Day 4

We visited the City of David yesterday. It's not where you might think it is. If you look at a map of the Old City, David's city is south of the Temple Mount. Marvelous excavations are being carried out there by the Israel Antiquities Authority. One of the places we visited was the remains of what Elat Mazar is calling David's palace. The verdict is still out but the walls are really thick and it's in what looks like the right place. Then it was on to Hezekiah's tunnel. This is the passage way that Hezekiah, King of Judah, had built to bring water from the Gihon Spring into his city in advance of the Assyrian invasion of 701 BC. On the way we met Eli Shukron a world famous archaeologist and the man in charge of the City of David excavations on the water tower. Eli is on the far right in the first group picture. Hezekiah's Tunnel is a blast 45 minutes of winding darkness with water swirling around your feet. It's not for the claustrophobic. Archaeologists still don't know how it was built. But one thing is for sure it still works! Then it was onto the Pool of Siloam. Jesus sent the blind man of John 9 to be healed here. We read the story and recalled that the healing of blind eyes, both physical and spiritual (2 Cor 4:4) is a miracle! Praise God for his glorious miracle in our lives. What an amazing place. From there it was up a first century street and then into a drain that ran along side that street.The drain is over 7 feet tall and wide enough for two people to stand side-by-side. Josephus suggests that Jews fleeing the destruction of the city in AD 70 fled by way of drains or tunnels like this. They are amazing works of engineering. Herod's city was incredible both above and below ground!

We are all tired but the gang is really into this trip. Every night they want to go out and do some more sight seeing. Thanks for your prayers. All is well. Praise the Lord.