When the Gates of Jerusalem Were Dark - Nehemiah 13:19

In the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah asked, “Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? yet you bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the sabbath”, and in chapter thirteen and verse nineteen of Nehemiah, Nehemiah shared what happened, “when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath” where we read,

And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the sabbath: and some of my servants set I at the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day.

The verse reads, “And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath, ...”Nehemiah began with the words, “and it came to pass” which means “and the following happened and occurred”, “that when the gates of Jerusalem” or “that at the time and moment the entrances and portals to Jerusalem whose name means teaching of peace and is the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split” “began to be dark” which means “started to become darkened or shadowing” “before the sabbath” or “in advance of the day of intermission and rest” the following happened. Nehemiah said in advance of the day of intermission and rest when the entrances to the city of “Jerusalem” started to be darkened, the following occurred. 

The verse continues, “... I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the sabbath:” Nehemiah added the words, “I commanded” or “I, Nehemiah, ordered, directed and appointed” “that the gates should be shut” which means “that the entrances and portals to the city of Jerusalem were to be closed”, “and charged” or “and ordered and instructed” “that they should not be opened” which means “that they, the entrances to the city of Jerusalem, were in no way or manner to be let loose or set forth” “till after the sabbath” or “until after the day of intermission and rest”. Nehemiah said he ordered that the entrance portals to “Jerusalem” were in no way or manner to be let loose until the day of intermission and rest had passed. 

Finally the verse says, “and some of my servants set I at the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day.” Nehemiah concluded this verse with the words, “and some of my servants” or “and a few or number of men belonging to my, Nehemiah's, bondmen, slaves or men of servile condition” “set I at the gates” which means “i, Nehemiah, placed, fixed and established at the entry portal”, “that there should no burden” or “so there would not exist any load or tribute” “be brought in on the sabbath day” which means “to be carried into the city of Jerusalem on the day of intermission and rest”. Nehemiah ended this verse by sharing how he set a number of his bondmen at the entry portals to insure that no loads or tributes were carried into the city of Jerusalem on the day of intermission and rest.

When we consider the words in this verse, we learn how Nehemiah insured that no one would carry anything into the city of “Jerusalem” on the day of rest. As soon as it was becoming dark, Nehemiah ordered that the entry portals be shut, and he posted servant watchmen at each entry point to insure that no one would carry anything into the city. Order was being established for the city of “Jerusalem” on the “Sabbath day”, and because Nehemiah wanted the people of Israel to keep the law of God, He closed the gates and set watches over them. God wants us to be as protective over keeping His ways as well. God knows we and others are prone to sin against Him by violating His law, (See Romans 3:10,23) and the wages for that sin is death. (Romans 6:23) He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind, and when we yield our lives to Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and help us by His Holy Spirit to keep His law and set up guards to watch over our violation of the same. 

Next time Nehemiah shares what happened with, “the merchants and sellers”, 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".