Jerusalem Approaches
I felt like
this field study was packed with many different places and a lot of
information, it was a good day.
Looking at
Jerusalem from many different angles and directions has highlighted the
question for me, ‘Why did God choose Jerusalem?’ Why did God choose a land that
is on the verge of drought for about half of the year and producing just enough
to get by without starving? Why did God choose Jerusalem? Jerusalem is a city
that is nestled fairly deep on the edge of the hill country, just out of reach
of the rugged Sorek valley and pushed up against the Mount of Olives, the only
thing keeping Jerusalem from being swallowed up by the arid wilderness on the
other side. It’s off of the highway and
nowhere near the routes that the kings and nations use.
We started by
looking towards Jerusalem from Mount Scopus, a mountain on the Mount of Olives
range. From this perspective Mount
Moriah stands out like a dot in a bowl. This eastern border is crucial for
Jerusalem, because the height of the Mount of Olives is slightly higher than
the watershed ridge route it moves the rain shadow and the wilderness to the
east side of the Mount of Olives.
The Mount of
Olives did not only separate wilderness from farming land, it separated the
shepherd from the farmer, the nomad from the settled and though the
relationship between the two was often a tenuous one, it was also one that,
when they worked together, could benefit and protect each other. Many stories
we know in the Bible have these underlying tensions woven into them. Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob were shepherd, David was also a shepherd. Jeremiah grew up in
Annoth, a town in the wilderness, and it Judah that the Babylonians were going
to come from the East and they were going to be taken into exile.
God placed Jerusalem in a spot where
the relationships were not always safe, but a place where relationships with
the people surrounding them were necessary. Maybe this is an example for
us. Maybe we are placed in places where
the relationships are not always safe, but God calls us to build them anyways,
any to do that in a way that is going to glorify Him.
Also from the
East we looked at the story of Jesus coming into the city on Palm Sunday. As he
is going down the Mount of Olives he stops and weeps for the city. At this point it looks like Jesus is doing the
exact opposite of what King David was doing when his sons were trying to take
over his throne and his life was in immediate danger. David left the city of
Jerusalem using the same route, weeping. Maybe Jesus is pulling a parallel act
to tell us something about what he is coming into the city to do.
A little later in Luke 23 a group of women are
following Jesus as he walks to the cross and Jesus tells them not to weep for
him, but to weep for the city and for people. Maybe Jesus saw things were not
as they were supposed to be. Maybe he knew what was to come and knew that many
of the people would not recognize him for who he was and what he was to be
doing.
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| a second temple period tomb on the mount of olives |
After looking at Jerusalem from the
East we traveled around to the West and looked at the Sorek Valley. The
ruggedness of this valley protects Jerusalem from the West as most don’t want
to travel through it. We went to a place called Safat. There we hiked down the steep hills that make
up this valley. The Cenomanian limestone that is common in this area is known
for the steep valleys that erosion creates. It is also known as the type of stone that can
support life.
We talked of the farming practices
that take place in these hills. Families like on the sides of the hills, maybe
starting in caves that naturally occur in the layers of rock. Carefully and with lots of work they created
the terraced gardens all alongside the hill, taking out the large stones to
build a wall on the edge and leaving the little rocks there so that the dew can
collect on them during the long dry summers. We talked about how everything was
done out of necessity, just in order to survive. Marriages were done tie
families together and make alliances.
So when the people of Israel rebelled and
pleaded for a king so that they could like all the other nations, there was a
lot for them to lose. Their sons and daughters would be taken away and used for
the king in the armies or in his palace. It didn’t take that long for such
things to become a reality. Maybe God’s idea for his people was different. It
reminds me of the proverb that asks God to give us what we need so that we may
not sin because we have too much or too little.
Proverbs
30:8-9
give me neither poverty nor riches,
but give me only my daily bread.
Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’
Or I may
become poor and steal,
and so dishonor the name of my God.
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| Cenomanian limestone is ideal for springs, there was one that we went up a tunnel to see |
It was also interesting to see the farming
methods that were used and the imagery that comes from the grape vines and
fruit trees that are around. It was
interesting to hear the about how when a vine does not produce fruit is it
often because the vines are growing on the ground and don’t have enough room to
let the fruit fall and ripen. Therefore it is necessary for the vine to be
lifted up and rocks be placed underneath e to give the fruit room to grow and
ripen. When I looked up the word in the Greek it is actually αἴρω which is often translated
to ‘to raise up, to lift’ so it actually makes more sense culturally to use it
as lifting up rather than “He cuts off”.
John 15:1-2
“I am the
true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no
fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be
even more fruitful.
