There are many things that we as followers of the Messiah can learn from the story of Chanukah; I would like to focus on one: devotion.
A key component of the Festival of Chanukah, or the “Feast of Dedication”, celebrates the devotion of a man named Mattityahu. When confronted with the demand by a Syrian officer to make an idol sacrifice, he replied, “I, my sons and my brothers are determined to remain loyal to the covenant which our G-d made with our ancestors!” Mattityahu, an elderly Priest who lived in the city of Modin, knew that the price of refusing the officer’s command would result in death, yet he was willing to pay the price to keep his devotion to the one true God. Because of this man’s devotion to the LORD and his refusal to bow down to idols, he paved the way for a mighty victory for God. As a result, a rebellion against the pagan Greek occupiers started, ultimately leading to the purification of the Temple and its rededication to God.
God has called us to live our lives without compromising in any area:
“ I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves about on the ground. I am the LORD who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.” Leviticus 11:44-45
He called us to be holy, “Kedushim” in Hebrew. In order to be holy, one must first be “MeKudash”, or betrothed or devoted to God. Being devoted to God means to die to yourself, your fleshly desires and your will, and take on the fullness of what He has called us to do.
Mattityahu was willing to pay the price, even to the point of death, to honor His God.
Are you willing to pay the price in order to honor your God? If your answer is yes, then I would like to challenge you to take this time and season and clean your life from all the unclean things, all the idols, and to put God first. I believe that once we do that, we will allow God’s light to shine through us, and many who are still in the darkness will turn to Him.
Happy Chanukah,
Moran