There is another guy from Lockheed working here in Israel, last night his wife came in to visit him for a week. Today they went sightseeing with us. We went to Jerusalem. It is about an hour drive East/South East of our hotel. You drive uphill much of the time as it is on the top of Mount Moriah. I took things to read so I did not have to enjoy the wonderful driving, last time I had a hard time pulling my fingernails out of the leather seats of the Jaguar that we were riding/driving in. ☺ Some of my reading material included: "After these things God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here am I." He said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I shall tell you." So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; and he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him." (Genesis 22:1-3)
"Then Solomon began to build the house of The Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where The Lord had appeared to David his father, at the place that David had appointed, on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. He began to build in the second month of the fourth year of his reign." (2 Chronicles 3:1-2)
Mount Moriah means "chosen by Jehovah". It is an elongated ridge with the southern end of the ridge at the intersection of the Kidron and Hinnom valleys. The northeastern ridge is the present Damascus Gate of the Old City. The Temple Mount and the Old City of Jerusalem as well as the Dome of the Rock, a Moslem shrine, are located on top of Mount Moriah. The Mount of Olives is just east of Mount Moriah.
The angel of the LORD commanded David to set up an altar unto the LORD in the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, after the destruction of Jerusalem was halted. King David bought the threshing floor from Ornan the Jebusite, an inhabitant of Jebus (early name for Jerusalem) and the descendants of the 3rd son of Caanan, and paid full price for the land with six hundred shekels of gold by weight. 1 Chronicles 21:18-30 )
King Solomon built the house of the LORD at Jerusalem in Mount Moriah. Mount Moriah is where the LORD appeared unto David the father of Solomon, in the place David had prepared in the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. (2 Chronicles 3:1)
We went to the Western Wall. The Western Wall (Hebrew Ha-Kotel Ha-Ma'aravi), also popularly known as the Wailing Wall, is all that visibly remains of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, which was destroyed by Roman Legions in 70 A.D. Measuring some 160 feet long and 60 feet high, it forms part of a larger retaining wall of the Temple Mount.
The Western Wall is constructed of limestone blocks, one of which measures more than 13 feet in length, and has an estimated weight of 628 tons. It is the greatest stone ever quarried by man - nothing of its size exists anywhere else, including in the great Pyramids of Ancient Egypt. Just beside it is a stone weighing 407 tons, and there are others over 100 tons. Modern engineers express amazement at how such massive stones could have been placed as they are.
For nearly two thousand years, since the destruction of the Temple, the Western Wall has been the focal point for prayer of Jews in Israel and throughout the world.
We had to wash our hands before entering the women’s side of the wall, Darrel and Jerry did the same to enter the men’s side, plus they had to cover their heads. Although I truly know that God is not anymore at the wall than He is anywhere else I go, I prayed for those I loved while at the wall. I also prayed for the Jews that they would open their eyes and see that Jesus was and is the messiah. I prayed for the muslins that are being lead away by a horrible cult. When you leave the wall you walk backwards out of respect not to turn your back on the wall. It is sad to think that day after day Jews go there to pray to God though they are not really praying because they do not believe that God can hear them until the temple is rebuilt. It is wonderful to know that God does hear us because of His son and our savior.
We wanted to go in the tunnels behind the wall and see the cisterns, etc. But they do it by reservation only and are booked. They do the tours even at midnight so we figure our chances of getting in were null.
We went through Damascus gate, Jaffa gate and Zion gate. We passed the Dung gate and the New Gate. We walked through the Muslim quarters and through the market streets, they were vendors on the sides of the streets and the streets are very narrow with walls on each side that go straight up and so with the vendors it was were two people could barely fit through. They had everything for sale in there. Trinkets, toys, whole lambs, goat heads, intestines, etc…. clothes, menorahs, things made out of olive wood, anointing oil, you name it they probably had it. We were glad to get out of there. Plus we sort of got lost in there and so we were glad to find our way out.
We explored all though the tower of David. Several groups of Jewish school children were there. They were so cute. Darrel and I loved the history and enjoyed reading all about it; the couple with us were tired of it after just a short while.
For lunch we ate in Jerusalem. They had schwarma and I had falafel. Both were really good. It was a very HOT day! The hottest day so far. We walked miles and miles.
We went to Christ Church. That was very neat. They had a service going since it was Sunday and they were so gracious to us. We listened in on the beautiful choral singing of the congregation for a few minutes. Then the hostess told us about the church and their ministry in Israel. They are praying for and working toward the salvation of both the Jews and the Muslims there. They also found a tunnel under their church that leads to the temple mount. They are only allowed to go so far in it, so they are not sure if it is in good structural shape the whole way, but it was neat. They are located on part of the land where King Herod’s palace use to stand. I would say if you are going to Jerusalem you should to go Christ Church and talk to the people there. They have a wonderful grasp on the Lord’s work in Israel and it was a joy to visit with them.
We went to where David is supposedly buried and they have put a little prayer room there. (men and women divided of course and you must pay to go?) We went to the upper room though who knows if it was the actual upper room that Jesus was in for the last supper. But it was an upper room in Jerusalem.
We were very hot and very tired when we left the city. We drove home, took showers and ate in the lobby of the hotel, though they did not have any real choices for a main dish, we loved the watermelon. We talked to the kids and went to bed. We are starting our day by leaving our hotel rooms at 7am. I want to get to see and do as much as I can while I am here.
God bless you,
Shalom
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