Tisha B’Av is a time set apart for remembrance with mourning and fasting over a 24 hour period, in particular over the destruction of the 1st and 2nd Temples that occurred on the same day. Many other tragedies in Jewish history also occurred specifically on this date.
But, in the Book of Zechariah, it prophesies in chapter 8:19 that all the biblical fasts where we observe times of mourning (incl. the four minor fasts) will one day be turned into times of joy because genuine mourning (in the biblical sense of being truly sorry for grieving the Holy Spirit) leads us to repentance and from a narrow place to one of joy and abundance. We must distinguish mourning from regret. Regret is like a thief who is caught red-handed whose sorrow is only that he was apprehended.
During solemn periods in the Hebrew calendar, something joyful is often included somewhere as a reminder that even in the darkest seasons we still have cause to be confident that our God reigns and is in full control. This is true today for the nation and people of Israel and it is true for our lives and it is true for the lives of those we are burdened to pray for. Nothing can ever divert our God from His eternal purposes and this is something in these chaotic and perilous times for which we need to take firm hold.
There is a story in the Talmud that captures the essence of Tisha B’Av (9th Av) which helps us better understand why this day is so important both in context towards the Jewish people and for us as believers.
“God had resolved to give life everlasting to the nation that would accept the Torah, hence Israel upon accepting the Torah gained supremacy over the angel of death. Yet, they lost this power when they worshipped the golden calf. As a punishment for this, their sin, they were doomed to study the Torah in suffering and bondage, in exile and unrest, amid cares of life and burdens, until, in the Messianic time (following Messiah’s return) and in the future world, God will compensate them for all their sufferings.”
Tisha B’Av is qualitatively different from Yom Kippur because Tisha B’Av is a time of intense mourning for the sins of the past which Judaism teaches has consequences that future generations have little control over. There is a debt that has to be paid for the sins of their forefathers. Exile and suffering have been the lot of the Jewish people for over three thousand years.
And although the greatest judgment of God towards His covenant people was over the sin of the golden calf, other grievous transgressions have also been high on the list: rebellion, idolatry, immorality, murder, baseless hatred and many other forms of wickedness including exploiting the poor, widows and orphans. But, one other thing overlooked that eclipses these things combined has been the rejection of Messiah Yeshua as a nation. This helps explain why the first Jewish exile following the destruction of the 1st Temple was 70 years, compared to almost 2,000 years following the destruction of the 2nd Temple. However, we should not forget that the first believers were all Jewish and identified as such. Even with the influx of Gentile believers, for many centuries it remained a Jewish movement, sometimes in agreement and sometimes in dispute with other Jewish groups and streams of thought. Failure to grasp this has given rise to all manner of anti-Semitic expressions and erroneous theology concerning the role of the Jewish people in God’s eternal plan. In addition, the magnitude of God’s forgiveness for all the ‘golden calfs’ we have made, through Yeshua must be seen alongside to provide us with a deeper appreciation and perspective of the enormity of our salvation.
When we consider Tisha B’Av, two conflicting things emerge. First, we see the evident covenant blessings over the Jewish people where God has not just preserved but caused them to prosper disproportionately to any other nation and they have made a contribution to civilisation on a level that cannot be explained outside of God.
He has not only prospered but preserved them against all odds historically, with miracle after miracle when surrounded on all sides, outnumbered by around 300:1, against an implacable foe intent on her destruction.
Yet with these things, and sewn into the very fabric of her identity, persecution has been relentless and her suffering unimaginable, which cannot all be attributed to Divine judgment otherwise why are not all the nations judged in the same way?
It is not an easy thing to be a Jew, but neither is it easy to stand as a committed believer standing out against all forms of ungodliness embraced by the world whilst simultaneously recognising that we are in the world but not of the world.
And so, Tisha B’Av presents as a paradox though not a contradiction and holds relevance for both the Jewish nation and equally for us as believers.
In Romans 11:29, we see things which go some way to help us understand things better. In this verse, Paul states that “The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable.” Here in context, he is referring to Israel where it is made clear that despite Israel’s rejection of Yeshua, combined with their apostasy, they are still His chosen, covenant people. And even though in certain respects things have historically been precarious for the Jewish people, Scripture declares that the story ends well. At the end of the Age, mourning will turn to joy. In Jeremiah 31, we read :
“Therefore the (ransomed) redeemed of the Lord shall return and come with singing unto Zion and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads. They shall obtain gladness and joy and sorrow and sighing shall flee away! He who scattered Israel is gathering him!”
The prophetic fulfilment was partially fulfilled in May 1948 but has yet to reach completion. Out of the ashes of the Holocaust was reborn a nation, in fulfilment to one of the greatest prophecies of all time regarding Israel’s regathering that would herald the imminent return of Messiah! Psalm 30 declares,
“You have turned my mourning into dancing for me, You have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me in joy. so that my well being can praise you and not be silent; Lord my God, I will give thanks unto you forever!” (vs12-13)
Yet, one may say that Israel is still an apostate nation, but God has not given up or forsaken her, and in the same way, He has not finished with believers who fall short of His calling or who have given up on Him, for no matter how far a believer may have fallen, God is able to bring restoration for His mercy triumphs over judgement! That good work that He has begun He will bring to fulfilment unto the Day of the Lord!
