Across the road is the Kidron Valley, where so much biblical history has played out from David and Absalom (2 Samuel 15) to Josiah (2 Chronicles 16).
The Kidron Valley separates the Mt. of Olives from the Temple Mount and the City of David and is an important geographic feature of Jerusalem. As a wadi it eventually winds its way for about 20 miles to the Dead Sea just south of Qumran. In the time of David and even the earlier Jebusite city, the valley contained the only water source for the city (Gihon Spring) and the depth of the Kidron Valley offered natural protection to the city. For centuries, the devout have strived to be buried on its eastern slope facing the eastern gate of the Temple Mount. Meanwhile the palaces of David and the other kings of Jerusalem were built on the western slope.
II Samuel 15:23
23:
And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over: the king also himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over, toward the way of the wilderness.
I Kings 2:36-38
36:
And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Build thee an house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth thence any whither.
37:
For it shall be, that on the day thou goest out, and passest over the brook Kidron, thou shalt know for certain that thou shalt surely die: thy blood shall be upon thine own head.
38:
And Shimei said unto the king, The saying is good: as my lord the king hath said, so will thy servant do. And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days.
I Kings 15:13
13:
And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron.
II Kings 23: 4,6,12
4:
And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of the LORD all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the host of heaven: and he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of them unto Bethel.
6:
And he brought out the grove from the house of the LORD, without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the graves of the children of the people.
12:
And the altars that were on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the LORD, did the king beat down, and brake them down from thence, and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron.
II Chronicles 15:16
16:
And also concerning Maachah the mother of Asa the king, he removed her from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove: and Asa cut down her idol, and stamped it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.
17:
But the high places were not taken away out of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.
II Chronicles 29:16
16:
And the priests went into the inner part of the house of the LORD, to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the LORD into the court of the house of the LORD. And the Levites took it, to carry it out abroad into the brook Kidron.
Jeremiah 31:38-40
38:
Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the city shall be built to the LORD from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner.
39:
And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb, and shall compass about to Goath.
40:
And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy unto the LORD; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever.
Joel 3 - called the valley of Jehoshaphat
1:
For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,
2:
I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.
3:
And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink.
4:
Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompence me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head;
5:
Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things:
6:
The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border.
7:
Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompence upon your own head:
8:
And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off: for the LORD hath spoken it.
9:
Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:
10:
Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.
11:
Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD.
12:
Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.
13:
Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.
14:
Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
15:
The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.
16:
The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.
17:
So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.
18:
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim.
19:
Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land.
20:
But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.
21:
For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the LORD dwelleth in Zion.
Ezekial 47:1-10
1:
Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar.
2:
Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side.
3:
And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles.
4:
Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins.
5:
Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.
6:
And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river.
7:
Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other.
8:
Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.
9:
And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh.
10:
And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from En-gedi even unto En-eglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.
John 18:1
1:
When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron, where was a garden, into the which he entered, and his disciples.
2:
And Judas also, which betrayed him, knew the place: for Jesus ofttimes resorted thither with his disciples.
Kidron Valley - grace of God
In the Ezekial 47 passage above, it is easy to envision this mighty flow of water issuing forth from the temple of God and becoming a mighty river reaching the Dead Sea at Ein Gedi. While the Kidron Valley is not mentioned it does lie to the east of where the temple stood and the valley runs to the Dead Sea. Like a mighty river, so is the grace of God which flows like a river from the throne of God. Surely it knows its intended destination, the Dead Sea which is much like the human before the grace of God overwhelms him or her and turns certain death in trespasses and sins into an eternal life of glorifying Him.
Romans 11:5-6
5:
Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
6:
And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.
Ephesians 2:8,9
8:
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9:
Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Romans 5:12-21
12:
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
13:
(For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
14:
Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.
15:
But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.
16:
And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.
17:
For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
18:
Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
19:
For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
20:
Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
21:
That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 3:23-24
23:
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
24:
Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Hebrews 4:16
16:
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Exodus 33:19
19:
And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.
John 1:17
17:
For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
`II Timothy 2:1
1:
Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
2 Samuel 15:23
1 Kings 15:13
2 Kings 23:4,6,12
2 Chronicles 16:15; 29:16
Joel 3:2,12
John 18:1