One Messianic’s Perspective on Tisha B’Av: What Matters and What Doesn’t Matter

by | Jul 22, 2026 | Blog, Podcasts

by Rod Thomas | The Messianic Torah Observer

Episode Title: One Messianic’s Perspective on Tisha B’Av — What Matters and What Doesn’t Matter

Episode Summary: Beloved, in this second installment of our brief two-part discussion on Tisha B’Av, we consider what should and should not matter to the modern-day Messianic, Hebrew, Netsari disciple of Yehoshua HaMashiyach. Tisha B’Av is not one of the mandated Feasts of Yehovah, and therefore we are not commanded to keep it. But that does not mean the day is spiritually meaningless. If our Master wept over Yerushalayim and prophesied the coming destruction of the city and the Temple, then we who belong to Him should at least understand the grief, covenant lessons, prophetic weight, and restoration hope attached to this solemn memorial day.

Main Point of the Discussion: Tisha B’Av is not a commanded holy day for the redeemed of Yehovah through Yehoshua HaMashiyach. Nevertheless, it remains an opportunity for remembrance, humble mourning, repentance, solidarity with our Jewish cousins, and hopeful anticipation of the restoration of all things lost through Messiah.

Key Themes Covered in This Episode

  • Tisha B’Av as a Jewish memorial day rather than a mandated Feast of Yehovah.
  • Why the day still carries spiritual relevance for Messianics, Hebrews, Netsarim, and Nazarene Israelites.
  • The prophetic promise of Zechariah 8:19 that the fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months will one day become joy, gladness, and cheerful feasts for the House of Judah.
  • Why Yeshua’s lament over Yerushalayim should inform how His disciples regard the Temple’s destruction and the suffering of our Jewish cousins.
  • How Tisha B’Av can become a day of introspection, remembrance, repentance, and eschatological anticipation.
  • What we should avoid: triumphalism, supersessionist attitudes, careless appropriation, and treating Jewish grief as irrelevant to our covenant walk.
  • How I personally intend to observe or remember the day without placing rabbinic obligation upon myself or upon the brethren.

Scriptural and Historical Anchors

Zechariah 8:14–23: This is the prophetic foundation for the discussion. Yehovah declares that the fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months will be transformed into joy, gladness, and cheerful feasts for the House of Judah. This gives us a prophetic window into the future restoration of Judah, Yerushalayim, and the worship life of the covenant people.

Deuteronomy 4:25–40: This traditional Tisha B’Av Torah reading confronts the covenant consequences of idolatry, disobedience, exile, and judgment. Yet even in the severity of warning, there is mercy, because Moshe declares that if Yisra’el seeks Yehovah with all heart and soul, He will be found.

Jeremiah 8:13–9:23: This traditional haftarah reading gives prophetic voice to the sorrow, covenant breach, and devastation associated with the destruction of Zion. Jeremiah’s lament helps frame the day not merely as historical memory, but as a call to sober reflection and repentance.

Lamentations: The reading of Eicha or Lamentations has long been central to Tisha B’Av observance. It forces the reader to sit with the tragedy of Yerushalayim’s fall, the anguish of exile, and the desperate need for covenant restoration.

Luke 19:41–44: Although not a traditional Tisha B’Av reading, it is indispensable for the disciple of Yehoshua. Our Master wept over Yerushalayim and prophesied her coming destruction. That reality alone should keep us from treating the day with indifference, disdain, or theological arrogance.

What Should Matter to Us

Repentance and introspection should matter. Tisha B’Av gives us another opportunity, if so led by the Ruach Kodesh, to examine ourselves before Yehovah. We are not saved by memorial days. We are not made righteous by Jewish traditions. But we can certainly use a day such as this to ask Abba to reveal where we have been reckless, disobedient, prideful, indifferent, or covenantally careless.

Solidarity with our Jewish cousins should matter. We do not mourn as outsiders peering into someone else’s tragedy. We have been engrafted into the commonwealth of Yisra’el. Our Jewish cousins have carried historical grief, persecution, exile, and covenant memory in ways that many of us are only beginning to appreciate. So, beloved, humility is essential.

Hope in Messiah’s restoration should matter. Zechariah’s prophecy tells us that mourning will not have the final word. Yehovah intends to turn the fasts into joy and gladness. That does not erase the grief. It redeems it. It places the grief under the sovereign promise of restoration, the coming Kingdom, and the righteous reign of our glorious Master and soon-returning King.

The prophetic writings should matter. The prophets help us see that covenant unfaithfulness has consequences, but they also reveal that Yehovah’s mercy, promises, and purposes for Yisra’el endure. Tisha B’Av, therefore, becomes a solemn reminder to take the prophets seriously and to align our lives with truth and peace.

What Should Not Matter or Should Be Avoided

Triumphalism must be avoided. We have no business standing over Jewish suffering with an “I told you so” attitude. That spirit is not of Messiah. Our Master wept. He did not gloat. He lamented. He did not celebrate destruction. If we claim to follow Him, our posture must be humble, compassionate, and prayerful.

Supersessionism must be avoided. We must reject the claim that the Church has replaced Yisra’el or that the covenant promises given to the fathers have become irrelevant. Sha’ul taught that we Gentile believers are grafted in, not that we became the root. We stand by faith, and that should produce fear, reverence, and gratitude, not arrogance.

Careless cultural appropriation must be avoided. We should not grab hold of Jewish mourning customs as novelty, performance, or spiritual cosplay. If one is led to participate in readings, prayers, or communal observances, then do so respectfully, soberly, and with informed humility.

Rabbinic obligation must not be imposed upon the brethren. Since Tisha B’Av is not one of the mandated Feasts of Yehovah, I will not bind the consciences of the saints where Scripture has not bound them. If you are led to fast, mourn, pray, read Lamentations, or sit quietly before Abba, then do so unto Him. If you are not so led, then do not allow anyone to place a yoke upon your neck.

How I Intend to Remember the Day

I do not intend to keep Tisha B’Av as though it were Yom HaKippurim. I do not intend to bind myself to every rabbinic prohibition or nuanced custom associated with the day. But I do intend to remember. I intend to set aside time for introspection and retrospection. I intend to consider what we as a people have lost because of disobedience, rebellion, covenant negligence, and sin. I intend to read and reflect on Lamentations, Deuteronomy 4:25–40, and Jeremiah 8:13–9:23. And, as always, I intend to pray as the Ruach Kodesh directs.

Practical Takeaways for the Saints

  • Remember that Tisha B’Av is not commanded of us as one of the Feasts of Yehovah.
  • If you are led to observe or remember the day, do so with humility and not compulsion.
  • Read Lamentations with an eye toward covenant loss, repentance, and hope.
  • Pray for Yerushalayim, for Yisra’el, and for our Jewish cousins around the world.
  • Reject triumphalism and any attitude that treats Jewish suffering as proof of our superiority.
  • Reject supersessionism and remember that we are grafted in by grace.
  • Let the day point you forward to Messiah’s restoration of all things lost.

