"The gatekeepers and their descendants, by their divisions, were responsible for guarding the entrance to the house of the LORD when that house was a tent."
1 Chronicles 9:22
1 Chronicles 9:22
The repetition of the word gatekeeper caught my eye. When a word is repeated it must have significant meaning. I mentioned in an earlier post how the Holy Spirit, our Blessed Reminder, keeps bringing to my mind 1 Corinthians 6:19, and today's reading screamed at me. The question I pondered was: What about the gatekeeper to my temple?
The gatekeeper was important job. The gate he kept was none other than the private gate used by the king. It is interesting the gatekeepers were placed on duty even though at this time, their was no king on the throne. Hmmm? Matthew Henry's commentary of this portion of scripture was fascinating. He outline the complete job description of the gatekeeper. The gatekeeper was responsible for:
- Opening the doors in the mornings and closing them at night.
- Keeping off the unclean and the things that were forbidden by the law.
- Directing and introducing those that came to worship.
My question was answered after I read the complete job description of the gatekeeper. What about the gatekeeper to my temple? I am the gatekeeper to my temple. Oh, this gives me holy goose bumps and makes my heart race. My job is to guard the exclusive gate of the King. It is my responsibility to:
- Open and close the doors in the morning and night. Joshua 1:8
(I am not suggesting we can't hear the Lord at night-this is figurative.) - Keep off the unclean and things forbidden by the law.
- Direct and introduce worship in the temple.
This is a cool new title, isn't? We are the gatekeeper for The King. Unlike the Israelites we have King who is sitting on the throne. He is waiting for the door of our heart to be opened. His desire is for us to reject the unclean and unlawful. He longs for His temple to inhabit worship.
Lord Jesus, may we fulfill our role with excellence.
Oh Lord, hear.
Oh Lord, forgive.
Oh Lord, listen and act.
Oh Lord, helps us hear you.
Oh Lord, helps us forgive and accept forgiveness.
Oh Lord, help us to listen and act on what we hear from you.
7 Comments:
Oh Wendy, I just so appreciate this insight. I'm so glad the Lord opened your eyes to see this. The application is powerful. I am a gatekeeper for my King. WOW!!!
The verse I wrote about today was, “The other priests, Levites, and the rest of the Israelites lived wherever their family inheritance was located in any of the towns of Judah.” Nehemiah 11:20
Inheritance. You know what I find incredible? Yesterday not only did I watch a video clip of a Beth Moore study with this title, but my Pastor spoke on a passage from Joshua which also spoke of inheritance.
The Israelites were living in their inheritance. It’s a place of promised, secure rest and blessing. It’s not just yet to be in the future, it’s now. It’s not only a place, it’s a Person.
As Christ-followers, think for just a moment of all that is ours in Christ. Jesus death has already made the way for us to claim our inheritance. Have we laid hold of what is ours in Christ? Are we living as ones who have limitless supply available to us? Are we embracing the fullness of Christ in our life?
Father, today, I want all of my inheritance. I want to go forward, with courage, and take hold of all You have planned for me.
Jesus, I want all of You,
Joy
Wendy, love your thoughts this morning! To seriously think about being the gatekeeper to the temple God has placed in each one of us! We are not our own! He has so freely given us this gift to guard. When they described the gatekeeper in chapter 9 (1 Chron.)they spoke of the following characteristics of the gatekeeper: reliable, responsible, trusted & appointed. We've been appointed by the Most High! This makes my heart race too!
Oh Dear Lord, I am humbled that you've handpicked me to be the gatekeeper to your temple. Let me not ever look on this position lightly. How I desire to guard anything unclean from entering my temple. Oh, I so want to be on the lookout for any thoughts or actions that may be impure, or not pleasing to You. I want to monitor my actions that those around me see. I want to protect my temple from anything that is forbidden by your Law. Thank you for appointing me to this position. I pray that i will be obedient and that I will honor You with my body. Amen.
Ladies...enjoy studying God's Word today, and pondering over His goodness as you go throughout your day! love, hugs, & prayers~Lori AZ
PS Praying, Wendy that your sweet Mama, Faye, gets to come home tomorrow!
To be honest, I thought there was very little for me to gain from this morning's reading. I was certainly wrong and I am really thankful for your insights. I am the gatekeeper for my King, the gatekeeper to the temple. That's huge!
This job is important. The things that are seeking to corrupt the temple, steal my joy, kill the Spirit, and destroy my life are real. (John 10:10) Yet living in the fullness of my inheritance, I can go forward victoriously.
I almost missed this important message. Thanks, girls!!!!
nancy
Goodmorning all,
What a lesson this morning!!!
I couldn't help but to notice the qualities that the gatekeepers possessed...they were trustworthy and prominent and also responsible for the treasuries at the house of God (the accountant in me spotted that one). I interpret this to mean that God entrusts us with the finances he provides to us, to do his perfect will......if are squanderers, he will hold back, but if he sees that we are trustworthy and doing what are to do(pay our tithes, give to the poor, etc.) then he will entrusts us with more!!
Oh how I long to do HIS perfect will...here I am Lord, send me.
BE blessed all!
Chanan, Bahamas.
Good Morning ladies.
I am so glad that I can come to this site every day.
Wendy, I really appreciate the research you do for us. I hadn't realized that the gatekeepers were so important.
I would agree with Nancy, I didn't think there was much in today's reading that I could really grab on to, but you have helped me see these passages in a differnet light.
Lori thank you for that prayer. I want to remember that I was handpicked by God to be the gatekeeper of this temple and that I need to be on the look out for anything unclean, by word or deed, trying to enter this temple.
Have a great day ladies. :)
Patty
Amazing timing for "The Gatekeeper" insight Wendy,and your posts Joy, Lori,Nancy, and Channan. Believe me I was trying to look hard for insights in this mornings readings. I highlighted each family's purpose/job that had been carried through generations. But I didn't dig further into them to shed light on an insight.
So thank-you Wendy for being a mentor and a guide for us by reminding us that we can dig even deeper by looking up Commentaries, Dictionaries, and Historical sights to find more information about what we are reading! So Thankful for your example.
I just got together this morning with a sister in Christ who was struggling with a relationship and was feeling like she "had a devil on her back". She used to "hear" God say about this person she struggles with, "Just love her".
The more she has made the decision to love the more this person has pushed her away (not able to accept it). Things have gotten worse and my friend says she is disturbed that she can no longer hear God's voice saying, "Just love her" In fact she has found herself thinking negative thoughts like wishing this person to go away! The negative thoughts are louder than God and she is feeling so guilty. There has been so much miscommunication and actions and words have been taken wrong.
I have struggled with the same thing and as I shared with you a couple of posts ago...I have heard "Rise above" and keep focused on the God and the Kingdom.
I loved hearing that we are the "gatekeeper" and sounds like we have a choice of who and what to keep out to protect the temple...the "word of God" that lives in our minds and hearts.
I will most certainly share this with my friend. God's timing is perfect once again!
Have a great rest of the day and evening.
Praying that your mom gets stronger and stronger each and every day with the anticipation of her coming home.
Love, from Debbie in Illinois.
I'm posting this really late, as I cannot sleep...so glad I came on here! How encouraging. I too found today's (Monday) reading a bit dry. I had nothing to share. Then Wendy leads us into the discussion of the role of Gatekeeper. Amazing! Another reason why reading the Bible together has made it so much richer for me. Thanks ladies.
Morgen - MN
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