Isaiah 49 – 53 and Tisha B’Av and The Dark Knight

Isaiah 49 – 53

After talking about how the Lord called him before his birth from within the womb, Isaiah discusses how the Lord has made him a light to the Gentiles and how he will bring his salvation to the ends of the earth. He will restore Israel. The Lord himself has written their names on the palms of his hands.

Think of the words in Isaiah 49:20 in terms of the Jews who are in Israel today. “The generations born in exile will return and say, ‘We need more room! It’s crowded here!’” And “All the world will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Israel. He speaks of people ransomed by the Lord returning to Jerusalem singing, crowned with everlasting joy. In Isaiah 52, beginning at verse 13, Isaiah begins to talk about the “suffering servant” – so many references in here and in chapter 53 about our Redeemer and Messiah, Jesus Christ, who “bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.”

Tomorrow, we’ll be reading Isaiah 54 – 58.

Tisha B’Av: The Root of Destruction – The Saddest Day of the Jewish Calendar

The following video explains Tisha B’Av – an annual day of fasting for the Jews that occurs every year on the ninth day (Tisha) of the month of Av. Even though we are not studying the destruction of the Temple yet, I thought you might find this as interesting as I do.

http://www.aish.com/h/9av/mm/98394544.html

It commemorates five events that occurred on this day:

1. The refusal of Israel to enter the Promised Land because of the report brought back by the spies. This resulted in the 40 years of wandering in the Wilderness. This is said to be at the root of this memorial.
2. The destruction of Solomon’s Temple by the Babylonians.
3. The destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans.
4. The death of more than 100,000 Jews at the hands of the Romans when they crushed Bar Kokhbar’s revolt in the city of Betar.
5. The plowing of the site of the Temple after Bar Kokhbar’s revolt was put down.

Other calamities that occurred on that day include:

1. The commencement of the Crusades.
2. Jews expelled from England in 1290.
3. Jews expelled from Spain by Ferdinand and Isabella in 1492.
4. Jews expelled from the Warsaw ghetto en route to Treblinka in 1942.
5. To commemorate the Holocaust.

The Dark Knight

Today, Karen and I went to see The Dark Knight – what a great movie: lots of excitement, car chases, unpredictable story lines and great acting. See it if you get a chance.

Until next time…