The Gatekeeper

The Psalmist said that he would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of God than to dwell in tents of wickedness. In II Chronicles 23, God appointed and anointed gatekeepers to surround the house of God to protect both the king and the people from wicked evildoers! They were to always be on watch, with weapons in hand, and were to kill anything that was unclean in any way.

It was customary for a family to position their sheepfold at the front of their house so that it could be closely guarded by a hired gatekeeper or, sometimes, by the shepherd himself. In John 10, Jesus told us that He, the Good Shepherd, not a hireling, is our gatekeeper. He is the very door to the sheepfold, and anyone who doesn’t enter the sheepfold through the door, is a robber and a thief and has evil intentions to ravage the sheep.

Thank you, Jesus, our Good Shepherd and Gatekeeper, for loving us so much that you laid down your life for your sheep!