HAPPY HANUKAH! – DAY 1
We celebrate Hanukah on the 25th day of the ninth month of Kislev in the Hebrew calendar, known as the Feast of Light. The word ‘Kislev’ (meaning trust) shares the same root as the Hebrew word ‘Kislah , ’ which means ‘folly.’ The consequences of ‘Kislah’ depends upon whom one chooses to place one’s trust in. Scripture exhorts us to place it completely above all things in God through Messiah Jesus, the ‘Light of the World’.
There are two states of trust; one is active and the other is passive; both are manifested in the month of Kislev:
1. The miracle of Hanukah reflects the active trust in God of those Jews led by Maccabees who stood against the might of the Syro-Phoenician Empire against all odds; they did this to preserve the integrity of the One they served, and God brought about a mighty deliverance!
2. Kislev also reflects the passive trust of a small segment within the oppressed Jewish nation. Some people (particularly amongst Hellenistic Jewry) resigned themselves to their fate or even actively cooperated with their enemy rather than oppose them. This was their folly. Kislev is a compound of two words. ‘Lev’ is the Hebrew word meaning ‘heart.’ Passive trust is characterised by half heartedness whereas active trust is wholehearted!
Today, as we face much darkness in this world, who do we choose to place our trust in? Are we prepared to actively stand against all unrighteousness and compromise manifested in ungodly assimilation, to preserve the integrity and honour of the One we love and serve?
HAPPY HANUKAH! DAY 2
“But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.” (John 4:14) The Word
The Word of God encourages us to drink from the well of living waters, yet it is little more than spiritual hedonism unless it is accompanied by transformation. When our love for Him becomes unconditional we really begin to taste the water in a new way!
Each one of us have experienced certain commonalities with the character traits of the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4) who Messiah Jesus asked for a drink. Though we may readily receive the water of Life offered to us, in what manner do we respond when He asks us for just a small cup of cold water?
Jesus tells us, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:40) When we understand this, we can better appreciate the words of Jesus that it is more blessed to give than to receive, not a bad thing to understand particularly at this season of the year!
HAPPY HANUKAH! DAY 3
According to the founder of the Hassidic movement, the Baal Shem Tov, nothing compares to Hanukah because it is all about kindling light. What did he mean? To understand this one must differentiate between knowledge and truth. Knowledge can puff up and yield pride and arrogance. It can never in itself bring us closer to God. One can be the greatest theologian yet merely be an empty vessel.
Messiah Jesus declared Himself to be the way and the truth and the life. No person can come to the Father but through Him. That kind of knowledge will not transform us until we make it our own and then it becomes truth.
We may know the words but unless light is kindled, it is mere knowledge; the menorah light remains just something pretty. Unless we celebrate Hanukah with illumination we are dead and possess no resurrection life.
To be dead is to remain unchanged rather than become transformed, but abundant life comes at a cost. Many people choose sameness in preference toallowing the pain of His scorching Light burn up the impurities within us. Hanukah teaches us that our light can only truly shine when we allow the purest oil to burn within us. When the Maccabees restored the Temple, they chose to rekindle God’s light, and for this they needed pure oil instead of that which was defiled.
When we operate on the level of pure oil, it will always bring transformation. And, He will do things in and through us that are infinite and beyond our imaginations! No matter who we are, when we allow God fully into our lives he shines His light upon us
and nothing ever remains mundane again; we truly discover our identity.
We must remember that when one embraces His Light, whether in small or great measure, the world will always close its doors. The parable of the ten wise and foolish maidens teaches one to keep our lamps trimmed and always filled with oil.
God is faithful and true! His light burns forever even when the oil appears to be just enough for one night.
HAPPY HANUKAH! DAY 4
It is easy to take for granted the inestimable privilege of being filled with the Holy Spirit. Some people live as though they are doing Him a favour whenever they allow Him access instead of the reverse!
God takes us in His arms with infinite compassion and tenderness, looking us in the eyes with deep wells of love as He enfolds us in His embrace even when we only present Him with the scraps under the table. This is a humbling thought……
Let’s never substitute His light for some cheap imitation or compromise as if to say, ‘please turn on the light, but not too brightly!’
At Hanukah, we display the Hanukiah in the most visible and public place for all to see as we celebrate the miracle of His
redemption, and are reminded that we are not our own but were bought with a price that only Divine love could afford. Thank you Jesus! You are truly our Light and our Salvation!
HAPPY HANUKAH! DAY 5
The portion of Scripture (Parsha) this Hanukah Shabbat is known as ‘Parsha Miketz’ (Hebrew: ‘at the end’) and is taken from the story of Joseph beginningwith his imprisonment (Genesis 41: 1). This passage has as a main focus dreams and dream interpretation.
Joseph was not only a dreamer of prophetic dreams, but held the gift of dream interpretation. Pharoah received two disturbing dreams which none of his magicians could fathom because these dreams were from God and therefore hidden from the powers of darkness. Pharaoh’s butler who had been in prison with Joseph, but was now fully reinstated, remembered how Joseph had
interpreted a dream he had had during his incarceration; he recalled the promise he had made on his release, to commend him to Pharaoh. Now, two years later, at God’s perfect synchronised timing, he honoured this promise. Pharaoh immediately summoned Joseph into his presence to interpret his dreams and finally, the page was turned.
