Nehemiah 2:18. "Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king's words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work. But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? Will ye rebel against the king? Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, He will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem." Chapter 3 "Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel. And next unto him builded the men of Jericho. And next to them builded Zaccur the son of Intri. But the fish gate did the sons of Hassenaah build, who also laid the beams thereof and set up the doors thereof and the bars thereof. And next unto them repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah, the son of Koz. And next unto them repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabeel. And next unto them repaired Zadok the son of Baana. And next unto them the Tekoites repaired; but their nobles put not their necks to the work of the Lord. Moreover the old gate repaired Jehoiada the son of Paseah, and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah; they laid the beams thereof and set up the doors thereof and the locks thereof and the bars thereof And next unto them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite, and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon, and of Mizpah, unto the throne of the governor on this side of the river. Next unto him repaired Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, of the goldsmiths. Next unto him also repaired Hananiah the son of one of the apothecaries, and they fortified Jerusalem unto the broad wall. And next unto them repaired Rephaiah the son of Hum the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem. And next unto them repaired Jedaiah the son of Harumaph, even over against his house, and next unto him repaired Hattush the son of Hashabniah. Malchijah the son of Harim, and Hashub the son of Pahathmoab, repaired the other piece, and the tower of the furnaces. And next unto him repaired Shallum the son of Halohesh, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, he and his daughters.”
I think we all know that there is a beautiful picture in the Old Testament of God's people Israel and how they valued the place where He had put His name. Jerusalem was the city which He had chosen. We know that, because of their failure, God had allowed them to be carried into captivity and they had been in Babylon for seventy years. We think too of the history of the Church. We think of the early days of the Apostles and how there was a wonderful work going on in Jerusalem. Just think, three thousand saved in one day, and it says the multitude of the disciples was of one heart and one soul and everything went on so happily at the start. But then decline came in. If we were to trace the history of the Church, it wasn't long until they had settled down and become a worldly company, losing their blessed position and hope. It was sad to see what happened. But I believe God, in His goodness, has, in the end, restored a testimony to the Truth. It is our great privilege to have the whole Bible, to know the truth of God, and in these last days to be gathered to the precious name of the Lord Jesus. We know that after they had been in captivity for seventy years, then God, in His goodness, raised up those who cared about His name and about the place where He had put His name in Jerusalem. In the book of Ezra we have a group of these people coming back and building the house. In Nehemiah we have the building of the wall. Of course, we can see why they built the house first. Because what would separation mean if it wasn't to a person? It would be just an empty, shall I say, Pharisaic thing if we were just gathered together in separation and didn't see the Lord in the midst and come because He was there. I do believe brethren, unless we see that, we are going to be discouraged. When many of the disciples went back and walked no more with the Lord Jesus, He said to the disciples (the ones who remained), "Will ye also go away?" Peter's answer was, "Lord to whom shall we go?"(John 6:67-68) He didn't say "where" but "To whom shall we go?" I believe that his desire was to be where the Lord was. I trust it's our desire, too, to be around Himself, to be in the place where He is in the midst. They came back and we see it was a real effort. I always love to read the book of Ezra to see how they came and they rebuilt the house. The first thing they did was to set up the altar of burnt offering. I think that is so precious because it shows us the very first thing they thought of was giving the Lord Jesus His rightful place. That's what we need to recognize brethren, giving the Lord His rightful place is the start of blessing and restoration and all that is for God's glory in our lives. As we had in our chapter at the conference "That in all things He might have the preeminence."(Col. 1:18) How important it is that we seek to give the Lord Jesus, and not any man, the first place. In the goodness of God they were able to complete the house. When we come to this book of Nehemiah, we see that God stirred up the heart of Nehemiah and others too, to build the wall because the enemy would never leave the people of God alone. He would always seek to attack, and we are called out to be in separation to Him. "Let us go forth therefore to Him without the camp bearing His reproach."