Advent Series: Say to the mountain

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Say to this Mountain

In the Christmas story, Herod the Great is best known for his attempt to assassinate the newborn Messiah. After a visit from the Magi, Herod orders all the infant boys under two to be massacred. It’s gruesome, and a result of his extreme paranoia. But one thing we don’t often discuss regarding Herod was that he was also an obsessive builder. During his reign, he was responsible for constructing an impressive artificial harbor at Caesarea Maritima and oversaw the building of Temple Mount as well as Masada. But the building feat I find most interesting is a fortress he constructed in the middle of the desert.

Around 37 BC, Herod started constructing a fortress-palace that could be seen from Jerusalem to remind everyone of his influence and power. The only problem was, in the spot where he wanted to build the fortress, there weren’t any mountains high enough. So, using forced labor, he essentially moved a mountain to the spot he wanted to build on...

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Song: Would You Forgive, by Jorm @iamjorm

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