The 9th of Av is notorious for being a day where bad things happen. That’s today, and you, on some level are at a crossroads. The decisions you make during the month of Av are critical.
The original problem with the 9th of Av was that during Tammuz, twelve spies, one from each tribe, were sent to check out the promised land. I don’t know why they were called spies; it sounds very espionagey. I’d say they were actually scouts. They were supposed to find out the practical details of moving into the promised land: what the geography was, was it farmable, the best access routes, etc. God set them up in every way to succeed. Their assignment was to find out how to conquer the territory, but somewhere in the midst of their assignment, they began asking should we or shouldn’t we rather than exactly how to accomplish the takeover.
So when the spies came back on the 9th of Av, two of them were super excited about enormous fruit and abundant resources while the other ten were intimidated by the giants living there. The ten convinced the people that waited behind that entering the promised land was not a good idea and that God and Moses were the bad guys for bringing them there. They wished they had stayed slaves.
Meanwhile, the two spies that were trusting that God would help them were trying to build faith into the people—faith that God was with them and had brought them to this place for a purpose, not just to die. Instead, the people threatened to stone them.
God’s response was that if they didn’t want to go to the promised land, they didn’t have to go. They could stay in the desert for the rest of their lives. So that’s what they did. He took care of them there, but it was far from the best that he had for them. The next generation and the two spies were the only ones who entered the land.
Now let’s take another look at Nisan and personalize what happened. When you were declaring yourself free during Nisan, what was it from? What were you hoping to move toward? Do you see yourself on the cusp of that now? What are some things that intimidate you? What obstacles are you facing? In light of what I just said, how will you respond?
There’s a critical point in transitioning from slaves to sons. It’s a mindset of learning that in any situation that God puts you in or asks of you, you already have everything you need at the ready. It just doesn’t look like it.
I don’t know if this is to put one over on the enemy or to grow us in relationship and faith or both. When we are facing something that seems overwhelming and when it looks like you don’t have what you need, ask what you’ve overlooked. “What resources am I not using that would apply to this situation?”
Listen, we have got to push through. Many tragedies have happened to the Jewish people on the 9th of Av. It’s as if this one historical event of inferiority complex, lack of faith, and a belief that God set them up to fail opened a door to future devastation on the same date for centuries to come. Let’s be courageous like a lion. The Lion of the Tribe of Judah is both our tribe of the month and astrological sign.
Seneca Schurbon
AuthorIf you’ve enjoyed this post from Seneca, check out her books in the Healing in the Hebrew Months series: Prophetic Strategies Hidden in the Tribes, Constellations, Gates, and Gems and Shemitah for Christians: Living in Rhythms of Rest