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All public transportation silenced, all restaurants closed in Jerusalem on Monday evening as the sun set. The Hebrew day of great tragedies, Tisha b’Av, fell at sundown. In remembrance, tens of thousands of Jews gathered at the Western Wall to pray and petition the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel.
Tisha b’Av is simply Hebrew for the 9th day of the month of Av, and it completes the Three Weeks of mourning that began with the Fast of Tammuz. Many disasters have befallen the Jews on the 9th of Av throughout history. According to Jewish tradition, this was the day that God told the Children of Israel they were prohibited from entering the Promised Land because of disbelief. They were forced to wander in the desert forty more years until that adult generation had died out. That tragic day was just the beginning…
On the 9th of Av in:
*
586 BC, Solomon’s Temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, and the Babylonian captivity began;
*
AD 70, the Second Temple, which stood during Christ’s ministry, was destroyed by the Romans precisely as Jesus predicted in Luke 19;
*
AD 135, the famous Bar Kokhba revolt was squelched when Bethar, the last Jewish stronghold, fell to the Romans;
*
AD 136, the Roman Emperor Hadrian established a heathen temple to Jupiter on the site of the Jewish Temple. Hadrian rebuilt Jerusalem as a pagan city, and renamed the land as Palestina, to distance its Jewish heritage. The date when the Temple area was plowed under by the Romans was the 9th of Av.
The day has continued to be associated with grief for the Jewish people throughout history. For example, Pope Urban II declared the Crusades on the 9th of Av in 1242. The Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492 on this day, and in 1942, the Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto were mass deported to the Treblinka extermination camp in Poland. Thus the 9th of Av, Tisha B’Av, has become a symbol of all the persecutions and misfortunes of the Jewish people, for the loss of their national independence and their sufferings in exile. Above all, it is a day of intense mourning for the destruction of the Temple.
The Temple Mount:
This week, Jews look toward the Temple Mount with even more longing than normal. Israel has technically controlled the Temple Mount since the Six-Day War in 1967, but the Waqf, a Muslim council, manages the site, which is noticeably dominated by the al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. Israeli law is supposed to protect free access to the site, but the Israeli government enforces a ban on any non-Muslim prayer on the Temple Mount in order to avoid Muslim riots. Tuesday morning three Jews were removed from the area after allegedly “trying to cause a provocation” (which could have just included praying there), and the Temple Mount was closed to visitors at 11am.
But while Israel enforces the prayer ban and the Waqf’s oversight, there is still a deeply felt belief in the Knesset that Israel has greater legitimate rights to the Temple Mount than do the Muslims. In the Knesset on the 9th of Av a year ago, Dr. Mordechai Keidar commented on the lack of a Palestinian connection to the Temple Mount, saying:
“Jerusalem does not appear in the Koran, not even once, not even in any one of the four different names the city has in Arabic. The struggle for Jerusalem is not territorial, it’s theological. Is Judaism still a relevant religion, or do we give in to the Muslim claim that Judaism is no longer relevant? And that’s why we heard from PA official Saeb Erekat not long ago that they will not recognize the State of Israel as a Jewish state even in 1000 years. Why is this? Because Judaism in their eyes is irrelevant, so how could a Jewish state be founded?”
Keidar also noted that the Palestinians are not moderate on the issue of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, but claim it as their own. He held up a PLO traditional garment, which bore the words, “Jerusalem is ours.”
Tuesday, Likud party lawmaker Danny Danon toured the Temple Mount with an armed police escort. “There is full religious freedom for Jews and Muslims on the Temple Mount,” Danon said. “But it is more difficult for the Jew than the Muslim to go and pray on the Temple Mount. This is a distortion that must be corrected.” He added, “If Jews want to go and pray on the Temple Mount then they should be allowed to do it.”
Not all Jews want people flooding the Temple Mount, however. Nobody is certain exactly where the Holy of Holies was located, and these faithful Jews do not want the unwitting visitor to tread on that spot. Worshipers must first be cleansed with the ashes of the red heifer, as required in Numbers 19, before Jews can worship freely in the Temple area.
East Jerusalem and the Temple Mount have been points of major contention in past efforts to negotiate a two-state agreement. The Palestinians want East Jerusalem, and the Jews do not want to give up this location that is so precious to Judaism. The world would never expect the Muslims to hand over control of the Kaaba in Mecca in order to keep peace, but the Jews are not free to worship on their holiest site because they fear Muslim violence.