Cited References and Resources

  1. Why Tisha B’Av Is the Day Yeshua Wept — And Why Every Believer Should Know It, The Messianic Torah Observer. https://www.themessianictorahobserver.org/2026/07/16/why-tisha-bav-is-the-day-yeshua-wept/
  2. Lexham English Bible. W. Hall Harris III et al., eds. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012. Zechariah 8:14–23.
  3. org, “When Is Tisha B’Av in 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030?” This source lists the Jewish-calendar observance for 2026 as beginning at sundown on July 22 and ending at nightfall on July 23.
  4. Hebcal, “Tish’a B’Av 2026.” This source lists Tish’a B’Av 5786 as beginning at sundown Wednesday, July 22, 2026, and ending at nightfall Thursday, July 23, 2026, and provides the traditional readings for the day.
  5. Bible Hub, “Zechariah 8:19.” This source provides multiple English translations of Zechariah 8:19, including the prophetic declaration that the fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months will become joy, gladness, and cheerful feasts for the House of Judah.
  6. org, “Tisha B’Av Order of the Day.” This source summarizes traditional Tisha B’Av practices, including the reading of Lamentations, the morning Torah reading from Deuteronomy 4:25–40, and the haftarah from Jeremiah 8:13–9:23.
  7. Sefaria / Voices on Sefaria, “Tisha B’Av Torah & Haftarah Readings.” This source explains how Deuteronomy 4:25–40 and Jeremiah 8:13–23 frame the day around loss, lamentation, covenant warning, repentance, and hope.

Closing Thought

Beloved, the point of this discussion is not to make Tisha B’Av into something Scripture never commanded us to keep. Nor is it to dismiss the day as though it has no bearing on our walk with Messiah. The point is to remember well, mourn humbly, repent sincerely, reject arrogance, stand compassionately with our Jewish cousins, and look with blessed expectation toward the day when Yehovah turns mourning into joy and restores all things through Yehoshua HaMashiyach. Shalom. Shalom.

 

When God Says Stand Alone: The U.S. – Iranian Escalation through the Lens of the Hebrew Prophets

by | Jul 21, 2026 | Blog

 

 

Opening

Well, it appears the tenuous ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran has come to an inevitable end.

As of this writing, the United States has expanded its military campaign against Iran’s IRGC. This go-round, the Strait of Hormuz, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Iran’s underground nuclear program are simultaneously in play. Consequently, the geopolitical situation revolving around this conflict is hastening. But for those of us who read the headlines through the lens of Yeshua-focused Torah Living, the pace of these events should not produce panic. It should produce within us a very specific kind of sobriety and reality. It is the sobriety and reality of someone who recognizes that we are living inside a developing story we’ve already read.

Allow me, beloved, to state my case by briefly tapping a portion of the prophetic texts.

 

The Isolation of the modern nation of Israel Is a Prophetic Certainty

To truly understand the geopolitical situation taking shape around the Jewish state of Yerushalayim, truth seekers must consume and understand Zechariah 12. For it is one of the most geopolitically precise prophetic texts in the whole of the Tanach. Here, the prophet describes one of the final phases of history in which Yerushalayim becomes “a cup of trembling” for all its surrounding nations and “a burdensome stone for all peoples” (Zech. 12:2–3). This cup of trembling, aka the cup of drunkenness, is symbolic of the divine judgment that Abba Yah will bring upon His and His people’s enemies. Yehovah’s judgment reduces the enemies to what can only be described as “a state of helplessness and misery similar to that of a drunken, staggering, intoxicated man.”[1] The mention of her in addition being “a burdensome stone or heavily weighted stone for all peoples” “describes a stone that injures those who try to lift it. Those nations that attempt to attack Yerushalayim will find the task too difficult and will end up injured.[2]

But this text is certainly not describing an Israel that is popular among the civilized Western and Middle Eastern nations. It is for all intents and purposes describing an isolated Israel that is surrounded, pressured, cut off from any would be allies, including the United States. Yet she is miraculously preserved by the strong and irresistible arm of YHVH.

So, what we are presumably seeing with the U.S.–Iran military escalation, combined with the ongoing international pressure to divide the covenant land, is the early formation of exactly that prophetic landscape described by the prophet some 2,500 years ago. American guarantees of an unbreakable alliance are uncertain and unreliable. The so-called Iran deal or MOU/Memorandum of Understanding has, for all intents and purposes, miserably collapsed. All the while, Hezbollah, entrenched in Lebanon, remains armed to the teeth in the north. The surrounding nations seem to be on the move in one form or another.

All things considered, Israel is being forced to learn that its security rests not in its own power or wherewithal to sustain itself; nor by any alliance-based provisions she may receive. But in the covenant faithfulness of the Ahloah of Avraham, Yitschaq, and Ya’achov.

 

Persia in the Prophets — This Is Not New Conflict

The conflict between Israel and Persia (modern Iran) is not a 21st-century invention. Ezekiel 38 describes a great coalition forming against Israel in the “latter years” (Ezek. 38:8) — led by a figure called Gog, from the land of Magog, drawing in allies including Persia (Ezek. 38:5). The text is explicit: Persia is listed by its ancient name among the enemies of Israel in the end-time alignment.

I am not claiming that what we are watching today is the final fulfillment of Gog and Magog. Theological humility requires that we hold prophetic application loosely. But we would be negligent not to notice that the prophetic framework — Persia opposing Israel, a northern power gathering force, international coalitions forming — is precisely the shape that current events are taking.

Daniel 8 adds another layer: the vision of the ram (Persia/Media) and the goat (Greece) — a vision about the collision of great powers, their pride, and their ultimate subjugation to the purposes of the God of heaven. What Daniel saw in vision, we see unfolding in the news cycle. Every empire that has set itself against Israel has eventually broken. The God who said “I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those who dishonor you” (Gen. 12:3) has not changed His posture.

 

Jeremiah’s Word — Saved, But Not Without Cost

Jeremiah 30 pairs well with Zechariah 12. But it also strongly stands on its own merits as an all-consuming prophecy of what’s ahead for national Yisra’el. And what’s ahead for Yisra’el according to YHVH through the pen of the prophet Jeremiah is nothing short of miraculous. But despite Yah effecting the final redemption of Yasharal, the nation will endure a time of trouble. Speaking of what Yah through the Prophet calls “the time of Jacob’s trouble.” But in the same breath, Yah sends comforting words to the nation by declaring: “Fear not, O Jacob my servant… For I am with you to save you… I will make a full end of all the nations among whom I scattered you, but of you I will not make a full end.” (Jer. 30:10–11)

Despite the braggadocios and threatening talk of the nations, Yasharal/Yisra’el will remain. She will not be destroyed. But she’s going to have to endure a time of hardship and discomfort before she reaches her final redemption while in the Land of Promise. Indeed, she will be isolated. Her military will be tested. Politically, she will be abandoned. In fact, all that the nation state of Israel is presently experiencing is part of her correction and refining. Contrary to the hopeful lies believed and spread by the anti-God and antisemitic souls of this modern world, Yah has not nor will he ever abandon His Covenant children.

