A Miracle Happened There

Have you ever thought about miracles?

I think a miracle is something only God can do. Do you think that’s right?

The Bible tells us about lots of miracles. When God created the earth, that was a miracle. What about when He parted the Red Sea–was that a miracle? Did you know that once, God gave a donkey a voice so it could talk to the man riding it? Can you imagine what a surprise that was?

I want to tell you about a  miracle that is not in the Bible but is in history books.

When I was 28, there was a war on a mountain in Israel. It is the same mountain that the Hanukkah Story took place on. In 1967 that war became known as the six-day war. A huge army of several nations was planning to fight against the very small Jewish Army. They wanted to take the land of Israel for themselves.

The Jewish Army was half the size of the ones coming to fight. In the Hanukkah story, the Maccabee Israeli army was less than half the size of the Army of the King, which hated the Jewish people. As the six-day war started, the Jewish nation was very frightened and prepared for many deaths. But a few Rabbis believed that God would fight for them just like He did in the Bible. One Rabbi quoted the Bible verse, “All the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they shall be afraid of you” (Deuteronomy 28:10).

Today when people speak what God says in the Bible, we call that making a declaration in prayer. God is pleased with that kind of prayer. He always wants us to speak the things that agree with the Bible.

The leaders of the Israeli  Army asked for God’s wisdom. They felt God’s direction was to surprise the other Armies with an air attack. Many stories in the Bible tell us of things God told His Army to do that caused them to win their battles

. God gave the  Israeli Army a  miracle because the warning system did not work, so there was no warning for the Army the Israelis were attacking, and the Israelis’ enemies could not get to their planes in time to fight back. There were thousands of soldiers planning to fight, but because they were surprised, they were not ready.

Another great miracle was that although Israel was winning, everything was happening so fast one Israeli tank crew got caught among other enemy crews. So an Israeli commander prayed, “HaShem, you led our ancestors through this wilderness with a pillar of fire. Please show us the path on which you led our fathers out from this place.” Incredibly,  the crew spotted a ridgeway, as if illuminated from above, that led them through the rugged territory, away from enemy posts and back to safety. Again, someone prayed a prayer that agreed with God’s word and brought victory.

Other reported miracles were that the old planes that had not worked well before the war worked perfectly during the battles, and enemy shells that hit targets against the Israeli did not explode.

Two Israel infantry men report that a truckload with 18 well-armed soldiers faced them, and they were sure they would die. However, the Arabs looked panic-stricken and did not fire on them. When asked why they did not fire on the Israelites, the Arabs said, “My arms froze—they became paralyzed. My whole body was paralyzed, and I don’t know why.”

One tank commander later explained that he gave up to a far smaller number of Jewish tanks because he saw a desert mirage that made him “see hundreds of Israeli tanks.”

The newspaper Haaretz carried this comment by one of its military correspondents: “Even a non-religious person must admit this war was fought with help from heaven.”

( many facts from the 6-day war taken from https://cbnisrael.org/2022/06/09/fulfilling-gods-promises-the-miracles-of-israels-six-day-war/)

So even in my lifetime, God is doing Miracles when people pray to Him for help.

Now in the Hanukkah story, there were many miracles too.

Do you see this?

This is a picture of a dreidel. The Hebrew letters on the Dreidel mean, “A Great Miracle Happened There.”

Do you know where “There” is? “There” is the SAME MOUNTAIN where the Jewish Army fought the Six Day War. Let me tell you this exciting bible story and why the Dreidel has an important part in the story. The actual story is not in the Bible. You find it in History books. You do see in the book of John Jesus knew the story and celebrated to remember it when He was on the earth. It happened between the time the Old Testament was written and the New Testament was written. It is very much a God Story. It proves God’s plans will always happen.

A long time ago, there was a mean and terrible king named King Antiochus. The King and his people believed there were lots of gods and worshipped them all. But the Jewish people believed there was only one God. It made the King mad because the Jewish People would not agree with him. So, the King made a law to stop the Jewish people from worshipping the one true God. The law said they had to stop reading about God and stop doing the things that God wanted them to do.

The Jewish people knew they were right, so they kept doing what God wanted them to do. They loved God, kept reading about God, and kept teaching their children about God.

The Jews loved to gather and worship God in their Temple. So to stop them from going to the Temple, King Antiochus filled it with statues of his gods. He even put pigs in the Temple! He made such a mess that the Jews couldn’t worship God there anymore. So they had to worship and teach about God outside of the Temple. And whenever the King’s soldiers found the Jewish people doing this, they punished them. Sometimes they even killed them.

