Why you ask? I am so glad you asked!!!
The first name I decided to relook at is The Gate! Based primarily on John 10 and a wonderful sermon I heard from my pastor a couple of years ago. I am blown away! when I looked up the information on our Lord, The Gate, I was never so excited to find the hidden treasures in the nooks and crannies of the old testament! Now I am not going to fully go into all that a gate does but I do want to highlight some valuable insights that touched my heart.
X marked the spot in John 10 and several passages within the Old Testament.
In John 10 Jesus explains how He is the gate through which the sheep must enter - the eternal kingdom that is - but he explains it to them in a way they fully comprehend. See this crowd understood the idea of a Shepherd and how the shepherd not only guided the herd but he guarded them as well. As my pastor, Dr. Danny Howe, explained a shepherd who was traveling with his heard would often have to use temporary shelter for the sheep. Without the guidance of the shepherd the sheep would wander as sheep are prone to do so at night he would gather them all together. Not all shelters would have an actual gate so he would literally lie down in the doorway. This protected the sheep inside not just from what might come after them but also from their own tendency to wander.
2 Chronicles 23:19 tell us that, "He also stationed doorkeepers at the gates of the LORD’s temple so that no one who was in any way unclean might enter." (You are now the temple! And Jesus is your Gate not just the keeper but the entire Gate!)
As cool as that it is it just gets better the deeper you dig!
In Deuteronomy 6:1-9, we read how important the Word of the Lord is and in verse 9 we see a role it has been given, "Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates." His Word is a gatekeeper! All throughout the Old Testament we see the significance of a gatekeeper and all the duties they are charged with and how it is an inheritance for them as well. In Deuteronomy chapter 6 we see the inheritance of His Word. It all ties together in a clear & concise way! I stand in awe!
Then as I began to dig a little deeper, I found a nugget of names neatly folded within one verse and significantly tied to the eternal inheritance and lineage of Jesus. In both 2 Samuel 23:15-16 and 1 Chronicles 11:17-18 I found a beautiful request from King David.
2 Samuel 23:15-16, "David longed for water and said, “Oh, that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!” So the three mighty men broke through the Philistine lines, drew water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem and carried it back to David. But he refused to drink it; instead, he poured it out before the LORD."
1 Chronicles 11:17-18, "David longed for water and said, “Oh, that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!” So the Three broke through the Philistine lines, drew water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem and carried it back to David. But he refused to drink it; instead, he poured it out before the LORD."
I do not know what is running through your head right now but mine is reeling with eager anticipation to share what just broke through to my mind and heart!!!!
When the Israelites had their grateful moment in the desert for the provision from the Lord they poured out water as a drink offering to show that what they had received was beyond their own resources and straight from the Lord. They poured it out as thank you to give back to God what He had given them.
David is the line from which Jesus would come on earth.
Jesus is the water that gives eternal life - the Living Water.
Jesus told the woman at the well in the New Testament that we would draw water from Him and never thirst again.
When Jesus was pierced on the cross water flowed first from Him showing the end of His human resources - all His mortal body could do it did.
Now there is still more!!!
Jesus is not just the Living Water but He is the Bread of Life from Bethlehem which is the House of Bread!
So here was David - the line of Jesus - asking for the life giving WATER found in the WELL at the GATE of BETHLEHEM! The David poured out the water as an offering.
Now there is still a little more perfect treasure here:
See David is now in a stronghold (cross) and just prior to verses 15 & 16 we read all the praises David has for his Lord calling out the many names of Him who has made a way for him throughout his life. He speaks of his house (his line) and all that the Lord had promised him. These are recorded as the FINAL words of David where he follows it by pouring out a drink offering to the Lord.
This is a foreshadowing of Christ Himself through these mighty words and all because He is the GATE! The difference here is that David made a way for Jesus whereas Jesus made the WAY for us!
The Word of our Lord is flat out Amazing!
Abiding Still,
Chel
