Hanukkah: Its History and Relevance
Hanukkah? Isn't that a Jewish holiday? What relevance does it have for followers of the Savior today?
In order to understand the "what" and "why" of Hanukkah, one must first become acquainted with significant events that occurred in the period between the Tanakh (Old Testament) and the Apostles.
The conquests of Alexander the Great of Macedon brought him into possession of Eretz-Yisra'el (the Land of Israel) in 332 BCE.
On Alexander's death in 323 BCE, his empire began to break up. For a time his generals maintained the fiction of a regency while maneuvering for strategic advantages. Two of Alexander's generals, Seleucus and Ptolemy, established dynasties (the Seleucids in Syria and the Ptolemies in Egypt). These two powers struggled for control of Eretz-Yisra'el, which changed hands between Antigonus (who controlled Asia Minor) and Ptolemy (who ruled Egypt) before the latter held it. Daniel 11 traces the external history of the Ptolemaic-Seleucid rivalry for Eretz-Yisra'el.
The century of Ptolemaic rule in Eretz-Yisra'el appears not to have been unpleasant for the Jews. Politically it was a time of peace, for the Egyptian-Syrian rivalry did not greatly affect the interior.
The Seleucid ruler Antiochus III the Great (223-187 BCE) brought the period of peace to an end in 219. After several attempts he finally wrested Eretz-Yisra'el from Egypt about the turn of the century.
In 174 BCE, Jason (Y'hoshua), brother of the high priest Onias III, secured appointment as high priest from Antiochus IV (175-163 BCE) with the payment of a large bribe. It seems Onias III was murdered in Antioch (II Macc. 4:33ff.) and that his son, Onias IV, who would have been the legitimate high priest, fled to Egypt.
The process of Hellenization in Jerusalem accelerated under Jason. He changed the constitution of Jerusalem from that of a temple-state to a Greek city-state with council, citizen list, gymnasium, and ephebeia (an educational institution for Greek citizen-aristocrats). To dramatize these changes, the city was renamed Antioch. The high priest was now a Jewish official. The old orthodox Jews were scandalized to see the young aristocrats in Jerusalem wearing the broad-brimmed Greek hat, to hear of the young priests hastening to finish their duties at the Temple so that they could go exercise naked in the Greek manner at the gymnasium, and, worst of all, to learn that some youths underwent an operation to hide their circumcision so as not to be ridiculed by Greeks (I Macc. 1:13-15; II Macc. 4:10-17).
The Seleucids needed money, and rich Jews wanted power in Jerusalem. Menelaus (Menachem) represented the extreme Hellenizers who could not be content even with the collaborator Jason. Menelaus, on no ancestral grounds, offered a higher sum of money for the high priesthood. Such "piety" could not go unrewarded and he was appointed. The Torah-loving Jews were exasperated. A clear division appeared between the Hellenizers, who supported Greek culture, and the Hasidim (the "pious"), leaders among the people who were loyal to the Torah and the Covenant. The course of events soon eroded any middle ground.
Antiochus IV, escorted by Menelaus, plundered the Temple at Jerusalem in 169 BCE to help finance his plans against Egypt. In 168 BCE, while returning from a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Egyptians, Antiochus interpreted a squabble between Menelaus and Jason as a revolt against his throne and took harsh vengeance. The walls of Jerusalem were broken down, a new citadel (the Acra) was erected to dominate the Temple area, and a garrison was stationed there converting the city into a military settlement. Menelaus and the Jewish Hellenizers collaborated with the military settlers in modifying the Temple service into the worship of the Semitic "Lord of Heaven" (Baal Shamayim), who was identified with the Greek god Zeus.
Antiochus IV in 168 or 167 BCE issued decrees prohibiting the practice of the Jewish religion: the Scriptures were to be destroyed, the Sabbath and festivals were no longer to be observed, kosher diets were to be abolished, and circumcision was no longer to be practiced (I Macc. 1:41-64). Moreover, at the end of 167, a smaller altar was erected on the top of the great altar of burnt offering, and as the supreme insult to Judaism swine were sacrificed on it. There was justification for Antiochus' contemporaries making a pun on his title Epiphanes ("God Manifest") by referring to him as Epimanes ("the mad man").
When representatives of the Seleucid government came to the Judean village of Modin and sought to persuade the priest Mattathias (Mattityahu) as the leading citizen to set an example by sacrificing to the pagan gods, Mattathias not only refused but also killed a Jew who stepped forward to comply with the royal request; in addition, he killed the king's officer. Mattathias and his sons then fled to the hills of Judea and called upon all those zealous for the Torah of their fathers to rally to them. This family soon gained leadership of an organized resistance movement.
Before his death, Mattathias in 166 or 165 BCE gave the leadership to Judas (Y'hudah), one of his five sons. Judas bore the nickname "Maccabee" (the "hammer"), a name that was popularly given to his brothers and their descendants and the resistance movement as a whole. The family, however, is more accurately named Hasmonean from an ancestor Hashmon, and their period may be better termed the Hasmonean period.
