Light last purple candle - The Love Candle
“John? Marry? You mean that poky old Mr. Brooke? How did he weasel his way into this family?”
Jo March has just walked in on a private conversation Marmee was having with her eldest daughter, Meg, about potentially marrying John Brooke. The 1994 cinematic portrayal of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women follows the budding romance between Mr. Brooke, the former tutor of their neighbor and dearest friend, Theodore Lawrence, and Meg. Oblivious to all of the signs, this declaration of love comes as quite a shock to her younger sister, Jo. Even though Mr. Brooke was kind enough to accompany Marmee to Washington, D.C. to tend to her injured husband and visited Mr. March in the hospital every day, Jo complained, “He’s dull as powder, Meg. Can’t you at least marry someone amusing?” Jo had missed the signs of romantic interest, had drawn her own conclusions about Mr. Brooke, and felt protective of her sister and their family. It seemed as though she had turned her back for one minute and the March clan was being invaded by a bore of a man.
We’re getting close to the end of God’s promise through generations, in which God would provide the Messiah through the line of David. We know that Joseph will be Jesus’ earthly father, but Joseph isn’t the king of Israel or Judah. He hasn’t been appointed as governor by a foreign ruler. In fact, Joseph isn’t an authority over anything! He is a simple, nondescript carpenter, living a normal life near the Sea of Galilee. Instead, Herod the Great is King of the Jews, yet isn’t related to King David at all. So how did Herod weasel his way into this family?
* Read Matthew 1:1-17
The fact is that Herod was not Jesus’ ancestor. So how did Herod the Great rise to power? How do we go from Zerubbabel to Joseph in Jesus’ lineage? I asked the same questions and here is some of what I learned: as you may remember from Saturday’s devotion, Zerubbabel was not made king over Judah, but was rather appointed governor by Cyrus the Great, King of Persia. Following this appointment, Zerrubabel’s descendants were never again on the throne in Jerusalem. Instead, Judah was ruled by a series of Persian-appointed governors until 332 B.C. when Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Empire, and his successors, the Ptolemies and Seleucids, ruled over Judah. This era was marked by increasing Hellenistic influence, which culminated in a Seleucid king, Antigonus II Mattathias, persecuting the Jews and desecrating the temple in 167 B.C. The desecration of the Most Holy Place sparked the Maccabean revolt against the Seleucid Greeks and three years later Judah Maccabee captured Jerusalem, restoring and re-dedicating the Temple. This part of history is remembered through the story and celebration of Hanukkah each year. When the Maccabees took possession of the temple, they found only a tiny jar of oil for the menorah, which then miraculously burned for eight days, inspiring the eight-day holiday to celebrate religious freedom and God’s miracle of light. The Maccabean Revolt established an independent Jewish state, ushering in an 80-year period of Jewish revival under the Hasmonean dynasty, the first sovereign Jewish kingdom since King David’s rule.
Hold on a minute! Who were the Hasmoneans? This was the Hellenistic Jewish family that Judah Maccabee and his brothers were from. One of the brothers, Simon, became the first Hasmonean ruler, serving as ethnarch of Judea, a spiritual leader as priest yet with secular authority. I know what you’re thinking, “that can’t end well…” and you would be right. The dynasty’s later years were marked by internal divisions and power struggles, including a clash between the Pharisees and the ruling Hasmoneans, resulting in civil war and leaving the country vulnerable to attack by a foreign power.
Cue the Romans! In 63 B.C. the Roman general Pompey captured Jerusalem and for the next 130 years Rome would rule the entire region as part of the Roman Empire. Herod was an Idumaean (Greek for Edomite, the descendants of Esau, Jacob’s twin brother) and his father, Antipater, had converted to Judaism when Herod was young. Antipater somehow had connections with Julius Caesar and was awarded the governorship of Judah as a reward. Approximately 15 years later, all of the mess happened with Julius Caesar, he was murdered and Antipater, caught up in the conspiracy as well, was also killed. Herod ingratiated himself to Octavian, who would later change his name to Caesar Augustus, and was appointed “King of the Jews” by the Roman Senate in 40 B.C. Three years later, Herod was able to finally conquer Jerusalem and remove the Hasmoneans from power. While he expanded the Temple and enlarged the second temple started by Zerubbabel, Herod was a wicked and ruthless ruler. He was so power thirsty, paranoia over losing control led him to kill anyone he perceived as a threat, even his own family!
This is the situation that Joseph was born into. Neither he nor his father would have known anything other than Roman occupation and an interloper on the throne in Jerusalem. The peaceful days of Jewish revival were long gone.
* Listen to/Sing Behold (with O Holy Night) [A Christmas Moment] (see page 84 for lyrics)
* Reflect
* How does today’s devotion leave you emotionally? Can you imagine how Zerubbabel’s descendants felt as one foreign empire after another conquered their land and controlled their ability to worship, to make an honest living and provide for their families?
* Reflect on the Maccabean revolt, resulting in 80 years of peace and religious freedom. Does reading about the circumstances from which the celebration of Hanukkah originated cause you to appreciate it more?
* Pray and give thanks that God did not leave his people in darkness and oppression from foreign powers. Jesus, you said, “I am the light of the world: he that follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12) Just as the little jar of holy oil lit the temple for the Jewish people in the second century, Jesus, you are the light that lovingly shines against all odds in the darkness of this world. Strengthen us and remind us to keep our eyes on You, so that we will not walk in darkness but in Your life-giving light.
Lastly, enjoy this beautiful rendition of Joy Unto the World, by the Afters and be sure to pay close attention to the first line of the chorus:
Your light came breaking through the darkness
Waking every heart with heaven singing
Joy unto the World!
The Afters - Joy Unto The World (Official Lyric Video)
