Hanukkah began nearly 2300 years ago and is rich in history and tradition. Unlike most other Jewish Festivals, Hanukkah is what is called a Post-Mosaic (After Moses) Holiday. This festival was not commanded by God nor was it instituted by God. However, it is LIKE other Jewish Festivals in several ways:
THE PAST: Hanukkah reflects upon remembrances of the past and shows us God’s provident hand upon His people!
The Greek culture that ruled much of the Middle Eastern world over 2,000 years ago had much to offer. It brought the world beauty in the form of architecture, fashion and art. It brought intellectual “wisdom” in the form of philosophy, language and mathematical discoveries. It brought entertainment in the form of sporting events and leisure that was previously mostly unknown. To much of the world there seemed to be no harm in indulging in the subtle blending of these styles with their own. This became known as Hellenism named for the Greek word for Greece, Hellas.
In Judea, however, the Jews lived by another standard. They followed a God-given law, The Torah. They were allowed to live in the way they saw fit until the Syrian King, Antiochus Epiphanes, came into power in 175 B. C. He insisted on full immersion in the Hellenistic life-style to the exclusion of all else. Under his tyrannical rule, anyone who even owned a Torah was in mortal danger. The King’s abusive acts went from the arrogant to the ultimately offensive. He minted coins with his image alongside that of Zeus proclaiming himself to be “god manifest”. He sullied the Jews temple by sacrificing pigs on the altar (an extreme insult to the kosher system under The Torah) and he even killed a priest named Elazar for NOT participating in this mockery.
Finally, an old Jewish priest named Mattathias was troubled enough to stand up for his beliefs. He would not abandon his religion and would not convert to the pagan practices that had so blended with their lives that the lines were no longer simply blurred, but were all but erased! Mattathias and his sons gathered up an army of farmers and craftsmen and they trained themselves to fight against the Syrians. Years of battles passed and when Mattathias was too old to lead any longer he appointed his son, Judah to take over for him.
Judah was a man of decisive force and had earned himself the nickname “hammer” or Maccabee. His followers soon after came to be known as The Maccabees. It took several more years, but this band of men had something going for them the Syrians did not have. The Syrian’s motivation was based on money, power and fear of the King. The Maccabees’ motivation came from determination to do what was right, regaining their freedoms and fear of the TRUE King! Through clever strategies, integrity and strength of character the Maccabees eventually were able to defeat the armies of their enemies and emerged victorious!
The people of Judah were triumphant, but were also devastated at the condition of their temple. It was littered with statues of false gods and almost every item that should have been consecrated unto The Holy God had been misused and abused. They set to work restoring the temple to its former glory. They built a new altar, removed the defiled stones, cleansed the sanctuary and finally in the year 164 B.C. on Kislev the 25th they were ready to rededicate their temple. In fact, the word Hanukkah means “dedicate”.
Legend holds that there was an additional event that increased the joy of the people during the ensuing celebrations. As they prepared to light the Ner Tamid, or the Eternal Light, they found they only had enough untainted oil to burn for one day. It would take a full week to make more, but miraculously the limited supply of oil lasted for EIGHT days the duration of the entire festival!
THE PRESENT: Hanukkah gives us a firm focus for the present and opportunities to apply the lessons learned to our situation today!
We can learn many applicable lessons from Hanukkah and its traditions! We, like the Jews of that day, can stand for what we believe in, cleanse from our lives the world’s culture and pagan practices, and rededicate our lives to living a life that shines Light to the World! In their joy, the people worshipped God with gratitude and set aside a time of full devotion to honor God and celebrate the restoration of their freedom. They were once again able to obey God openly and were no longer under the oppression of their enemies. They decorated the temple, prepared a feast and offered the sacrifices required by God upon the newly constructed altar.
We can apply this in many ways, such as dressing in a way that is modest, giving of our time and talents to worthy causes and sacrificing of ourselves to be a blessing to God and to shine HIS Eternal Light to a lost and dying world! Think of that from which we have been delivered and worship God with a heart full of thankfulness. Let that heart of gratefulness transform your entire life. Make time to whole-heartedly glorify God as you thank Him for the liberty that we have in Him!
THE FUTURE: Hanukkah points us to the future and our hope in Jesus Christ!
At the time, Jesus had not yet been born. Even so, I can see the possibility, as with other Biblical Jewish holidays that many of the elements of Hanukkah point to the truths of our Savior! We may even be able to learn some truths from the words Jesus spoke in the temple during Hanukkah in AD 29. Just prior to the festival he spoke about being the Good Shepherd. This may have been an allusion that the Jews would have understood as a Messianic claim! Then, we read in John chapter 10:
John 10:22-42
22And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter.
23And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon’s porch.
24Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.
25Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me.
26But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.
27My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
28And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
29My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
30I and my Father are one.
31Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.
32Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?
33The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
34Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?
35If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;
36Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?
37If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.
38But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.
39Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand,
40And went away again beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized; and there he abode.
41And many resorted unto him, and said, John did no miracle: but all things that John spake of this man were true.
42And many believed on him there.
In an article by Gordon Franz, he points out that when Jesus was asked:
“point blank, “Are you the Messiah?” (10:24). Jesus had to be careful how He answered that question. During the festival, throngs of Jews caught up in the nationalistic fever, were visiting Jerusalem. The word “Messiah” might spark off riots because of its heavy nationalistic and political overtones…Jesus does, however, answer the question in the affirmative, but not directly. When He answers, He is careful not to use the contemporary term and understanding… He says “I and my Father are one’” (10:30). That statement had heavy religious overtones for the festival which they were presently celebrating. Those gathered on the Temple Mount recalled the events nearly 200 years before on the very mount where, Antiochus IV, a mere man, proclaimed himself god. Jesus, the LORD manifest in human flesh, made the same claim but His claim was true. The Jews picked up stones to stone Him for blasphemy because, in their thinking, He was a man who made Himself God (10:31-33). Jesus declared that He was the fulfillment of Hanukkah by saying the Father “sanctified” the Son of God and sent Him into the world (10:34-36), The Father was in Him and He in the Father (10:38). If the Greek word “sanctified” was translated into Hebrew, it would be “dedication” or Hanukkah.”
In the same article, Gordon Franz goes on to say:
“John wrote his gospel primarily to a Jewish and Samaritan audience, One of the unique things about John’s gospel is his emphasis on the Jewish and Samaritan festivals and his indication that Jesus was the fulfillment of these holidays. Hanukkah was the rededication of a defiled Temple. At the beginning of Jesus public ministry, He said, “‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then the Jews said, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?’ But He was speaking of the temple of His body” (2:19-21) Herod’ s Temple had been defiled by a wicked and corrupt priesthood. The Lord Jesus was “sanctified” by His death, burial and resurrection and is the New Temple.”
I pray that whether or not you celebrate Hanukkah that you WILL Celebrate the Light of the World without whom we would be in bondage and in a hopelessly lost condition.. I pray, also, that you will take the advice that the apostle Paul offered in Philippians chapter 2:
Philippians 2:14-18
14Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
15That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
16Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.
17Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all.
18For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me.
An Amish Christmas
December in Lancaster County
Printed Case Hardcover
By Beth Wiseman, Kathleen Fuller and Barbara Cameron
Reviewed by Martha Artyomenko
December in Paradise.
A time of hope, redemption, and new life.
A Miracle for Miriam by Kathleen Fuller.
Seth is no longer the arrogant young man who shattered Miriam's confidence and broke her heart. But can he convince "plain" Miriam that she is truly beautiful to him?
A Choice To Forgive by Beth Wiseman.
After Daniel disappeared that long-ago Christmas Eve, Lydia built a life with his brother. But now she's a widow and Daniel has reappeared, asking for forgiveness. But can she go back to her normal life with her long-lost love as her neighbor?
I am sure you know I am not a fan of Amish fiction, however this collection of short stories is a well written collection that I felt did not make huge deals of how odd their life was, but instead just told the stories like they would any other person!
One Child by Barbara Cameron.
The birth of one child forever changed the world two thousand years ago. On a snowy Christmas night in Lancaster County, another child changes the world for two very different couples.
My Review:
This small hardcover book of three short stories of Amish couples in different circumstances, but living in the same community. While the book is called Amish Christmas because that is the time of year, the story takes place. I do not usually read novella's or mixture of novella's, but this one was well written and the stories flowed together well, instead of feeling like there were several rushed stories to hurry them to court and get married, one of the couples is a childless married couple who helps take care of stranded motorists over Christmas time.
I enjoyed this story probably the most!!! Sarah had lost her baby to miscarriage and she greatly feels the pain of this, when a stranded couple stays at their home during a snowstorm and the wife is expecting a baby. Since many Amish women have their babies at home, I liked it that this was portrayed as such.
The other two were nice stories as well. One thing bothered me in the first story, Miriam struggled with feeling ugly and doubts herself since a bullying incident on the schoolyard. Even as an adult she overhears people commenting on her ill looks. This bothered me as later other people told her how pretty she was and she herself could just not see it. I wondered why then other people seemed to comment on her being ugly so much then, it just seemed sort of odd.
This book would be a nice Christmas gift for someone you know who loves to read. It's size would make it nice to slip into a stocking! - Martha
Thanksgiving Greetings and Blessings from Chicagoland!
I want to take this opportunity to share with my Homeschooling Through High School readers a new meme which you (and parents of all our awesome homeschooling teenagers) can join! Hop on over to my HSB blog, "Plans4You" to learn all about...
