First Night The Light On this first night of Chanukkah let us focus on the light of the Shamash candle. For it is the Servant candle which will be used to light all the other candles night by night. Through each lighting, the flame of the Servant candle remains unaffected in its effort and is not diminished as it pours itself out to give the life of light to all the other candles. The Servant candle is the main source for the lower candles. For without the light of the Servant, no glow of light would ever be obtained to the lower candles. The Shamash candle holds a key of understanding which points to Yeshua HaMashiach, who said Himself: John 8:12 12... "I am the light of the world"... In order for us to see the fulfilment of the Shamash candle, we must first come to recognize who our source of Light comes from. For Messiah continued on to say: John 8:12 12... "He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." One candle, one Source, gives Light to all who choose to become a lower candle in Yehovah s living menorah of mankind.
Second Night The Preeminence 1 of the Light John 1:4; 3:21 1:4 In Him Was Life, and the Life Was the Light of Men... 3:21... He Who Does the Truth Comes to the Light... On this second night of Chanukkah let us once again focus on the source of light within the Shamash candle. Notice first, before the Shamash candle lights the lower candles it must be taken out of its higher place and come down from above in order to be a servant to the candles that are placed below. In this act we see its fulfilment as Yehovah came out of His proper place on high and took on the form of human flesh in order to light up the lives of all who would choose to believe in His first advent as a Servant. Let us read: Phil 2:5-7 5... Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Yeshua, Yehovah in the flesh, is the chief source of Light in our lives as Believers. It is from this source of Light that we receive the teachings from the Holy Spirit of Yehovah who resides within us. His presence should dominate, with preeminence, our daily walk as Children of the Light. In the book of Ephesians, it states: Eph 5:8, 10 8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light... 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. 1 preeminence: the highest position; to be regarded as authority
Third Night The Shechinah Glory Within the Light Isa 60:1 Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. On this third night of Chanukkah let us finish up our focus upon the Shamash candle. Its teachings so far have been shown to be a symbol of Messiah, Yehovah in the flesh, who came out of His proper place on high and took on the lower form of humanity in order to bring Light into the world. The key to the Light, is understanding truth with wisdom. And, this wisdom in understanding truth is enabled by Yehovah s Holy Spirit, who now resides within the spiritual heart of each Believer. The word, shechinah (shek-i'-nah), means: residence of Yehovah. 2 The Holy Spirit is a gift given to us from both Yehovah the Father and Yehovah the Son. It is by the Holy Spirit of Yehovah, the source of the Light within us, who leads us into all spiritual understanding with wisdom and truth. We read in 1 Peter: 1 Peter 4:14 14... blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you... Throughout scripture, oil is used to symbolize and represent the Holy Spirit. As oil is used to satisfy the symbol of Chanukkah, let us also recognize that the oil supplied by the Holy Spirit within our own lives also satisfies to fullness what we desire of Him. 2 from McClintock and Strong Encyclopedia, Electronic Database. Copyright 2000, 2003 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.
Fourth Night A Night of Scripture There is beautiful prophecy in Isaiah concerning our Light of the World His birth, His mission, and His ultimate purpose towards humanity. Let us read: Isa 49:6 6 Indeed He says, 'It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, And to restore the preserved ones of Israel; (therefore) I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.'" Its fulfillment is found in the Book of the Acts, where we read: Acts 26:23 23 that the Christ would suffer, that He would be the first to rise from the dead, and would proclaim light to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles." Truly Yehovah s Spirit resided inside the human vessel whom we call, Yeshua of Nazareth. Fulfilling yet another scripture found in Isaiah: Isa 11:2 2 The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. This same Spirit, symbolized by oil in the Holy Scriptures, resides now within us, the Believers!
Fifth Night Our Purpose in Yehovah s Human Menorah Ps 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path Prov 6:23... Reproofs of instruction are the way of life. As each candle stands on their own, they reflect the light given from the Shamash, which stands above them all. If for some reason a menorah candle should go out, it depends upon the assistance of its neighbor candle to be rekindled. It is not rekindled by the Shamash. In the same way, our individual lives should reflect the Light of our Messiah, who is the Word. He came to us in the form of a Servant. He died and resurrected; and upon His ascension back to Heaven, He promised that His Father and He would send the Holy Spirit to reside in each one of us who believe. If for some reason we should begin to lack in faith, we need to learn to listen, rely, and depend upon the assistance of other Believers whom are placed in our lives. They are there to be of help. They are there to encourage, guide, and rekindle our spiritual walk while on Earth.
