"Please pray for the Peace of Israel"  Psalm 122  [Chapter-4] 

Day of mourning in Israel!

From Mourning to Joy

“But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy.”  (Isaiah 65:18)

              

The Talmud (Ta'anis 30b) states that “all who mourn over (the destruction of) Jerusalem merit to see her in her joy.” In other words, all of those who mourn the destruction of the Temple and appreciate the enormity of its loss will share in the joy of seeing it again re-established in all its glory. We know that in the coming Messianic age, the Messiah will reign from the rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem.  Today we wait for the imminent return of the Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Messiah) and the establishment of His Messianic age. The Talmud teaches the Jewish People to have hope because following the future redemption of Israel, for which we pray daily, and the rebuilding of the Temple, to which we look forward with great expectation, the fast days will become days of rejoicing and festive occasions.  The summer will become a joyful time. And although Tammuz 17 is obviously not a fast that God instituted through Moses,Zechariah prophetically mentions it as a day that will be transformed into a day of gladness.

“This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘The fasts of the fourth [Tammuz], fifth, seventh and tenth months will become joyful and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah.  Therefore love truth and peace.’”  (Zechariah 8:19) God will turn our mourning into dancing and clothe us with joy (Psalm 30:11).  Just as the prophet Zechariah prophesied, the 17th of Tammuz will become a feast day of joy.

Jerusalem from its ancient walls.

During this dire period, as Israel seeks to end the siege against her, we must not be overcome with discouragement or fear due to the troubles we see mounting in Israel and around the world.

Although, this three-week period of serious teshuvah with bombs falling, There is also have a sense of joyful expectation knowing that God hears the prayers for the peace in Israel, and for the Jewish people—that they might find their Messiah—will be answered.For the next three weeks especially, those prophetic watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem, making intercession for Israel and the Jewish People.

"I have posted watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night.  You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest, and give Him no rest till He establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth."  (Isaiah 62:6–7)

"Have you not brought this on yourselves by forsaking the LORD your God
when He led you in the way?"  (Jeremiah 2:17)

Do you believe in coincidence?, on the 17th of Tammuz, the Jewish People are remembering a tragic coincidence. On this day in both 586 BC and in AD 70, the walls of Jerusalem were breached by the Babylonians and the Romans respectively. And in yet another remarkable coincidence, the First and Second Temples were destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC and by the Romans in AD 70 three weeks later on the 9th of Av. In Judaism, the breach of Jerusalem's walls and the subsequent destruction of the Temple are considered no mere coincidence.

These great tragedies were the result of rebellion and idolatry. "And in that day I will become angry with them and forsake them....  Many disasters and calamities will come on them, and in that day they will ask, ‘Have not these disasters come on us because our God is not with us?’  And I will certainly hide my face in that day because of all their wickedness in turning to other gods."  (Deuteronomy 31:16-18)

The current walls that surround Jerusalem where built between AD 1535 
and 1538 during the Ottoman Empire.  Around 1000 BC, David and Solomon
extended the original walls that were built by the Jebusites.  Ezra and
Nehemiah rebuilt the walls destroyed by the Babylonians.

Observant Jews are fasting until nightfall in order to mourn the breach of Jerusalem's walls. Also begins a three-week period of teshuvah (repentance) called Bein ha-Metzarim (Between the Straits) or The Three Weeks.  During this period, Orthodox Jews will limit celebrations—not carrying out marriages and avoiding other expressions of joy, such as playing musical instruments and reciting songs of praise.  Although this is a time of mourning, it is also a time of hope since Zechariah prophesied that the 17th of Tammuz would be transformed into a day of joy. "The fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months will become joyful and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah.  Therefore love truth and peace."  (Zechariah 8:19)

An Jewish man prays at the Western (Wailing)
Wall, the last remnant of the Holy Temple.

The 17th of Tammuz, therefore, is a minor fast that carries the hope of a major promise: Throughout The Three Weeks, the Jewish People look forward tothe coming Third Temple and the Messianic Era when the Sar Shalom(Prince of Peace) will reign in Jerusalem. However, about 99.9% of God's Chosen Jewish People here in Israel do not yet recognize that Yeshua (Jesus) has fulfilled the Messianic prophecies regarding the suffering Messiah (His first coming).  They also do not know, therefore, that He will be returning to rule in Jerusalem as King Messiah.  "I have placed My chosen king on the throne in Jerusalem, on My holy mountain."  (Psalm 2:6)

This 17th of Tammuz, please partner with our ministry here in Jerusalem to share the Good News of Yeshua, who is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, with Jewish people everywhere.
Time is short.  He is coming soon!