Wednesday 18th December

Last week was the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.   I have a friend who is very interested in Jewish festivals and she was talking about it when I visited her - which made me realise that I didnt have the first idea what it is about.

In a nutshell it is a festival to celebrate the fact that 2,500 years ago the temple in Jerusalem, which had been under Syrian control, was won back by the Jews.  They had been instructed by their Syrian overlords to worship idols and eat the flesh of pigs which had been sacrificed in the temple.   Both of which were anathema to the Jews.   So a small number of them started a rebellion which eventually resulted in the Temple being won back . Jewish troops were determined to purify  it by burning ritual oil in the Temple’s menorah for eight days. But to their dismay, they discovered that there was only one day's worth of oil left in the Temple. They lit the menorah anyway and to their surprise the small amount of oil lasted the full eight days.

This is the miracle of the Hanukkah oil that is celebrated every year when Jews light a special menorah known as a hanukkiyah for eight days. One candle is lit on the first night of Hanukkah, two on the second, and so on, until eight candles are lit.

On Saturday I was watching The Bible on channel 5 and the episode covered the story of Daniel.  He was another Jew who refused to bow to an idol at the command of a foreign oppressor.  He and his friends showed amazing courage and tenacity in refusing to compromise their faith - they faced fire and lions rather than disobey the express command of God to worship Him only.

It strikes me that in our day we are in the same position as the Macabees in 500 BC or Daniel in the days of Nebudchanezzar.  We are living in a culture which, for the most part, has overthrown God and is demanding that we worship other things.  So where are the Daniels and the Shadrachs Meshachs and Abednegos of our day - the ones who are standing up and saying no.  Who are prepared to lose it all in order to stand up for God's rule and reign?    We long to see miracles, but perhaps miracles only come in response to us being sold out for our cause.   

Christmas is a time when we refocus and remember once again to keep the first things first.  New Year is a time for reaffirming our resolve to love mercy and to do justly and to walk humbly with our God.  Lets be encouraged by the example of those who have gone before us - those who have resisted the invasion of the ungodly and have been prepared to die rather than bow down to idols or make unrighteous sacrifices.