First Impressions

It was a cool, clear January afternoon when I arrived. By the time we traveled from the airport to the Damascus Gate, the sun was beginning to set.

Never having seen the Old City of Jerusalem before, I was immediately drawn in by the majesty and beauty of the city–her ancient walls illuminated by the setting sun, and the domed roofs becoming 3-D because of the long shadows. Street vendors were trying to make their last sales, calling out to the crowds of people who buzzed like a swarm of bees, in and out of the Damascus Gate. I could hear the call to prayer from the minaret of a nearby mosque, while church bells added to the din of activity.

What an exciting place. And, this was to be my new home!

I knew the location of the Spafford Center, and could see it jutting out above and within the old walls to my left. The taxi had left me, as vehicles cannot travel on the narrow, stepped alleyways of the Old City.

There I was, standing in awe of the sight before me. Just then, a donkey driver approached me for hire. Strapping my heavy suitcases onto this beast of burden, we proceeded through the Damascus Gate. In the midst of the twentieth century, I felt I had gone back in time, back to Bible times.

Damascus Gate is the northernmost gate of the eight gates of the Old City. Like many gates, it was named for the destination of the road that began at this gate–Damascus. It is a beautiful gate with high, iron-clad doors that were once closed each night to keep marauders out of the city.

As we entered the huge gateway, I noticed we had to zigzag to get into the Old City. It wasn’t just a straight shot. You first took a sharp left, then after about 30 feet, you took a sharp right, exiting the gateway inside the walls of the Old City.

As I proceeded up a stone path to my new home, I wondered about this gate into the city of Jerusalem, David’s city, the City of God.

Original Functions of the City Gate

In ancient times, the city gate was the busiest place in the city. Near or just inside the gates, there were courtyards or a broadening of the street where much of the city’s social, business and legal interaction took place. There is where we find the reading of the Law and proclamations taking place (Joshua 20:4; II Chronicles 32:6; Nehemiah 8:1, 3); where justice was administered as the elders judged legal cases and business transactions (Deuteronomy 16:18; II Samuel 15:2; Amos 5:10-15); where news was exchanged and discussed (Genesis 19:1), and local gossip was spread (Psalm 69:12). It was a place where markets flourished, e.g. the Fish Gate (Nehemiah 3:3) or the Sheep Gate (Nehemiah 3:1) in Jerusalem, and where trading centers for imported items (Isaiah 3:18-24) were established.

Prophets and priests delivered admonitions and pronouncements at the gates (Isaiah 29:21; Amos 5:10: Jeremiah 17:19, etc.). Criminals were punished just outside the gates (I Kings 21:10, Acts 7:58). The city gate was even the place where one could attract the attention of the sovereign or dignitary (II Samuel 19:8; I Kings 22:10; Esther 2:19, 21; 3:2). It was where strangers who were visiting the city passed the night, if they had no place to stay.

To be chosen as an elder to sit at the gate of the city was an honorable position (Proverbs 31:23; Daniel 2:49), although it became a curse for Lot who chose to be an elder at the gate of Sodom where he compromised his stand for the Lord (Genesis 19:1).

Defending the City Often Began at the Gates

Since the gates of a city were the only way in or out of the city, the large doors of the gateway, which were made of metal and wood (Psalm 107:16; Isaiah 45:2), were secured at night with iron or wooden cross bars (I Kings 4:13; Nehemiah 3:13) for the protection of the inhabitants.

The main gate of each city was large enough for the entry of chariots and carts. It was carefully designed and built to deter the entrance of enemy soldiers, as this was the most vulnerable place in the walls of a city. The gates were often flanked by towers (II Samuel 18:24, 33) on which watchmen stood, day and night.

Some gates were built in a zigzag design, like the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem. This caused a man on horseback to slow down and open the defensive stance of his body as he maneuvered his horse through the passage, making it easier for defenders to kill him.

Other gates allowed straight passage into the city, like those of Solomon’s great walled cities. They had multiple chambers in the passageway from which soldiers could attack intruders as a first line of defense, e.g. David awaited Absalom’s army in one of these chambers (I Samuel 18:24). Most gates had vertical and horizontal openings, above and around the doors, through which to throw boiling liquids, spears, rocks, arrows and other sharp objects upon enemy soldiers. The Lord promised strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate (Isaiah 28:6).

