Day 11 – Friday, September 13: City of David, Hezekiah’s Tunnel, Southern Wall Excavations, Western Wall, Old City, Free Afternoon (Theme of the Day: Standing strong in God!)
Today was our last full day in Jerusalem. About mid morning we said goodbye to our six dear friends who were only doing the Israel portion of the trip. They had to return to Amman, Jordan and thus cross the border in a timely manner. We had a great morning all together though. The sunny skies continued (predictably for Sept), with highs in the mid 80s. We read from Psalm 48 as we left the hotel at 7:35 again!
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.
“Today was our last full day here in Jerusalem. The entire morning was spent at the City of David and the southern excavations at the Temple. Walking through the “wet” Hezekiah’s Tunnel and the “dry” Canaanite Tunnel were a highlight. Also special was sitting on the steps of the Pool of Siloam and walking up the steps of the Temple.”
Southern Wall Excavations
From here, we all walked through the stone “Drainage Tunnel” underneath the pavement that dates to 30 AD. We surfaced briefly to see the Givati excavations of what used to be a parking lot! At the SW corner of the Temple we surfaced one more time where we literally walked on the Herodian pavement underneath what is left of an archway discovered by Edward Robinson in 1838. Jesus and His disciples walked on this pavement! 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).
Amman, Jordan / Old City
At the bus outside of the Dung Gate, we said goodbye to our six friends. David and Shlomo took them to the Allenby Bridge Crossing while the rest of us visited various places within the Old City: Western Wall, Jewish Quarter, Christian Quarter. We enjoyed a time of exploring, some shopping, and unique views.
We returned to the hotel by mid-afternoon. At 6:30 we enjoyed a wonderful Shabbat dinner and a free evening. We leave at 7:15 tomorrow morning for the southern border to begin our Jordan extension!
Day 12 – Saturday, September 14: Departing Amman / Jordan Crossing, Wadi Rum
