Joshua 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
Some of you may be celebrating the holiday of Chanukah with us — this will be the seventh night of this beautiful Festival of Lights.
While Chanukah is not a Biblical feast, it is an important one. Chanukah commemorates the story of small group of men with much courage — enough courage to defeat even the greatest of the world’s empires.
The Greek-Syrian Emperor Anticochus Epiphanes defiled the Temple by erecting an idol within it, and commanded all of Israel to worship it. If that wasn’t enough, he made it illegal to follow God’s laws and anyone caught observing them would be put to death. Yeshua (Jesus) pointed out in Matthew 24 — when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel — flee! This was a foreshadow of a future event which He was referring to.
So what happened? A few men, the Macabees, decided to fight an entire empire on their own! They had a miraculous victory, restoring and rededicating the Temple, and relighting the menorah — a victory which we celebrate tonight.
In these dark days approaching, we’re going to be called to a deeper walk with the Lord, to stand up for His truth and be a light to the dying world around us! Let’s get restored, rededicated and rekindled so that we can be strong for Him! There’s so much to be done!
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