“Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool…”
~John 5:2~
“Jesus said again, ‘Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.’”
~John 10:7~
Following the death of his nephew, Don Moen wrote the beloved song “God Will Make a Way.” Where there seems to be no way through our darkness and grief, God is the Way Maker. He is the Open Door, the gate for wandering and bereaved sheep, such as us. He helps us find our way through the rubble and rifts in this present life into Life Everlasting. David declares in Psalm 100 that “we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” He makes a way when we “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise!” (Psalm 100:3-4).
In Good Boundaries and Goodbyes, Lysa Terkeurst delves into this way-making God as she extrapolates the purpose that gates and walls served in biblical times, and how that serves as metaphors for us today. Lysa talks about how having appropriate walls are healthy, and only those who walk in emotional responsibility or self-regulation should have access to our inner spaces. Biblical “walls” and “gates” give us wisdom to know who and who not to give access to us, just like a watchman would give access over a city. When we maintain healthy balances in our relationships, we don’t react in extremes or become resistant to loving others well; rather, we are able to metabolize tension and stress in healthy ways, not spilling toxic emotions out toward others.
In biblical times, walls were not built without a gate, nor was there a watchtower in place without a guard. Walls were a symbol of strength for a city. Isaiah 62:6 reads “I have posted watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night.” Can you imagine God posting a watchman over your life to help you feel safe, providing security measures? We have his Holy Spirit who can help guide us as to when and when not to fling open the gates of our emotions.
Appropriate boundaries are necessary, whether thinking about them in terms of us giving emotional access to someone else or us being given safe passage to somewhere else. When God created the “chaos waters” in Genesis 1, he gathered them together, held them back with dry ground, and “God saw that it was good.”
“I made the sand a boundary for the sea,
an everlasting barrier it cannot cross.
The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail;
they may roar, but they cannot cross it.”
~Jeremiah 5:22 NIV~
Another image of restrained chaos was in Exodus 14:22, where “the people went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.” The Red Sea presented a dead-end road to the Israelites, but God as Way Maker led the Israelites through the chaos to safety, because there were appropriate boundaries established with the “walls on their right hand and on their left.”
There were ten gates that we read about in Nehemiah 3 that we can use as metaphors in our spiritual walk, beginning with trying to get “we as sheep that have gone astray” (Isaiah 53:6) through the Sheep Gate—we are the sheep of his pasture; Fish Gate—we are to be fishers of men; Jeshanah (ancient) Gate—we are to reflect the wisdom and creativity of the Ancient of Days; Valley Gate—the stones we use to rebuild with often begin in the valley; Dung Gate—symbolic of removing spiritual filth; Fountain Gate—representative of Holy Spirit; Water Gate—for bathing ourselves in the Word of God; Horse Gate—we are to arm ourselves for spiritual battle; East Gate—as we expect the sun to rise in the east, so we fix our hope on the Son of God:
“While I watched, the cherubim spread their wings …
They stopped at the entrance of the east gate of the Lord’s house,
and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.”
~Ezekiel 10:18-19~
“The man brought me to the gate facing east,
and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east …
The glory of the Lord entered the temple through the gate facing east.”
~Ezekiel 43:1, 4~
Finally, the Inspection Gate—we will give an account of our lives. But we are princes and he is the Gate!
“The prince himself is the only one
who may sit inside the gateway to eat in the presence of the Lord.
He is to enter by the way of the portico of the gateway
and go out the same way.”
~Ezekiel 44:3~
He makes a way for us to his inner sanctuary, a way to his heart through the rubble of our lives. It is hard work, but like the people in Nehemiah 3:6 faced, “We’ve kept at it, repairing and rebuilding the wall … because the people had a heart for the work.” And then there are seasons when we can empathize with the builders in Nehemiah 4: “The builders are pooped, the rubbish piles up; We’re in over our heads, we can’t build this wall. And all this time our enemies were saying, ‘they won’t know what hit them. Before they know it, we’ll be at their throats, killing them left and right. That will put a stop to the work!’” (The Message).
But we are reminded, “Don’t be afraid of them… put your minds on the Master, great and awesome, and then fight for your [families] and your homes” (Nehemiah 4:14).
I love Nehemiah’s replies to the bullies in Nehemiah 6:8. I need to remember that when I start playing a negative or illogical tape in the echo chamber of my thoughts. I speak to my soul: Deborah, Nothing like what you are thinking is happening. You are just making it up out of your head. Remember Nehemiah 4:14 and focus on your conversation with the Lord. Resist the urge to hit the replay button of painful conversations, circling back to them with dizzying frenzy. Instead, release grudges toward others who have contributed to the wounds, unhealed places, and broken-down gates, so that you can be free to dance with praise and joy because of your salvation! He has made a way! He is the Way.
“Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.”
~Isaiah 58:12~
“No longer will violence be heard in your land,
nor ruin or destruction within your borders,
but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise.”
~Isaiah 60:18~
