Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon’s Colonnade.
John 10:22-23
Happy Hanukkah!
I mentioned last time how Alexander the Great took over Egypt and the Greeks ruled Egypt for three centuries under the Ptolemaic dynasty until Rome took control. At the same time, Israel fell under Ptolemaic control. To the north of Israel in Syria, the Seleucid dynasty ruled. There was war between the Ptolemies and Seleucids for decades. Eventually Israel fell under control of the Seleucids, who didn’t end up as lenient as their previous rulers.
The Ptolemies recognized that the best way to rule was to allow people to live how they always have and that will pacify them. That’s how they controlled Egypt. They became functionally Egyptian. The Seleucids pushed their own world view of Hellenism. They eventually outlawed the Torah. That’s when the Jews revolted against them. They eventually gained their independence and cleansed the Temple from the Greeks to worship God as the Torah taught. Hanukkah means “dedication”, remembering the rededication of the Temple. It lasts a week and acts as a second Sukkot since they weren’t able to keep Sukkot at its proper time. (Remember when I built the tent/sukkah at JUC?)
There’s plenty more to be said about Hanukkah that I’m not mentioning. Jesus went to celebrate Hanukkah in John 10 (see above). Should followers of Jesus imitate this and celebrate the triumph over persecution in the effort to obey God?