This is the foundational word that the chosen and elect of Yehovah, watching and praying through current world events involving Yisra’el, need to be firmly cognizant of: Yehovah Sabaoth has not taken His strong and mighty hand off Israel. Because you see, beloved, our God is not afraid of Iran, nor is He surprised by any stunts they may pull. He is certainly not alarmed by Iran’s foolish acts over the Strait of Hormuz. You see, beloved, Abba Yah is accomplishing His divinely appointed purposes that are beyond the understanding of the legacy media. Indeed, our God declared through the mouth and pen of the prophet: “For just as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and they do not return there except they have watered the earth thoroughly and cause it to bring forth and sprout, and give seed to the sower and bread to the earter, so shall be My word that goes out from My mouth. It shall not return to Me without success (or it shall not return to Me void) but shall accomplish what I desire and be successful in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55.9-10; LEB)

 

What Messianic Believers Must Do Right Now

The Messianic-Hebraic-Netsari community is uniquely positioned for this moment in time. As the redeemed of the Most High Ahlohim through Yehoshua Messiah, we are emissaries of the Kingdom of God—the Malchut Elohim. Thus, we are by default privileged to be faithful witnesses for the Kingdom. So, here is what this moment in time requires of each of us:

First, it is incumbent upon us that we pray for Yisra’el with full covenant understanding and bearing. Consequently, our prayers and petitions on behalf of Yisra’el must not be that of mere political sympathies. The command to pray for the peace of Yerushalayim (Ps. 122:6) has intentionality attached to it. That intentionality comes from it being a covenantal obligation rooted in our engrafting into the Commonwealth of Yasharal (Romans 11:17).

Second, let us read the prophets again and again so that their words resonate within us and we as the righteous remnant of Yasharal, live by our Faith (Habakkuk 2.4). Indeed, the headlines of legacy media unwittingly serve as a commentary on the words of the holy prophets. There’s wisdom in letting the scriptures interpret the headlines, not the other way around. Our Master, when confronted by the Pharisees and Sadducees who came to test Him declared to Him: “When evening comes you say, ‘It will be fair weather because the sky is red,’ and early in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy weather, because the sky is red and darkening.’ You know how to evaluate correctly the appearance of the sky, but you are not able to evaluate the signs of the times. And evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, and a sign will not be given to it except the sign of Yonah!” (Matthew 16.2-4; LEB) So, let us not be like the erring Jewish religious leaders of Yeshua’s day. Instead, let us learn how to discern the signs of the times through the writings of the prophets of old.

Third, let us resist the temptation to set dates or make doctrinal prophetic claims about the events we see transpiring around us. Let us learn to be humble in our assessment of the signs of the times. Wise in our interpretations and not put ourselves in positions to fail by making sensational claims. We must learn to testify to the prophetic framework in scripture and in our heart, but we leave the specific timing of things and events to the very capable hand of God Almighty.

And fourth, allow Yah to provide the means to speak to your communities via our congregations; our online platforms; and even around our Shabbat tables about what the God of Avraham, Yitschaq, and Ya’achov is doing. The nations are in confusion, but the Body of Mashiyach should not be.

 

“

The nations are in uproar, the kingdoms fall; He lifts His voice, the earth melts.

”

(Psalm 46:6)

 

Yah is shaking the world at large because the world must know that He is Yehovah, Creator of the Universe. But we who are the redeemed of the Most High should not be shaken.

 

Closing

Indeed, we are meant to be witnesses and intercessors for this moment in human history. We are called to read the times with prophetic discernment, to hold the covenant promises with both hands, and to speak with clarity when the nations are in chaos.

The present iteration of the U.S.–Iran conflict is not the end. But it may be part of the beginning of the end. Maybe a form of birth-pangs that will precede the final restoration of Yisra’el and the advent of the coming Malchut haShammayim (aka the Kingdom of the Heavens).

 

“It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains… and all nations shall flow to it.” (Isaiah 2:2)

 

Indeed, beloved: That day cometh upon creation as an ocean torrent slams against an open beachhead. Until it does, let us as a Body and as individuals watch, pray, and speak the Words that will change the lives and souls of the lost of this world.

Shabbat Shalom.

 

[1] Walter C. Kaiser and Lloyd J. Ogilvie, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, vol. 23, The Preacher’s Commentary Series (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc, 1992), 415.

[2] John D. Barry, Douglas Mangum, et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016), Zec 12:3.

From Mourning to Comfort: Our Biblical Calendar Queue for the Week of July 20–26

by | Jul 20, 2026 | Blog, Podcasts

by Rod Thomas | The Messianic Torah Observer

Episode Title

From Mourning to Comfort: The Biblical Calendar Signal for the Week of July 20–26

Opening Word

Greetings Saints. In this installment, we are dealing with a week on Yah’s reckoning of time that is not simply another week on a religious calendar. It is the week that pivots. It is the week that moves from the solemn remembrance of Tisha B’Av — the ninth day of the fifth month — into the tender, prophetic, covenant-rooted comfort of Shabbat Nachamu, the Sabbath of Comfort.

And beloved, hear me on this: mourning is not the final word for Yah’s chosen and elect. It never has been. Even when Yah’s people are sitting in the rubble of their losses, even when we are forced to reckon with the consequences of unbelief, rebellion, sin, and stiffneckness, Abba’s calendar is already moving His people toward comfort.

Episode Summary

This teaching considers the unique spiritual movement that takes place in the Jewish calendar from Tisha B’Av to Shabbat Nachamu. Tisha B’Av memorializes the destruction of both Jerusalem Temples, along with other tragedies tied to Judah’s grief and the long history of our people’s rebellion and unbelief. Yet, within Yah’s reckoning of time, the grief of Tisha B’Av does not stand alone. The very next Sabbath opens with the words of Isaiah 40: “Comfort ye, comfort ye My people.”

So, in this discussion, we walk through why Tisha B’Av is not a mandated Feast of Yehovah, why it still carries tremendous spiritual significance for those in covenant with Yehovah through Yeshua Messiah, and why Shabbat Nachamu should matter to Netsari, Nazarene, Messianic, and Hebraic believers who understand that Yah’s calendar is not mere chronology. It is curriculum.

We also examine the Torah reading Vaetchanan, Moshe’s denied petition to enter the Land of Promise, the Shema, the Seven Weeks of Consolation, and the prophetic connection between Isaiah 40, Yochanan the Immerser, and the advent of our Master Yeshua Messiah — the One who embodies Yah’s promised comfort.