From their strongholds in the wilderness, Judas and his followers carried on a guerilla campaign, raiding villages, overthrowing pagan altars, killing Jews who were Hellenist sympathizers, and circumcising children. The pious cast their lot with Judas, and the resistance movement assumed the character of a holy war.
Judas proved himself a master of guerilla tactics. With a knowledge of the countryside and fresh support with each new success, he defeated every Syrian detachment sent after him. The need for troops in the east against the Parthians and internal conflicts kept the Syrians from throwing their full force against the Jewish insurgents.
After three years of fighting, Judas finally led his people to victory, capturing the Temple mount in 165 BCE. However, the once magnificent Temple lay in ruin, despicably desecrated by Syrian soldiers. The idol altar was dumped in an "unclean place" (valley of Hinnom?), and the sacred furniture was restored. According to the sad note of I Maccabees 4:40, the altar of burnt offering that had been defiled was dismantled and the stones deposited "in a convenient place on the Temple hill until there should come a prophet to tell what to do with them." This was one indication of the realization during this period that prophecy had ceased.
A new altar built according to the directions in the Torah was set up. On the twenty-fifth of Kislev, 164 BCE, (Dec. 14 of that year) the third anniversary of the profanation of the altar, the daily burnt offering was resumed. In commemoration of the event, a new eight-day festival was added to the Jewish religious calendar, Hanukkah (or "Dedication"), commonly called the Feast of Lights. For the year 5765 on the Hebrew calendar, Hanukkah begins after sundown on December 7, 2004.
Hanukkah is a commemoration of two miracles: 1) the military victory of the Maccabees over the Seleucids, in which God delivered the mighty into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of the few, and 2) the miracle through which the oil in the Menorah burned for eight days rather than one.
Throughout the ages, Hanukkah has signified the miraculous triumph of the weak over the strong, the pure over the impure, the righteous over the wicked. Whenever the integrity of the Jewish people is under siege, no matter how dark the night, the Hanukkah lights proclaim with confidence that the dawn of deliverance is near.
A central part of the daily service in the Temple was the kindling of the brilliant lights of the Menorah, When the Temple was about to be rededicated after the victory of the Maccabees, only one small cruse of the pure, sacred olive oil was found. It was only one day's supply, and they knew it would take more than a week for the special process required to prepare more oil.
Undaunted, in joy and thanksgiving, the Maccabees lit the lamps of the Menorah with the small amount of oil and dedicated the Holy Temple anew. Miraculously, as if in confirmation of the power of their faith, the oil did not burn out, and the flames shone brightly for eight full days.
Why take note of events that transpired centuries ago? Would it really matter if the Maccabees had lost? If the world had become Jewless under Antiochus, the results would have been devastating for humanity.
A Jewless world from 165 BCE would mean that many reading this article might not be here today. Besides the many Jewish doctors who have routinely saved lives, Jewish people discovered many life-saving medicines. A Jewless world would also mean the loss of rich music, art, and literature.
Had the Maccabees lost, America might have lost the American Revolution. A Jewish man named Hayam Solomon heavily financed that war, leaving him penniless. And had the American colonists lost, life would be extremely different today.
Yet something far greater transcends even those legitimate consequences. If the Jewish people had been destroyed in 165 BCE, no special Jewish baby named Yeshua could have been born in Bethlehem some 160 years later.
And if Yeshua had not come, mankind would be hopelessly and eternally lost in its trespasses and sins. Gone would be the Messianic hope and all it entails.
Yochanan (John) 10:22-30 indicates that Hanukkah was an integral part of the life of the Master Yeshua. The passage begins by establishing the time frame: "At that time the Feast of the Dedication took place at Jerusalem; it was winter and Yeshua was walking in the Temple in the portico of Solomon."
Yeshua chose this particular occasion to issue a definitive proclamation of His Messiahship: "I and the Father are one."
Even the customs and traditions associated with Hanukkah illustrate the truths that Yeshua taught. He identified Himself as "the Light of the world" (Matt. 8:12). But He elsewhere informed His talmidim (disciples), "You are the light of the world" (Matt. 5:14). The eight candles of the Hanukkah celebration are lighted with a ninth shammash ("servant") candle. Yeshua explained that He came as a servant (Mark 10:45) and that He would empower His followers to be lights to others (Matt. 5:14-16; John 14:12).
The sequence in which the Hanukkah candles are lighted is also significant. One candle is lit the on the first night, two candles the second night, and so on until all eight candles are lighted. But on each successive night a more recently lighted candle is always lit before a previously lighted candle. For example, on the eighth night of Hanukkah the candles are lit in this order: eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. This practice creates a vivid picture of Yeshua's teaching that "the first shall be last" (Matt. 19:30; 20:16; Mark 9:35; 10:31; Luke 13:30).
Don't miss out on the many valuable lessons provided for you in the celebration of Hanukkah! This year Hanukkah starts Friday evening, December 15th and last until December 23rd.
