The 9th of B’Av

the 9th of B’Av (Aug. 6, 1945 – Hiroshima)

This Sunday, August 7, 2022, is the 9th of B’Av (the fifth Jewish month named B’Av).  [The Jews’ calendar is lunar so it is corrected about every 3 years so their B’Av 9 annually falls somewhere in our July or August.]

The 9th of B’Av is a very solemn day remembering significant historical Jewish events. Faithful Jews ponder their history by setting aside 25 hours of fasting (begins sundown our August 6th this year).

So, what is in their history that gives them pause?

It was 1,952 years ago (from 2022) on the 9th of B’Av that Jerusalem and Zerubbabel’s temple (enhanced by Herod) was crushed/destroyed by the Romans. The wall was breached on the 17th of Tammuz in 70 A.D. so some Jews observed a 3 week fast from the 17th to the 9th of B’Av.

Here are other B’Av 9 events that cause the Jews to pause and pondering:

1. On the 9th of B’Av, the children of Israel, cried and panicked over the prospect of entering the land under Moses when there were giants ahead (Numbers 13:32-14:4).  God punished them with 38 years of death in the wilderness.
2. On the 9th of B’Av, Jerusalem fell – our year, 586 B.C.  II Kings 25:8-9, And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month (which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. He burned the house of the Lord and the king’s house; all the houses of Jerusalem, that is, all the houses of the great, he burned with fire.
   Jeremiah 52:12-13, Now in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month (which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, who served the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem.  He burned the house of the Lord and the king’s house; all the houses of Jerusalem, that is, all the houses of the great, he burned with fire.  Destruction began on the 7th – likely the temple set fire on the 9th.
3. On the 9th of B’Av, Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans – 70 A.D.
4. On the 9th of B’Av (135 A.D.), the Jewish revolt under Bar-Kokhba was smashed. After this, the Romans literally plowed the temple mount under and the surrounding areas of Jerusalem.  I think this is what is referred to in Daniel 9:26 when it says it was destroyed “with a flood.”
5. On the 9th of B’Av, the Jews were expelled from England – our year 1290.
6. On the 9th of B’Av, the Jews were expelled from France – our year 1306.
7. On the 9th of B’Av, the Jews were expelled from Spain – our year 1492.  This, in large part, funded the voyages of Christopher Columbus.
8. On the 9th of B’Av, Germany entered WWI – our year 1914.
9. On the 9th of B’Av (August 2, 1941), Himmler’s “Final Solution” was implemented – to exterminate the Jews.
10. On the 9th of B’Av (July 23, 1942), the Germans began emptying the Warsaw ghetto taking the Jews to the Treblinka extermination camp. 

The Jews annually recognize the attacks and destruction that have marked their race with hours of thought.

How important it is for us to remember our history – as a nation, as a church, as a saint!

Thus… Feb. 12, Jun. 6, Jul. 4, Aug. 6 (Hiroshima), Sep. 17, Oct. 12 and 31, Nov. 11, Dec. 7 and 25

How important it is to remember our first confession of Jesus as our Savior and Lord, our baptism, and our vows and commitments before God and man.

History matters!!