Key Theme

Beloved, the theme is simple, but it is not shallow: Yah moves His people from mourning to comfort. He does not ignore sin. He does not wink at rebellion. He does not pretend that destruction, judgment, exile, and loss have not happened. But neither does He leave His elect in the ashes. After Chazon comes Tisha B’Av. After Tisha B’Av comes Nachamu. After warning and mourning comes comfort.

And that, dear saint, is the mercy of our Elohim. He wounds, but He also binds up. He corrects, but He also restores. He calls His people to repentance, but He also speaks tenderly to Jerusalem and declares that her warfare — her compulsory labor — is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned, that it has been paid in full.

Major Points Covered in This Teaching

1. This Is the Week That Pivots

This week in the Jewish calendar moves from grief to comfort in the space of roughly 48 hours. It begins with Tisha B’Av and its complete fast, beginning at sundown on the eighth day of the fifth month, and it moves into Shabbat Nachamu, the Sabbath of Comfort. That movement is not incidental. It is Yah’s calendar preaching to us, beloved.

2. Tisha B’Av Is Not a Mandated Feast of Yehovah

Tisha B’Av is not one of the mandated Feasts of Yehovah. I repeat, it is not a commanded moedim of Yah. It is a Jewish holiday and memorial, much like Purim and Hanukkah. The redeemed of Yah through Yeshua Messiah are not required to keep it. Nevertheless, like Purim and Hanukkah, Tisha B’Av holds tremendous spiritual significance for those who are in covenant with Yehovah and in Yeshua Messiah.

3. Yah Has Not Given Up on Judah, Ephraim, or the Nations

Abba Yah has not given up on Judah, just as He has not given up on those of Ephraim and the Gentile nations who, through the Person and ministries of Yeshua Messiah, have been lovingly grafted into the Commonwealth of Yasharal. We have not always produced the fruit our Master instructed us to produce. We have squandered time and resources. Yet Yah has preserved a remnant — branches of the graft — who seek to bear fruit, promote the Kingdom of Yehovah, make Judah jealous, and image Yehovah in all the earth.

4. Yah’s Calendar Is Curriculum

Yah’s reckoning of time is not simply a list of dates that we blindly acknowledge from one yearly cycle to the next. His set-apart calendar is curriculum. And yes, many in this beloved Faith are weary of calendar discussions. I get it. But hear me on this: the Calendar matters to our Father. And if it matters to our Creator, it must matter to us. So let us not tire of honoring Yah’s reckoning of time to the best of our understanding.

5. Shabbat Chazon Warns Before Tisha B’Av Mourns

The previous Sabbath was Shabbat Chazon, the Sabbath of Vision. It stands as a prophetic warning before the mourning of Tisha B’Av. If you have not had the opportunity to listen to or read that discussion, I promised I would place the link in the show notes for your convenience, and here it is: https://www.themessianictorahobserver.org/2026/07/17/shabbat-chazon-the-sabbath-god-shows-you-the-temple-you-lost/

6. Tisha B’Av Reminds Us That Grief Is Real, But Not Final

This year, according to Abba’s Observational Calendar, Tisha B’Av falls on Friday, July 24, the ninth day of the fifth month of Yah’s sacred calendar year, while most Jews around the world will keep Tisha B’Av on Thursday, July 23. This memorial is heavy on Yah’s reckoning of time. It forces us to face destruction, loss, unbelief, rebellion, sin, and stiffneckness. But here is what Yah’s calendar understands and what our undiscerning hearts need to remember: mourning is not the final word.

I also promised to place the Tisha B’Av discussion in today’s show notes for your reference and convenience. That discussion may be found here: https://www.themessianictorahobserver.org/2026/07/16/why-tisha-bav-is-the-day-yeshua-wept/

7. Shabbat Nachamu Opens With Double Comfort

Shabbat Nachamu is the Sabbath immediately following Tisha B’Av. This year it falls on July 25, 2026, the tenth day of the fifth month of Yah’s sacred calendar year. It is named for the opening words of the Haftarah in Isaiah 40:1–26: Nachamu, nachamu ami — Comfort, comfort ye My people, says your Ahloah.

Beloved, the word comfort is doubled there. Yah is applying an intensive, urgent comfort. He is not whispering indifferently from some distant place. He is speaking tenderly to Jerusalem. He is declaring that her warfare, her compulsory labor, is accomplished; that her iniquity is pardoned; that it is paid in full; that she has received from YHVH’s hand double for all her sins.

8. Isaiah 40 Points Us to Messiah

Isaiah 40:3, the so-called forerunner’s call, is quoted in all four Gospel accounts as the announcement of the ministry of Master Yeshua. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all connect that voice in the wilderness to the coming of Messiah. Therefore, the comfort of Isaiah 40 is inseparable from the advent of Mashiyach. Yochanan the Immerser, along with the Prophet Isaiah, points us to the Comforter and to the One who is greater than the Temple.

9. Vaetchanan Calls Us Back to Covenant Renewal

The Torah reading for this coming Sabbath is Vaetchanan, contained in Deuteronomy 3:23–7:11. It includes Moshe’s plea to enter the Land of Promise — a plea Yah denied — and it also includes the Shema, found in Deuteronomy 6:4–9. The Shema prepares us for covenant renewal, reminding us that our comfort is not sentimental. It is covenantal. It calls us to hear, obey, love, and remain steadfast before Yehovah our Elohim.

10. The Seven Weeks of Consolation Move Us Toward Yom Teruah

Traditionally, Shabbat Nachamu begins the Shivah D’Nechemta, the Seven Weeks of Consolation — the seven Shabbatot between Tisha B’Av and the Day of the Blowing of Trumpets, Yom Teruah. During this period, the haftarot are drawn from Isaiah 40–66, often referred to as the Book of Comfort. Thus, the arc of Shabbat life from late July into mid-September is comfort-saturated.

11. Yeshua Is the Embodiment of Isaiah 40 Comfort

For the Messianic, Hebraic, and Netsari communities, Yeshua is the embodiment of Isaiah 40’s comfort. The movement from Tisha B’Av grief to Shabbat Nachamu comfort points us from the Temple’s destruction to the presence of the One who is greater than the Temple. And beloved, that is where our hope rests. Not in brick and stone alone, but in the Person, ministries, and reign of our Master Yeshua Messiah.

Scripture and Reference List

  • Isaiah 40:1
  • Isaiah 40:1–26
  • Isaiah 40:3
  • Isaiah 40–66
  • Deuteronomy 3:23–7:11
  • Deuteronomy 6:4–9
  • Romans 11
  • Romans 11:26
  • Romans 11:29
  • Matthew 3:3
  • Mark 1:3
  • Luke 3:4
  • John 1:23
  • Matthew 10:22
  • Matthew 24:13
  • Mark 13:13
  • Matthew 12:6

Promised Links and Related Teachings

  • Shabbat Chazon: The Sabbath God Shows You the Temple You Lost — https://www.themessianictorahobserver.org/2026/07/17/shabbat-chazon-the-sabbath-god-shows-you-the-temple-you-lost/
  • Why Tisha B’Av Is the Day Yeshua Wept — https://www.themessianictorahobserver.org/2026/07/16/why-tisha-bav-is-the-day-yeshua-wept/

Closing Exhortation

Wherever you are this week, dear saint, and whatever burdens, losses, griefs, or disappointments you may be carrying, Shema — hear — our covenant-making God speaking the same words He spoke through Isaiah:

Nachamu. Nachamu ami. Comfort ye. Comfort ye My people.

