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Israel Study Tour - Bridgeway Christian Church
August 31 - September 11, 2015
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As one of His chosen
This morning we were off early to continue exploring Jerusalem. We started at Jerusalem’s beginnings as the “City of David”, walking Hezekiah’s Tunnel. Most of the day was spent walking Jesus’ route from the Mt. of Olives down to the Kidron Valley, up to Old Jerusalem ending at Golgotha.
Gary’s Blog;
Another day of walking through the bible in color. Today we walked through King David's city, Hezekiahs tunnel, and the pool of Siloam. Directly across the Kidron Valley is the Mount of Olives and Gethsemane. As has been the case every day, we have been attaching words, stories, and imagery to the geography, culture, and architecture that heavily demonstrates the continuity and truth of the whole of Gods word. During the course of the trip, Matt, Richard, and Ronen have encouraged the reading of passages attached to sites. At the garden of Gethsemane, Matt encouraged the reading of John 18. As I read, I could picture Jesus being approached by Judas and those who came to take Him. Without hesitation, Jesus stated "I am He..." and then everybody fell back". They knew who He was and fell back. The setting, the place this happened is right here! The place, the time, the geography, the promise of God and who He, Who Jesus is explained in this place, the land of His people. I'm amazed, I'm walking the land of Gods chosen people as one of His chosen, and I understand better, why it is this place.
Hezekiah's Tunnel
A 1750-foot (530m) tunnel carved during the reign of Hezekiah to bring water from one side of the city to the other, Hezekiah’s Tunnel together with the 6th c. tunnel of Euphalios in Greece are considered the greatest works of water engineering technology in the pre-Classical period. Had it followed a straight line, the length would have been 1070 ft (335m) or 40% shorter.
Pool of Siloam
The Pool of Siloam (Hebrew: בריכת השילוח, Breikhat Hashiloah) is a rock-cut pool on the southern slope of the City of David, the original site of Jerusalem, located outside the walls of the Old City to the southeast. The pool was fed by the waters of the Gihon Spring, carried there by two aqueducts.
Jenny's Blog
What an amazing day visiting so many sites and literally walking in the footsteps of Jesus! This trip has been such a blessed learning experience! Today's sites were some of my favorites. We started out in the Town of David and then went down into Hezekiah's tunnel. We were prepped ahead of time with water shoes and clothes that could get wet because we walked for about 570 meters through water. I absolutely loved going through the tunnel! From here we went to the Mount of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemane, walking the path that Jesus took for His Triumphal Entry into the city of Jerusalem. We had about 20 minutes to reflect here and I read a passage and then listened to Chris Tomlin's song, "Jesus Loves Me". He loves even ME! He died for ME! I walked around the garden a little bit and took some pictures and I came to a spot that had an olive tree with some rocks formed into the word "PEACE" and I felt just a sweet, serene peace wash over me!
Mount of Olives
Separated from the Eastern Hill (the Temple Mount and the City of David) by the Kidron Valley, the Mt. of Olives has always been an important feature in Jerusalem’s landscape. From the 3rd millennium B.C. until the present, this 2900-foot hill has served as one of the main burial grounds for the city. The two-mile long ridge has three summits each of which has a tower built on it.
Abby’s Blog:
Walking through Hezekiah's tunnel was insightful. Although the people of old didn't have the technology we have today, they were pretty smart. King Hezekiah took what appeared to be signs of water to track the source to the Gihon, to then divert the waters, and plug the other outlets, to bring the waters into the city. The pools that were created and filled by the Gihon would later help purify/anoint future kings.
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