A Day of Mourning…. And Future Joy
Tisha b’Av is indeed a day of mourning. It is marked with sadness and fasting from food and drink. Observant Jews avoid bathing or washing clothes or enjoying entertainment like music or movies, and the Book of Lamentations is traditionally read both in the evening and during the day. On this day the Jews are reminded of their tragic history.
Yet, this day is also expressly linked with Israel’s glorious destiny. The Jews also look forward to the ultimate rebuilding of the Temple, to a time when Tisha b’Av will become a day of joy and gladness (as it was foretold in Zechariah 8:19).
We do know that the Temple will be rebuilt because Jesus, John, and Paul all make reference to it (Matt 24:15; Rev 11:1, 2; 2 Thess 2:4). But we also know that this Temple will be desecrated by the Coming World Leader when he sets himself up to be worshiped (2 Thess 2:3-4). It is possible this prophetic event will also take place on Tisha b’Av – and may happen in the not-too-distant future.
Related Links:
• 3 Jews Suspected of Attempted Provocation in Temple Mount Detained – YNet News
• Tisha B’Av: A Tragic Day Throughout Jewish History – Jewish Ledger
• A Day Like Any Other? Tisha B’Av – Koinonia House
• The Coming Temple Update: MP3 Download – Koinonia House Store
• Pedigree of the Coming World Leader? The Genealogy of the Antichrist – Koinonia House
• As Tisha B’Av Approaches, Knesset Focuses on the Temple Mount – Arutz Sheva
• Likud Lawmaker: Jews Should Be Allowed Freer Access to Temple Mount – Haaretz
1 Samuel 26:21
Then said Saul, I have sinned; return my son David; for I will no more do you harm, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Behold, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly.
“When for a moment a man is off guard, in all probability you will know more truth about him than in all his attempts either to reveal himself or to hide himself.
The ever present consciousness, habitually hidden, flashes forth. Later he may apologize, and say he did not mean what he said.
The fact is he was surprised into saying what he was constantly thinking.
In all probability Saul had never said that before and would never say it again; but he had been thinking it for a long time – ‘I played the fool!’
There is no escape for any man, as long as reason continues, from the naked truth about himself.
He may practice deceit so skillfully as not only to hide himself from his fellow men, but in his unutterable folly to imagine he has hidden himself from God: BUT HE CAN NEVER HIDE HIMSELF FROM HIMSELF.
In some moment of strain and stress, he says what he has been thinking all the time….Ere Saul knew it, he had said, ‘Behold I have played the fool.’
That is the whole story of the man.” (G. Campbell Morgan/Amplified)
There are very few of us that have been exempt from the sorrow of being pursued by man as David was, and some of us may even be in the position of Saul.
It would do us well to ponder the aforementioned quotation with introspection and thoughtfulness
And assume the responsibility of our past actions.
We can conceal our true nature from the whole world, but not from ourselves or God; and if we are guilty of this transgression a simple prayer will enable the cessation of the damage we have inflicted or that which we have been subjected to.
Evil cannot take residence in a pure heart, a heart of flesh that is willing and prepared by the Father to have the capacity to love, to understand, to hear and obey.
That is the whole story of the man, what is yours?
“…Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.” Dan 3:17-18 (emphasis added)
“But see, there’s a problem when Grandma prays to be healed and she isn’t healed. She thinks she doesn’t have strong enough faith or that God doesn’t love her. What about Grandma?” – An anonymous skeptic
There are many times in our lives when we say, “God, if You love me, You will do X, Y and Z.” We mistakenly believe that if God doesn’t answer our prayers the way we want, it’s because He doesn’t care about us.
The Bible is very clear that God loves us (John 3:16, 1John 4:10, Jer 31:3, Rom 8:35-39). God’s Word declares that He loves us more than we can possibly know, that He IS love (1 John 4:8). Perhaps we would experience more miracles if we went to God with confidence in His love for us, ready for whatever glorious things He wanted to do in us and through us. That’s the heart of God.
No matter what happens, though, we can still trust Him implicitly.
More Miracles:
In January of 1992, Tony Darmanin went for a ride with Jeremy Benson in his sweet 1973 Chevy Nova hatchback. Jeremy and his father had spent a year fixing up that Nova for Jeremy’s 16th birthday, and he loved it. Jeremy hadn‘t had his license long, though, and inexperienced teen boys with muscle cars generally spell T-R-O-U-B-L-E.
