Jehoiada Repaired the Old Gate - Nehemiah 3:6

In the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah went back to the city of Jerusalem to rebuild it, “then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel. And next unto him builded the men of Jericho. And next to them builded Zaccur the son of Imri. But the fish gate did the sons of Hassenaah build, who also laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof. And next unto them repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah, the son of Koz. And next unto them repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabeel. And next unto them repaired Zadok the son of Baana. And next unto them the Tekoites repaired; but their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord”, and in chapter three and verse six of Nehemiah, Nehemiah said, “the old gate repaired Jehoiada”, where we read,

Moreover the old gate repaired Jehoiada the son of Paseah, and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah; 

they laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, and the locks thereof, and the bars thereof.

The verse reads, “Moreover the old gate repaired Jehoiada the son of Paseah, and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah;”. Nehemiah began with the words, “Moreover the old gate” or “in addition the portal, entryway and opening known as the old, storage or flabby gate” “repaired Jehoiada” which means “strengthened, hardened and made firm Jehoiada whose name means Jehovah knows” “the son of Paseah” or “the male offspring and progeny belonging to Paseah whose name means limper”, “and Meshullam” whose name means “and Meshullam whose name means friend” “the son of Besodeiah” or “the male offspring and progeny belonging to Besodeiah whose name means with the counsel of Jehovah”. Nehemiah shared how two more men, “Jehoiada and Meshullam” rebuilt the portal known as the “old gate”.

The verse continues, “they laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, and the locks thereof, and the bars thereof.” Nehemiah added the words, “they laid the beams thereof” or “they, Jehoiada and Meshullam, caused the wooden beams to meet within the old gate”, “and set up the doors thereof” which means “and raised, stood up and reestablished the swinging two-leaved gates or valves of the doors”, “and the locks thereof” or “and the bolts within the old gate”, “and the bars thereof” which means “and the wooden bolting bars within the old gate.” Nehemiah shared how “Jehoiada and Meshullam” also set the wooden beams, doors, locks and bars of the “old gate”.

When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn through Nehemiah about another two men and their people who rebuilt the “old gate” section of the wall surrounding Jerusalem. “Jehoiada and Meshullam” worked to reconstruct the “gate, beams, doors, locks and bars” to this section, and no doubt one by one the wall was being reestablished. God's work was being performed by willing and able men who made themselves available, and God will do the same with anyone who surrenders their life to His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was resurrected from the dead three days later. God loves us, and when we put our faith and trust in Him, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and give us a position and ability to work in His Kingdom every day of our lives. 

Next time Nehemiah says, “next unto them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".