Picture 160817 Avir on Mt of Olives overlooking Jerusalem
The Mount of Olives, where Avir is today, (with green backpack) is the site of many important biblical events, and offers expansive views of the city of Jerusalem. The Mount of Olives, which rises over 60 metres above the Kidron Valley, is one of three peaks of a mountain ridge that runs for 3.5 kilometres just east of the Old City across the Kidron Valley, in this area called the Valley of Joshaphat.
This is an important place to pause and consider that the Mount of Olives is not only a geographical link between the desert and the fertile Jerusalem hills, it is where many of the most important people of the Bible, walked at some time in their life. King David fled over this Mount to escape from Absalom’s rebellion (2 Samuel 15:30). When King Solomon became corrupted by his pagan wives, he built pagan altars in “high places” here (1 Kings 11:7). By the time Josiah was made King, this place became known as the Hill of Corruption (2 Kings 23:13-14). It was here that Ezekiel had his vision of the glory of the Lord and the flying cherubim (Ezekiel 11:22-23). The Jewish people gathered olive branches here for their first Feast of Tabernacles in the Promised Land after their return from their 70-year Babylonian Exile (Nehemiah 8:15)
In the New Testament Yeshua (Jesus) regularly went up onto the Mount of Olives (Luke 22:39). Yeshua began his famous donkey-ride into Jerusalem over and down from this Mount (Luke 19:28-44), and He appeared to the disciples here after His Resurrection (Acts 1:1-12).