The Gate Signified Authority

In the Bible, the gate was more than the entrance and exit to a city. Figuratively, it represented the place of authority and the glory of the city (Isaiah 3:26; Jeremiah 14:2). Like "fringes of the garment," which represented the authority of a man, so too, the gate represented the place of authority of a city, where the elders sat. Scripture even refers to supernatural authority as the "gates of heaven" (Genesis 28:17) and the "gates of hell" (Matthew 16:18). The biblical term, "to be within the gates," referred to being under the authority of the elders of the city who presided in the gates (Deuteronomy 15:7; 31:13).

In battle, to "possess the gates" is a biblical term meaning to possess the city (Genesis 22:17; 24:60). In the story of Samson, he took this quite literally. In his day, Israel was under the control of the Philistines, a cruel and hateful people. Samson went down to the Philistine city of Gaza, where they had laid a trap for him and waited in the city gate to kill him. At midnight Samson tore their city gates, doorposts and cross bars from the walls of the city (the symbol of their authority), and carried them off to Hebron, an Israelite city. This was a symbolic act of triumph for Israel and of humiliation for the Philistines (Judges 16:2-3).

The Israelites were instructed to establish this authority with judges at the city gates (Deuteronomy 16:18), as a place of judgment to insure justice and obedience to God’s laws by the people.

Another function of the elders at the gate was to protect the city and their people from the outside world. The gate was the most vulnerable point in these ancient, walled cities, and it was necessary to place judges there to interview those entering the city to be sure their presence was welcomed. Evildoers who might cheat, steal or break the laws of the city were not allowed to enter or stay in the city (Deuteronomy 17:2-5).

At Tel Dan, far to the north of the Hulah Valley in the tribal area of Dan, the main city gate was uncovered, and there, archaeologists found the seat of the chief elder who sat on a throne-like platform with other elders to evaluate and interview those coming into the city and also hear and judge over the grievances of those within the city.

Honoring the Gates of Our Homes and Our Lives

You might ask, "How does this apply to me?" Today, we live in open, unwalled cities. We have courts of law, and mayors and city councils who are seated at city hall, not at the city gate. Nevertheless, God’s prescription to the Israelites and followers of the Bible to establish justice is the basis of the legal systems in our Western societies today.

While we may not have any control over who enters our cities today, we personally do have that authority in our own homes, which God places under our authority. You see, the door of the home is also a gateway. In Hebrew, a gateway or doorway is the same word, sha’ar, and the Bible has much to say about our responsibility to keep the focus of our homes on the Lord.

Deuteronomy 11:18a-20a, says: "Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul . . . you shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied . . ."

Ever since Moses spoke these words, the Jewish people have literally placed God’s Word on the gates of their cities and on the doorframes of their homes–on the doorframes of the entrances to the house and on the doors to each room in the house used for living purposes. The scriptures from Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and 11:13-21 are rolled up and placed inside a mezuzah, which is a small metal, stone, wooden or ceramic box nailed on the right doorframe. Throughout the ages, faithful Jews have touched the mezuzah upon entering and exiting buildings, homes and individual rooms, which has the effect of keeping them focused on the Lord, whom they serve. Believe me, paying that kind of attention to the Lord, if done sincerely, would cause you to consider deeply the kinds of activities and thoughts you would engage in.

We have a place of responsibility before God and to our families to uphold the precepts of God and "guard the gates" of our homes–guarding against negative outside influences that would detract from a God-centered environment (Deuteronomy 17:2-5; 21:18-19). God will honor this commitment to him.

A striking example of this is found in the story of Passover. Moses told the people to slay a lamb and place the blood on the doorpost and lintel of their home. Then the angel of death would pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into their houses to strike any who were in the home, Israelite or not (Exodus 12:22-23). Those who obeyed were spared.

