Sunday, February 19, 2012
Jericho!
Our first stop today was at a town called Emmaus. This is where Jesus appeared after His resurrection to some of His disciples as they were walking. This is described in Luke 24. Here Jesus appeared to the two and they did not know who He was. It was mostly talk about Jesus and His death but the disciple’s eyes were kept closed. Once they reached their destination, they urged Jesus to stay with them. He stayed, and as He broke bread that night, the Bible says that their eyes were opened and Jesus vanished. This all happened at Emmaus. The Emmaus we were at today was most likely not the site that this happened at. In Luke 24:13 it says that Emmaus is 60 strata away from Jerusalem, but the site we were at today is 160 so this cannot be the site. Another possibility is Emmaus Mozoa. This is only 30 strata away but it was suggested that Luke might have indicated a round trip so that it would amount to 60 strata from Jerusalem and back. To solve this, we compare the rest of his work in the Bible. Ultimately, he did not refer geographically in this way so we must look for another location. Emmaus Bebe is another idea but there is really no evidence, so in the end, no one knows.
The second place we stopped at was Nebi Samwell. This is the place where they believe Samuel is buried because of 1 Samuel 25:1. This also could be the place where the Ark of the Covenant stayed at one point in 2 Chronicles 1:3-4. From this mountain one can see the city of Gibeon. Gibeon was a place in Joshua 9 where the towns people saw all that Joshua had done and became afraid. They in turn put on worn cloths, and made themselves look poor so that Joshua would not harm them. Joshua made a pact and did not hurt them, but in the end, he found out their trickery. To this day we know that this is the location of Gibeon because of a man by the name of James Richard found wine bottles in a cave that the name Gibeon engraved on their front. The Ajalon Valley also was located north of where we sat and this was where in Joshua 10:12-13, God stopped the sun from going down until the sons of Israel defeated the kings of the Amorites.
The third stop we made was at Tel Elfool. Here the king of Jordan, King Hussein, built his palace in 1967. Looking in the past, it is a tel and William Albright finds an actual historic castle here in the tel. No one really knows for sure what the castle was for but an event in the Bible did happen here that we do know of. It is told in Judges 19 of a man and his concubine and the horrific story that happened here in the tribe of Benjamin.
Stopping at a hill we climbed to the top and looked around. This place was right next to “the Pass” and here we read of battles and events that took place here. For example, in 1 Samuel 13:8-23, Saul was supposed to wait for Samuel to sacrifice to the Lord before the battle. Samuel was late and Saul was impatient so he sacrificed out of disobedience. This story amongst others happened here including 1 Samuel 15 and 1 Kings 15:22.
We then drove to Jericho, the unique place where the walls came tumbling down. This story is recorded in Joshua 6 of the Israelites marching around the walls and blowing their horns. At the end, the Lord struck the walls and they literally came tumbling down. At this point it is the worlds second most excavated place in the world other than Jerusalem. If dated correctly, everything matches the exact dates of Joshua including, the pottery found, the burnt rubble, the grain still left in the bins and the loss of civilization for years according to the commands of the Lord in the end of Joshua 6. You can see a layer of burnt rubble in the excavations along with pottery. There was alot of pottery!!!
We then found a spring outside of Jericho called Elisha’s Spring. This is where they believe Elisha purified the water in 2 Kings. Also, next to this spot sits the Wadi Kilt described in Matthew 13 and Luke 18. Here Luke and Matthew seem to disagree if Jesus was going out of Jericho or going into Jericho. They both say two different things. The answer to this question lies in the geographical history. Here there were two settlements of Jericho because it had moved from the historical Jericho. How great it is to be where Jesus was!
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Our first stop today was at a town called Emmaus. This is where Jesus appeared after His resurrection to some of His disciples as they were walking. This is described in Luke 24. Here Jesus appeared to the two and they did not know who He was. It was mostly talk about Jesus and His death but the disciple’s eyes were kept closed. Once they reached their destination, they urged Jesus to stay with them. He stayed, and as He broke bread that night, the Bible says that their eyes were opened and Jesus vanished. This all happened at Emmaus. The Emmaus we were at today was most likely not the site that this happened at. In Luke 24:13 it says that Emmaus is 60 strata away from Jerusalem, but the site we were at today is 160 so this cannot be the site. Another possibility is Emmaus Mozoa. This is only 30 strata away but it was suggested that Luke might have indicated a round trip so that it would amount to 60 strata from Jerusalem and back. To solve this, we compare the rest of his work in the Bible. Ultimately, he did not refer geographically in this way so we must look for another location. Emmaus Bebe is another idea but there is really no evidence, so in the end, no one knows.
