Touched By The Spirit

Today was one of those extra special lifetime experiences.  We started with a trip to Hezekiah’s Tunnel.  As we walked to the tunnel we looked over the Kidron Valley to the hillside where the Assyrian army camped in preparation to besiege Jerusalem approximately 700 BC.  The prophet Isaiah however had prophesized that the king of Assyria would not come against the city nor shoot an arrow against it.  The army went to sleep on the hillside and died during the night (I’ll let you find the scripture reference). The threat of the Assyrian invasion was the reason Hezekiah’s Tunnel was built.  He had his men build the tunnel starting at Gihon Spring and at the ending point which was the Pool of Siloam.  It was built to protect the women when they went to get water at the spring.  The spring was protected by walls but not from arrows from the hill across the valley.  We walked the tunnel which still supplies water for irrigation.   In some places it is mid-thigh deep.  That was quite the experience as the tunnel is very narrow and much of it you have to stoop to get through – it is also pitch black.  The really special experience however was after leaving the tunnel we walked up steps that have just been excavated in the past 6 years.  These steps are the same steps Jesus walked and in particular when Jesus gave sight to the blind beggar and told him to go wash in the Pool of Siloam - these are the steps where that event happen.  We then sat on the very steps that lead down into the Pool of Siloam even though the pool is only dirt because they cannot continue the excavation to restore the pool.

From there we went to Jericho the oldest and lowest city on earth.  We stopped to see the Valley of the Shadow of Death (the road from Jerusalem to Jericho in Jesus time).  In Jericho we saw the excavation of a watch tower from 8000 BC.  Next we saw a Sycamore tree that is believed to be 2000 years old and could have been there when Jesus invited the man down (again I’ll let you look up the reference as it is too late for me to even be very coherent).  Next we saw excavations of Herod’s Winter Palace.

Leaving Jericho we traveled up again  to Bethany to see the Church built over what is traditionally the tomb of Lazarus.  We also walked down into the traditional tomb of Lazarus.  It give a good opportunity to see what tombs were like in Lazarus day and place.  We then went to the Western Wall for the Jewish Sabbath and it was inspiring to see the devotion of these people. 

Our days are long and tiring so please forgive.