Sukkot: Chanukah’s Pre-Holiday Party

Sukkot: Chanukah’s Pre-Holiday Party

Chanukah has a long history, longer than many people may think.  The majority of the people believe Chanukah was established and instituted between the 500 year gap of the writing of the Tanak (O.T.) and the Renewed Covenant (N.T.). In Ezra 6:16-17 it tells of the Babylonian exiles who have returned to Jerusalem and have built and Chanukah-ed the 2^nd Temple.  Verse 16 says that “The children of the captivity kept the “Chanukah” of this house of GOD with joy.” The dates for celebrating Chanukah have changed through out the ages.  A new date for each time the Temple was built and dedicated, or cleansed and rededicated.  But to this day we keep the days set forth by the Maccabees in I Maccabees 4:59 and II Maccabees 10:8 because that was the last re-dedication until the Messiah returns to build the 3^rd Holy Temple.  Chanukah today commemorates the rededication of the Temple, the defeat of the Greco-Syrian invaders, affirms our Jewishness, and commemorates the legendary miracle of the oil.  But in reality King Solomon instituted Chanukah, the Maccabees re-instituted it and made it what it is today, and Yeshua the Messiah celebrated it, and will re-institute it again when the 3^rd Temple is built! 

In I Kings 8 and II Chronicles 7, it speaks of King Solomon fulfilling the life long dream of his father David and himself, of having built the Holy Temple of ADONAI.  It says the he “Chanukah-ed” it, dedicated it, and had a 7 day festival and ended it on the 8^th day, hence 8 days of Chanukah, just as we have today. The Ark of the Covenant is placed in the newly built Temple during the Festival of Sukkot, so that particular Sukkot doubled as a Chanukah celebration as well!

Today Sukkot is the last of the High Holidays and is the precursor to Chanukah as we know it. Yet both deal with the Dwelling place of God among men. So these eight crazy days of Sukkot (counting Shimini Eretz and Simchat Torah) leads us to the eight crazy nights of Chanukah!