Friday, December 03, 2010

Today was a full day here in Jerusalem – amazing! Here are the highlights!

Western Wall (Wailing Wall)

We began our day at the Western Wall watching the Jews gather for prayer along the portion of wall they consider to be most sacred. This is a small portion of what remains from the wall surrounding the Temple Mount of Herod the Great’s temple. Of course, the entire temple itself is no longer here, having been destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. But it was interesting to watch the Jews crowd for prayer against this remnant of wall – trying their best get close to their God. This is what they believe is the closest place to the Holy of Holies that they can get without defilement. They would never dare go up on the Temple mount itself – home of the Islamic Dome of the Rock. How Jesus must long for them to know that He has rent the veil of the Temple and that they can now simply draw near to God through Him.

Jews praying at the Western Wall

A little cove in the Western Wall where copies of the Torah
are kept.  I slipped in there and read one!

Prayers tucked into holes in the wall

The Praetorium and the Via Dolorosa

In the Praetorium where Pilot gave the orders for Jesus to be crucified, we stopped and read the crucifixion account and sang Amazing Grace. We looked at the stones on the very floor where Jesus was beaten and condemned to death. Amazing Grace – indeed! We then walked down the Via Dolorosa (the Way of Suffering) – the path Jesus was led along on the way to the hill called Calvary.

Pastor Jerel Hagerman (our tour leader)
reading the crucifixion account in the Praetorium.

The Via Dolorosa –
Jesus loves the little children!

Don’t bring your knife to the Temple!

Just one little lesson I learned today. I found out that there are random security checks around the temple area – and the Israeli guards found out I was carrying a pocket knife. It was confiscated and I was detained for about ten minutes. Literally arrested along the Via Dolorasa! Joining in Christ’s sufferings. ☺ I was released and my knife eventually returned. Whew!

The Temple Steps

Cheryl and I sat on the Temple steps where Jesus walked and taught many times. These steps are one of the places historians can mark with absolute certainty that Jesus indeed walked. Neil Armstrong, after coming to faith in Christ, once said that standing on these steps became more significant to him than standing on the moon! We also shared a brief time in God’s word here.

The City of David

One of the more recent archeological finds in Jerusalem has been David’s palace. The city was much smaller in David’s day – and it was amazing standing in a place where David must have prayed and worshipped many times. David is true bible hero to us all – a man after God’s own heart. Cheryl thought it was interesting how close the” Kings” house was to all the others. I couldn’t help but think of Bathsheba as I looked out over what would have been King David’s view.

The view from David’s palace overlooking
the houses (and rooftops) of Jerusalem.

We are well.

We are doing well and enjoying our time very much. Pray for my dear wife to be able to sleep at night. Tomorrow – we will be in Bethlehem – the day of the Live Nativity back in Bozeman – how fitting.  We will pray for that as well.  We miss and love you all!