THE LIVES OF THE PATRIARCHS #205 | THE LIFE OF MOSES #186
Pastor Christopher Choo
Lesson 3891
THE LIVES OF THE PATRIARCHS #205
THE LIFE OF MOSES #186
MOSES AT MT.SINAI#85
THE TABERNACLE OF MOSES ( Part 44)
THE MENORAH #14
MORE REVELATIONS FROM THE HANUKKAH MENORAH
NAS John 10:22 At that time Hanukkah took place at Jerusalem; 23 it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon. 24 The Jews therefore gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, "How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly." 25 Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father's name, these bear witness of Me. 26 "But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep. 27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand. 29 "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. 30 "I and the Father are one."
During the Feast of Hanukkah, Jesus affirmed both His deity and His identity as the Messiah.
He plainly stated that He could grant eternal life, and that He and the Father were "echad" …(one)…something the Jews thoroughly understood.
He said MORE than the people had expected. They hoped He was the Messiah; but to add “yes I am”…..and further….. “I am God”…..was TOTALLY unexpected.
Even worse, He did it on Hanukkah; he did it on the day of celebration that the Temple was freed from perhaps the most infamous idolater in Jewish history, Antiochus Epiphanies.
Epiphanies means “god appearing”; Antiochus had declared himself to be a god. Yeshua’s pronouncement of his own deity could NOT have come at a more sensitive time.
And yet who are we to say when God should or should not act?
The miracle of the Hanukkah Menorah should remind them - and us - that God is not limited to our framework of time and space.
Hanukkah is an 8 day celebration that begins on Kislev 25th. And the focal point is the Menorah. But, it is a special Menorah; not the standard Temple Menorah. The original Temple Menorah had 7 branches, at the tips of which were 7 oil lamps. The Hanukkah Menorah…..today called a Hanukkiah….. has two extra branches and oil lamps, for a total of 9. Why?
It was to remember the miracle that began on Kislev 25, 165 B.C.
The story goes that when the Temple was purged and then the Jews readied the Temple Menorah for lighting, they had a problem; they had only one jar of olive oil for the lamps. It’s not that other burnable olive oil wasn’t present, it’s that the olive oil used for the Temple Menorah was specially made and set-apart, by the priests, as called for in Leviticus. They took the only holy olive oil, carefully filled each of the 7 oils lamps with oil, and to their surprise, the Menorah burned brightly for 8 days……one jar of oil was typically sufficient for only ONE day.
So in remembrance of that miracle (and after the pattern of the Feast of Tabernacles) Hanukkah was made 8 days, and eventually the 9 branch Menorah was developed (after the Temple was destroyed for the final time in 70 A.D.).
Why 9 branches and not 8? This gets interesting.
The center branch that you see here stands above the other 8 branches; it is given a higher place, yet it is called the Shamash, or servant, lamp. The Shammash is lit on the first night of Hanukkah, and from this the first of remaining 8 lamps is ALSO lit on Kislev 25. Each night of Hanukkah, another of the lamps is lit, generally going left to right, using the fire of the Shammash lamp to light the others.
Tradition says the Hanukkiah may NOT be used to light your home; it is to be used only to celebrate the holy days; and it is to be placed where passers-by can see it.
In Jerusalem I have seen tiny Hannukah Menorahs lit at night standing behind the glass of apartment windows throughout Jerusalem.
It is such a heart-warming sight.
What wonderful symbolism is here for disciples of Christ?
For me it is so gratifying to see the light of the Servant is used to kindle the light of all that follow. At such moments in time I really sense God is speaking to me personally and intimately.
Some believers are not keen to celebrate Christmas as the date ( 25th December ) was inaccurate and carelessly given.
Even so, do you think the Church will ever accept Hanukkah as a better alternative?
