As the 9th of Av Approaches, Keep Israel in Prayer

As Tishah B’Av approaches, we sense an even greater urgency to be focused on praying for Israel and the Jewish People worldwide. Tishah B’Av refers to the ninth day of the Hebrew month Av, and is from sundown on Monday, August 5 to sundown, Tuesday, August 6 this year. Even though Yom Kippur is a profound day of great soberness, Tishah B’av carries an even deeper level of mourning and grief, as it has been, on more than one occasion, a day of great tragedy for the Jewish People. Every year on this date, these losses are remembered and mourned. Here is a list of things that have happened on Tishah B’Av from our Jewish Voice Ministries website:

587 BCE (3338): The First Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians under the rulership of Nebuchadnezzar.

70 CE (3830): The Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans under the leadership of Titus.

135 CE (3895): The Romans conquered Bar Kochba's last fortress, Betar, and destroyed his army. The Roman Emperor Hadrian turned Jerusalem into a Roman city.

1290 (5050): King Edward 1st of England signed an edict expelling all Jews from England.

1492 (5252): Jews were expelled from Spain.

1670: The last Jews left Vienna, following expulsion orders.

1914 (5674): World War I began (Germany declared war on Russia on August 1, 1914).

1940 (5700): Himler presented his plan for the "Final Solution" to the Jewish problem to the Nazi Party.

1942 (5702): Nazis began deporting of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto.

Past tragedies are remembered, and we also reflect on all that has happened over the last several weeks concerning Israel, affecting Jewish People not only there but around the world - all of the violence, bloodshed and hatred. We are made very aware of the Jewish People’s great need for comfort and continued protection from our Mighty God.

Please pray with us:

• For the protection of Israel and Jewish People everywhere, especially from Anti-Semitism, terrorism, violence and destruction
• As Jews around the world mark this day of mourning, may they be reminded that God is not absent but very present in every detail of life
• As many of them hear the book of Lamentations being read in synagogue on this day, may they be struck by the reality of God’s unfailing love for them, even in times of tragedy and sin
• As those who mourn, may they truly be comforted by the Holy Spirit, Who is able to draw them to Yeshua and new life
• May they not be captive to fear, but rather as Zechariah states, captives of hope, and may they encounter the God of restoration
• Rabbinic tradition states these calamities happen on the 9^th of Av because that is the day the spies refused to go into Canaan because of doubt; so pray for Israelis to see the supernatural evidence regarding Yeshua, become believers, have faith, and enter into the fullness of all God’s promises for them, as individuals, as a people, and as a nation

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