I copied this from one of the senior missionary's blog. It's very insightful.
What does it mean to rebuild the walls of your life?
After much
prayer, Nehemiah asked the king if he could go back to Jerusalem and
rebuild the city walls. He was given permission to do so and even given
letters by the king to aid in acquiring supplies and assistance. It
took many many people, and a lot of organization to rebuild the wall,
under a lot of sabotage and pressure from their enemies. But with the
Lords help, it was all completed in just 52 days. A miracle.
But
what I like best about this story is to think of the symbolism of each
gate that was rebuilt, so that their city was secure and safe from their
enemies.
Here's a drawing of the wall and gates that were rebuilt.
The
wall symbolizes strength and protection. In ancient cities the walls
were the real means of defense. The wall around Jerusalem was 40 feet
tall. When the walls and gates of that city were destroyed, the people
had no way of keeping out their enemies. Each of the gates had a unique
name and a special purpose. Each of the gates with the exception of
one, were all burned and destroyed. I found it interesting to learn
about the purposes of each gate and to think about what they could
symbolize in my life.
If
we had to rebuild the gates of our life to renew and rebuild our
testimony, what would we have to do? Here is a quick outline of the
purpose of each gate and some ideas of what each gate could symbolize
in our life.
1.
The Sheep Gate: This is where the sheep were brought into the city to
be sacrificed at the alter of the temple. Jesus Christ is often called
the Lamb of God. I think this means that in order to come to the city
of God, we need to be baptized and Believe in Jesus Christ and his
atoning Sacrifice for us. We need to also sacrifice our sins and come
to the temple. Everyday, we need to enter through this gate and remember
our Savior.
2.
The Fish Gate: This is the gate that the fishermen entered when they
brought their fish to the markets. Jesus said to his disciples, "
Follow me and I will make you Fishers of Men." Matthew 4:19
We
need to be sure that we are following Christ in word and in Deed. We
need to be a witness for him. If this wall is broken down, the enemy
will enter in and destroy us.
3.
The Old Gate: This must have been one of the original gates in the
city. I think it symbolizes the truth of God and his ways. They never
change. Today, his commandments and his word are being changed and
modified in order to please man and to find popularity and to not offend
the evil doers. Truth and God's words will be the same yesterday,
today, and tomorrow. If we are trying to please man and not obey God,
our wall is crumbling and we need to turn back to God and his truths.
Satan and his followers are charging in by this gate!
4.
The Dung Gate: You can probably easily guess what this gate was for!
It was the gate for all the trash, and sewer, and rubbish to be
expelled from the city. Without this gate, the city would be dirty and
really stink. That is what our life is like of we don't repent and get
rid of our sins. We are unclean. And we stink! This gate could be
renamed "repentance". And it is a beautiful gate to have in our life.
What a wonderful gift God has given each of us, that we can repent and
take out our trash any and every time we need to!
5:
The Valley Gate: This gate opened up to lead to the valleys around
Jerusalem. Our Valley Gate is Humility. Only by being humble and
becoming as a little child can we enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
Each time we are proud or angry or think we know better than God, we
are tearing down and burning this gate and wall around it.
6.
The Fountain Gate: This gate was down in the south east corner, near
the stairs that led to the Pool of Siloah which was used for cleansing
before people could go to the temple. I like to think of this Gate as
the Commandment Gate. We need to obey the commandments because that
prepares us to be able to attend the temple and to be worthy to receive
the living waters of God.
7:
The Water Gate: This gate led to the Gihon Spring. Water represents
the love of God as it says in 1 Nephi 11:25 "which waters are a
representation of the love of God. " This was the only gate which was
not broken down and it didn't need to be be rebuilt. God's love is
always there. Whether we want to enter in and come to him or not. He is
always there and he always loves us. We just need to follow him or
invite him into our lives.
8:
The East Gate: This gate obviously faces East toward the rising sun.
This is a gate of Hope. This gate needs to be rebuilt by many of us at
different times throughout our life. When we fail to look to the rising
sun (son), and when the difficulties and problems of life take away our
hope through Christ, we forget the power of God and the power of
Christ's atonement. He will always rise and triumph, and we can too
through him.
9.
The Horse Gate: This gate was used as the exit for the horses as they
would leave for war. The King's warriors would fight against the
enemies of Judah. We need this gate in good working order so that we
too can fight against darkness and evil. We need to employ all the best
strategies we can to win our battles against Satan. We need to put on
all the protective armour of God as we fight a very real battle every
day. Ephesians 6:12 "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but
against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness
of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."
10.
The Muster Gate: This is the examination gate, or the judgement gate.
It was the place where King David would meet his troops and check them
over and reevaluate if they were ready to fight. It's where they would
meet after the war, to check their loses. We have been told to go and
do and report. We need to take time to evaluate where we are and what
we need to do better. Where we are lacking, we need to strengthen and
try again. This is an important gate for each of us too.
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