(Heb. 13:13) Or again as we have it in 2 Cor. 6:17, "Come out from among them, and be ye separate." So we find that there was this wall which it was necessary to build and Nehemiah's heart was stirred to build the wall. We can see in the chapter that we have read how it all had been broken down and it took a real energy of faith to rebuild. Their enemies laughed at them, laughed them to scorn because they said it looked like a hopeless situation. This applies to us also. If we don't have our eye upon the Lord, if we don't rely on His strength and do what we are doing because we seek to do His will; we can easily get discouraged and find that it's far too difficult to go on. But if we have the Lord before us we can go on. I think it's very beautiful to see in Nehemiah that he was a man of prayer. If I had read in the first chapter you would have seen how he was very cast down and he was before the Lord and prayed. Then God in a wonderful way came in. I would like just to notice one little incident in the second chapter, verse 2,"Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick. This is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid, and said unto the king, Let the king live forever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city of my fathers' sepulchers, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire? Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of Heaven. And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favor in thy sight, that thou wouldst send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchers, that I may build it." The little incident recorded here seems to show how when we are placed in a very difficult situation that we may not always be able to pray like Daniel or like Nehemiah had previously. Daniel went to his room three times in a day. Nehemiah spent much time in prayer previous to this, but this time unusual circumstances arose. Here he was in the presence of the king. He was sad, and the king asked him a question. He knew if he didn't answer the question the way he should he might even be put to death because those kings had the power of life and death. So when the king asked him a question, before he answered the king, it's beautiful to see what it says here, "So I prayed unto the God of Heaven. And I said unto the king." I think that's a little lesson for us, for myself too brethren. Sometimes we do meet a situation. We don't have time to run to our rooms, we don't have time to pour it out before the Lord, we have to give an answer right away. The king asked him a question and before he answered he said, "I prayed unto the God of Heaven. And I said unto the king." God is so ready to help us in such situations and God came in in the most remarkable way. For at this time Israel was under Gentile power. They had lost their city as we know and they were under Gentile power so that they had to recognize the power of the king. But the king not only granted him permission but did many other things to help him and this encouraged his heart.
Now Nehemiah and the others are there and he has been encouraging them and they are building up this wall and the gates of Jerusalem. In the 3' chapter there are actually ten gates mentioned. We know that is the heavenly city described in Revelation, there are twelve gates. There are actually two other gates that are mentioned elsewhere so there were twelve gates in Jerusalem. But this chapter only records the building of ten of them. It seems to me to remind us that we are living in days of weakness. The Lord could say about Philadelphia, "Thou hast a little strength, and has kept My Word, and hast not denied My name."(Rev. 3:8) We will never see things as they were in the days of the Apostles. We are living in the last days, brethren. Ten, I believe, in Scripture brings before us responsibility God ward. The reason I say that is this is because there were Ten Commandments and that was man's responsibility to God. I believe ten brings before us that thought of responsibility. We do have a responsibility to God. But the order in which these gates are brought before us and the order in which they were planned, all have lessons for us too. And I believe we can profit by them.
The first thing they did in the first verse "And they builded the sheep gate." Well, I'm sure all of us can see the significance of this because the Lord Jesus is the Good Shepherd who gave His life for the sheep. There were no locks and bars on this gate. How wonderful it is that the gospel message goes out to whosoever will, telling sinners the way of salvation and how they can enter by the sheep gate. They can come as lost sheep and be claimed and brought into blessing by the One who is the Good Shepherd. So we see them building the sheep gate. Perhaps that would bring before us, brethren, the great importance of the gospel work because every one of us who are here tonight that are saved (and I trust we all are saved) we had to make that start. What was the start, to enter by the sheep gate, to come as lost sheep to the Good Shepherd who gave His life for the sheep. So they built this sheep gate and it says, "They sanctified it unto the tower of Hananeel. And next unto him builded the men of Jericho." We know that Jericho in the Bible was the city of the curse and God pronounced a curse upon the one who rebuilt that city after the Children of Israel had entered Canaan and destroyed Jericho. God brought a curse, and this world, too, is under the judgment of God. When the Lord Jesus was going up to Jerusalem He pronounced judgment upon this world. He said, "Now is the judgment of this world."(John 12:31) The judgment has been pronounced. The judge has been appointed. "He(God) has appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man Whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead."(Acts 17:31) But thank God the message of grace still goes out, and just like in that city of Jericho, before it fell there was a place of shelter for anyone who wanted to enter. It's beautiful that word given to us in Joshua that in the home of Rahab the harlot where the scarlet line was, it says whosoever was there would be safe and whosoever was not there would be exposed to the judgment that fell upon the city.(Josh. 2:18) So, it says in our chapter, the men of Jericho builded it. That is what you and I were, but God has saved us. He has brought us from darkness to light from the power of Satan unto God. Isn't it wonderful those words "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus."(Rom. 8:1) It doesn't say there are any locks and bars in that particular gate because God is always willing and desiring the blessing of all. "Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."(Rev. 22:17)
