Thursday in Jerusalem 19APR18

The Holy City is downright awesome! 

City of David and Entrance
to Hezekiah's Tunnel

Early today we started at Hezekiah's tunnel. Look it up. The story is 3 times in scripture (2Ki 20:20, 2Chr 32:2-4,30, Isa 22:11) but still no one knows how they accomplished it. Before  Sennacherib of Assyria besieged Jerusalem, King Hezekiah stopped up water sources outside Jerusalem and constructed a tunnel - some digging from the spring of Gihon and others digging from the pool of Siloam. They met in the middle at a slope that allows the water to flow into the city.  How did they do that in 701 BCE? It winds for the length of 6 football fields through solid rock.  You walk it - in flowing water up to your thighs in the dark narrow space. Starting into it freaked me out! A flashlight helped, but what an experience! Would I do it again? You bet I would! It's part of the story of how God rescued Judah from Assyria. We spent a few moments by the pool of Siloam (now under reconstruction) where Jesus told the man born blind to go and wash (John 9:1-7).

You have descended two
thousand years

Then we hiked up another "dry" tunnel - through which some Jews escaped the Roman destruction of 70AD. It actually was the sewer from under the dung gate (imagine). It was longer, but we moved faster and exited under the Western Wall near the Kotel. At that spot we emmerged near huge temple stones thrown off the temple courts by the Romans in their destruction. And on one stone was found the inscription "the place of blowing" - from above where priests blew the shofar as call to worship.

Studying at the foot of the Southern
approach to the Temple

We walked around to the Southern approaches where Jesus would have come and gone to the Temple with his disciples and where also it's likely the events of Pentecost took place (Acts 2).  Nearby are over 50 mikva for ritual washing/
baptism where the 3,000 new believers would have been baptized. 

Prayer at the Kotel

Then my most powerful experience of the day when we went to pray at the Kotel (you might know it as the "Wailing Wall").  I prayed there for several of my friends who have significant needs. There also I blessed and thanked God for giving me the opportunity of experiencing this.  We then toured the Rabbinic Tunnels and got as close as physically possible to the place where in Jesus' day the Holy of Holies stood.

All of that before a late lunch. We then toured an uncovered wealthy home from Jesus day (likely a Sadducee home) which was amazing.  Free time and shopping in the Arab quarter was a couple of hours in our afternoon.

It was an amazing day with more spiritual insights than I can count.  I've got pages and pages of notes to review and hundreds of photos to scan when I get home.  But I'll have memories of Jerusalem for the rest of my life  and remembrance of experiencing it with my daughter Jen.  I feel blessed.

Not sure, but this may be my final blog. Tomorrow night I may not have the time to write as I will crawl on the airplane and head back toward MN.  Pray that my flights connect well.  I arrive late Satu