The IBEX group went to Jerusalem today. As we drove toward
Jerusalem, we descended into the Cesalon Valley which was a drainage system
that inhibited traffic from coming up from the West into Jerusalem. We ascended
another hill, only to descend into another deeper valley called the Sorek
Valley that served the same purpose.
We arrived at the city and walked
in through Zion Gate. We went into the Ariel Museum and looked at a model of
Jerusalem from around the time of David and watched a movie that detailed why
Jerusalem is special by showing us characters from times past and detailing
Jerusalem’s history through these characters. After the movie, we were able to
look at ancient Hebrew script and artifacts. We were also able to write our
names in the ancient Hebrew script and my name is the one on the sticker below! I was really
excited to be able to do that!
After that museum, we went out and
looked at the Broad Wall which we had briefly seen on the way to the museum.
People excavated at various places throughout the Jewish quarter and found the
Broad Wall which changed the scholarly consensus of the size of Jerusalem in
the Old Testament times. Prior to this discovery, Jerusalem was believed to
have consisted of the City of David and the Temple Mount. The Broad Wall was
built by Hezekiah as protection from the North as it talks about in 2 Chronicles
32:5. They also blocked off their own water supply so that the enemy would not
be able to poison it. Hezekiah trusted the Lord, but he also took the necessary
precautions needed to protect his people and the Lord delivered Jerusalem.
Then we came to a probable place
for David’s tomb, though no archaeologist would believe that David was buried
here because they know that he was buried inside the city of David. They found
a probable tomb but it was determined that the tomb was from the
Intertestamental Period. At present, no one knows where his tomb is, and it is
probable that the entrance collapsed and that may be the reason that we cannot
find it.
We visited a church that was built
in the Middle Ages. A tradition states that this is the site of the Upper Room
where Jesus washed His disciples’ feet and had the Last Supper. There are two
instances of the washing of feet in the Bible and it is believed by many that
this means that we are to wash one another’s feet, but in both John 13 and 1
Timothy 5, the idea of humility is the main focus of the foot washing. The idea
that God teaches us in these two passages is that we should serve in obedience
and humility.
After the church, we went onto a
roof near the Upper Room and saw the Hagia Zion, or Dormition Abbey. Below is a
picture taken from the roof of the Abbey. It was also the place where Mary is
believed to have fallen asleep and ascended into Heaven. Of course, I do not
believe that Mary ascended, but for people who believe that, this is the
speculated place.
After spending time there, we went
over to a Protestant cemetery where we saw the graves of Sir William Flenders
Petrie and Horatio Spafford. Sir William Flenders Petrie was a brilliant
archaeologist who discovered many artifacts. One important artifact that he discovered
was the Merneptah Stele which was written by King Merneptah in 1207 B.C. after a military campaign. It is the first
extrabiblical mention of the nation of Israel. Sir William also discovered the
significance of a tell, which is a series of destruction layers that looks like
a hill in the shape of a trapezoid. Horatio Spafford went through the great
tragedy of losing his four daughters and after this tragedy wrote the amazing
hymn “It is Well with My Soul”. We sang the first and last verse of that hymn
by his grave. Horatio and Anne Spafford built an American colony in Jerusalem
which was support to help the Jews, and we do not know whether they ever had
any converts.
We came to a place in the cemetery
where we looked down from the edge of the Western Hill into the Hinnom Valley.
The Essene Gate was discovered here and we were able to see the foundations of
the original gate. The reason that they assume it to be the Essene Gate is
because they found many Mikvehs and the Essenes were very concerned about
purity.
Then, we went to a Catholic cemetery
and visited Oskar Schindler’s gravesite. He was a Catholic businessman who
saved many Jews’ lives. When we looked out from the graveyard, we could see the
Hinnom Valley and could also see the point at which the Hinnom meets with the
Kidron Valley. They meet at a minaret which we could see from above. The Hinnom
Valley separates Judah from Benjamin as specified in Joshua 15:7-8. An
interesting fact is that Gehena, which is one of the names for Hell, actually
means the Valley of Hinnom. Also, Jeremiah prophesied of a day when this would
no longer be called the Hinnom Valley, but the Valley of Slaughter. In the same
way as Jeremiah broke the flask and it was useless, so the Israelites will be
which shows how much God hates sin!
