12/02/2021
DAY 7 - Thurs, Dec 2 - You will like the result, but it will take trust to appreciate the process!
Christians take the One-Day-Birth of Jesus and somehow get “The 12 Days of Christmas.” So, I - as a Jew - am going to take the 8 nights of Hanukkah and slightly stretch them into “The Twelve Days of Hanukkah” … seems only fair … and much more plausible.
Tonight at sundown is the 5th night of Hanukkah (Thurs, Dec 2).
Check back each of the next 5 days for insights and encouragement from the events of Hanukkah.
Gather with us in person or on our YouTube Channel to celebrate Hanukkah on Sat, Dec 4th, 6:30pm. Details on our website - www.rockofagesmjc.org
DAY 7 - Thurs, Dec 2 - You will like the result, but it will take trust to appreciate the process!
Have you seen the movie or TV show (there are many) where someone has broken a leg and a trusted friend is ready to pull on and set the leg?
The trusted friend always says the same line … “This is gonna hurt!” And even though there is going to be gut-wrenching pain, what does the injured say … “Go ahead!”
Along a sliding scale of silly to realistic the sound effects person jumps in at this point… as the leg is pulled you often hear what sounds like bones crunching. The injured SCREAMS in pain.
What kind of idiot invites someone to put them in extreme, gut-wrenching pain?
Well, if you TRUST that someone is going to you get to a better place (like getting your leg healed) … you give permission for the pain so what is better can begin.
One of the miracles of Hanukkah may be only legend, but the story makes two great points.
It is said that once the Jewish people cleansed The Temple of all that the Greeks had done to defile it, one task remained. They needed to light The Menorah - a seven branched oil lamp that gave light to The Holy Place in The Temple.
However, they found only a ONE day supply of Holy Oil, consecrated for use in The Temple. It would take EIGHT days to prepare more oil.
A remnant of Jewish people had chosen to continue to trust Jehovah - The God of Israel. They had seen victory over the Greek armies and Greek ideas (Hellenism) even though it cost many of them their lives. Now, they had a decision to make.
Do we do what Jehovah wants happening NOW? Or, do we wait until we have made efforts to make the situation better and then do what He wants?
They decided to do whatever they could to do be in line with Jehovah’s desires NOW!
Rather than wait eight days to work out something better in their own ability, they chose once again to be in line with what Jehovah says and trust Him with whatever results.
That’s the first lesson from this miracle - do what Jehovah is asking of you NOW… and then trust Him concerning whatever follows.
Not only was Israel’s victory over the invading Greek forces a tremendous miracle, the story (legend?) tells of something else they saw that only Jehovah could do! A miracle !!!
That ONE day supply of oil burned for EIGHT days until new oil could be prepared.
This is one explanation for why Hanukkah is celebrated for eight days. Another explanation (that probably is closer to the truth) is that while the villain of Hanukkah - the Greek King Antiochus Epiphanes - was in control and had defiled The Temple, there was no way for the Jewish people to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. This Feast of the Lord, according to Leviticus 23, is to be celebrated for eight days. Once God had given the victory and The Temple was cleansed, it is said the Jewish people decided to celebrate a delayed Feast of Tabernacles … and thus the creation of an eight day observance of the events of Hanukkah in Kislev (our December).
So what of the second thing to learn from this story?
There is onc place in Scripture with a very specific prophecy about oil being supplied to The Menorah in The Temple. In Zechariah 4 a vision from Jehovah is given to Zechariah concerning a man named Zerubbabel. The Jewish people were just returning to Israel after 70 years in captivity. At the start of the captivity Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian army had invaded and conquered Jerusalem and had destroyed The Temple.
Now, a remnant of the Jewish people had returned to Israel. From among them, Zerubbabel was commissioned to rebuild The Temple. Facing great opposition, Jehovah gave an encouraging word through Zechariah that God would empower Him to complete the building of The Temple. Jehovah said even if he faced troubles as big as mountains they would be removed and become like a plain he could easily cross.
Many people know the promise Yehovah gave Zerubbabel - “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit says Jehovah the Captain of the Hosts of Angels in Heaven.”
Jehovah was saying, “Zerubbabel ! NOTHING you have in your own strength is going to get the job done. BUT … if you look to me, if you walk in relationship with me, if you receive My Spirit to direct and empower your life … no obstacle will stand before you and you will complete building The Temple.”
With this encouraging word came a picture… in The Spirit Zechariah saw two olive trees whose oil was supplying the oil for The Light of The Temple Menorah.
The crucial piece of this picture is not given in Scripture, but it was not needed in Zechariah’s day … everyone at THAT time would have known and many would have participated in the process…
How do you get oil (to use for light in The Menorah) from olives on olive trees? You have to CRUSH the olives !!!
What the olive had in its own strength to keep itself together would not result in what was needed for God’s Menorah to have light. Crushing would render what God could use and result in Light.
Isaiah 53 describes this very process happening with the Messiah. It says, “It pleased Jehovah to crush Him. If Messiah would offer Himself for Yehovah’s purposes, Yehovah would prolong His days and the good Yehovah had in mind would prosper in the Messiah, Yehovah’s Anointed Servant.”
At the crucifixion, at the last, Messiah Yeshua said, “Father, into YOUR hands I commit My spirit.” He had been experiencing the crushing prophesied in Isaiah 53. Yet knowing and trusting His Father (Yehovah) - Yehsua offered Himself body, soul and spirit to Him. Look at the amazing good that resulted from trusting Jehovah and acting like He trusted Him !!!
What about you and me?
Do we know Jehovah well enough to know and trust His perfect, holy, loving character?
Can we say, as Job did, “Though He slay me, I will trust Him!” ? Do we offer ourselves to Yehovah as Yeshua Himself did? As the heroes of Hanukkah did? And trust He will work out things for good in whatever follows?
The answer is not to TRY to surrender more.
The answer is to get to know Jehovah more.
The answer is to pay more attention to relating to Jehovah and doing what it is that people do to get to know each other better in a relationship.
From the knowing will come trust. From the trust will come surrender. From the surrender will come Good and Light for ourselves and for many of those around us.
Another picture of this crushing in Scripture is the refining of silver. Malachi 3:3 says “He will sit as a refiner of silver and He will purify…” To refine silver it is placed in the fire by The Refiner. The result can be molded into stunning beauty by The Refiner.
Here's a great song and prayer telling The Refiner - Jehovah - we want Him to do His work in us.
It is called Refiner’s Fire -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayH5iV5zmrI
