The third gate in our trip around the walls of ancient Jerusalem is the Old Gate (Neh. 3:6-12). This name conjures up several lines of thought: the Old Covenant, to which the New is firmly attached, or the old folk (aged), not to be discarded in the service of the church. Neither of these will be pursued here. Instead, we shall continue a reflection on some lessons on the Christian life, and a view of the Lord (not the only one) that may come from this portion of the Scrip­tures.

Most English Bible translations use the name Old Gate, but in the NIV it is called the Jeshanah Gate, with “Old Gate” as a foot­note. (The NIV uses the word untranslated, because of a difficulty in the grammar of the Hebrew.)

The New Bible Commentary suggests (but does not assert) that this gate could possibly be the one called elsewhere in the Bible the ‘Corner Gate,’ which is not included in Nehemiah’s account in Chapter 3, although it is placed on some wall outline maps. This reminds us that although the story of the walls, gates and towers is factual, not an allegory, there cannot be a cast-iron placing of their position. Ascertaining exact sites is a task of archaeology, and as long as the present city of Jerusalem is inhabited, preventing the possibility of exhaustive ex­cavation, even archaeologists are unable to determine precisely the site of the gates, or trace an exact outline of the walls. Some com­mentaries produce a third, slightly different again. It is impossible to say that any one of these is absolutely accurate.

The Repairs⤒🔗

Repairs to the third gate are recorded as the beams being laid, the doors set in place, and bolts and bars attached. This is similar to the repairs of many of the other gates. Young’s Literal Translation uses the word ‘strengthened’ rather than ‘repaired,’ and according to my reading elsewhere, the idea of making strong and firm is present in the Hebrew word. The destructive fire of the city, no matter how extensive, had evidently left some kind of remnant of the walls and gates that could be put to use, even if it were just a portion of the gateway itself.

Nowhere in my reading have I found any proposed use for the Old Gate. Probably it did not have a specific use, as the Sheep and Fish Gates evidently did, but was in a convenient place for all, as an entrance to and exit from the city.

The Builders←⤒🔗

Jehoiada, son of Paseah, and Meshullam, son of Besodiah, were responsible for the gate repair. The name Meshullam occurs at least 21 times (some a repetition of the same man) in the Bible, including the mention in Neh. 3: 4, of the one involved in the wall near the Fish Gate. These two Meshullams were differentiated by their father’s names, an important distinction for the second one; as the other, sadly, is later recorded as hav­ing a daughter who married into the enemy camp (Neh. 3:4, 30 and 6:1, 18). The first readers knew these various men, but most were soon lost to sight from human memory. To us they are merely names. After all, one might think, they were only building a gate in a wall. Individual names were not that im­portant. But God sees it differently. No one is lost from or overlooked in God’s sight. He notices all faithful work done by his servants. Here their names are recorded in the Word of God; He eternally remembers them. He has a scroll (book, A.V.) of remembrance of all who fear Him (Malachi 3:16).

The Wall←⤒🔗

Many were involved in this part of the wall. Space precludes a close look at these, but your own reading and contemplation will be fruitful. The goldsmith and the apothecary (perfume maker), usually associated with Temple worship, probably would not have known such hard physical labour, but they played their part faithfully. Rulers’ sons were not too proud or too lazy. One was helped by his daughters, too (verse 12). The women have their place. These particular daughters were doing what was normally a man’s work.

Some maintained the work at home (v.10): Jedaiah made repairs opposite his home. Others left their homes to come (men of Gibeon and of Mizpah). Each had his own section, each filled a space. Most of us build in our own regions, under our local au­thorities, by surrender and obedience of the Christian to his Lord. Others may be called to go to far away places. God holds the plan for each of us. So this section of the wall was built by many, from all walks of life, from high and low, both men and women.

Now, let us return to the Old Gate.

A Name of Significance←⤒🔗

No one can insist on a unique special mean­ing for this gate. One can only meditate on various ideas from the designation ‘Old’ Gate. My reflection connects to our two previous gates, for the Old Gate brings to mind the old being renewed spiritually by the Lord. This thought may be developed from 2 Cor. 5: 17:

If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come.

Verse 18 continues,

All this is from God, who reconciled Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconcili­ation: that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them.

How significant this is! The Old Gate is made new, repaired, strength­ened. Strengthened to fulfill the purpose of the Fish Gate, and possible only because of the Sheep Gate. Ephesians puts it another way (4: 22): “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self which is being corrupted by its deceit­ful desires, to be made new in the attitude of your minds, and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

How wonderfully it all fits together. Until we are made new in Christ, it is impossible to serve God. We cannot fish for Him until we are renewed, strengthened, made firm. We are privileged to do His work, but only through the Lord Jesus. The life of the new man in Christ is the one we must live. His servants must display the characteristics of the “new man” before we can serve effec­tively. Ezekiel 18:31 instructs God’s people to “Rid yourselves of all the offences you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit.” Ephesians 4:23–5:20 continues by enumerating the things to be put off, sins of the flesh, and things the new person must put on, the fruits of the Spirit.