Then we have the fish gate next in the r verse. "But the fish gate did the sons of Hassaniah build, who also laid the beams thereof and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof." That makes me think of how the Lord Jesus called His disciples and then He said to them, "Come ye after Me, and I will make you fishers of men."(Mark 1:17) They learned the way that God wanted His work carried on. The Lord Jesus taught them how. We can go about things according to human plans. It's wonderful to see an effort made to reach souls but we see here when the Lord was going to use the disciples, he didn't tell them, "Plan any way that you wish." He said, "Come ye after Me, and I will make you to become fishers of men." Brethren, I believe it is important if we are going to do the work of the Lord that we do it in the way that God would have us to do it. Paul preached repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. He brought before people the seriousness of sin. There is a great deal of preaching today that leaves out the sin question. I believe it's important that when the gospel is preached that people should be reminded of the seriousness of what sin is. The first two chapters of the epistle to the Romans which particularly sets before us the foundations of the gospel are devoted to showing us what our true condition was; the condition of the Gentiles, the condition of the Jew and it ends up with that solemn declaration, "All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."(Rom. 3:23) "By the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight."(Rom. 3:20) It brings in the importance of what sin is. I believe it's very necessary for us, if we are going to do the work of the Lord, to do it as God would have us do it and in the way that is laid out in the Word. The sin question must be dealt with and sad to say there are many people who don't realize the seriousness of sin before God. The second thing they don't know is the blessed fullness of the work of Christ. How many there are that don't enjoy the security of the believer. It's true if they have received the Lord Jesus as their Saviour they are perfectly secure because everyone who is under the shelter of the blood of Christ is cleansed from all sin. It's the righteousness of God in Christ but he may not know that if it is not clearly preached. I read in Mr. Darby's writings that when he first went out to preach the truth as he had learned it from the Lord he found so many people who didn't know what peace with God was. I don't say they hadn't in simple faith received Christ but they didn't know the blessedness and fullness of the Gospel of Christ. So it tells us here, "They set up the doors thereof, and laid the beams thereof, and the bars thereof." That is, they laid a solid foundation and showed that there was no other way to get into the presence of God but God's way. As we sing in the little hymn sometimes, "There's no one to save you but Jesus. There's no other way but His way." So these carried on this work building the fish gate. It tells us here, "They set up the doors thereof, they laid the beams thereof.”
We read about different ones that took part. But there is a little sad note, it seems to me, in the verse. "And next unto them the Tekoites repaired; but their nobles put not their neck to the work of the Lord." There's a verse in Jer. 6:16, "Thus saith the Lord, stand ye in the ways, and, see and ask for the old paths, where is the good way and walk therein; and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, we will not walk therein." There's another verse in Jeremiah that says we are not to do the work of the Lord negligently.(Jer. 48:10) There was to be an energy. Here were those that put not their necks to the work of the Lord. Brethren, isn't it true that we all have to acknowledge that we often fail in this, that we haven't been diligent. I have to confess brethren that I miss many opportunities. (If I only realized the seriousness of souls going along about me going on their way to a lost eternity.) Sometimes we get so busy that we don't have time tobe in this world as those who are fishers of men seeking to carry on a little work for the Lord each in our place. There was a boy back in Ottawa and he worked in a bakery shop. He tried to speak to the people that he was working with about the Lord and I believe he spoke very faithfully to them. At last, one of the men that worked with him said, "Nick you should have been a preacher." And he replied, "If I had been a preacher you would never have come to hear me. But now you have to work with me and you hear the gospel while you work with me." Isn't it true brethren? Everyone's not called to stand on the platform and preach but every one of us can be fishers of men. How often that has the greatest blessing. We may be surprised when we get to heaven that there are more people who were saved by personal work, talking to the person next to you, instead of in a gospel meeting. There is a work for each one of us to do. There was the fish gate and it tells us it was to be carried on faithfully. It also tells us that the nobles put not their necks to the work of the Lord.
