Tel Lachish

Welcome to the City Gate at Lachisch.

 The entrance to the fortified city

 from the time of the Kings of Judah

was via an impressive gateway enclosure

consisting of an outer and inner gatehouse.

The gate at Tel Lachish is the largest one

 in Israel dating to the First Temple period. 

It was discovered in 2016 and fully uncovered in 2018.

In between was an open, paved plaza.

The gateway was the beating heart of the city-

the scene of commerce, judgment and punishment, 

and cultic activities. The prophets spoke in the gateways,

kings sat, and elders and judges

 gathered to hear the latest news.

The gate had a primary military function, 

and guards were posted here,

and the doors were locked at night.

The inner gate from the time of King Hezekiah.

The iron works stand out along the hillside 

depicting the great battles fought here.

This row of chairs was very impressive. 

The back of the chairs showed

how long each King reigned.

We know the story of Sennacherib's conquest 

of Tel Lachish in 701 BC  from the archaeological record

 as well as the Bible. 

It was also chronicled in wall reliefs 

in the conqueror's palace in Ninevah. 

We were the only people here on the day we visited. 

A couple came as we were leaving. 

This is off the path of normal visitors to Israel,

 but worth a stop.

A  Canaanite Temple was discovered in Feb. 2020 at Lachish

and was one of the biggest discoveries in Israel in 2020.

When they found the city gate a few years ago,

 they found many cult symbols 

and perhaps some of the desecration

 that was part of Hezekiah's rampage 

against the false gods.

                                Hezekiah was a godly king. 

He saw evil on the way and prepared for it, 

but He trusted God. He got ready and He trusted. 

When it went from bad to worse- he still trusted God.

It is hard to take in everything 

of the implications of discoveries at Lachish, 

but that revelation might be the biggest story-

trust God no matter what.