Hanukkah

The name "Hanukkah" derives from the Hebrew verb "חנך", that means "to dedicate".

After 70 years of exile in Babylon, Israel was allowed to return to Jerusalem, to rebuild the Lord’s temple, and to establish a government. The 2nd temple was finished around 512 BC. After they had built the new temple the older priests actually mourned because it was so humble in comparison to Solomon’s.

Ezra 3:10–12 ESV

And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments came forward with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord, according to the directions of David king of Israel. And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.” And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, though many shouted aloud for joy,

On the day they dedicated this second temple to the Lord, the leaders must have reminded the people of Solomon’s prayer on the day he dedicated the first temple.

Let’s think back to the mid 900’s BC, some 450 years before, to the day Solomon’s temple was finished.

1 Kings 8 tells the story.

Solomon called all the elders of Israel and the heads of the tribes to Jerusalem. Their task would be to bring the ark of the covenant to the temple from its location in the City of David. It was the annual feast of booths celebration in early autumn and all of Israel was present. The Levites picked up the ark and carried it, the tabernacle and all the sacred articles that had been in it from the location where they had been stored to the new Temple. They carried the Ark of the Covenant into the sanctuary in the temple, all the way into the most holy place.

At that point the only things that were in the Ark of the Covenant were the two tablets of stone that God had written the ten commandments on. Apparently the bowl of manna and Aaron’s rod that budded which were in the Ark during Israel’s sojourn in the desert had been lost during the time of the judges.

When the priests and levites came out of the sanctuary a thick cloud filled the temple of the Lord. Because of His glorious presence the priests could no longer continue the service.

As he saw God’s glory fill the temple, Solomon raised his voice and prayed:

1 Kings 8:12–13 (ESV)

“The Lord has said that he would dwell in thick darkness. I have indeed built you an exalted house, a place for you to dwell in forever.”

And then he turned to the congregation and gave a blessing. He then turned back to the altar of the Lord, knelt down, and lifted his hands towards heaven and prayed this beautiful prayer:

1 Kings 8:23–53 (ESV)

“O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart; you have kept with your servant David my father what you declared to him. You spoke with your mouth, and with your hand have fulfilled it this day. Now therefore, O Lord, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you have promised him, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me.’ Now therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David my father.

“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place. And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.

“If a man sins against his neighbor and is made to take an oath and comes and swears his oath before your altar in this house, then hear in heaven and act and judge your servants, condemning the guilty by bringing his conduct on his own head, and vindicating the righteous by rewarding him according to his righteousness.

“When your people Israel are defeated before the enemy because they have sinned against you, and if they turn again to you and acknowledge your name and pray and plead with you in this house, then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them again to the land that you gave to their fathers.

“When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, if they pray toward this place and acknowledge your name and turn from their sin, when you afflict them, then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel, when you teach them the good way in which they should walk, and grant rain upon your land, which you have given to your people as an inheritance.

“If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence or blight or mildew or locust or caterpillar, if their enemy besieges them in the land at their gates, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is, whatever prayer, whatever plea is made by any man or by all your people Israel, each knowing the affliction of his own heart and stretching out his hands toward this house, then hear in heaven your dwelling place and forgive and act and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways (for you, you only, know the hearts of all the children of mankind), that they may fear you all the days that they live in the land that you gave to our fathers.

“Likewise, when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a far country for your name’s sake (for they shall hear of your great name and your mighty hand, and of your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this house, hear in heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house that I have built is called by your name.

“If your people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatever way you shall send them, and they pray to the Lord toward the city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for your name, then hear in heaven their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause.

“If they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near, yet if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors, saying, ‘We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly,’ if they repent with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray to you toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you have chosen, and the house that I have built for your name, then hear in heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause and forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their transgressions that they have committed against you, and grant them compassion in the sight of those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them (for they are your people, and your heritage, which you brought out of Egypt, from the midst of the iron furnace). Let your eyes be open to the plea of your servant and to the plea of your people Israel, giving ear to them whenever they call to you. For you separated them from among all the peoples of the earth to be your heritage, as you declared through Moses your servant, when you brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.”

