How to Celebrate Hanukkah at Home | Part 1
Hanukkah is a celebration of God’s Light, a season of dedication and determination that will bless and anchor your home and family. As a Believer interested in studying the roots of your faith, you may not only be wondering how to celebrate Hanukkah at home, but also more about:
- What this festival means for you and your family
- Hanukkah’s spiritual foundations, lessons, and prophetic significance
Hanukkah is more than a simple observance of a festival; it reveals our spiritual heritage and provides rich insight into our current moment.
When you begin to study and understand something new at a deeper level, it is wise to ask yourself…
- What is my goal in studying?
- How does this information personally apply to me?
- What new insights do I want to walk away with?
In other words, when you begin to study, you need to think in terms of ACT and GROW.
- A.C.T. – Apply. Change. Transform.
- G.R.O.W. – Goals. Reality. Opportunities. A Way Forward.
Through this 2-part series, our hope is that:
- You have a better understanding of how the enemy operates so that you can build your personal spiritual warfare strategy
- You know the purpose that light plays in Hanukkah (See Part 2)
- You thank the God of miracles for His faithfulness and provision (See Part 2)
Before You Celebrate Hanukkah at Home…
Hanukkah is a story of courage over compromise, and God’s miracle of deliverance and provision. It’s a story of triumph over evil that highlights the spiritual warfare down through the ages the people of God have faced. Here are seven basics that will help you understand the Hanukkah story.
- Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, or Feast of Dedication, is celebrated annually on the 25th of Kislev and lasts for 8 days. It ends on the 2nd of Tevet. These dates are set on the Hebrew calendar and coincide with a November or December date on the Gregorian calendar.
- Traditionally, those who observe the festival celebrate Hanukkah at home. The festivities center around light as a symbol of spiritual freedom.
- Hanukkah remembers and celebrates the Maccabean revolt. Judah the Maccabee led a group of Jewish rebels in a battle against the oppression of Antiochus IV. Read more of the full Hanukkah story here.
- When the Maccabees recaptured the Temple, which had been turned into a pagan shrine, they cleansed and rededicated it to the God of Israel. This rededication took place over the course of 8 days and is believed to have been patterned after Sukkot.
- Jewish scholars believe it was patterned after Sukkot because it would have been a belated Feast of Tabernacles celebration, as they were unable to observe it during the revolt.
- Rabbinic tradition also credits the 8-day celebration to the length of time the untainted oil burned in the Temple menorah. The Maccabees had only one day’s worth of pure oil, yet the supply lasted for 8 days—just enough time for more purified oil to be made according to Jewish law.
Point 7 is crucial to understanding the prophetic significance of Hanukkah…
- The above points are the traditional narrative. However, there is more to the story. Many modern historians believe that the battle wasn’t only between the Jews and the Greeks, but also between the traditionalist Jews and the Jews who had mixed their culture with the Greek and Syrian cultures that dominated the region at that time.
In short, the Maccabean Revolt was both a spiritual and civil war, illustrating that the warfare we face is not only external, but also internal. We must fight, through the Holy Spirit, to overcome all that wars within us and beyond us against God’s purposes.
3 Lessons to Learn from Hanukkah
There are many important lessons of faith for you and your families to grasp as you celebrate Hanukkah at home. The story of Hanukkah speaks into our cultural moment not only with warnings but with spiritual strategy.
Use our A.C.T. (Apply, Change, Transform) teaching to embrace the principles of Hanukkah:
- Make a conscious choice to break free from negative habits and patterns by applying the principles outlined in Romans 12:2.
- Be kings and priests by changing your behavior, as instructed in James 1:22.
- Allow the Spirit to transform you from glory to glory, as described in 2 Corinthians 3:18.
1. Make a Choice
Make a conscious choice to break free from the negative habits and patterns of a Hellenized culture and system that you may have inadvertently adopted. We have to come out of agreement with the world to come into agreement with God.
A Hellenized, or Greek, mindset is one driven by performance and reliance on false gods, humanity, and one’s inner strength. This mindset was reflected in Greek culture by placing great value on gladiators (physical strength), philosophy (intellectual wisdom), the power of logic (intellectual knowledge), and mythology (the worship of false gods).
