plum
13th July 2006, 09:16 AM
i got an email from Rick Spurlock of BereansOnline.org that explained the significance of this time we are now in called "between the troubles"
At sundown, Tamuz 17, we begin the "time between the troubles." This year that is sundown on July 12.
Bein Hametzarim is the season of sin and redemption. Bein Hametzarim is the period of three weeks that begins on the 17 Tamuz and ends on 9 Av (Tisha b'Av). As we have seen that the Mo'adim of HaShem [appointments, or feasts of HaShem] are prophetic time markers, so we see a cycle of sin (and mercy) in the life of nation of Israel in this time called between the troubles.
When one examines the history of the Nation of Israel in regard to this three week period between the troubles it is a remarkable recounting of sin and its consequences. It is also a period which points to a yet-future time of joy. You see, beloved, it is this period of time that Zechariah alludes to in Zechariah 8:18-19 where the mention of the fast of the fourth month [17 Tamuz] and the fast of the fifth month is [9 Av] are bookends for this period.
Then the word of HaShem of hosts came to me, saying, "Thus says HaShem of hosts: 'The [B]fast of the fourth month, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be joy and gladness and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah. Therefore love truth and peace.'"
Zechariah 8:18-19
Remember this promise as we remember the sin and the calamity of these three weeks between the troubles. These two dates of 17 Tamuz and 9 Av are bookends in time. It is these three weeks that are alluded to in Jeremiah 1:11 when he is shown a almond tree as symbolic of the calamity coming upon Judah during the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem. It takes twenty-one days for an almond to go from blossom to fully ripened. The Mishna recounts five events took place on 17 Tamuz:
The sin of the Golden Calf and the breaking of the First Tablets.
The tamid [daily sacrifices] in the First Temple were suspended during the siege of Jerusalem, because of the lack of sacrificial animals.
Jerusalem's walls were breached, prior to the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE.
Prior to the Great Revolt, the Roman general Apostamos burned a Torah scroll.
An idolatrous image was placed in the Sanctuary of the Holy Temple.
The Mishna also records that five events took place on the day at the end of this period (9 Av):
The bad report of the spies sent to spy out the Land - and the subsequent punishment of wandering for forty years was decreed (from this week's parasha).
The First Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BCE. 100,000 Jews were killed and most of the rest exiled to Babylon.
The Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. Over two million Jews were killed and one million exiled.
The Temple Mount is plowed under and salted in 71 CE.
The second revolt was ended when the Roman Emperor Hadrian captured city of Betar, the last stand for the Jews with over 100,000 killed in 135 CE. m.Ta'anit 26b
A look at history will also show a remarkable number of calamities befell Israel on these two dates.
17 Tamuz:
· In 1239, Pope Gregory IX orders destruction of all manuscripts of the Talmud.
· In 1391, over 4,000 Jews killed in Spain.
· In 1559, the Jewish quarter of Prague is burned.
· In 1944, the entire population of the Jewish ghetto in Kovno were sent to death camps.
9 Av (Tisha b'Av):
· In 1095, the First Crusade begins by decree of Pope Urban II. In the first month, over 10,000 Jews were killed.
· In 1290, expulsion was ordered for all Jews in England.
· In 1492, the Spanish Inquisition begins - with the decree by King Ferdinand that after midnight not a single Jew was to remain on Spanish soil. Christopher Columbus, boarded his ships that night to set sail in the morning. He, and some of his sailors were Jewish.
· In 1914, the First World War begins on this date.
You can see the cycle that began on that calamitous day with the Golden Calf (17 Tamuz), and then a year later is marked with the Israelites accepting the bad report of the spies (9 Av). These are indeed sad days in the history of all mankind. But what is often missed is the hope buried within the very words Scripture. These are to be days of joy in the future as Jeremiah predicted - but even within the sadness of these days now, there is hope. You see, the first thing ever mentioned about this time between the troubles is found Genesis 8:9. Beloved, in the midst of calamity, there is always hope. If you do the math, you will discover that 17 Tamuz was the day that Noah send out the dove from the Ark following the punishment of the Flood.
Also, if you remember, following the sin of the Golden Calf, G-d revealed His attributes to Moses on Sinai. We see His awesome mercy as He tells Moses,
HaShem, HaShem G-d, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
Exodus 34:6b-7
We see a similar Numbers, after Israel has wickedly accepted the bad report from the ten spies. In this case, Moses pleads for Israel, remembering the merciful character of G-d.
"And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my HaShem be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying, 'HaShem is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.' Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now." And HaShem said, "I have pardoned according to thy word: But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of HaShem."
Numbers 14:17-21
Ironically, this same mercy is seen later in our portion when G-d gives further instructions about "when you have come into the land" (15:2). After decreeing the forty years of wandering, G-d immediately tells them that they (their children) will still enter the land.
As you pray for the Peace of Jerusalem, and watch with anxiety the events unfolding in the Middle East... remember that this is Bein Hametzarim [between the troubles]. This is a season of pain, and redemption - of consequence, and mercy.