After this, we went to lunch and my
group got falafels and shawarmas, and then met back up with the IBEX group in
the Jewish Quarter.
From the Jewish Square, we made our
way over to the Kidron Valley and looked at tombs that date back to the time of
Christ, or the 1st century A.D. There is a pillar called Absalom’s
Pillar which they believed to be the pillar talked about in 2 Samuel 18:18 but
it is not the same pillar because it dates to the 1st century B.C.
Near that pillar are two other tombs which are the Tomb of Hazir, which is
perhaps the same family mentioned in Nehemiah, and the Tomb of Zechariah. The
interesting part is that these all would have been here during the time of
Christ. Also, these could have been the white-washed tombs that Jesus was
referring to in Matthew 23:27.
To the right from these tombs is
another tomb that dates to the 8th century B.C. that had an
inscription above it that said that there is no gold or silver here, only
bones, and cursed is the one who opens this tomb. It is believed that the man
who laid here may have been a man from Isaiah 22 because it is known that the
man who lay in this tomb had a name that ended with Yahu.
As we turned around, we saw the
Eastern Wall of the Old City and could see the seam of the temple mount. All rocks
below that seam were from the time of Herod the Great who expanded 3 of the 4
sides of the Temple Mount.
We came to the Eastern side of the
Western Hill right after changing so that we could be ready to go through
Hezekiah’s tunnel. We could see Al Aqsa Mosque and the minaret which marks the
meeting of the Hinnom and Kidron Valleys and marks the En Rogel Spring. An
event that happened at the En Rogel Spring was that Adonijah tried to set
himself up as king instead of Solomon in 1 Kings 1:5. They went down to En
Rogel to set Adonijah up as king, but instead Bathsheba goes and talks to David
and he sends out a procession that proclaims Solomon as the next king.
From here, we went to a place that has
been excavated by Eilat Mazar who believes that these are David’s Palace walls.
There is not full agreement on what they are but we know it is a large building
from David’s time. After walking down some stairs, we came to the Stepped Stone
Structure house. In this area, they found a 70 centimeter thick layer of ash
dating to around 586 B.C. which was when Jerusalem was burned by the
Babylonians. The event is recorded in 2 Kings 25:8-10. This house was built in
the 11th century B.C. and they found over 50 clay seals here that
contained the names of multiple biblical characters. The archaeologists believe
that there was some sort of public archive here.
To get to Hezekiah’s tunnel, we had
to go down through Warren’s Shaft which was discovered by people who were
trying to get down to the Gihon Spring through a different route. From here
they carved Hezekiah’s tunnel to get East water to the West side of town.
We went through Hezekiah’s tunnel at
it was one of the coolest things I have ever done! It was around 1750 feet long
and the water would go from ankle deep to above the knees. I loved the
experience and am so glad that we were able to do that! It is believed that the
end of the tunnel was the old pool of Siloam. We walked further and got to
where the Pool of Siloam was in Jesus’ day. God allowed the blind man in John 9
to be born blind so that the works of God might be displayed in him. It may be
that difficult times are ahead but we should be vessels so that we can display
the goodness and glory of God. This pool of Siloam was first constructed in the
Hasmonean period and went out of use in 70 A.D. The excavator thinks that it is
a Mikveh but the problem is that it is open. The most probable explanation is
that it was a public pool. From there, we walked up Mt. Zion and out of the Old
City and took a bus back to the Moshav. It was a great day!
Later that night, I went to the
library and pounded out some homework! So far, I am loving IBEX and though there
is a lot of reading, it is very exciting to read about places that you actually
have or will visit! Yay!
-Susan
