Back to the Old Paths

O. T. #1046  "Back to the Old Paths"
August 21, 2017
Nehemiah 3-Part 3


LET IT GLOW

I find my older self backing out of activities, using my age and lack of energy as an excuse. Maybe I can still contribute stability and guidance on the right path, whether it is old or new. We need to keep our focus on serving and witnessing for Jesus. Perhaps getting back to the old paths is a good thing-prayer and Scripture.

So far we have read bout the Sheep Gate ad the Fish Gate. Today we will look at the Old Gate. It was located in the northwest section of the wall around the Temple in Jerusalem. The men laid the beams, set up the doors, and put on the locks and bars.

Gibeonites who helped were not under the authority of the Jerusalem governor. They were responsible to the governor on his side of the Euphrates River.  Nevertheless, they assisted in the work. (Falwell)

This Old Gate must have been there from the beginning, perhaps Solomon's day. Jeremiah warned Judah  the results of their idolatry was coming-captivity. (Israel had been captured by Assyria some 100 years earlier.)

Jeremiah gives the image of  travelers who are lost, stopping to inquire about the right way they once knew before they wandered so far away from it. (MacArthur)

He instructed them in Jeremiah 6:16, Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, we will not walk therein.

Rest for the soul. Who couldn't use some of that? The thing is, some people spend their time working and accumulating the newest and latest gadgets, fashion, house, automobile. Then  time is spent caring for these. Aren't they leading us down the path to a dead end street with no purpose in life. Jeremiah tells us to ask for the "old paths" since on them we will find rest for our soul.
In Christ we find rest (Matt. 11:28-30).
Don't we need something greater than the mechanical, electronic push-button age has to offer? We need to get back to the old paths.

LET IT GROW

Who helped work on the Old Gate?

• Two men joined in the repairing the Old Gate. They were co-founder, and shared the honor of it between them. Are we thankful for our partners in work, in our projects, in our service?
• Several good and honest tradesmen/businessmen helped, as well as priests and rulers-goldsmiths, apothecaries (perfumers), merchants. They did not consider their time a loss in their business, but knew God would bless them.
• Rephaiah had been a ruler responsible for half of Jerusalem. 
• The ruler of the other half was Shallum. He and his daughters contributed money for buying materials and paying workmen.
• There was a long section in the wall between the Old Gate and the Valley Gate, so the Tower of Furnaces served as a defense for that section.

Do we detect a spirit of unity and cooperation among the people? Did you notice that workers from neighboring communities worked on stretches of the wall away from the homes of Jerusalem builders?

We may no like the methods used in a project, but the outcome can be for greater good. We can support it with our resources.

LET IT GO

Get back to living on the old paths and the old ways.

Love God and love others.

*We would appreciate your prayers as we finally get a vacation this year. Going to visit the beautiful state of Oregon. My husband is giving me a tour, since I have never been there and he has. Can hardly wait to see God's wondrous creation.