The
symbolism and meaning of Chanukah is strong.
Marty Goetz, a Jew who knows Messiah Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah, intimately, wrote and
sings a beautiful Chanukah Song. It's a Prayer of
Dedication from his heart to his Messiah Yeshua's. His plea speaks
to us all.
How? First,
some background. God gave a small group of passionate Jewish citizens
miraculous victory against an oppressive, superior, enemy force who tried to
force them to abandon God. The Jewish people
were prohibited, under penalty of death, from fulfilling the covenant God made with them to circumcise their
sons (cf., Genesis 17:9-14), from keeping Shabbat (the Sabbath) and from
obeying God's instruction to celebrate His Feasts, His appointed times (cf., Leviticus 23).
God's House, His Holy Temple, the
place where He lived, was desecrated and defiled, as
their conquerors erected a statue of one of their gods
and sacrificed a pig, an unclean animal, on the
altar.
God's
people reclaimed God's House and religious freedom. They purified the
entire Tabernacle. Tradition has it, that when it came time
to relight the Menorah, there was only enough pure oil to keep the Menorah
lit for one day. They relit the Menorah anyway - the supply of
oil lasted EIGHT days! The brilliance of the lighted Tabernacle
radiated for miles!
Chanukah is
a time of Dedication (cf., John 10:22). Let's pray, with Marty,
to dedicate our life - our Temple - to God. Let's make our
mortal bodies, God's House, worthy of His Name. Let's rid them of
everything ungodly and every hidden thing of shame. Let's ask God to take the
idols we've raised up in our heart. Let's surrender our
defiled altar to God to cleanse and repair, so that - each time we
falter, we we are pure - holy and able to RUN to meet Holy
God there - in His Holy Place. Let's asks that our supply of
oil, meager as that supply in Temple long ago - burns - so that we rejoice and exclaim, "A great miracle
happened here!"
Let's pray,
with Marty Goetz, that "with every candle on the Menorah, that illuminates
the night; comes a prayer that Yeshua, Jesus, kindles in each of us, a desire for His Fire, for His light!" Let's dedicate
ourselves to Yeshua.
"My
Yeshua . . . .I dedicate myself to you." Hear Marty's prayer:
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