What will be the lead item on BBC news broadcasts and what will be the headlines in our national newspapers on Monday 31 July and Tuesday 1 August? What will Christians be reading in their Bibles on those same days? Mostly, I do not think it will reflect Israel’s priorities.
From sunset on 31 July to sunset on 1 August Jews around the world will be deeply engaged in fasting and prayer. Their Bible reading will be from the Book of Lamentations. This is the 9th of Av, Tisha B’Av, on the biblical calendar.
Historic Tragedies
Several major tragedies in Israel’s history have fallen on that day. In the Mishnah we read:
Five misfortunes befell our fathers…on the ninth of Av...On the ninth of Av it was decreed that our fathers should not enter the [Promised] Land, the Temple was destroyed the first and second time, Bethar was captured and the city [Jerusalem] was ploughed up. (Mishnah Ta'anit 4:6)
Tisha B'Av primarily commemorates the destruction of the first and second Temples, both of which were destroyed on 9th Av (the first by the Babylonians in 586 BC, the second by the Romans in 70 AD).
Also remembered is the time when the Jews rebelled against Roman rule, believing that their leader, Simon bar Kochba, would fulfil their messianic longings. But in 133 AD, the Jewish rebels were brutally defeated in the final battle at Betar. The date - the 9th of Av.
Jews were expelled from England in 1290 AD on Tisha B'Av. On 31 March 1492, Queen Isabella of Spain and her husband Ferdinand ordered that all Jews be banished from the land. The Jews were given exactly four months to put their affairs in order and leave Spain – leading up to the deadline of Tisha B’Av.
To add to the list, we can trace the road to the Holocaust back to its beginnings when Germany declared war on Russia in 1914 - on the 9th of Av, Tisha B'Av.
Our Response
For observant Jews, all these things are brought to mind on Tisha B’Av. So what should Christians do? How shall we spend the day? Perhaps we too should read the Book of Lamentations, written by Jeremiah and concerning the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC. We might also read how Yeshua wept over Jerusalem concerning what was about to befall the city (Luke 19:41-44), and consider prophesies of the times still ahead of us (e.g. Matt 24, Mark 13, Luke 21).
With all the buzz of the world’s news priorities filling the airwaves this week, let us re-adjust our own priorities for study and prayer. We alone, of Yeshua’s family, can understand the past in terms of the present and future. Let us join with Israel in their day of mourning.
Bring back our captivity O Lord, and the streams in the South.
Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. (Ps 126:4-5)
Author: Dr Clifford Denton