May G-d be merciful on us. And on all Israel.
At sundown, Tamuz 17, we begin the "time between the troubles." This year that is sundown on July 12.
Bein Hametzarim is the season of sin and redemption. Bein Hametzarim is the period of three weeks that begins on the 17 Tamuz and ends on 9 Av (Tisha b'Av). As we have seen that the Mo'adim of HaShem [appointments, or feasts of HaShem] are prophetic time markers, so we see a cycle of sin (and mercy) in the life of nation of Israel in this time called between the troubles.
When one examines the history of the Nation of Israel in regard to this three week period between the troubles it is a remarkable recounting of sin and its consequences. It is also a period which points to a yet-future time of joy. You see, beloved, it is this period of time that Zechariah alludes to in Zechariah 8:18-19 where the mention of the fast of the fourth month [17 Tamuz] and the fast of the fifth month is [9 Av] are bookends for this period.
Then the word of HaShem of hosts came to me, saying, "Thus says HaShem of hosts: 'The [B]fast of the fourth month, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be joy and gladness and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah. Therefore love truth and peace.'"
Zechariah 8:18-19
Remember this promise as we remember the sin and the calamity of these three weeks between the troubles. These two dates of 17 Tamuz and 9 Av are bookends in time. It is these three weeks that are alluded to in Jeremiah 1:11 when he is shown a almond tree as symbolic of the calamity coming upon Judah during the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem. It takes twenty-one days for an almond to go from blossom to fully ripened. The Mishna recounts five events took place on 17 Tamuz:
The sin of the Golden Calf and the breaking of the First Tablets.
The tamid [daily sacrifices] in the First Temple were suspended during the siege of Jerusalem, because of the lack of sacrificial animals.
Jerusalem's walls were breached, prior to the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE.
Prior to the Great Revolt, the Roman general Apostamos burned a Torah scroll.
An idolatrous image was placed in the Sanctuary of the Holy Temple.
The Mishna also records that five events took place on the day at the end of this period (9 Av):
The bad report of the spies sent to spy out the Land - and the subsequent punishment of wandering for forty years was decreed (from this week's parasha).
The First Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BCE. 100,000 Jews were killed and most of the rest exiled to Babylon.
The Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. Over two million Jews were killed and one million exiled.
The Temple Mount is plowed under and salted in 71 CE.
The second revolt was ended when the Roman Emperor Hadrian captured city of Betar, the last stand for the Jews with over 100,000 killed in 135 CE. m.Ta'anit 26b
A look at history will also show a remarkable number of calamities befell Israel on these two dates.
17 Tamuz:
· In 1239, Pope Gregory IX orders destruction of all manuscripts of the Talmud.
· In 1391, over 4,000 Jews killed in Spain.
· In 1559, the Jewish quarter of Prague is burned.
· In 1944, the entire population of the Jewish ghetto in Kovno were sent to death camps.
9 Av (Tisha b'Av):
· In 1095, the First Crusade begins by decree of Pope Urban II. In the first month, over 10,000 Jews were killed.
· In 1290, expulsion was ordered for all Jews in England.
· In 1492, the Spanish Inquisition begins - with the decree by King Ferdinand that after midnight not a single Jew was to remain on Spanish soil. Christopher Columbus, boarded his ships that night to set sail in the morning. He, and some of his sailors were Jewish.
· In 1914, the First World War begins on this date.
You can see the cycle that began on that calamitous day with the Golden Calf (17 Tamuz), and then a year later is marked with the Israelites accepting the bad report of the spies (9 Av). These are indeed sad days in the history of all mankind. But what is often missed is the hope buried within the very words Scripture. These are to be days of joy in the future as Jeremiah predicted - but even within the sadness of these days now, there is hope. You see, the first thing ever mentioned about this time between the troubles is found Genesis 8:9. Beloved, in the midst of calamity, there is always hope. If you do the math, you will discover that 17 Tamuz was the day that Noah send out the dove from the Ark following the punishment of the Flood.
Also, if you remember, following the sin of the Golden Calf, G-d revealed His attributes to Moses on Sinai. We see His awesome mercy as He tells Moses,
HaShem, HaShem G-d, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
Exodus 34:6b-7
We see a similar Numbers, after Israel has wickedly accepted the bad report from the ten spies. In this case, Moses pleads for Israel, remembering the merciful character of G-d.
"And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my HaShem be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying, 'HaShem is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.' Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now." And HaShem said, "I have pardoned according to thy word: But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of HaShem."
Numbers 14:17-21
Ironically, this same mercy is seen later in our portion when G-d gives further instructions about "when you have come into the land" (15:2). After decreeing the forty years of wandering, G-d immediately tells them that they (their children) will still enter the land.
As you pray for the Peace of Jerusalem, and watch with anxiety the events unfolding in the Middle East... remember that this is Bein Hametzarim [between the troubles]. This is a season of pain, and redemption - of consequence, and mercy.
May G-d be merciful on us. And on all Israel.