Mike's Blog

Today, we started with a walk to the Broad Wall, built under the direction of Hezekiah. I appreciated hearing about how its discovery, along with other archaeological finds, have proven some skeptics wrong in their attempts to make ancient Israel out to be smaller than it really was. Our instructor told us that the belief that Jerusalem was a ‘one donkey town’ had begun to prevail by the 1970’s, but the unearthing of the Broad Wall blew that theory out of the water. It’s awesome to know that, as archaeologists continue to excavate and study what lies beneath our feet, certain portions of the biblical record can be confirmed or brought into better focus.

That said, the satisfaction comes not only from ‘proving naysayers wrong,’ but also from seeing how the biblical narrative can inform our understanding of how certain structures were formed. When viewing the Broad Wall, our instructor pointed out its seemingly hurried construction – the outside of the wall was fortified by large, sturdy blocks, but it was filled in with smaller, less uniformed piles of stone. One could even see the remnants of older buildings jutting out from the sides of the wall. The most convincing explanation for this is found in Isaiah 22:10:

‘You counted the houses of Jerusalem and tore down houses to fortify the wall.’

Jerusalem was anticipating an attack from Assyria, so Hezekiah saw to it that an additional wall was hastily built around the city. As the wall was being built, Jerusalem’s residents were literally tearing down their homes and throwing the stones over the outer parts of the wall to fill it in!

Continuing on with our walk, we eventually came upon Hezekiah’s tunnel under the City of David. Hezekiah’s efforts to divert the Gihon Spring are explained in 2 Chronicles 32:1-4 and the tunnel is explicitly mentioned in 2 Kings 20:20:

As for the other events of Hezekiah’s reign, all his achievements and how he made the pool and the tunnel by which he brought water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah?’

We all had a chance to walk through the tunnel and experience firsthand what it must have been like for the men who dug this water channel into the rock. It was wet (obviously), dark, and at times both narrow and squat. Nearly all of us agreed that even though it was only 3/10 of a mile long, our walk felt closer to that of a full mile. One can only imagine how seemingly endless it must have been for those carving into the rock!

All in all, today was a great bit of experiential learning. The time we spent at the rooftop overview, ‘David’s Palace’, and Ahiel’s house all helped provide context for the area we’re studying. I feel as though I’m getting a handle on the area and its topography, and I’m beginning to connect the dots between places we’ve been and things I’ve read in the Bible.

A part of our required coursework while in Israel is writing a reflection paper for each day that we’re out in the field. To give my family and friends an idea of where I’ve been going and what I’m up to, I decided to share these reflections on the blog. Read as much or as little as you like. Either way, thanks for checking in!
– Mike

Jerusalem is kind of like a cake – it has many layers.

Ok, maybe that’s not the best analogy, but after our first day exploring the Old City, one of my biggest takeaways is that the Jerusalem we read about in the Bible is technically buried several feet beneath us. Due to thousands upon thousands of years of settlement, conflict, destruction, and resettlement, the streets of modern day Jerusalem are literally built upon the ruins of many nations and empires who sought – and fought – to call it their own.

Whether it was the people of Israel, Egypt to the south, or the various powers to the north like Assyria and Rome, The ‘Land Between’ (which is not limited to, but includes Jerusalem) has been part of an ongoing power struggle that persists even to today. One does not need to travel to Jerusalem to understand that Israeli Jews and Arab Muslims don’t get along, but the reality of how these conflicts are still at play was brought to life for me today. As we peered over the Western Wall to the Dome of the Rock, our view was obscured by many Israeli flags strategically placed along the wall. One could not look at the mosque without seeing Israel’s symbolic declaration that ‘this should all be ours.’

Learning about the city as we navigated our way through it was helpful as an academic pursuit, but the most meaningful experience of the day for me was our stop at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. While many claim that Golgotha and the burial tomb of Jesus are located elsewhere, it was thrilling to learn that archaeological evidence supports the belief that we were walking in the approximate vicinity of these sites. Even if it didn’t happen at this exact site, we do know that it happened nearby. These really are the streets that Jesus walked. This really is the city where David was king. This really is the land God promised to Abraham!

Speaking of Abraham, in our lecture today, the question ‘This is the Promised Land?’ was raised. When you consider its position between larger nations, its climate, and its topography, the ‘Land Between’ seems vulnerable and forgettable. Why would God choose to send his people here? Why not give Abraham and his descendants a more comfortable, fertile, and safe land? Our instructor suggested that the answer might lie in its location along various trade routes. Trade between Egypt, the Middle East, Syria, Greece, and Rome all funnel through this area at some point. Perhaps one of the reasons God has chosen the Land Between is because it is a part of his plan to announce the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Why not start in a place where people from all ends of the earth gather?

As we read in class today, Isaiah 2:2-3 is confirmed by our gathering:

In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble. Amen and amen.