Indeed, beloved, Yah is not done with Yasharal. He is not done with Judah. He is not done with Ephraim. He is not done with those from the nations who have been grafted in through Yeshua Messiah. And He is certainly not done with you.

Stay well and abundantly blessed, dear saint. Until next time, shalom, shalom.

AI, Spiritual Authority, and the Image of Elohim

by | Jul 2, 2026

Episode Title AI, Spiritual Authority, and the Image of Elohim: A Messianic Torah Perspective on Artificial Intelligence Opening Thoughts Shalom and greetings, beloved of the Most High. In this installment of The Messianic Torah Observer, we step slightly outside our...

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Shabbat Chazon: The Sabbath God Shows You the Temple You Lost

by | Jul 17, 2026 | Blog, Podcasts

by Rod Thomas | The Messianic Torah Observer

Episode Title: Shabbat Chazon: The Sabbath God Shows You the Temple You Lost

Series / Format: The Messianic Torah Observer — Messianic-Hebraic Shabbat Teaching

Primary Torah Portion: Parashat Devarim — Deuteronomy 1:1–3:22

Haftarah Reading: Isaiah 1:1–27 — the vision of Yeshayahu ben Amotz

Messianic Anchor Passage: John 2:19–21 — “Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

Episode Overview

Beloved, in this installment of The Messianic Torah Observer, we step into Shabbat Chazon — the Sabbath of Vision — with the sobriety, reverence, and inward posture that this particular Erev Shabbat calls for. This is not a loud teaching. This is not a triumphalistic teaching. This is a teaching that invites Yah’s set-apart people to slow down, look again, and ask what the Father may be showing us concerning what was lost, what sin has damaged, and what He alone is able to restore.

Our discussion sits inside Parashat Devarim, the opening reading of the fifth and final Sefer of Moshe, where Moshe stands east of the Jordan and speaks final covenant words to the generation preparing to receive the Land. But because this parsha is read on Shabbat Chazon, we also sit beneath the prophetic weight of Isaiah 1, where Yah calls heaven and earth to witness His indictment against His people, and yet still extends that stunning invitation: “Come now, and let us reason together.”

And for we who are Yeshua-focused Torah keepers, this Sabbath of Vision does not end at the sight of stones, ruins, and historical grief. It leads us to Master Yehoshua Messiah, who identified Himself as the true Temple of His Father, who was destroyed according to the hidden intentions of men, and who was raised in three days according to the eternal purposes of Yehovah. Halleluyah.

What This Teaching Is About

This teaching explores the intersection of three sacred realities: Moshe’s final address in Devarim, the solemn tradition of Shabbat Chazon before Tisha B’Av, and the Messianic revelation of Yeshua as the Temple that was raised in three days.

We consider how Moshe’s words were not merely historical review, but covenant memory. We examine how the Sabbath of Vision functions as a sacred pause before the grief of Tisha B’Av. And we allow John 2 to reframe our understanding of Temple, presence, restoration, and resurrection in the Person and ministry of our Master.

Key Themes

  • Shabbat Chazon as the Sabbath of Vision: A solemn Shabbat where Yah allows His people to see what was lost, not to crush them, but to awaken longing and repentance.
  • Devarim as covenant memory: Moshe rehearses the wilderness journey so that the second generation will not enter the Land forgetful, careless, or spiritually dull.
  • Truth wrapped in mercy: Moshe rebukes indirectly, naming places and events rather than shaming the generation standing before him.
  • Tisha B’Av and spiritual clarity: The season invites Yah’s people to look honestly at the cost of sin, rebellion, faithlessness, and stiffneckness.
  • Yeshua as the true Temple: John 2 reveals that the dwelling place of Yehovah’s presence is ultimately embodied in Yehoshua Messiah.
  • Restoration through resurrection: The Temple raised in three days changes how Messianic believers understand ruin, grief, loss, and covenant hope.
  • Isaiah 1:18 as divine invitation: Yah, though offended and wronged, invites His covenant people to reason with Him and be cleansed.

Detailed Show Notes

1. Cold Open — The Sabbath of Vision

The teaching opens by identifying Shabbat Chazon as the Sabbath of Vision — the Shabbat immediately before Tisha B’Av. The focus is not on celebration, but on holy perception. What if Yah is showing us something we once possessed, something damaged or lost, not as punishment, but as mercy? What if He is allowing us to see the ruin so that longing, repentance, and restoration may be awakened within us?

This opening question sets the tone for the entire discussion: Yah does not show His people loss simply to leave them in grief. He shows them loss so they may finally desire restoration on His terms.

2. Welcome and Context — Erev Shabbat, Devarim, and the Three Weeks

Rod welcomes the saints of the Most High and situates the teaching on Erev Shabbat, the 2nd day of the 5th month of Yah’s set-apart calendar year, corresponding to Friday, July 17, 2026 on the Roman calendar. The installment is framed as a slower, more devotional Shabbat teaching rather than a standard midweek instruction.

The discussion takes place within the Three Weeks of mourning, the period associated with the breach of Jerusalem’s walls and the destruction of the Temple, culminating in Tisha B’Av. Because Shabbat Chazon falls just before Tisha B’Av, this Sabbath carries unusual spiritual weight and demands a more solemn posture from Yah’s covenant people.

3. Parashat Devarim — Moshe’s Final Covenant Words

Parashat Devarim begins the fifth and final book of Moshe. Devarim means “Words,” and that is fitting because the book functions as Moshe’s long final address to the generation preparing to enter the Land of Promise. Moshe is no longer simply legislating or administrating. He is exhorting. He is remembering. He is preparing the people to receive what Yah had promised.

Standing on the plains of Moab east of the Jordan, Moshe rehearses the wilderness journey, including the appointment of judges, the catastrophe at Kadesh Barnea, the bad report of the spies, and the unbelief that caused the first generation to forfeit its entrance into the Land. Yet Moshe’s rebuke is gracious. He speaks truth, but he wraps that truth in dignity, love, and pastoral restraint.

The tenor of Devarim is therefore truth delivered in love by one who has earned the right to speak. That makes it especially fitting for Shabbat Chazon, a Sabbath where Yah’s people must face what sin has cost, without losing sight of the mercy that still calls them forward.

4. What Is Shabbat Chazon?

The name Chazon comes from the opening word of the Haftarah reading attached to this Shabbat: “Chazon Yeshayahu ben Amotz” — “The Vision of Isaiah son of Amoz.” Because of that opening word in Isaiah 1:1, the Sabbath before Tisha B’Av is known as Shabbat Chazon, the Sabbath of Vision.