On a rainy winter evening, Tony Darmanin climbed into Jeremy’s Nova with Brandon Wright and Billy Walters. As soon as Jeremy started up the engine and took off, Tony knew he was in trouble. They sped down North Shore Drive in Bellingham, Washington at speeds worthy of the car, but unwise considering the weather conditions. They came to a hairpin turn, Jeremy hit the brakes, and the car naturally hydroplaned on the wet pavement.
Tony said, “So, we’re not slowing down, and now Jeremy can’t steer.” They shot off the cliff edge and flew through the dark night air. They should have all died.
A tree at the bottom of the 40-foot deep ravine helped save the young men’s lives. The car smacked the tree, which changed their trajectory just enough to keep the car from landing upside down and crushing all its occupants. Instead, the Nova nose-dived into the ground.
Tony dangled in the back seat by his seatbelt. The hatchback had popped open and its cover had slammed down into his neck and back. His internal organs were gashed by the force of the seatbelt, and his ankle was injured. Tony only knew that he’d never felt that much pain in his life. Billy had cracked the windshield with his head and his brain had started to swell. (After temporary blindness, he would recover.) Miraculously, Jeremy and Brandon climbed out unharmed and went for help.
Tony woke up outside of the car in the rain. He knew he had to get some help quickly, and he saw no friends around. He began to pull himself a little bit at a time out of that ravine in excruciating pain. As soon as he reached the top, flashlights shone in his face. People in a nearby house had seen the Nova’s headlights fly off the cliff and had already called 9-1-1.
At The Hospital:
Tony’s mother Alice Darmanin raced to the trauma unit at St. Luke’s Hospital ahead of the ambulance. When they brought in Tony on the gurney, she thought he was already dead.
He wasn’t moving and he was a grey color, and my heart just sunk. Of course they couldn’t tell us anything. We sat there praying and praying, and the kids were calling everybody they knew to pray. We still didn’t know anything about Anthony. Finally they told us that there was so much blood in the pictures they had taken, they couldn’t could tell if it was his liver, his kidney or spleen that was bleeding. They said , ‘If he survives the next half hour we’ll take another set of pictures.’ I only heard the ‘if he survives’ part.
Instant Healing:
Tony was conscious as the doctor probed his stomach and felt for damage and took him in to get a CAT scan. All he knew was that there was serious internal bleeding. “If you do not go into surgery in 15 minutes, you will die,” the doctor told him. “Do we have your consent to take you to surgery?”
Tony gave the doctor permission to save his life while a sense of excitement filled him. In 15 minutes he could be standing in the presence of Jesus. If they did surgery and he got better, that was great, and if he died, he realized that was also great. Tony told us, “It makes you realize the significance of ‘O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? [1Cor 15:55]‘” Already his veins had started to collapse and he felt pins and needles through all of his extremities.
Even as they sent Tony in for a CAT scan, though, he knew people were praying for him. “I felt their prayers. It was the first time in my life where I could actually feel the prayers of people praying for me.”
About 45 minutes after she’d first visited them, the doctor returned to the Darmanin family in the waiting room to give them the relieving and unexpected news that their son was okay. According to Alice:
All she says is, “Do you want to see your son?” We walked back there and he’s sitting up. The doctor said, “I don’t know what to tell you, but we don’t know what happened. We don’t know where the blood came from. We don’t know where the blood went.” There was no blood. There were no wounds. She said, “He has a very nasty crack on the back of his neck.” Actually, he should have died from that. The crack was on the hangman’s vertebrae, and we were told only one in a thousand survives that.
The doctor kept Tony overnight, For the next few days Tony had some soreness, but that was it. He never had surgery.
Pain Remains:
Tony noted:
But even though God did that miracle and healed my internal organs, for the past 18 years I have lived every day with pain in my back and neck from when the hatch slammed into me. I’ve gone to chiropractors, done physical therapy and deep tissue massage, and I’m still in constant pain.
People tell me, “You just don’t have enough faith. If you had more faith God would have healed your whole body.” And I think, “No… I have faith.” Or they say, “You have unconfessed sin, that’s why you’re not healed,” and I think, “No… I have my faults, but I don’t have unconfessed sin.”
No, this is what I’ve learned. I’ve learned that pain is not the enemy. I have learned that God has allowed me to have this pain for His reasons and for His purposes.
