On our last day in Jerusalem, we went by bus to a point some miles southwest of Jerusalem, to visit the spot where David killed Goliath. Here we again had the pleasure of knowing that we were on the very spot, because the Bible names the hillside towns between which the event took place (I Samuel 17:1), and modern archaeologists have identified the ruins of the towns.
We stood in a wide valley which curves for a great distance between the hills. Abundant crops filled the valley, as they probably did in David's time. A small stream winds through the valley, with smooth, round stones easily visible through the trickle of water flowing along. As we stood and looked, our leader read the Bible story, a practice which had been followed at many of the places we visited. Since we didn't have time to walk down to the stream, I picked up a small stone from the hillside, to treasure when I remembered the experience later.
At the end of our 10 days in Israel, some of us went to Jordan to spend a few days. To get to Jordan, we again followed the highway east from Jerusalem to the Jericho junction. But then we went on east for several miles, eventually coming to a building which is the Israeli customs house. We had a long wait there, because there had been some miscommunication between our Israeli guide and the new guide we would have in Jordan. The wait would not have been so bad, except that the restrooms were totally inadequate for the large numbers of people using them, and so had become disgustingly filthy.
At last we boarded another bus and drove across the Jordan river, here barely the size of a Kansas creek into the country of Jordan, where we visited yet another customs house and another terrible rest room.
The next day we visited Mount Nebo, where Moses stood to view the Promised Land into which God had forbidden him to travel. It was interesting to know that, again, we were on The Spot where something in the Bible occurred, but the hazy atmosphere did not allow us to get the view that Moses had seen. Somehow, this site did not convey any of the delight that I had felt while in the in the David and Goliath valley.
Later the same day, we visited the fabled city of Petra. While not a Biblical site, it is unique and interesting. The city's buildings were carved into the pink stone walls of a hidden canyon, so that when a person goes into a building he is going inside the mountain. The city was built shortly after the time of Christ and was a center of trade for camel caravans crossing the desert. Later abandoned, the city was forgotten by the world and was only rediscovered in the 19th century.
On another day while we were in Jerusalem, we went to what is called the "Garden Tomb." No one knows for certain where Jesus was buried after the crucifixion. There are two major contenders as the site. Many people believe the Church of the Holy Sepulcher encloses the burial place. The first church on that site was constructed in 325 A.D., nearly 300 years after Christ's death. Over the years many structures have been destroyed and rebuilt on the site, as the tides of war, earthquake and time have flowed over the city.
The present church is part of a labyrinthine group of buildings in the heart of the Old City. The church. is owned and used jointly by a number of different religious groups. It is full of incense burners (which seem at first glance to be Unlit lamps), carvings and statues, draperies and other trimmings. Outside what is thought to be the burial place is a slab of rock, which is said to be the place where the body was prepared for burial. Here, too, rows of incense burners abound, as do places for individuals to light sticks of incense.
The other site most advanced as Jesus' probable burial place is called the Garden Tomb. It consists of a room carved into the side of a rocky bluff. Inside, along one end of the room, two structures which look like benches or beds are carved from the rock walls. Outside, a long channel is carved, which would seem to be just right for rolling into place the large stone which sealed the tomb. Surrounding the area is a garden, complete with irrigation channels which some experts say are the type used in Jesus' time.
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