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The Gatekeepers by Andy Collar

June 1, 2023

The Gatekeepers by Andy Collar

6/02/2023

Before we pray each Tuesday morning during our Global Prayer Call, we ask someone to give a “Nugget” about Prayer out of God’s Word or out of their own experience.  Andy Collar, our champion in Maine, gave a powerful nugget this week, and we wanted to share his notes with you.

“The Levites, thirty years old and upward, were numbered, and the total was 38,000 men. Twenty-four thousand of these,” David said, “shall have charge of the work in the house of the Lord, 6,000 shall be officers and judges, 4,000 gatekeepers, and 4,000 shall offer praises to the Lord with the instruments that I have made for praise.” 1 Chronicles 23:3-5 ESV

 

God called for 4000 gatekeepers out of 38,0000 chosen to build the temple. This caught my attention to why there so many and what was their purpose?

The first thing I discovered was not just anyone could be a gatekeeper – they came from the Levitical line and were highly trusted. Once such gatekeeper was – Obed-Edom, the fellow David left the ark of the covenant with - at his house - (2 Sam 6:10) when David decided not to bring the ark into the city of David after the event when the ark fell off the cart.

This gatekeeper thing must be pretty important.

But first I needed to define– what is a gate?

A gate is an opening.  Its a place of entry or exit. A gate is a border, pathway, a boundary. Its a transit place.

A gate can confine or shut up things from coming in or going out. A gate is a control point.

It’s a symbol of power and authority.

But it is not just an opening, but a legal access point.

Access into a city, church, family, nation or life is granted or denied at the gate.

 A gate is a meeting place. Gates were places of battle.  Judges 5:8. Victory or failure is decided at the gates.

Gates were places of authority and decision making. Ruth 4:11.

Prophets declared God’s Word at the gates. Jeremiah 17:19-20.

Elders sit at the Gates. Proverbs 31:23.

So with all this importance around a gate – there needs to be a gatekeeper who monitors the gate, deciding who gets in, who has access to what or whom. Gatekeepers observe what is happening and lean forward to take prompt action when there's danger. A Gatekeeper is a protector and a defender.

In the Old Testament David and Samuel appointed 212 gatekeepers for “positions of trust” in guarding the temple of the Lord and were entrusted with the responsibilities for the rooms and treasuries in the house of God.

They would spend the night stationed around the house of God, because they had to guard it, and they had charge of the key for opening it each morning. Some of them oversaw the articles used in the temple service; they counted them when they were brought in and when they were taken out. Others were assigned to take care of the furnishings and all the other articles of the sanctuary, as well as the special flour and wine, and the olive oil, incense, and spices. Temple gatekeepers were in charge of who went in and who went out. They were responsible for preventing unclean things or actions from entering its gates. They ensured order and reverence for God’s house.

 

So how does all of this gatekeeping apply to us today ?

As children of God, our body is a living temple ….

In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (ESV), Paul writes “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”

So like in the Old Testament our temple has gates as well – our emotions, our mind, our eyes, our ears and our mouth are all access points that need a gatekeeper.

The Eye Gate - Luke 11:34 “Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness. See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness.”

The Ear Gate - Rom 10:17 “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

The Mouth Gate - Matt 15:17 “But the things that come out of a person's mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.”

The Mind Gate - Colossians 3:2 “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”

The Emotion Gate – Eph 4:26 “But don’t let the passion of your emotions lead you to sin! Don’t let anger control you or be fuel for revenge, not for even a day. Don’t give the slanderous accuser, the Devil, an opportunity to manipulate you!” 

The enemy is all about and we need gatekeepers in our lives today to help protect us.

Fortunately, God saw fit to equip us with HIS protection.

Through HIS Holy Word and by abiding in Him, our conscience is set to watch over what comes in and out of our gates. Yes,  WE are gatekeepers of our temple.

Fortunately, we are not alone in this duty – or we would certainly be overrun.

HE has also given us the “Fear of the Lord” to keep us vigilant and alert.

And most importantly – he has left us a Helper –  the Holy Spirit, AKA - THE commander of the guard who guides us in all things The Holy Spirit reveals God’s thoughts, teaches, and guides us into all truth. helps us in our weakness and intercedes for us.

HE is a supernatural gatekeeper and NOTHING gets past HIM, a gatekeeper who searches all things, even the deep things of God. 1 Cor 2:10

Talk about high level security!

So, in conclusion – we hear a lot about gatekeepers in the Old Testament because Jesus wanted us to know how important and necessary they are for our life today.

So I have to ask, as a gatekeeper, are you staying alert? How secure is your temple? Have you been letting your guard down and allowing things through your gates that are better left outside or kept within?

Just checking.