God’s Love In Every Detail:
A year later, Tony was at college living in the dorms when he ran out of all his toiletries at one time. “I squeezed out the last of my toothpaste. I used the very last of my shampoo and conditioner (yes, I condition) and even my deodorant had been completely used up. All on the same day.”
Tony walked down to his bank to see if he could take out five dollars. When he checked the ATM, though, he had only $3.67 – too little to draw out on a Saturday afternoon.
“Well, Lord,” Tony said, “If You don’t want me to be stinky, please help me out here.”
He walked back to the dorms. As he was heading to the door, his friend Margaret walked up to him with a paper bag in her arms. She said, “I don’t want you to be offended, but while I was at the store shopping this morning, I really felt God wanted me to buy these things for you.” Tony took the bag and looked inside. It held shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste and deodorant.
“And after all these years,” he said, “It still brings tears to my eyes. Because it told me that God really cared about me, even in the little things. And it wasn’t that she gave me money. Anybody can hand you money. She handed me the very things I needed.”
It’s Not About Toughness:
People often think that the proper response to pain is to be tough and pony up and push through it out of sheer determination. But, that’s not the heart of God. Everything He does is for good, and He desires that we learn to completely depend on His love for us, no matter what things look like. He is willing to give us all we need, down to things as seemingly small as toothpaste. Almighty God who created the stars and calls them by name cares even for the sparrows.
“But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.” – Luke 12:7
Tony said:
The fact is that God cares intimately about me and knows about the smallest details of my life, and yet He’s allowed me to live with this pain for the past 18 years. It’s not that He’s doing these things – He didn’t cause my suffering. But, He’s allowed me to suffer pain. None of us escape it. It’s part of the territory of being human. What God has promised is He’ll never leave us. He’ll never abandon us. And He’ll never let us suffer more than He can carry us through. Some people ask why does a loving God allow pain? And I’ve learned that it’s because of God’s love that I can live through the pain.
Is suffering always God’s plan? Of course not. Jesus had great compassion and healed people constantly, and he promised that we would do greater things than he did (John 14:12). God wants us to know Him and He wants to form us into the image of His Son (Rom 8:28-29). He wants us to trust that He loves us, and when we go to Him for help, to go boldly (Hebrews 4:16). And whatever happens, as the Hebrew children said before Nebuchadnezzar threw them into the fiery furnace, “But if not” – But if not, we will still trust Him, we will continue to follow Him alone. Whatever He decides, we need to have confidence that nothing is able to separate us from His great and perfect love.
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” -Romans 8:35-39
“Pay attention; keep calm, have no fear,
Do not let your heart sink
Because these two smouldering stumps of firebrands
Have plotted to ruin you;
The Lord Yahweh says this:
It shall not come true; it shall not be;
But if you do not STAND BY ME,
YOU WILL NOT STAND AT ALL.”
- Jerusalem Bible : Isaiah 7 – Page 980-981
Deuteronomy 17:8
If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stoke and stroke, being matters of controversy within thy gates; Then shalt thou arise, and get thee up into the place which the Lord thy God shall choose;
There could be no controversy over any matter between two persons in a community if all stubbornness was put away and a brotherly spirit of love and genuine concern for the welfare of others prevailed.
Such unsettled matters come through extreme selfishness and stubbornness which lead to the presumptuous sin and death of v12-13.
If a man does not relent and act normally righteous in a local community it is hardly reasonable to believe that he would do so after the expense and trouble of going to a far away place for justice.
A man who persists in stubbornness in one place usually does the same in another; the place does not lessen the relentless spirit nor placate the implacable and the ungodly.
Stubbornness will damn the soul [Prov. 1:24-31; Prov. 29:1; Rev. 9:20-21].
1 John 3:15
Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
No murderer or hater of men has eternal life.
Gr. Anthropoktonos: manslayer. Only here and in John 8:44.
Does this mean that only sinners who murder do not have eternal life or that Christians can murder and still have eternal life?
Is this the kind of government God runs?
Does this compare with civil governments in justice?
Eternal life and Christ are separate from the individual and always will be.
They abide in one’s life like any other separate and outside something which one may permit to come into his life [v15] – Dake’s A.R.B. – Page 277 – notes.
“Eternal life” – “Jesus Christ” the same:
In some scriptures we find that the term eternal life is synonymous with Jesus Christ [1 Jn. 1:2; 1 Jn. 2:24-25; 1 Jn. 5:11-13, 20; Jn. 14:6; Jn. 17:2-3].
