Victory Over Assimilation

Victory Over Assimilation
During this Advent season there are many things to be praised and hoped for. We seek Hope, Love, Joy, and Peace. The first Children of the Book have an eight day celebration that reminds people to be lights, not to give in and to thank God for His presence. I am speaking of the Festival of Chanukah.
What is the Jewish Festival of Chanukah? To the common person the celebration is similar to Christmas because of the gifts but there’s more. At first look, it is a Festival of Victory over the Syrians. The further we reach into what it is, we find that it isn’t about candles, presents and food, there is a deeper spiritual/miraculous meaning. 
A Nation Devoted to God 
After the Second Temple had been started and the people returned to God after the Babylonian exile, there was a sense of national pride and faithfulness almost equal to the time of David. Yes they had issues but they were in touch with God. The nation was still gaining strength when Syria decided that Jerusalem was not going to rise again. This was a period where God did not need to send prophets because the people lived for God. 
Desecration     
What do you do when an invading force tells you that you will worship other gods than the one that you have been faithful to? You either assimilate or fight. This was a common occurrence and still happens to this day where people want others to assimilate to their beliefs or desires after gaining even just a smidge of acceptance by a few. 
Over 2000 years ago, Judea had that problem when the Syrian king Antiochus ordered the abandonment of the Torah and openly worship the Greek deities. They had dealt with the kings of Babylon and Persia and were saved from genocide thanks to Esther and now the Syrians took a shot. They solidified this by desecrating the temple.
When they desecrated the temple, the Syrian army also spilt the sacred oils used to light the menorah and lampstands. The Syrians offended the Jewish nation in many ways and showed their displeasure by having little skirmishes here and there. The little battles raised a desire for removal of those who would destroy their ways. So what did they do? The Jews came together under God to defeat the Syrian king.      
The Maccabean Rebellion
A small army of Jews gathered everything they had, prayed and began fighting against their Syrian occupiers. The rebellion was led by Judas Macabeus which culminated in the cleansing and rededicating the Temple. When the priests were going through the destruction they found one small bottle of consecrated oil which was just enough for one day of fuel.  
The Celebration
The cleansing and rededication lasted eight days. This was a time of great rejoicing and confirmed many a faith and trust in God. Because of the great outpouring, the Jews experienced the miracle of the oil lasting all eight days.   
The Meaning of Chanukah
The word means to rededicate but there is more to this celebration. The overarching message is light over darkness, miracles over morass, and faith over fatalism. Not only did they rededicate the temple, they rededicated their lives to God. They established victory over assimilation which had been a sore of their history when men and women had turned to idolatry and pagan gods in the past and left the One True God. Judas Maccabeus was called a messiah due to his leadership and victory but they did not idolize him over fear of God. 
The period of Chanukah is a time for rededication and celebrating victory of the national pride which has flourished over the centuries. Something to notice, many civilizations have come and gone but the people of Israel still exist. They might join a society in certain aspects, some have not followed the Torah but still believe, some have accepted Jesus, but the people still identify as a people. They are not alone in this but many other cultures have forgone their ways or have assimilated completely into other societies. 
What can we learn from this?
 Christianity is a melting pot of assimilated belief systems and people. There are three major religious groups in the world with Christianity being the most diverse in core beliefs. Unfortunately our melting pot means that we have different thoughts, ideas, traditions, and Doctrines which are followed. This makes it easy for the Adversary to take advantage of the confusion.
 We are in the process of being assimilated into a society without God. A society which has chosen to disobey and destroy the Ten Commandments. A society which will be destroyed unless we return it to God. 
Many influential people have been corrupted by the world and are taking Christians with them. The ones who are weakest in their faith are the ones that have given in and are part of the world. They are given into perversions and evil inclinations. Those that continually search for answers are the easiest swayed.
Christians need to stop searching for answers and discern their faith clearly and concisely so there are no questions. We need to stop perverting Scripture to meet our needs and instead meet the needs of Scripture. We also need to understand the difference between God’s Word (Scripture) and Man’s interpretations and teachings that have become Scripture. This world will pass away but God’s Word (written and spoken) is eternal.    The only way to come together as one in peace is to break the differences, learn the truth of the original texts, and come to one accord if Christianity is going to survive. 
There is hope in this world but where is it found? There is joy in this world, just look into a child’s eyes. There is peace but we have to have war to attain it. There is love but we have to make sure it is of God and not how the world defines it. Enjoy the rest of the holiday season for what it is meant for, not materialism but relational. 
May God’s Glory shine through you,
 Rob, Servant of God

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