Nehemiah Part 2

Water Gate (vs 26) with the Temple servants living on the hill of Ophel, who repaired the wall as far as a point across from the Water Gate to the east and the projecting tower.
- The next gate we arrive at is the water gate. The water gate is a picture I believe of the word of God and it’s effect in our life.
Eph 5:26 AMP
So that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word,

John 4:14 AMP
But whoever takes a drink of the water that I will give him shall never, no never, be thirsty any more. But the water that I will give him shall become a spring of water welling up (flowing, bubbling) [continually] within him unto (into, for) eternal life.
It is no coincidence that this gate was located next to the fountain gate as the two often go together. The Holy Spirit is the one who makes the word of God alive to us personally, allowing cleansing, encouragement and direction to take place in our life. There is no mention made of the repair of the Water Gate. I think the reason is obvious – water is the picture of God‟s Word. Later on, when Ezra put up a pulpit and read from the Word of God, he put the pulpit at the Water Gate (see Nehemiah 8). This was no accident. The New Testament makes it very clear that water is a picture of God‟s Word.
This teaching is of major importance. I believe there is cleansing power in this Book, the Bible; it has a supernatural power. If you will read it and study it, it will cleanse your life.

Horse Gate (vs 28) Nehemiah 3:28 AMP
Above the Horse Gate the priests repaired, everyone opposite his own house.

- The horse gate speaks to us of warfare as horses were used in battle and became a symbol of war.
Job 39:19-25 (New International Version)"Do you give the horse his strength or clothe his neck with a flowing mane? 20 Do you make him leap like a locust, striking terror with his proud snorting? 21 He paws fiercely, rejoicing in his strength, and charges into the fray. 22 He laughs at fear, afraid of nothing; he does not shy away from the sword. 23 The quiver rattles against his side, along with the flashing spear and lance. 24 In frenzied excitement he eats up the ground; he cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds. 25 At the blast of the trumpet he snorts, 'Aha!' He catches the scent of battle from afar, the shout of commanders and the battle cry.

Revelation 19:11 ‘I saw Heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness does He judge and make war.’

The last three gates are also prophetic I believe of the end times return of Jesus Christ. You will notice that all three gates are very close together and so are the events which they symbolise. Prophetically, the horse gate speaks of the day of the Lord and the end time judgement as recorded in the book of Revelation chapters 6-19.

Spiritual warfare, as we will see in this entire study on Nehemiah, is a requirement of every Christian because we are all in a battle whether we know it or not. King David reviewed his troops at this gate as they prepared to engage the enemy. This gate speaks to us of "soldier service."
It tells us that we must (2 Timothy 2:3). "endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ"
The Christian life is not an easy thing. If you live for God, it will cost you something – I am confident of that. Let‟s not deceive anyone; let‟s not tell them that if they will become Christians it will eliminate all problems and that life will be a bed of roses. Not so, beloved! A good soldier endures hardness.
Paul admonishes us to put on the whole armor of God. The trumpet is sounding, there is an enemy of God to be overcome! There is a battle to be fought! There is a victory to be won!

East Gate (vs 29) – Next Zadok son of Immer also rebuilt the wall across from his own house, and beyond him was Shemaiah son of Shecaniah, the gatekeeper of the East Gate.
The East Gate was the first gate to be opened each morning. The question would be asked, "O watchman, what of the night?" And what a thrill it was when the watchman on the wall would say, "The dawn is coming. I see light on the horizon and the sun will soon be up." The city was safe after the long night of watching, waiting, and wondering if there was danger from an enemy in the darkness. It brought joy to hear the watchman say that the night was almost over, that a rosy stream of light has broken through, routing the black of the night with its eerie company. 9
The creaking of the hinges of the East Gate was the fanfare of a new day as the sun came up over the horizon.
Isaiah 60:1 Arise from the depression and prostration in which circumstances have kept you-rise to a new life! Shine be radiant with the glory of the Lord, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you!

Friends, the East Gate reassures our hearts that one of these days the night of sin will be over. One of these days the Lord Jesus, who is to us the bright and morning star, will appear. That star of living brilliance, which appears before the sun comes up, writes across time‟s span of civilization that He will appear to take those who are His own out of this night of sin. The East Gate is very important. He will then enter Jerusalem by the east gate. The east gate then speaks of the return of Jesus Christ.
Ezekiel 43:4 AMP
And the glory of the Lord entered the temple by the gate facing east.