According to Jewish tradition, this Sabbath is connected to the Temple that was lost. The teaching explains the rabbinic idea that Yah shows His people the Temple so they may mourn it rightly. The point is not punishment, but longing. Yah’s people cannot mourn what they cannot see, and they cannot pray for restoration with urgency if the loss does not feel real.

For that reason, Shabbat Chazon becomes a Sabbath of clarity. It is a time to sit with the cost of sin and covenant failure, whether communal, historical, or personal, and to call the ruin what it is before calling upon the One who alone rebuilds.

5. Yeshua, the Temple, and the Resurrection Promise

The teaching then turns to John 2:19–21, where Master Yehoshua declares, “Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The leaders misunderstood Him as speaking only of the physical Temple complex, but His disciples later understood that He was speaking of the Temple of His body.

This Messianic connection changes the way we approach Shabbat Chazon. For followers of Yeshua, the Temple is not merely a structure of stone and gold in Yerushalayim. The true dwelling place of Yehovah’s presence is embodied in Yehoshua Messiah. He is the place where Heaven and earth meet, where forgiveness is secured, where holiness is embodied, and where the nations are ultimately invited to draw near.

Thus, when Shabbat Chazon invites us to see the Temple, we look not only to ancient ruin, but to the broken body of our Master on the execution stake — and beyond that, to the resurrection promise. The Temple was raised in three days. And because He lives, our grief is not without hope, and our mourning is not without restoration.

6. Moshe’s Devarim and Yeshua’s Upper Room Discourse

The teaching draws a midrashic connection between Moshe’s address in Devarim and Yeshua’s final words in John 13–17, often called the Upper Room Discourse. Both are delivered at the end of the leader’s earthly mission. Both look backward over what Yah has done and forward to what the covenant people must carry next. Both include instruction, warning, comfort, promise, and blessing.

Moshe prepares Joshua son of Nun to carry the nation forward, while Yeshua promises the Ruach HaKodesh to empower His disciples to carry the Gospel of the Kingdom forward. Moshe stands across from the Land he will not enter. Yeshua stands on the threshold of suffering, knowing He must drink the bitter cup before entering the exalted reign appointed to Him.

This is the spirit of Devarim and Shabbat Chazon: final words, covenant memory, solemn clarity, and hope rooted in Yah’s promises.

7. Matthew’s Presentation of Yeshua as the New Moshe

The teaching also notes how Matthew frames Yeshua as a Moshe-like figure through narrative patterning rather than a single isolated declaration. The flight to Egypt, Herod’s slaughter of the children, Yeshua’s wilderness testing, His mountain teaching, and the transfiguration all invite the reader to see Yehoshua as Prophet, Redeemer, Teacher, Mediator, Miracle Worker, and Covenant Leader — like Moshe, yet greater than Moshe.

In the transfiguration account, Moshe appears with Eliyahu, and Yehovah declares: “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him.” This echoes Deuteronomy 18:15–18, where Moshe foretells a prophet like himself whom Yah’s people must hear.

Beloved, this is not coincidence. This is the beauty of Scripture’s unity. Moshe’s final words and Yeshua’s final words are not isolated moments. They are covenant echoes, calling Yah’s people to remember, obey, trust, and move forward in the purposes of the Kingdom.

8. Isaiah 1:18 — The Great Invitation

The final movement of the teaching returns to Isaiah 1, the Haftarah for Shabbat Chazon. Isaiah 1 is a severe prophetic indictment. Yah calls heaven and earth as witnesses. He names rebellion, bloodguilt, corruption, desolation, and empty worship. Yet in the midst of that indictment, Yah speaks one of the most merciful invitations in all of Scripture: “Come now, and let us reason together.”

Here, the offended party becomes the One who invites the offender to the table. Yah does not call His people near merely to condemn them, but to cleanse them. Though sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though red like crimson, they shall become as wool.

For those of us in Mashiyach, we know Who made that invitation possible. Our Master took the scarlet stain upon Himself. The Temple was bruised, scarred, and broken — and then raised. Therefore, Shabbat Chazon is not merely about seeing what was lost. It is about seeing the One through whom Yah restores what sin could never repair.

Main Takeaway

Shabbat Chazon is the Sabbath where Yah shows His people what was lost so they may rightly mourn, repent, long, and return. But for we who follow Yehoshua Messiah, the vision does not terminate at the ruins of a Temple. It carries us to the broken and resurrected body of our Master — the true Temple of Yehovah — through whom restoration, cleansing, and covenant hope are made possible.

Reflection Questions

  • Beloved, what might Yah be showing you on this Sabbath of Vision?
  • Is there something in your walk, your family, your fellowship, or your obedience that has suffered loss and needs to be rightly mourned?
  • Have you allowed the weight of sin, rebellion, faithlessness, or spiritual dullness to become ordinary?
  • Are you willing to let Yah show you the ruin without turning away too quickly?
  • Do you believe that what Yah shows you, He is also able to cleanse, rebuild, and restore through Yehoshua Messiah?
  • How does seeing Yeshua as the true Temple change the way you understand grief, repentance, and hope?

Scripture References

  • Deuteronomy 1:1–3:22 — Parashat Devarim, Moshe’s opening address east of the Jordan.
  • Isaiah 1:1–27 — Haftarah for Shabbat Chazon, the vision of Isaiah son of Amoz.
  • Isaiah 1:18 — “Come now, and let us reason together.”
  • John 2:19–21 — Yeshua identifies His body as the Temple that would be raised in three days.
  • Numbers 20:2–13 — Moshe strikes the rock at Meribah.
  • Joshua 5:8–12 — Israel’s transition into covenant life in the Land around Pesach.
  • John 13–17 — Yeshua’s Upper Room Discourse.
  • Matthew 2 — Yeshua’s flight to Egypt and Herod’s slaughter of the children.
  • Matthew 4; Exodus 24:18; Deuteronomy 10:10 — Yeshua’s forty days in the wilderness and Moshe’s forty days before Yehovah.
  • Matthew 5:1–7:29; 9:36–10:42; 13:1–52; 17:22–18:35; 23:1–25:46 — Matthew’s five major discourse blocks.
  • Matthew 17:5 — “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him.”
  • Deuteronomy 18:15–18 — The prophet like Moshe whom Yah’s people must hear.

Referenced Works and Scholarly Sources

  • Matthew S. Harmon, The Servant of the Lord and His Servant People: Tracing a Biblical Theme through the Canon, ed. D. A. Carson, New Studies in Biblical Theology, Apollos / IVP Academic, 2020.
  • John Kampen, Matthew within Sectarian Judaism, Anchor Yale Bible Reference Library, Yale University Press, 2019.
  • Patrick Schreiner, Matthew, Disciple and Scribe: The First Gospel and Its Portrait of Jesus, Baker Academic, 2019.
  • Hall Harris III et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible, Lexham Press, 2012.

