Hanukkah

Did you know that the first record of Hanukkah was in the NT?

John 10:22-42 “Then came Hanukkah; it was winter in Jerusalem. Yeshua was walking in the Temple around Solomon’s Colonnade. Then the Judean leaders surrounded Him, saying, “How long will You hold us in suspense? If You are the Messiah, tell us outright!” Yeshua answered them, “I told you, but you don’t believe! The works I do in My Father’s name testify concerning Me. But you don’t believe, because you are not My sheep. My sheep hear My voice. I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life! They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 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. I and the Father are one.” Again the Judean leaders picked up stones to stone Him. Yeshua answered them, “I’ve shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these are you going to stone Me?” The Judean leaders answered, “We aren’t stoning you for a good work, but for blasphemy. Though You are a man, You make You make Yourself God!” Yeshua answered them, “Isn’t it written in your Writings, ‘I have said you are gods’? If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the Word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him, the One the Father set apart and sent into the world, ‘You speak blasphemy,’ because I said, ‘I am Ben-Elohim’? “If I don’t do the works of My Father, don’t believe Me! But if I do, even if you don’t trust Me, trust the deeds. Then you may come to know and continue to understand that the Father is in Me, and I am in the Father.” Therefore they tried to capture Him again, but He escaped from their hand. Again He went back across the Jordan to the place where John first started immersing, and He stayed there. Many people came to Him and were saying, “John performed no sign, but all John said about this man was true.” And many trusted in Him there.

Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society. (2015). Holy Scriptures: Tree of Life Version (Jn 10:33–42). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.

This is incredible, when we were going through the book of Matthew, we saw incredible things take place in Yeshua’s actions, teaching, and life.

Yeshua focused on the will of the Father, and acted on such things. A question I have to ask is… what is God’s will for you? Don’t you want the best for those you really care about? How do you distinguish what’s best for the others? There was a movie in which a man said something around the lines of… Young people want to do good, but in doing their good they end up hurting others.

In going over the Brit Chadashah (New Testament), I found something profound in Romans chpt 10. So let’s go to that and read what it starts with:

Romans 10:1 “Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for Israel is for their salvation.”

How many of you have the desire to see Salvation all around you? Don’t you desire for all to be saved? But then I was shocked when I read the next few lines...

Romans 10:2-3 “For I testify about them that they have zeal for God—but not based on knowledge. For being ignorant of God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit themselves to the righteousness of God.”

Here we are shown about zeal for G-d without knowledge and zeal for G-d with knowledge.

So here are the questions I ask this week… What does it mean to have zeal for G-d with and without knowledge? What is knowledge and what kind of knowledge are we talking about?

I now think about Adam and eves placement on earth. How I am sure they wanted to do good, but ended up hurting themselves by grasping knowledge of good.... and evil. Then I read something in proverbs that is so breath-taking.

Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of Adonai is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.”

Boom! The fear of Adonai is the beginning of knowledge. The word knowledge in hebrew is Da’at. Da’at means more than just having infromation, understanding, or skill. According to websters dictionary, knowledge is that which you get from experience or education. But in Jewish life and thought… Da’at is knowledge of the One who is knowing. The reason for this is because, everything exists because G-d knows it to exist. We are within God’s knowing, and having fear of G-d means that you are beginning to understand that you exist because God knows you.... For every moment that you are alive right now… God knows you or at the very least created a knowledge or an understanding about you. I say this because, this is who you are. However, a question remains… while God knows you in the way He created you to be, does He know you in the way that you are making yourself known? that is the question that remains. Because God knows His sheep… they follow Him.

Hanukkah is all about that question. I recieved an excellent email by a Rabbi in the Messianic movement saying: Hellenic culture took root throughout the land not so much due to invasion, but do too many Jews embracing that culture. The mindset was if you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em. and their were some that did not join but stayed in passive about it. While there are a lot of good things things that came from other cultures, we as a people must not conform to the things that contradict our own God-given culture. The Son of God is never with the Hellenizers, and He’s not in the middle of the road either. While we walk in a path to which new things arise, we do not and we shall not compromise the truth on the ground that it might offend.

Messianic Judaism is a culture war for the souls of our Jewish people who have been deceived by the secular humanistic (modern) culture of the world today. So let us speak the truth always and not comprise it.

