The Importance of Hannukah to Christians

 

During this time of year, we are reminded that our Jewish brothers and sisters celebrate another holiday, Hannukah.  I recently read an article about Hannukah and was surprised to learn what this holiday really means to the Jewish people.  I already knew that Hannukah celebrated an event that occurred during the intertestamental times, between the close of the Old Testament and the New Testament.  During this time, the Holy Land was overtaken by the Greeks, led by Antiochus Epiphanes, one of Alexander the Great's generals who received this land after the death of Alexander.  The Greek tradition at that time was to incorporate native religions into Greek tradition, a practice known as syncretism.  So, when the Greeks obtained control of the Holy Land, they attempted to blend the worship of God with the worship of all of their deities.  The big problem for the Jewish people was that the Greek practice of religion was based heavily on idolatory.

 

During this timeframe, a Jewish revolt happened under the leadership of the Maccabees, a Jewish family who took on the military might of Greece.  In the end, the Maccabees defeated the Greeks and drove them from the land.  They went into the temple that had been defiled through Greek idol worship and cleansed and purified the temple.  However, there was only enough oil to burn in the temple for one day, and eight days were needed for full purification.  Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days even though it should have completely run out in one day.  This miraculous feat of God is celebrated in the Festival of Lights or Hannukah.

 

Now, what I learned in this article that I did not know was that Hannukah was considered a call for Jewish people to rededicate their lives and to abandon any and all idols that are drawing them away from the worship of the Lord God Almighty.  I found that highly interesting and very applicable to us Christians.  While we may not be setting up temple gods in our sanctuaries and while we may not have house gods like the Hindus and some of the other eastern religions, we do set up idols in our lives, especially during this time of the year.  Idols are anything that we worship or place in importance more than God.  If you need to look for idols, just look at your local department store this Christmas season.  This holiday is built around idolism now, with idols of materialism, prosperity, Santa Claus, etc. 

 

Perhaps we need to recapture the true meaning of Christmas and to purify this holiday in much the same way as the Maccabees purified the temple.  Our focus this time of the year should not be on presents or food or family, but on the incarnation of Christ, on the birth of a Savior in a manger in Bethlehem, and on the grace of God in making salvation possible for a sinful and fallen world.