Day 8 – Sunday, August 13: City of David, Hezekiah’s Tunnel, Southern Wall Excavations, Western Wall, Moshe/Shorashim, Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum & Memorial
Today was another hot day, uncommonly reaching in the low 100s even here in Jerusalem (the average is high 80s-low 90s). The entire morning was visiting the City of David and the afternoon the Holocaust Museum. We left the hotel at 7:30, reading Psalm 48 as we departed the hotel.
City of David
We drove down through the Hinnom Valley, and then up the Tyropean Valley to get to the City of David. It is located outside the Old City today. We first got a great view of the area from the observation tower before we walked down through the excavations of Area G (where Dr. John dug for a month in 1982) and Warren’s Shaft. At the Gihon Spring is where some in the group accessed the entrance to Hezekiah’s Tunnel, a 1,710-foot tunnel chiseled in 701 BC. We walked in water through this amazing discovery mentioned in 2 Kings 20, 2 Chronicles 32, and Isaiah 8:6. Others walked through the “dry” Canaanite tunnel. Both groups converged at the Pool of Siloam where we read John 9 in dramatic fashion!
Southern Excavations
Following our reading, some in the group walked up the Drainage Channel (under a pavement dating to 30 AD), with the rest of the group bussing up to the Davidson Center to see the Southern Excavations of the Temple. Within the center, we saw the SW corner of the Temple (with massive Herodian stones), the Herodian pavement, and the southern steps that would have led into the Temple in Jesus’ day. We recalled the many times Jesus and the disciples (and Paul) used these steps. Whereas the Temple was a magnificent building (Mark 13:1-2), we are to be the Temple (1 Corinthians 3)!
Western Wall/Free Time
Close by is the Western Wall, the most holy place for Jewish people today! This western wall served as a retaining wall for the expanded platform of the Temple Mount above. We walked from the Western Wall (the Kotel) to Hurva Square, the heart of the Jewish Quarter. We enjoyed the free time for lunch, shopping, and exploring the Old City on our own.
“We spent all morning at the City of David. It was amazing to walk down through there excavations and see all the Biblical connections. Hezekiah’s Tunnel was the most fun of all. Walking through a 1,700 foot tunnel still flowing with water was very cool!”
Moshe / Shorashim
Following lunch time, we visited a shop called Shorashim. It is owned by two Orthodox brothers, Moshe and Dov. Moshe shared about his Jewish faith and practice. Everything in the shop has a biblical connection.
Yad Vashem
We then walked through the Jewish Quarter and out the Zion’s Gate. Here we met David and we drove to Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust Museum and Memorial. It is named after Isaiah 56:5 (“To them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name…”). We first walked through the Children’s Memorial. 1.5 million children were killed. On our own, we walked through the Museum until closing. It was a somber experience.
We retuned to the hotel for dinner and an optional walk on the Promenade.
Day 9 – Monday, August 14: Wadi Qelt, Herodium, Bethlehem, Free Mid-afternoon in Old City