The second place we stopped at was Nebi Samwell. This is the place where they believe Samuel is buried because of 1 Samuel 25:1. This also could be the place where the Ark of the Covenant stayed at one point in 2 Chronicles 1:3-4. From this mountain one can see the city of Gibeon. Gibeon was a place in Joshua 9 where the towns people saw all that Joshua had done and became afraid. They in turn put on worn cloths, and made themselves look poor so that Joshua would not harm them. Joshua made a pact and did not hurt them, but in the end, he found out their trickery. To this day we know that this is the location of Gibeon because of a man by the name of James Richard found wine bottles in a cave that the name Gibeon engraved on their front. The Ajalon Valley also was located north of where we sat and this was where in Joshua 10:12-13, God stopped the sun from going down until the sons of Israel defeated the kings of the Amorites.
The third stop we made was at Tel Elfool. Here the king of Jordan, King Hussein, built his palace in 1967. Looking in the past, it is a tel and William Albright finds an actual historic castle here in the tel. No one really knows for sure what the castle was for but an event in the Bible did happen here that we do know of. It is told in Judges 19 of a man and his concubine and the horrific story that happened here in the tribe of Benjamin.
Stopping at a hill we climbed to the top and looked around. This place was right next to “the Pass” and here we read of battles and events that took place here. For example, in 1 Samuel 13:8-23, Saul was supposed to wait for Samuel to sacrifice to the Lord before the battle. Samuel was late and Saul was impatient so he sacrificed out of disobedience. This story amongst others happened here including 1 Samuel 15 and 1 Kings 15:22.
We then drove to Jericho, the unique place where the walls came tumbling down. This story is recorded in Joshua 6 of the Israelites marching around the walls and blowing their horns. At the end, the Lord struck the walls and they literally came tumbling down. At this point it is the worlds second most excavated place in the world other than Jerusalem. The first excavator, Joseph Garstag, discovered the stone wall while Kathleen Kenyon found the mud brick wall. Kenyon dated the mud brick wall back to the 1550’s, which is not in correlation with the scriptures. The correct time for the date of Jericho is 1406. But she was dating this wall because she dated based upon the pottery that was never there. If dated correctly, everything matches the exact dates including, the pottery found, the burnt rubble, the grain still left in the bins and the loss of civilization for years according to the commands of the Lord in the end of Joshua 6.
We then found a spring outside of Jericho called Elisha’s Spring. This is where they believe Elisha purified the water in 2 Kings. Also, next to this spot sits the Wadi Kilt described in Matthew 13 and Luke 18. Here Luke and Matthew seem to disagree if Jesus was going out of Jericho or going into Jericho. They both say two different things. The answer to this question lies in the geographical history. Here there were two settlements of Jericho because it had moved from the historical Jericho. How great it is to be where Jesus was!
Land of the Bible
Kate James
NT Walk
The ultimate curse for the Jewish people is to be exiled out of the Land of Israel. Because of idol worship, the Lord let them become exiles. On the other hand, God’s promises are supreme. Therefore, God is bringing His people, slowly but surely, back into the Land.
Upon entering the Dung Gate, we entered immediately into the area of the Temple Mount. Traditionally, this is the location where Abraham sacrifices Isaac, the place where the Lord stopped the Plague at David’s census and where Jesus will come again. Next to the Temple Mount or the Dome of the Rock, there stands El-Aqsa Mosque. This mosque is the third holiest spot in the world to the Muslim people.
The Muslims now own this mountain and have put the Dome of the Rock on the highest part of the mountain. In 964 David bought this land to build the temple to the Lord. The temple was built and the first temple period had begun. After many times and periods, this land is now the hot spot for real estate. In fact, it the most fought over piece of land in the world. In the Dome of the Rock, there is a hole deep inside that fits the exact dimensions of the Ark of the Covenant. The gold on the outside of the dome was laid down by Sad am Hussein. There is also a series of archways and tunnels underneath the Temple Mount. These are called Solomon’s Stables. We are unsure of the reason for Solomon to build these but Herod filled them in later. Solomon also built a walkway around the Temple Mount. It included a series of pillars and a small amount of shade to walk under. This was called Solomon’s portico on the south side by Solomon’s stables but it is not there anymore. You can also see the Mount of Olives from this direction.
Next was the Eastern Gate. Here there are two doors, which are filled in. They filled in these doors because Jesus is supposed to come back in the future through these doors. Some think they can stop Jesus from coming back through here but we all know that this is impossible to stop a mighty God. Jesus did many miracles on the mount by this gate including John 10:22 where He proclaims that He is the Son of God and Acts 3 where He heals a lame man.
