Biblical Approaches to Jerusalem

On this field study, we started our day by going to the Hill of Evil Counsel to overlook the Old City, as well as, modern day Jerusalem. We identified the usual valleys and hills and took a moment to recognize the views from our location at the vista. From our position we could not only see the Old City and the identified hills and valleys, we could also see newer constructions such as “The Fence” of the West Bank. It was interesting to be able to see it following the outskirts of Jerusalem. It is amazing to think that separation devices like that still exist. It is really sad.
After a brief discussion and a short drive by the UN, we headed past Bethlehem to Herodium (aka The Herodion). This is where Herod the Great (the one ruling at the time of Jesus’ birth) had one of his many palaces. We climbed to the top of a thin but tall hill and were able to see Herod’s Tomb and the inside of his palace. It was incredible to be able to see Tekoa, Bethlehem, and the Wilderness of Moab. The point was brought up that Herod could see Bethlehem, the town that Jesus was born in, from his palace.
Later on, we went to Bethlehem to visit the church of the Nativity. On our way to Bethlehem, we stopped by a large slab of rock called a threshing floor which was used by people to grind wheat back in Biblical times. They were shared by the communities which surround them. Threshing floors are mentioned in the book of Ruth. Ruth finds Boaz sleeping on the threshing floor after his harvest and does some pretty scandalous things to him for the times. Upon arriving to Bethlehem, we took a short walk up a hill to visit the Church of the Nativity and the Catholic Church that is connected to it. It is so interesting to hear of yet another thing that Constantine’s mother, Helena, built. She must have been one dedicated woman in her faith to pursue knowledge of Jesus’ land and then to have her people erect churches and monuments to her beloved Savior.
In the afternoon we went on top of yet another hill (that I can’t remember the name of) that has incredible views of Jerusalem, and specifically, the Patriarchal Highway on the Watershed Ridge. It was informative to be able to see the mountain ridge that the highway followed and it made it a lot easier to visualize the route.
Then we made our way to the top of the Mount of Olives to look over the Wilderness of Judea. It was wonderful to be able to look upon the area of which Jesus spent forty days and forty nights and to see that the Mount of Olives really is a barrier from the City of Jerusalem to the Wilderness. Once we viewed the city from the top, we made our way down a small road to the bottom of the Mount of Olives, to the place where the Garden of Gethsemane was located. There, we went into a church that commemorates Jesus’ night in the garden wrestling with the call God, his father, had given Him to die for the sins of everyone, ever, so they might be in relationship with God. It was pretty powerful to be there and think about Jesus kneeling down, sweating blood, and agonizing over his decision, knowing fully that the wilderness was just on the other side of the Mount, not far at all. But He makes a conscious decision to stay and endure the cross because He loved us. He loves us so much, so incredibly much. It absolutely blows my mind and makes me wonder why. I am so grateful for the sacrifice He made.
Once we fully descended the Mount, we went down into the Kidron Valley to look at some tombs. The first was a monument thought to be built for Absalom, but because of the architecture, it clearly was from a different time period. Then we continued down the path to another monument built for an unknown reason.