Next, I have a simple recipe to share which your high schoolers can make with all your leftover Thanksgiving turkey! Be sure to log the time they spend making this on their Home Ec time card so you can apply it to a Home Economics credit!
(If you're not sure what a "Home Ec time card" is, please read my posts from August 19, 2009, "Keeping Track of Credits," and August 26, 2009, "Clever Credits." You can find them HERE.)
or you can serve it "as is" over rice, toast, or in a pastry shell.
The recipe calls for 4 cups of shredded turkey...if you don't have that much, you can either add some shredded chicken to make up the difference, or cut the Master Blend recipe in half, and be sure to cut any recipes and baking dish sizes you use the Master Blend in by half, as well.
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Biscuit dough: arrange biscuits on top of turkey, overlapping the biscuits if necessary.
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Drop biscuit dough: drop small biscuits on top to cover.
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Pie dough: roll dough out into the shape of your pan, place on top of turkey, and tuck the edges in against the pan sides.
Brush the top of the dough with about 2 Tbs. (1/2 an egg) of beaten egg for a goldeny-brown glaze.
Bake 25 to 35 minutes until the turkey mix is bubbly and the topping is nicely browned.
TURKEY TETRAZZINI
1-1/2 Tbs. unsalted butter
8 ounces sliced mushrooms (about 2-1/3 cups)
8 ounces spaghetti, macaroni, or egg noodles
1/2 cup slivered or sliced almonds, toasted lightly
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 13X9-inch baking pan.
Heat butter in large skillet over medium-high heat until the foam begins to subside.
Add sliced mushrooms and cook, stirring, until tender...about 5 minutes.
Stir the mushrooms into the Turkey Master Blend.
Cook pasta according to package directions in a large pot of salted water until tender. Drain well. Stir pasta into turkey mixture along with almonds.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake 25 to 35 minutes until sauce is bubbly and the cheese is golden brown.
TURKEY CHILI PEPPER CASSEROLE
One or two 4-1/2 ounce cans of chopped mild or hot green chili peppers, drained (the amount you choose is determined by how hot you want this!)
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
4 ounces tortilla chips, lightly crushed (don't pulverize these...should have 2 to 3 cups after crushing.)
8 ounces grated Cheddar cheese (2 cups, lightly packed)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 13X9 baking pan.
To the Turkey Master Blend, add chili peppers (be sure to drain them first!) and cumin. Mix well.
In the prepared pan, layer the turkey mixture alternately with layers of tortilla chips and cheese. End with a layer of tortilla chips sprinkled with cheese.
Bake 25 to 35 minutes until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese is golden brown.
TURKEY AND RICE CASSEROLE
1-1/2 Tbl. unsalted butter
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced (about 2-1/3 cups)
3 cups cooked white rice or wild rice blend
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, toasted
1/3 cup dry, unseasoned breadcrumbs
2 Tbs. grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbs. melted butter
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 13X9-inch baking pan.
Heat butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat until the foam begins to subside. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring until tender--about 5 minutes.
Stir the mushrooms into the Turkey Master Blend along with the cooked rice and toasted nuts. Pour the mixture into baking pan.
In a bowl, mix together breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, and melted butter. Sprinkle over top of casserole.
Bake 25 to 35 minutes until sauce is bubbly and the crumbs are golden brown.
Enjoy your Thanksgiving, enjoy your leftover turkey (or make every single one of these with chicken and enjoy that!), and enjoy your teenagers! Be sure to visit me at Plans4You to check out the new meme. May God bless you and your homeschool this week!
Lori
Lori Havens has been married to Kevin for 24 years. They live in Illinois with their two sons, Bryan (17) and Nathan (16), and dog Sunny (9). Lori enjoys writing, gardening, reading, and the outdoors. She hosts the "Thursday Talkin' About Teenagers" meme at her HSB blog, "Plans4You," and is the author of "Should I Be A Nurse? A Journey of Self-Exploration for Those Considering a Career in Nursing" and "7 Essential Questions Every Future Nurse Must Ask." You can find her blogging at both Homeschool Blogger and Homestead Blogger .
We are celebrating this Thanksgiving with grateful hearts for God's gift of salvation, matchless grace, and provision to us way beyond our needs.
Thanking our Lord
for
Family,
Friends,
Faith,
Forgiveness,
and
Freedom.
Truly, we are richly blessed.
I've had a strange feeling all day today. A happy feeling, although I wasn't sure why. The words, "this is the day, this is the day, this is the day," kept running through my head.
I must admit, I knew what the voices were talking about, and for once they were right.
Needless to say I could just scream. Sadly, the rest of the house is soundly sleeping so I shall restrain myself till morning. Until then I shall grin, gaze lovingly at my purple progress bar, and feel like Queen.