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EVERY TIME I COME TO JERUSALEM TO TEACH
I MAKE THIS MY FIRST STOP,
BECAUSE IT'S A PLACE WHERE I REMEMBER WHY I'VE COME,
WHY THE LORD HAS BROUGHT ME TO THIS PLACE.
THE HUGE WALL THAT RISES ABOVE ME IS OLD.
IT DATES TO THE 16TH CENTURY,
THE SAME TIME AS THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION IN EUROPE.
BUT THAT WALL IS MODERN IN JERUSALEM'S HISTORY.
IN FACT, THAT 16TH CENTURY WALL
IS CALLED THE MODERN OLD CITY WALL.
TAKE A LOOK AT THIS. THIS OFFSET WALL HERE
CONTAINS STONES THAT BUILDERS SHAPED IN THE PERIOD
BETWEEN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT,
AND HAS, ACTUALLY, STONES
THAT WERE BUILT IN THE NEW TESTAMENT ERA.
AND EVEN OLDER THAN THAT,
I'VE GOT A LIMESTONE LEDGE ON WHICH THE BUILDERS
OF JERUSALEM ALWAYS BUILT THE WESTERN WALL OF THE CITY.
THESE STONES REMIND ME HOW SMALL
AND INSIGNIFICANT MY TIME IS HERE,
AND YET HOW IMPORTANT THE JERUSALEM STORIES ARE
THAT NEED TO BE TOLD IN THIS PLACE,
HOW THEY ALL PARTICIPATE IN MY
UNDERSTANDING AND READING OF GOD'S WORD.
JERUSALEM IS THE ONLY PLACE TO START OUR JOURNEY,
WHY? BECAUSE JERUSALEM BRINGS MEANING
TO THE REST OF THE STORIES OF THIS HOLY LAND.
IT'S AMAZING HOW JERUSALEM ATTRACTS
THE ATTENTION OF THE WORLD, AND ALWAYS HAS.
JERUSALEM IS MENTIONED MORE THAN ANY OTHER CITY IN THE BIBLE.
AND THAT'S BECAUSE JERUSALEM STANDS CENTER STAGE
IN GOD'S UNFOLDING PLAN OF SALVATION.
JERUSALEM RESIDES AT 2,400 FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL,
PERCHED ON TOP OF THE CENTRAL
MOUNTAIN SPINE OF THE PROMISED LAND,
16 MILES WEST OF THE DEAD SEA
AND 36 MILES EAST OF THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA.
BUT A CITY LIKE THIS REALLY SHOULDN'T BE HERE.
THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE PLACES TO BE IN JERUSALEM,
PARTICULARLY FOR UNDERSTANDING WHAT JERUSALEM BECAME,
AND MORE IMPORTANTLY FOR US TODAY, WHAT JERUSALEM WAS NOT
AT THE TIME OF ITS FOUNDING, THE TIME OF DAVID.
LET ME HELP YOU UNDERSTAND THE SPACE.
TO THE NORTH IS THE PLACE THAT SOLOMON
EVENTUALLY BUILDS HIS TEMPLE. THAT WAS NOT THERE.
IT WAS A THRESHING FLOOR AND FARM FIELD.
TO THE EAST, THE LONG RIDGE OF THE MOUNT OF OLIVES.
NEW TESTAMENT CEMETERY, OLD TESTAMENT CEMETERY.
NOBODY LIVING THERE AT THE TIME OF DAVID.
AND THEN AS WE GO FROM SOUTH
TOWARDS THE SETTING SUN TO THE WEST,
AND BACK AROUND AGAIN TO THE NORTH,
NOTHING IN THAT ARC WOULD HAVE LOOKED LIKE IT DOES NOW.
TAKE AWAY ALL THE BUILDINGS,
PUT IN LITTLE VILLAGES, PUT IN PASTURE LANDS,
PUT IN AGRICULTURAL FIELDS,
AND THAT'S WHAT THE SPACE LOOKED LIKE.
SO WHERE WAS THE CITY OF DAVID?
WHERE WAS THE FIRST JERUSALEM? COME HERE, I'LL SHOW YOU.
I DON'T THINK YOU'RE GONNA BELIEVE ME, BUT HONEST,
JUST HERE, IN TEN SOCCER FIELDS,
RUNNING FROM THIS POINT TO THE SOUTH
IS WHERE THE CITY OF JEBUS WAS, CAPTURED BY DAVID
AND MADE THE CITY OF DAVID, WHAT BECAME JERUSALEM,
THE CAPITAL OF ISRAEL.
AND WE KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT WHERE
ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN CAPITAL CITIES WENT.
AND I GOTTA TELL YOU THIS IS A SHOCKER TO ME AS A GEOGRAPHER,
BECAUSE IT HAS NONE OF THE QUALITIES
THAT WE WOULD EXPECT OF A MAJOR CITY,
MUCH LESS THE CAPITAL CITY OF A COUNTRY.
