After nearly 200 years of Greek rule, the unthinkable occurred. In 167 B.C., Antiochus IV, the Selucid king of the Assyrian Kingdom and ruler over the land of Israel, placed a statue of the Greek god, Zeus, in the Temple of YHWH. He then slaughtered a pig on the altar of sacrifice, defiling the Temple.
This was the climactic event in the Greek attempt to Hellenize the Jews. The Greeks had long sought to break the independence of the Jews by diluting their worship of YHWH through the insertion pagan practices into the culture. The Greeks knew well, that as long as the Jews were living as a separate and distinct people, their control over the region was tenuous. As a part of this, Antiochus IV banned circumcision, one of the most sacred requirements of the Torah. At any point, a Greek soldier or official could order that a male child be exposed. If that child was circumcised, he would be immediately run through with a sword or spear.
Many Jews in the region around Jerusalem, called Judea, made the choice to flee the area. The descendants of King David, who were living in Bethlehem and the surrounding area, were faced with a particularly challenging situation. They knew that the Messiah, from the line of David, was to come very soon. However, the Messiah must be an upholder of Torah. If He were uncircumcised, he would be an illegitimate king. These descendants of King David left Judea and settled in the Galilee. They founded a village, and named it Nazareth, because they were nezers or “shoots” from the stump of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1). And there, they continued to worship and honor YHWH, and wait for the coming Messiah.
Antiochus IV then renamed himself Antiochus Epiphanes, which means “Antiochus the Divine”, proclaiming himself as God. The position of high priest became a title to be bought through bribery, thus effectively ending the legitimate priesthood. Now, Antiochus had control of not only the political machinery of Israel, but also the religious system. He had erected the statue of Zeus in the Temple and declared himself God.
In every city and town, altars were erected with statues of the Greek gods and goddesses. Soldiers rounded up the Jews and forcibly compelled them to make offerings, and to engage in other immoral acts customary to the Greeks. As Antiochus’ troops tightened their grip on the nation, the Jews seemed incapable of resistance.
It was in the small village of Modin, a few miles east of Jerusalem, that a single act of heroism turned the tide of Israel’s struggle, and altered her destiny for all time. Mattityahu, patriarch of the priestly Hasmonean clan, stepped forward to challenge the Greek soldiers and those who acquiesced to their demands. Backed by his five sons, he attacked the troops, slew the idolaters, and destroyed the idols. With a cry of “All that are with YHWH, follow me!” he and a courageous circle of partisans retreated to the hills, where they gathered forces to overthrow the oppression of Antiochus and his collaborators.
The army of Mattityahu, now under the command of his son Yehuda Maccabee, grew daily in numbers and in strength. With the Biblical slogan, “Who is like You among the mighty ones, O YHWH?” emblazoned on their shields, they would swoop down upon the Syrian troops under cover of darkness and scatter the oppressors, then return to their encampments in the hills. Only six thousand strong, they defeated a heavily armed battalion of forty-seven thousand Syrians.
Enraged, Antiochus sent an even larger army against them, and in the miraculous, decisive battle at Bet Tzur, the Jewish forces emerged victorious. From there, they proceeded on to Jerusalem, where they liberated the city and reclaimed the Temple. They cleared the Sanctuary of the idols, rebuilt the altar, and prepared to resume the Divine Service.”
From http://www.betemunah.org/chanukah.html
While Antiochus was in control of the Temple, the Jews were unable to keep the Moedim, or “Appointed Feasts” of YHWH. The last Feast that they would have celebrated, had they been in control of the Temple, was Sukkot, also called the Feast of Tabernacles. Sukkot is an eight day feast celebrating the dwelling of YHWH with man, and His provision for the Children of Israel during their forty years of wandering in the wilderness. It is a time of joy and celebration. Yehuda Maccabee and the leaders of the Temple chose to combine Sukkot with a period of rededication of the Temple. As part of the rededication they desired to light the Temple menorah, which was to be carefully tended, and would “burn continually” (Leviticus 24:2). When they prepared to light the menorah, they discovered that they only had enough olive oil to last one day. It would take eight days to obtain enough purified oil to keep the menorah lit. Legend tells us that by faith they lit the menorah, and that one days oil lasted for the entire eight days.
Hanukkah is more than the “Jewish Christmas” as many believe it is. It is a celebration of the people of YHWH honoring Him and keeping His commandments. It is about being willing to die, rather than bow to another god. It is about worshipping YHWH as He desires to be worshipped. And it is about YHWH’s provision.
Today, Hanukkah, also called the Feast of Light or the Feast of Dedication, should be a time of examination of our lives. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “Do you now know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” Have we allowed the “world” to creep into our worship? Have we erected idols in our lives that need to be broken down? Do we need a fresh cleansing by the blood of the Lamb?
YHWH instructed Moses and the people of Israel in Deuteronomy 12:29-31a: “When the LORD (YHWH) your God cuts off before you the nations which you are going in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, beware that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying ,’How do these nations serve their gods, that I also may do likewise?’You shall not behave thus toward the LORD (YHWH) your God, for every abominable act which the LORD (YHWH) hates they have done for their gods…”
This Hanukkah, may we seek to worship YHWH as He desires to be worshiped.
Tomorrow: The Feast of Tabernacles and Hanukkah at the time of Yeshua the Messiah