This is where the Dreidel comes into our story.

Jewish children had little toys called dreidels, made of hardened clay. Whenever the children went to learn about God and worship Him, they brought their dreidels. If one of the King’s soldiers came along, the children would stop talking and pretend to be playing games with their dreidels. The Jewish children were so clever that they fooled the soldiers!

But then the King got even meaner. He sent his soldiers into all the villages of Israel and told everybody they had to worship his gods or be killed. This made some Jewish men so angry that they decided to fight the King’s soldiers. The men called themselves the Maccabees. That means Hammers, and when they went to battle, they sang, “Who is like you among the mighty oh God” They wrote those words on their banners and shields.

The King’s Army was HUGE. He had 50,000 fighting men. And the Jewish Army was very small–only 6,000 men. But the true God was on their side.

You see, God had a plan for Jesus to be born from a Jewish mother named Miriam. We call her Mary. If  Antiochus had his way, all the Jewish people would have been killed. But God had His plan, and His plans never fail.

Who do you think won the fight? Yes, the Maccabees!!! How did such a small army beat such a huge one? God was on their side!!! Doesn’t this sound like the miracle of the Six Day War? It sure does because God loves Jerusalem; that is where Jesus will come to rule when He comes back.

After the Jews won the war, the Maccabees went to work to clean up the mess the King’s men made in the Temple. The Temple had a special lampstand, which was supposed to be lit all the time. King Antiochus’ men hadn’t kept it lit. They also ruined the pure olive oil, which was the only oil that could be used to light the lampstand. The pure olive oil had been placed in special bottles and sealed tight for this holy purpose

The King’s men had ruined all the bottles. So the Maccabees looked and looked for a bottle of pure oil, and finally, one man found a small bottle, untouched and still sealed. But it was only enough oil to keep the Menorah lit for one day. The Menorah was the light in the Temple God told the Jewish priest to keep it lit day and night.

There is a story that has been passed down for many years that the oil lasted eight days. Most Jewish homes tell the story and celebrate the miracle of the oil. We can’t find it in the history books, so we call it a legend, but what we can see is that they did celebrate for eight days in honor of the Feast of Tabernacles which they could not keep when the King took away their Temple.

Let me tell you here about the story of the oil and how the Jewish families celebrate Hanukkah or the Feast of Dedication which is what the Maccabees did. They dedicated the Temple back to God. And the Bible tells us Jesus celebrated the Feast of Dedication in the book of John 10:22-23

The story told by many Jewish families is  God did ANOTHER miracle! Besides winning the war, He made that tiny bit of oil last eight days. Because of God’s miracle, the lampstand stayed lit, and the Jews knew God would always be with them!

We know God was and still is with them. He chose them to be the people that kept the records of His word, which we call the Bible. He chose them to bring Jesus into the world, and Jesus is the word of God-made flesh. I bet that is hard to understand. I tell you what,  someday I will write another story about Jesus being the word. For now, remember that Hanukkah is the celebration of lights, and Jesus is the light of the world. God chose the Jewish people to be a light to the world. They are His gift to us so that we can know God and His Son.

The lampstand of the Temple was called a menorah. It has seven branches. At Hanukkah, Jewish families use a Hanukkiah. It is a lampstand with a special lighting candle and eight candles to be lit; one candle for each miracle day the oil stayed lit.

On the first night, one candle is lit. On the second night, two candles are lit. Each night a candle is lit until all eight are burning bright. The Menorah is to be lit so your neighbors can see it so they can know about the special miracle God did for the Jewish people.

There is another very special thing that happened at this time of year. There are clues in the Bible and the history books to show us that Hanukkah was the same time of year that baby Jesus began to grow in Mary’s belly!

The miracle of the pure olive oil lasting eight days was a new beginning for the Jewish people; the miracle of Jesus in Mary’s belly was a new beginning for the whole world. Isn’t it wonderful to know that Jesus, the light of the world, was starting to grow in Mary’s belly during the Festival of Lights?

Do you remember I told you that the History books tell us that the Maccabees celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles? Well, I find it very interesting that if Jesus was in Mary’s belly at Hanukkah time. Hanukkah is in December often when most people celebrate Christmas. Then if you count the months, He was borne at Tabernacles time. Do you know that the word Tabernacles means dwelling place? So, it was the time Jesus came to dwell with men. Dwell means to live. Jesus did come to live with us. First on the earth and then in our hearts.