Sixth Night The Story that Began Chanukkah The miracle of Chanukkah was born in the flames of a Greek king s efforts to persecute the Jews. Three years before the first Chanukkah, this king, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, issued a series of decrees designed to crush and extinguish the Jewish faith. The first round of anti-jewish decrees went into force on the 3rd day of Tishrei in the year 168 BCE. These decrees are recorded in a document called, The Scroll of Fasting, which says in part:... deny the Kingdom of heaven and say we have no portion with the God of Israel and do not mention the name of the Yehovah of heaven on your mouths. Megillat Ta anit, Tishrei These initial decrees were followed up with laws forbidding the practice of circumcision and observance of the weekly Sabbath. Three months later, on the 25th day of Kislev, the Greeks then proclaimed the Jerusalem Temple as a sanctuary to their sun-god. In an unholy ceremony, they sacrificed pigs on the altar. This final insulting event led to a Jewish uprising. After three years of fighting, the Maccabees regained control of the Temple and tore down the defiled altar. Three years later, on the third anniversary of its defilement, a new altar was rededicated. To this day, the full name of the holiday is Channukat Ha-Mizbeach, Dedication of the Altar. It s purpose is to remember the altar s rededication. The real miracle of Chanukkah is the victory of a band of ill-equipped and untrained farmers and priests defeating a world super-power that tried to force them to eat pig, give up circumcision, forbidding them to observe the weekly Sabbath, and strictly prohibiting them from speaking the name of our heavenly Father, Yehovah. The joy of this minor feast became an annual celebration. Yeshua, Himself, commemorated this celebration. For we read in John s gospel: John 10:22-23 22... the Feast of Dedication [of the reconsecration of the temple] was taking place at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 And Jesus was walking in Solomon's Porch in the temple area. Oh, how Chanukkah fulfills the picture of the One seen walking in Solomon s Porch that day! Let us not miss the eloquence and beauty of the teachings symbolized within the Chanukiyah.
Seventh Night Interesting Comparisons Concerning Chanukkah The center candle stands higher than all the other candles. It is taken out of its proper place to come down and give life of light to the other candles... Yehovah, who in the form of a man, came out of His proper place on High to come down to Earth in order to give those who desire eternal Light and Life. The center candle is called the Shamash meaning servant, or to serve... Yeshua s first advent to Earth was to fulfill the Servant prophecies given in the Old Covenant. Oil was used to keep the menorah lit inside the Temple. It is a fuel; and as long as oil remains, a flame is continually fed... Scripturally, oil symbolizes and represents the Holy Spirit. As oil is used to satisfy the symbol of Chanukkah... the oil supplied by the Holy Spirit within our own lives also satisfies in fullness what we require of Him. Require little, a flicker of Him is what you will get. Require much, He will pour out to the point of overflowing; creating within that individual a blazing heart on fire for Yehovah, our Elohim. If one candle should extinguish, it depends on a neighboring candle to be rekindled... If through our spiritual walk we should begin to lack in faith, we need to learn to allow others to help rekindle and show us our way back to the Light source from Heaven. Chanukkah is celebrated for eight days by lighting an additional candle until its fullness is shown on the eighth day when all eight candles are lit... likewise... when it was time that baby Yeshua was presented at the Temple, Simeon stated to Mary, This Child is a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel. It was at that time, the fullness of prophecy concerning His mission was proclaimed right there in the Temple! Yeshua, the Light of the World
Eighth Night When the Fullness is Presented We light only one candle the first night, and add an additional candle each night thereafter for eight consecutive nights. On the eighth night, the Chanukiyah is seen presented in its fullness; taking on the full meaning of Yeshua s life as the Light of the World. Scripture tells us that Yeshua s parents took Him to the Temple to be fully presented, as was their custom. On that day, a devout man of Jerusalem, named Simeon, was in the Temple and proclaimed to Mary that, This Child is a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel. Also in the Temple that day was another. Her name was Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. We need only to breakdown the meaning of her name to understand the significance of whom she viewed: NAME MEANING 3 Anna Grace Phanuel Face of Yehovah Asher Blessed Each name has a very specific meaning describing this baby whose face she was looking upon. There she was, gazing into the blessed face of Yehovah. Full of grace for mankind. The birth and life of this Child was grace come down from Heaven to Earth. Blessed be His name, Yeshua! Therefore, His life, His mission, and His purpose was fully proclaimed and presented by both, Simeon and Anna, right there in the Temple that day! Yeshua is the Light of the world and the glory of our people Israel. It is through the Chanukiyah menorah that we are able to symbolically represent the mission of our Messiah s birth, life, death, resurrection, and the giving of His Holy Spirit. A gift of grace given freely to all who believe; symbolically represented by the menorah when it is observed in its fullness. 3 OT:2603; OT:6439; OT:833 Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright 1994, 2003 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.