For Joseph, the two years of prolonged imprisonment may have appeared impossible to fathom. How could this be connected to God’s perfect timing? It is a mindset easy for anyone to fall into especially when one does not possess the big picture. Joseph had been languishing in prison in the worst of predicaments with no hope of a reprieve and where, to all extents and purposes, he would remain for the rest of his life. How could God be in control? Surely this was the end of the road?
Maybe, right now we feel the same way, imprisoned within our circumstances where everything appears forlorn and hopeless? Has the Lord forsaken us or the promises He has made over our lives? God forbid! The last page of the story has not been turned, but when it does, it will exceed our wildest imaginations and expectations as we behold His glory, now as in a mirror, but then face to face! God is the God of wonderful surprises and a rich reward awaits those who place their full trust in Him. It was similar for the Jewish remnant against Antiochus Epiphenes, but God came through sovereignly amidst impossible odds to deliver His people against a powerful enemy against all hope. This is what we recall at Hanukah. Our hope sure, alive and active; one person with God is a majority even when the whole armies of hell are focused against us.
In a moment, in God’s perfect timing, Joseph was promoted from a place of abject darkness and misery to a position of unimaginable favour and blessing! Is this not the same thing which Messiah Jesus promises us:
“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to proclaim good news to the poor in spirit. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom to the prisoners, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” (Isaiah 61:1-2)
HAPPY HANUKAH! DAY 6
Aaronic blessing (Numbers 6:24)
The Hebrew word for “bless” is “barach” which literally means “to kneel”. A bracha is a “blessing” but more literally, the bringing of a gift to another on a bended “knee”. When we bless God or others, we are in essence, bringing a gift on bended “knee”. A true king is one who serves his people, one who will humble himself and come to his people on a bended knee.
The Hebrew word for “keep” is “shamar” which literally means “to guard”. A related word is “shamiyr” which means “thorn”. When the shepherd was out in the wilderness with his flock, he would construct a corral of thorn bushes to protect the sheep from predators, a guarding over of the sheep. (Jeff Benner – http://www.ancient-.‐hebrew.org/12_blessing.html)
“YHVH will kneel before you presenting gifts, and He will guard you with a hedge of protection ,Y HVH will illuminate the wholeness of His Being toward you, bringing order, and He will provide you with love , sustenance, and friendship, YHVH will lift up the wholeness of His Being and look upon you, and He will set in place all you need to be whole and complete.”
At Hanukah we recognise the sacrifice of a few men who stood against the tyranny of a vast enemy against all odds and prevailed. In the same way we think of Messiah Jesus and the incarnation – perfect man and perfect God who sacrificed His life as a sin offering for us and conquered evil to provide humanity with the possibility of a restored relationship with Him.
HAPPY HANUKAH! DAY 7
THE SEASON OF SUKKOT IS A FORERUNNER TO HANUKAH!
Sukkot is a season that focuses upon the significance of light. According to the Mishna, the priests poured oil into four huge candlesticks that had been set up in the Temple Court (fifty cubits high) which burned so brightly that its radiance could be seen even in the darkest corners within the surrounding areas of Jerusalem.
Messiah Jesus is the ‘Light of the World,’ conceived during Hanukah (in December during the ‘Feast of Lights’).
The gematria for Rachel (numerical value of 238 or 7 x 34) is equivalent to the phrase found in the Book of Genesis, ‘and there was light.’ In this verse, we discover a prophetic picture of Messiah. In the ancient Hebrew alphabet the modern Hebrew phrase is represented by:
1. A nail (Vav— ו) = to secure
2. A closed hand (Yud— י) = to make, a deed
3. A window (Heh— ה) = to reveal
4. A closed hand (Yud— י) = to make, a deed
5. An ox or bull (Aleph— א) = strength, leader
6. A nail (Vav— ו) = to secure
7. A head (Resh— ר) = a person, highest
Put together, God created the light as a sign that He would, ‘Make secure, reveal and establish a strong leader, a person of the highest order who would become the Light of the World.’
Messiah Jesus was conceived during the ninth month of Kislev and born nine months later in the seventh month of Tishri of the Hebrew calendar, the month of Reuben when Messiah was revealed (Reuben: ‘behold a son’) to the world, God Incarnate, the child born to be king!
HAPPY HANUKAH! DAY 8
The Talmud explains that Cheshvan means ‘movement of the lips’ implying fervent and incessant worship in spirit rather than preoccupation with the busyness and tyranny of the urgent.
The most important significance of the number eight is connected to Messiah Jesus who was resurrected, following His death by crucifixion, on the first day of the week (i.e., on the eighth day).
The number eight represents the redeemer who offers us a new beginning. This is illustrated in the Greek. His name is ‘IHSOUS,’ that has a numerical value of 888 (I=10; H=8; S=200; O=70; U=400; S=200) similar to other titles stamped with
this number.
The last day of Hanukah falls on this day as we consider the miracle of the oil which burned for eight days with just one days supply, providing the Temple priests with time to produce another batch which took seven days to prepare.
God is always punctual! He is entirely faithful and as we celebrate, we can know that the good work which He has begun in our lives will be brought to completion in the fullness of time. Even amidst the imponderables in life, God has proven Himself to be entirely reliable!
