Why do we call this celebration "Hanukkah"? Because "Hanukkah" is the Hebrew word for "dedication." When Judas Maccabee (the hammer) and his army eventually crushed their enemies, Judas and his brothers said: "Let's go up to cleanse and rededicate the sanctuary" (1 Maccabees 4:36). The temple was desolate, the gates burned, and even shrubs were growing in the courts like a forest! But the Maccabees got “stuck in” and cleansed and restored the sanctuary.
They built a new altar with whole, unpolished stones (because the altar had been desecrated by Antiochus Epiphanes), brought in the Lampstand, the Altar of Incense, and the Table of Showbread, and offered sacrifices as God originally commanded. "So they celebrated the rededication of the altar for eight days" (1 Maccabees 4:56).
How does this affect our lives? God no longer lives in the Holy of Holies in the temple, but in our bodies, which are the temple of His Holy Spirit. We are not only the temple of the Holy Spirit, but the “naos” which speaks of the Holy of Holies in the temple. This is the word which is used in 1 Corinthians 6:19 and 2 Corinthians 6:16. What an indescribable truth!
1 Corinthians 6:19, 20: “What? Know ye not that your body is the temple (naos—which is the word for Holy of Holies) of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” You are now the place where God wants to reside in all His glory.
Our temples may not be desolate, but it is easy for us to allow things to come into our lives which grieve the Holy Spirit and spoil and dirty our naos. Just as the Maccabees had to cleanse and rededicate the temple, so we need times in our lives when we rededicate our bodies to the Lord.
Therefore, it is a good idea to have a rededication service one night during Hanukah and dedicate our temples again to the Lord. Choose which morning or evening you would like to do this together as a family. Explain it to your children. Ask each one of them to confess to the Lord anything in their lives that grieves the Holy Spirit and to rededicate their "body temple" to the Lord. This includes mom and dad too. Each one can do this silently or aloud, as you feel led of the Holy Spirit.
When we have all dedicated ourselves individually, the father can rededicate the whole family to be a living sacrifice to the Lord and to be set apart for His purposes (Romans 12:1, 2).
I know that the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you mightily as you experience this dedication service in your home.
Be blessed,
Nancy Campbell