Sunday, 9 September 2018

THE MEANING OF KIDRON VALLEY.

The Kidron Valley is frequently mentioned in the New Testament as being crossed by Jesus in his journeyings to and fro (John 18). It was through this Valley that Jesus walked to go from Jerusalem to the Garden of Gethsemane immediately prior to His arrest and His death by crucifixion. It was at Gethsemane that the Lord felt the full force of His upcoming death. It was also at Gethsemane that we see the Lord's perfect unselfish submission to the Will of His Father. Also, Judas Ischariot travelled the same path to Gethsemane, resulting in the betrayal and arrest of Christ.
In the Book of Matthew, the Kidron Valley is mentioned as the place where Jesus was tempted by Satan. It says: "Then, after Jesus was baptized, he was led out into the Wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tempted there by the Devil. For 40 days and 40 nights Jesus ate nothing and became very hungry. Then the Devil came and said to Him, 'if you are the Son of God, change these stones into loaves of bread.' But Jesus told him, 'No! The Scripture says, People need more than bread for their life; they must feed on every Word of God.' Then the Devil took Jesus to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, 'if you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scripture says, God orders His Angels to protect you. And they will hold you with their hands to keep you from striking your food on a stone.' Jesus responded to the Devil, 'the Scripture also says, Do not test the Lord your God.' Next the Devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him the nations of the World and all their glory and said, 'I will give it all to you if you will only kneel down and worship me.' "Get out of here, Satan,' Jesus told him. 'For the Scripture says, 'You must worship the Lord your God; serve only Him.' Then the Devil went away, and angels came and cared for Jesus.
The Book of Mark mention the Kidron Valley in relation to Jesus by saying: "Immediately after finishing supper, Jesus and his disciples leave the Old City and cross the Kidron Valley heading towards the Mount of Olives."
The Hebrew name Kidron is derived from the root "Qadar,"meaning "to be dark, ashy dark color, or turbid" The Valley is related to the feeling of sorrow, the state of mourning and death.
The central point of reference for the Upper Kidron Valley (a mountain ravine) today is its confluence of Jerusalem's richest concentration of rock-hewn tombs and graves. Burying people here became a practice in the days of Josiah (2 Kings) in the Second temple period. Its precipitous, rocky banks (outskirts of the Old City) are filled with ancient tombs, especially the left bank opposite the Temple area. The greatest desire of the Jews of today is to be buried there, from the idea that the Kidron is the Valley of Jehoshaphat mentioned in the Book of Joel. Through this mountain ravine no water runs, except after heavy rains in the mountains round about Jerusalem.
In the Old Testament the Scripture says in the Book of Jeremiah: "The days are coming"declares the Lord, "when this City will be rebuilt... The whole Valley where dead bodies and ashes are thrown, and all the terraces out to the Kidron Valley on the East as far as the corner of the Horse Gate, will be holy to the Lord. The City will never again be uprooted or demolish."
In Christian tradition the similarity between the Greek word for "cedar"(kedros) and the Greek name of the valley "Kedron,"  has led to the Kidron Valley being wrongly called "Valley of the Cedars."
The Kidron Valley is on the Eastern side of the Old City of Jerusalem, and runs North-South separating the Eastern Wall of the Temple Mount from the Mount of Olives (the city of David). The Valley then continues through the Judean desert in the West Bank towards the Dead Sea, descending 4000 feet along its 20-mile course. It is important to realize that the Kidron Valley was much deeper 2,000 years ago. The bottom of the Valley has been raised by the rubble and debris of centuries falling into it.
The Gih'On Spring naturally filled this Valley, but the settlers of Jerusalem diverted the natural water into pools and channels to be used by the city. In the Book of Genesis, the Gih'On (to burst forth) is described as one of the 4 Rivers that branched out from the main River issued on Eden and "encircling the entire land of Cush."
At various times in the Old Testament it was at Kidron, where false idols were destroyed, symbolically representing termination, or death of idolatry itself. This took place 3 different times: under the rule of Asa (1 King 15, under the rule of Josiah (2 Kings 23), and under the rule of Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 29;30).
In 2 Samuel, a  situation is described involving King David fleeing bare-foot and weeping, across the Valley of Kidron up to the Mount of Olives with all his followers, to escape his son Absalon.
In 2 Kings, Athaliah is mentioned as being executed at the entrance to the King's House, out to the Gate where the horses enter the palace grounds, in the Kidron Valley, after her evil reign in Judah was brought to a violent end.
The Kidron Valley afterwards became the receptacle for all manner of impurities. 2 Chronicles 29 says,
Hezekiah was 29 years old when he became the king of Judah and he reigned in Jerusalem 29 years. His mother was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. He did what was pleasing in the Lord's sight, just as his ancestor David had done. ..Hezekiah reopened the doors of the Temple of the Lord and repair them.
He summoned the priests and Levites to meet him at the Courtyard East of the Temple. He said, "Listen to me, you Levites! Purify yourselves, and purify the Temple of the Lord, the God of your ancestors. Remove all the defiled things from the sanctuary. Our ancestors were unfaithful and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, our God. They abandoned the Lord and His Temple; they turned their backs on Him. They also shut the doors of the Temple's foyer, and they snuffled out the lamps. They stopped burning incense and presenting Burnt Offerings at the sanctuary of the God of Israel. That is why the Lord's Anger has fallen upon Judah and Jerusalem. He has made us an object of dread, horror, and ridicule, as you can so plainly see. Our fathers have been killed in battle and our sons and daughters and wives are in captivity. But now i will make a Covenant with he Lord, the God of Israel, so that His fierce anger will turn away from us. My dear Levites, do not neglect your duties any longer! The Lord has chosen you to stand in His presence, to minister to Him, and to lead the people in worship and make offerings to Him." ... The work began (by specific men whose names were mentioned) on a Day in early Spring. These men called together their fellow Levites, and they purified themselves. Then they began to purify the Temple of he Lord. They were careful to follow all the Lord's instructions in their work. The priests went into the sanctuary of the Temple of the Lord to cleanse it, and they took out to the Temple Courtyard all the defiled things they found. From there the Levites carted it all out to the Kidron Valley. In 8 Days they had reached the foyer of the Lord's Temple. Then they purified the Temple of the Lord itself, which took another 8 days. So the entire task was completed in 16 Days.
The Lord's end times renovation of Kidron is a beautiful picture of us being saved permanently from the darkness of sin to the light of God's Holiness.


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