We then entered into the Davidson Center. We first stopped at Robinsons Arch founded by a man by the name of Edward Robinson. This is a small fragment of what looks like an arch. At first, Edward Robinson believed that it was a bridge. After close consideration, there were no stones in the excavation to produce the idea of a bridge. They now believe that it was a staircase up to the temple because there were many large stones by the arch. If this were a bridge, the stones would match the small stones of a bridge leading in a direction. But instead, there are many large stone, like that of a large staircase underneath the arch. Next to the arch like form, there was an inscription on the wall of Isaiah 66:14.
On the Northern Wall, there stands three gates called the triple gates or the mole entrance. They are filled in now but they would go up to the temple as another entrance to the high platform.
The Burnt house was a house that was burnt during the siege of Titus in 70 A.D. It was owned by the Katross family and in Greek Para style form.
A couple friends and I got lost and then we found Shaban's store. Thankfully he knew where to go.
We then went to the Woul Museum where excavations have been made for the priestly houses in the upper part of the city. Traditionally this was where the wealthy lived. Because they were so concerned with purity, each house had a mickva. This is a possibility where Caiaphas the high priest might have lived. Therefore, Jesus might have been tried here.
Our last stops included the Tower of David and Christ’s Church. The Tower of David has many layers of rock and each from different periods. This is where Pilate might have been at one point.
Across the street was Christ’s Church were we had a tour and got to see the many different designs of the church including, the British flag on the ceiling, a mosaic tree that explains what Christ did for us and an alter that says “in remembrance of Me”.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Today we walked to the Western Wall and observed the “Broad Wall”. Hezekiah built this wall to defend it from Sennacherib who invaded Jerusalem and is described in 2 Chronicles 32:1-8. This passage explains Hezekiah’s efforts to defend the city. The wall was built through houses and this is also explained in Isaiah 22:10-11. Today there is not much left of the wall but a woman by the name of Catherine Ceyon who excavated the wall believed that the Bible made up David’s kingdom. She never confessed that she was wrong, even until death and ultimately was proven wrong.
The next place we stopped at was a museum near the “Broad Wall”. Nearby were tombs located outside of the city and on the Mount of Olives. The tombs were outside because the dead bodies were considered unclean. The tombs that were found had inscriptions above them that would warn the potential thieves to not break in. Because there was believed to be gold and silver inside, thieves often tried to break into the tombs. However, there was an inscription placed on the tomb that warned if it were broken into, there would be a curse placed on the invader. Would that warning stop the thief? No one knows at this point but it was a fair warning. Later in the Byzantine Period, monks would use the tombs as houses.
The next stop included David’s tomb, it is widely believed by most that David was buried here; however today there is some question as to where he was actually buried.
The Upper Room was the next stop we visited. This was the room where they believe was the Last Supper before Jesus’ crucifixion; we read the account in John 13.
We then visited the three graves of some very important people to the Jewish nation. The first was Oscar Schindler. This brave man saved 960 Jews from the concentration camps in Germany. The second was Flinders Petreie, he was best known for his work in the world of archeology. He was the first to define a tel, or mounds, which consist of cities on top of cities. This was a critical find and accomplishment. He was also the first to discover and encrypt the Mecca Steele in which a tribe boasts of defeating Israel. The third man’s grave we visited and my favorite was Horatio Spafford. This man wrote the amazing hymn, “It is Well with My Soul”. This powerful hymn comes from a man who had just lost his job and two daughters. The words of this beautiful hymn, continues to be an encouragement and blessing to all to hear or sing it. Behind these graves we looked upon the Hinem Valley. This place served as a good defense mechanism because the valley was large. At one point, there was a gate called the Potsherd Gate. This gate was used for a time when Jerusalem had come under attack. Jeremiah and the elders of the city were to break pots to warn the citizens in the gate.
The last place we stopped was Hezekiah’s Tunnel mentioned in 2 Kings 20:20. It begins from Jerusalem’s only spring inside the city, Gihon Springs, and runs all the way to the Pool of Siloam. King Hezekiah built this tunnel for the water to flow to the Pool of Siloam because at the time the Assyrians were invading Jerusalem. Fearing that the stream would be tampered with by the enemy, he formed the tunnel. Today, many people marvel at the way the tunnel was made. It is said that people stood at opposite ends of the tunnel and completed the tunnel by following either a bead of water or shouting at each other.
Last of all, The Pool of Siloam was a place where Jesus walked and even healed many. We read in John 9 that Jesus healed a blind man here and was quizzed by the Pharisees.
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