Greetings Lighthouse Inc., Church family,

God has been building line upon and precept upon precept. Yesterday (December 10, 2020) at sun down we joined our Jewish Brothers and Sisters in a celebration of Hannukah. If you have never heard of this story and the miracle that took place you really need to take some time and learn about it. For those of you who are crying and moaning because you are not Jewish and you don’t believe we should be learning about our Jewish roots you can stop reading right here. There is nothing left for you to learn about our Father.

For those of you who stayed. I want you to know this is one of the biggest miracles of provision from our God that His people have ever received. Here is a summation of this miracle. The Seleucids desecrated the Temple of God. God moved upon the hearts of the Jewish people after a period of extreme persecution and they returned back to God. With this returning back to God they knew that it was necessary to do all that God had commanded them to do so purposed in their heart cleanse the Temple.  With this they rededicated themselves and began the process of rededicating the Temple of God. 

One problem existed.  They had no oil to light the Menorah (lampstand of God).  The process to prepare the oil for the Menorah took 7 days.  So they gathered all the oil they could find and they lit the Menorah.  After this they began the process of preparing the new oil for the Menorah.  Miracle of miracles.  The little bit of oil they had was enough for God.  God saw the intention of their hearts was to do right by Him and he caused that oil to last for eight (8) days.  The Menorah 24 hours a day for eight (8) days straight.  This is impossible in man’s eyes but with God all things are possible. 

The exact miracle of the Menorah remaining lit for eight (8) days cannot be found in the Bible.  What can be found is that Jesus our Lord and Savior practiced and celebrated the Feast of Dedication that this story celebrates.  Jesus fulfilled all of the law.  This account of Jesus celebrated the Feast of Dedication can be found in John 10: 22, “Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter.”

The “Feast of Dedication” was another name for the ceremony that is celebrate by our Brothers and Sisters all over the world.  The most detailed account of the story of Chanukah is contained in the First and Second Books of Maccabees. However, these books are not included in the Hebrew Bible. The Books of Maccabees are part of what are known as the Apocrypha (Greek for “hidden things”), which was considered part of the biblical canon by the Jews of Alexandria, but not by the Jews in ancient Israel.  These readings tell of what happened with the Maccabean Jews who fought against Antiochus Epiphanes of the Seleucid Empire by revolting against their rule.  God granted them the victory and He made a way for His people.

Hannukah is a powerful testimony of the provision of God.  Make sure you learn about this and celebrate this special season of becoming dedicated to God.  There are other traditions tied to Hannukah and they all have a very special meaning to God.   I encourage you to check them out.

What IS Hanukkah? – (It’s not what you think it is)

We know the facts on why we celebrate Chanukah, the Festival of Lights. But is that all? Could it be that the inner meaning of the holiday has been hidden from plain sight? You may also be interested in…