Winter Festivals: Hanukkah

In the spring of 335BC Alexander the Great rose to become King of Macedonia at the age of twenty.  He created a vast empire reaching from Greece to India but died at age 32.  His empire was broken up into four smaller empires one of which was the Seleucid Empire.  A king in that line was Antiochus IV, also self-proclaimed as Antiochus Epiphanes (meaning “manifested god”), who ruled in present day Syria from 175BC to 164BC.  He nearly conquered Egypt and was known for severe persecution of the Jews.

At about this same time two factions had appeared in the Jewish community.  One, the Hellenists, favored integrating Greek culture and pagan practices into their communities, while the other, the Traditionalists, insisted on maintaining Mosaic Law and custom.  Civil war became imminent between the two factions so Antiochus Epiphanes stepped in with a deliberate plan to extinguish Jewish culture.  He ordered all Jews to worship Zeus and follow pagan culture and went as far as to make Jewish rites and worshipping Yahweh illegal.

Of course the Jews rebelled at which time Antiochus doubled-down on his persecution of the Jews.  Antiochus attacked Jerusalem, stole from the temple treasury, and set an altar to Zeus in the Jewish Temple.  He further exacerbated the tension by sacrificing a pig in the Temple and began broadened the scope of this profaning to all of Israel.

In a town near to Jerusalem called Modein there was an elderly priest and firebrand called Mattathias.  He was determined that no such profaning would happen in his community.  When the soldiers arrived in 167BC to enforce the profanity they determined to start with Mattathias as the community leader thinking others would follow if he succumbed.  When a volunteer stepped in to offer himself in Mattathias’ place, Mattathias killed him and the captain of the soldiers.  Chaos ensued as the five sons of Mattathias, also strong willed, rose up and killed the rest of the soldiers.

Mattathias died in 166 as the revolt began to take hold, but one of the sons, Judas, who was given the nickname of Maccabee (“battle hammer”) continued the campaign.  By 165BC, Judas Maccabeus had won many guerrilla battles, had defeated Antiochus and restored the nation to independence.  At the end of the revolt, the guerilla army led by Judas Maccabee returned to Jerusalem with the intent of cleansing and rededicating the Temple.  This rededication became known as Hannukah (“dedication”).  Hannukah is also known as the Feast of Lights because in preparing for the dedication ceremony it was discovered that the Jews had only enough purified olive oil for one day.  Nonetheless that one day’s oil lasted for the entire 8-day dedication service.

It is fairly common that Bible prophecies are fulfilled partially in the short term and more completely in the long term.  Such is the case with the story of the Maccabees.  Some 330 years prior to the Maccabean revolt the prophet Daniel wrote about it happening:

31His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation. 32With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him. (Daniel 11:31-32)

But it will play out again in the last days as the greater Antiochus whom we call Antichrist will be defeated by the greater Maccabee whom we call Jesus Christ. 

Hannukah is an important Festival for a variety of reasons not the least of which is the foreshadowing it gives of the defeat of the Antichrist by Jesus at the End of Days.  But also, it is important because of the Godly themes it presents.

·       Rededication of our temple.             1 Corinthians 6:19 says that our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, and collectively all of us believers form the Temple of God on the earth.  As such we should be diligent in its rededication.  We certainly know how impure it can become through interaction with the world.

·       Cultivating a Godly legacy.              This story is seen as a foreshadow of the End Times and part of that end time story is the persecution believers will face as the Antichrist rises.  The Maccabean family and indeed all of the Traditionalist sect faced persecution from Antiochus.  They refused though to allow the prostitution of their faith and in the end this one Godly family saved an entire nation.  We are often tempted to think our small voice doesn’t have influence, but clearly here was one voice that changed an entire nation.  Edmund Burke, an Irish statesman and member of the British Parliament, once wrote, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”  When we see evil we must speak up against it.

·       The miraculous.                                 Clearly a miracle happened here.  We can be tempted to believe miracles don’t happen anymore.  If we continue to think that way and if we fail to do the right thing it is almost certain that the miraculous won’t happen.  But if we follow the narrow path we can build an expectation that God will use our small but sincere efforts as a seed for the miraculous.

·       Endurance in tribulation.                  The Maccabees were faithful unto death under extreme pressure.  It is no accident that the fastest growing churches in the world are in those areas where believers are under heavy persecution.  We haven’t faced that in the West very much.  Persecution will come though and if we are not practiced and prepared we will succumb.  James 1:2 says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”  So when tough times come, especially when related to defending your faith, rise up to the challenge and please your Lord.

·       Shining our light.                                 Jesus said (Matthew 5:14) that we believers are the light of the world.  He meant that we should show the world right living and the benefits of following the King of the Universe.  We can’t do that if we cave in under pressure.

Hanukkah has gotten the reputation that it is just Christmas for the Jews.  It’s much more than that: It’s about standing for your faith.  Zechariah 4:6 says, “Not by might, not by power, but by My Spirit said the Lord of Hosts.”. This is the bottom line: We can trust in our own strength, or we can trust in God.  If we insist on doing it our way things won’t go well.  But if we let God guide us things will work out in the end.