Closing Exhortation

Beloved, as you enter this Shabbat rest, do not rush past what Yah may be showing you. Sit with the vision. Let the Word search you. Let the weight of Devarim, the grief of Isaiah, and the resurrection promise of John 2 do their righteous work. And if Yah reveals ruin, loss, dullness, rebellion, or grief, do not despair. The One who shows the ruin is also the One who says, “Come.”

Come reason with Him. Come return to Him. Come behold the Temple He raised. And may this Shabbat Chazon awaken in each of us a holy longing for the fullness of what Yah intends to restore in Yehoshua Messiah. Shabbat Shalom, beloved.

AI, Spiritual Authority, and the Image of Elohim

by | Jul 2, 2026

Episode Title AI, Spiritual Authority, and the Image of Elohim: A Messianic Torah Perspective on Artificial Intelligence Opening Thoughts Shalom and greetings, beloved of the Most High. In this installment of The Messianic Torah Observer, we step slightly outside our...

read more

Why Tisha B’Av Is the Day Yeshua Wept — And Why Every Believer Should Know It- Part 1

by | Jul 16, 2026 | Blog, Podcasts

by Rod Thomas | The Messianic Torah Observer

Why Tisha B’Av Is the Day Yeshua Wept — And Why Every Believer Should Know It

Episode Type: Messianic-Hebraic Teaching | Series: Part 1 of 2 | Topic: Tisha B’Av, Yeshua’s lament over Yerushalayim, the destruction of the Temples, and the recovered discipline of covenant lament.

Episode Summary

Beloved, in this installment we take up a Gospel moment that most believers have read, but precious few have stopped long enough to understand. Yeshua draws near to Yerushalayim during that charged final week of His earthly ministry. The crowds are rejoicing. The palm branches are waving. The cries of Hosanna are filling the streets. But the Master is not swept up in the excitement of the moment. He sees the city, He beholds the Temple Mount, He looks upon the people of covenant promise, and Luke tells us that He wept over it.

And this was no sentimental tear. This was not a quiet emotional pause. The word Luke uses points us toward audible grief — the kind of lament that takes hold of the whole person. Master Yeshua was not simply reacting to rejection. He was looking ahead to the Roman siege, the leveling of Yerushalayim, the destruction of the Temple, and the covenant consequences that would fall upon a people who did not recognize the time of their visitation.

That grief brings us to Tisha B’Av — the ninth of Av — the day on the Jewish calendar set apart for mourning the destruction of the First and Second Temples, the fall of Betar, the plowing of the city, and other calamities that have marked Jewish history. This teaching argues that Tisha B’Av is not merely a Jewish memorial day for our cousins to observe at a distance from us. It is a day that every covenant believer should understand, because the grief of this day is bound up with the grief of our Master.

Why This Teaching Matters

The broader Body of Messiah has become very good at celebration, but not always faithful in lament. We know how to sing. We know how to clap. We know how to declare victory. But we often do not know how to sit with sacred loss, covenant failure, historical judgment, and grief that has not yet reached its appointed comfort. Tisha B’Av helps us recover that missing discipline.

This is not a call to empty tradition. This is not a call to bind upon the saints a man-made requirement. Rather, it is an invitation to consider whether the tears of Yeshua over Yerushalayim should shape the way we look at the ninth of Av, the destruction of the Temple, the Book of Lamentations, and the grief of our Jewish cousins.

Key Themes Covered

  • Yeshua’s lament over Yerushalayim was connected to the coming destruction of the city and Temple.
  • Tisha B’Av means “the ninth of Av” and is treated in Jewish tradition as the most grief-saturated day of the year.
  • The Mishnah records five national calamities associated with the ninth of Av.
  • The destruction of the First and Second Temples is central to the meaning of the day.
  • Lamentations, or Sefer Eka, gives covenant language to sacred grief.
  • Lament is not a failure of faith; it is faith telling the truth before Yehovah.
  • Messianic and Netsari believers should not approach Tisha B’Av as tourists in Jewish history.
  • The sorrow of Tisha B’Av prepares the heart to receive the comfort of Shabbat Nachamu.

Primary Scripture Passages for Study

  • Luke 19:41–44 — Yeshua draws near to Yerushalayim and weeps over the city, prophesying the siege, destruction, and covenant blindness connected to the failure to recognize the time of visitation.
  • Matthew 23:37–39 — Yeshua laments over Yerushalayim, mourns the city that kills the prophets, and declares that her House is left desolate.
  • Lamentations 1:1–3 — The opening grief of Sefer Eka: “How desolate the city sits that was once full of people.”
  • Lamentations 5:20–22 — The unresolved closing plea: “Turn thou us unto thee, O YHVH, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old.”
  • Zechariah 7:2–3 — The question concerning mourning and fasting in the fifth month, pointing toward the fast associated with the destruction of Yerushalayim.
  • Zechariah 8:19 — The promise that the fast of the fifth month will one day become joy, gladness, and appointed seasons of blessing for the House of Judah.
  • Numbers 14:26–38 — The wilderness generation’s unbelief after the report of the spies, traditionally associated with the beginning of weeping on the ninth of Av.
  • 2 Kings 25:8–11 — The burning of the House of Yehovah, the king’s house, and the houses of Yerushalayim by the Babylonians.
  • Jeremiah 52:12–16 — Jeremiah’s account of the Babylonian destruction and deportation connected to the fall of Yerushalayim.
  • John 2:14–21 — Yeshua’s declaration concerning the Temple and His body: “Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
  • John 10:22–23 — Yeshua in Yerushalayim during the Feast of Dedication, showing His presence within Jewish communal and calendar life.
  • Matthew 5:3–12 — The Beatitudes, especially “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
  • Isaiah 40:1 — “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,” the prophetic opening that stands behind Shabbat Nachamu, the Sabbath of Comfort following Tisha B’Av.
  • Deuteronomy 28 — The covenant blessings and curses that frame Israel’s national consequences for obedience and disobedience.

Historical and Rabbinic References Mentioned

  • Mishnah Ta’anit 4:6 — Records five calamities connected with the ninth of Av: the decree that the wilderness generation would not enter the Land, the destruction of the First Temple, the destruction of the Second Temple, the capture of Betar, and the plowing of the city.
  • Babylonian Talmud, Ta’anit 29a — Expands the tradition around the ninth of Av, including the idea of a night of weeping for generations and the discussion of the Temple burning.
  • Midrash Tanchuma, Shelach — Preserves the tradition that Israel’s unnecessary weeping after the spies’ report became a day of weeping for generations.
  • Josephus, The Jewish War — Describes the Roman siege and destruction of Yerushalayim and dates the burning of the Second Temple in relation to the fifth month.
  • 2 Baruch 10 — A Second Temple-era Jewish witness to the grief surrounding the destruction of Yerushalayim and the sanctuary.
  • Rood’s Chronology — Used in the teaching for Gospel chronology and harmonized renderings connected to Luke 19 and Matthew 23.
  • The Lexham English Bible — Used for cited renderings of several biblical passages, including Lamentations and the Kings/Jeremiah destruction accounts.
  • Complete Word Study Dictionary of the New Testament, Spiros Zodhiates — Referenced for the meaning and force of the Greek term connected with Yeshua’s weeping in Luke 19.
  • New Interpreter’s Bible, Kathleen M. O’Connor on Lamentations — Referenced for the meaning of Eka as the Hebrew opening word of Lamentations, conveying “how” or “alas.”