This life, like Christ, is eternal whether anyone ever receives it or not.
Even if one receives it and then loses it, the life is still eternal.
Individual possession of it either temporarily or otherwise does not make it eternal or not eternal.
So the argument that if one should lose it, it would cease to be eternal is the wrong concept of it.
A diamond or any other eternal thing would not cease to be eternal just because the owner lost it.
So it is with eternal life. Conditions must be met to get it and to keep it [note d, Jn. 6:27].
Christ cannot and will not remain in the life where sin and rebellion dwell [Jn.15:4-8; Gal. 1:6-8; Gal. 2:6-7; Rom. 6:14-23; Rom. 8:1-13; 2 Cor. 13:5].
- Dake’s A.R.B. – Page 279 N.T.
Psalm 50:1
Yahweh, God of gods, speaks, He summons the earth. From east to west, from Zion, perfection of beauty, He shines. Let our God come, and be silent no more !
Preceding Him, a devouring fire, round Him, a raging storm; He summons the heavens above and the earth, to His people’s trial:
‘Assemble my faithful before Me who sealed My covenant by sacrifice!’
Let the heavens proclaim His righteousness when God Himself is judge!
‘Listen, My people, I am speaking;
Israel, I am giving evidence against you!
I charge, I indict you to your face,
I, God, your God.’
‘I am not finding fault with your sacrifices,
Those holocausts constantly before Me;
I do not claim one extra bull from your homes,
Nor one extra goat from your pens,’
‘Since all the forest animals are already mine,
And the cattle on My mountains in their thousands;
I know all the birds of the air,
Nothing moves in the field that does not belong to Me.’
‘If I were hungry, I should not tell you,
Since the world and all it holds is mine.
Do I eat the flesh of bulls,
Or drink goats’ blood?’
‘No, let thanksgiving be your sacrifice to God,
Fulfill the vows you make to the Most High;
Then you can invoke me in your troubles
And I will rescue you, and you shall honor Me.’
But to the wicked man God says:
‘What business have you reciting My statutes,
Standing there mouthing My covenant,
Since you detest My discipline
And thrust My words behind you?’
‘You make friends with a thief as soon as you see one,
You feel at home with adulterers,
Your mouth is given freely to evil
And your tongue to inventing lies.’
‘You sit there, slandering your own brother,
You malign your own mother’s son.
You do this, and expect Me to say nothing?
Do you really think I am like you?’
‘You are leaving God out of account; TAKE CARE!
Or I will tear you to pieces where no one can rescue you!
Whoever makes thanksgiving his sacrifice honors Me;
To the upright man I will show how God can save.’
- Jerusalem Bible – Page 718-719
Between the testaments, Israel continued in her struggles for existence and restoration during the period between Malachi and the events of the N.T.
Ezra and Nehemiah left a settled form of government in Palestine, ruled by a council of elders and priests who formed an ecclesiastical court, and who interpreted the law and enforced obedience.
They were the GREAT SYNAGOGUE of 120 members which ruled for 150 years, until Simon the Just, about 292 B.C.
They held that the law was given in a 2fold form: the written law consisting of brief official enactments and the oral law of more copious details passed down from Moses to Joshua and the elders that outlived him, and on to the prophets, being conveyed by Jeremiah to Ezra who gave it to the Great Synagogue, to whom Nehemiah gave a complete library of the sacred books [2 Mac.2:13].
To the great Synagogue [of which Ezra was the founder and president] the Jews owe acknowledgement for the 613 Precepts, and the oral tradition which may be considered the ground work of the Talmud – referred to by Christ [Mat. 5:21, 27, 31, 33, 38, 43; Mat. 15:2-6; Mk. 3:13] and the apostles [Gal. 1:14; Col. 2:8; 1 Pet. 1:18] as the tradition of the elders and doctrines and commandments of men.
Ezra and Nehemiah set up synagogues in many towns to worship, schools of Instruction, and local courts where men were tried for crimes against the state and society.
Attached to each synagogue was a body of rulers – civil magistrates and ecclesiastical presbyters. During this time Palestine was ruled by Persia and formed only a part of a province under the Satrap of Syria.
In 331 B.C., after the victories of Alexander the Great, of Greece, over Persia, he took possession of Syria, allowing the Jews to retain self-government and their own religion. When he built Alexandria in Egypt, he invited many Jews to settle there, giving them equal rights with his other subjects. It was here that the famous SEPTUAGINT version of the O.T. into Greek was made, about 294-289 B.C., by the Jews of this city.
