SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/8/2011 7:41:27 AM
My Worship Time Focus: More Gates
Bible Reading
& Meditation Reference: Various Scriptures
Message of the verses: It is not a practice of mine to miss any days
in doing this Spiritual Diary, but yesterday was not the best of days for me,
probably a day when I needed to do this more than ever but it did not get done
so I like Paul “but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind
and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the
prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
The Fountain Gate (Nehemiah 3:15): “Shallum
the son of Col-hozeh, the official of the district of Mizpah, repaired the
Fountain Gate. He built it, covered it and hung its doors with its bolts and its bars, and
the wall of the Pool of Shelah at the king’s garden as far as the steps that
descend from the city of David.”
The
Fountain Gate was on the East wall and it was just north of the Dung Gate. The pool that is mentioned in verse fifteen
is the Pool of Siloam, the pool that Jesus told the blind beggar to wash in
after He applied mud to his eyes. This
gate was also near the water tunnel that was built by King Hezekiah which was
an important water supply for the city of David.
Let’s
look at the spiritual meaning for this gate and some of the others by looking
at a quote from Dr. Wiersbe, “In the Bible, water for drinking is a picture of
the Holy Spirit of God (John 7:37-39), while water for washing is a picture of
the Word of God (Ephesians 5:26; John 15:3).
Spiritually speaking, we have moved from the Valley Gate (humility) to
the Dung Gate (cleansing) to the Fountain Gate (fullness of the Spirit).”
The Water Gate (Nehemiah 3:26): “The temple
servants living in Ophel made repairs as far as the front of the Water Gate
toward the east and the projecting tower.”
The
Water Gate is not said to have been in need of repair. This will be an important issue when the spiritual
meaning for this gate is seen. Jerusalem
is one of the great cities of the world, and one of the differences between
Jerusalem and other cities is that it is not built on a river. When you think of cities like London, Paris,
New York, New Orleans, Saint. Louis and others they are built by a river, not
so with Jerusalem for they had to get their water supply by springs and
channels. One can still walk through the
channels that King Hezekiah made today.
Dr.
Wiersbe point out the spiritual meaning by writing if the “Fountain Gate
reminds us of the Spirit of God, the Water Gate reminds us of the Word of
God. In fact, it was at the Water Gate
that Ezra and the priests conducted a great “Bible conference” and explained
the Scriptures to the people (Nehemiah 8:1 and following). That this gate is not said to have been
repaired, as were the others, suggests that the Word of God stands forever and
will not fail (Psalm 119:89; Matt. 24:35).
The Bible does not need to be repaired or improved.”
Spiritual
meaning for my life today: Before
beginning this SD I was thinking about Hebrews 4:12, a verse that speaks of the
importance of the Word of God and now I study about the Spirit of God and the
Word of God as represented by two gates in Jerusalem. Only God can do things like this.
My Steps of
Faith for Today:
1.
Trust that the Lord will continue the difficult
times in my life to continue to teach me contentment.
8/8/2011 9:01:41 AM
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