Day 08 - Jerusalem: Temple Mount, Western Wall, Rabbinic Tunnels, Herodium, Bethlehem

Day 08- Two Kingdoms – Jerusalem     

Shalom from the city of Jerusalem! We got an early start to our day and boarded our bus for another full day. We have learned so much on this trip; the verses that we hear on Sunday take on a deeper meaning when you hear them surrounded by the culture that they were intended for. The Bible truly does come alive in a way that you don’t experience otherwise.

Temple Mount

Our first site was the Temple Mount, probably the most recognized religious site in the world. Hundreds of thousands of people visit this site yearly; Yehuda told us for Ramadan; the visitors can total over 100,000 per day! The temple mount was built on Mt. Moriah in 695 A.D. Mt. Moriah is the mountain that Abraham and Isaac journeyed to when God told him to sacrifice his only son, Isaac.

As impressive as it was, Yehuda told us that the original temple was 2x the height of the Dome!

Western Wall and Rabbinic Tunnels

We walked back across the Mount and had the opportunity to visit the western wall. The western wall is a piece, around 219 ft, of the wall surrounding the Temple Mount. This is the place where Jews were allowed to pray after the Crusaders took control of the Mount. After paying our respects, we traveled underneath the main street to underground tunnels that connect the western wall to the north-west corner of the city. The tunnels pass along the western wall foundation and offer glimpses of structures from different eras of the temple. Something that really amazed us was the size of the blocks used for the base of the temple. One of the blocks was over 570 tons! That’s the weight of 200 elephants!

Herodium

Herod the Great was a master architect and builder. He constructed some of the largest sites we have visited: Masada, Caesarea Maritima, and even renovating the Temple. Herodium was his personal summer palace located just 8 miles from Jerusalem. Jesus was born in the shadow, literally, of Herod’s empire. Bethlehem is only 3 miles from the walls of Herodium. In the account of Matthew, he recounts how when the 3 wise men came to meet Jesus, they first stopped at Herodium to ask where they could find Him. Herod was a paranoid king, even going so far as to murder his own sons because he thought they would usurp him. Herod was always looking for a way to extend his reign and hold onto his power. Even after everything he did, all his great works lie in ruins today. Not one of us would even know his name if it were not connected with the name of Jesus.

Bethlehem

Our last stop was a shop in Bethlehem that sells carved olive wood. The family that owns the shop is a Christian family, one of the few that still remain in Bethlehem. Every piece of wood was hand carved by local Christian artists. Did you know for olive wood to be carved, it needs to fully dry over a period of 6-8 years? After we picked our favorites (and some gifts for our family and friends…. 😉 We went back to our hotel for a good night’s rest. Our last 2 days are approaching, and we want to make sure we catch every moment.