HAPPY HANUKKAH!

Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah. We lit our first candle and read our first Scriptures about the light. If you would like a copy of these Scriptures to read in your home, I will list them for you below.

HANUKKAH SCRIPTURES
Below is a list of Scriptures for you to read during the Hanukkah Celebration, if you would like to do this.

As a family, we love to celebrate Christmas, not the tinsel and glamor, but the preciousness of gathering together as a family. We also love to remember the most amazing event in the world when God sent His Son to this world—into the womb of a woman and to be born as a little baby.

Bible commentators agree that Jesus was not born at this Christmas time when most people remember His birth. I don’t think anyone has the last say on the exact time of His birth. It may have been during the Feast of Tabernacles. If so, December could have been the time He was divinely conceived by the power of the of Holy Ghost. Incredible. God coming to the earth as a "seed" from the Father. I am in awe. I am sure you are like me and can do nothing less than fall to your knees in wonder and worship!

John 1:14 says: “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” The word dwelt is skenoo and means “to tent, to encamp, to reside as God did in the tabernacle of old, a symbol of protection and communion.” Jesus came and tabernacled with us. He took on our flesh and blood for a temporary time for He was truly “the Everlasting Father” (Isaiah 9:6). The Young’s Literal translation says: “And the Word became flesh, and did tabernacle among us.” The Feast of Tabernacles is a time to live in booths and remember how the Israelites dwelt in temporary tents.

Even God Himself tabernacled with them in a tent! When David was preparing to build a permanent temple God said to him: “For I have not dwelt in an house since the day that I brought up Israel unto this day; but have gone from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another” (1 Chronicles 17;22).

Although we do not know the day or the hour when Jesus returns, some Bible scholars think He may return during the time of the Feast of Tabernacles. Once again, He will tabernacle with us—even in the eternal kingdom. When the apostle John saw the new Jerusalem coming down from Heaven he wrote: “And I heard a great voice out of heaven say, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell (skenoo) with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God” (Revelation 21;32).,

We also love to celebrate Hanukkah. We love to light the Hanukkah candles each night and because Hanukkah celebrates the relighting of the menorah (the seven branched candlestick) in the temple, we like to read Scriptures about God and Christ who are the light and how He also wants us to be His light in this world. We do this at our Family Devotions each morning and evening.

Why do we celebrate Hanukkah?

1. It is a celebration that Jesus celebrated. Read John 10:22, 23.

2. Hanukkah in the Hebrew means "dedication." God's temple was desecrated by Antiochus Epiphanes in 167 BC, but the Maccabees family led a revolt against the Seleucid armies and called the nation back to God. After they had driven them out of Judea and Jerusalem, the Maccabees consecrated and rededicated the temple. However, God no longer lives in a temple in Jerusalem, but lives in the temple of our hearts. We like to take one night during the eight days of Hanukkah to rededicate the temple of our lives to God.

3. It is called the Feast of Dedication (John 10:22) and also the Festival of Lights. It celebrates the re-lighting of the Menorah. History and tradition tell us that they could only find enough oil for one day, but miraculously the lights kept burning for eight days while they prepared the anointing oil, specifically commanded in the Scriptures.

You can read the history of the family of the Maccabees in the Apocrypha. The Apocrypha was not included in the canon of Scripture, but it is interesting reading. The story of the Maccabees is especially significant to read because they were used to save the Jewish people at that time in history. Throughout the generations the devil has tried to eliminate the Jewish people and thus hinder the coming of the Messiah. The Maccabees were instrumental in saving their people from extinction. No wonder our Savior, Jesus Christ celebrated Hanukkah.

Here are the Scriptures that we read during Hanukkah. Read and meditate on them in your personal devotional time. Then choose the ones you would like to use with your family. For each day, you may like to take half the Scriptures at Family Devotions in the morning and the other half in the evening, or whatever works out in your home.

If you have older children, it's a lovely idea for each one to have their own Bible and give a Scripture for each one to read aloud—and to share what they feel God is saying through the Scriptures. If you have little ones, you may only want to take one Scripture from the list and talk about it. And don't forget to ask your children questions

SCRIPTURES FOR YOU TO READ EACH DAY FOR HANUKKAH

Day 1
God is the Source of Light and gives Light
Genesis 1:3-5
Exodus 27:20, 21; 40:24, 25; cf. Leviticus 24:1-4; and Numbers 8:1-3
Exodus 13:21; Nehemiah 9:12, 19
Psalm 36:9
Psalm 104:1, 2
Matthew 17:2 (You can read the whole story in Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-13; and Luke 9:28-36).
1 Timothy 6:16
James 1:17

Day 2
Jesus is the Light of the World
Isaiah 9:2; cf. Matthew 4:12-17
Luke 1:76-79 and 2:27-32
John 1:4-9, cf. Job 18:5, 6; 21:17; Proverbs 13:9; 20:20; and 24:20.
John 3:19-21
John 8:12
John 9:5
John 12:44-46
Acts 26:22, 23
Ephesians 5:14
1 John 2:8

Day 3
Shine the Light of Jesus to the world
Daniel 12:3
Judges 5:31
Proverbs 4:18
Song of Songs 6:10
Isaiah 58:6-8, 10
Isaiah 60:1, 2
Matthew 5:14-16
Matthew 6:22, 23
Luke 12:35
John 5:35
Acts 13:47
2 Corinthians 4:4-6
Philippians 2:14, 15

Day 4
God's Word is our Light
Ezra 9:8
Psalm 19:7-11
Psalm 43:3
Psalm 119:18, 105, 130
Proverbs 6:20-24
Luke 24:30-32 (You can read the whole story in verses 13-32).
Ephesians 1:17, 18
2 Peter 1:19-21

Day 5
Walk in the Light
Psalm 44:3
Psalm 89:15
Proverbs 4:18
Isaiah 2:5
Isaiah 58:8 (Read the whole passage: verses 6-12)
Luke 12:35
John 12:35, 36
Romans 13:12-14
2 Corinthians 4:4-7
1 John 1:6-9
1 John 2:8-11
Ephesians 5:8-20

Day 6
Out of Darkness into Light
Exodus 10:21-23
2 Samuel 22:29 (Psalm 18:28)
Job 24;13
Job 29:2-5
Psalm 18:28
Isaiah 42:16
Isaiah 50:10
Psalm 90:8
Luke 11:33-35
Acts 26:17-18
1 Corinthians 4:5
1 Thessalonians 5:5
1 Peter 2:9
1 John 2:9-11

Day 7
Living in God is to live in Light
Psalm 4:6
Psalm 27:1
Psalm 34:5
Psalm 36:9
Psalm 37:3-6
Psalm 43:3, 4
Psalm 112:4
Micah 7:8

Day 8
God is the Light of Heaven
Isaiah 24:23 and 30:26
Isaiah 60:19, 20
Revelation 1:16
Revelation 21:22-25
Revelation 22:3-5

Many blessings from Nancy Campbell