Just ahead is the fast of Tisha B’Av, which is considered the saddest day of the Hebrew year because several disastrous events happened in Jewish history—the worst of which were the destruction of Solomon’s Temple by the Babylonians in 423 BCE, and the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans in 70 CE. Other events include the defeat of the Bar Kokhba revolt, the expulsion of the Jews from England in 1290, and from Spain in 1492. Christians today participate in Tisha B’Av because we recognize that God brings consequences into our lives that He uses to speak to us.

Listen Now:

Download Transcript
 

Show Notes:

When we pray, is God hearing us? Does He answer our prayers? Or is His response, “I have been calling to you and you would not listen to Me. So now you are calling to Me and I am not listening to you.”

God gives us Tisha B’Av as an opportunity to evaluate our personal circumstances. Has what we have built been torn down like the temple? Are we losing the battles that we fight? Are we living with disastrous circumstances in our lives? Maybe these are outward signs and consequences that God is using to get our attention and to lead us into this time of fasting and prayer.

So, in Tisha B’Av we have an opportunity to look at the times of shaking and shattering in our lives and ask God to bring His grace and forgiveness and restore our relationship with Him. The Lord is always in a process of making all things work together for our good and bringing us into the fulfillment of all that He has for us in our lives. So we enter into the fasting and mourning of Tisha B’Av by faith, knowing that the promise of God is that the Lord will hear us if we turn our hearts to Him—and He will turn our fasting and mourning into days of joy, gladness, and cheerful feasting.

Key Verses:

• Zechariah 7:2–14. “Shall I weep in the fifth month and abstain, as I have done?”
• Zechariah 8:13–23. “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”
• Leviticus 26:14–46. “But I will remember for them the covenant.”
• 2 Chronicles 7:11–14. “Then I will hear from heaven…and will heal their land.”
• Isaiah 58:6–8. “Is this not the fast which I choose…”
• Isaiah 58:9–12. “Then you will call, and the Lord will answer.”
• 1 Corinthians 2:10–16. “For to us God revealed them through the Spirit.”
• Romans 8:26–28. “The Spirit Himself intercedes for us.”
• Haggai 2:5–7. “I am going to shake the heavens and the earth.”
• Hebrews 12:27–28. “Since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken.”
• Haggai 2:8–9. “The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former.”

Resource:

• Learn more about the Fast of Tisha B’Av at chabad.org.

Quotes:

• “Are we seeking the Lord because we’re really seeking Him and looking to find His will and His ways, or are we doing this so that we seem more righteous and religious?”
• “As the church enters into fasting and crying out to God during Tisha B’Av, I believe there is going to come a reversal of the anti-Semitism in our day to the point that people will say to Jews, “Take us with you to the house of God because we heard that God is with you.”
• “As Christians, we must understand that we have the Holy Spirit to assist us in the process of seeking Him in praying and fasting. Our spirits, guided by the Holy Spirit, are able to search our own hearts and to make us aware of the areas of blindness and disobedience in our lives.”
• “The latter glory of what God is bringing forth in your life will always be greater than the former glory of that which God has allowed to be shaken down and destroyed surrounding you.”

Takeaways:

1. Recognize that God is the master of your circumstances. Expect Him to turn the negative events and circumstances in your life to good.
2. Look at your circumstances honestly and objectively as places and points of repentance. Know that if you love Him and seek Him with honest repentance, He will bless you. He is shaking you and bringing you into a time of repentance because He has something better for you and wants to bring you a greater blessing.
3. Do what the Lord said to do: He wants us to humble ourselves, He wants us to pray, and He wants us to seek His face and turn from our wicked ways.

Prayer:

Father, by faith we cry to You in the name of Yeshua. Cleanse us of our sin and help us to turn from the wickedness that has brought us into the destructive circumstances that are consuming our lives. Make all aspects of our lives work together for good and pour out Your abundant grace that we might experience a future filled with Your presence and Your glory. Amen.