My Choice
“At that time the Ḥanukkah
came to be in Yerushalayim, and it was winter. And יהושע [Yeshua] was walking in the Set-apart Place, in the porch of
Shelomoh.” (John 10:22-23)
Every year, at this
time, I witness debates and arguments as to whether or not our Messiah kept, and participated in, the Feast of
Dedication, otherwise known as Hanukkah. The basis for this argument is that Hanukkah
is not listed as one of the biblical
feasts that are compulsory, found in Leviticus 23. However, from the above verses, we can see
that not only was Yeshua in Jerusalem
at the time of this feast, He was also found within the temple compound itself
– something that would not have happened if He had no intent of keeping this
feast. And yet, the arguments,
discussions and debates go on, and on.
Can we not simply look
at what this Feast of Dedication is
all about, and apply it to our own lives?
And if this feast was important enough for Messiah Yeshua to observe,
surely that is a good reason for us to do so as well. Hanukkah celebrates the re-dedication of the
Temple; surely, this is an action that all
of us (who call upon the Name of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) can
relate to.
“Do you not know that
you are the Temple of God, and that The Spirit of God dwells within you? Whoever destroys the Temple of God, God destroys; for the Temple of God
is holy, which you are.” (1Cor 3:16-17 OANT)
Since we are, at
present, the Temple of the Living Elohim, it would stand to reason that an
occasion where we choose to cleanse
and rededicate ourselves to our Master’s use would be a good thing. The Word also tells us that we “are His workmanship,
created in Messiah יהושע unto good
works” (Eph 2:10); therefore,
it is only as we allow His continuing work within us, accompanied by a time of
rededication and consecration, that we can continue to stand as His Temple.
Tomorrow night, at
sundown, those of us who participate in the Festival of Lights will light our
first candle, in honor of Him whom we
belong to. And as we do so, let us all
remember just whose light is supposed to shine from within us, that our Father
may ultimately be honored and praised (Mat 5:14-16).
“In Him was life, and the life was the LIGHT
of men.” (John 1:4, emphasis mine)
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