When Solomon was finished praying he stood up in front of the altar where he had been kneeling and with a loud voice he blessed the congregation of Israel.

1 Kings 8:56–61 NLT

“Praise the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel, just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the wonderful promises he gave through his servant Moses. May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us or abandon us. May he give us the desire to do his will in everything and to obey all the commands, decrees, and regulations that he gave our ancestors. And may these words that I have prayed in the presence of the Lord be before him constantly, day and night, so that the Lord our God may give justice to me and to his people Israel, according to each day’s needs. Then people all over the earth will know that the Lord alone is God and there is no other. And may you be completely faithful to the Lord our God. May you always obey his decrees and commands, just as you are doing today.”

After all the ceremonies were finished and the people returned to their homes, the Lord appeared to Solomon for the second time in his life. This is, in part, what He said:

1 Kings 9:3 (NLT)

“I have heard your prayer and your petition. I have set this Temple apart to be holy—this place you have built where my name will be honored forever. I will always watch over it, for it is dear to my heart.

But he warned Solomon that His care had a condition:

1 Kings 9:6–7 NLT

“But if you or your descendants abandon me and disobey the commands and decrees I have given you, and if you serve and worship other gods, then I will uproot Israel from this land that I have given them. I will reject this Temple that I have made holy to honor my name. I will make Israel an object of mockery and ridicule among the nations.

And that’s exactly what happened.

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It was as if Solomon’s prayer was a prophecy. He prayed that if they abandoned God and other nations came up against them, and if Israel repented and prayed to God at the temple, that god would hear, and forgive, and protect them. The Israelites who had just built the second temple would have remembered the story of King Jehoshaphat and the great victory God had won against Israel’s enemies when all the people came to the temple and prayed to the Lord for protection and deliverance.

Solomon prayed that if the people disobeyed and worshiped other god’s and if God shut up the skies so that there would be no rain, then if the people repented that God would again send the rain. The people at the dedication of the 2nd temple would have remembered the story of Elijah and how Ahab had led the people in idolatry and God had sent 3 1/2 years of drought. The drought only ended when the people said, “The Lord, He is God,” and repented of their idolatry.

Solomon prayed that if the people rebelled and God made them exiles in another country, that He would hear their prayer and bring them back. And how could the people, standing at the foundation of the 2nd temple, forget their own exile in Babylon.

When the people dedicated the temple it was just as much a dedication of themselves to the Lord. The temple was just a building, and even Solomon knew that God couldn’t be contained in a building. Neither can He be contained in our church building, or in the ministry that we dedicate to Him today. What Solomon recognized is that the temple was a place where God’s name would be glorified. But the building wasn’t enough. The people were the real thing being dedicated. If the people continue to follow God, then He would be with them in their building or in their ministry. If they rebelled, then how could God give His blessing to their activities and buildings?

What does it mean to dedicate something?

Our english word, dedicate, comes from a latin word which means to “devote” or “consecrate.”

The Hebrew word translated as “dedicate” is the word “qodesh.” It means “to make holy” and is often translated as sanctify or consecrate or make holy. The title of the message today, hanukkah also means to dedicate, but it’s more about the ceremony of dedication. When God makes something holy, the Bible uses this word, qodesh.

So, the idea behind dedication is similar to what God did when he set apart the 7th day of the week from the first six. The Sabbath was “holy” or different than the rest of the days. He worked for six and then, as a sign that He alone is the creator, he and Adam and Eve rested on the first full day of human life. He told them that they should work for six days, but that the seventh day was a day that would be qodesh (set apart) for spending time with God and for resting in God’s creative, and later, redemptive, power.

God also set the tabernacle and all its furniture apart as holy. He dedicated the priests for His service and made the whole tribe of Levi special so they could serve Him in the sanctuary.

Amazingly, God said that he made all of Israel holy—he set them apart and dedicated them just like He did the temple.

