When American astronaut Neil Armstrong, a devout Christian, visited Israel after his trip to the moon, he was taken on a tour of the Old City of Jerusalem by Israeli archaeologist Meir Ben-Dov. When they got to the Hulda Gate, which is at the top of the stairs leading to the Temple Mount, Armstrong asked Ben-Dov whether Jesus had stepped anywhere around there.
“I told him, ‘Look, Jesus was a Jew,’” recalled Ben-Dov.
“These are the steps that lead to the Temple, so he must have walked here many times.”
Armstrong then asked if these were the original steps, and Ben-Dov confirmed that they were.
“So Jesus stepped right here?” asked Armstrong.
“That’s right,” answered Ben-Dov.
“I have to tell you,” Armstrong said to the Israeli archaeologist, “I am more excited stepping on these stones than I was stepping on the moon.”
Like Armstrong, we too recognise that there is no place on earth more special to God than Jerusalem. Whether we have set foot there, or not, the historical connection that the Jewish people have to the City of David cannot be denied, nor can the value of Jerusalem to the Bible-believing Christian be diminished. For it is the place that is so central to God’s plan for Israel, past, present and future as indeed it is to all mankind.
Let us set foot firmly on God’s promises, knowing that He who watches over Israel will also not allow our foot to be moved (Psalm 121:3-4). |