Archives For temple mount

The City of David—Surprises from Original Jerusalem

When people picture Jerusalem, they usually think of the historic Western Wall, or the Old City, or the Temple Mount crowned with the Golden Dome of the Rock.

But most folks are surprised to learn that the original city of Jerusalem lay just south of the Temple Mount on a small spur of land that encompassed about only ten acres.

The City of David—Surprises from Original Jerusalem The City of David—Surprises from Original Jerusalem

(Photo: City of David seen from the Observation Platform. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)

Crammed with houses and punctured with archaeological digs, the original area of Jerusalem looks much different today than it did three thousand years ago when King David conquered it.

But you can still get a sense of its drama.

Let me show you.

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The Widow’s Mites and the Value of Your Heart to God

The true value of our hearts is hidden.

But sometimes we reveal its value by how we give—not by how much. That’s the currency God cares most about.

The Widows Mites and the Value of Your Heart to God The Widows Mites and the Value of Your Heart to God

(Photo: The widow’s mite(s) were like these 2000 year old copper coins. By Royce Bair / Creative Commons license)

On His way out of the temple for the last time, Jesus sat down in the Court of the Women and observed those who made donations to the treasury. To be sure, this seemed an odd place to pause.

But the Lord had a lesson to teach His disciples.

It’s a lesson on how He values our hearts.

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The Temple Mount—An Ordinary Hill Made Holy

Abraham saw the acreage. David bought the lot. Solomon built the house.

Nebuchadnezzar tore it town. Zerubbabel rebuilt it. Herod the Great expanded it. Titus flattened it. Before these temples stood on Mount Moriah, it was nothing but a hill used for threshing wheat.

Hardly worth noticing.

Temple Mount aerial from north bb00040095 2 The Temple Mount—An Ordinary Hill Made Holy

(Photo: the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, courtesy of Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)

But today, the Temple Mount remains the most precious piece of real estate in the world. And the golden shrine that graces its crest has become the icon for the Holy City of Jerusalem itself.

How did this ordinary hill become holy? Not through battles or land bartering or by popular vote.

God chose it.

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Connecting Cisterns, Rain, and Reading the Bible

Where there is water in Israel, there is life.

And where there isn’t water? The rule in antiquity was simple. Dig a cistern.

cistern Connecting Cisterns, Rain, and Reading the Bible

(Photo: Water reservoir beside Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. Photo by Vladimir Naykhin, IAA)

While excavating a first-century drainage channel and street that led from the City of David to the Temple Mount, archaeologists recently found a massive water reservoir dating from the First Temple period. The discovery of the reservoir, just west of the Temple Mount, gives silent testimony to the importance of water in the spiritual lives of God’s people.

The Jewish holiday today, Shemini Atzeret—and Simchat Torah—offer a fascinating connection to this ancient cistern.

More importantly, they reveal a truth we live by every day of our lives.

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The Southern Steps and Psalms of Ascent Reminders

Who would have ever thought to use stairs as a memory-trigger?

At the southern edge of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, a 200-foot wide flight of stairs represents both original and restored steps from the Second Temple period.

Southern steps with Psalms of Ascent tb n090599 The Southern Steps and Psalms of Ascent Reminders

(Photo: Reading the Psalms of Ascent on the Southern Steps. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands.)

Millions of sandals (including Jesus’) shuffled up these steps in antiquity as Jewish pilgrims came from all Israel and the Diaspora to worship the Lord for the annual feasts.

Some suggest the pilgrims sang the Psalms of Ascent on these steps. If so, the place brought to mind critical themes.

The place echoes of our need to be reminded of what we already know.

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Echoes of Rosh Hashanah at the Place of Trumpeting

Whenever I visit the Jerusalem Archaeological Park, I’m eager to walk to the southwest corner of the Temple Mount.

I’ve never been to this corner on Rosh Hashanah or during the Feast of Trumpets, but I’d love to go there then. Archaeologists have uncovered a large portion of the first-century street that stretched north along the original Western Wall.

Excavations below Robinsons Arch from north tb122006922 1024x546 Echoes of Rosh Hashanah at the Place of Trumpeting

Photo: The southwest corner of the Temple Mount at left. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands.

One hundred meters north of the corner is the part of the Western Wall where locals and tourists pray. But beneath the ground, Jerusalem’s Central Valley has been filled in with the rubble of the Second Temple’s destruction in A.D. 70.  As a result, the beautiful modern plaza stands about 30 feet above the first-century street uncovered at the southwestern corner.

There at the corner lies a reminder of something Jesus predicted 37 years before the temple’s destruction.

And of a promise He made that could be fulfilled at any moment.

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The Walls of Jerusalem through the Centuries—a Timeline

I’ve heard it said, “If you want to understand the history of Israel, then learn the history of Jerusalem.”

Many books depict the expansion and contraction of the walls of Jerusalem, but I thought a timeline might illustrate it well.

(If you can’t see the timeline in email or RSS, just click here.)

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How Tisha B’Av and the Burnt House in Jerusalem Examine Our Motives

Sometimes it’s tough to dissect our motives. Take prayer for example.

  • We bow our heads to pray, and yet—that’s nowhere in the Bible.
  • We men remove our hats, but again—there’s no verse on that.
  • We end prayers “in Jesus’ name”—but is that really what John 16:24 means?

prayingprone How Tisha BAv and the Burnt House in Jerusalem Examine Our Motives

Photo: Design Pics, via Vivozoom

It’s not that there’s anything wrong, per se, with these self-imposed rituals. It’s the motive behind them that can trip us up.

I can’t help but think about motives when I visit the Burnt House in Jerusalem. Destroyed along with the Second Temple in AD 70, the Burnt House reminds me of a question the Prophet Zechariah recorded about the First Temple’s destruction.

God’s answer to the Jews of that day still rings in my mind. I can’t shake it.

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How to Approach God According to God

Ask five people on the street, “How can I find my way to God?” and you’ll likely get five different answers.

They may not even believe in God. Or your God.

Connecting with God How to Approach God According to God

Photo: Design Pics, via Vivozoom

As I’ve thought about this question, I think it requires we ask another question first.

This one question boils down the issue like nothing else can.

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Tour the Holy Land and Experience the Benefits

I’ll be honest. I have never recovered from my travels to the Holy Land.

As many times as I’ve been to Israel, every trip impacts me. There’s a reason.

touring the temple mount1 Tour the Holy Land and Experience the Benefits

Our tour group on the Southern Steps of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem

After Cathy and I took our first tour to the Holy Land, the truth hit home harder than it ever had: my faith is rooted in events that occurred in real places.

My experience isn’t unique. The following video shows people whose lives have changed as a result of a tour to the Holy Land.

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