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- Preaching the Living WORD through
the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4;:2 - |
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NEHEMIAH’S
ORGANIZATION OF THE WORK (Pt. 4) (Neh 3:24-32) 5/9/10
Grace Bible Church,
Gillette, Wyoming Pastor Daryl Hilbert I. WATER GATE &
PROJECTING TOWER (24 ‑ 27) A. The Angle (24) 1. Nehemiah’s
plan for the wall continued to be carried out. Binnui, the son of Henadad,
was probably the person recorded in vs. 18, because he repaired “another” (or
second) section (24). 2. The section spanned from the “Angle,”
(probably a popular name for a place where two walls met at different angles)
to the “corner” (some place where two walls met at different angles near the
place called the Angle) B. Palace Tower (25) 1. Palal
made repairs in front of the Angle and the tower. The “tower” appears to have
been apart of the King’s palace and not apart of the postexilic wall. 2. The tower was near the court of the
guard. This was separate from the “house of the mighty men” (3:16). The court
of the guard would have been the same as or near the guardhouse, where the
guards lived (Je 32:2). C. Water Gate (26) 1. Besides
the priests (3:1), the temple servants, who were servants to the priests for
menial tasks, contributed to the rebuilding of the wall. The temple servants
lived in Ophel, a hill on the southeastern side of the Temple (2Ch 27:3;
33:14). It may have had its own wall (27). It must have been a larger area
because the reading of the Law was given there (Ne 8:1, 3, 16; 12:37). 2. Evidently, the Water Gate was not damaged
and did not need to be repaired, because the temple servants repaired the
wall in front of the gate. 3. The Water Gate was positioned at a road,
which lead from the temple area to the Gihon Spring. D. Great Projecting Tower
(27) 1. What
appeared to be true about the Water Gate was true about the Great Projecting
Tower. For the common people of Tekoa repaired the wall in front of the tower
because the nobles had refused to work (5). 2. The Projecting Tower could have been a
separate and greater tower than the palace tower mentioned in vs. 25. It would
have been part of the pre‑exilic wall, but no repair to the tower is
mentioned. II. HORSE GATE (3:28) A. The Horse Gate may have
been a pre‑exilic wall built by Solomon for his horses (1Ki 4:26). B. However, the Horse Gate may have been a
gate within the temple complex and would explain how the priests repaired a
portion of the wall “each in fro not his house.” 1. There is
disagreement over whether “the Horse Gate” was a gate in the preexilic city
wall [(built by Solomon)] or merely some gate within the temple palace
complex. At first sight, 2 Kgs 11:16 suggests the latter, but it is not
certain that “the way of the horses’ entry to the king’s house” is the same
as the Horse Gate. By contrast,
Jer 31:40, which makes explicit mention of the Horse Gate, provides strong
evidence in favor of the alternative view; cf. Simons, Jerusalem, 338–40. It
was therefore probably a gate in the city wall on the east side, in the
vicinity of the temple. This in turn furnishes a satisfactory explanation for
the residence of priests in this area [“each one opposite his own house”].
(Word Biblical Commentary, in location) III. EAST GATE (3:29‑30) A. The East Gate (29) 1. The East
Gate could have been a gate within the city which led into the Temple (29).
Others see it as the predecessor of the Golden Gate. a) The
"East Gate" may have been the predecessor of the present
"Golden Gate" (see Bowman, p. 694; Steckoll, Gates of Jerusalem,
pp. 2933).(Expositor’s Commentary
in loc.) b) The Golden Gate, as it is called in
Christian literature, is the oldest of the current gates in Jerusalem's Old
City Walls. According to Jewish tradition, the Shekhinah (שכינה) (Divine Presence) used to appear through this gate, and will
appear again when the Messiah comes (Ezekiel 44:1–3) and a new gate replaces
the present one; that is why Jews used to pray for mercy at the former gate
at this location.[1] Hence the name Sha'ar Harachamim (שער
הרחמים), the Gate of Mercy. (wikipedia) 2. It was not repaired but used as a landmark by Nehemiah to
identify Zadok and Shecaniah’s house and participation. Shecaniah was the
gatekeeper at the East Gate. B. House
of Meshullam (30) 1. If verse 30 is without scribal errors as some suggest (EXP and
WBC), then Hananiah and Hanun repaired “another” (a second) section. 2. Meshullam’s house is
mentioned as a landmark and the place where he participated IV. INSPECTION
GATE (31‑32) A. Inspection
Gate (31) 1. Malchijah was one of the goldsmiths who helped repair the
wall. The goldsmiths apparently lived on east side of the Temple area. There
were other merchants located there as well (cp. 32). 2. The Inspection Gate was
sometimes called the “Muster Gate” or the “Gate of Gathering.” The Hebrew
word for “inspection” is miphqad, which means to number, to gather, to
appoint, and to register. It appears to be the place where taxes, census, and
military registration took place. B. Upper
Room (32) 1. The upper room was the northeast corner of the city and was
between the Inspection Gate and the Sheep Gate. 2. A final circuit had been
detailed and record by Nehemiah. What an inspiring example of what can be
done when God's people work together under dynamic leadership! 3. We learn more Leadership
principle from Nehemiah in regard to the wall which is: Leadership
oversees people and the work until completion (Ne 3:32; 6:15). V. SYMBOLISM
OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IN THE GATES A. Sheep
Gate: Salvation (“Trust in Christ” ‑ Jn 10:79, 27) B. Fish Gate: Evangelism (“Speak of Christ” ‑ Mt 4:19‑20) C. Old Gate: Victory over the Old Self (“Victory in
Christ” ‑ Ro 6:6; Co 3:9) D. Valley Gate: Perseverance (“Persevere in Christ” ‑ Ro 5:35) E. Refuse Gate: Confession (“Confess to Christ” ‑ 1Jn 1:9) F. Fountain
Gate: Obedience (“Live for Christ”
‑ Pr 14:27) G. Water Gate: Word (“Listen to Christ” ‑ Jn
15:3) H. Horse Gate: Warfare (“Battle for Christ” ‑
Ep 6:12‑18) I. East Gate: 2nd
Coming of Christ (“Look for Christ” ‑ Ti 2:13) J. Inspection Gate: Bema Seat (“Rewards in Christ” ‑
1Co 3:11‑15) |
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