“Light” in the Bible, Hanukkah, and Advent

Note: As I was preparing to drop this post, the horrible news of the mass shooting at the Hannukkah festival on the beach in Sydney, Australia came to my attention. This should convince all of us that anti-Semitism isn’t just something that happened in the ancient books of Esther and 1 Maccabees, or just in Germany during the last century. Anti-Semitism is growing all over the world. Will Christians stand with the Jewish people during these times?

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. May they be secure who love you! (Ps 122:6 ESV)

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In the west Michigan USA where I live, winter solstice and with it the shortest day of the year is approaching. We’re getting only about nine hours of potential sun light each day, but it’s been so cloudy and snowy we’ve seen little of it. We Need Light! And we need it in more ways than one.

Jewish people all over the world are lighting candles each night from December 14-22 to celebrate Hanukkah, commemorating the purification and dedication of the Jerusalem Temple after it was desecrated by pagan sacrifices during a time of persecution in the second century BCE. Churches started lighting Advent candles on Sunday November 30, which are to remind Christians of the hope, peace, joy, and love that should be at the heart of their Christmas celebration.

Both of these candle traditions direct us back to the pervasive and profound imagery of light in the Bible. Let’s have a look at how all this fits together.

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Go here for our previous Christmas-related posts.

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Light in the Bible

We find the word “light” about 150 times in English translations of the Hebrew Bible, and roughly another 75 times in the Second Testament translations. These numbers don’t even begin to tell the story when you factor in synonyms and associated words like “day,” as well as antonyms like “darkness” and associated words like “night.” The Bible is full of references to physical light and darkness, and these terms commonly are metaphors for ethical/spiritual realities.

It’s not just the sheer quantity of biblical references to light—the word occurs at crucial points in both Testaments. Consider this summary:

The Bible is enveloped by the imagery of light, both literally and figuratively. At the beginning of the biblical narrative, physical light springs forth as the first created thing (Gen 1:3-4). At the end of the story the light of God obliterates all traces of darkness: “And night shall be no more; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light” (Rev 22:5). Between these two beacons the imagery of light makes nearly 200 appearances , with light emerging as one of the Bible’s major and most complex symbols. (Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, 509)

I totally can’t say everything that should be said about light in the Bible in this short post, but they say “It’s better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.” You can shine biblical light on your life-journey by going to Blue Letter Bible here, choosing your favorite Bible translation, and typing in the word “light” in the search box. Enjoy the enlightenment!

I’ll just list some connected verses from both Testaments that show us key biblical truths:

Creation and Consummation: Light envelopes the Bible from beginning to end.

• And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.  God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.  God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. (Gen 1:3-5 NIV)

The sun will no more be your light by day,
    nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you,
for the Lord will be your everlasting light,
    and your God will be your glory.
Your sun will never set again,
    and your moon will wane no more;
the Lord will be your everlasting light,
    and your days of sorrow will end. (Isa 60:19-20 NIV)

• The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. (Rev 21:23-25 NIV)

Wisdom: God is light and his word enlightens our lives.

• By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. (Exod 13:21 NIV; cf. Neh 9:12; Ps 78:14)

• For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light. (Ps 36:9 NIV)

• Your word is a lamp for my feet,
a light on my path. Ps 119:105 NIV; cf. Prov 6:23)

• The unfolding of your words gives light;
it gives understanding to the simple. (Ps 119:130 NIV)

• Come, descendants of Jacob,
let us walk in the light of the LORD. (Isa 2:5 NIV)

• The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned. (Isa 9:2; Matt 4:15-16)

• “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12 NIV; cf. John 1:4, 9; 3:19-21; 9:5; 12:46)

• This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. (1 John 1:5-7 NIV; cf. 1 John 2:8-11)

Mission: God’s people are to bring God’s light to the world.

• “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant
    to restore the tribes of Jacob
    and bring back those of Israel I have kept.
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,
    that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” (Isa 49:6; Acts 13:47 NIV; cf. Isa 42:6-9; 51:4; Acts 26:16-18, 23)

• “For my eyes have seen your salvation,
     which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
    and the glory of your people Israel.” (Luke 2:29-32 NIV)

• “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your ∫ shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matt 5:14-16 NIV; cf. Phil 2:14)

We’ll stop here, even though we could go on and on, showing how the Bible is chock full of the light of God. This light transforms us by showing us who God is and how God wants us to live as his lightbearers in this world. I hope you’ll take the biblical theme of light seriously this holiday season.

Light during Hanukkah (חג חנוכה), the Festival of Lights

Hanukkah (or Chanukah) commemorates the victory of the Maccabees (also known as the Hasmoneans) over the occupying forces of the Seleucid (Syrian) in 164 BCE. The Jews under Judas Maccabeus revolted against the Syrian attempt to eradicate Jewish observance of the Torah and worship in the Temple. They went so far as to sacrifice a pig in the Temple. The Jewish victory over this outrageous, oppressive sacrilege gave rise to the eight day Feast of Hanukkah, also known as the Feast of Lights, or the Feast of Dedication.

All of this is narrated in the book of I Maccabees 1-4 and later recounted by the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus in his writings (Antiquities, 12.316-25). 1 Maccabees 4:50 simply mentions the lighting of the Menorah in the context of purifying and consecrating the Temple. Josephus speaks of a Feast of Lights, and of lighting the Menorah as a reminder that the Jews’ freedom to worship God has been brought to light. For Josephus, lighting the Menorah seems to be a symbol of freedom.

