Day 8 – Thursday, June 13: Yad Vashem (Zoo for the kids), Israeli Museum, City of David, Hezekiah’s Tunnel, Southern Wall Excavations
We spent the entire day in Jerusalem today. It was warmer than usual in Jerusalem for June, with highs in the high 90s. The day included a solemn start at Israel’s Holocaust Museum, and with an adventurous walk through Hezekiah’s Tunnel! It was a great day!
Yad Vashem
Our first stop in the morning required us to drive to West Jerusalem. Here we visited the Israel’s Holocaust Museum & Memorial. It is called Yad Vashem, named after a verse in Isaiah 56:5 that mentions the “memorial and a name.” John took Benjamin and Joseph to the Biblical Zoo during this time. We first heard the personal story from Shlomo about his family during this tragic event. He lost 12 family members in Vilna, Poland (pictured). We then walked through the Children’s Memorial and the museum itself. It was a somber experience recalling the horrors of the Holocaust and the loss of six million Jews.
Israel Museum
Just a short distance away (still in Western Jerusalem) is the Israel Museum. Here, we saw a 1:50 scale model of 2nd Temple Jerusalem. We retraced the ministry of Jesus in Jerusalem and in the Temple. Next, we visited the archaeological museum and saw the highlights with biblical connections. Before leaving the museum, we grabbed a quick bite to eat for lunch.
City of David
This afternoon we got back on the bus and drove to the southern side of the Old City where we entered the City of David. After gathering on the observation tower, we walked down through the excavations (“Area G”). We saw David’s palace, city walls, and 7th-6th BC house structures (one of them was excavated/uncovered by Dr. John in June-July, 1982). We all continued through Warren’s Shaft (2 Samuel 5). The upper part of this discovery was probably used by David but not the vertical 52 foot shaft.
Finally, we descended down to the Canaanite/Jebusite pool to the Gihon Spring. Following seeing a new movie about the tunnel, everyone in the group braved the waters of the 1,710 foot-long Hezekiah’s Tunnel (2 Kings 20, 2 Chronicles 32). At the Pool of Siloam is where we recalled the story of John 9 (the blind man healed by Jesus). The excavation of the Pool of Siloam continues to expose more and more of the original steps.
Southern Wall Excavations
From here, we all walked through the stone “Drainage Tunnel” underneath the pavement that dates to 30 AD. Others short a taxi to the SW corner of the Temple. Here, we walked on the Herodian pavement underneath what is left of an archway discovered by Edward Robinson in 1838. This SW corner of the Temple may have been the pinnacle of the Temple where Jesus was tempted (Mt. 4). We walked up the southern steps used by commoners in Jesus’ day. Jesus Himself would have used these steps to enter the Temple. We recalled the many mentioned in the NT who used these steps (Luke 2, 18; John 2; Mark 13; and Acts 2, etc…). Before leaving the steps, we considered how God wants us to be His spiritual temple (2 Corinthians 3).
“We spent the entire day here in Jerusalem. We encountered a somber time at Yad Vashem in the morning, and an adventurous walk through Hezekiah’s Tunnel in the afternoon.”
Jewish Quarter / Shorashim
We ended the day by walking up into the Jewish Quarter. Here, we visited Shorashim, a store owned by two brothers, Moshe and Dov. Moshe shared with us about his Jewish faith and practices.
We walked out of the Zion’s Gate where David picked us up to take us back to our Guesthouse. We enjoyed dinner and a free evening.
Day 9 – Friday, June 14: Mt. of Olives, Herodium, Bethlehem, Shephelah/Lowlands of Judah
