Monday: Toured Jerusalem- we did a general run through of the old city of Jerusalem. As we walked through, we talked about the intricacies of having a city so fully grounded in three different religions. We talked about how the religions (Jewish, Christian, Muslim) in the city are like trees planted near each other. Although the 3 trees grow separately and are their own identities, they are so old that their branches in some place being to intertwine. (This is not to say that they mix doctrines or that they are becoming one mega super religion. But rather their histories and understanding of the land are beginning to become complex and difficult to untangle.) Similarly, if their branches are becoming intertwined, their roots are becoming a warped mess, so much so that it would be nearly impossible to remove one tree without nearly destroying the other two. But as it is, they survive, and except for a few isolated instances they get along just fine. And it's true, almost every spot in the old city is a holy or historical spot for one of the religions, and at times two or three of the religions. Such as the upper room. It is what we as Christians consider to be the place of the last supper. The Muslims turned it into a mosque at one point, and the Jewish people remember King David's grave there. All three have a vested interest in this spot, and removing one would damage the stability of the entire city. Also, saw the church of the Holy Sepulcher I went to the Western Wall after.
Tuesday- We did another walk through of the Old City, this time focusing on the Old Testament. We saw walls that were supposedly the original walls that Hezekiah put up to repel the invading Assyrian army. Next, we saw the original City of David. It is on the eastern hill in Jerusalem (we have learned a ton about geology and geography and how it affects our understanding of the Bible... see below). We walked Hezekiah's tunnel, which is an extremely small and cramped route for the passage of water from the Gihon spring to be brought into the city. We also saw the pool of Siloam, where Christ sent the man who was born blind to wash his eyes and be healed.
Wednesday: We started out going to the Temple Mount. Here we saw the Dome of the Rock, and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Furthermore, I believe this to be the place where Solomon built the Temple, and thus, the place where God's divine presence dwelt during OT times. After, we went to the place of the original street in Jerusalem. A place where Christ would have most certainly walked. Wow. Then we went to the steps which originally went up to the temple. These would be steps that Jesus walked and also possibly the steps where the Pentecost happened. Finally, we ended up at the Pools of Bethesda and Church of Ann (Mother of Mary). Here is the place where Christ healed the man born lame.
Thursday: This was the first of our 2 11-hour days during the week. We saw the Mt. of Olives, and had our first glimpse into the wasteland beyond Jerusalem. We went to the Church in the Garden of Gethsemane. Here I saw the rock that marks the place where Christ cried blood. From here, we went to the Herodian (Herod's palace south of Jerusalem). That dude was rich beyond belief. After, we went to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, and saw the place where Christ was supposed to be born. We also met with Palestinian Christians and talked about how they feel about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It was interesting.
Friday: Our second 11 hour day. We traveled into the wasteland. "Wow, it is desolate out here", was my first thought. There is practically no vegetation and even less water. It was hot, and there was very little shade. It brought new meaning to the words "Valley of the Shadow of Death". Furthermore, come to find out, this area was part of the "promise land" which God gave to the Israelites. So much for a prosperity gospel. We went down to Jericho and talked about how we reconcile the fact that we have text and geography pointing to a place where Jericho should be, but we have no archeological remains of the walls (or any part for that matter) of Jericho that Joshua knocked down. We then finally left the hot area of the rift valley. We continued to look at the northern approaches to Jerusalem, here is where seeing and studying opens up great amounts of the Bible. We looked at places that were around Jerusalem and how the borders were constantly in flux. Knowing where these cities are, and who the players and kingdoms are, opens up great understanding of the books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles.
Close Geography of Jerusalem: It is built on 2 hills. The hills of Jerusalem (named the western and eastern hills) are separated by a valley (today merely a dip in elevation) named the central valley. On either side of Jerusalem's hills are two valleys. The Hinnom valley is to the West and after that the ground rises into the Watershed ridge. The Kidron Valley is to the east and rises to the Mt. of Olives. To the south, the Valleys combine and the Watershed Ridge curves around. The North is the weak point. This helps us understand many things in scripture. For example, when David in Psalm 121 says "I lift my eyes up to the hill, where shall my help come from? My help comes from the LORD who made heaven and earth." Understanding the nature of Jerusalem's solitude and the way the City is cut off from friends, helps understand the place of despair and faith that David writes. Furthermore, in Psalm 125 David says that as the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people forever. Understanding the geography of Jerusalem helps greatly in understanding the theology built into the text. Furthermore, the Solomon's temple, a great and powerful temple was built on the high spot of the city, which was the north. This helps explain the importance of the Temple being so mighty and well fortified... It was part of the protection of the city.
I have much more to say, but I do have a test this afternoon on everything I just wrote, so I should study. But I will try and be better about posting soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment