The Prophetic Significance of “Between the Straits” | Dire Days of Distress

The season of “Between the Straits” is a three-week period between the 17^th of Tammuz and the 9^Th of Av on the Hebraic calendar. This falls within the summer months on the Gregorian calendar.

It is a significant period of time of “pressing down,” when the enemy has historically attacked Israel in numerous ways throughout the generations. For Believers, we know God operates and pours out blessings and appointed moments of introspection within His timing and calendar. So then, we can anticipate the enemy attacks in response to the move of God.

One of those seasons of attacks is “Between the Straits” or “Dire Straits” (see Lamentations 1:3).

Join Rabbi Curt Landry as he prophetically explains what this season of “pressing down” means for you and gives you a prayer strategy for coming out victorious on the other side.

If you feel the pressure building up in this season in your life, you won’t want to miss this powerful and prophetic podcast. 

Transcription from Podcast (Revised for Readability)

Introduction

Shalom, and welcome to Ancient Principles, Kingdom Authority. I’m Rabbi Curt Landry. Today we are discussing the season of “Between the Straits” or “Dire Straits.” If you are like me, raised in the 60s, 70s, or 80s, you might remember the band Dire Straits. Their name actually comes out of a biblical principle of going through a time of distress. And it’s interesting because it is actually the season of time we are in now.

When and What is the “Between the Straits” Season?

It is a three-week period (or season) between the 17th of Tammuz and the 9th of Av on the Hebraic calendar. This falls within the summer months on the Gregorian calendar. 

In Hebraic culture, it actually starts in the breaching of that three weeks, is when the first breach on the walls of the Temple took place, that is on the 17th of Tammuz, and there’s a breach, and then the destruction of the first and second Temple both happened on the same day, the 9^th of Av. 

And so, the time between the breach and the destruction of the Temple was a three-week period, which came to be known as “Dire Straits” or “Between the Straits.”

Where is “Between the Straits” or “Dire Straits” Mentioned in the Bible?

It is in Lamentations 1:3, “Judah has gone into captivity, under afflictions and hard servitude. She dwells amongst the nations. She finds no rest. All her persecutors overtake her in the Dire Straits.” 

This is talking about this three-week period of time when the enemy triumphs.

What Do We Do in the “Between the Straits” Season?

So, what do we do in this three-week period of time from the 17th of Tammuz to the 9th of Av? “Between the Straits” or “Dire Straits” actually translates out in Hebrew as “squeezed or pressed down or ground down, or a narrow place.”

It is a narrow period of time when the enemy seeks to “press you down.” 

Here’s what we do…

For my family we do not travel or do a lot of activity during the “Between the Strait” season, in particular, the 9th of Av. We take a look at the calendar, and we keep it open. For us, it has been a time of…

• Fasting
• Introspection 
• Remembrance 

The whole purpose of the fast is to remember what the children of Israel were going through at that time—the reality of there being no temple because the enemies destroyed it.

What Does All This Mean Regarding Spiritual Warfare?

Now, understand that if the enemy has destroyed the Temple in an Old Testament time, there was no way to atone for sin. The nation of Israel understood then that the wages is death. 

So, without the Yom Kippur, without the scapegoat, without the Feast for the blessing, without being able to bring the offering during the Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles, they felt they were out there, freefalling to the attacks of the enemy. They didn’t know how to reconcile with God when there was no altar and no Temple.

Remember and Pray… 

And so, this remembrance of “Between the Straits,” between the 17th of Tammuz to the 9th of Av (Tisha B’Av), is a time where you go through the narrow place, and you ask God…

“Father God, what is it that’s in my personal life You want to do? I’m going to take this three-week period of time for self-introspection. Search me and know me, Lord, for I desire truth in my inward parts.” 

Ask the Lord…

• “What’s the EN-E-MY—what is IN ME that is trying to destroy this physical temple of Your Holy Spirit? 
• What time, tasks, and activities are tearing down my physical temple?
• What time, tasks, and activities are building up my physical temple? 
• What food, what habits, what patterns, what relationships do I have that are impacting my physical and spiritual temple?”

Just go down the list of all the different things you’re doing or not doing and use it as a time of reflection. Ask, “What’s on my to-do list, and what’s on my not-to-do list?” It’s a narrow place. It’s a time to be squeezed and pressed down.

After the Season of “Between the Straits” or “Dire Straits” is Over

When we get through the “Between the Straits” season, after the 9th of Av, where are we? Psalm 18:19 tells us…

• “He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me.”

So, what was the delight? The delight was the three weeks of introspection of spiritual cleansing and decisions to make to walk after God at a higher level.