For our Christian life is shows us of our need to live with this hope and to long for His return. A specific crown is even given to those who do this
(2 Tim 4:8) And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing.

Prophetically this gate is very close to the horse gate because the day of God’s wrath ends with the coming of the Lord Jesus as described in Revelation 19.

Inspection Gate (vs 31) Malkijah, one of the goldsmiths, repaired the wall as far as the housing for the Temple servants and merchants, across from the Inspection Gate. Then he continued as far as the upper room at the corner.
- The final gate is the inspection gate. This gate speaks to us of the seat of Christ where our lives are inspected and rewarded appropriately. In our Christian experience we should be living with this in mind. We are called to live our lives with eternity in view, caring more for the things of eternity than the temporal that we see around us. "Hammiphkad" means review of registry. When strangers came to Jerusalem, they had to have "visas" and were stopped at this gate for the purpose of registry. It was a gate of review, for the army returned through this gate from battle. It was here that David welcomed his soldiers returning from battle. How he loved them, and how they loved him! Most of them would have gladly laid down their lives for him. As they came under the arch, he was there to thank his battle-scarred men for their unselfish loyalty and daring.
We are told that when the Lord calls those of His own out of this world, there is to be a gate of review:
(2 Corinthians 5:10)For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
But Paul tells us that if we would only deal with our sins and judge ourselves down here, then we would not have to have Him deal with them up yonder.
(Romans 14:12). "So, then, every one of us shall give account of himself to God"
In other words, my friend, everything that is in a Christian‟s life is to pass in review – not for salvation, but to determine rewards. I do not think anything will be hidden. I believe that your entire works – all of them – will be there, and a Christian should live in the light of that particular fact. Salvation is not in question. That was settled at the cross. What will be in question is whether the things we have done merit.
(Matthew 25:21)“The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together![. Prophetically this gate also speaks of the judgement of the nations that takes place when Jesus returns. This is recorded in the sheep and the goats judgement in
Mathew 25:31-46 “But when the Son of Man[d] comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. 32 All the nations[e] will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters,[f] you were doing it to me!’
41 “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons.[g] 42 For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. 43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’
44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’
45 “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’
46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”

Completing the Tour
In starting upon our journey around the walls of Jerusalem, we learned that there were just ten gates. But there is still one leg of the journey left. The last verse of Nehemiah 3 holds this before us:
(Nehemiah 3:32)The other goldsmiths and merchants repaired the wall from that corner to the Sheep Gate10
We have been around the walls of Jerusalem and have come once more to the Sheep Gate. We started there and we end there because, my friend, everything in the life of a Christian is done in the light of the cross of Christ. Paul said,
But God forbid that I should glory, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. (Galatians 6:14)
Everything in light of the cross!
Let us stand here before the Sheep Gate as we examine an incident in the ministry of a great Bible teacher named Dr. MacKay. He was preaching in one of the great suburban areas of London. Night after night, the thousands attending were going away richly blessed. But one young man spoke to Dr. MacKay after the service and said very candidly that while he wanted to understand, he plainly could not and therefore could not become a Christian. He asked Dr. MacKay if he would take a few moments and talk with him.
The doctor told him that he had to catch a train back to London, but if he would walk with him they could discuss the barriers and problems in the matter of his salvation; and so they talked it all out. When they had reached the station, Dr. MacKay turned to the young man and said, "Is it all plain to you now?"
The young man shook his head and replied, "I am sorry, but I cannot seem to feel that I understand savingly."
Then that great servant of God asked him to take his Bible and turn to Isaiah 53:6. The young man said, "But I do not have a Bible," and with that the train was coming into the station. Dr. MacKay said, "Well, here, take my Bible and turn to Isaiah 53:6. You read that, and when you read that first „all,‟ you bend down low and go in right there. And then when you get to the last „all,‟ you stand up straight and come out."
Dr. MacKay pushed the Bible into his hand and was gone. The young man was puzzled at the strangeness of the turn his inquiry had taken and went over to the streetlight and hunted the passage. Reading it, "All we like sheep have gone astray," he said, "Well, that fits me; I am a sinner and I have certainly gone astray. I shall certainly have to bend down low in acknowledging that." Then he wondered what were Dr. MacKay‟s next instructions, and they came to him. "He said I must stand up straight when I get to the last „all.‟" So he continued to read, "…and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." He repeated the passage in its entirety:
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way, and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Then in amazement he said, "I see it now. „All we like sheep have gone astray.‟ I am a sinner and I do bend down low. But „the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all,‟ and now I can stand up straight and come out. My sins are forgiven."
The next night Dr. MacKay got to the service a little early and sat on the platform during the song service, watching the aisles for the young man who had his Bible. Finally, the young man entered and the minute he did Dr. MacKay knew something had happened. He went down to meet him and said, "Young man, did you do what I said? Did you read Isaiah 53:6?" And the young man said he had. Then he asked what he had done when he read the first "all," and the 11
young man said that he had bent low. So the doctor asked what he had done when he came to the last "all," and he said, "I stood up straight."
Then Dr. MacKay asked, "What happened?" The young man said, "Well, I know now that Jesus is my Savior."
We begin at the Sheep Gate; we end at the Sheep Gate.


