Taste of Honey- Day 11

Seeing the model city at the Israeli Museum gave us a good picture of what the city has been like. 

And then we view the real thing from the top of the Mt of Olives. One can almost feel the emotions that Jesus must have had here on this mountain when He weeps over the city! He made Aliyah the same way  we did yesterday. Who else in the Bible came up over the Mt of Olives here? And why did Jesus think He should be riding on a donkey when He comes into the city like this? 

We are changed by our visit to the Garden. Here Jesus chose to accept the pain of my fear, my grief, and of course- the weight of the sins of the World. 

Pressed down like an olive beneath the crushing stone, His sweat became like drops of blood? Crushed- in spite of all He is! Willing to lose His very identity- to be blamed for something He didn’t do! Just a quarter mile to the east of here, is the wilderness. He could easily have chosen to disappear there that night. But He didn’t. Because He loved you so much! You were worth dying for! 

Lunch at Ruth’s Restauraunt,and a quick stop at the Shepherd Fields Museum in Bethlehem took us into Palestinian territory again. Here in this vicinity is the cave where shepherds were abiding by night, and they saw a star.

One more short hike in the white, chalky limestone dust brought us to the top of the Herodium.This is just one more site that reminds us that building wealth ends up in ruins. Jesus is building people. Which king will you choose to serve: King Herod or King Jesus? Do you suppose bullets in their day were shot from guns? These prove to be quite heavy- as several of the men discovered. One man could pick up the smaller of the two, but one twice the size can’t be budged.Amos the prophet lived here in the vicinity- in the town of Tekoa.The day ended with fellowship and sharing time at the Coffee Bean shop on Ben Yehuda Street. Small but mighty? Ask David ! ; )

A thank-you blessing to all who are praying for us. As we walk the streets of Jerusalem, pray that for His glory, we will put God on display in such a way that people are invited to join the Story. Pray that we will be able to meet at the level of their paradyme, those who ask questions. If that means blessing them without even mentioning the name of Jesus, then we aim to be ok with that- trusting that God will sow more seeds in the future.