• We remember the destruction of the Temple. 
• We remember every year that this is a time of reflection.

We can consider how to fast and what to fast from, asking the Lord, “What is it that you would do to help bless this temple and not curse it?”

Repent and Be Transformed

Let’s go to Acts 3:19, “Repent, therefore, and be converted.” 

Be converted to what? Be born again, but also, when you repent, ask the Lord to strike the stinkin’ thinkin’ from the record and ask Him to bring transformation from renewing your mind—taking you from not walking in the principles of transformation to being refreshed so you can.

And when we do this, we are converted so that our sins may be blotted out. So, that’s what was happening at the Temple at Yom Kippur, sins were blotted out. “So that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before.”

Prophetic Key to Understanding the “Between the Straits” Season

The key to this is, after we go through this “Between the Straits” season of being pressed down, then there’s the remembrance of the destruction of the old man being buried in baptism is now being resurrected. 

The Lord is taking you into a broad place, and you repent, therefore being converted to new thinking free from sinful thinking because your sins are blotted out. It’s a time of refreshing. The Holy Spirit, with fire and wind and power, can come in to cleanse your temple so that the enemy has no accusation to come against you and to try to destroy you.

Use this season of “Between the Straits” as a time of cleansing and introspection for promotion. 

Historical Significance

The “Between the Straits” season is historically significant because it was when the first and second Temples were destroyed—on the same day. This shows you that God has a calendar and the enemy attacks in reaction to how God is moving in His calendar. 

So, the lesson for Believers is …

• We are in a season in the middle of summer. 
• We are in a season when negative things can happen. 

Historically, many horrendous things happened on the 9th of Av. But we can overcome this as we lean into the Lord and ask Him to cleanse our temples using a prayer strategy.

Pray Strategy for “Between the Straits” Season

Download our prayer decree for Psalm 91. Use this during the three-week period of time. The prayer strategy would be this…

• Every day, get with your family and pray Psalm 91. 
• Decree Psalm 91 in the Courts of Heaven. 
• Personalize it, putting your name or your family’s name throughout. 
• Say, “It won’t come nigh, my dwelling.”

Let’s do this together. It’s better to experience something than me just to tell you. So go ahead and get out your Bibles and go to Psalm 91. This is your prayer strategy for “Between the Straits” season.

• “Father God, in the name of Yeshua, (say your name) dwells in the shelter of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. The (family name) will now say to the Lord, ‘He is our refuge and our fortress. He is our God, and in Him, the (family name) will find Your trust.’ Surely, He shall deliver the (family name) from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover the (family name) with His feathers, and under His wings, the (family name) will take refuge.”

“Your truth shall be a shield and a buckler to the (family name). Lord, the (family name) shall not be afraid of terror by night, nor the arrows that fly by day, nor the pestilence that walks in the darkness, nor the destruction that lays waste at noonday. The (family name) will only see a thousand may fall at our side, 10 thousand at our right hand, but it shall not come near the (family name) household or our family, in Yeshua’s name. 

“Only with our eyes shall we look and see the reward of the wicked. The (family name) have made the Lord, who is our refuge. Even the Most High, our dwelling place, no evil shall befall the (family name), nor shall any plague come near the (family name) dwelling.

“Thank you, Lord, for He shall give His angels charge over the (family name), to keep the (family name) in their ways. In their hands, they shall bare the (family name) up, lest the (family name) dash their foot against the stone. 

“The (family name) shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent, and the (family name) shall trample all these enemies under our feet because the (family name) has set their love upon the Lord. Therefore, the (family name) will dwell with Him.

“You set (family name) on high because (family name) has known Your name. The (family name) shall call upon the Lord, upon Him, and You will answer the (family name). You will be with the (family name) in times of trouble. You will deliver the (family name) and honor them with long life. The (family name) will be satisfied with Him, and the (family name will be shown the salvation of the Lord in Yeshua’s name.”

Simply personalize this psalm to your family. Pray it during the “Between the Straits” season for a powerful prayer strategy. 

Thank you so much for joining me for Ancient Principles, Kingdom Authority. May your roots go deep in the Lord, may the power of the Holy Spirit increase in you day by day, and may the Lord bless you abundantly above all you could ask or think. God bless you. We love you, and we’ll see you in the next podcast. Shalom.

Bio

Curt Landry, founder of Curt Landry Ministries, and his wife, Christie, travel extensively, preaching and teaching about the Jewish roots of the Christian faith. Together, their passion is to empower families to live and leave Kingdom legacies and understand their own personal heritage.