Day 5 - Jerusalem's Heritage

Day 5 – Jerusalem’s Heritage

 

What captures your heart in wonder? Dictionary.com defines Wonder as “a feeling of surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable.” Perhaps the vastness of the ocean, or the majesty of the Rocky Mountains, or holding a newborn baby provokes your heart to wonder. Gazing at the sky on clear night prompts me to recall Psalm 19:1:

 

            The heavens declare the glory of God,

                        and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

 

The question of wonder may provoke memories of taking your children or grandchildren to Disney World and seeing the wonder on their faces as their imaginations seemed to come to life. Sadly, wonder is often considered child-like and is suppressed in adulthood. One of my prayers for you, as you prepare for this trip, is that a sense of wonder and amazement grows as you anticipate traveling to the land of the Bible.

 

A reconstruction of the Temple Mount before it was destroyed in 70 AD.

Approaching and entering Jerusalem is awe inspiring and exciting. Day 4 will end with us arriving in Jerusalem and some may visit the Old City that evening. Day 5 we will begin exploring the city, in particular the Kotel, the Western Wall Tunnels, and the Southern Steps. The Kotel, which is Hebrew for “Wall”, is the Western Wall of the Temple Mount. It has such significance to the Jewish people that it is THE Wall and does not need a descriptor.  

 

In 2006 I had my first opportunity to visit the ancient city of Jerusalem and visit the Kotel. Although the Kotel was a scheduled stop on our travels, I found myself drawn to visit it several times. The Kotel is open and available 24 hours a day and I visited it early in the morning and late into the night. I was struck with wonder and amazement standing in the plaza across from the Wall. When I first encountered it, I could not even approach it. I found a place to sit and observe, thinking of all the biblical history that had played out on these grounds. All the pilgrimages of the faithful throughout the millennia to come to this place, beginning with Abraham, David, and Jesus, to name a few, here in this place. The majesty, mystery, and sense of holiness continues to capture the wonder of my heart even as I think back to it.

The Kotel Plaza     

Walking the streets of Jerusalem

It is a place of wonder that ought to provoke worship as we consider the LORD’s providential hand in history. It is a place to pray Moses’ prayer, “Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders” (Ex. 15:11)? When you have the opportunity to stand at the Kotel, consider dwelling on David’s words in Psalm 65:4: “Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!” 

 

A Roman-Era Midrash Tanchuma says,

(a Midrash is an ancient commentary by the Rabbis on Hebrew Scriptures)

As the navel is set in the centre of the human body,
so is the land of Israel the navel of the world…
situated in the centre of the world,
and Jerusalem in the centre of the land of Israel,
and the sanctuary in the centre of Jerusalem,
and the holy place in the centre of the sanctuary,
and the ark in the centre of the holy place,
and the Foundation Stone before the holy place,
because from it the world was founded.

 

These words point us to the wonder of Jerusalem as the center of worshiping the LORD when the Temple was still standing, and Temple worship was still practiced. Today, the Temple Mount, a 35-acre platform that Herod the Great built, is all that remains of the Temple. The top of the Temple Mount is under Muslim control and the Jewish people are forbidden from worshiping, praying, or meditating on top of the Temple Mount. There are restricted hours where they are permitted to visit, but they are very limited. We are scheduled to visit the Temple Mount on Day 8, so I will leave the history of the Dome of the Rock for that day. 

 

The destruction of the Temple was, and is, devastating to the Jewish people. When the Kotel was uncovered, it became the holiest site in the world for the Jewish people to visit and pray at, as it is now the closest point they can get to where the Temple once stood. As you encounter the Kotel, allow your imagination to consider the magnificence of the Temple and dwell on the significance of this place. 

 

KEY TEXT: Psalm 84:1–7

The Western Wall Tunnels 

In the tunnels this part of the Wall is directly below where the Holy of Holies once stood.

Archeology has unearthed a tremendous amount of biblical history. The Western Wall tunnels are fascinating and revealing. When we tour the tunnels, we will see the foundation stones of the Temple Mount and walk along the Western Wall under the city. It is in these tunnels that we will see the bedrock of Mount Moriah. Seeing the significance of Mount Moriah in Scripture continues to build the wonder of this place. 

 

The first encounter we see with Mount Moriah is in Genesis 22:1-19, when God tests Abraham’s faithfulness. Remember that Abraham had waited patiently into his old age for his son Isaac, and God called him to offer Isaac as a sacrifice in a land where he would show him. Abraham did not hesitate but immediately obeyed the command of God. Isaac, seeing the wood and the fire but no lamb, asked his father about it. Abraham’s response was prophetic, “God will provide himself a lamb for the burnt offering.” When Abraham had committed to obey God, even to the point of binding his son and holding the knife, God intervened and provide a ram in the thicket. In this story, on Mount Moriah, we see the ram as a substitute for Isaac.

