A Hanukkah Story

By Michael Allen

 

“For finding fault with
them, he saith, Behold,
the days come, saith
the Lord, when I will
make a new covenant
with the house of
Israel and with the
house of Judah."
Hebrews 8:8

round Christmas time, we often hear of another holiday, Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights. While traditionally a Jewish holiday, you won’t find this eight-day celebration in the Christian bible or Jewish bible.

However, Hanukkah is referenced in Catholic and Eastern orthodox bibles in the chapters of 1st Maccabees and 2nd Maccabees. The story also appears in the Talmud, a book of teachings compiled by ancient Rabbis.

So how does Hannukah relate to Jews and Christians?

Well, let’s take a look at the story, which occurs sometime between the Old and New Testament. During this in-between time, around 200 BC, the Jews lived in the Land of Israel, but were under Syrian rule (which was ultimately under Greek rule). The Jews paid taxes to Syria, but were free to follow their faith.

This freedom came to an end around 175 B.C. when Antiochus IV Epiphanes became the King of Syria. Under Antiochus, the temple in Jerusalem was looted, Jews were killed and Judaism was forbidden. In 167 B.C. Antiochus ordered an altar honoring Zeus to be built inside the temple and required that the Jews worship Greek gods.

This order would be blasphemy for the Jews who worshipped the only true God. Rather than accept this oppression, a Jewish priest, Mattathias Maccabee, and his five sons decided to lead the Jews in a revolt against Syria.

By 166 B.C. Mattathias Maccabee had passed away, and his son, Judah Maccabee, took over the rebellion. A year later, 165 B.C., the Jews had overthrown Syrian rule.

After their victory, Judah Maccabee ordered the temple to be cleansed and a new altar built to replace the desecrated one. As part of the restoration, the menorah, a lamp, was supposed to burn throughout the day and night.

They lit the menorah lamp even though there was only enough oil to last a day. The story goes that the menorah lamp miraculously burned for eight days, enough time for more oil to be brought to the temple. The Jews saw this as a miracle from God, and thus began the holiday of Hannukah.

1 Maccabees 4:56-59 says, "For eight days they celebrated the rededication of the altar. Then Judah and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the rededication...should be observed...every year...for eight days.”

There is also external evidence to support the holiday. Around 1900, archeologists unearthed an ancient Hanukkah lamp near Jerusalem. It had eight candleholders, one for each of the eight days. Additionally, the Roman historian Josephus mentions the eight-day festival.

While the Syrians desecrated the temple of God and tried to force the Jews to worship false Gods, Christianity honors the Lord and lovingly presents the gospel of Christ to Jews (and all people) so that they may be restored as the temple was long ago.

A wonderful book of the Bible to share with Jewish people is the book of Hebrews, which explains God's plan for redemption that is made available to His people, both Jew and Gentile.

That new covenant is salvation through Jesus Christ, whose birthday we celebrate on December 25th.