Jerusalem Revisited

We are in Jerusalem today, a bright, sunny, hot day! There were many people at the Mount of Olives, which overlooks the city of Jerusalem, and driving through that was an amazing experience. All I can say is that I will never drive in Jerusalem (or any part of Israel, for that matter)!

"And when He [Jesus] was come near, he beheld the city [Jerusalem] and wept over it." (Luke 19:41) The term "wept" means more than a tear in his eye. The original "wept" meant a strong emotional response, deep grief and shame. He literally wailed. He wept in this way because the Jews had rejected God's love through Christ and chose to live in darkness without Him.

Standing there, overlooking Jerusalem, I almost cried. To be in the area where Jesus lived and walked is an experience every person, especially Christians, should have. The Bible has come to life for us in a way it never had before we came over here five years ago. I believed it, and I tried to visualize what was happening, but when I visited Biblical sites, it all made sense at a deeper level. Each time I come back, new insights come. I love having archaeologists and other academic types along!

My new insight was provided by one of the archaeologists. We looked at the Eastern Gate, where Jesus will go into Jerusalem when He returns. However, the gate we see is the "modern" version. The actual gate where Jesus will enter the city is many layers below. Think about this scenario: When Jesus returns, the area below the gate we can see will explode, and He will walk through the original Eastern Gate. Wow! What a day that will be!

My foot was sore, so I didn't go into the marketplace, where there are many stone steps.  Instead of going there, five of us went into the Arab sector. We found a "real" (not tourist trap) Arab restaurant and feasted on plain hummus, hummus with beef, falafel, tahini, and sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions. It was all washed down with good ole' American Coke. I actually enjoyed it, and I'm not a big fan of Israeli food. We were the only non-Arab group in there, and our waiter was wonderful.

There was a bit of drama in Old Jerusalem today. I heard (not confirmed) there was a suspected suicide bomber captured in the city early this morning, so there were soldiers and police officers all over the place, with barricades here and there. It has been tense in Jerusalem between Arabs and Jews for the past week. Everything is back to normal now, but it was a reminder of how much tension there is. However, it is also a reminder of the vigilance of the authorities and a reminder of why I feel very safe, even in the Arab sector of Jerusalem.

Back to the site:  Below is a picture of the sifting operation at Gezer. This year, Asi (our go-to guy for  practically everything), and the operator of the crane bringing up the bags of mud, rocks, and shards, made six stainless steel sifters that slide into slots on the sifting platform. Each holds one 200 pound bag of "stuff." This year, there are also a pressure washer and three hoses to wash all the muck off. It is a vast improvement from last year, and John is anxious to put it into practice on Sunday. From the sifting, the shards will get a final washing in my registration area, dried off, and placed on a table for the archaeologists to examine and sort.

True confession: This picture is from last year. This year the platform is much larger, but the process is the same (only much more effective and fast).

We are proudly flying the flags of Israel and the U.S., as well as the flag of the Israeli Antiquities Authority (the green one in the middle). This was the very windy day that blew our tent down.

Well, I am very tired - it was HOT today! May the Lord bless you.

M.