Now there's a rather long period that begins from the 6th verse down to the 19th verse and it's all introduced by the 6th verse, "Moreover the old gate repaired Jehoida the son of Paseah, and Meshullam the some of Besodiah; they laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, and the locks thereof, and the bars thereof." It mentions too in the 12" verse a very interesting little comment, "And next unto him repaired Shallum the son of Halohesh, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, he and his daughters." You know it says they were building this old gate as it's called. I read that verse to you in Jeremiah chapter 6. "Stand ye in the way and ask for the old path." There's a great deal of mixture going on in the way the work of God is done. There is a great deal of place that women are given that isn't given to them according to the word of God. The Bible shows us that the public part of service was given to the man. But Paul often spoke about Priscilla and Aquila. He often spoke about those women who labored with him in the gospel. There is a definite place for sisters, a very important place. Many labored building the old gate and the distance that lay between to the next gate. It mentions the goldsmiths. Perhaps that would suggest that there were those that maybe weren't doing so much but they were helping in connection with the work and the finances of it. God takes notice of every little thing that is done for Him. Not even a cup of cold water is going to be forgotten of Him. You say, "I haven't got very much to give." But isn't it interesting when the Lord watched what was being cast into the treasury a widow came along. He saw those that were rich casting in much. Then a widow came along and she had two mites that make a farthing. Why does the Spirit of God particularly mention that she had two mites. I believe that was just to show us that she had a choice. She could have kept one for herself and put in one for the Lord. Although it says she had two mites that make a farthing, it says that she cast in all that she had. The Lord takes notice of everything that we do for Him. Then it says also in the 8' verse, "Next unto him also repaired Hananiah the son of one of the apothecaries, and they fortified Jerusalem unto the broad wall." The apothecaries, sometimes people can get so taken up with service that they don't have any time left for praise. In many many places the remembrance of the Lord is only held perhaps once a month or less. The gospel is carried on. One thanks God for the gospel. We find in scripture that worship always comes before service. It isn't that service is not important. We can easily see that, but it's nice to see this, "the son of one of the apothecaries." I was just reading the other day about the ointment that was made in the house of the Lord and it says about all the components about it. It says on man's flesh it was never to be poured. On man's flesh. There was a place, there was an ointment that was only to be for the Lord and it was a sweet perfume in His presence and so how beautiful this is. I believe it brings before us the importance of worship in connection with even their service and this is associated with us.
We come to the 13" verse, "The valley gate repaired Hanum and the inhabitants of Zanoah they built it and set up the doors thereof and the locks thereof and the bars thereof and a thousand cubits on the wall unto the dung gate." It doesn't say a great deal about this valley gate but there is a little passage that I would like to notice. 1 Kings 20:28," And there came a man of God, and spoke unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the Lord, Because the Syrians have said, the Lord is God of the hills, but He is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the Lord." Isn't that a very lovely verse? They had been used of the Lord and they had won a victory over the Syrians in the hills and now the next time they're going to have to meet them in the valleys. If I might put it in a practical way, thing might seem to go very well and things go along quite smoothly and we see the Lord undertaking for us in wonderful way and we prove that God is the God of the hills. Then sometimes the enemy meets us when we are down. When we are down; some trouble, some trial enters into our lives and