IT LACKS, IN ORDER OF IMPORTANCE,
ADEQUATE SUPPLIES OF WATER.
MAN, HOW CAN YOU HAVE A HUGE CITY GROW
WHERE YOU HAVE SUCH MODEST WATER SUPPLIES?
SECONDLY, THE TOPOGRAPHY DOES NOT
ALLOW YOU TO FARM MANY ACRES HERE,
SO YOU'VE GOT TO IMPORT YOUR FOOD FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE.
AND THIRDLY, YOU'VE GOT NO CONNECTIONS
TO INTERNATIONAL MARKETS
EITHER DIRECTLY OVER LAND OR BY SEA,
AND AS A RESULT, YOUR ECONOMY IS GOING TO SUFFER.
AND NOBODY IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD THINK
OF PUTTING A CAPITAL CITY HERE ON THIS RIDGE.
THE LORD DID, AND THERE'S ONLY ONE REASON
WHY THIS BECAME THE CAPITAL OF ISRAEL.
IT WAS BECAUSE THE LORD CHOSE IT.
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THE BIBLE OPENS IN WAYS THAT ARE VERY, VERY
DIFFICULT TO EXPLAIN UNTIL YOU EXPERIENCE IT.
I JUST SO LONG FOR OTHER PEOPLE TO MEET THE PLACE
IN THE WAY THAT THE BIBLICAL AUTHORS DID.
IF YOU HAVEN'T DONE THIS BEFORE, IT'S NOT A VERY COMPLICATED ART
AND YOU START ONE PLACE AT A TIME, AND YOU START WITH
PLACES THAT ARE FAMILIAR TO YOU, AND YOU TRY TO CONSTRUCT
SOME SORT OF MENTAL IMAGE OF THE SPACE.
AND THE NEXT THING WE CAN DO IS JUST LEARN
EVERYTHING WE CAN ABOUT THAT PLACE.
WHAT WAS IT LIKE THERE PHYSICALLY?
WHAT WAS IT LIKE THERE HISTORICALLY?
WHAT WAS IT LIKE THERE CULTURALLY? AND ONE BY ONE,
I CAN BEGIN TO COLLECT THE IDEA POOL
THAT WILL HELP ME TO MEET THOSE PLACES MORE CLOSELY
TO THE WAY IN WHICH THEY WERE INTENDED FOR ME TO MEET THEM,
AS THE POETS AND AUTHORS OF SCRIPTURE INTENDED.
JERUSALEM IS ONE OF THE TEN OLDEST
CONTINUOUSLY OCCUPIED CITIES IN THE WORLD.
DURING THE TIME OF THE BIBLE,
JERUSALEM COVERED ONLY ONE PERCENT
OF THE SPACE COVERED BY THE MODERN CITY TODAY.
ORIGINALLY IT WAS A SMALL CITY-STATE CALLED JEBUS.
KING DAVID SAW IT AS A HIGHLY DEFENSIBLE SITE
ON WHICH TO SET UP HIS CAPITAL CITY.
BUT HOW DO YOU CAPTURE A CITY SURROUNDED BY DEEP VALLEYS?
THE STONES THAT I'M WALKING ON, THE JEBUSITES WOULD HAVE
BUILT THEIR CITY WALL UP ON THESE SAME STONES,
AND THAT'S WHAT DAVID WAS LOOKING AT
WHEN HE LOOKED AT THIS PLACE. IMAGINE HAVING NOT ONLY
TO GET PAST THIS HUGE WALL THAT WOULD HAVE EXISTED HERE,
BUT IMAGINE THE CHALLENGE THEN OF FIGHTING YOUR WAY UPHILL
TO GET INTO THE CITY.
HE HAD A GOOD IDEA. HE USED THE WATER SYSTEM.
WE'RE JUST BEGINNING TO ENTER THE WATER SYSTEM THAT
ACTUALLY WAS BUILT AT THE TIME THE ISRAELITES WERE IN EGYPT.
IT'S A TUNNEL SYSTEM THAT CONNECTS THE JEBUSITE CITIES
TO THEIR WATER SOURCE THAT'S OUTSIDE THEIR DEFENSIVE WALLS.
WHERE WE ARE IS IN A POWER BASE.
IF YOU LOOK DOWN BELOW HERE,
YOU'RE SEEING WHERE THE WATER WOULD HAVE COLLECTED
AS IT CAME IN FROM THE GIHON SPRING,
AND IT BECOMES THE SOURCE OF WATER FOR THE PEOPLE
WHO ARE LIVING UP IN THE CITY OF JEBUS.
DAVID HAD TO WORRY
ABOUT HOW HE WAS GOING TO GET INTO THIS PLACE.
A FRONTAL ASSAULT IS GONNA COST LOTS OF LIVES,
AND SO THE WATER SYSTEM WE'RE IN IS THE MOST LIKELY WAY
IN WHICH HIS GENERAL JOAB CAREFULLY, SECRETLY, QUIETLY
GAINED ACCESS TO THE CITY THAT WOULD BECOME JERUSALEM.
