It Was Soooo Much More....

This was my thought as I read the article in the "Reader's Digest" for the month of December 2009/January 2010. It wasn't an article as much as a blurb....On page 16, they had a short reference to Hanukkah. They give you the correct pronunciation, explain that it can be spelled with a Ch or an H; that it is not a major Jewish Holiday, which they are correct in this fact but - Maybe, it should be! Then they say - "What's the story? They tried to kill us; we beat them ; let's eat." I lost it. I mean I really lost it. Don't they know? Is this really all they think about Hanukkah? Haven't they heard? The miracle wasn't that they won the battle. They won many battles, hundreds of thousands died, not just thousands...one hundred eighty-three thousand in one day at one time, yet even that was not the focus of Hanukkah. That was merely a small point to the story. Hanukkah is totally about the fact that God provided once again for the Jews during a time of great affliction.

There is a lot MORE to this story. I am, by no means, an educated person. But, I do like Bible prophecy, hunting for truth, and being encouraged by stories of the underdog coming out on top. First, let's define a Jew. A Jew is a person from Judea. A Jew is an Israelite, but an Israelite may not necessarily be a Jew. We find the story of Hanukkah, yes, it really happened, in several books but I am going to limit myself to only a few references, a couple of which come from somebody elses' hard work off their web pages. All credit goes to them. This blog is simply my feelings about my reaction to someone elses' idea of Hanukkah. My sources are listed below if you want to search out more for yourself. Believe me, there are a lot more than these, I just found these to be rather concise. Also, for those who would immediately discount the story as myths and would say these are just stories consider the reference sources and the fact that you can find names and dates listed in other historical data. To the Christian who would immediately discount anything that mentions one of the lost books of the Bible as being unscriptural, consider the fact that the Bible mentions the book of Enoch which I mention because it gives witness to the fact that the books of Maccabees should be considered as historical books and not just discounted as being part of the lost books of the Bible. Sources are found below.

Hanukkah is known as the Festival of Lights. In the Holy Bible we find, starting in John, chapter 1, ...In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God...reading on down to verse 3 All things were made by him...verse 4, In him was life and the 'life was the light of men and the light shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehended it not. And if you read on you will find that a man John the Baptist, was sent to bear witness of that light. For me, Hanukkah is about remembering God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, who is the Light. But that is another story....

I knew this would not be easy to write. You can't just takes years of battle and shorten it or try to explain the law that God gave to the Israelites to follow, which is a part of this story of this war. Nor can you take a miracle of God and reduce it to 'they came, we fought and won the battle, we ate...this story involves having to study history, having to do a little more research outside of the King James Bible if you really want to understand it which means then you have to address the issue of the Lost Books of the Bible which some people just can't handle although Jesus Christ quoted from the book of Enoch and Jude, verse 14 states 'the book of Enoch'. After all, Jesus referred to their books when teaching. Ask yourself the question, "What books were around during the time of Jesus?" The reason I mention the lost books is that you will find the story of Judah, our hero of the battle referred to in the blurb, in the Apocrypha - the first book of Maccabees. During one of these ongoing battles, the Jews fled to the wilderness to survive. During this time was one of their feast observances, and they were not allowed by the law to go out and buy or sell, not that they could anyway because they were hiding out in the wilderness. So they only had enough oil for the lamps in the makeshift temple for three or four days but not for the full eight days of this sacred observance. They found, just like they did when wondering around in the wilderness that God provides for His people. The oil lasted, and lasted and lasted, kind of like the energizer bunny. You know, it keeps going and going and going....God supplied all their needs. None of the lamps died or ran out of oil, flickered or even hinted at going out. They all burned steadily and strong. Hence, Hanukkah is observed as the Festival of Lights in rememberance of the miracle that God did for them. It was so much more than they came, we fought and won, and we ate.

My apologies for any misspelled words, lack of references, offenses if you find particular terms and titles offensive, and remember, I prefaced all of this by saying I am not an 'educated' person.

Reference Sources:
1. King James Bible
a. 1 Samuel 5: 1 through Chapter 6.
b. Matthew 23: 35
c. John, Chapter 1
d. Jude, verse 14
2. The New English Bible with the Apocrypha
a. First Book of the Maccabees
b. Second Book of the Maccabees
3. The book of Enoch (you can find this online)
4. http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/868262
5. http://reluctant-messenger.com/enoch.htm
6. http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday7.htm
7. http://divine.blogs.starnewsonline.com/11259/happy-festival-of-lights-yall/
8. http://www.kolel.org/pages/holidays/Chanukah_intro.html