we say, "Oh, it's so hard to bear this. It just gets me down." I think it is wonderful how the Lord met the servant of the Lord here and encouraged him and said, I'm going to show that our God is the God of the valleys and whet we have difficult experiences in our lives we can prove that the Lord is sufficient. He can give us the victory even in trials. Sometimes that is a great testimony to the world. I'm sure we know of cases where the world looked on and when things went well in our lives they didn't think so much of our Christianity. Then they see us have real difficulties perhaps bereavements, perhaps some sickness comes upon us. They see that we have a joy, we have a peace that they don't have. They see that God is the God of the valleys. I remember we had a brother in Ottawa, Stan Dodds, who perhaps some knew very well and things went quite well for him. He was quite prosperous in his work, but, then he found out that he had cancer and only had a short time to live. One of the men that worked with him couldn't understand how he could be so happy and so triumphant in his soul even when he got such bad news. He said, "If I was in your place and something happened like that to me," he said, "I would just be blaming God." "But," he said, "you have something I don't have." His own doctor when he attended him said, "You have a faith that I don't understand. I wish I had it." Stan said, "It's for you if you will just trust in the Lord." Brethren, our God is not only the God of the hills. He the God of the valleys. If we do have those valley experiences, sometimes there is a greater testimony in how we meet the trials and difficulties of life than in our preaching. He is the God of the hills and He is the God of the valleys. So, "the valley gate repaired Hanum and the inhabitants of Zanoah." They not only repaired, they put up the locks thereof, and walls thereof, and the bars thereof. Perhaps the reason it tells us this is because the enemy is always trying to get in. He is trying to get in in every situation. He comes into our service. He comes into our circumstances. He comes into all these situations that we need to have the gate barred. We sing in a little song sometimes, "Take thou our hearts and let them be forever closed to all but Thee."(Little Flock #294) We need to watch. The enemy is out to get us in times when things go well as well as in times when we get down in the valley and are depressed.
The 14th verse, "But the dung gate repaired Malchiah the son of Richab, the ruler of part of Bethhaccerim; he built it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof." If we turn to Phil. 3 we find Paul knew about the dung gate. Phil. 3:7, "But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but dune, that I may win Christ.”
Paul had many advantages in his upbringing. He was brought up at the feet of Gamaliel. He was a Pharisee of the Pharisees. But when he met the Lord he changed his sense of values altogether and the things that were gain to him, he counted loss. Those which placed him in a position of importance that he could boast and say, "I'm a Roman citizen, I've been brought up at the feet of Gamaliel. I'm an orthodox Pharisee." But he said all those things faded into insignificance because he had found the One who is altogether lovely. We know in Christendom people often put a great deal of importance on degrees and things like this but the most important thing for all of us, brethren, is that we might know more of that wonderful blessed Saviour who is ours. That is everything in the Christian life. "That I might know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings being made conformable unto His death."(Phil. 3:10) I'm not speaking against education or things like that but let's not glory in those things as though they were the most important thing. They are necessary to our livelihood and so on but in the things of God, Christ is all and in all. We need to give Him that place whether it is in learning the truth of God, whether it's even in our occupation, even in our job itself. How lovely it is to see a man who gives the Lord the glory and acknowledges "What hast thou that thou didst not receive?"(1 Cor. 4:7) So all that he could have boasted in he says, "I count it but dung." Well, here were the people then that built the dung gate.
