A Day Of Mourning

A day, of Remembrance.

Tisha B'Av is traditionally a Jewish holiday, and it's one I'm choosing to practice this year. Much like a memorial, it's a day of mourning. An observance of major historical events that mark it as the saddest day of the Jewish calendar.

Today, Dear Loved Ones, I'd like to share what I've learned—so far—about this remarkable day, the Ninth of Av (Tisha B'Av).

Join me in a journey to better understand and appreciate the history of this day and its significance for more than just the Hebrew/Jewish people.

It's 586 Before the Common Era (BCE) and the First Temple of God's Holy resting place here on earth with His chosen people in Jerusalem has just been destroyed by the Babylonians. An event leading to what is known as the Diaspora—more specifically, the Temple’s destruction led to the Babylonian exile.

Now imagine...you lived through this tragedy as a faithful Jew to Adonai the God of your forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. That this was your home, and your holy place of worship and hope that were just destroyed.

How might you feel?

Although it is customary to read Lamentations and/or Job, I have been making my way through the Messianic Bible from cover to cover in addition to reading various books out of sequence and often on repeat—like Proverbs. Currently, and perhaps even ironically, I'm in the book Ezekiel.

Much of Ezekiel records the prophet warning the people, at Adonai’s instruction, that if they do not repent from their iniquities He will correct them ... He will punish them. Furthermore, He warns of the Temple's destruction.

One could think of this much the same way a loving parent might feel forced to follow through with correction after their child’s continued purposeful and conscious wrongdoing—despite several warnings. Just as a loving parent would not enjoy causing their beloved child to suffer, neither does God.

It’s not that God relished doing so, but that Yirah (fear or reverence) of Adonai is the beginning of knowledge—as we learn in the very first chapter of Proverbs—and that gaining wisdom also involves receiving discipline and correction.

Incidentally, by not only reading Proverbs prior to Ezekiel—which is not in order but in addition to my reading—as well as diving in deeper here on Faithful Focus Media, I can understand even more deeply God's possible perspective. He loves His chosen people—His Bride—Bnei-Yisrael (The Children of Israel). To have to correct them because of their many iniquities—especially mistreatment of others and adultery with other gods—brings deep pain and sadness.

Looking at these chapters through the lens of Adonai’s grief, betrayed love, and necessary correction, imagine how it felt... for God. We are, after all, created in His image.

God, Adonai, had been betrayed by His Bride, and as much as He still loves and cares for His Chosen people, He cannot abide their sins without genuine repentance and the changed behavior that should follow—just think of an abusive relationship.

Not only all this, but imagine being told by God, through His prophet Ezekiel, that the sins of these people are greater than those of Sodom. That Jerusalem had made Sodom appear righteous by comparison!

Then imagine how the people still did not return to Adonai...

For a moment, step into God's pain and disappointment by imagining you are the one setting reasonable relationship boundaries. Boundaries that are good for the whole of the people.

That you are the one who has done everything for these people again and again. Who delivers on promises. Who serves and protects. Who is still willing to move forward in relationship with someone if only they change their destructive, selfish, hurtful, and harmful behavior...

What might you feel when they don't repent and return?

As much as these stories of the Bible are about creation and God's chosen people, as well as the Messiah to come from them, it is a story about relationship.

It is a story of God's relationship with the people.

There's a whole lot I don't know or understand, but sometimes it might help if we really pause and consider what it was like not only for the people of the day and the Jewish people specifically, but also ... dare I say ... God.

Should He endlessly permit destructive behavior without genuine repentance and the change that should follow?

I have found that the Bible contains much about establishing and maintaining healthy boundaries in relationships, as well as how those boundaries become necessary within an abusive relationship. God was being taken for granted by His people, or at least many of them, and warning after warning had been given over the course of more than just one prophet.

The time came when warning ceased and follow-through took over.

The destruction of the Temple through Babylon, whom God permitted—even commissioned—to enact judgment, marks but one tragic, catastrophic event in Hebrew history. Yet I cannot help but feel that its warnings remain relevant today.

I am not suggesting that our circumstances are identical to ancient Jerusalem’s, but the human patterns are painfully familiar: corruption becomes normalized, hypocrisy gains support, vulnerable people are mistreated, and repeated warnings go unheeded. Tisha B’Av therefore invites us not only to mourn what happened long ago, but also to examine ourselves, our communities, and the ways we may still take God’s patience, provision, and mercy for granted.

It also reminds us that love does not require endless tolerance of destructive behavior, nor does forgiveness demand the continuation of an abusive relationship. Adonai’s patience was abundant—but His patience was not indifference, approval, or the absence of necessary boundaries.

This leads me to wonder about another perspective—that of the prophets, and Ezekiel in particular.

What was it like to have this relationship with God?
With the people?
As the in between?

What was it like to receive and deliver these messages?
To watch them come to fruition before your eyes?

What was it like to pray for the forgiveness of the people?

Thank you, Dear Loved Ones, for sojourning with me today as we keep remembrance, repentance, relationship, and self-examination at the heart of our continued learning and growth through Tisha B’Av.

Please join me for Part II as we continue exploring the tragedies remembered on Tisha B’Av through the possible perspective of the prophet Ezekiel.