After looking at the Western approaches to Jerusalem we
headed to the south, to Bethlehem and Herodium. Here there is not mountain like the Mount of
Olives protecting it and therefore it is part of the wilderness. Out here in the wilderness Herod created an
administrative center and a palace for himself. Far enough away from Jerusalem
that he could get away from the religious activity that centered itself there,
yet close enough that he could keep an eye on what was going on there.
Out here as well we talked about David growing up as a
shepherd and writing the Psalms. We looked at Psalm 23 as a Psalm that illustrates
the life of a shepherd. Green pastures are rock hillsides with little blades of
grass wherever the dew can settle. Still waters are not the rushing wadis that are
found the wilderness, but the springs or wells that are scattered around. One of the images that I appreciated was the
line “surely goodness and mercy will follow me” being picture as ‘tov’ (good)
and ‘hessed’ (mercy/love/more than English can translate...) chasing me.
While in Bethlehem we stopped by ‘The Shepherds Field’ and
talked a little bit about the Christmas story. It was an interesting
perspective that was presented to us. For years I had heard that it was more
likely a cave than a stable, but I had never added in the fact that it would
have been likely for there to be lots of family around. With the Middle East
being such a family oriented culture Mary and Joseph probably would have been
put up with the extend family. And it would not have been uncommon for families
to have a manger in some area of the ‘house’ (probably a storage room) for the
sheep when it got cold and nasty in the winter. Being that the sheep were out
in the field, that room would have been available. In addition, child-bearing
was extremely risky to both mother and child. The mothers and grandmothers of the family
would probably do everything that they possibly could to make sure that both
Mary and the baby survived.
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| looking out towards the shepherds fields |
The last place we stopped was an interesting place to think
about. We stopped at Ramah Rachel. This place is not mentioned in the Bible at
all, but yet because of the artifacts found there it appears to be an important
site politically and maybe religiously. It dates back significantly and it is
in fairly close proximity to Jerusalem, yet we still don’t hear about it at
all. We talked about how we use the Bible in this study of Historical
Geography. The Bible wasn’t written as a historical account of the land and
therefore there may be places and things that happened in this area on which
the Bible is silent and that is ok.
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.”
2 My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.3 He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber;4 indeed, he who watches over Israelwill neither slumber nor sleep.5 The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand;6 the sun will not harm you by day,nor the moon by night.7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life;8 the Lord will watch over your coming and goingboth now and forevermore
We
started off the morning by going into the old city. After the war of
independence there was an opportunity to do a salvage dig because all of the
residents of that part of the city were not there for a period of time. In the
process of this they uncovered some things that have shaped our picture about
Jerusalem and the events that have gone on around there. One of these was the
'broad wall'. Although there is still debate on the size of ancient Jerusalem,
we know that Hezekiah ruled there when Sennacherib king of Assyria came to
attack. In a frantic effort to protect
themselves from the sweeping conquest of Assyria, he had all the springs dammed
up, the wall fortified and another wall build. 
John 5:14 Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.”
But then we encounter another story, the
healing of the man at the pool of Bethsaida in John chapter 5. Just four chapters earlier and it seems as if
Jesus’ approach is completely different.
It was helpful to hear about the remains of the Aesculaptic cult that
were found nearby. The cult of Aesculapium was a cult to a Greek god of
healing. It was particularly popular among soldier, and on this side of
Jerusalem, with the Antonium nearby, there was no shortage of soldiers. Jesus
asked this man who was sick for 38 years if he wants to get well. Instead of
answering yes or no, he refers back to an idea that the first one who gets into
the pool after it is stirred will be made well. Jesus still heals him and later
confronts him the temple. Maybe this man, how wasn’t impaired from birth, had
his trust in the wrong spot. Maybe he had more trust in the myths and healing
practices of the cult just north of the temple instead of God. We were taught that the temple was destroyed by fire. Because the temple was built of limestone, which tends to be a porous rock, the Romans placed a pile of burnable stuff (trees, wood, ect.) against the walls and got out of the way. As the fire got hotter it caused the water in the rocks to expand and explode throwing rock off of rock. What was left to do was simply use levers to push the remaining rocks off of the temple mount to the streets below.
We made a stop at the base of the temple
mount. There is an extensive archaeological site there where they have
uncovered the southern steps and many buildings. We saw some mikvahs and briefly
talked out them. On the larger ones the
people would actually enter on the one side and leave on the other. It makes me
wonder. Did people put their trust in
this massive temple? A temple that would be destroyed by human hands? Was it their rituals and purity that comforted them?
