Day 07 - City of David, Hezekiah's Tunnel, Herodium, Bethlehem, Johnny's (shopping)

Shalom, Shalom!

Today was our first day in Jerusalem … kind of. 

(Technically TOMORROW will be our first day in the heart of the city. Today we spent our time all AROUND the city). 

There is a story that is developing here …

·         We started (a long 7 days ago) in the Shephelah – because that is our world. Our world is a world of constant conflict and compromise. 

·         We then spent 2 days in the desert – learning to trust the voice of our God for “just enough.”

·         We then spent 3 days in the Galilee. Though it’s just a small sliver of the globe, Jesus revealed who he was in this place and to these people.

Today we began to see how that story came together in the life of Jesus. 

·         Jesus was born into a world of conflict. We explored this conflict in the stunning architecture of Herod the Great’s Herodium. 

·         In a shepherd’s cave in Bethlehem we sang and reflected on a more culturally accurate picture of Jesus’ birth. 

·         Jesus then retreated to the desert for 40 days/nights where he was tempted. We explored the City of David and saw how those before Jesus caved to the same temptations. 

·         We wrapped the day traveling through Hezekiah’s Tunnel, and ended in the Pool of Siloam – where Jesus offered Living Water to a thirsty world. We are NOW READY to walk with Jesus into Jerusalem. 

We also …

·         Sang on a bus … and in a cave …. and in a church.

·         Bought souvenirs from our friend Johnny (the one site we Americans didn’t need a guide to help us navigate).

·         Ate several thousand calories of desert (but it doesn’t count, because the deserts are all bite-sized).

·         Learned that Nutella is (almost) Biblical.

·         Brian held a sheep.

·         Saw a cat drinking from the Pool of Siloam.

·         Saw another cat sitting on a wall.

·         Saw another cat in our hotel.

·         We saw a lot of cats.

Tomorrow we will pick up the story there.

GRACE & PEACE.