Chanukah!

Chanukah is one of my favorite times of the year. It is a season of rejoicing, a season of thanksgiving, a season of praising the LORD. Chanukah begins at sundown on Sunday, December 2 and ends at sundown on Monday, December 10.

Fast facts about Chanukah:

·        It occurs on the 25th of Kislev (the ninth month on the Jewish calendar)

·        It lasts eight days and eight nights

·        It is called the Festival of Lights or the Festival of Dedication

·        Chanukah means in Hebrew "dedication"

·        Chanukah spelled in Hebrew is chet-nun-vav-caf-hey

·        The root word of Chanukah is chet-nun-vav-caf (pronounced "Enoch" in English).

·        Enoch was in the seventh generation from Adam. He lived 365 years before God took Enoch. "And Enoch walked with God, and he was no longer, for God had taken him" (Genesis 5:24).

·        Although many Christians believe Chanukah is not a biblical holiday, this is simply not true.

·        Chanukah has happened in the past and is prophesied to happen again in the future.

(Side note: In Judaism, everything happens in cycles. Things which have happened in the past will repeat themselves. This can be seen in the Torah reading in which the Torah is read through in a single year and then is rolled up to the beginning and started all over again.

Additionally, this concept can been observed in Scripture: "The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun" Ecclesiastes 1:9. Chanukah has happened in the past; thus, the events of Chanukah will repeat themselves and happen in the future.)

The Number Eight

In the Bible, the number eight often signifies dedication and new beginnings. There are seven days in the week. The eighth day of the week signifies the start of another week.

2 Peter 2:5 and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly.

God saves Noah and eight people when God brings a flood to destroy the world. After the world has been washed cleaned, eight people are the start of a new beginning to the world's population.

Exodus 22:29-30 You shall not delay to offer the first of your ripe fruits, and of your liquors: the firstborn of your sons shall you give unto me. Likewise shall you do with your oxen, and with your sheep: seven days it shall be with his dam; on the eight day you shall give it to Me.

For seven days a person may keep his firstborn sons and animals and first fruits of his produce, but on the eighth day, the items are to be dedicated to God.

Genesis 17:9-12 God said further to Abraham, “Now as for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised. And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between me and you. And every male among you who is eight days old shall be circumcised through your generations, a servant who is born in the house or who is bought with money from any foreigner, who is not of your descendants.

The covenant of circumcision was given to Abraham in which males on the eighth day of life were to circumcised. Jewish tradition asserts that the eighth day is chosen for this important covenant because it means the child has survived through one full week which included a Shabbat. Once the young infant experienced God’s holy day, he could then enter into God’s covenant.

Leviticus 9:1, 23, 24 And it came to pass on the eighth day, that Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel; And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the people. And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.

It was on the eighth day after Aaron and his sons were consecrated to become priests to the LORD that the glory of the LORD appeared at the tabernacle in the wilderness.

Leviticus 23:33-36 Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘On the fifteenth of this month is the Feast of Booths [Tabernacles] for seven days to the LORD. On the first day is a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work of any kind. For seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation and present an offering by fire to the LORD: it is an assembly. You shall do no laborious work.

The Feast of Tabernacles (also known as the Feast of Booths or Sukkot) is a seven day celebration with the eighth day being a special day of assembly. The eighth day of the feast is also known as Simchat Torah. Every year the entire Torah is read once through completely. On Simchat Torah, the Torah scroll has reached the end of the last book of the Torah (the Book of Deuteronomy) and is completely unwound. The Torah scroll is then re-wound back to the very beginning to Genesis 1:1, and the Torah reading cycle is started all over again.

The Letter Chet

In the Hebrew alephbet, there are 22 letters. Each letter is assigned a number. Aleph is the first letter of the alephbet and is given the number one. Bet is the second letter and is given the number two. The eighth letter of the Hebrew alephbet is chet.

The word for life in Hebrew is chayim (chet-yod-yod-mem)

The word for grace in Hebrew is chen (chet-nun)

In Hebrew, God plays a word game with Noah’s name (spelled nun-chet in Hebrew) and flips the two letters to spell grace (chet-nun) in the Book of Genesis. (And remember that Noah was one of eight people saved through the world-wide flood.)

Genesis 6:8 But Noah (nun-chet) found grace (chet-nun) in the eyes of the LORD.

Chanukah in the Bible

Many Christians believe Chanukah is not a biblical event and does not appear in the Bible. This is quite erroneous. The word Chanukah appears multiple times in the Tanakh (Old Testament). The word "Chanukah" does not appear in our English translations because like most Hebrew words in our Bible, it is translated into English. Chanukah is translated into the English word "dedication".

1500 BC: Moses Tabernacle: Moses chanukah (dedicates) the tabernacle to the LORD
Numbers 7:1 And it came to pass on the day that Moses had fully set up the tabernacle, and had anointed it, and sanctified it, and all the instruments thereof, both the altar and all the vessels thereof, and had appointed them, and sanctified them;

Numbers 7:88 And all the animals for the sacrifice of the peace offerings were twenty-four bulls, sixty rams, sixty goats, and sixty lambs of the first year. The was the dedication (chanukah) of the altar after it was anointed.

1000 BC: Solomon's Temple: On the eighth day Israel chanukah (dedicates) the altar to the LORD
2 Chronicles 7:1-2 When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD'S house.

2 Chronicles 7:8-9 Also at the same time Solomon kept the feast seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt. And on the eighth day they held a sacred assembly, for they observed the dedication (chanukah) of the altar.

500 BC: Rebuilt Temple
Ezra 6:3a, 5a, 16 In the first year of Cyrus the king the same Cyrus the king made a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, Let the house be built, the place where they offered sacrifices, and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid; And also let the golden and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took forth out of the temple which is at Jerusalem, and brought unto Babylon, be restored, and brought again unto the temple which is at Jerusalem, And the children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication (chanukah) of this house of God with joy.

In short, Moses chanukah the tabernacle to the LORD in the wilderness, then Solomon's temple is chanukah to the LORD and when the temple is rebuilt in 500 BC it is chanukah to the LORD. Again and again, Israel has celebrated chanukah (dedication) of God's place of worship. When the future temple is rebuilt in Jerusalem, there is no doubt there will be another chanukah (dedication) celebration to the LORD.

Additionally, many Christians will protest Chanukah is not a biblical holiday because Jesus did not celebrate it. However, again, this is a fallacy. In John 10:22-24 we read, "Now it was the Feast of Dedication (chanukah) in Jerusalem, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch. Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, "How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Messiah, tell us plainly"

Chanukah has happened in the past, and it will happen again in the future.

In the Gospel of Matthew in chapter 24, Jesus and His disciples sit on the Mount of Olives. Jesus' disciples ask about signs which are to come about Messiah's second coming. What most Christians do not understand is that Jesus is describing a future chanukah. By exploring texts about a previous chanukah which happened around 168 BC, we can understand Jesus' warning about the chanukah that is yet to come.