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Festival of Dedication - Hanukkah

It was now winter, and Jesus was in Jerusalem at the time of Hanukkah, the Festival of Dedication. -John 10:22

This week is the Festival of Dedication, the Feast of Lights, commonly known as Hanukkah. Our Lord Himself celebrated the Festival of Dedication, so let us consider what signiﬁcance it could hold for us as we follow Him in the obedience of faith.

Let’s start with a quick background recap on Hanukkah, which originally took place about 165 years before Christ was born, in the time between Malachi and Matthew, the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament. The Syrians had taken over Jerusalem, killed many Jews, looted the Temple of God, forbid circumcision, abolished daily oﬀerings and sacriﬁces, set up an altar to Zeus in the Temple of God, and oﬀered unclean pigs as sacriﬁce on the altar. The practice of Judaism was essentially outlawed, and abominations took place in God’s Temple. But, a Jewish priest and his ﬁve sons led a rebellion against the Syrian tyranny and reclaimed the Temple for the Lord. The ﬁrst and most important thing to do was to light the lamp of the Lord, the eternal ﬂame, which symbolized God’s presence in the Temple and with His people. It was a permanent ordinance of Jewish law that this light should never go out. They searched through the Temple for oil that had not been deﬁled by the Syrian abominations and found only enough pure oil to last for one night. But God caused the oil to last for eight days and eight nights, which was exactly the length of time it took the priests to prepare and consecrate pure, holy oil, and fulﬁll the command of keeping the lamp burning.

What the Jews experienced in the natural, as revealed in the Old Testament, we as Christ followers experience in the spiritual, as revealed in the New Testament. Five sons (ﬁve being the number of grace) of a priest led a revolt to overcome evil worldly oppression. Jesus, the Son of God, by the grace of God, came to overcome worldly tyranny of evil oppression of all of His people. The Jews could ﬁnd only enough undeﬁled, sacred, and blessed oil for one night. Jesus, who lived in the purity of righteousness, and in the fullness of the Holy Spirit, was only one man. God caused the oil to last long enough for the Jews to consecrate new oil and continue their obedience to God’s commands. Through the resurrection of Christ, after ascending to heaven, He poured the Holy Spirit out to us so that we may continue in our obedience to His commands. The Temple of God housed the eternal ﬂame, which burned to signify God’s presence with His people. Now, as believers and followers of Jesus, our very own bodies are the temple of God, and we house the Holy Spirit which is God Himself dwelling and burning within us.

We are God’s people, and He is with us. Jesus speaks to this while He is attending the Hanukkah celebration in Jerusalem during His lifetime on earth. He says He knows who His followers are, and His followers know Him. No one can be snatched out of His hand. His Spirit burning within us is the assurance of His presence and through this, He fulﬁlls the everlasting ordinance of light because He never leaves us or forsakes us. In fact, nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. Not calamity, persecution, hunger, destitution, danger, or even death. God is with us, and we are more than conquerors for He has already overcome every one of our oppressors.

Every year, the Jews celebrate Hanukkah to remember God’s presence with them, and their victory over evil oppression. It is also a remembrance that the Temple of God is sacred and dedicated to the one and only true God. Even after it had been deﬁled by pagan worship of the gods of the world, and unclean and abominable practices, it could be restored to God’s order through the faithful heart, devotion, and obedience of God’s people, and renewed to righteousness by the light of God’s presence burning within it.

In light of this, (no pun intended) let us hold a festival of dedication during this time of Hanukkah. Let us dedicate or re-dedicate our temples, our bodies, our lives, everything we have, and everything we are to God and to His service. Let us clean out any and all forms and traces of pagan worship, and any uncleanness, worldliness, or ungodliness, and let us be restored and renewed by the purity of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. Let us consecrate ourselves to God’s service and walk in the obedience of faith because Jesus is the eternal ﬂame within us, and His ﬂame will never go out.

Scripture References: Exodus 27:20-21, 1 John 3:8, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Acts 2:33, Romans 8:35,37, John10:27-29, Matthew 5:14

Apocryphal Readings: 1 & 2 Maccabees

Adar & Purim

Today is the first day of the twelfth month on the Biblical calendar. Since exile, it has been called Adar which means "glorious."

This is the month of the Festival of Purim commemorating the dramatic turnaround of events for the Jewish people which we read about in the Book of Esther.

In brief, the story of Purim is this: The king of Persia had deposed his wife and needed a new one. All the beautiful women of his kingdom were brought before him and he selected Esther to be his queen, not knowing that she was Jewish. The king's top advisor hated the Jews, particularly a Jew named Mordecai who just so happened to be Esther's cousin. Haman devised a plan to kill not just Mordecai but all Jewish people in the entire Persian Empire and all of its provinces. Haman arranged for a decree of destruction against all Jews. When Mordecai learned of this plot, he urged Esther to represent her people before the king even if it cost her very life. Esther fasted and prayed for three days with no water or food. When she went before the king, he received her and listened to her request. Eventually, she revealed her Jewishness and exposed Haman's evil plot. In a series of marvelous turnarounds orchestrated by God, the king issued a new decree to save the Jews, Haman was hung on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai's execution, and Esther continued as queen and Mordecai became the king's top adviser! Hallelujah!