This year when you celebrate Hanukkah, you can choose to follow the tradition of the Jewish people and Light the lights for eight days. Maybe invite your Jewish friends to celebrate with you. You can tell them how happy you are that the Jewish people fought and won.

When I celebrate Hanukkah, I remember that now I am the Temple of the Holy Spirit. So I give my friends each a candle to light, and we dedicate ourselves to be the Light of the World that Jesus asked us to be. Isn’t it interesting that the Jewish families keep their hanukkiahs in windows to be seen to remind the world of the miracle? Just like we are to be seen as lights to remind the world of the Greatest Light of All, JESUS. You know the song “This Little Light of Mine” is a great song to sing at Hanukkah.

We play Dreidel and remember our God is a God of miracles. We eat jelly donuts because that is a great yummy tradition. Tradition can be very fun, like Thanksgiving and all the food.

Dreidel Game Rules – How to Play Dreidel
The Dreidel is a 4-sided top of ancient origin. The Hebrew letters on the side are nun, gimel, hay, and shin. They form an acronym in Hebrew: “A great miracle happened there.” Dreidel is a traditional game played by children during the eight-day Hanukkah celebration.

This game is best played in groups of 4-6. Each player gets an equal number of candies in wrappers that looks like coins called gelt. Or pennies, nuts, M&Ms, stones, or whatever you wish to use.

Each player takes turns spinning the Dreidel. If it lands on:

Each time the pot is emptied, each player puts in a playing piece (penny, nut, candy), and the game continues.

How to Light the Menorah This is the tradition of the Jewish Families

On the first night, place one candle on the far right as you face the Menorah. Another candle is placed for the Shamash (taller helper candle), which is used to light the others. It is not counted as one of the candles.
First, light the Shamash, then recite the blessings, and then use the Shamash to light the Chanukah candle.
On the second night, place two candles in the two far-right positions — and use the Shamash to light the left one first.

On the third night, place three candles in the three far-right positions — and use the Shamash to light them in order, from left to right.

Follow this same procedure each night of Chanukah… until all the lights are kindled and glowing brightly!

The Blessings

For the Parents
Birth date of Yeshua, the conception of John

To establish the date, we must first rely on clues found in scripture, then add external historical and cultural elements. The Birth of John is key as he is a forerunner who announces Messiah.

First Chronicles tells us that the Levitical priesthood was divided into 12 divisions of priests. The ancient Jewish Historian Josephus (Antiquities 7) tells us that each division served for a period of one week. The first division began its period of service on the first day of the year — 1 Nisan (also called Aviv or Abib) — as G-d had established the calendar in Exodus 12:2. Three weeks out of each year — during the weeks of Pesach (Passover), Shavuot (Pentecost), and Sukkot (Tabernacles) — all 24,000 priests served together.

As Zachariah was in the division of Aviyah (Luke 1:5), his term of service began in early Spring on the first day of the eighth week (27th of Ayyar) and ran for one week through the 4th of Sivan. As the following week (5-11 Sivan) was Shavuot, the Feast of Pentecost, he would have stayed in the Temple and served with all the priests that week.

Luke 1:23-24 tells us that Zechariah finished his duties at the Temple and that Elisabeth conceived shortly after his return home. This sets a date for John’s conception at approximately the third week of Sivan.

In the Gregorian calendar, that week can correspond to the first week of June. So adding nine months to that date puts the birth of John sometime near the first week of the Gregorian month of March.

Conception of Yeshua

We know from scripture that Yeshua was conceived after John; furthermore, with this information, we can now ascertain when Yeshua was conceived. An interesting point is that the early Church may have agreed on December because it was His conception date, not birth.

Near the end of the sixth month of Elisabeth’s pregnancy, the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her about Elisabeth saying, “this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.” Mary immediately left Nazareth (verse 39, “with haste”) and went to the “hill country” near Jerusalem to the home of Zachariah and Elisabeth. We know Mary was already pregnant with Yeshua because John, still in Elisabeth’s womb, recognized the unborn Yeshua. [What further evidence do the pro-abortionists need that life begins at conception?] This sets the conception of Yeshua about the end of Kislev during Chanukah (mid-December), the Feast of Lights, thus demonstrating in a very special way that Yeshua is the Light of the World.

When Yeshua is shown celebrating Chanukah in John 10:22,23, it is at this celebration that He declares, ‘I and My Father are One’ [John 10:30]. It is believed this statement validates His divinity as fully God and fully man!