Introduction the spirit of god describes the days of recovery in the book of nehemiah for our exhortation and encouragement. The building of the wall and gates begins from the sheep gate in nehemiah 3, because everything begins from the offering of the lamb jesus christ. Nehemiah named twelve gates to the city of jerusalem. The gates of jerusalem the gates of spiritual progression. Nehemiah meets the task in chapter three of the book of nehemiah, nehemiah and his helpers have undertaken to.
Live it well is a call to stewardship born from being a follower of jesus. Nehemiahs primary purpose was to document for posterity and the official records the names and accomplishments of the people who worked on the wall. Nehemiah chapter 3 outlines the rebuilding of the gates and walls of jerusalem in the days of ezra. The book of nehemiah was likely written between 445 and 420 b. Then eliashib the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests, and they built the sheep gate. It was through the valley gate that nehemiah left the city to inspect the wall that had been broken down and the gates which had been burned by fire nehemiah 2. Guard gate prison gate kings gate this gate is called by many names. This leads us to a life of meaning and purpose as we experience god in the work he is doing. He was governor of persian judea under artaxerxes i of persia 465424 bc. Nehemiah 19 new international version niv nehemiah s prayer. In the book of nehemiah chapter 3 we can find this kind of exemplary. The book of nehemiah opens with the account of nehemiah receiving a report about jerusalems distress.
In the bible is also exemplary teaching, in which some issues of the old covenant have spiritual meanings in the new covenant. Instead of shrugging it off, nehemiah weeps for his people and cries out to god for mercy. Then eliashib the high priest arose with his brothers the priests and built the sheep gate. They walked across the walls in opposite directions to different places. Only four of the courses returned from the captivity nehemiah 7. Nehemiah served in secular offices, using his position to bring back to the jews order, stability, and proper focus on god.
The wall of jerusalem according to the book of nehemiah jstor. They spake unto ezra the scribe this ezra, without all doubt, is the same person who came from babylon in the seventh year of artaxerxes. Nehemiah also recorded the names of the men of jerusalem who guarded the gates. This book is important for the interpretation of the prophecies of daniel.
Now ultimately these gates are what you would see in the book of revelation, the twelve gates. The twelve gates of jerusalem nehemiah chapter 3 nehemiah was facing a challenge rebuilding the walls of jerusalem, the walls represent protection, security, something that jerusalem no longer have much time, and it required a lot of work and effort of an. The horse was one of the principle means of transportation a. I was researching this to for awana and i found out in my history book mystory of history that nehemiah rebuilt his wall in 454 b. Nehemiah described a number of geographical locations. What do the 10 gates stand for in chapter 3 of the book of. Spiritual meaning of sheep gate is death and offering the lamb the lord.
When the wall was rebuilt, it probably encompassed the same area as before, except it may have excluded the kings gardens in the southeast. Nehemiah is the central figure of the book of nehemiah, which describes his work in rebuilding. Nehemiah s prayer for remnant at jerusalem, chapter 1. The gates of jerusalem have a story to tell prophecy in the news. I will discuss the horse gate, the east gate, and the inspection gate in part 4.
Spiritual gates the hidden meaning of the 12 gates of jerusalem 1. And he goes to the king after weeping over the city, and asks the king for a mandate to rebuild whats been left in ruins. They discuss how nehemiah s rebuilding of the gates of ancient jerusalem was also a symbolic description of the stages in the lives of christians. Ten gates are mentioned in chapter 3, and their names are significant. The gates of jerusalem have a very clear spiritual meaning. Jerusalems gates spiritual meaning in the bible is also exemplary teaching, in which some issues of the old covenant have spiritual meanings in the new covenant.
Only the gates of jerusalem in the book of nehemiah are prophetic of the zrebuilding i. The sheep gate is the first gate mentioned in nehemiah. Book of ezra and nehemiah covers the events of the jews returning from the babylonian captivity. He listed 10 gates that were repaired along with towers and important structures. Nehemiah, ezra and the levites institute the feast of. The book of nehemiah, one of the history books of the bible, continues. Nehemiah was one of the most underrated heroes in the bible, cupbearer to the powerful persian king artaxerxes i longimanus. Book of nehemiah definition of book of nehemiah by the. Each is a symbol representing an aspect of our christian walk. At different times in history there were different numbers of gates, but theyve all basically been the same. Biblicalhebrew names have always fascinated me and, in scripture, they always have prophetic significance.
