CHANUKAH AND JEWISH IDENTITY
RICHARD CLEARY
According to New Testament scholar David A . DeSilva , “ The accession in 175 B . C . E of Antiochus IV ‘ Epiphanies ’ ( meaning , the manifest god ) brings us to the beginning of the most significant and well-documented crisis of Second Temple Judaism before Pompey ’ s invasion and the advent of Roman power .” For the Jewish people , it was bad ! Hard , sad , and scary . Not totally unlike the past year or so since the evil day of Oct . 7th .
The Jewish people and their Jewish identity was under attack , but God raised up a righteous remnant of Israel led by the Maccabees . They were zealous for the covenant-law that God gave to their ancestors , even to the point of death . Many Jews died as martyrs , embodying believing allegiance towards ADONAI .
They fought to see the defiled Jerusalem Temple purified , God ’ s honor and true worship restored , and the people of Israel freed from an oppressive foreign government to regain national sovereignty . In addition , in the midst of the many frightening attacks of antisemitism and mounting pressures of Hellenization , Jews experienced fierce temptations . For these temptations came as promises of a measure of safety and security , but at the cost of minimizing , obscuring , and rejecting their own Jewish heritage , identity , and practices . Yet God preserved a resilient remnant of Jews by His grace .
These Jews were able to see through the lies and false promises . They received the gracious and available assistance of ADONAI .