Historical Events Connected to Tisha B’Av

  • The decree against the wilderness generation — Rabbinic tradition connects Israel’s unbelief after the spies’ report to the ninth of Av.
  • Destruction of the First Temple — The Babylonian destruction of Shlomo’s Temple is dated in the biblical record to the fifth month, with 2 Kings and Jeremiah preserving closely related but not identical date details.
  • Destruction of the Second Temple — Roman forces under Titus destroyed the Second Temple in 70 CE, an event central to Jewish mourning on Tisha B’Av.
  • Fall of Betar — The final stronghold of the Bar Kochba revolt fell to Rome, traditionally associated with the ninth of Av.
  • Plowing of Yerushalayim — The city and Temple area were desecrated and reconfigured under Roman power after the crushing of Jewish resistance.
  • Expulsion from England, 1290 — King Edward I issued the Edict of Expulsion against the Jews of England, a tragedy later associated with Tisha B’Av.
  • Expulsion from Spain, 1492 — The Alhambra Decree ordered unconverted Jews to leave the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon, with the deadline falling in the season of Tisha B’Av.
  • World War I, 1914 — Jewish tradition commonly notes the war’s outbreak in connection with the ninth of Av and sees in it a prelude to later devastation in Jewish history.

Terms and Concepts for Listeners to Know

  • Tisha B’Av — Hebrew for “the ninth of Av,” the fast and mourning day associated with the destruction of the Temples and other Jewish calamities.
  • Av — The fifth month of the Jewish calendar, a name adopted during or after the Babylonian exile.
  • Yerushalayim — Jerusalem, the covenant city over which Yeshua wept.
  • Sefer Eka — The Book of Lamentations; Eka means “how” or “alas,” the stunned opening cry of sacred grief.
  • Eklausen — The Greek term connected to Yeshua’s weeping in Luke 19, carrying the force of audible grief or wailing.
  • Beit HaMikdash — The Holy House, or Temple.
  • Shabbat Nachamu — The Sabbath of Comfort following Tisha B’Av, anchored in Isaiah 40:1.
  • Covenant lament — Grief that is brought before Yehovah in truth, repentance, remembrance, and hope.

Suggested Study Path for This Week

  1. Read Luke 19:41–44 slowly. Do not rush past the tears of the Master. Ask what He saw when He looked upon Yerushalayim.
  2. Read Matthew 23:37–39 beside Luke 19. Listen for the shared language of rejected visitation, desolation, and grief.
  3. Read Lamentations one chapter at a time. Let Sefer Eka do what it was preserved to do. Do not explain it away. Sit with it.
  4. Read Zechariah 7 and 8 together. Notice that Yah does not merely address the act of fasting; He addresses the heart and covenant intent behind the fasting.
  5. Read 2 Kings 25 and Jeremiah 52. Compare the destruction accounts and allow the historical weight of the fifth month to settle upon you.
  6. Read Isaiah 40:1 after Lamentations. Do not reach for comfort too quickly, but when the time comes, receive it as a word from the God who restores.

Questions for Reflection and Fellowship Discussion

  • Why do you think Yeshua wept while others were celebrating His entry into Yerushalayim?
  • What does Luke 19 teach us about recognizing the time of visitation?
  • How has modern worship culture trained believers to avoid lament?
  • What is the difference between religious performance and covenant remembrance?
  • How does Lamentations help believers grieve without losing faith?
  • Why should Messianic and Netsari believers care about Jewish grief connected to the Temple?
  • What might it look like to stand in solidarity with our Jewish cousins without pretending to be what we are not?
  • How does Shabbat Nachamu help us understand the biblical movement from sorrow to comfort?

Listener Takeaway

Beloved, the great takeaway from this teaching is not simply that Tisha B’Av exists, nor that terrible things have happened to our Jewish cousins on or around the ninth of Av. The takeaway is that our Master wept over the very grief this day remembers. And if Yeshua wept over Yerushalayim, then we who follow Him should not be indifferent to the ruins, the exile, the covenant warnings, and the sacred sorrow tied to that city.

Lament does not cancel hope. Lament prepares the heart to receive hope rightly. We do not mourn as those who have no promise. But neither do we rush past the ashes to get to the comfort. Tisha B’Av teaches us to sit where Scripture sits, to weep where the prophets wept, and to let the tears of Yeshua correct the shallow places in our faith.

Recommended Call to Action

If this teaching informed, challenged, or blessed you, share it with someone who has never considered why Tisha B’Av matters to followers of Yeshua. Then, before the fast begins, take time to read through the Book of Lamentations. Read it prayerfully. Read it slowly. Let it trouble you where it needs to trouble you. And then, when the Sabbath of Comfort comes, may you hear the voice of Yehovah say, “Comfort ye, comfort ye My people.”

Cited Reference List for Further Study

  • The Holy Scriptures: Luke 19:41–44; Matthew 23:37–39; Lamentations 1:1–3; Lamentations 5:20–22; Zechariah 7:2–3; Zechariah 8:19; Numbers 14:26–38; 2 Kings 25:8–11; Jeremiah 52:12–16; John 2:14–21; John 10:22–23; Matthew 5:3–12; Isaiah 40:1; Deuteronomy 28.
  • Mishnah Ta’anit 4:6.
  • Babylonian Talmud, Ta’anit 29a.
  • Midrash Tanchuma, Shelach.
  • Flavius Josephus, The Jewish War, especially material concerning the siege and destruction of Yerushalayim in 70 CE.
  • 2 Baruch, chapter 10.
  • Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament.
  • Kathleen M. O’Connor, “The Book of Lamentations,” in The New Interpreter’s Bible, edited by Leander E. Keck.
  • Hall Harris III et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible.
  • Michael Rood, The Chronological Gospels / Rood’s Chronology references used in the teaching.
  • Sefaria Library, Mishnah Ta’anit 4:6 and related rabbinic texts.
  • org, Tisha B’Av 2026 date and historical overview.
  • Judaism 101, Tisha B’Av overview and historical notes.
  • com, discussion of the dating of the First and Second Temple destructions.
  • The National Archives, resources on Jews in England and the 1290 expulsion.
  • Historical materials on the Alhambra Decree and the 1492 expulsion from Spain.