The book of nehemiah has been chosen because the recurrence of the gates and towers names, on the one hand. Old gate aka gate of yeshanahjeshanah, which means of the old or possibly the gate of the new quarter. Nehemiah 19 niv nehemiahs prayer the words of bible. The old gate is one of the many gates of the wall of jerusalem, located on the northern side. What i mean by that is he likes to hide important truths in places that you wouldnt initially expect to find them. When nehemiah arrived, he made a detailed inspection of the walls and gates nehemiah 2. Jerusalems gates spiritual meaning the western wall bible. Mar 22, 2008 ten gates are mentioned in chapter 3, and their names are significant. There were 42 groups of people working on specific areas of the wall. Let us briefly consider some practical applications of the gates i n nehemiah.
The power in the watergate sermon by philip harrelson. Pdf jerusalems gates and towers in the book of nehemiah. Jan 02, 2020 when nehemiah arrived, he made a detailed inspection of the walls and gates nehemiah 2. He enumerated ten of them counterclockwise in chapter 3 beginning with the sheep gate 3. Nehemiah is the perfect book for us to walk through as we begin live it well. These last three gates are prophetic, and symbolize the second coming of jesus christ, and the end of the present age. The book of nehemiah does not specifically name its author, but both jewish and christian traditions recognize ezra as the author. They celebrated the feast for seven days, and on the eighth day, in accordance with the regulation, there was an assembly. The news tears nehemiahs heart apart, so he begins fasting and praying to god. The walls of jerusalem are broken down and its gates burned. In an individuals life the rebuilding of the walls is a picture of reestablishing the strength of that life.
The book of nehemiah shows us the kind of significant impact one individual can have on a nation. If ezra was the writer, he was copying from the journal of nehemiah. These gates reflect the restoration of kingdom principles in the lives of gods people d. Dec 18, 2012 in nehemiah chapter 3, we find examples of this. Hes just received news from a friend that the survivors of the babylonian captivity are in great distress and reproach. Its focus is on the names of those who set the gates and rebuilt the walls surrounding each gate. God uses all manner of people in all manner of places doing all manner of work. Nehemiah comes and he sees the devastation, a terrible devastation.
Those who built of the walls and gates of jerusalem in nehemiah s day ranged from priests, goldsmiths, perfume makers and women. As to the former the terms used have a deep pathos. Bible study book of nehemiah chapter 2 rock, reproach. Day after day, from the first day to the last, ezra read from the book of the law of god. The jews are counted and are permitted to return to judah to rebuild the temple. Ten gates to spiritual growth nehemiah 3b faithlife sermons. In the book of nehemiah chapter 3, has 10 gates mentioned. The book of nehemiah records the rebuilding of the city around 445 b. Nehemiah would have been able to read the writings of zechariah and haggai the prophets in jerusalem. Book of nehemiah definition of book of nehemiah by the free.
However, since we know that he is alpha and omega, aleph and tau. Today, the lions gate sometimes misnamed the sheep gate stands where the inspection gate was located. The gate which led to the tribe of ephraim, where that tribe formerly dwelt see neh. Even nehemiah couldnt get the nobles of tekoa to join the project 3. The book of nehemiah is the last of the historical books of the bible, originally part of the book of ezra, but split off into its own volume by the church in 1448. In nehemiah chapter 3, we find that the gate, situated between the water gate verse 26 and the east gate verse 29, is the horse gate. One wise way that nehemiah motivated the people was to assign many of them to work on the portion of the wall that they had particular interest in. Book of nehemiah an old testament book telling how a jewish official at the court of artaxerxes i in 444 bc became a leader in rebuilding. They also guarded the temple and the rooms for the tithes and temple equipment 1 chronicles 9. But theres a spiritual meaning to whats been left in ruins when he rebuilds the gates. Nehemiah appoints officials and sets guards on the wall and gates. The first point is to understand the meaning of jerusalem. The next two months will determine the direction of our church. So they read in the book of the law to wit, ezra and his companions, successively.
