Sunday, 26 July 2015

A Tisha B'Av Card especially for you,



A model of the Second Temple in Jerusalem

"Therefore because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the Temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets."
(Micah 3:12)


 Somber Day of Tisha B'Av.

Today is Tisha B'Av, a day of national mourning and the saddest day on the Jewish calendar.


All around the world, the Jewish People are in deep sorrow over the destruction of the Holy Temple in which the Shekhinah (Divine Presence) dwelled here in Israel among His people.

"I will put my dwelling place among you, and I will not abhor you."
(Leviticus 26:11)


The destruction of the First and Second Temples in 586 BC by the Babylonians and in AD 70 by the Romans, and the resulting brutal exiles, are still deeply felt by the Jewish People today.

For that reason, many Jews are fasting, and in synagogues around the world this morning, the Torah portion is Deuteronomy 4:25–40, which prophesies Israel's future iniquity and exile.

The Haftarah (prophetic portion) this morning is Jeremiah 8:13–9:23, which accurately describes the desolation of Zion.


The Flight of the Prisoners, by James Tissot

During this afternoon's service, however, our thoughts turn from despair to hope with Exodus 32:11–14, a Torah portion in which Moses asks God to turn from His fierce anger.

The afternoon Haftarah is Isaiah 55:6–56:8, a prophecy that reveals that in the Last Days a Third Temple will be established and the nations will stream to Jerusalem in reverence for the Holy One of Israel.

The First Jewish Temple and later the Second Jewish Temple were in the exact same place on the Temple Mount.  Today that spot is occupied by the Islamic Dome of the Rock.

But according to the Prophet Ezekiel, this is where the Third Temple will one day be built, and to it the Glory of the Lord will return through the gate facing east.  (Ezekiel 43:4)

At that time, Yeshua (Jesus) will reign from Jerusalem.

Tisha B'Av, therefore, is not only about something that happened in the past; it is also about our future as His people.

All of us here in Israel know that God is in charge, protecting us, and the Holy City, which has His Name written on it.

"These I will bring to My holy mountain and give them joy in My house of prayer.  Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”  (Isaiah 56:7)


Tisha B'Av at the Western Wall:  On Tisha B'Av in some Jewish communities,
tefillin (the black straps called phylacteries) are not worn during the
morning service, as is usual, but during the afternoon prayer service.

How should Believers, as fellow citizens in the commonwealth of Israel(Ephesians 2:12–13, 19)respond today to the grief of the Jewish People?

This is the time to show compassion, to weep with those who weep and to mourn with those who mourn.


It is also the time to faithfully stand in the gap for Israel.

Will you be an intercessor who shares in His grief and plead for mercy for His people, Israel?  (Luke 13:34–35)

Please help us bring the Hope of Yeshua (Jesus) in the Messianic Prophecies, to the Jewish people on this Tisha B'Av.













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