Then we read of another one here in the 15th verse. It's called the gate of the fountain. "But the gate of the fountain repaired Shallun the son of Colhozeh, the ruler of part of Mizpah; he built it and covered it," (This is the only one that speaks of having a covering). "And set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof and the wall of the pool of Siloah by the king's garden, and unto the stairs that go down from the city of David." There is a verse that I would like to turn to in the Sol. 4:12" A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed." Then again in the 15th verse, "A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon." Verse 16, "Awake, 0 north wind; and come thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits." So it tells us here about the gate of the fountain. It tells in John 7:37,38, "In that last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." We do have that fountain within us but we need to watch that it is not hindered. It's covered here, and I believe it was necessary because defilement could have gotten in and spoiled that fountain. Then it tells us, "Unto the wall of the pool of Siloah by the king's garden." We find a reference about that in Isa. 8:5. "The Lord spake also unto me again. saying, Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Ramaliah's son; Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks." That is they refused the pool of Shiloah. They refused the provision that God had made for them and so God said He was going to allow these enemies of theirs to come un upon them. Well in Nehemiah they were protecting this pool. Brethren I feel in a practical way we need to protect that place in our hearts. There is no one allowed to have that place. I think I mentioned the hymn before, "Take Thou our hearts and let them be forever closed to all but Thee. Thy willing servants let us wear the seal of love forever there."(L. F.# 294) I think that's what is brought before us here by the king's garden and unto the stairs that go down from the city of David. So there are those stairs. We need to ascend. It's getting above the world and all it's difficulties and trials. We read in the 16th verse, "After him repaired Nehemiah the son of Azbak, the ruler of the half part of Bethzur, unto the place over against the sepulchers of David, and to the pool that was made, and unto the house of the mighty." There is another passage later in Nehemiah. Nehemiah chapter 8:9, "And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, this day is holy unto the Lord your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law. Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength." I think that is very precious, "the joy of the Lord is your strength." The Lord found His joy in that little company in all their weakness.. I used to have a little difficulty understanding that because I thought at first that it meant our joy in the Lord. But I believe if you read it in its context, it's the Lord's joy in us. When the children of Israel came back from captivity, they were so discouraged when they saw their own weakness and they were weeping. And Nehemiah sought to stir them up and encourage them by telling them that the Lord was finding joy in that little company. I've sometimes used a little illustration that may be a help to bring out what I'm trying to say Supposing someone invited you to their house. Then it turned out to be a very bad evening and the people who were invited said to each other, "Oh it's such a bad night. Let's call them up and ask if we can cancel our engagement and not come tonight." So you call them up and they say, "Oh, we're looking forward to it so much. Please come. We'd just love to have you." How do you feel? Do you look at one another and you get a fresh shot of strength and you say, "Oh, we'll go even though it's a bad night. They're really looking forward to us and we want to be there because they really want us." Brethren can't you think of this in connection with coming to the meeting? We might look at each other sometimes and say, "I get kind of discouraged going to the meeting. Things aren't as bright and happy as they might be." Then think of the joy the Lord is going to have in seeing you sitting in that seat and that's what gives you the strength. That's why I believe it speaks about this gate of the fountain and it speaks of the house of the mighty. It gives us the strength to go on.
There's a sad note in the 20th verse. "After him Baruch the son of Zabbai earnestly repaired the other piece, from the turning of the wall unto the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest. After him repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah the son of Koz, another piece from the door of the house of Eliashib even to the end of the house of Eliashib." Now I haven't time to take notice here but some of them repaired the wall against their own house but Eliashib didn't repair by his own house. Somebody else was repairing the wall by his house. But he didn't repair there and later we see that one of his daughters married one of the enemies of the Lord. He was a very godly man, I believe. We read a lot of good things about him, but it seemed that he neglected his own household. I believe this is a little word for us in the importance of seeking the blessing and good of those whom the Lord has committed to us. What a happy thing. "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth."(3 John 4) We know that God alone can lead them on but let's not neglect that wall over against our own house. That is very important. We can be repairing over against somebody else's house and forget our own house. Well, it's just a little word, I believe, of warning and also a word of encouragement because there were others that took this responsibility.
Now here's another in the 26th verse, "Moreover the Nethenims dwelt in Ophel, unto the place over against the water gate toward the east, and the tower that lieth out." There is a verse in Ephesians that speaks about the Lord Jesus that He might sanctify and cleanse us (the Church) by the washing of water by the Word that He might present it to Himself a glorious church not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing.(Eph. 5:26-27) We need the water of the Word. When the Lord Jesus had washed the feet of His disciples then He turned to them and said that He had set a pattern; that He had washed their feet so that they should wash one another's feet. In this way the water of the Word is so important. It is true that it is by the Word that we are saved but the water of the Word is sometimes looked at in connection with its cleansing for us who are believers. Don't we need this continually brethren? Is there anything in your life or mine that is a hindrance to us walking in company with the Lord Jesus? How needful that we wash our feet with the Word, and perhaps another might help us in this too. So we find the water gate is mentioned "over against the water gate and the tower that lieth out.”
