Old Testament Jerusalem Walk

We started the day looking at the remains of the Hezekiah’s Broad Wall, which he built in preparation for invasion by the Assyrian king Sennacherib in 700 B.C. Hezekiah also built Jerusalem’s west wall for the first time. The wall was discovered in 1970 in the Jewish quarter just after the Six Day war.  The Broad Wall is believed to be mentioned in Nehemiah 3:8 and measures 7 meters across, very thick. While Hezekiah prepared extensively for the upcoming invasion, he ultimately trusted in the Lord for protection and was saved. (recorded as a righteous king in the Bible) 

            We then went to a museum and watched a video on the history of Jerusalem and what makes the city so special. Ultimately, as we already knew, it is its spiritual value and place as God’s chosen city that makes it the most unique city on earth. We then learned more about the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and wrote our names out in Ancient Hebrew and Canaanite.  

            Additionally, we walked outside the old city gates and made pyramids on the lawn! We then perused a beautiful Catholic Church— The Basilica of the Dormition, because Catholics believe that Mary did not die but simply fell into eternal sleep, (or dormition.) The church was built by a German Kaiser in 1899.

            Next, we toured the building that possibly stands on the spot of the last supper. The actual building dates to the crusader times. The last supper was actually Passover—the celebration of God’s supernaturally bringing the Jews out of Egypt. Jesus is boldly declaring that Passover is all about himself, essentially declaring himself as I AM. (Yahweh) Our professor believes that many people were at the Last Supper, including women and children. I thought that was an intriguing theory. Judas sat next to Jesus because he dips the bread into the wine. Jesus and John “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” sat close together, whispering about what was to come.

Underneath the Upper Room, we visited the supposed Tomb of David. He was actually buried in the City of David as recorded in the Bible, and not under the Upper Room.

            From the Upper Room, we ventured outside and into the graveyard where Oskar Schindler is buried. World War II broke out on September 1^st, 1939 with the German invasion of Poland. Oskar Schindler is credited with saving 1,200 of Jews from the Auschwitz concentration camp by employing them in his enamelware and ammunitions factories, and subsequently spent his entire fortune bribing Nazi officials to turn a blind eye to his Jewish employees. His story is recorded in the hit movie Schindler’s List.

            Finally, we walked through the remains of The City of David and went through Hezekiah’s Tunnel! He built the 600-meter tunnel to funnel water from outside the city to the inside, and blocked all streams flowing out of Jerusalem and funneled them into the pool of Siloam—where Jesus healed the blind man. (John 9)