THE 9th of Av is a date of tragedy and misfortune in Judaism.
The negative association began when, on this date, the spies who were sent to survey the Promised Land returned with a bad report, causing the Israelites to be reluctant to enter the Land (Num. 13:31–33; 14:1–4). Due to their reluctance, God banned them from entering the Land for another 40 years.
Since then, the 9th of Av has been a date of banishment, or exile, for the Jews.
THE 9th of Av is a date of tragedy and misfortune in Judaism.
The negative association began when, on this date, the spies who were sent to survey the Promised Land returned with a bad report, causing the Israelites to be reluctant to enter the Land (Num. 13:31–33; 14:1–4). Due to their reluctance, God banned them from entering the Land for another 40 years.
Since then, the 9th of Av has been a date of banishment, or exile, for the Jews.
Av 9 is when:
• King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the First Temple, and exiled the Jews to Babylon.
• The Romans destroyed the Second Temple, dispersing the Jews worldwide.
• The Jews were expelled from England (1290).
• The Jews were expelled from France (1306).
• The Jews were expelled from Spain (1492).
• Germany entered World War One, which led to a massive upheaval in European Jewry, and set the stage for World War Two and the Holocaust.
• Heinrich Himmler received formal approval from the Nazi Party to implement “The Final Solution”—Satan’s attempt to permanently “banish” the Jews, via extermination. Though six million perished, the satanic effort to permanently banish the Jews from the Land backfired, as the horror of the Holocaust spurred the passage of the UN resolution that facilitated the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.
• Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, leaving the Jewish territory to be ruled under Hamas. Since then, Gaza has been a launching pad for attacks against Israel, including the October 7 assault—the worst slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust.
SEVENTY CONNECTION AND 2024
Since numbers have meaning in Scripture, it is fascinating to consider a connection between the two major Jewish exiles and the number 70:
The first (Babylonian) exile was a Divine punishment for failing to observe a total of 70 Sabbatical years. Because the Jews ignored 70 Sabbaticals, they were banished to Babylon for 70 years (Lev. 26:33–35; Jer. 25:8–11). At the end of the 70 years, a Jewish captive named Daniel received the 70 Weeks Prophecy, God’s plan to redeem Israel and restore them to their Land after 70 Sabbatical weeks (Dan. 9:24–27).
The second (Roman) exile was a Divine punishment for failing to discern the time of Messiah’s coming as revealed in Daniel’s 70 Weeks Prophecy (Dan. 9:25; Matt. 23:37–39; Luke 19:44). Because the Jews failed to recognize the time of their visitation, they were expelled from the Land in 70 AD.
Fast-forward to the present. Here is why the connection between Av 9 and the number 70 is significant in 2024:
• 2024 is a calculated Jubilee, the “year of redemption” for Jews and their land (Lev. 25:8–54). What’s more, it is the 70th Jubilee, numerically signifying redemption (Jer. 29:10; Dan. 9:27).
• As in the days of Babylon and Rome, Israel is under siege by an enemy intent on crushing the Jewish state. This time, the aggressor is Iran and its proxies.
The convergence of themes—redemption and judgment—evokes past events on Av 9, and how the destructions on this date were sown with the seeds of the future redemption: just as the Holocaust led to the partial redemption of the Land in 1948, the time of Jacob’s Trouble will lead to its ultimate redemption.
This year, as none before, one has the sense that the time of Trouble is at hand.
5. The nine days from Av 1 to Av 9 are traditionally a time of intensive mourning, during which Jews refrain from eating meat, drinking wine, and even wearing freshly laundered clothing. This year, Av 1 saw the largest one-day stock market drop in two years: https://www.investopedia.com/dow-jones-today-08052024-8690146
