The Time Between Testaments-The Day the Temple Lamp Shone

By Mary Vee
Between the Old and New Testament

From the Historical records

The time in between time. 

Four hundred years are in the process of passing since God last spoke through a prophet to His people.

Remember we are counting backwards to year 0. The year is around 143 BC. (before Christ)

    400 BC                           300 BC                        200 BC                        100 BC                          Birth of Christ
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------|

photo by Mary Vee

The Syrians had ruled Judea.

Their soldiers were equipped with the best, newest, and powerful weapons of the day: rams to break through strong city gates, bows and arrows, javelins, spears, armor, elephants, and military siege engines shaped like large crossbows having better accuracy than a catapult. What small army would dare fight them? 

A Jewish remnant led by Judah of the Macabee family rallied the Jews to fight for the right to worship God. In the post below this one, read about the fourth and decisive battle that brings us to today's story.

A few years had gone by since Judah and his men had left the safety of the mountains. He wondered if this was the time to move forward. Not to take back their country. The much greater goal was to take back the temple and their freedom to worship. 

The fourth and largest battle wore out his troops. They scooped up the dead soldiers' weapons and carried them back to camp. During their meal and while the men rested, a new plan popped in Judah's head. He said the thought out loud, "It's time to take back the temple."

The men standing around him cheered. Those out of hearing range closed in. 

"Listen up. The Syrian army has retreated leaving the door open for us to take back the temple. I say we do it. This will no be an easy job. There will be more soldiers at the temple, but I feel in my heart we can do it. We're ready."

The men cheered again. After a time of celebrating they quieted and one said, "What is your plan. We're ready to do whatever you command."

Judah grabbed a stick. He made a drawing of Jerusalem's wall and the temple. "We'll sneak into the city from every direction then meet at the temple where we'll take out the Syrian guards. Unit leaders spread your men out. We'll creep in like ants to a picnic."

The men laughed then cheered again. 

"Get some sleep. We have a lot of work to do tomorrow."

Before the sun rose, the Jewish rebellion troops crept over hills and behind bushes. They signaled contacts on the inside to get through the city gates. Through the streets they moved, converging on the temple. 

Syrian troops stood outside with their weapons ready. 

Judah gave the signal to attack.   

The battle woke Jews living in the city and drew Jews from outlying villages. They all met at the temple and stepped over dead soldiers to go inside. 

The men fell to their knees and wept at what they saw. The Temple, built to honor and worship the living God was in shambles. Gates were torn. Grecian statues littered the spaces. Dirt. Vines. Broken furniture. This special place, once the foundation to their worship, had been violated.

Simon, Judah's older brother stood first. He wiped tears. "Get up. Everyone on your feet. We are going to restore this building starting right now."

The men pushed themselves to a stand. While tears still fell, they hauled Grecian statues and threw them out of the temple. Artisans pitched in and built new altars, furniture, holy vessels, and candlesticks. Women and men worked to scrub, repair, and make new items for the temple. They baked fresh bread and hung new curtains.

The work lasted for many days. As they worked, they sang, spoke words from the Holy Scriptures, repeated teachings, and remembered.

The day finally came for the Temple to reopen. A celebration called all the Jews to Jerusalem. Instruments played and the people sang. 

Then Judah lit the lamp. There was only enough oil to burn for one day. This made him sad. The lamp was to always be lit.

The celebration lasted into the late night and started the next morning. To everyone's surprise the lamp was still lit. 

The next day the lamp shone brightly. How could this be? There was only enough oil for the first day. 

For eight days the lamp remained lit, the length of the celebration. 

The Jews decided to observe this celebration every year. The celebration is called Hanukkah in some languages and Chanukah in others. Both are pronounced the same.

The battles against the Syrians didn't end that easily. There were more battles to keep the Temple a place for Jews to worship. The Jews then fought to have more than the freedom to worship, they were ready to fight for their country's freedom. This war took more than twenty years.

Simon, the last living of his brothers, became the High Priest of Jerusalem and ruler of Judea.



Come back next time to see what happens.


This is the history, the events that happened to real people during the time between the Old and New Testaments. 

*********************************************************************************************

sources: 
*New International Version, New King James Version. 
*My Bible College training.
*My notes and walk through classes I've taught in Children's church. Answers to student questions, etc.
*Pastoral sermons on this time
*Matthew Henry Commentary
*F. LaGard Smith Commentary
*The Hanukkah Book by Marilyn Burns, Four Winds Press, Macmillan Publishing Company, 1981

What is Hanukkah?

By Mary Vee

 

This year, 2011, the Hanukkah celebration started yesterday, Tuesday, December 20 and will continue until Wednesday, December 28.

Many years ago I heard about Hanukkah.

I didn't know what it was, why it was celebrated or even what the word Hanukkah meant.

Today I will share with you a little about Hanukkah.







Two hundred years before Jesus was born, The king of Syria conquered the land where Israelites lived.  He allowed the Israelites to keep their customs and celebrations while living under his rule.  

Twenty-five years later Antiochus IV and his army conquered Jerusalem. They forced the people to follow the Greek customs, dress like Greeks, and speak the Greek language.  The invading army brought statues of Zeus and other idols and set them in the Temple. They told the Jews they could not dress, eat, or follow Jewish customs any more.


