dedication and also the festival of lights & lasts for eight days, beginning on the 25th of Kislev that's November or December and ending on the 2nd or 3rd of Tevet. This is not one of the holy days the that God set forth in the law (Torah). It was as celebrated in 165 BC during the time of Maccabees. The the events leading up to the celebration were foretold in Daniel 8:1-14& 19 – 25 Hanukkah is mentioned in John 10:22 – 42 when Jesus (Yeshua) went to the feast of dedication.
Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch. Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My
Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.”
Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?” The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.” Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods”’? If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.”
Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand. And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptising at first, and there He stayed. Then many came to Him and said, “John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true.” And many believed in Him there. in this passage we see the feast of Dedication is known as the feast of Hanukkah, had it's origin in the liberation & rededication of the temple under Maccabees 165 B. C, after it had been desecrated by the Seleucid king Antiochus Epiphanes. The security of the sheep lies in the power of the Shepherd & His relationship to the Father. The reference you are gods is taken from Ps 82:6 does not attribute deity to the judges to whom it refers, but was a title of commendation, noting God-given capacities of human life & will that is the fruit of being made in His image. This is clearly seen in the clause "You are children of the Most High (Ps 82:6) Jesus' use here is an argument from the lesser to the greater, not as a designation of His people. In other words God Himself called the Jews gods at that time as verified by their own Scriptures, how more was Jesus now justified in calling Himself the Son of God, as verified by His works which were the Fathers. We are to believe in the miracles of Jesus.
The story of Maccabees and Hanukkah: Alexander the Great was a military genius. In just three years he conquered the known world. His goal was to Hellenise his empire. This means that he wanted to unify everyone by spreading the Greek language and culture everywhere. He died young, and his empire was divided among his four top generals.
Many years later, a savage, arrogant Syrian ruler named Antiochus IV came into power. He was heir to one of the four generals; He wanted to reunite the great empire of Alexander, with himself as emperor, of course; so he tried to force everyone to accept the Greek culture. He called himself "Antiochus Epimane which means Antiochus the Mad,"
The Jewish people did not easily give up their distinctive culture and religion which were based on the law (Torah) of the Lord (YHWH).
Enraged by Jewish resistance and by military embarrassment elsewhere Antiochus attacked the Jewish people. On Kislev/December 15, 168 BC, he desecrated the temple by placing Zeus carved with his own face near the altar in the courtyard. On Kislev 25 /December 25 for the Birthday of Zeus He sacrificed a pig on the altar and sprinkled its blood in the Holy of Holies.
Antiochus constantly terrorised the Jewish people and tried to force them to forsake their covenant with God anyone who had a scroll of scripture or who kept the Sabbath was executed. Women who circumstances their sons were killed along with their babies.
On the 25th of each month priests were forced to sacrifice pigs on altars in every town in Israel and the townspeople were commanded to participate in the pagan sacrifice by eating the meat. This horrified the Jewish people for God's laws said that pigs were unclean (treif) and when not to be eaten or used as a sacrifice under Antiochus, anyone who refused to participate was tortured and killed.
When Antiochus soldiers came to Modein that is 20 miles north west of Jerusalem to force the people there to disobey God, they encountered
Matthias and his five sons. Determined to remain faithful to the law (Torah) they refuse to cooperate. When another Jewish priest stepped up to offer a sacrificed Matthias filled with anger, leapt forward & killed the first of the priest and then the officer of the King. Calling on the faithful to join him, he and his sons fled into the mountains. Over the next two or three years, families deserted the cities & settled in the wilderness so that they could practice their faith.
Thousands of men joined Matthias to fight against the pagan an oppressors. Judas Maccabeus which means Hammer became the military leader of the resistance when his father died. He led many successful battles against the larger armies that Antiochus sent. The Maccabees drove away much larger Syrian army, as the Lord (YHWH) had said"Not by might nor by power, but by my spirit (Ruah) Zech 4:6.
The Hebrew word for might is chayil means strength, power, force, might (especially an army); valour, substance & wealth. chayil occurs more then 230 times. It's basic meaning is force especially military strength. it may refer to the power of accumulated goods, that is wealth as in Deut 8:17. Occasionally chayil is translated valour especially when describing a military man (Judg 3:29) It is translated army in reference to Deut 11:4 & 2Chron 14:8. In the present reference, God informs the re builder of the temple would not be accomplished through the force of an army (chayil) nor through the muscular power or physical stamina of the workmen; rather it would be accomplished by the empowering of the Spirit of God.
Eventually the Maccabean warriors were able to safely re-enter Jerusalem, but found the temple area desecrated & desolate, the gates
burnt, & and some of the buildings torn down. Weeds grew in the courtyard. After mourning and praying they tore down the desecrated
alter and build a new one of uncut stones according to the law (Torah). Blameless priest purified the place and began Temple service once again. On the 25th of Kislev, exactly three years after it had been desecrated, the altar was consecrated amid much rejoicing, music, and
praise to God.
