Time to Rebuild (Sheep Gate)
Time to embrace the impossible!
Nehemiah faced an impossible task
He also faced adversity
I am afraid we are so fearful of losing our rights as Americans that we are forfeiting our right to be light in the darkness. —Todd Blansit
We are not going to wake up one day and all of this stuff is going to be done.
You know the setting of Nehemiah the nation was destroyed by Babylon (modern-day Iraq) in 586 B.C. The Persians (modern-day Iran) have overthrown the Babylonians and allowed the Jews to return and rebuild their city. Nehemiah, the king’s chief counselor and most important advisor, has been called by God and permitted by the king to lead the rebuilding effort. He has surveyed the damage and assessed the issues. He has called and motivated the people to join him in this work. Without their walls, they cannot have a city or nation. With their walls, their future is secure. Now the work begins.
Nehemiah 3
1 Eliashib the high priest and his fellow priests went to work and rebuilt the Sheep Gate. They dedicated it and set its doors in place, building as far as the Tower of the Hundred, which they dedicated, and as far as the Tower of Hananel.
2 The men of Jericho built the adjoining section, and Zakkur son of Imri built next to them.
“Eliashib” was the grandson of the high priest when Zerubbabel began rebuilding the city 60 years earlier. As High Priest, he was the spiritual leader of the nation. He was the only man permitted into the Holy of Holies, and that only on the Day of Atonement.
The Sheep Gate was the first gate to be restored, and it was rebuilt by the High Priest and his fellow priests. This was the only gate that was consecrated (set apart as holy), as it was used for bringing in sacrifices for the temple.
It was called the Sheep Gate because it was the entrance for sheep entering into the Temple compound from the sheep markets (where lambs were sold for sacrifice in the Temple) and the sheep pool (later known as Pool of Bethesda), where sheep were washed for sacrificing.
Thousands of years later, when Jesus was on earth, He always entered Jerusalem via the Sheep Gate (except for the Triumphal Entry). The Sheep Gate also led to Golgotha, the path Jesus took to the crucifixion.
John 1
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
John 10
7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. a They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
It is important to remember that Jesus first identifies himself, not as the Good Shepherd, but as the gate for the sheep.
Once inside the city and within the temple courts, there was only one door where the sheep went in, and everyone knew that no lamb ever came back out after entering the temple. They traveled in only one direction, and there they were sacrificed for the sins of pilgrims longing to connect with God.
We need to make our lives a one way journey to Jesus.
Matthew 7
13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Nehemiah could have begun his record with any of the gates, but he chose to start and end the report with the Sheep Gate. Jesus is the beginning and the ending.
Revelation 1
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Throughout this chapter, a variety of more than 40 different sections of construction are mentioned, including 10 of the city’s gates. There is a lot of work being done to restore Jerusalem’s security system; work that would not be done without a clear, well defined, vision coming from a wise, organized, leader.
The Sheep Gate was the gate the sheep were lead through as they came to the temple to be slaughtered for the sins of the people. In essence, their first project was to bring proper worship back to Jerusalem. We are no longer called to offer up animals as sacrifices for worship, but we are called to offer our lives instead (Romans 12:1).
*Just as the Israelites knew there were walls that needed to be repaired for proper worship, there are walls in our lives that have been destroyed by sin that need to repaired *
before we can offer our lives completely for worship. These walls must first be rebuilt before our lives can be offered as a proper sacrifice to the Lord.
Matthew 6
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Before we can pursue righteousness, we need to define it. The word most often translated “righteousness” can also mean “justice, justness, or divine holiness.” In the broadest sense, righteousness can be defined as “the condition of being acceptable to God as made possible by God.” God’s standard is what defines true righteousness; His power is what enables it. Unless God is its author, we will never possess righteousness. No amount of man-made effort will result in righteousness. To be righteous is to be right with God. A heart that is right with God results in a life that bears “fruit”
John 15
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes a so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
Proverbs 15
9 The Lord detests the way of the wicked,
but he loves those who pursue righteousness.
Pursuing righteousness means we become a “work in progress.” It is something we improve upon over time through our obedience to Him, and it slowly reveals itself as evidence of our faith. We work at it every day with the goal of seeing its true perfection one beautiful day when we see Jesus in person.