Israel - Day 6

We spent the day today in the City of David, Hezekiah’s Tunnel, and the Old City. It was so amazing that it is hard to pick out a few things to talk about. The City of David is where it all began. It was the first Jewish portion of the city that was built after David conquered it from the Jebusites. So much of what we see can be directly linked to the time of David and Solomon. We walked through Hezekiah’s Tunnel, which was dug to insure the ability of the city to have access to water even during an enemy siege. The tunnel is over 1200 meters long and filled with about two feet of water. At several places it is little more than four feet high, so my 6’3 had a little trouble getting through. But it was an amazing experience descending from inside the city and coming out at the Pool of Siloam. It was also excellent exercise. I worked up a good sweat, but I’m not sure if it was from the activity or the claustrophobia. After the Tunnel, we visited the traditional sights of Caiaphas’ house where the Jewish council held a kangaroo court to try Jesus and Peter denied Him three times while warming himself by the fire.

The Pool of Siloam

See John 9

From the terrace outside Caiaphas’ house, we looked southwest to see a hill that is known as the ‘Hill of Evil Counsel.” It is purported that this is where the Jewish leaders hatched their plot against Jesus and did their dealings with Judas. In a show of God’s sense of humor, today that hill houses the headquarters of the United Nations in Israel.

We were able to visit the traditional site of the Tomb of David. Thanks to my head, the doorway is now a Byzantine arch instead of its once flat lintel. I didn’t realize that the Hebrews were such short people. Ouch!!!

We visited the Cardo, which was the city center where the people did their marketing, etc.  This was a reconstruction that has been done at the level that would have been present during the time of Jesus.  It was pretty amazing to see.

We also visited the traditional site of the Upper Room where Jesus shared the last supper with His disciples and where later the Holy Spirit descended on the Day of Pentecost. It was a surreal experience standing in that room and singing “Spirit of the Living God, fall fresh on me…”

We ended the day with a visit to the Western Wall of the Temple mount, also known as the Wailing Wall. This is the spot closest to where the Holy of Holies sat and it is very sacred to the Jews. They approach the wall, touch it and pour out their prayers to God. When they leave, they stuff written prayers into the crevices of the wall, hoping that God will hear and answer their prayers. As I stood by the wall praying, I asked the Lord to open their eyes to the love of their God that was expressed to them by sending His Son, and that He would turn their hearts to their Messiah.

Our guide, Tali, is a pretty interesting lady. She is a vegetarian and she loves cats. She takes cat food with her in her backpack and when we go to sites where there are hungry strays, she feeds them. I have found that she does not have much of a sense of humor when it comes to my jokes about animals, cats especially. So, if I don’t make it home, it may be that Tali has contacted one of her friends in the Massad and remedied her frustration. :0)