I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family or friends. There are so many things we can be thankful for that it’s easy to take for granted. Did you know that American Thanksgiving likely has specific connections to the Bible beyond the general platitudes of gratitude to God? At the end of the harvest in 1621, Christian colonists joined with natives to thank God for a successful harvest with a bountiful meal. Where else do we encounter a group of religious travelers praising God with a meal for an abundant harvest? A Harvest Festival Celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles […]
Tag Archives: Hanukkah
A Great Miracle Happened There
Today was Christmas and the first day of Hanukkah (how often does they coincide like this?). What is this day about? Christians around the world commemorate the arrival of Jesus born in lowly conditions in Bethlehem. God come to earth. God had not abandoned the earth to its sins but was personally intervening to deal to it. Jesus’ Hebrew name, Yeshua, means ‘salvation’. Going back to about 165 BC, we find the origins of Hanukkah. The land of Israel was under the rule of the Greeks. Under the rule of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the Torah was outlawed. The Temple was […]
Light
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 1 John 1:5-7 As we lit the Advent candles at church this morning, I thought of the lighting of the Hanukkah candles now, […]
That December Holiday
One generation will commend your works to another;  they will tell of your mighty acts.They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty,  and I will meditate on your wonderful works.They will tell of the power of your awesome works,  and I will proclaim your great deeds.They will celebrate your abundant goodness  and joyfully sing of your righteousness. Psalm 145:4-7 A few years ago I told my small group that at our next meeting we would discuss “that December holiday mentioned in the Bible.” What do you think we talked about? Hanukkah, of course! While […]
Thanksgivukkah
Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;   his love endures forever.Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the LORD   or fully declare his praise? Psalm 106:2 The holiday season is upon us in full spring. Today is Thanksgiving. It is also the first day of Hanukkah this year. These holidays rarely coincide. While Thanksgiving has devolved into “Turkey Day” and the beginning for the Christmas shopping season, it was originally created as a day to give thanks to God. Consider this excerpt from Abraham Lincoln’s original proclamation 150 years ago: (emphasis mine) I do therefore […]
Lights
Then said Judas and his brothers, “Behold, our enemies are crushed; let us go up to cleanse the sanctuary and dedicate it.”…Then Judas and his brothers and all the assembly of Israel determined that every year at that season the days of dedication of the altar should be observed with gladness and joy for eight days, beginning with the twenty-fifth day of the month of Chislev 1 Maccabees 4:36, 59 Today marks the first day of the festival of Hanukkah (Hebrew for Dedication). It remembers the dedication of the Temple after it was taken back by the Jews and cleansed […]
Hanukkah
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 […]