Today is the last day of Hanukkah, an 8 day festival that
celebrates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after Antiochus Epiphanes
desecrated it in 168BC.
The story of The
Maccabees, who overthrew Antiochus Epiphanes, can be found in the
extracanonical texts 1 & 2 Maccabees. What I want to look at is the New
Testament application of biblical truths found in the Hanukkah story.
Firstly let us see the man Jesus in John 10: It
was now winter, and Jesus was in Jerusalem at the time of Hanukkah, the
Festival of Dedication.
He was walking in
Solomon’s Colonnade when the Jews
approached Him wanting to know if He was indeed the promised Messiah. Solomon’s Colonnade was a 3 aisled portico running
along the eastern side of the gentile’s court.
There are a number of
points that strike me as I read this passage.
Firstly, Jesus is walking along an intersectory point. He is not in the
Court of the Gentiles ~ but he is not far away either. He is close by. This strikes me because in
Jesus day the Gentiles had no real access to the God of the Israelites. They could only worship in the furthermost
outer court. If Jesus had come in through The Golden Gate, he would have passed
through Solomon’s Colonnade, then the court of the Gentiles, on his way to the
court of the Israelites. As women, we
would only have been a little better than the gentiles, with a separate place
of worship.
The 2nd thing
that strikes me is that this takes place after a long monologue Jesus delivers
on being the Good Shepherd. The Jews understood exactly what Jesus was
saying. There was only one Good Shephard
~ Yahweh Ra`ah.
Now we need to understand something about
shepherds in Jesus day because we tend to think today shepherds are pretty weak
& woosy. This is not what was
understood by Jesus’ listeners. Remember Psalm 23, which these people knew, was
written by a shepherd about a shepherd ~ & that shepherd was strong enough
& brave enough to kill both a lion & a bear who threatened his sheep.
On his own with little more than a slingshot & a club.
Hosea 13:8 has this imagery about God: Like a bear whose cubs have been taken away,
I will tear out your heart. I will devour you like a hungry lioness and mangle
you like a wild animal.
In effect Jesus is
saying His shepherding is strong, protective, ferocious, brave as well as
sacrificial. So the Jews want to
know: Are you really the Messiah? How can you prove it?
And Jesus tells them:
The proof’s in the pudding! His miracles speak for themselves. They are His proof. However He also points out that they are not
his sheep. There is always a clear
distinction between God’s people & those who are not His. Paul puts it this way: The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for
destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God.
Interestingly John 10 is
the only place Hanukkah is ever mentioned. It is never mentioned outside of the
New Testament.
Now I always tell people I am not a bible scholar. I am a Lit Major & so symbols speak very
powerfully to me. Hanukkah is also known
as The Festival of Lights so now I want to look at some of that symbolism.
Symbolism works at a number of different levels, exposing layers of the
prophetic. So when Christians celebrate
the festivals they celebrate them in the fulfilment of their prophetic aspect,
not always as the Jews do.
John 8:12 ~ Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the
world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.
During
Hanukkah a special nine branched candle
bra is used. The festival is celebrated
for 8 days because when the Jews reclaimed the Temple there was only enough
holy oil to keep the Menorah in the Holy of Holies lit for 1 day. Miraculously it burnt for 8 days. Eight days is the time it took to prepare a
new batch of Holy Oil. There are 8 candles to represent the 8 days of Hanukkah.
The 9th candle is usually
white. It is referred to as the
shammash, or the servant candle & is used to light all the other candles.
The shammash symbolises Jesus, the Light of the world.
Each night
of Hanakkuh a candle is lit. Day 1, one
candle, day 2, two candles etc because in matters of holiness we should
increase, not decrease.
Hannukah is
a fun festival & the candles of the menorah are usually coloured. The colours represent 8 different covenants
God made with his people.
· Day
1: Red ~ the servant covenant with Adam Gen3:14~17
· Day
2:Orange ~ the covenant with Noah symbolised by the rainbow Gen 9:9~16
· Day
3: yellow ~ the covenant with Abraham Gen 12:3~7
· Day
4:Green ~ the covenant with Moses of the Law Ex 24
· Day
5:Blue ~ the covenant with David 2Sam:8~16
· Day
6:Indigo~ the covenant of Redemption~Matt26:26~29
· Day
7:Violet ~The covenant of Peace Rev 21:1~4
· Day
8: white ~ The Bridal Covenant John 14 1~3
Each of these lights shines something of God into a dark
world. What’s more, if we abide in Him, & He in us, as we are meant to,
taking our nourishment from The Bread of Life then we become the fulfilment of
Matthew
5: 14 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that
cannot be hidden.15 No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket.
Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the
house. 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to
see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.
Traditionally
a menorah is interconnected. All the
wick holders are fed from one source & pure olive oil is used. Oil is always a symbol for the Holy
Spirit. We see from this image how the
Holy Spirit gives light & insight to the things of God, lighting the
darkness of our minds so that we might have understanding & become obedient
children.
Lastly this
is a festival that remembers both the desecration of the temple & it’s
cleansing & rededication. For us, as New Testament believers, there is only
one temple.
Don't you realize that your body is the
temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do
not belong to yourself, 1Cor
6:19
If we are the Temple of
God then Hanukkah is a good time to consider how we are functioning as His temple.
The Temple was always the place where the people of God went to encounter God:
to worship him, to praise Him, to offer sacrifices. That has not changed.
· He said
to them, "The Scriptures declare, 'My Temple will be a house of prayer,' Luke 19:46
If we are now that
temple, are we a people of prayer? Are
we keeping ourselves free of commercialism & idolatry? Do we make time in
our busy day to day lives to have an encounter with the Living God? Do we
acknowledge the way He operates in our lives, protecting us, providing for us,
giving us ideas & help as we need them?
· Through
him, therefore, let us continually offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, that
is to say, the fruit of lips acknowledging · his name. Hebrews13:1
·
· Do we praise him? Do we praise Him even in the bad times
because He has given us a wonderful opportunity to be His living sacrifices; a
sacrifice that declares the glory of God always? Do we as Eph 5:19 instructs,
us sing and make melody in our heart to the Lord? Or do we only remember to praise Him when
everything is going well ~ & maybe not always then?
Romans 12: And so,
dear brothers and sisters,[a] I plead with
you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be
a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the
way to worship him.[b] 2 Don’t
copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a
new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s
will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Remember
holy has a specific meaning & simply means to be set apart from the
ordinary for the special use of God Himself so we are not to defile the Temple
He resides in [our bodies] with sin & disobedience but to completely put
ourselves at His disposal.
See we are
to continually die to ourselves that Christ might live in us. If we try &
do that of ourselves we are going to fail miserably because we are clay &
part of a fallen world. But when we put
ourselves into the hands of the Living God & allow Him to fill us with
Himself through His Holy Spirit all things
become possible through Christ] who gives me strength. Phil 4:13
This is the true miracle of
Hanukkah: that God gives freely of the living waters of life & the oil of
His Spirit never fails but is constantly available to us if we will avail
ourselves of it.
And because church should also be fun we lit the candles, prayed the blessing, sang a Hanukkah song & ate candy!
Blessed are you, oh Lord our God, King of the
Universe, who commanded us to live as Children of Light through Jesus our
Messiah.
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