The lives and attitudes of the workers.
There are a few more important points that can come out of a chapter like this, which should be stated. So far we have looked at the gates and their spiritual meaning, but there are other points from the lives of the workers that we can learn from.


Team Effort
Reading through the chapter one of the first things that we see is that the whole process was a team effort. If the walls and gates were going to be rebuilt then everyone would have to play their part. Now this is but a picture of how the church is meant to operate. No, the pastor is not meant to be a one man band that does everything while the others rest and sit in their padded pews. We all have different giftings but it is for the edification of all.
Eph 4:11-13 ‘And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.’

You will notice that the giftings that people have are for the equipping of the saints in their works of service. This is what we learn from Nehemiah. Some may have been gifted in particular areas and they were to work in those areas, but all helped in whatever way they could.



Everyone had something to offer
Nehemiah 3:8 (Whole Chapter)
Next was Uzziel son of Harhaiah, a goldsmith by trade, who also worked on the wall. Beyond him was Hananiah, a manufacturer of perfumes. They left out a section of Jerusalem as they built the Broad Wall
Nehemiah 7:2 (Whole Chapter)
That I gave my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the ruler of the palace, charge over Jerusalem: for he was a faithful man, and feared God above many.

Maybe you are unsure of your gifting and what God is calling you to do with your life. Maybe you don’t think you have anything to offer. If that is you then remember Hananiah! You see, he was a perfumer by trade and yet he was still willing to get in there, get his hands dirty and help do his part by repairing part of the wall. Now if a perfumer can build a wall then you also can help in someway in the building of the church!


Rebuilding often began at home
Vs 10,23,30 ‘Next to them Jedaiah the son of Harumaph made repairs opposite his house… After them Benjamin and Hasshub carried out repairs in front of their house… After him Hananiah the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired another section. After him Meshullam the son of Berechiah carried out repairs in front of his own quarters.’

One of the things which that the chapter reveals is that often the workers began rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem outside their own home first. They did think of others and knew that collectively they would contribute to the wall as a whole; yet individually they still wanted to make sure their own home had a solid wall of protection surrounding it. The principle for us is to make sure we have taken care of our lives at home first before we are used to help others. We have to make sure that we are not different people in and outside of church, nor are we any different when we are at home alone when no-one can see us. One of the things that Jesus hated the most was the play-acting of the Pharisees. They liked to be seen as ‘spiritual’ among the people while in reality they were actually white washed tombs Jesus said. Let us all mimic Nehemiah’s men and make sure that our home life is taken care of first before any ministering or service to others is under taken.



The work was voluntary
Yep! No one got paid or were even coerced into rebuilding the walls. They all volunteered knowing that the glory of God’s name was at stake. And what’s more they didn’t expect to be rewarded for their work! I heard Charles Swindol speak on the radio recently and he mentioned that ‘one of the biggest areas of discouragement comes when Christians think that they get their rewards in this life.’ I would have to agree with that. We should check our motives in the work that we do to ensure we are not doing it to receive temporal rewards here and now. We should all live with eternity in view. This brings me to the last but very encouraging point.

God is a recorder of names
What else can we get when we read a chapter such as this? Well, we can be encouraged that God takes the time to record names. He’s a recorder! The Bible doesn’t just say ‘and lots of people made repairs to the wall.’ No, it specifically names each person that made repairs and that has been recorded for all of eternity! I love the verse in Malachi that says

Mal 3:16,17 ‘Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord gave attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who esteem His name. “And they will be Mine,” says the Lord of hosts, “on the day that I prepare My own possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.”

Our lives and actions are recorded by the Lord for our rewards in the life to come. Nothing is done for the Lord in vain on this earth, even if no one else sees it. So don’t lose heart in your work for the Lord knowing that ‘God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints.’