 

King David, in 2 Samuel 24:18-25, purchases a threshing floor on Mount Moriah from Araunah the Jebusite. It was on this threshing floor that David built an altar and offered a sacrifice that brought healing from the plague. 1 Chronicles 21:18-22:1 reveals that this plot of land was where the Temple would be built by Solomon. Solomon built the Temple on Mount Moriah (2 Chronicles 3:1) as David requested and prepared. 

 

The First Temple built by Solomon was destroyed in 586 BC by the Babylonians. The Second Temple was rebuilt by Zerubbabel and Joshua the priest (Ezra 5:2). Herod the Great later restored and expanded Zerubbabel’s Temple, which included building the Temple Mount that still exists today. 

Touching Mount Moriah’s bedrock  

A huge Herodian foundation stone of the Temple Mount.

It was this expanded and rebuilt Second Temple that Joseph and Mary took the infant baby Jesus to be presented unto the Lord (Luke 2:22-38). Jesus visited the Temple once again at the age of 12 (Luke 2:41-52). During his earthly ministry, Jesus went into the Temple and found money changers and merchants taking advantage of people and distracting from worship. Jesus overturned tables and said, “my house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves” (Matt. 21:12-16). It was also near the Temple, Jerusalem, and Mount Moriah that God provided the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29), where Jesus was crucified (Matt. 27:32-54; Ps. 22) as a substitute for sinful humanity (Rom. 5:6-11) just like the ram substituted for Isaac. 

 

After Jesus rose from the dead (1 Cor. 15:1-10) and ascended back to the Father (Acts 1:9-11), the apostles received the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4). Having been filled with the Spirit of God, the apostles began to boldly preach the Good News about Jesus’ resurrection and invitation for salvation to all who believe (John 1:12-13). Peter’s Pentecost sermon (Acts 2:14-41) very likely was spoken from the Southern Steps of the Temple Mount where 3,000 people came to faith and were baptized. All around the Southern Steps archeologists have discovered numerous Mikvehs, or Jewish cleansing baths, that possibly could have accommodated the baptisms that day. 

The Southern Temple Mount leading to the Southern Steps 

The Herodian Market Street

 

Key Text: Acts 2:37–41

 

In this short devotional we can hardly expound on all the glorious teachings of the Temple and God’s redemptive story that unfolded in this place. The Temple was where the glory of God would descend to be in the midst of His people. The sacrificial system reconciled the people to God. Countless generations and families came to this place to connect with the Creator God on His terms. In the development of the Old Testament covenants, Jerusalem became the only acceptable place to worship and offer sacrifices to the one true God.

 

When Jesus came, He said that the time is “now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth” (John 4:1-42). It is because of the living waters, which is the Holy Spirit (John 7:37-39), that genuine worship of the Father can happen anywhere. This is why Jesus said it was better that He should go back to the Father so that the Holy Spirit might be given to us (John 16:7-10). With the coming of the Holy Spirit on those who believe in Jesus, we now become the temple of the Holy Spirit:

 

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body (1 Cor. 6:19–20).

 

The sacredness and wonder of the Kotel and the Temple Mount should be reminders for us to be in awe and wonder of the relationship with God that we can have through Jesus. That He would choose to create us into a temple for the Holy Spirit and that through our obedience and faithfulness to Him, we carry the presence of God with us. Truly that is something to cause wonder.

 

Brad Horner

 

Reflection Questions:

When have you been caught up in wonder? Think back to a time in your life that you were overwhelmed by something awe-inspiring. 

 

How is wonder a good description of worship? 

 

How does Mount Moriah teach us about God’s redemptive plan? How do these stories interrelate? 

 

As a Christian, how does Paul’s teaching that you are “a temple of the Holy Spirit” provoke wonder? How should this teaching motivate obedience?

 

What are you most excited about experiencing on Day 5? 

 

Prayer: 

Heavenly Father, God of wonder and LORD of creation, thank you for revealing yourself to us in your Word as a God who desires to be in the midst of His people. Allow my heart to be filled with wonder as I consider the thread of your redemptive story that took place on Mount Moriah. Give me the obedient faith of Abraham, the passionate heart of David, and the follow through of Solomon. Thank you for sending your Son, Jesus Christ, to be the substitute for the sins of the world. Give me strength today to live obediently as a temple for the Holy Spirit and allow me to carry your presence with me as I seek to bless others in your name.

In Jesus Name, Amen.