Leviticus 22:31–33 ESV

“So you shall keep my commandments and do them: I am the Lord. And you shall not profane my holy name, that I may be sanctified among the people of Israel. I am the Lord who sanctifies you, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the Lord.”

that word “sanctify” is a version of the Hebrew word “qodesh.” This particular variant is translated as “holy” and even “sanctuary.” God sets apart His people—you and me—for a special purpose. The New Testament authors tell us that you and I are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We are holy! That’s pretty amazing, but a story for another time.

The last dedication

Solomon dedicated a temple, and then the people after the Babylonian exile dedicated a second temple. There’s one more temple dedication story and that’s where we get the name of our sermon.

It was 167 BC, not quite 200 years before Jesus, when Greece marched into Jersualem, desecrated the temple and dedicated it to the god, Zeus. A resistance group led by the Maccabean family fought against the Greeks, but it wasn’t until 164, 3 years later, that they regained access to the temple.

When they dedicated the temple for the third time, they established a festival, somewhat similar to the feast of booths that the people were celebrating when Solomon dedicated the first temple. Judas, the high priest at the time, rededicated the temple to God on December 24, 164 BC. Today they call this celebration the Festival of Lights, or Hanukkah, which is the Hebrew word for a dedication ceremony.

KQFR Radio

That’s what we’re here to do today.

As followers of Jesus we realize that there is no temple on earth that has any special value. Jesus walked away from the Jewish temple saying, “your house is left to you desolate.” No longer filled with God’s presence, the temple and all its services lost their value when Jesus, the real lamb of God, gave His life for our salvation.

The disciples tell us in their letters to the church that God’s people are the temple of God.

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 ESV

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

You and I are holy to the Lord. And when we give ourselves to Him through baptism we are dedicating ourselves to him.

On September 7 we began broadcasting the gospel message through KQFR, 90.7 FM. We’re calling the radio station, Cornerstone Family Radio. Today we’re going to dedicate this station to the Lord, but before we do, I’d like to ask some friends of mine to sing a song that will remind us that, like in Solomon’s day when the presence of God filled the temple, God is here.

Surely the Presence of the Lord is in this place

And now we’re going to do a responsive dedication. I will read the white text, and I’d like you all to read the blue text:

O Lord, God of creation and Savior of mankind. You keep your covenant and show your people unfailing love. You have made a promise that you will return soon and take your people to be with you, and you have asked us to partner with you to prepare the world for your soon return.

For this purpose we dedicate ourselves and this radio station.

Father of all living, we believe that you are powerful and that you desire healing and wholeness for your people. You have told us that you wish us to live healthy, peaceful lives. Our world is full of sickness, distress, and and turmoil. You have told us to go out in the power and wisdom of the Holy Spirit to heal and share the gospel of peace.

For this purpose we dedicate ourselves and this radio station.

Lord, you have said that people won’t believe in you and be saved unless they have heard the gospel message. And how can they hear unless someone preaches?

For this purpose we dedicate our pulpit and this radio station.

From the first day of our existence you created humans for relationship. You designed marriage and the family and yet our world has corrupted what you designed and many families lay broken from immorality, abuse and divorce. You have told us that we are to be ministers of reconciliation.

For this purpose we dedicate ourselves and this radio station.

Lord, you tell us to “let the little children come to me,” and that if we do not become like a child we cannot inherit heaven. You have called us to share your love with the children.

For this purpose we dedicate ourselves and this radio station.

Lord you have commanded us to make a joyful noise in praise to you.

For this purpose we dedicate ourselves and this radio station.

My the Lord use this radio station to bring wholeness, healing, peace, and salvation to all who listen to it. May God’s Spirit guide people in their cars to tune into KQFR, 90.7FM and hear just what they need for that moment. May God inspire people in their homes to turn on their radio and find 90.7 for the first time and then come back day after day to learn from God’s word. May they find the truth of God’s character clearly presented in our broadcasts, and may their hearts ring with the hope of Jesus’ soon return. May God be glorified and God’s name uplifted with every broadcast, every song and every story that is shared on this radio station.