Do you believe in curses? The Bible speaks of both the power of a blessing, and the power of a curse. One of the greatest modern day examples of a curse at work is found in the Biblical date of the 9th of the month of Av.

Known as the saddest day on the Jewish calendar, this annual fast day mourns a stunning series of calamities that all occurred on this very day on the Hebrew calendar. The calamities include the destruction of Solomon’s Temple in the days of Jeremiah and the burning of Herod’s Temple some 500 years later on the very same day. It remembers the merciless crushing of the final Jewish rebellion against Rome in AD 135 and the calamitous forced expulsions of all the Jews from England in 1290 and from Spain in 1492.

World War 1 started on the 9th of Av and Hitler’s “final solution” was accepted by the Nazi party on this very day as well. In 2005 Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon removed around 10’000 Israelis living in Gaza in the hope of a ‘if we leave them alone, they will leave us alone’ type peace. Israel is still feeling the terrible impact of this decision to this day.

The Bible specifically speaks of the 9th of Av, and links it to specific events in Israel’s past and also gives it a prominent place in her prophetic future. The story of the 9th of Av reveals both the power of a curse, but also the even greater power of our God to bring restoration.

The Destruction of Solomon’s Temple

In Jewish tradition, the first 9th of Av was when the spies brought the bad report of the promised land. Their unbelief and rejection of God’s promises was the first seed turning this day to a curse.

Fast forward to the time of the prophet Jeremiah, and by this stage the people of Israel and Judah had consistently and stubbornly refused to listen to years of divine warnings.

God did not want judgment to come on His people, and ‘rising early’ He sent warnings (2 Chr. 36:15-17). But the people mocked and despised the message of warning until ‘there was no remedy’. So judgment came as foretold by Jeremiah and the other prophets, in the form of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple on the 9th of Av.

Looking back at the devastation of Jerusalem, Jeremiah records that God “has called an assembly (or ‘appointed time’) against me to crush my young men” (Lam 1:15). The word for ‘assembly’ here is ‘moed’, also meaning an appointed time. Sin had caused this day of the 9th of Av to become an appointed day of a curse which has followed the Jewish people down through history.

 

Jeremiah wept for his nation and the destruction of Jerusalem. His weeping was not just for the destruction that he witnessed – but it was also a weeping for a people that had refused to heed the warnings of God.

 

In the days of Jesus some 500 years later we see a repeat of the same sequence of events. Beneath Jerusalem’s polished surface, the corrupting power of sin was at work and the hand of God was again coming against His people in judgment. God sent His Son but as a nation Israel refused to heed His message.

We read poignantly how Jesus looked over Jerusalem and wept because they ‘would not come’. They had blinded themselves and hardened their hearts to the point of not recognising their Saviour standing right in front of them. Just as in Jeremiah’s day, the judgment of God fell upon Israel in devastating power – and again it occurred on the very same day, the 9th of Av.

 

Today, we are seeing many Western nations pursue a path very similar to ancient Israel – refusing to listen to the warnings of the messengers of God and accelerating down a path that seems good to them. Are our nations also heading down a path of judgment? Is there hope for our nations?

 

The time of Rejoicing is Coming

“Thus says the Lord of hosts:…. The fast of the fifth (month)… Shall be joy and gladness and cheerful feasts” Zec. 8:19, NKJV

The 9th of Av – known here as the fast of the 5th month – is promised by God Almighty to one day be turned into a day of great rejoicing.

Considering the devastating legacy of this day, how is it possible for it to turn into a time of joy?

The Jewish sages suggest that something truly amazing must be destined to happen on this day, perhaps even the coming of the Messiah Himself.

The Messiah’s return will indeed mark a period of ‘restoration of all things’ (acts 3:21) including Him bringing in the final regathering of the scattered Jewish people, and the Messiah Himself reigning upon the restored throne of King David in Israel (Luk 1:32). All the promises of God to the Jewish people will in that day be fulfilled, including her finally inheriting the complete land promised to Abraham.

While we can all wish for this restoration to happen soon, there is an important condition which must be met to turn the 9th of Av into a day of joy, and the condition is repentance. A troublesome day is coming when Israel will in her distress turn whole heartedly to God, and in that day their eyes will be opened and they will look on ‘Him whom they have pierced’ (Zec 12:10). As they begin to mourn in repentance, God graciously embraces His people again, and in that great day ‘all of Israel will be saved’ (Rom 11:26). Then He will comfort those who mourn in Zion (Is. 61:3) and turn their sorrow into joy. Then the 9th of Av will no longer be remembered for the sorrow and the curse, but for the God who has turned their curse into rejoicing.

What a day it will be!

Repentance Leads to Restoration

Have you experienced a curse in your life? A pattern of evil that keeps repeating itself in your family, your career or your church?

The story of the 9th of Av reveals the key to breakthrough. We must identify and confess to God in repentance the sins of our families and in our own lives which have opened the door in the first place to destruction.

And the 9th of Av reveals God’s prophetic promise, His ability to turn around what the ‘enemy has stolen’ and turn the very curse, the very moment of great loss and tragedy, into a day shining with His glory.

The lesson of the 9th of Av is that God will take the very day of destruction, the very area of mourning and sorrow in your life and turn that into joy. Just like for Israel, He has a promise for you to make your personal 9th of Av also into a day of great rejoicing in Him.