Israel Day 3: Old Testament Walk

Below is my next impression report. I'll write more later about what I did this evening as it was even more fun than what I did for class.

I was really excited about today because of the trip to Hezekiah’s Tunnel. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I’d heard from quite a few friends that it was an awesome experience. I was totally unprepared for what I experienced. It’s mind blowing to imagine people so many thousands of years ago hewing the stone away to form such a long tunnel. It’s even more amazing to me that they were able to meet in the middle. Even following fissures and trickles of water, this is an amazing accomplishment. I also enjoyed getting to see the marks from where they had hacked away at the rock. Touching tool marks made centuries ago was a humbling experience because something made so long ago is still in existence today.

Me in Hezekiah's Tunnel

Another major even that touched me today was seeing a possible—even probable—location for David’s palace. While I’ve always heard about archaeological dig sites and the amazing things they uncover, this was my first time really seeing one up close. I was unprepared for the magnitude of such an undertaking. I always thought of archaeologist carefully scraping away minute layers of sand to uncover tiny bits of pottery. Seeing where archaeologist have moved vast quantities of material to uncover massive walls and foundations was something I had not expected. It’s amazing to me that people are still uncovering treasures from Biblical times.



The last class event today that really impressed me was going back to the set beyond the Western Wall of the Old City and looking out over the Kidron Valley and onto the Mount of Olives. While I had seen it yesterday, I saw it anew today. Looking at Zachariah’s Tomb as it was hewed out of the surrounding mountain to form a free-standing tomb was just mind-blowing. I have trouble imagining how engineers do things like that now utilizing tools like dynamite and power tools. To think that this was done long before any of these modern techniques were discovered is just mind blowing to me. I also had not really appreciated the distance it is from the Mount of Olives down through the Kidron Valley and up to the Temple Mount. In fact, I had not realized that you even had to pass through the Kidron Valley to get from the Mount of Olives to the Temple Mount. I knew that Jesus had to do a great deal of walking, but I had not appreciated just how much was involved.

After supper tonight, three friends and I walked back to the Old City to go visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. We had wanted to see it when it was less crowded so that we could go see where tradition holds that Jesus was crucified as well as go into the tomb. I had an appreciation for it today that I did not have yesterday. It’s taken some time for me to start to realize just where I am and the opportunity I have been given. Seeing the Mount of Olives today—particularly Zachariah’s Tomb—helped me to realize just what was involved in the creation of that place as well as just what all Jesus went through so that I could be saved. This is a location I can’t wait to visit again and explore some more. There’s something special about seeing it in the evening that I just can’t describe.

Over all, today left me with a great deal more to think about, and a much greater appreciation for what it must have been like to have to walk everywhere. I can’t wait to see what the rest of my time here will be like.