Did you find the trip around imaginary walls of Palmerston North as confusing as I would have found a description of the same around, say, Hamilton? The order was ran­dom, starting near the cemetery, following a haphazard collection of parks and buildings, and finishing with the airport and hospital, not so much order, as out of order! Will a trip around the walls of Jerusalem be like that too?

God is an orderly God – He does not do things randomly or haphazardly, so we can expect a sense of direction in His description of the ancient walls.

And Jesus told two disciples on the Road to Emmaus, that in all the Scriptures were things concerning Himself. Therefore we should also look for Him in this.

As we begin our trip around the walls, we shall pay special attention to Nehemiah’s record in chapter 3, of the ancient gates. We shall observe the repairs to the gates, the people who did the work, the position of each gate, and the purpose, known or surmised, of each. The walls themselves may seem grey and dull, but encased in the whole are beautiful gems, encrusted ready for those with a will to chip until they are discovered, and their glowing colours and glory are revealed.

As in all Scripture, there is much in Nehe­miah to be learnt by the Christian about the Lord Jesus, and about ourselves too in all the ways that Paul, quoted above, mentioned in his letter to Timothy; teaching, rebuke, correction, training in righteousness, as the N.I.V words it.

So what do the gates suggest to us? Teaching from the building of the wall be­tween the gates also gives us more than a hint of the response that Christians should make to the lessons learnt.

Our Journey⤒🔗

The building of the walls of Jerusalem present some problems for our understanding. There is a certain amount of uncertainty about these walls. At the time of Nehemiah, they had been destroyed by Nebuchadnez­zar (587 BC.) In later historical times they were destroyed by Antiochus IV (restored by Herod) and again by Titus the Roman, in 70 AD. So it is not surprising that doubt remains as to the exact outline of the walls, and as to which gates were in the external city walls, and which led into the Temple area. Nehemiah mentions two extra gates in the latter part of his book. Some commentators have suggested that these may have been internal gates, and so were omitted from the record of the external ones in chapter three.

Neither does Nehemiah indicate general direction or changes of direction. Further, the names of some gates have changed from time to time. So it is that a Bible aid such as The New Bible Dictionary (IVF), for example, labels its illustration “probable location of walls”.

There is no doubt, however, about the order given in Nehemiah’s account. The detail given in his book strengthens our confidence that his is an accurate record of the gates repaired by his workers. Neverthe­less, we can be certain of the positions of some of the gates. These are sufficient to indicate that Nehemiah’s order followed an anti-clockwise direction from the first men­tioned, and this is the direction we will go in our imaginary encircling of the city. Owing to the undulating ground, the walls were not built in an exact square. Like Nehemiah, we begin at The Sheep Gate in the northeast, and move westward.

Why did God begin His record at the Sheep Gate?←⤒🔗

An intriguing question! What is the signifi­cance of starting at an animal gate? What are we told about this gate?

We are told that the Sheep Gate was rebuilt and dedicated, the doors set in place and the walls built to the Tower of the Hundred (Meah) and the Tower of Hananel. Most of the subsequent gates have a similar account, but this is the only gate where the writer speaks of a dedication. There was something very special about this gate!

The identification of our starting point is fairly certain, as the Pool of Bethesda has been discovered in archaeology. In the Gos­pel of John (5:2) we read that the Pool was near the Sheep Gate. The siting of the pool establishes, therefore, that the Sheep Gate can be placed in approximately the North­east corner of the wall. The line of the wall ran westward via the Towers of Hammeah and Hananel, so we can follow this anti­clockwise direction. This places the Sheep Gate in close proximity to the Temple.

What was the purpose of this gate?

A Priestly Gate←⤒🔗

The gate was the one through which the sheep of sacrifice were brought into the city and the temple. All of these animals came through it. So it was appropriate that the high priest Eliashib and the other priests were responsible for its repair, for the gate opened to what was a priestly work. How noteworthy it is, then, that this is the only gate where the writer speaks of a dedication. For the gate suggests the will and purpose of the Father, that His Son should be the offering for sin. “The One who passed through that gate was the only one who has ever lived in complete dedication to His God.” (H. Ironside)

Now, in the Christian life, this is the very place where followers of the Lord must be­gin. The Prophet Isaiah (53:7) was given an understanding of the Saviour when he wrote, “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter...” How much this meant to the prophet is not clear to us, for the prophets frequently spoke beyond their own knowledge and understand­ing. John the Baptist seven hundred years later had further revelation when he pointed to Jesus and said, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” (John 1: 29) God had shown the Baptist that this wonderful cousin of his, was the one who would go through the ‘Sheep Gate’ on His way to die. How else could He take away the sins of the world?

Our Trip Starts←⤒🔗

It is fitting that we begin our journey here, for did not our salvation, our new life begin at this very gate? If we would enter the City of God, we must enter by means of none other than the Sheep Gate. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but by Me.”

He also said, “I am the gate.” John 10:9 (A.V. “door”). Usually this metaphorical claim is interpreted as the gate of a sheepfold. Nor is this interpretation wrong. Those who know the method of eastern shepherds in Biblical days, tell us that at night the shepherd himself would lie in the gateway and act as a door to prevent thieves and wild animals from entering in and stealing the sheep. So it was in this context Jesus added, “I am the door of the sheep.” But is it beyond the range of symbolism to think also of the Sheep Gate in connection with this saying?

Let us also turn back to John 5, and think again about the palsied man. This palsied man was healed close to the Sheep Gate. The Son of God brought healing in His wings. This was a purpose of His – healing. But even more, for here eternity was at stake – “Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.”

Every word in Scripture is inspired and important. John specifically noted that the palsied man was healed at the Pool of Bethesda, close to the Sheep Gate. Perhaps Jesus was thinking of the special significance of the gate when he said, after healing the man, “Go, and stop sinning, or something worse may happen to you.” For only at the Sheep Gate is there forgiveness.

The Wall←⤒🔗

The men of Jericho built the next section of the wall. These men came from the place of a curse (Jericho) to a place of blessing (Jerusalem). We may come to this first gate from the way of the curse of sin, into the way of blessing, the way of forgiveness, re­demption, reconciliation. Anyone attempting to enter in any way but through trust in His sacrifice, will fall flat on his back, still on the outside. We must enter by way of the Sheep Gate. This comes first.

So, this is the starting place for our journey through eternal Life. Can we see that it is clearly shown by the first gate into Jerusalem?

Do we see Him in the Garden of Geth­semene, dreading to go through the Sheep Gate, praying to His Father that if possible, He might avoid it?

Do we see Him, a crown of thorns pressed on His head, scourged, mocked, suffering?

Do we see Him led as a sheep to the slaughter, wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, bearing our sins in His own body on the tree?

Do we see The Gate of the Sacrificial Lamb?

Have we gazed at it?

John Bunyan, in his incomparable book ‘The Pilgrim’s Progress’, wrote:

Christian ran till he came to a place somewhat ascending, and upon that place stood a cross, and a little below, a sepulchre... He looked there­fore, and looked again, even till the springs that were in his head sent the waters down his cheeks...

Then Christian gave three leaps for joy, and went on, singing:

Thus far did I come, laden with my sin;
Nor could ought ease the grief that I was in,
Till I came hither: What a place is this?
Must here be the beginning of my bliss?
Must here the burden fall from off my back,
Must here the strings that bound me to it crack?
Blest Cross! Blest Sepulchre! Blest rather be
The Man that there was put to shame for me!