Otto's Tales: The Mighty Maccabees | PragerU Kids

[Music] welcome to Otto's Tales story time brought to you by prageru kids I'm Jill and today we're reading a story about a group of brave people who believed in Miracles and fought for freedom did he have a sword be careful Otto he's okay let's read the mighty Maccabees Once Upon a Time over 2 000 years ago in the land of Judea there was a Most Holy Ancient Temple in the land lived many Jews religious people who had special traditions and activities they honored year round they dressed a certain way ate different kinds of foods and worshiped one God in that most holy Ancient Temple in that Temple there burned a menorah a special Candlestick with branches that represented God's glory and eternal light the menorah was supposed to burn all the time and it used a special pure oil to keep the Flames fed there was peace in this land but then a king named Antiochus invaded and began to rule Judea he was powerful and wicked and many of his own subjects feared him King Antiochus didn't like how the Jewish people lived he did not want anyone in his kingdom to Worship in traditional ways he wanted everyone Jews included to dress how he did eat the same Foods as him and worship the same gods and Idols that he worshiped the king sought out to stop Jewish Customs everywhere it's time to end Jewish Worship in the temple King Antiochus announced no one is allowed to pray to God anymore with swift orders and action the king declared Jewish tradition against the law he turned the Holy Temple into an Unholy place and placed strange statues inside most people knew this was wrong and everyone was scared but many Jews agreed to go along with the king's plan to not make extra trouble and draw attention to themselves because if the king caught anyone disobeying his new laws they could be killed after all it would be impossible to fight and win against such a powerful King but a priest named matathias thought differently he refused to obey the king's orders matathias was Brave and so was his son Judah and many other Jewish men who wanted to free the Land this Brave group was called The Maccabees which means hammers they believed that Miracles Could Happen thanks to God they were determined to restore their Temple The Maccabees were a small group compared to the king's massive Army but they were Mighty they had determination perseverance and Faith to fight the king's wrongful ways with swords strength and spirit day and night for months and years they grew weary but remembered their purpose and forged on Against All Odds The Maccabees won the war against the king it was a miracle freedom to worship was restored the first thing The Maccabees did was return to their Most Holy Temple but when they saw what King Antiochus did to it they were heart sick it wasn't the beautiful Temple they remembered it was a mess with idols and altars to false gods a most troubling Discovery for The Maccabees was when they found their Menorah it had been cast aside and almost all the oil that would allow it to burn bright once again was gone there was only enough left for the menorah to burn for one day and it would take eight days to make more oil The Maccabees got straight to work they immediately discarded all the altars and Idols the king had set up in their holy Place Judah and his men cleansed the temple with great care and restored Jewish Traditions inside eight days later when more oil was finally ready the men were shocked to find the menorah still burning with light how could this be the oil that should have lasted only one day lasted eight it was a miracle a sign from God on that day The Maccabees rededicated the temple to God for the Jewish people this triumphant occasion is now celebrated as Hanukkah a time when religious freedom conquered all and to this day Jewish people all over the world celebrate this Victory by lighting a menorah over eight nights to remember that Miracles can come true the end wow what an amazing story you know being brave is not easy but if you have faith Miracles can and will happen What do you up there one two three four five six seven eight eight candles Otto you were listening to this story weren't you miracles can come true thank you for watching Otto's Tales check out some of our other stories too keep reading keep watching and keep believing in Miracles and freedom bye guys thank you for watching you know we've got more episodes right watch the whole series And subscribe at prageru kids.com