Shepherd's Lighthouse Church

2 Chronicles 23:19

And he set the gatekeepers at the gates of the house of the Lord, so that no one who was in any way unclean should enter.

What was a Gatekeeper?  And what place do they represent in the new Covenant?

First of all, let’s look at what a gate or door is.

Each is primarily a moveable structure that opens or closes an opening in a wall – Gates and doors are places of transition – where one moves from one place to another.

They are an interface between the inside and the outside; they sit on a boundary between two locations – as in the outer world or countryside, and the inner world of a city.

The purpose of a door or gate is to allow or refuse entry into the house or city.

They are a very significant part of any house. 

In fact, it is said that the ancient Jews often considered the door as being the house - the house is open or the house is closed.

It is at the door that visitors are met and a decision is made to invite them in or send them away:– are they welcome?

In Gen 19:10, Lot’s door was closed by angels to protect him from a mob; 

And in Rev 3:20 Jesus offers an invitation when He says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”

In the same way, city gates were closed to enemies and opened to friendly visitors.

Because the city gates happened to be where people traveled between the countryside and the inner city, there was always a lot of activity there – it was the ancient world’s town square.

Legal and social activity took place there.

Domestic grievances were brought to the Elders at the city gates as in Deut 21:18-19 and 21 where a stubborn and rebellious offspring was judged and punished.

18 “If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and who, when they have chastened him, will not heed them, 

19 “then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city, to the gate of his city. 

21 “Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones; so you shall put away the evil from among you, and all Israel shall hear and fear.”

Contracts and agreements were witnessed at the city gates as in Ruth 4:1 where Boaz was witnessed as Ruth’s legal kinsman redeemer.

Markets and other commerce took place near the city gates as in 2Ki 7:1 where Elisha prophesies the price of flour and barley at the gate of Samaria.

Now, because of the importance of doors and gates, there were guards posted at the prominent ones.

These guards were called Porters in the KJV Bible, and Doorkeepers or Gatekeepers in the newer translations.

The term “Porter” interests me because of its metaphysical or spiritual  significance.

Today “Porter” refers to a person who carries things – such as luggage at a hotel or airport.

But in earlier times a Porter was the keeper of a portal – an opening to another place.

I find this a fitting description of the doorkeeper, and I hope that you will too, as I continue.

The duty of the Doorkeeper, to use the more modern term, was to guard against intrusion by the uninvited or the illegitimate visitor.

They were stationed at the Palace as in 2Ki 11:5; at the Temple as in 2Chron 23:19; and at the house of the High Priest as in John 18:16.

The Temple Doorkeepers had their beginnings at the command of God in Num 18:1-4 where the LORD said to Aaron, "You and your sons and your father's house with you shall bear the iniquity related to the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear the iniquity associated with your priesthood. Also bring with you your brethren of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may be joined with you and serve you while you and your sons are with you before the tabernacle of witness. They shall attend to your needs and all the needs of the tabernacle; but they shall not come near the articles of the sanctuary and the altar, lest they die—they and you also. They shall be joined with you and attend to the needs of the tabernacle of meeting, for all the work of the tabernacle; but an outsider shall not come near you.”

These were the doorkeepers of the Tabernacle who were charged with guarding the sanctuary from outsiders. 

When we consider the function of the Doorkeepers as guards to protect the Holiness of the Temple, we can see a spiritual principle at work in the lives of Born-Again believers today.

As temples of the Living God (remember the shekinah?), we are sanctified or set apart by a Gate Keeper who stands in the place of judgment between the temple and the outer world. 

Psa 100:4 tells us that the gates to God’s presence are entered with thanksgiving, and praise carries us through to His courts.

Neh 7:45 tells us that the Doorkeepers in the time of the rebuilding of the wall (when the Gates were hung) were the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, and the sons of Shobai. 

The Gate Keepers are the "offspring" of six "fathers". 

The name of the first Gatekeeper is Shallum which refers to “propitiation”, the second is Ater, and refers to “restitution,” the third is Talmon and refers to “fear,” the fourth is Akkub and refers to a “restrained walk,” the fifth is Hatita and refers to “seeking and exploring,” and the sixth is Shobai which refers to “captivity by the glorious.”

In the names of these Gatekeepers we see the elements of Salvation and sanctification as it pertains to man.

All these elements are found in one man – Jesus. 

And this is where the power of choice comes into the situation:-

The five senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell are the gates between the soul and the world. 

The keeper of these gates is asigned by the will - the FREE WILL.

The will is the decision maker - Deuteronomy 30:19 “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live..”

The will determines what to do with what is in the mind.

And the content of the mind affects the genes which determine our behavior.

Proverbs 23:7 For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.

This depends on what spirit we listen to.

Human spirit is from world view and experience - that is, world consciousness and self consciousness.

But Holy Spirit is from God - the metanoia of the new birth.

Therefore, behavior is the product or result of what is in the mind - the character.

Is it of human spirit or of the Holy Spirit?

I recently learned about epigenetic‘s which has been under study since 2003 and is now accepted by the scientific community as a major factor in human behavior. 

How the content of the mind is able to affect our genetic code which in turn affects human behavior and biological conditions such as health and well-being.

The attributes of Christ are planted in us by the Holy Spirit and He stands in judgment of the things that would enter from the world into us as temples made Holy unto the Lord?

With His help we are to take every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. (2Cor 10:5)

Psalm 101:3 says, “I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not cling to me.”

1 Thes 5:21-22 admonishes us to, “Test all things; hold fast what is good.”  And to, “Abstain from every form of evil.”

Romans 12:1 urges us to, “…  offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--as is our spiritual act of worship.”

Romans 12:2 warns us, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be  transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

And Phil 4:8 says, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things.”

As children of the Most High we are to place the precepts of God at the doorposts of our souls as Moses placed the blood of the Passover Lamb on the doorposts of the children of Israel in Exodus 12:22-23.

Prov 4:23 warns to, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”

Jesus is the quintessential Doorkeeper – He is the Word of God who stands at the portal where Heaven and Earth meet and invites entry to all who would accept His gift of Salvation and transformation. 

The same hands that are raised in worship of God are used to defile my body - His body.

Deuteronomy 6:6-9 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

Finally there is an interesting parallel with a community or even a nation.

It starts out free with a gatekeeper to protect its freedom but eventually decides that the gatekeeper is unnecessary and removes Him.

Eventually it is realized that things have changed and freedoms are disappearing rapidly. 

There is coming a change as more and more or those elements that are hostile to the community or nation enter without challenge.

Then the inevitable happens; the gate is once more occupied by a gatekeeper. 

But this time it is one placed there by the hostile elements that moved in and began to corrupt the place.

This principle is at work in the world today and will most likely continue until Jesus returns.

But fear not saints, the Word of God assures us that our redemption draws nigh. 

No matter what happens in the world outside remember that you are the temple of the Living God.

We are in the world but not of it.

Our Gatekeeper is still on guard protecting us from the corruption of the world as long as we exercise our free will to choose to honor Him.

To always keep Him first and be encouraged by these words that God has left us in:  2 Peter 1:3-8 “as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The Gatekeeper that stands between each believer and the world system is none other than the Lord Jesus who promises in Rev 3:10-11, "Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those  who dwell on the earth.  Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may  take your crown.” 

So no matter how corrupt the world becomes, remember that you have been purchased by the Blood of the Lamb of God and you no longer belong to the world – you have been adopted into the family of God and are now a member of the Kingdom of God with all its privileges.

Don’t blow it !!

 

Amen