Being responsible over the "door" of our home also includes those who come into our home and how they behave. Deuteronomy 31:12-13 says, "Gather the people together, men and women and little ones, and the stranger who is within your gates, that they may hear and that they may learn to fear the Lord your God and carefully observe all the words of this law, and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God as long as you live in the land which you cross the Jordan to possess."

Some may think my wife, Pat, and I are old-fashioned, but when our daughters, Ashley and Allison, bring their friends into our home, their words and deeds are expected to be honoring to the Lord, even if they are not Bible-believers. God’s values are honored in our home, and Ashley and Allison’s friends can see and hear this when visiting.

My observation, even in Jerusalem, is that often Bible-believing children and teen-agers are easily swayed to speak and act like non-believers in the world, not the other way around. Sometimes it takes the loving encouragement of a parent to guide the situation into a pattern that honors the Lord.

Not only does "guarding the gate" involve who and what comes into the front or back door, but through other vulnerable access points, or gateways, into our home. This would include television, radio and even reading material. Just as the ancient elders of the cities of Israel were to keep unsavory things from entering the city to protect their people, we have that charge over our place of authority. The prophet Isaiah spoke sharply to Israel about the sinful practices that went on in their homes (Isaiah 57:8).

What are we watching on television, or listening to on the radio? What magazines and books enter our home? In a world that has moved far from the values of the Bible, it is easy to find the influences of the world creeping in upon us and chipping away at our biblical values, right in our own homes. A chip here and a chip there, and before you know it, we are guilty of the same sin as Israel who flirted with the things of the world in opposition to the biblical precepts of God.

That spelled disaster for ancient Israel, and it will spell disaster for us, as well. None of us is immune, and we find we have to be a true "watchman at the gate"" of our home, daily. Old-fashioned or not, I find it exciting to take a stand and glorify the Lord in our home, bringing up our children in the "nurture and admonition of the Lord." (Ephesians 6:4), and then watching how the Lord blesses this effort. For those of us who are parents, it is our responsibility to "train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6). This all begins in our homes.

Finally, out of our mouths come forth what is in our hearts. Your words will reveal your heart which speaks evil, or righteousness that leads to salvation (Matthew 15:18; Luke 6:45; Romans 10:10). Our mouth is the "gateway" that proclaims what is really going on in our lives. So the Psalmist cries out to the Lord, "Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips" (Psalm 141:3). The Lord expects us, with His help, to guard every aspect of our lives under our authority.

Setting Up the Defenses

Just as the ancient walled cities defended their inhabitants against the "enemy" who would seek to destroy them, we need to stand guard in our home and guard our lips for the Lord. Just as the gate was configured in a way to deter outside attack, so we need to be prepared, through prayer and action to protect those "within our gates," our families and those who visit us. We need to set a standard and stick with it so that we can defend our families from ungodly, un-biblical influences.

Matthew uses the image of the gate to express how we need to conduct our lives: "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it" (Matthew 7:13). How do we do this? I am not suggesting we turn our homes into a legalistic, dogmatic, protective fortress enforced by the "laying down of the law" by an authoritarian figurehead. I am speaking of establishing a biblical home environment that imparts the love, joy and wisdom of the Lord through following biblical values. Then, when compared with the standard of the world, a home set apart for the Lord will prove itself to be the "higher ground" that will be sought after by your family and friends. And it will produce the fruit of righteousness for the Lord.

My wife, Pat, as a teen-age baby sitter, worked in a Christian home where the love of the Lord was expressed on a daily basis and that contact eventually brought her to the Lord. At this point in our family life, our children are young, and we are appreciating this time when we can gently build godly values into their hearts. We know times of testing will come later, so we appreciate prayers for our family.

Let’s encourage each other in creative ways to protect the gates of our homes and hearts. We can impart the Lord within our gates, rather than simply letting the world take over via TV, video, radio and magazines, and by the people who visit there. Let’s be pro-active like the elders at the gate. Check out who and what comes into your home and make it a little corner of the Kingdom of God that attracts others because of the joy, life and light of God that is expressed there. In a world that is searching for meaning purpose and inner fulfillment, they may find it in our homes. After all, God created us and then gave us His word as a guide for our lives so as to live it more abundantly. If we do so and prove that it works, then God will be glorified in our lives, as He should be.