band of fighters were called The Maccabees. The Syiran army of Antiochus was large and powerful yet they eventually fell to the Maccabees. Judah Maccabee was able, with G-d’s help, to lead his men to recover the defiled Temple, to clean it up and restore proper worship to Jerusalem once again. After the pagan items were removed from the Temple and the repairs were made it was time to re-dedicate the Temple. This joyous dedication celebration took 8 days, like it did when Solomon dedicated the first Temple. This was a great and joyous time!  This is why Hanukkah lasts for 8 days today.

The testimonies of those who lived through this great and terrible time are inspiring and very valuable to remember  as we teach our children how to walk. We remember that there are those who suffered greatly for their faith because they would not compromise, they stubbornly obeyed HaShem’s ways. Whenever we feel persecuted for our faith, we remember the Hanukkah testimonies and not only are we not alone anymore but we are encouraged because it is very unlikely that whatever persecution we find ourselves in is as bad as what Antiochus imposed on the Jews.

The Future That Hanukkah Speaks Of
We are told by the Master, as well as by the Apostles, that Believers will be persecuted and suffer. Nobody looks forward to this but we know it is  refining and purifying. We know that in the end of days that things will get very difficult again for those “which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Yeshua the Messiah” (Rev 12:17). We are told in Revelation 14:12 “This is when perseverance is needed on the part of G-d’s people, those who observe His commands and exercise Yeshua’s faithfulness.” We read throughout the prophets that the Torah will be restored to it’s rightful place, as is currently happening within the body of Believers, and that there will again be great persecution of the body of Believers as well. We are told throughout Scripture that the spirit of anti-messiah was growing in the days of the Apostles and would continue to grow until the fullness of time has come. (What is the spirit of anti-messiah? It is the spirit of anomia (gr) – lawlessness, Torahlessness. ) We read that things will get so terrible that were the days not cut short, none would survive. These are not encouraging words if one looks at them in fear. But it is encouraging to know that should we be a generation to suffer like past generations have, we are not alone. Viewed from only one angle the stories of Hanukkah, and the future predictions that remind us of Hanukkah past, can leave us terrified and willing to compromise. But viewed in light of perfect love that casts out all fear we can be confident that His will is perfect. We can encourage one another as we walk out our commitment to stay faithful to HaShem, to honor Him and magnify His Name.

Hanukkah Traditions
Tradition tells us that there was a miracle concerning oil that burned for 8 days rather than the expected one day. This is a story that was not mentioned or recorded for centuries after the events with the Maccabees took place. Personally, I am highly skeptical about this story primarily because it was not recorded in 1 or 2 Maccabees nor is it recorded in any other early source. Even still it is a nice story and much of our modern Hanukkah traditions are wrapped up in the story of the lights and the oil.

There are Hanukkah Latkes and jelly doughnuts, the Dreidel game, the 8 lights on the Hanukkiah (the Hanukkah menorah) that represent each of the 8 days of Hanukkah. There are Hanukkah songs and stories, foods and sweets, friends and family. It is a time to celebrate, to remember and of course, to eat.

Our family takes time to read various stories from Fox’s Book of Martyrs as well as stories of “no compromise” throughout the ages. It isn’t that we like the gore or the terror of them but we admire the courage and faith of the ones who gave all they could to serve The One True G-d. We have used different study guides each year when we celebrate Hanukkah and have enjoyed all of them, some of them are listed in PDF format below. We also have a little family gift exchange at Hanukkah. I wrote a little about that in this previous post, Hanukkah 2005. To be sure, small gifts are given in our household at almost all of the Festivals of the L-RD.

May your family celebration of Hanukkah, the Festival of Dedication, be one of joy and inspiration.

Some Links and Downloads for Hanukkah
Hanukkah Basics
Hebrew or Greek? A Family Study for the Eight Days of Hanukkah
Hanukkah – The Feast of Dedication, A Family Celebration Guide
Light In The Darkness, Hanukkah and the Disciples of Yeshua
Wisdom Vs Philosophy
A Great Miracle Happened There, The Story of Hanukkah Coloring Book