Yehudah Macabee was a man stringent on the truth, after much destruction, enough was enough. In our lives we must recognize when enough is enough. We must recognize how God knows us, and see if we know ourselves in that way - the He knows us!

Who are you? Who do you say you are?

If you are a child of God, you recognize that obedience to God is not obedience to what seem good to you. Rather your obedience is to the Word of God over your life!

When you stand on that truth, you wont just be recognized, but you will be lifted up!

What is knowledge? it is not just a perception or a learned skill from experience and/or education....

No, knowledge is the very thoughts of God on who you are in Him.... being made known to you!

The only way you can gain knowledge is then by the fear of God. There are two types of knowledge made known… The knowledge of good and the knowledge of evil. There are some that want to know only evil… God does not know them. There are some that want the knowledge of good and evil, and God says to them.... I made you this way, but you have made yourself known in such a way that I never knew… therefore, getaway, because I never knew you. And there are those that choose to walk in the light of who He is, and those are the ones who He welcomes in.

This is why the Scripture commands us to dwell on these specific things: Phil 4:8-9 “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any virtue and if there is anything worthy of praise—dwell on these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—put these things into practice, and the God of shalom will be with you.”

We see that it begins with whatever is true… if you do not start looking for the truth of the works of God - aka the fear of God - than we have already missed the mark and bought into the lie. But whatever is true, hnorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable and any virtue worthy of praise… dwell on these things.... The beginning of knowledge is the fear of God, and out of it stems out these beautiful morals, values, and the clarity on who God has made you to be. It is in this that we read that last verse… what you have learned and recieved and heard and seen in me.... Wait, what? all that you have seen in what?

Whatever you have seen in me!!! Yeah, all these things… put it into practice and the God of Shalom will be with you. Whaaaaaa?! Did it only say Shalom? noooo, even better, it says, The God of Shalom!

This is why hanukkah is remembered. It is remembered because the God of Shalom was made evident through the battle and through the miracle of the light that illuminates the temple of HaShem.

God has made you to be the light in this day and age, but what are you doing to keep the light burning? are you dwelling on the judgments of God, or are you dwelling on Mashiach? Are you focused on knowing yourself or are you focused on knowing God who will reveal Himself to you?

The whole purpose of the Torah is Mashiach, but many want only Mashiach while others only want Torah. Without Torah, you can’t reach the goal… without the goal, what is the point of the Torah?

This is why Yeshua spoke the parable of the virgins. If you bind yourself to the Torah without a goal, then how will you know the Mashiach when He comes? Also, if you focus on the coming of Mashiach as to not prepare for His coming in accordance to the Torah… How can you be ready for the moment that He comes?

Without the fear of God, without knowing who He is in you, there is no accountability, there is no freedom, there is no way to take your life into your own hands. For what life is there if you are not known? All of these things became possible at the moment you look towards HaShem and believe that He was, He is, and He is to come!

Judah Maccabee understood what it meant to be a Jew and to stand for righteousness and Justice. He knew of the promise of Adonai, and in fear of God’s Holy Name, Judah overcame.

Yeshua, He overcame the darkness for you to know today that you are who He says you are… If you believe and confess with mouth that He is L-rd, then He will guide you in such a way to show you what it means to be His servant - capable of anything done in His very Name. Not just will He show you that you are capable, but you will see Romans 8:28 “Now we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.”

All things work together for good for those who.... Love God (this is first and foremost), and who are called according to His purpose. Now let me ask… what is the purpose of Messiah again? So what is God’s purpose for your life?

The purpose of Messiah was and is to call you up to Himself while God’s purpose for you is to Make Himself known through you so that all might know who He is and answer the call to be lifted up with Messiah also! It is in standing in the Truth that enables God to manifest His will in our lives as He did through Judah Maccabbee and with the extension of Himself (Yeshua) in order to bring all of the House of Israel to Salvation.

As Yeshua did the deeds of the Father, are you ready to follow in the same light?

This Chanukkah, may you be reminded that G-d Loves you and is giving you the opportunity to know Him so that you might see for yourself the Peace and completeness you’ve been searching for.

If you want to know this peace pray with me saying… God I want to know You, and I know that I will know peace. Be with me God, bring me to the place where I know is home, and You will be my God. Today God, I don’t just give you a tenth of everything… rather, Today I give you all of me! Baruch Haba B’Shem Adonai, Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!