The Temple Steps

When you experience Jerusalem, you realize that speaks! Stone is one physical attribute that remains for centuries. Certain stones were actually "there" in the time period that you want to connect with. They were "there" for the people of long ago to see and use. Many of them are still "here" for us to touch, walk on, and connect with. You can someone feel closer to the One you worship if you remember his parents carried him up these stairs.

A story that I like to remember when I think of these temple steps is found in Luke 2:22-29

I quote here from the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese.

"Mary and Joseph were faithful Jews and observed their religious customs. An important custom was for the couple to take their first-born son to the Temple. The baby was taken to the Temple forty days after his birth and was dedicated to God. In addition, if the parents were wealthy, they were to bring a lamb and a young pigeon or a turtle dove to be offered as a sacrifice at the Temple. The custom provided that if the parents were poor, they were to offer two pigeons or two turtle doves for the sacrifice.

When Jesus was forty days old, Mary and Joseph took Him to the Temple in Jerusalem. They were not wealthy, so they took two turtle doves with them to offer as a sacrifice at the Temple. As they arrived at the Temple, Mary and Joseph were met by a very old man named Simeon. He was a holy man and was noted as a very intelligent scholar. Simeon spent much time studying about the prophets of Israel. It was during his studies that he learned of the coming of the Messiah. The Jewish people were waiting for the Messiah to come and deliver Israel from their conquerors. From that time on, Simeon spent his time praying for the Messiah to come. He spent many years in prayer. Finally, while Simeon was praying he heard the voice of God. God promised Simeon that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah.

When Simeon saw Jesus, he took the baby in his arms and blessed the Lord and said:

"Lord, now let Your servant go in peace according to Your promise, because my eyes have seen Your salvation which you have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory to your people Israel."

You will want to click on this link to see a beautiful two-minute video showing this most touching experience of Mary and Joseph bringing the Christ Child to the temple, and meeting with Simeon, who had waited patiently for this blessed day when he would see with his own eyes, the Christ Child!

Ophel Garden

The term, "Ophel Garden" refers to a large area just next to the southern wall of the temple compound. There have been so many exciting finds in this area during recent years, that I am excited to visit it! During my first visit in April of 1977, I don't even think I was made aware of the area. Some work was done in the area during the 1800's, but until 1968, most of what we can see there today was covered by soil.

During the time that our family lived in Jerusalem in 1994-5, I often walked by this area, but it was fenced off. You could look down into it on the way out to the Dung Gate, but I think I only went in one time when the BYU group was taken in for a tour.

Now, I understand that the Ophel Archaelogical Garden is open to tourists, and even has a visitor's center but is not a particularly busy place. A statement from the center reads, "This complex of archaeological excavations features the administrative complex erected on the Ophel Hill in the First Temple period, structures dating back to the days of King Solomon, Jewish ritual baths and sections of “Robinson’s Arch” from the Second Temple period."

A recent visitor gave the site a five star review: "Great introductory film on Herod's masterpiece of building and what the Second Temple was and how it was used. See the artifacts. Go outside and walk around the garden and see the massive stones, the remains of the impressive Robinson's Arch, and imagine yourself living 2000 years ago."

What would be most sacred to us would be the steps, the actual stone steps leading to the temple that Jesus would have walked on. To actually touch stone that was there at the time of the Savior is a really special feeling that you just cannot explain.

My next few posts will highlight some of the other highlights we will want to see in this area.

From the Pool of Siloam to the Temple

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In studying the Pool of Siloam, I did not much consider its relationship to the temple until I came across this amazing animation done by a group of architects from UCLA. The Pool of Siloam would have been at the bottom of the staircase depicted. It may have been one of the several Jewish Mikvah's or ritualistic cleansing baths used before entering the temple compound. Remember to click on the red link to see the actual animation. It takes a minute or two to load up, but I thought it was fascinating. I just put a few clips of the animation below in case your computer doesn't like animations.

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Is that Wilson's Arch we see depicted? Watch for Wilson's Arch in a later post.

Pool Of Siloam - Part Two

Apparently the Pool of Siloam was much larger than the Pool Shown in the last post! In 2004, just a few meters away from the site, a group of workers fixing some underground sewage pipes ran into some very ancient steps! Work on the pipes was halted, and an excavation team was brought in.

Work was difficult because there was only a narrow section that the team had access to work in! Here you can see the section that they could excavate. As they began digging they uncovered three groups of five stairs each separated by narrow landings, perhaps to accommodate various water levels. The pool was about 225 feet long, and they unearthed steps on three sides.

For a while, all that you see had to be covered up while the crew moved a black pipe. By 2005, however, they were able to open it up again, and now see how grand the stairs are looking!

Unfortunately, as you can see, the pool goes way down underneath what is now the garden of a Greek Orthodox Church. Because of that, they were not able at that time to see how big it was. But, according to an article in the Los Angeles Times dated Aug. 9, 2005, The excavators have been able to date the pool fairly precisely because of two fortunate occurrences that implanted unique artifacts in the pool area.

When ancient workmen were plastering the steps before facing them with stones, they either accidentally or deliberately buried four coins in the plaster. All four are coins of Alexander Jannaeus, a Jewish king who ruled Jerusalem from 103 to 76 BC. That provides the earliest date at which the pool could have been constructed.