Hundreds of years later, the Babylonian Talmud (Shabbat 21b) tells the story that is the basis of current Jewish observance. It seems that when the Maccabean forces captured the Temple and purified it in preparation for renewed worship, they found only enough oil to light the Temple Menorah for one day. Miraculously, the oil lasted for eight days, until a new supply was obtained.

This Talmudic tradition is at the heart of Hanukkah observance today, in which the central candle (called the shamash) serves to light an additional candle each night of the festival. In many cities, including Grand Rapids where I live, the Chabad organizations will light a menorah in a public place. In family celebrations, special blessings are recited and special songs are sung. Children play a spinning top (dreidel) game, and receive monetary gifts (gelt). Oil-based foods are eaten, such as potato pancakes (latkes) and donuts (sufganiyot).

The Hanukkah festival is not mentioned in the Hebrew Bible—the Maccabees lived after the last book was written—but it is mentioned in the Gospel of John. John 10:22 mentions the winter “feast of dedication” at the end of what we now call the “Good Shepherd Discourse”(10:1-18). “Dedication” refers to the victorious revolt of the Maccabees and their purification of the Temple. John mentions that Jesus was walking in the Temple at this time, apparently observing the holiday with his fellow Jews during the turbulent last period of his ministry. He had recently spoken of himself as “the light of the world” and promised that his disciples would not walk in darkness (John 8:12). He had just enabled a congenitally blind man to see the light for the first time in his life (John 9; 10:21). When he was in “Solomon’s porch” (10:23), he responded to questions about whether he was the Messiah by saying he was the Son of God, one with the Father, whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world (John 10:36). These teachings and actions of Jesus would likely “ring a bell” with those who were celebrating the consecration of the Temple by the Maccabees and their lighting the Menorah.

Actress Mayim Bialik (remember her from The Big Bang Theory?) takes being Jewish seriously. Watch her short, humorous Hanukkah video here. She’ll teach you how to make latkes here.

Light during Advent

Some think that the practice of lighting Advent candles arose from early Christians using wreaths and candles to give Christian meaning to previous pagan rituals. Be that as it may, the history of Advent candles may go back to the early medieval times. The practice as we know it today is sometimes traced back to to Lutherans in 16th century Germany. In 1839, Lutheran minister Johann Wichern used a wagon wheel to create a wreath with four main white candles and 19 smaller red tapers to help the neglected children he ministered to count the days until Christmas. Current wreaths have only the larger candles. In the days preceding World War II, German Nazis tried to adapt the Advent wreath to their racist ideology.

Today’s four-candle Advent wreaths teach us to anticipate the birth of Jesus, who brings light into darkness. Traditions vary in different denominations and in different countries. In the west, emphasis is typically placed on Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love, respectively, on the four Sundays preceding Christmas day.

• The first candle is called the prophecy candle because it is associated with the hope that comes from the biblical promises of Jesus’ birth.
• The second candle is called the Bethehem candle because it is connected with Joseph and Mary’s journey to Bethlehem and the birth of the Prince of Peace.
• The third candle is called the Shepherd’s candle because it reminds us of the shepherds joy at the announcement of Jesus’ birth.
• The fourth candle is called the Angel’s candle, recalling the angel’s announcement of Jesus’ birth and the ultimate gift of love that he brings.
• Some wreaths have a central white candle, the Christ candle, that is lit on Christmas eve.

Whether our church practice has been to use Advent wreaths or not, we can agree that the symbolism is biblical and edifying.

Walking in the Light after Hanukkah and Advent

Mitch Glaser has said that if it were not for Hanukkah, there would be no Christmas. Why? Because the first Hanukkah represented the victory of the Jews over the Syrian forces that wished to eradicate them as God’s covenant people who observed the Torah. Had not God given the Maccabean rebels victory over the Syrians, we fear the Jews would have assimilated into pagan religions and the Temple would have remained polluted by pagan sacrifices. The future of the Jews, and of the future birth of the Jewish Messiah Jesus, seems to hang in the balance. It’s just like the amazing story of Esther—had not God intervened through her courage, it seems that the Jews would have been wiped out.

I take a slightly different view of God’s providence, one that I think honors the power and faithfulness of God to accomplish his purposes, either through means that we know or means that we don’t know. Remember what Mordecai said to Esther? “If you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place” (Esther 4:14). So I think if it weren’t for Hanukkah, God would have delivered his people through other means, and there would still be Christmas!

Either way you look at it, in God’s providence, the consecration of the Temple by the Maccabees in 164 BCE ultimately prepared it for Joseph and Mary to come and dedicate the baby Jesus in that rededicated Temple over a century and a half later (Luke 2:22-38; cf. Exod 13:1-16; Lev 12).

There’s still more to this amazing demonstration of God’s providence. Lighting the Hanukkah and Advent candles represents and commemorates God’s faithful love to his covenant people. We should also think of these memorial ceremonies as consecration ceremonies. We’re not just lighting candles—we are candles. Jesus’ Jewish disciples were the twelve original candles that brought gospel-light to the Gentiles. Today God’s covenant people continue to be the candles that bring light to nations that still live in darkness. Will they see a great light through us?

Let’s celebrate God’s goodness and faithful providence. Let’s rededicate ourselves to God’s mission to bring light to the nations.

Happy Hanukkah! (khag ha-noo-kah sah-may-akh) חַג חֲנֻכָּה שָׂמַח

Merry Christmas! (Kala Christougenna) Καλά Χριστούγεννα

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Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:1-6 NIV)

We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Col 1:9-14 NIV)

The Lord said to Moses,  “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:

“‘“The Lord bless you
    and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you
    and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you
    and give you peace.”’

“So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.” (Num 6:22-27 NIV)