When Alexander died his kingdom was divided among his four generals, Cassander took Greece and Macedonia; Lysimachus took Asia Minor; Seleucus took Syria, Babylon, Persia, Media, and other eastern parts; and Ptoloemy took Egypt. Most of the 3rd Century B.C. was taken up with wars between these rival kings. During this time the Roman Power began to be felt and after a series of struggles the Romans conquered Greece, and Macedonia, about 200 B.C. Rome fought Macedonia and Syria again in a war, 200-207 B.C., and won.
Again, in 168 B.C. the Macedonian kingdom fought Rome, lost in the conflict, and came to an end. Both Greece and Macedonia became a part of the Roman Empire.
In all this time [331-165 B.C.] the Syrian and Egyptian division of Alexander’s empire fought with each other, off and on, over the possession of Palestine. It was during this time that Dan. 11:1-34 was fulfilled, ending with the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes who took Jerusalem about 170 B.C. and polluted the temple, compelling the Jews to sacrifice to idols. He erected the statue of Jupiter on the altar of burnt offerings, sacrificed swine, burned the Scriptures, and prohibited the worship of Jehovah.
At this time the Maccabees arose – and Asmonian family. Under them the Jews became victorious. Jerusalem was liberated and true worship of God was re-established in December, 165 B.C. It was then the Feast of Dedication was instituted; and it continued until the time of Christ. The Maccabean family were able to hold the main sway in Judea, but were forced to make some terms with the Romans under whose protection they retained considerable freedom.
In 47 B.C. Julius Caesar gave Hyrcanus and his heirs all rights of the high priesthood, and the right of appeal to Caesar for all Jews. Exemption from all tributes every 7th year was also granted to the Jews because they neither sowed nor reaped in that year. Furthermore, they received freedom from military service, and were given the right to meet and assemble together according to their own customs and laws. All this was ratified by the Roman senate in 44 B.C. For maintenance of order and general political government a Roman official presided over all Syria.
In 37 B.C. Herod the Great, by the aid of Roman troops, deposed the last Asmonian prince, Antigonus, and became the nominal sovereign of the Jews, subject to Rome. He betrayed his people to the Romans, fostered immorality, cultivated alien customs, encouraged mistrust, corrupted the priesthood, and massacred many nobles. He built the temple on a magnificent scale. This loss of temporal power drove the Jews to a state of pride over the past and made them rebellious in heart against the Romans. Pharisees, scribes, and lawyers became more esteemed than priest and Levites. From the much confusion and controversy among the Jews over interpretations of the law and prophecy came the two great sects – the Pharisees and Sadducees. When the nation rebelled against the Romans, in 70 A.D., they were defeated and scattered among the Gentile nations.
- Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible : Page 930
You, Israel, my servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
Descendant of Abraham My friend.
You whom I brought from the confines of the earth
And called from the ends of the world;
You to whom I said, ‘You are My servant,
I have chosen you, not rejected you’,
Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
Stop being anxious and watchful, for I am your God.
I give you strength, I bring you help,
I uphold you with my victorious right hand.
Yes, all those who raged against you,
Shall be put to shame and confusion;
They who fought against you
Shall be destroyed and perish.
You shall seek but never find them,
Those enemies of yours.
They will be destroyed and brought to nothing,
Those who made war on you.
For I, Yahweh, your God,
I am holding you by the right hand;
I tell you, ‘Do not be afraid, I WILL HELP YOU’. – Jerusalem Bible
We need to embrace Israel and intercede for them perpetually, as the Watchmen upon the walls of Jerusalem, and give God no rest until He saves them to the uttermost.
“Take my heart, Thou Blacksmith of the ages,
Try me in the furnace Thou hast planned;
Place me in the white-heat of affliction,
And fashion with the hammer of Thy Hand.
Make of my else worthless self, a girder,
Tempered with Thy Spirit from above;
And when Thou hast finished, build me firmly
INTO THE PRINCELY TEMPLE OF THY LOVE.” –Nathaniel Krum.
“God’s Furnace doth in Zion stand;
But Zion’s God sits by,
As the refiner views his gold
With an observant eye,
His thoughts are high, His love is wise,
His wounds a cure intend;
And though He does not always smile,
HE LOVES UNTO THE END”. –Countess of Huntingdon.
- The Christian’s Daily Challenge : E.F. & L. Harvey : Page 222.
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