I do not subscribe to the theology, ‘Once saved always saved’ but do need to emphasise the point that what is impossible for man is possible for God and whilst one could argue the theology of free will, do not ever underestimate the Sovereignty of God! And if He is able to save us to the uttermost who come to Him, He can do the same for all those we are contesting for in prayer: Israel, the Jewish people, loved ones, friends, neighbours, even our enemies. NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR GOD! His promises remain steadfast and “If my people who are called by My name, humble themselves and pray and turn from their wicked ways and seek My face, I will hear their prayers and forgive their sins and heal their land!”
The burden of Tisha B’Av is no better expressed than by the apostle Paul himself when he expressed in anguish his love for his own people in Romans 9:1-3:
“I am speaking the truth in Messiah. I am not lying: my conscience (enlightened and prompted) by the Holy Spirit bearing witness with me that I have bitter grief and incessant anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off and banished from Messiah for the sake of my brethren instead of them, my natural kinsmen and my fellow countrymen.”
The history of the Jewish people has been one bumpy ride but the ending is good as prophesied clearly and in detail in the Book of Zechariah 12-14:
Chapter 12 “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of reeling to all the surrounding peoples when they besiege Jerusalem as well as Judah. 3 Moreover, on that day I will make Jerusalem a massive stone for all the people. All who try to lift it will be cut to pieces. Nevertheless, all the nations of the earth will be gathered together against her. 4 In that day”—it is a declaration of Adonai—“I will strike every horse with confusion and its rider with madness. I will keep my eyes on the house of Judah but will blind every horse of the peoples. 5 Then the leaders of Judah will say in their heart, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength through Adonai-Tzva’ot their God.”
6 “In that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a burning torch among sheaves. They will devour on the right and on the left all the surrounding peoples, yet Jerusalem will remain in her place, in Jerusalem. 8 In that day Adonai will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem so that the weakest among them that day will be like David and the house of David will be like God—like the angel of Adonai before them. 9 It will happen in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
10 “Then I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication when they will look toward Me whom they pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only son and grieve bitterly for him, as one grieves for a firstborn. 11 In that day there will be a great mourning in Jerusalem, mourning like Hadad-Rimmon in the valley of Megiddo.”
Chapter 13 “In that day a spring will be opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem to cleanse them from sin and impurity. 2 It will happen in that day”—it is a declaration of Adonai-Tzva’ot—“that I will erase the names of the idols from the land and they will no longer be remembered.”
Chapter14 “Behold, a day of Adonai is coming when your plunder will be divided in your midst. 2 I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to wage war. The city shall be captured, the houses ransacked and the women ravished. Half of the city will be exiled but the remainder of the people will not be cut off from the city. 3 Then Adonai will go forth and fight against those nations as He fights in a day of battle. 4 In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives which lies to the east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a huge valley. Half of the mountain will move toward the north and half of it toward the south. 5 Then you will flee through My mountain valley because the mountain valley will reach to Azel. Yes, you will flee like you fled from the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah of Judah. Then Adonai my God will come and all the kedoshim with Him.
6 In that day (When the Millennium Age is ushered in) there will be no light, cold or frost. 7 It will be a day known only to Adonai, neither day nor night—even in the evening time, there will be light. [e] 8 Moreover, in that day living waters will flow from Jerusalem, half toward the eastern sea and half toward the western sea, both in the summer and in the winter. [f] 9 Adonai will then be King over all the earth. In that day Adonai will be Echad and His Name Echad.”
This is the heart of true intercessor who stands in the gap to the point where the pain of the fellowship of His sufferings becomes so great with the burden for the lost that it was as though we ourselves are accursed of God. When Paul made this declaration in Romans 9 (“For I would pray that I myself were cursed, banished from Messiah for the sake of my people – my own flesh and blood, who are Israelites” ) he may well have had in mind the passages we just read from Zechariah 12-14 seeking as it were if it were possible to hasten that day.
Tisha B’Av is a clarion call for all believers to be praying and fasting for Israel and the Jewish people. The times ahead are perilous but I believe that we can pray no greater thing of primary importance right now than for our nation to bless Israel for this is the springboard to prosperity. In Gen.12:3 it is clearly stated that those who bless Israel will be blessed and those who curse her will be cursed. If we do not bless Israel all the other things we pray for will fall far short of His best. To illustrate this point, the first word in Gen.12:3 for ‘curse’ is ‘meca-lelcha’ which means ‘to make light of something heavy.’ The second word for ‘curse’ has a different root meaning ‘to utterly destroy.’ The implications are self-evident…
