Another Wall: The Western Wall of the Temple Mount

 

Jews from all over the world gather at the Western Wall in Jerusalem to 

pray. The golden dome of the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount is in 

the upper left hand corner of the photo.

In my last posting, I wrote about the Wall of the Israeli West Bank Barrier. The very same day that our tour group saw that wall, we also visited another wall, the Western Wall at the Temple Mount in the city of Jerusalem. That Wall, often referred to as the Wailing Wall, is perhaps the most important site in the world for the Jewish people. They come from all over the world to pray at the Western Wall. Jewish people write prayers on slips of paper and place them between the ancient stones of the Wall.

This Wall is part of what little remains of the Jewish Second Temple that once stood on this mount until it was destroyed by the Romans in AD 70. The Western Wall is the western wall of the four retaining walls that supported the grounds of the Temple on the Temple Mount. The Muslim Dome of the Rock now occupies the site of the destroyed Jewish Temple. This site has remained a holy site to the Jewish people throughout the centuries.

Two Jewish men praying at the Western 

Wall in Jerusalem

According to Jewish tradition several pivotal events in history took place on this mount, also referred to as Mount Moriah. There is the tradition that the world began on the peak of Mount Moriah. It is where Adam was created, and later Eve. On the Mount, Abraham was called by God to prepare his son Isaac to be sacrificed. Here Jacob dreamt of angels going up and down the ladder to heaven. Mount Moriah was the site of the Holy of Holies of the Temple. In 37 BC, the infamous King Herod started to renovate the Jewish Temple. He wanted to make it even more magnificent; he envisioned it as a wonder of the world. Herod wanted to widen the ground upon which the Temple sat, so four support walls were constructed to accomplish that. Herod's Temple was truly a wonder of the ancient world during the time of Jesus.      

This Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans because of a major Jewish revolt against Rome. Despite the total destruction of the Temple, the four retaining walls were left intact. The Western wall was the most significant to the Jewish people because it was thought it was the wall closest to the destroyed Holy of Holies. Therefore it became a place of prayer and yearning for the Jewish people ever since. The image of Jewish people praying at the Wall became a powerful means of conveying the longing of many Jews to live and worship in a restored Jewish homeland. During the 1948 War of Independence, people in the Jewish Quarter were killed and their homes and synagogues destroyed. Jordan took control of the Old Quarter and Temple Mount. For 19 years Jordanian authorities did not allow Jews access to pray at the Western Wall; it could only be viewed from a distance. In the 1967 Six Day War, Israeli paratroopers liberated the Jewish Quarter and the Temple Mount. Since then Jews from all over the world have been able to pray at the Western Wall.    

The image of Jewish women and men praying at the Western Wall powerfully conveys the ancient desire of the Jewish people for the re-establishment of a Jewish homeland. The Jewish people face fierce and sometimes violent opposition from every side. I have been to the Wall many times. Like this recent time and in times past, I have been struck by the power of the desire of many Jewish people to pray at the Western Wall, the wall closest to where the Holy of Holies would have been. My deep desire is that this longing of Jews would lead them to see and put their trust in Jesus the Messiah who is is the High Priest who entered the Holy of Holies and the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. May it be so.

Deep Peace and many blessings to you and yours in Jesus the Messiah,