The ancient Jewish text called the Talmud adds small details to the story. It says that when the Maccabees reclaim the temple, only one small jug of concentrated oil was found, enough to keep the temple lamp (menorah) lit only one day. Miraculously it lasted eight days while the priests prepared more sacred oil. This is the "miracle of light" that is so prominent in modern day celebrations.
In the days of the Maccabees, all agreed that they should commemorate this event for eight days every year, starting on the 25th of Kislev.
The feast of dedication became the yearly celebration we call Hanukkah.
Judas and his brothers had many more battles to fight. The brothers took on the name Maccabees. Although by no means "hammer," some feel that it came from the banner of the Maccabees which read: Mi Kamoka be Elim, YHWH, (Who is like unto Thee among the gods O Lord?").
If the Maccabees and their followers had not fought with the Jewish people they would have been lost to the world, assimilated into the Hellenistic. (Greek) religion and culture. But they did fight; the belief that the one true God did not die out; & Jesus (Yeshua) was born in an oppressed but intact Jewish country.
You can read more about the story in 1 Maccabees 4: 36 – 59 and in 2 Maccabees 10: 1- 8 in the Old Testament of a Catholic Bible. Other Bibles do not include the books of Maccabees, for although there are given sound historical information, they are not considered inspired by God.
You may be wondering why an eight day celebration. There are two possible reasons for this:
1. To cleanse sin & dedication according to to the Law (Torah) takes eight days.
2. The feast of the Tabernacles (Sukkot) lasts eight days. The Maccabees had been hiding in caves & in the hills during that festival, not being able to celebrate in Jerusalem at the proper time.
It is called the festival of lights because the aspects of light & oil were probably added later to minimise the emphasis on the military aspect of the celebration. possible reasons are:
1. Rome ruled, & it wouldn't be wise to emphasise Jewish rebellion.
2. The Maccabees led the rebellion & reclaimed Jerusalem, but the resulting Hasmonean Dynasty became corrupt, which is not something to celebrate.
New Understanding of Old Traditions:
The Hanukkiyah is a special nine branched menorah. Eight candles represent the eight days of Hanukkah. The ninth candle, used in lighting the others, is set above the candles is called the shammash or servant candle.
The Talmud discusses whether one candle should be lit the first night, two the second, adding one more per night as Rabbi Hillel proposed or if eight candles should be lit the first night, seven the second, decreasing the number each day as Rabbi Shammai directed. Today we follow Hillel's view because "in matters of holiness one should increase & not decrease.
The servant candle or shammash reminds us that Jesus (Yeshua) came as a servant, setting an example for His followers. Matt 20:26,28 The light reminds us that Jesus is the light of the world. He tells us, "I have come into the world as a light, so that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness." (Jn 12:46) He told His followers that also they were to be lights of the world.
The Greek word for darkness is Scotia means darkness, gloom, evil, sin, obscurity, night, ignorance, & moral depravity. The New Testament especially uses the word in a metaphorical sense of ignorance of divine truth, Man's sinful nature, total absence of light & lack of spiritual perception. Light equals happiness, Scotia equals unhappiness. Scotia as a spiritual darkness basically describes everything earthly or demonic that is at enmity with God.
We use candles or oil lamps to remember the oil & it's importance. Kings were anointed with oil, Priests were consecrated with oil. Messiah & Christ both mean "anointed one." Jesus Christ is our anointed King & High Priest.
Giving Gelt: Giving money to children is called "giving of gelt." This money was traditionally given to poor children so they could get a religious education. With Christmas falling so close to Hanukkah, the giving of gifts has also become a custom, In some families, each person gives just one large gift, either on the first or the eighth night. In other families, a small gift is given each night.
Dreidel: Another tradition is the playing of games, especially the Dreidel game. The story goes that in those dark days of oppression by the Syrians, when it was illegal to study the Law (Torah), people kept a betting game handy. If a solider walked in on them while they were studying God's Word, they would show him the dreidel to
prove they were only playing a game.
When I learnt that these people would try & prove to the soldiers that they were only playing a game, I could not help but think of queen Esther when she went to speak to the king to save the Jews (the king would invite people he needed to speak to & any one who went into the inner court without being called for, he has but one law – death),Queen Esther was going, come what may & said "If I perish I perish."
We must realise that God places His people in high positions to advance His purposes. Always employ any advantage position for the welfare of God's people.
The wise seeks to "discern the seasons & know what they should do. They use God's favour, not as an opportunity to further selfish ambition, but as an occasion to serve His purpose.
Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5 that our earthly house (our body) is destroyed we have a building from God. In verse 8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body & to be present with the Lord.
The present earthly body is like a fragile tent in contrast to the future body which is called a building.
To be present with the Lord is better then our present condition, even if it means being absent from the body. Between death & the day & the day of our resurrection this text disproves any notion that the believer experiences any lapse between death & his presence with Christ.
If you are ever facing death, remember to be absent from the body is to present with Christ. Queen Esther knew this truth when she said, "If I perish I perish."
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