Light is an interesting thing. Without light, what would the world be like? What would we see? Nothing. Everything would look exactly the same. There would be no colour, no beauty. Everything we know would be different.
It isn't strange that the first thing that God created was light. He knows that we need light to survive and to thrive. There are so many different things light can teach us about, not just in the physical world, but also of our role in this world.
In the last post, I said I'd tell you about the well-known Chanukah story, the Miracle of Light.
As we all know, when the Greeks defiled the Temple of God, a lot of the precious, holy items were either defiled or destroyed all together. One of the items that was destroyed was the holy oil for the menorah.
In the Torah, God takes a lot of time and detail to describe the laws, rules and ordinances for purification. In summary, only the most holy and pure items were allowed to be used in the service of the Temple. We all know of some of the incidents that happened in Bible times, when someone took these laws too lightly.
We also know that the Torah commands that the menorah lights should continually burn in the Temple. This is a picture that we should also burn for Him continually, shining the Light of Him Who loves us. The Word of God is our holy oil, keeping us burning, and prayer is the utensil used to access it.
But, when the Maccabees started rededicating and repairing the Temple of God, there was no holy oil to light the menorah with.
The priests joined together to hunt in the debris of the Temple to find some pure oil, undefiled by the Greeks. And they found one, small jar, wedged into a crevice in the floor. This little jar of oil was still holy, and could be used to light the menorah!
The only problem was that there was only enough oil to keep the menorah burning for one day. It would take another seven days before they would have new oil available for the menorah. The oil, under normal circumstances, wouldn't last until then. But, they lit the menorah anyway - and it kept burning, for eight whole days and nights, until the new oil was ready. God kept it burning, even in impossible circumstances.
That is why we celebrate the feast of Chanukah for 8 nights, to remember the miracle God did for us to keep the light burning. Every year we are reminded that even when things look impossible, if we fill our lamps in faith, He will keep us burning until the time is right. All we have to do is light our lamp. That is all He asks of us.
We are called to be a light to those around us. Sometimes, we have given the enemy a foothold in our lives. Sometimes we compromise and let them destroy our Temple, destroy our hearts. We let ourselves get hurt. Sometimes, when we realize what we have done, we go into a state of depression and hopelessness, thinking we can never rise up again. Never be used for His service again.
But that is one big, fat lie right there. That's what the enemy wants you to believe. But let's look at what happened in the days of the Maccabees. Matisyahu and his sons put their trust in God, and fought the battle for freedom. For us, we need to put our trust in Yeshua, ask Him to forgive as and help us, and He will come and help us. Sometimes, the real battle lies in giving everything to Him. That's all He asks of us.
Repairing the Temple isn't a quick fix. It took time. The same is for us. Repairing the breach in our lives and purifying our hearts takes time too. Did God destroy them because they couldn't purify and fix the Temple in one day? No! He had given them the process in the first place! Don't get discouraged, Daughter of the King! He knows and He is longing to join you in this refinement process. Don't shun Him out; He's armed with all the cleaning supplies at the door, waiting for you to let Him in and help.
One of the first things they did, before finishing the purification of the Temple, was light the menorah. Light your light in your heart. Yeshua has already given you the holy fire, all you have to do is trust that He will shine through you, even if you feel empty inside. He will keep your light burning, even when you can't.
Now, I've got something fun for you!
I'm sure you must all be having some great fun eating latkes, donuts, and chocolate money, and playing dreidel games until the skies shake with all your shouting. Here are a few extra things I thought I'd share with you...
I've compiled a YouTube playlist of all our favourite Chanukah songs, and here it is! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
And, if your family would be interested in listening to the first book of Maccabees read aloud, go to the podcasts section on your phone and download Daily Bread for Busy Moms, and find the Chanukah special. We enjoy listening to it as a family!
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