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Bethel Bible Church Presents:
October 29 - November 9, 2017
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Jerusalem
We started the day in Jerusalem early by heading to Temple Mount. The enormity of the platform Herod created is hard to fathom. The walls were 80 feet high and the eastern & western walls were 500 years long. This was an unbelievable feat from a man who wanted to show who was king. The grandeur and splendor Herod produced & demonstrated had more to do with power & prestige than faith. We learned that this site was significant because it is the same site that Abraham had almost sacrificed his only son Isaac, but God provided a substitute. This was not the most strategic location in Israel, and it didn’t have all the necessities (water, food, defense) that most ancient civilizations required. But for millennia, this was the place where God called His people to recognize Him & walk by faith.
From there we descended and explored the Western Wall where ultra-orthodox Jews still fervently pray. Men & women are separated, the men pour over & study Torah, and they bind the text to their arms and foreheads (Deut. 6). This is the closest they can get to the former location of the Holy Of Holies – the very Presence of God. In this age, we as Christians believe that we are indwelled by God’s Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9), and therefore are as close to God as we can be. Not only that, we represent the Presence of God to people around us.
Western Wall
The Western Wall is the most holy place accessible to the Jewish people because of Muslim control of the Temple Mount. Known in recent centuries as the “Wailing Wall,” this was built by Herod the Great as the retaining wall of the Temple Mount complex. The plaza was created as an area for prayer when Israel captured the Old City in 1967. At times tens of thousands of people gather here for prayer.
We entered into the Rabbinic tunnels to understand the scope of the temple mount complex, and the expanse of Herod’s construction. We continued on to The Davidson Center where we walked at the southwest corner of Temple Mount at the same level as the street during the time of Christ. Perhaps this is where He over-turned the tables of the money-changers. He and His disciples would have almost certainly have walked here. We continued around to the Southern Steps near Huldah’s Gate where Peter preached powerfully in Acts 2. We saw many mikvahs where 3,000 people were baptized as The Church begins to spread.
Rabbinic Tunnels
The tour of the western wall tunnels is one of the most popular tourist sites in Jerusalem. These underground tunnels connect the western wall prayer area to the north-west side of the temple mount, passing along the side of the temple mount and under the present day houses in the Old City. Along its path are remains from the second temple period, as well as structures from later periods.
We journeyed to Bethlehem; 4 miles to the east of Jerusalem where we visited the Church of The Nativity. Here, the birthplace of Christ is commemorated with 3 different Christian churches celebrating the incarnation. We visited the grotto where Joseph & Mary would have huddled together in a shepherd’s cave and placed the baby in a stone trough; a manger. We then visited a shepherd’s field similar to where the shepherds would have heard the angels’ announcement of the coming of Messiah. It is also the same region as Ruth would have gleaned grain – the great-grand-mother of David, and ultimately, the Son of David, Jesus.
It was an incredibly full day, and we look forward to one last day in Jerusalem!
Eric & Susan Barton
Tyler, TX
Bethlehem
Biblical scholars believe Bethlehem, located in the "hill country" of Judah, may be the same as the Biblical Ephrath which means "fertile", as there is a reference to it in the Book of Micah as Bethlehem Ephratah.[17] The Bible also calls it Beth-Lehem Judah,and the New Testament describes it as the "City of David". It is first mentioned in the Bible as the place where the matriarch Rachel died and was buried "by the wayside" (Gen. 48:7). Rachel's Tomb, the traditional grave site, stands at the entrance to Bethlehem. According to the Book of Ruth, the valley to the east is where Ruth of Moab gleaned the fields and returned to town with Naomi. It was the home of Jesse, father of King David of Israel, and the site of David's anointment by the prophet Samuel. It was from the well of Bethlehem that three of his warriors brought him water when he was hiding in the cave of Adullam.
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