A Jewish priest name Mattathias became angry.  He refused to eat, dress, and speak the language of the new ruler. Mattathias chose to only follow Jewish customs, dress, and speak as a Jew no matter what anyone said.  He talked to many Jews about his choice and they agreed to do the same. Those men formed a small army.  They hid in mountain caves and attacked Antiochus IV's army units. One by one the Jews won small battles conquering every army the Greeks sent until one day, they won the war.


Judah, Mattathias' son, called the army together and led them into the Temple. His heart ached. In the center of the Lord's Temple stood an idol of Zeus. As he walked throughout the Temple he found broken furniture and trash. The men became angry. They called for other Jews and together worked to clean the Temple and to prepare it for worship.


In the clean up Judah realized the lamp did not have oil. God said the lamp must always be lit. He searched for oil to put in the menorah (a lamp like the one in the picture above). In a small corner, tucked behind other broken things, Judah found one small, sealed container of oil.  

He poured the oil in the lamp and lit the wick. The flames flickered tall and bright. Judah turned to the workers, "Hurry, start the process to make new oil. This oil will run out soon." 


"But, Judah. It will take at least eight days to make more oil."

Judah folded his arms. "I know. But we must try. God knows our hearts. Hurry, the menorah must stay lit."


A group of men left the Temple as ordered while others stay to clean and rid the Temple of everything that didn't belong. 

One the second day, Judah came to the temple expecting the light to be gone.  To his surprise the menorah shone brightly. And on the third day the lamp still shone. One the eight day, the lamp grew dim. 


Judah stood by the menorah and watched the flames weaken. Moments later, a group of men ran into the Temple. "Here! Here is the new oil."  Judah poured the new oil into the menorah. He stepped back with the others and watched the flames grow.  

The men cheered for God's miracle of light.  

After cleaning, making new furniture and utensils, and preparing the people for worship, the priest rededicated the Temple to God.  The Jews held a celebration to praise God for the miracle of light in the Temple. This celebration was named Hanukkah which means "dedication".

If you know a Jewish person, be sure to tell them Happy Hanukkah. 


If you are a Jewish person, Happy Hanukkah! 

Here is a link to Hanukkah games:  Hanukkah Gamesl

Hanukkah Celebrations

By Mary Vee

This year, the Hanukkah celebration began December 1 and ended December 9.  The reason for celebrating Hanukkah is told in last Monday's post The Story of Hanukkah. Ever wonder what games are played or what special foods are eaten on Hanukkah? Listed below are cites with ideas for this celebration of lights .

Games:

Here is a fun game. (This version of the Dreidel game uses candy or points.) Click on this link:

Dreidel Game


Other fun Hanukkah game and activity links: 

Hanukkah Games 
Hanukkah Activities and Recipies for Kids 
Hanukkah Party Game Ideas 
Hannukkah Jigsaw Puzzle 



Foods:

Favorite foods for Hanukkah are Latkes (like a pancake, sufganiot (like a deep fried donut)

Links to Hanukkah recipes and food ideas:

Hanukkah Recipies 
Hanukkah Snacks
Hanukkah recipies for Kids





Lighting of the Candles:
Directions to like a menorah can be found at this link: How to Light a Menorah

Did you notice two different spellings for Hanukkah in this post?  They are both pronounced the same.

Happy Hanukkah!!

What else is included in the Hanukkah Celebration?

Click on the pencil to leave your comment.

The Story of Hanukkah

By Mary Vee

 



This year Hanukkah celebration started last Wednesday, December 1 and will continue until this coming Thursday, December 9.

Many years ago I heard about Hanukkah.

I didn't know what it was, why it was celebrated or even what the word Hanukkah meant.

Today I will share with you a little about Hanukkah.




200 years before Jesus was born, The king of Syria conquered the land where the Israelites lived.  He decided to allow the Israelites to keep their customs while living under his rule.  

25 years later Antiochus IV and his army conquered Jerusalem. They forced the people to follow their customs, dress like them, and speak their language.  The invading army brought statues of Zeus and other idols into the Temple. They told the Jews they could not dress, eat, or follow Jewish customs any more.


A Jewish priest name Mattathias grew angry.  He refused to eat, dress, and speak the language of the new ruler.  He insisted he would only follow Jewish customs, dress, and speak as a Jew.  He gathered together a small army.  They hid in mountain caves and attacked Antiochus IV's army units until, one day, they won the war.


Judah, Mattathias' son, led the people into the Temple. His heart ached. Before his eyes stood an idol of Zeus, broken furniture, and trash.  They worked together to clean the temple and to prepare it for worship.  He searched for oil to use in the menorah (a lamp like the one in the picture above).  They found one small, sealed container of oil.  

Judah ordered the lamp lit, and commanded new oil to be made.  This would take 8 days, what would they do?  They only had enough oil for one day but the lamp needed to stay lit all the time!

One the second day, Judah came to the temple expecting the light to be gone.  To his surprise the menorah shone brightly.  The lamp remained lit for 8 days, long enough for the new oil to be ready for use.  

The people rejoiced for God's miracle of light.  

After cleaning, making new furniture and utensils, and preparing the people, the priest rededicated the temple to God.  The people held a celebration to praise God for the miracle of light in the temple. This celebration was named Hanukkah which means "dedication".

If you know a Jewish person, be sure to tell them Happy Hanukkah. 


If you are a Jewish person, Happy Hanukkah! 

Next week: Hanukkah games