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THIS IS ONE OF THOSE PLACES I LOVE.
YOU DON'T JUST HEAR A BIBLE STORY IN A PLACE LIKE THIS,
YOU FEEL IT. YOU FEEL THE DANGER, YOU FEEL THE RISK.
IMAGINE TAKING THIS SMALL GUERRILLA FORCE THAT JOAB
HAD WITH HIM, MOVING QUIETLY THROUGH THESE TUNNELS,
TRYING TO GAIN ACCESS TO THE CITY, AND KNOWING ALL THE WHILE
IF YOU'RE DISCOVERED YOU WEREN'T GONNA COME OUT ALIVE.
THESE TUNNELS ARE NARROW AND DIFFICULT TO FIGHT IN.
IT'S HAND TO HAND COMBAT.
THERE WAS NO ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING WHEN JOAB WAS IN THIS PLACE.
THE TUNNEL WAS BLACK. IT WAS DARK.
YOU COULDN'T SEE YOUR HAND IN FRONT OF YOUR FACE,
AND YOU CERTAINLY COULDN'T SEE YOUR OPPONENT,
WHO MIGHT BE HIDING, WAITING FOR YOUR ARRIVAL.
ONCE THE CITY WAS IN DAVID'S HANDS,
THIS CAPITAL NEEDED A PALACE.
FOR YEARS ARCHAEOLOGISTS WONDERED
WHERE THAT SPECIAL BUILDING MIGHT BE.
KING DAVID'S PALACE.
THIS IS A PLACE THAT ENJOYS LOTS OF VISITORS.
I LOVE COMING HERE BECAUSE I COULDN'T ALWAYS DO
WHAT WE'RE ABOUT TO DO. BENEATH THIS SET OF STAIRS
IS ARCHAEOLOGY THAT ONLY BEGAN IN 2005.
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THIS PLACE THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT RIGHT NOW WAS BURIED.
WHEN I CAME HERE THERE WAS A SMALLER PLATFORM
AND A VISITOR CENTER, BUT THIS WAS ALL UNDERGROUND.
AND SO FOR THE FIRST, WHAT, MAYBE DECADE OF THE VISITS
THAT I SPENT HERE, I WALKED OVER THE TOP
OF THIS PLACE, UNAWARE THAT I WAS WALKING
OVER THE TOP OF KING DAVID'S PALACE.
THERE ARE TWO THINGS, ARCHITECTURALLY,
THAT REALLY STAND OUT. ONE OF THEM
IS THE CAPITOL TOP THAT I SEE JUST HERE TO MY LEFT.
THAT IS NOT SOMETHING THAT WOULD RELATE TO CANAANITE DESIGN
BUT IS CLEARLY DESIGNED RELATED TO THE WAY PHOENICIANS
BUILT IN THE NORTH, WHICH CONNECTS IT TO DAVID,
BECAUSE HIRAM, KING OF TYRE, IS THE ONE
WHO BUILT THIS PALACE FOR HIM. AND THEN BEYOND US HERE
THERE'S A RETAINING WALL, OLDER THAN THIS BUILDING,
BUT IT'S INTERESTING TO ME BECAUSE IT CONNECTS WITH
THE DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDING IN 2 SAMUEL CHAPTER FIVE.
DAVID IS SAID TO HAVE BUILT HIS FORTRESS PALACE
INWARD FROM THE FOUNDATION. THAT SOUNDS STRANGE TO ME
BECAUSE I BUILD MY HOUSE UPWARD FROM THE FOUNDATION.
THE FOUNDATION THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
IS A RETAINING WALL, AND WE'VE GOT AN EXAMPLE
OF AN ANCIENT RETAINING WALL HERE.
SO ALL OF THE PIECES FIT: THE SIZE,
THE DISTINCTION IN THE ARCHITECTURE,
THE CONSTRUCTION INWARD, AND WHEN YOU PUT ALL OF THAT
EVIDENCE TOGETHER, I'M CONVINCED THAT YOU AND I
ARE VISITING THE PALACE OF KING DAVID, THE BUILDING THAT MARKS
THE CITY OF DAVID AS THE CAPITAL OF ISRAEL.
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JERUSALEM IS PERSONIFIED. IT IS GIVEN EMOTION
AND COGNITIVE THOUGHT PROCESS.
THE AUTHORS AND POETS OF BIBLE TIMES DIDN'T THINK OF THIS
AS A COLD PHYSICAL PLACE ON THE GROUND.
THEY THOUGHT OF IT AS A PERSON, AS A COMPANION
IN THE ENTERPRISE OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
IF YOU CAN FEEL THAT AS A BIBLE READER,
THEN YOU GET JERUSALEM.
TO APPRECIATE JERUSALEM,
BIBLE READERS NEED TO KNOW THE STORY OF ITS FOUNDING.
BUT TO FULLY UNDERSTAND JERUSALEM,
BIBLE READERS NEED TO SEE HOW GOD MADE THIS CITY HIS HOME.