A New Light for Israel

by Rachmiel Frydland

This tract is available from Messianic Literature Outreach

From prehistoric times when many tribes and nations worshipped the sun, moon and stars, to our own day when we speak of light years and laser beams, people have been aware that light is of utmost importance to the well-being of humanity. From it comes the sustenance of life - energy in the form of heat and countless other blessings. People sometimes forget that God, the Creator of the universe, is Himself the source of life, light and its benefits.

The Hebrew Scriptures remind us that before the universe took shape, when it was without form or shape (tohoo vavohoo), God was there saying, Let there be light. (Yehee Or) According to rabbinic tradition, this primordial light was hidden until the Messianic days, the end of times, when GOd would restore it for the righteous ones.

Jews and non-Jews who believe that Yeshua (Jesus) is the true Messiah, identify with these positive Jewish traditions and see their fulfillment in the Messiah who proclaimed:

It is no mere accident that when the Jewish world celebrates the feast of Chanukkah with light and rejoicing, the Christian world is celebrating with lights and rejoicings the birth of the greatest Jew who ever lived, Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah and Redeemer of all who believe in Him.

The Festivals of Light:
Chanukkah and Christmas

Chanukkah is celebrated in memory of the Maccabean victories of 167-165 B.C. when a handful of Jewish freedom fighters under the leadership of Judas the Maccabean defeated the great Syrian army of Antiochus Epiphanes. After this triumphant victory, they proceeded to Jerusalem where they entered and cleansed the Temple which had been desecrated by the heathen. There, they discovered a cruse of oil bearing the high priest's seal which had not been tampered with by the heathen. The Menorah, the golden candlestick, was rekindled with the newly-found oil and the Jewish people celebrated the rededication of their Temple. Although the oil was expected to last for only one day, it supplied light for eight days; this was truly a miracle of God. Chanukkah, which means dedication in Hebrew, has become the Feast of Lights and of Dedication.

Less than two centuries went by and in the city of Bethlehem of Judah, a greater Jew than King David was born. He was the descendant of Judah and of David and did not fight the heathen with iron weapons as did His predecessors, the Maccabees. Instead, the weapons of His warfare were of a spiritual nature, for by His life, death and resurrection, He broke the bonds of oppression which had held the hearts of men captive. In many lives we see the fulfillment of the prophecy of Jeremiah 31:33 which states:

The first Messianic believers were Jews, but in time, many thousand of Gentiles also accepted this Man of Nazareth, Yeshua, as their Redeemer from sin. They came to love the Jewish people and proceeded to translate the Hebrew Scriptures into their mother tongues. These Gentiles called themselves Christians which in the Greek means followers of Messiah. When the Christians began to celebrate the birth of their Messiah, the Lord Jesus, they kindled the lights of Christmas.

The Light of Israel

Isaiah the prophet foresaw in a vision in 700 B.C. the coming of this great Light and proclaimed:

Two things are absolutely clear in this prophecy:

1.  Israel, or the Jewish people, is to become a shining light to the nations.

2.  This calling is based on the Light that has come and our acceptance of that Light.

There is historical evidence which attests to the fact that this Light has come. Millions of people who once paid homage to man-made idols of various materials of bowed the knee to several phenomena of nature have since turned to worship the God of Israel. They came to believe the words of the Jewish prophets and apostles.

Every Jewish believe in Messiah, from Saul of Tarsus and Simon Bar Jonah of Capernaum to each of our own day, has become a shining light to the Gentiles who do not as yet know Yeshua in a personal way. Surely this must also be the true interpretation of the hymn written by the great Jewish poet and mystic Shlomo Halevi which Jewish people recite on Friday nights:

We the Jewish believers in the Messiah and all sincere Gentile believers must continue to labor together to call our own people to the great Light of whom the prophet Isaiah says:

The Light of the Gentiles

President Abraham Lincoln once said that God must love the poor people for He made so many of them. There is an important principle involved here that we Jewish people can learn. It is this: since God has also created so many Gentiles, He must love them too and be concerned for their salvation. This must underlie the attitudes of some great rabbinic scholars of long ago who, although proud of God's election of Israel, never forgot that God's compassion extended to all of His creation. Support for this is found in Psalm 145:9 which states, The Lord is good to all; and His tender mercies are over all His works.

I personally came to this realization of God's love for other nations when I noticed inscribed on an evangelical church the words of Isaiah 56:7: For mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all peoples. I was on my way to the Jewish religious school, but I had to stop and think that in some way God must have made provision for them to come to know Him also. As I read Isaiah 49:6, God's interest in all peoples was further clarified:

Need we then wonder that when Messiah Yeshua was born the aged tsadik and hassid (pious rabbi) Simeon took the Baby in his arms and, being full of the Ruach Hakodesh (Holy Spirit), pronounced the following words:

When he was taunted about his Jewish heritage, Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli replied:

The great Jewish Zionist author, Hayim Zhitlowsky, gives testimony to the same effect, saying of Him, "Far greater than Spinoza, greater than Karl Marx, greater even than the prophets is this Jesus of ours."

Has Yeshua fulfilled the prophecies of Isaiah and Simeon? He has indeed and marvel upon marvel, He is Jewish, flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone!

The Light for Each Individual

There appeared in an issue of Reader's Digest the following item:

A university professor introduced to his class what he termed one of the finest, most elegant lines of poetry in the English language. He had duly recorded it in all of his notebooks as a constant reminder of its beauty. Walk with light! he quoted and then repeated to himself softly and blissfully, Walk with light ... now isn't that a wonderful thing to say to someone? The class agreed and wanted to know the author. I suppose it's anonymous said the instructor. It's written on a sign at the intersection of Franklin Street.

We may never discover who the author of Walk with light is, but Yeshua, the source of Light, offers to each one of us His abiding presence in this life and for all eternity.

High on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, the Messiah stood and proclaimed: I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. (John 8:12) He is still calling both the Jew and non-Jew to follow Him today.

One of His followers expressed it in this way: And as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name. (John 1:11)

Has your life lacked direction? Have you been searching for God? He is now reaching His hand out to you through His son, Yeshua. If you would receive Him by asking Him to enter your heart, He will do so as He has promised. Your life, too, can be transformed by His Light and Life, and in turn, you will also become a light to others.