Then we read about another one here. It goes on down to the 29' verse, "After them repaired Zadok the son of Immer over against his house. After him repaired also Shemiaiah the son of Shechaniah, the keeper of the east gate." I would just like to turn to a verse in Ezek. 44:1. "Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward the east; and it was shut. Then said the Lord unto me; this gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the Lord, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut. It is for the Prince; the Prince, He shall sit in it to eat bread before the Lord; He shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate and shall go out by the way of the same." There was one gate in Jerusalem, the east gate, and it is the only gate that it tells us had a keeper. And it tells us that that gate was for the Lord Himself. He was the one that entered in by it and it was to be shut. It always makes me think again of that little hymn, "Take Thou our hearts and let them be forever closed to all but Thee." (L. F. #294) Brethren there ought to be a place in our hearts that no one can take, that belongs to the Lord, that He might have that preeminent place. "That in all things He might have the preeminence."(Col. 1:18) Sometimes people try to steal our affections and say, "Well, you love me and you wouldn't hurt me and so on." We have to have a portion of our hearts that we say, "No, there is a part of me that belongs to the Lord." "He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of Me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me,"(Matt. 10:37) How important that that place is given that the Lord has the preeminent place. There was a keeper of the east gate.
We noticed how Eliashib didn't repair in front of his own house. Somebody else did it for him and couldn't have done it as effectively as he could have done it himself. But someone was trying to help him and that is very nice. But, we also notice there was one that did. It says in the 29" verse, "After them repaired Zadok the son of Immer over against his house." Then we come to the end of the 30" verse, "After him repaired Meshullam the son of Beruchiah over against his chamber." This is coming still a little closer isn't it? "Over against his chamber." I believe that we can see that he was very diligent in a personal way to watch that the enemy didn't get in. He repaired this wall over against his chamber.
There is one more that I would like to call attention to in the 31st verse, "After him repaired Malchiah the goldsmith's son unto the place of the Nethinims, and of the merchants, over against the gate Miphkad, and to the going up of the corner. And between the going up of the corner unto the sheep gate repaired the goldsmiths and the merchants." It's coming right back to the sheep gate now. They have enclosed the whole place. There are two great gates not mentioned in the chapter because I believe we will never see perfection here in this world. We are reminded that we are still in the wilderness but I have just a little suggestion in connection with the gate Miphkad. Rev. 2:17, "He that bath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will rive him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it." I don't know who this gate was named after or just why it is called Miphkad. I don't see a reference to it in other parts of the Bible. It seems to me that there is something in connection with it in that verse that we read in Revelation. There are times that we just have to go on with a secret sense of the Lord's approval. "A new name written, which no man knoweth save he that receiveth it." There is a way that we can understand this even in our own lives. If there is someone that you love very much, maybe there is a little name that you call them. It's kind of a secret between you and that person. You wouldn't want someone else to call them by that name because that name is an expression of special affection that you have. I believe that's the way it is used in Revelation. It was in the church of Pergamos when the Church and the world were coming together. It must have been very hard to go on faithfully because there was much going on in Pergamos that was displeasing to the Lord. So the Lord is giving in that message to Pergamos a little word of encouragement to go on; just to have the sense in your soul that you are living to please the Lord and just go on quietly and don't boast about it, don't make any claims about it but just let it be something that you enjoy between your soul and the Lord. Perhaps sometimes you have tried to do something for the Lord and somebody has found fault. But you were satisfied that you had been before the Lord and you felt the Lord wanted you to do that. I think that is very lovely. The Lord Jesus was the perfection of that. He could say, "I do always these things which please Him."(John 8:29) It says about Enoch before he was translated, "He had this testimony, that he pleased God."(Heb. 11:15)
May you and I seek to go on with that testimony.
So we have these ten gates that are brought before us. I believe that there is a lesson for us brethren in each one of them, a lesson by which we can profit. The wall was built up. The enemy wasn't very pleased to see it built up but the Lord was pleased that his people were now in the place where he had put His name and valued that place. They were much scoffed at by their enemies but they just went on and they knew that what they had done was done to please the Lord and they just left it at that. So we need to go on. We don't need to boast. We don't find a great deal of boasting in the book but we find that going on and seeking to do what was pleasing to the Lord. May the Lord help us to do those things that are pleasing to Him. Hymn #130