In the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah went back to the city of Jerusalem and began to rebuild the wall. Among many others he employed, “Hananiah the son of one of the apothecaries, and they fortified Jerusalem unto the broad wall, And next unto them repaired Rephaiah the son of Hur, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem. And next unto them repaired Jedaiah the son of Harumaph, even over against his house. And next unto him repaired Hattush the son of Hashabniah. Malchijah the son of Harim, and Hashub the son of Pahathmoab, repaired the other piece, and the tower of the furnaces. And next unto him repaired Shallum the son of Halohesh, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, he and his daughters. The valley gate repaired Hanun, and the inhabitants of Zanoah; they built it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and a thousand cubits on the wall unto the dung gate”, and in chapter three and verse fourteen of Nehemiah, Nehemiah said, “the dung gate repaired Malchiah”, where we read,
But the dung gate repaired Malchiah the son of Rechab, the ruler of part of Bethhaccerem;
he built it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof.
The verse reads, “But the dung gate repaired Malchiah the son of Rechab, the ruler of part of Bethhaccerem;” Nehemiah began with the words, “but the dung gate” or “however, nonetheless, notwithstanding and moreover the ash heap, refuse heap, rubbish or filth portal, opening or entryway” “repaired Malchiah” which means “strengthened, hardened and made firm Malchiah whose name means my king is Jehovah” “the son of Rechab” or “the male progeny and offspring belonging to Rechab whose name means rider”, “the ruler of part of Bethhaccerem” which means “the prince, leader, chief, chieftain and official belonging to a portion pertaining to Bethhaccerem whose name means house of the vineyard which was a place in Judah”. Nehemiah shared how “Malchiah” who was a leader in a portion of “Bethhaccerem” reestablished the refuse portal.
The verse continues, “he built it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof.” Nehemiah added the words, “he built it” or “he, Malchiah, erected, constructed and established the dung gate”, “and set up the doors thereof” which means “and erected and stood up the portals, entryway and opening within the dung gate”, “the locks thereof” or “the bolts within the dung gate”, “and the bars thereof” which means “and the wooden bars within the dung gate”. Nehemiah shared how “Malchiah” not only rebuilt the “dung gate”, but he also erected the swinging doors, the bolts and the wooden bars located within it.
When we consider the words in this verse, we discover through Nehemiah about another man who was used in rebuilding the wall surrounding Jerusalem. “Malchiah” rebuilt the “gate” and all the accessories within it that led to the refuse or ash heap. Every part of the wall was important to be reestablished, and this was “Malchiah's” portion. God calls every person to be in a personal relationship with Him through His Son Jesus who was sent into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind, and when He was raised from the grave three days later, He made access for everyone who puts their faith and trust in Him to be forgiven of their sins, granted everlasting life and employed in His Kingdom with gifts and wisdom for carrying out any task He calls upon them to complete.
Next time Nehemiah says, “the gate of the fountain repaired Shallun”, 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".
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