From Above the Gate of Ephraim - Nehemiah 12:39

In the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah said, “at the fountain gate, which was over against them, they went up by the stairs of the city of David, at the going up of the wall, above the house of David, even unto the water gate eastward. And the other company of them that gave thanks went over against them, and I after them, and the half of the people upon the wall, from beyond the tower of the furnaces even unto the broad wall”, and in chapter twelve and verse thirty-nine of Nehemiah, Nehemiah shared about, “from above the gate of Ephraim” where we read,

And from above the gate of Ephraim, and above the old gate, and above the fish gate, and the tower of Hananeel, and the tower of Meah, even unto the sheep gate: and they stood still in the prison gate.

The verse reads, “And from above the gate of Ephraim, and above the old gate, and above the fish gate, and the tower of Hananeel, ...” Nehemiah began with the words, “and from above the gate” which means “and separate and apart from the entrance or portal” “of Ephraim” or “ belonging to Ephraim whose name means double ash-heap or I shall be doubly fruitful”, “and above the old gate” whose name means “and overseeing the entrance and portal known as the old gate”, “and above the fish gate” or “and overseeing the entrance and portal known as the fish gate”, “and the tower of Hananeel” which means “and the elevated stage or pulpit belonging to Hananeel whose name means God has favored”. Nehemiah shared referred to the entrance of the barrier wall which pertained to “Ephraim” and was overseeing the entrance known as “old”, and the entrance known as “fish” and the elevated stage belonging to “Hananeel”.

The verse goes on to say, “... and the tower of Meah, even unto the sheep gate: and they stood still in the prison gate.” Nehemiah continued with the words, “and the tower of Meah” or “and the elevated stage or pulpit belonging to Meah whose name means hundred and was a tower on the north rampart of Jerusalem in the wall of Nehemiah”, “even unto the sheep gate” which means “until the entrance and portal known as the sheep gate”: “and they stood still” or “and they, the people upon the wall, remained, endured and took a stand” “in the prison gate” which means “within the entrance and portal known as the guard, target, mark or prison gate”. Nehemiah shared how the people also aligned themselves toward the elevated stage belonging to “Meah” and continued to the entrance of the “sheep” while they remained and aligned themselves at the entrance known as the “prison gate”.

When we meditate upon Nehemiah's words in this verse, we discover more of the coverage upon the barrier wall which was carried out by the people of Israel when they dedicated the wall. From the entrance of “Ephraim” to the “Old City Gate” which was past the “fish gate” and the elevated stage belonging to “Hananeel” to the elevated pulpit which was known as the “hundred tower”, and they continued to the entrance known as the “sheep gate” and stood still and remained at the “prison” or “guard gate”. God was assembling this massive group of people through Nehemiah to allow them to give Him honor and praise not only for the construction of the barrier wall and their return to Jerusalem and Judah, but also toward Jehovah God who is worthy of praise and thanksgiving for everything He has done. God gave His Only Begotten Son Jesus to the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind, and when He raised Him from the dead three days later, He made the way for us to be forgiven of our sins, granted everlasting life and given His Holy Spirit to guide us by simply believing and trusting in Him as our “Savior and Lord”. Let all who read these words yield to Jesus and receive God's gift of salvation which shall allow us to give Him praise for all eternity. 

Next time Nehemiah shares about, “the two companies of them that gave thanks”, 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".