proclaiming the gospel to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. Shalom and welcome to the Everlasting Nation, a radio ministry of International Board of Jewish Missions. I'm your host Aaron Broughton, it's my delight to be with you today. And on today's program, I'd like to discuss with you concerning the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. Even though this is a minor holiday on the Jewish calendar, it holds much meaning for the Jewish people, which we'll talk about in just a moment. But as we can begin this program, I did want to mention to you that IBJM has several holiday tracks for you to give to your Jewish friends, including a brand new Hanukkah track that points to the Messiah, Jesus. Now for more information about these tracks, please contact us at 423-876-8150 or go to our website, ibjm.org. Here now is an excerpt from the new Hanukkah track that's been written by Brother Sam Wilson. Hanukkah is a joyous time for Jewish people and for those who love the Jewish people. We love to light the candles of the Hanukkiah, eat delicious latkes, suvgan yot, that's jelly donuts, and play the dreidel game, give and receive gifts, and rejoice in the goodness of God. Let's talk about Hanukkah being a great victory looking at history. We must never forget the events that led to Hanukkah. The evil king of Syria, Antiochus Epiphanes, invaded and conquered Judea. He desecrated God's temple in Jerusalem, sacrificing a pig on the altar, forbidding the daily sacrifices, and erecting an altar to Zeus in the temple. His persecutions incited a revolt. a priest, Mattathias, and his sons refused to submit to Antiochus' demands and led a rebellion against his rule. In the year 165 BCE, after two years of fierce warfare, the Maccabees defeated the Syrians and captured Jerusalem and liberated the temple. The first thing they did was purify the temple so they could restore the worship of God. They removed the idols. they built a new altar to replace the one that the Syrians had corrupted. And according to tradition, they found only one container of consecrated oil for the menorah, enough oil to last for just one day. Miraculously though, that oil burned for eight days, until they were able to prepare fresh oil. Let's look now at the meaning of Hanukkah. Hanukkah is the celebration of these events. Israel had many reasons to celebrate. They had defeated Assyrians. They had won their freedom. The fighters could return home. They looked forward to peace. Yet, none of these are the central idea of Hanukkah. Hanukkah is from the Hebrew word that means dedication. Hanukkah celebrates the dedicating or purifying of the temple. Now why was the dedicating of the temple so important? The answer is found in the Torah. Moses taught Israel God's command that the temple was to be a place to meet with God. All sacrifices must be done at the temple. It is forbidden to sacrifice in any other place. The Bible says in Deuteronomy 12, verses 13 and 14, Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every place, but in the place which the Lord shall choose. There thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command thee. The Jewish people in 165 B.C. knew that. Without the temple, they could not properly worship God or make sacrifices for their sins. They fought fiercely, laying down their lives to win the temple back from the Syrians. They immediately cleansed the temple so that they could begin to worship and sacrifice there. They instituted Hanukkah to celebrate the restoration of the temple, allowing them once again to come before God, make sacrifices, and get their sins forgiven. Now what about us? We suffer from the same problem as they did. There is no temple today. We cannot worship God as the Torah teaches. We are guilty of sinning before God, but we have no temple, no sacrifice, no atonement for our sins. So what can we do? The prophet Isaiah wrote that the Messiah would be an offering for sin, that he would be sacrificed to pay for the sins of his people. The prophet Isaiah 53 verse 5 reads, But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. The Hebrew prophets describe the coming of Messiah in great detail in the Tanakh, in the Old Testament. Yeshua, Jesus, perfectly fulfilled these prophecies. He is the promised Messiah. He was the offering for sin that Isaiah wrote about. He gave His life to pay for our sins. He rose from the dead, as King David prophesied. He offers forgiveness to all who repent of sin and believe in Him. He is the only way to receive forgiveness of our sins. So think to yourself, how will your sins be forgiven? It's found in Jesus, Yeshua, the Messiah. And in that, the challenge to you, will you believe in the Messiah? You've been listening to The Everlasting Nation, a ministry of International Board of Jewish Missions. For more information, you can contact us at 423-876-8150 or go online to ibjm.org. Until next time, may God bless and Shalom!