Earlier this month, Jerusalem archaeologists announced an exciting find: Iron Age wooden beams, burned yet preserved, from the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and Solomon’s Temple.
Just As Israel Mourned the Temple's Destruction
The announcement came just as Israel was about to commemorate the 9th of Av, a day that has spelled tragedy for the Jewish People for millennia–both Temples were destroyed on the 9th of Av, and traditionally it’s the day the spies returned from the Promised Land with a bad report (Numbers 13). It’s a day of mourning and repentance, but also hope of redemption; God’s word promises that Jerusalem will be restored, and the House of Prayer for All Nations rebuilt.
Charred Beams from the Babylonian Destruction were discovered in the City of David. Photo Credit: Reut Vilf/City of David
For nearly two thousand years, Jews have prayed three times a day for God’s House to be restored. And yet, except for a few short hours in 1967 when the immortal words “The Temple Mount is in our hands” were uttered, the Temple Mount has been under the control of hostile powers. Ever since the Six Day War, Israel has pledged to maintain a “status quo” on the Temple Mount, which is under the control of the Jordanian Islamic Waqf. Officially, non Islamic prayers and texts are strictly forbidden on the Mount. Up until a few years ago, non-Muslims who ascended and showed reverence for the site were harassed and many arrested for simply moving their lips in silent prayer.
Disrupting the Status Quo
But the winds of change have been blowing through, as more and more Jews and Christians ascend the Temple Mount to revere the site. While Jews still require a police escort on their visits, open prayer is now allowed. Jews are often seen singing and bowing as they worship God and pray for His house to be rebuilt. Muslims are no longer allowed to harass visitors and a sense of peace and expectancy pervades visiting groups.
Jews praying on the Temple Mount, something that was strictly forbidden just a few years ago
Now more than 2600 years after Solomon’s Temple was destroyed, the burned wooden beams serve as a reminder of what was lost, but their discovery also points to a time when that House will be rebuilt, and nations will come up to worship the Lord.
"In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.' The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." Isaiah 2:2-3
May God’s presence dwell fully among His people, “soon and in our days.”!