It is Jewish tradition to read aloud the entire Book of Esther in a jovial manner on the day of Purim. Everyone shouts, "Boo!" at every mention of Haman, "Yay!" at every mention of Mordecai the Jew, and "Ahhh" at every mention of Esther because of her beauty.

Other notable events this month include: Ezekiel prophesying the destruction of Pharaoh and the downfall of Egypt due to their pride in their own strength; King Jehoiachin of Judah being released from prison in Babylonian exile and allowed to dine at the king of Babylon's table; and construction of the second Temple being completed by the returned exiles who rejoiced and brought many sacrifices to God.

There is a saying that, "with Adar comes great joy." Therefore, in Jesus' name, may this be for you a glorious and joyful month of God's turnaround breakthrough and favor, the downfall and defeat of your enemies, and the completion of God's work from this past season of your life.

Scripture References in this Month:

Festival of Purim

Updated: Nov 17, 2022

On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, the edict commanded by the king was to be carried out. On this day the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but now the tables were turned and the Jews got the upper hand over those who hated them. -Esther 9:1

Today is the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, on the Hebrew calendar. This means that today is the ﬁrst day of the Festival of Purim, commemorating God’s dramatic turnaround on behalf of His people, which we can read about in the Book of Esther. I encourage you to take some time to read this precious book – the Jewish people still do so as part of their celebration of Purim.

A prideful man named Haman used his inﬂuence with King Xerxes, of the Persian Empire, to issue a decree in the King’s name stating that all Jews could lawfully be killed, and their goods could be plundered on this day. About a year earlier, Haman had hatched his evil plot and cast lots (like rolling dice) to determine the date on which his plan, and this decree, would go into eﬀect. Due to the extensive size of the Persian Empire at that time (from India to Ethiopia), this meant that if this decree were to be fully carried out, then every Jewish person on the face of the planet could have been eliminated. All over the empire when the Jews learned of this decree they wept, mourned, fasted, and even wore sackcloth and ashes as a sign of terrible loss and grief.

It seemed the fate of the Jewish people was sealed and that they were quite possibly ﬁnished forever. But God (two of my favorite words) was not about to allow the light of His people to be snuﬀed out.

Haman made every preparation for the destruction of the Jews, especially his nemesis Mordecai the Jew who would not bow down to Haman. But God made preparations, too. God had made a way for Mordecai’s niece, Esther, whom Mordecai had raised as his own daughter after her parents passed away, to be the Queen of Persia.

Haman became more and more proud and full of himself, bragging about his status with the King and how he imagined the King was going to honor him. But God resists, even mocks, the proud and gives grace to the humble. God caused the King to have a sleepless night on which he requested to have the logbooks of his reign read to him. Through this, the King discovered that Mordecai was deserving of a reward for something that he had done years earlier, and he determined to honor Mordecai for it.

Haman prepared a seventy-ﬁve foot pole for Mordecai to be gouged on and displayed for everyone to see what happens to someone who refused to bow down to Haman. But God caused Haman’s vicious plot to be exposed, and Haman was gouged and displayed on the very pole that he had prepared for Mordecai.

The King ordered that a new decree be issued which authorized the Jews to defend themselves and take vengeance on anyone who tried to kill them in accordance with the initial decree. The Jews, who had been mourning and weeping, were now ﬁlled with joy and gladness. When this day came, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, all those years ago, it was the Jews who were victorious over their enemies in an amazing display of God’s sovereign rule (even though He is never explicitly mentioned in the Book of Esther.)

As we walk in the obedience of faith, we encounter situations that look hopeless by what the eye can see and in which we feel helpless and powerless to do anything to help ourselves. Sometimes, it even appears as if the enemy of all righteousness, that is the devil himself, is going to be victorious over God’s plan for our lives and that we ourselves may be close to being extinguished. But God sees things diﬀerently than we do, and His ways are higher than our ways. He will not allow a plan of His to be thwarted or a child of His to perish. The same God who turned the whole situation around on the day of Purim for the good of His people is the same God who is working all things together for your good as you follow Him in your walk of faith.

Purim means “lots” which was the dice-rolling method of making a decision in those days. If you are in a tough situation right now, take it to heart that even lots cast are determined by the Lord. Moreover, even if it appears that the lots have not landed in your favor, God is a God of turnarounds, and He has a way of making everything work out for your good in the end. Take a moment today to remember a time when He has done this for you in the past and renew your trust that He is able to do it for you in whatever you are facing right now.

To God be all glory and honor and praise. Happy Purim!

Scripture References: The Book of Esther, Proverbs 3:34, Proverbs 16:33, Romans 8:28, Isaiah 55:9, Job 42:2, John 3:16

Festival of Dedication - Hanukkah

Adar & Purim

Festival of Purim

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