Similarly, in the soil in one corner of the pool, they found about a dozen coins dating from the period of the First Jewish Revolt against Rome, which lasted from AD 66 to 70. That indicates the pool had begun to be filled in by that time."

Because the pool sits at one of the lowest spots in Jerusalem, rains flowing down the valley deposited mud into it each winter. It was no longer being cleaned out, so the pool quickly filled with dirt and disappeared. Imagine, this magnificent pool being covered for centuries! This is an interesting photo to show how one corner appeared.

This is an artists rendition of what the complete pool may have looked like.

The water that comes from Hezekiah's Tunnel and creates the first pool that we showed, would have continued into the larger pool. The water now continues to flow through this underground tunnel, and some of the supporting stones still stand.

Here are the two archeologists who worked on this site beginning in 2004.

A water trough found at the Pool, with holes drilled to support water jugs.

Pool of Siloam - Part One - Just Don't Skip Part Two!

This is the Pool of Siloam, as I visited it in 1994. It was incredibly important to the people of ancient Jerusalem as the source where they could get fresh water INSIDE the city walls. The water came from the fresh water spring of the Gihon Spring. Remember from my last post that Hezekiah had caused that an underground tunnel bring the fresh water to within the city, so that the people could withstand the seige of the Assyrian Army. That was roughly 700 years before Christ.

This map of the ancient Jerusalem is incredibly important to understand if we want to understand that the Walled Jerusalem we see today is in a position North of the ancient city. Many important Biblical events took place in the Old Jerusalem, where the temple was the furthest North. The temple mount has not changed, but the city has grown around it.

I love the Pool of Siloam especially as I remember a blind man who was healed. We read from John Chapter 9. "And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him."
......"When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, and said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing."


I just always like to consider my own life, and what Jesus can heal for me, as I come to Him.

Hezekiah's Tunnel

Second Kings 20:20 And the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and all his might, and how he made a pool, and a conduit, and brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

Most people say they have a very difficult time understanding the book of Isaiah. One of the keys is to realize that Isaiah was living in the days of Hezekiah when the people of Jerusalem were preparing for a siege, or attack of the Assyrians. Jerusalem was pretty defensible by having great valley's but the water source is on the slope of the Kidron Valley outside the walls. Hezekiah wanted a water source within the city. At that time Jerusalem was the smaller, City of David I have talked about in earlier posts.

King Hezekiah blocked up the source of the upper Gihon spring, and had it flow into a pool called the Pool of Siloam.

This is a photo of an inscription found at the Pool of Silam. I can't read it, can you? Anyways, those who can say it tells that two teams dug the tunnel, one starting at the beginning, and the other at the end. That was a pretty amazing feet to dig so far under their city, and reach each other.

This is a map showing the path of the tunnel underneath the City of David.

In the Second Book of Chronicles, Chapter 3 we read the story. Sennacherib, king of Assyria came to started taking camping out by fenced cities, and planned on overtaking them.

And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come, and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem,
He took counsel with his princes and his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains which were without the city: and they did help him. So there was gathered much people together, who stopped all the fountains, and the brook that ran through the midst of the land, saying, Why should the kings of Assyria come, and find much water?

In other words, if the Assyrians were going to camp outside their wall, they would find no spring of water for themselves. All the good water would have been sent to the underground tunnel for the people holding out inside the city wall!

Then, Hezekiah told his people, "Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him."

Don't you love that! He said, they have only their own strength, but we have the Lord God to help us, and to fight our battles. It is a good thing to have angels on your side!

Well, that pretty much discouraged the Assyrian King, Sennacherib, so he only sent his servants to attack Jerusalem. And they did. They camped around Jerusalem and taunted the people inside for believing the prophet, Isaiah who had advised Hezekiah to trust in the Lord. During the seige, they sent threatening letters to frighten and trouble them. They were trying to get them to surrender.



Verse 20: And for this cause Hezekiah the king, and the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz, prayed and cried to heaven. And the Lord sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria.

Sennacherib returned with shame of face to his own land and apparently his own sons slew him with the sword.

22 Thus the Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all other, and guided them on every side.

Today the tunnel is open to wade through from the beginning to the end. Water still flows! Do you think we should do it in June? I do!

Back to the City of David

Just a few days ago, December 3rd, 2013, in fact, this article appeared on NBC News!
You've got to click on the link (Letters in Red) to get the whole story.

I am so excited! For years, people trying to go into Dung Gate parked their cars in a Parking Lot of all things that covered part of the City of David!

Quote...."Archaeologists think construction on this ancient building started in the early second century B.C. and continued into the Hasmonean period." The Hasmonean perod. You want to pay attention to anything from the Hasmonean dynasty because they they ruled until 37 B.C., just a few years before Christ was born. Who ruled when Christ was born? Herod the Great.

I'll tell you more about them both later. But what is interesting is that because Herod did so much building in Jerusalem, (to immortalize himself) we can link what we find during his time to that which was there during Christ's time.

Back to this find....

Quote..."IAA (Israeli Antiquities Authority) officials said the Hasmonean building has come to light only in recent months, adding that the structure boasts quite impressive dimensions. It rises 13 feet (4 meters) and covers 688 square feet (64 square meters) with limestone walls more than 3 feet (1 m) thick.

Inside, the excavators found pottery and coins, the latter of which helped them determine the age of the building. IAA researchers think construction on the building began in the early second century B.C. and continued into the Hasmonean period, when the most significant changes were made inside the structure.