Israel Study Tour with Calvary Church Los Gatos
January 6-17, 2020
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Hezakiah’s Tunnel and the Southern Steps
Hello Friends and Family!
It is Day 8 of our trip and we had the most amazing day. We started out the day seeing where King David’s palace is and where the town of a David is. It is amazing to see the excavations they have done and how it proves what scripture says. We are continually learning at every site we go to and humbled at how much there is to learn. After that we went to Hezakiah’s tunnel! It was filled with water up to our knees and about a half mile long cave walk. It was incredible to see how much they carved through to create this tunnel.
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.
Then we traveled back to the Temple Mount and sat on the Southern Steps. It was so incredible to see where people would enter and exit the temple. The steps we were sitting on are the steps that thousands used to go into the presence of the Lord. It blew us away. Steve challenged us to remember that when Jesus ascended into heaven he gave us the Holy Spirit. As we were sitting on those steps facing away from the temple we were reminded that God is calling us to go outward and to remember that we are now the temple. God dwells within us.
Southern Steps
An enormous flight of steps leads to the Southern Wall from the south. They were excavated after 1967 by archaeologist Benjamin Mazar and are the northernmost extension of the Jerusalem pilgrim road leading from the Pool of Siloam to the Temple Mount via the Double Gate and the Triple Gate, collectively called the Huldah Gates. These are the steps that Jesus of Nazareth[2][3] and other Jews of his era walked up to approach the Temple, especially on the great pilgrimage festivals of Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot. [2] The stairs that lead to the double gate are intact and "well-preserved."[4] The steps that lead to the triple gate were mostly destroyed.[4] / The risers are low, a mere 7 to 10 inches high, and each step is 12 to 35 inches deep, forcing the ascending pilgrims to walk with a stately, deliberate tread.[2] The pilgrims entered the temple precincts through the double and triple gates still visible in the Southern Wall.[5][2] Together, the double and triple gates are known as the Hulda Gates, after the prophetess Huldah.[2]
We then took the bus to the Israel Museum and got to see everything we have been talking about during this trip! We saw the Dead Sea scrolls, stones that prove that David was truly a real person, and so much more!
Lastly we got the amazing opportunity to see the Holocaust museum. It hit us hard, and we left humbled and extremely aware of how broken our world is.
Tomorrow is our last day and we are sad but so excited to see what else God has for us!
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