Day 21 - light

You know that thing where something comes to your attention and you sort of notice it but move on.  And then the next day the very same thing happens again, and you think  'Hmmm, that's interesting'. And then the next day it happens again and you finally wake up to the fact that you really are supposed to be paying attention ?  😀

Hanukkah.   ( The Festival of Dedication)    Three times this week Ive had this Jewish festival brought to my attention.  This year it just so happens that Hanukkah falls over Christmas  ( It is a moveable feast so that doesnt often happen)  Its a festval of lights - over a period of eight days eight candles are lit. These represent the eight days that one days supply of oil lasted in the period between the Old and New Testaments when the temple was restored to the Jewish people.  It was a miracle of God's provision and testimony to the fact that light overcomes darkness.  A tiny minority of Jews ( The Macabees) were able to gain back their religious freedoms from the invading Greeks

The Jews of that time did not win political independence — they did not become the dominant force in a turbulent region, and continued as a vassal state. But they secured religious liberty and freedom to practice as Jews.

Physically, it denies logic to imagine that a small band of Jewish priests should be able to overcome the mighty, well-trained and well-armed Greek army. Spiritually, it also makes no sense. The entire world of that day was pagan, devoted to idolatrous gods. Rather than persisting with their unique ideas and study of Torah, the few, persecuted Jews should have succumbed to the popular ideas of the day.

Hebrew reads from right to left!

And yet, of course, what happened is the very opposite. The Greeks and their gods are gone, while the Jewish ideals of ethical monotheism and morality have spread. On Chanukah, we celebrate the ability of small points of light to push back a world of darkness.  ( torah.org)

Its not difficult to see the paralells between what was happening during the time of the Macabees and what was happening in the time of Jesus.

1. Jesus was living in days when once again the Jewish people had been conquered and religious freedoms had been compromised.  
2. Hanukkah remembers the restoration of the temple of Solomon,  Here was the God-man who said that if the temple was torn down He would rebuild it in three days.  
3. Hanukkah prayers are addressed to the God who is the light of the world.   Jesus said He was the light of the world. 
4. The Macabees were able to wrest control back from the massive and overwhelming opression of the Greeks.   Jesus was one man standing against the whole of the Roman empire and all the sins of the world.    
5. He is the complete fulfillment of what the Festival of Dedication was all about - the restoration of the temple to the people of God.  The  temple representing the dwelling place of God with man.  Jesus - Emanuel, God with us.
6. Hanukkah is a joyful celebration of the fact that God has saved His people.  Jesus is our salvation
7. The lights are not for the purpose of lighting the house but are to be seen from afar as a sign and reminder of the miraculous provision of God  - Jesus tells us we are the light and we are to let our light shine so men can see it and praise God.

In John 10 we see Jesus at the temple during the Festival of Dedication.  God -with-us is walking in the very place where the Jewish people were supposed to recognise that God was with them.  And in this very place the scholars decide to ask Him if He really is the Messiah.  They can't see it even when He is standing in front of them and despite all the miracles He has done.   The irony can't have been lost on the writers of the gospels.  Jesus never misses an opportunity to show that He is the fulfilment of all the laws and the conclusion to which all Old Testament teaching points.

I didnt know anything much about all of this until I sat down to research Hanukkah today. I hope it makes as much sense to you as it does to me.  If not, why not go and read a little bit about it - Jews for Jesus have some great info.   And this Christmas as we light candles and enjoy those christmassy scents ( all candles are scented nowadays arent they? 😀 ) remember the Jews who are lighting their Hanukkah candles at this time of the year as well.   They are still waiting for Jesus , the Light of The World.  Pray that they will see Him soon.