Personal strength and education are not inherently bad, but Greek culture placed more value on these things rather than relying on the One True God. There was pride in the accomplishments that a man could achieve and the problems he could solve, rather than trusting in God.
The prophets warned against mixing the holy with the profane (Ezekiah 22:26). It was this distortion of values that was creeping in and mixing into the Jewish culture and the Jewish priesthood, which sparked the revolt.
A.C.T. — Apply God’s Word
- “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” —Romans 12:2
2. Be Kings and Priests Unto God
The priesthood during the time leading up to the revolt had become a counterfeit priesthood. It was what we would call hirelings. Those with the title of “priest” were in the priesthood for power, position, and money.
A group of Judean priests had offered to pay Antiochus IV to replace one high priest with another. Antiochus took the bribe.
Three years later, another wealthy priest, Menelaus, influenced by Greek culture, came forward and offered even more money, which he had stolen from the Temple treasures, for the position.
Antiochus again took the deal.
But there was another problem: Menelaus was not from the proper family line of high priests. The conservative Jews opposed him as a radical Hellenizer. Menelaus erected a statue of Zeus (the chief figure in Greek mythology) in the Holy of Holies. He sought to Hellenize the Jews in what became known as a “reign of terror.”
Out of this situation, the Maccabean Revolt was born, and the miracle of Hanukkah came to pass.
Hanukkah became a powerful testament to a small remnant making a way forward to preserve their identity, faith, Temple, and culture, as one that reflects the One True God of Israel.
The remnant consisted of the priests and kings whom the Lord used to restore His nation. We, too, are the kings and priests unto God in this hour (see Revelation 1:6).
A.C.T. — Change the behavior.
- “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” —James 1:22
3. Be Transformed
Understanding the Hanukkah story, along with the reality and challenges the Maccabees faced, helps you teach and apply godly wisdom. As a result, a way forward will be revealed, and transformation will take place.
Hanukkah is considered a minor holiday, but it is brimming with strategic steps to align with God’s ways, so that you receive miraculous victories when your family, nation, and culture are being threatened.
Through the Maccabees’ fight, the priesthood, the Temple, and their faith were transformed.
Spiritual principles that transform…
- Fight for what you believe in. Revolts are not passive. Often, the “revolt” occurs in the spiritual realm through prayer.
- Don’t compromise God’s instruction during the redemption process. Wait in faith on the oil that is coming.
- The remnant must be set apart and dependent upon God and His provision. Resist self-reliance, or a Hellenized mindset.
- Battle in the opposite spirit (see Matthew 12:26) when the enemy attempts to erect false gods in your temple. Opportunities for growth or progress will not present themselves until you remove the enemy from your atmosphere.
We face many of the same challenges that we see in the Hanukkah story. Similar to the Maccabees, a remnant is standing up to save the identity and culture of a nation. This is not the time for compromise, but courage. While we arise, we trust God for His provision and His anointing—not a man-made or self-sustained anointing oil, but a God-ordained and sanctified oil.
In biblical times, the oil was used to:
- Set apart and consecrate something
- Anoint the Temple tools for worship
- Anoint the kings and priests
Yeshua was anointed and prepared for the ultimate sacrifice (see Mark 14) right before the last Passover. Like Yeshua, we have been anointed and set apart for service in the Kingdom.
A.C.T. — Allow the Spirit to transform you.
- “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” —2 Corinthians 3:18
In Summary | How to G.R.O.W. in the Lord
As you celebrate Hanukkah at home, remember that the Maccabean Revolt was rooted in the desire to maintain a true identity and defeat the foreign gods and practices that sought to compromise and confuse the Jewish people. It was as much of a spiritual war as it was a physical and civil war.
Understanding the prophetic symbolism of Hanukkah and the act of lighting the candles (discussed in Part 2) serves as a reminder that if we fail to maintain the purity of our oil and light, then darkness will attempt to overshadow the truth.
This is the battle that has raged since the beginning of time.
As we come out of agreement with habits and patterns from a Hellenized culture, let us move forward and G.R.O.W in the Lord by being doers of His Word and allowing the Spirit of God to transform our minds, will, and emotions into His likeness.
- Have goals that align with God’s.
- Have a grasp of the reality of your situation.
- Look for opportunities that God places in your path to apply His instruction.
- Make a way forward by moving forward in God’s ways, knowing His protection and provision cover you.