But the Old Gate also reminds us that the old still exists in us all. The old gate, dam­aged and broken, was not discarded when Nehemiah’s men came to rebuild. It was repaired, strengthened and still put to use. So we are left in our “bodies of death;” we are not suddenly transformed the moment we become Christians. Paul knew this better than any of us. The resulting struggle, if it were not for the Lord, would have left him in complete despair. “What a wretched man I am,” he wrote. “Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

While we live, there will always be this tension between the old and the new. As long as we have breath, or until the Lord’s return, we are still in our old bodies, subject to the destruction engendered by the fall. We are made new spiritually, but are still part of the old creation. God has not removed us from His world. This is the sphere in which we must serve until the day we die.

Do we despair at the power of the old in our lives? Only the grace of Christ can rid us of our pride and arrogance, our deceitfulness and ‘cover-ups,’ our anger and resentment, our temper and our evil actions. Usually this is a gradual process throughout our lives, the spiritual work of sanctification, for which all the praise be His. In every life, it is a continu­ing process of the Holy Spirit.

Old Become New←⤒🔗

Yet sometimes in special circumstances, in some area of our lives, there may by the mercy of God, be a dramatically swift change. A few years ago, I went to hear a missionary speak whom I had heard in my teens. When he stood up at the meeting and I saw him again for the first time in decades, the thought flashed into my mind, “What a gentle face that man has.” He exuded what had obviously become in him an outstanding fruit of the Spirit – gentleness (Gal. 5:23). Then I suddenly remembered what he had told us all those years ago. His white hair was then a fiery red. He told his young audi­ence that his temper had matched his hair. One day, his mother said to him, “Hayden, if you don’t learn to control your temper, you will finish up in prison. The way you behave, you will end up killing someone.” Hayden knew his mother was right. But he knew he could not control it. He threw himself on his knees before the Lord, and prayed for help. God’s answer was in this case immediate, and far more than Hayden had asked. God did not enable him to control his temper. He removed it altogether! Hayden no longer even felt the anger towards others that had controlled his life. As I pondered this all those years later, I saw what perhaps Hayden himself may not have seen. Not only had the Lord removed his terrible temper altogether, but He had given him a ‘double portion’ of the spirit of gentleness that now showed so clearly in his old face, developed over decades of close living and faithful service to his Lord. The old had gone; the new in Christ shone out.

This was a dramatic deliverance, one that some others have also experienced with dif­ferent problems. Yet this is not usually the Lord’s way. In my own experience it is not common, but occurs in times of specific, desperate need. As long as we live, there is the struggle against the flesh. Paul was conscious of the conflict between the old and the new, when he spoke of being in two minds – to stay, so that he could continue to serve his Lord, and for the blessing of the saints, or to depart to be with Christ, which he declared “is far better.” (Phil. 1:20-23). He knew that for him “to live is Christ,” remaining in the body for the sake of the church, but “to die is gain,” being with the Lord Who meant everything to him. Like David in Ps. 27, he would love to “gaze upon the beauty of the Lord,” but this must wait God’s time for fulfillment. Small wonder, then, that Paul was able to exhort another local church, “Present your bodies to Him, as living sacrifices, holy, acceptable to Him, which is our spiritual worship.” (Rom. 12:1).

The Old Gate was left in place for the life of the city. But even this did not last forever. Where is it now? We have this assurance: One day the old will pass, completely and forever. Until that time, the old remains, renewed and strengthened like that old gate in Jerusalem, to honour, serve and worship the Lord on this old earth. One day – a new heaven and a new earth – and new bodies, spiritual bodies.

The Greatest of All←⤒🔗

But above all we must remember the One Who makes it all possible, and Who Himself also took a human body for the love of His people. He became flesh, like us. In His love and humility, He took, as it were, the form of an ‘Old Gate’ and dwelt among us. But not touched by the destruction that overtook man – “Yet without sin.”

Look at Him in Gethsemane. He was not missing from his place, but fulfilled to the utmost the work His Father had given Him to do. He took our sins upon Him in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live to righteousness. (1 Pet. 2:24.) But now, His body is the resurrection body, highly exalted. This is our hope. For we too will, some time, put off this body of flesh, this body of death, and be changed to His likeness. Then, before Him every knee will bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Behold I make all things new.Rev. 21:5

Come, Lord Jesus.