They consecrated it as far as the tower of the hundred, as far as the tower of. And gave the sense the meaning of the hebrew words, which they expounded in the common language and caused them to understand the reading or that which they read, namely, the holy scriptures. Reading them, he would know the plans god had for this city, nehemiah had gods vision on his heart when he was moved to rebuild the walls and gates of jerusalem. The meaning the fountain gate is located at the southern end of the old wall. Near 520 bc after the takeover by nebuchadnezzar, ultimately king cyrus of persia arose to power, and he decided to aid the jews to return to jerusalem. The symbolism of nehemiahs gates of jerusalem part 3. The last line of the book of nehemiah is what we all hope for. The book of nehemiah has been, since the 16th century, a separate book of the hebrew bible. For believers, it could represent the judgment seat of christ a time when we will be called upon to give an account of our lives.
Nehemiah 19 new international version niv nehemiahs prayer. Jerusalems gates in the book of nehemiah have very clear spiritual meaning, which. Chapter 3 notes those involved in the rebuilding the gates and walls, it also notes those who thought it was beneath them to rebuild. Nehemiah rebuilt the walls and gates of jerusalem in 52 days 6.
And so we come to the gates and walls of jerusalem and listen to their paean of praise, lift up your heads, o ye gates. What wasis the importance of the gates of jerusalem. This book, as was true in the book of ezra, has copies of letters, decrees, registers and other documents. Nehemiah is the central figure of the book of nehemiah, which describes his work in rebuilding jerusalem during the second temple period. Having made the case that this gate, by the gihon spring, is probably the water gate, we must now return to the gate discovered by eilat and benjamin mazar, and find its correct name. The book of nehemiah is designed to teach us that only with gods help can we actually change ourselves and recover from the damage and ruin of the past. The book of nehemiah is important context of the prophecies. Book of nehemiah overview insight for living ministries. This book also describes an important part of israels history. This involved precise genealogical records kept in the administrative archives of judah. It had been years since the people of god heard the living word, and. Finally it was opened then sealed again by suleiman the magnificent, in 1541 and has remained. It was repaired by the jebusites during the wall rebuilding in the book of nehemiah. Some propose that the decree of the king, which is recorded in nehemiah, is the word of daniel 9.
Into the street that was before the water gate probably, in that space which was afterward called the court of the gentiles. If you want to catch up, the first blog in this series was the symbolism of nehemiah s gates of jerusalem part 1, and the second was the symbolism of nehemiah s gates of jerusalem part 2. Literally were written in the book of the chronicles. What are the names of the gates that nehemiah rebuild. This is based on the fact that the books of ezra and nehemiah were originally one. Let us briefly consider some practical applications of the gates i n nehemiah 3. We find nehemiahs prayer right away in chapter one. Nehemiah meets the task in chapter three of the book of nehemiah, nehemiah and. Hanun and the people living in zanoach repaired the valley gate and they rebuilt 1,500 feet of the wall, as far as the dung gate nehemiah. They consecrated it as far as the tower of the hundred, as far as the tower of hananel. Sep 28, 2014 the fountain gate message 8 the spiritual application of the gates.
It was a gate of registry, the principle of judgment in the gate throne. This account is contained in the book of nehemiah, a book which. The gates and walls of nehemiah tentstake ministries. The fountain gate sermon by monte brown, nehemiah 3. It is thought he had been at babylon since his first coming into judah, and was now returned. Upon entering in through each gate, each one will have a testimony regarding that gate or dealing.
On the other hand, this book is considered by some as that of construction. Before that date, it had been included in the book of ezra. Only two gates persist with the same name to the present day. It is not far from the spring of siloah siloam, the kings pool, and the kings garden. The sheep gate represents christs sacrifice as the lamb of god. From the fish gate we then continue down the wall, building and repairing until we come to the old gate. Nehemiahs question and his friends answer refer first to the people and then to the city. A visual tour through the gates of jerusalem studying the meaning of the names of the gates and the people who built them pastor melissa. Book of nehemiah synonyms, book of nehemiah pronunciation, book of nehemiah translation, english dictionary definition of book of nehemiah. Those who had returned to their countrynow only the province are, in the question, the jews that had escaped. Jerusalems gates in the book of nehemiah have very clear spiritual meaning, which we examine in this teaching. All that we know about him from contemporary sources is found in this book.
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