DAY 13 – SUNDAY, JANUARY 22:
Hezekiah’s Tunnel in the City of David. The tunnel is 1,720 feet long and was built at the end of the 8th century BC.
Today was a great last day here in Jerusalem, Israel’s eternal capital. The sun was full, with cool temps in the low 50s. Leaving the hotel at 7:30 again, our first stop was nearby – the City of David. Upon arriving we enjoyed a view from an observation tower. Looking north we could see where the temples of Solomon and Herod once stood. Looking east across the Kidron Valley we could see the Arab village of Silwan. To the south was where the city of Jebus was located. David conquered this city (2 Samuel 5) and then built a palace here.
The steps of the Pool of Siloam (John 9)
After seeing a 3-D video, we walked down through the excavations. We saw ruins dating to the time of the Canaanites through the time of Hezekiah. We also walked through Warren’s Shaft (once believed to be the “shaft” through which Joab and his men infiltrated the Jebusite city. Finally, we descended all the way down to the water source of the city, the Gihon Spring. Here, some walked through Hezekiah’s Tunnel (2 Kings 20, 2 Chronicles 32, Isaiah 36-37). This still flows with “gently-flowing water” (Is. 8:6) about knee deep. It is 1,720 feet long. We saw the “meeting point” in the middle of this tunnel where the two team of rock-cutters met (according to the Siloam Inscription). The others in the group walked through the earlier Canaanite tunnel. Today, this is a dry tunnel that runs south along the slope of the city. At the southern end of the City of David both groups convened at the Pool of Siloam. Here we read John 9 about the blind man who was healed by Jesus.
The SW corner of the 2nd Temple and “Robinson’s Arch.
In the late morning, we visited the “south wall excavations.” To get there, some in the group walked up through the drainage tunnel that was built underneath the Herodian street. At the SW corner of the Temple at Robinson’s Arch, we saw here Jesus as tempted (the pinnacle). We also walked up the very southern steps of the Temple, the same ones used by Jesus, the disciples, and the apostles. Here we recalled the many stories that happened in the Temple (Luke 2, 18, 21; Mark 13; John 7, Acts 2, etc…). From here we walked to the Jewish Quarter for lunch on our own.
Leaving the Old City through the Zion’s Gate, we drove to Yad Vashem (which means a “place of memorial and a name” taken from Isaiah 56:5). This is Israel’s Holocaust Museum. We first walked through the Valley of the Communities before we heard Shlomo’s personal story about losing 12 family members in Poland during WWII. We also saw the Children’s Memorial as well as the museum itself. Walking through on our own, it was quite moving and sad.
The Children’s Memorial at Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem.
We returned back to the hotel for our farewell dinner. After a time of sharing, some in the group were driven to the airport for their flight home. Others are planning to fly home tomorrow morning.
DAY 14 – MONDAY, JANUARY 23: FLIGHT HOME
Some in the group flew home last night, while others fly home in the morning.
It was a wonderful life-changing trip!