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The Fifth Month - Av - The Month to Hear

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The Fifth Month – Av
The Month to Hear
For a number of years I have been studying and praying for insight into how the Lord moves and works in time. We learn in 1 Chronicles 12:32 that the Sons of Issachar had an understanding of the times and knew what Israel ought to do.  They were masters of the Hebrew calendar.  

In Exodus 12:2 the Lord established the Hebrew calendar. “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you.” The Hebrew calendar begins at Passover in the month of Nissan.  This calendar was God ordained and introduced in the Bible.  

To better understand how God moves in times you can study the Hebrew calendar and the patterns that have been established in the Word of God.  Our Gregorian calendar is on a different time cycle than the Word of God.

The Bible refers to the month of Av as the fifth month counting from Passover.  It corresponds to the months of July/August on our calendar.  This year Av begins on July 16, 2015.  The Hebrew name is “Tisha B'Av,” which refers to the Ninth of Av.

The ninth of Av is known as the saddest day on the Jewish calendar.  It is a day of fasting to commemorate the destruction of the first and second temples as well as the many tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people on this date.  

“When you study the history of the Jews you discover that the Jewish people have experienced many calamities over the years, and most of those calamities have occurred on the same day, the ninth of AV.  It was on this date that both temples were destroyed, and the final destruction of Jerusalem took place in 135.”

If you go to Google and search the ninth of Av you will discover a number of calamities and difficulties that have happened to the Jewish people.  When did it begin?  Why is the ninth of Av such a day of devastation?

The Lord meant for the ninth of Av to be a day of joy and celebration.  It was to be the day that they were to enter into their promised land. We learn in Numbers 13 that Moses sent twelve spies into the land of Canaan to spy out the land.  This took place on the seventeenth day of Tammuz (fourth month).  

Forty days later on the ninth of Av the spies returned and we learn in the latter verses of Numbers 13 and the first verses of chapter 14 that ten of the twelve spies brought an evil report.

As a result of Israel’s disobedience and rebellion this generation missed their opportunity to enter into their inheritance.  Because of this rebellion a door was opened to the enemy on this day.  I do not believe that it is coincidence that many of the tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people happen on this day. 

Av is known as the “time of dire straits.”  It is the month that we must press through the narrow place.  It is a month to choose.  Israel chose to believe the bad report.  We must choose to believe the report of the Lord no matter how the circumstances appear.  

In some Jewish thought the month of Av corresponds to the tribe of Simeon. The name Simeon translates "to hear."  This is a month to listen and to hear carefully.  The previous month, Tammuz, means to see.  We were instructed to see the path, and now in this month we must listen careful for God’s instructions and the strategies that He will give us to enable us to enter into His assignment.

The Fifteenth of Av is known as the day the maidens of Israel would dance in the vineyards while their potential bridegrooms would look on and choose a mate from among the dancing maidens. Thus, the fifteenth of Av is known as the day when marriages were made.

Av is a month to strengthen your covenant relationships, and to watch for the new relationships on your path.  This is a month to be aware of the kingdom relationships and partnerships that God will put on your path.

It is a month to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and to watch for the snares and plots of the enemy to bring you into conflict.  What are you going to choose to do during this month?  Are you going to believe the good report and press through the narrow place?  Joshua 24:14 -15 – “Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! 15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

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