THE HOUSE DOCTOR NO. 9 GOING BEACHY AFTER INDEPENDENCE DAY

As I've stated many times before, my house is a lot like me; always changing and flowing with the seasons.  

When my husband and I began our life-long hobby of constantly remodeling an ever-changing home that has raised four children, celebrated God’s Holy Days with our immediate family members, hosted events for our little church, fostered an office for my husband’s business, provided me a place to fulfill my writing ambitions, given us space for our hobbies both inside and out, provided shelter for sleep over grown children and grand children and entertained friends and family over the years,  I had no idea how much “seasonal” decor I had accumulated over time.  Much of it retains sentimental value and brings back memories of certain phases of our lives together as a family. 

 I really realized this a few years ago when I started cleaning out our storage building that was filled with things I had long forgotten.  I was making the transition inside our house from the red, white and blue of the beginning of summer when we celebrated Memorial Day, Pentecost and Independence Day.  I thought perhaps it was time for our home to go “beachy.” 

I deliberately chose neutral colored furniture and white walls when we began to redecorate so that I could make any color changes and decor changes I wanted with each season. Black or beige would have worked as well, I just liked white for us.  This makes our seasonal transitions easier by lending a neutral backdrop.   It is like getting a new house each time the seasons change.  You never get tired of using what you have this way! 

As I cleaned out our bulging storage building and prepared for a huge yard sale (I had not cleaned this building out since 1998,) I collected anything that I already had in storage that reminded me of the beach.  Soon I had an assortment of items on hand. 

There was an old wooden clipper ship.

There were some assorted sized light blue and white candles (slightly used, but still good).  I found a large old wooden bowl made out of beautifully colored and aged wood. 

 I found several “beachy” looking photo frames that had never been used.  I filled them with pics of the family at the beach and scattered them all over the house.

I found an old ash tray with a light house painted on it.  I found some lanterns with blue glass.  I had an old inexpensive set of dishes I had bought for one of the kids birthday gatherings years ago that had light houses and ocean scenes painted on them. Ten place settings!  They seemed to go just perfect.  So far I had not bought one item for my beachy look!

Looking at all these items, I decided the color scheme had to be light blue, beige and white.  I decided to use some vivid teal blue, brown and red as accent colors.  With that color scheme in mind, I picked up some of the teal colored pillows I had in another room of the house and placed them on the sofa.  I also had a lovely modern painting hanging in our den downstairs.  It was one that my daughter, Erin had painted years ago.  It was the focal piece I wished to use. 

The painting totally captured the blend I wanted of “beachy-modern-traditional.”  I placed the painting over the opening of the fireplace, since there was not a need for a fireplace in the summer heat.  The painting quickly became a focal point in this summery atmosphere I was trying to create throughout the house. 

I very much desired for the entrance to say “welcome to summer; come in and relax.”  I wanted to start the beachy feeling as soon as you entered the front door of our home. 

We have two lovely watercolor paintings over an old chest in our foyer.  The two painting's colors were perfect for achieving the blue and white beachy colors that I wanted.  They were different shades of blue and black on a white back ground, but I needed something to make them appear more beachy – and I found an old blue wooden anchor out in the storage building from a box full of junk.  I was delighted!  I hung it over the two paintings we picked up one year while on vacation in the Smokey Mountains.   This gave the foyer that perky summer look I was after.

I looked over the photo frames that I had found that looked either summery or beachy.  I printed some color photos of my different years of family vacations at the beach.  I loved them all, and thought how much the kids would enjoy seeing them again when they came to visit. 

I put two photos in the kitchen, three others of my niece and nephews and my Dad in a curio in the living room.  I put one of my favorites of Tom’s Dad on the end table, and some photos of a trip we made with my parents to  Gulf Shores years ago with our twin daughters.

One photo has the twins locked up in stocks at a Put-Put Golf Course that we had a blast going to.  We all felt like pirates that day.  How cool, I now had several memories sitting inside my pleasant new surroundings, and so far, I had not spent one penny! 

I set the starfish shaped bowl on our large black coffee table, and put the other beige and blue rug under the two modern side chairs.  I loved the affect of the beachy colors. 

I grabbed a small white wicker table from another room and used it for another side table.  I had a pretty pottery bowl that Tom gave me for my birthday one year with aqua blue swirly colors and brown accents.  It looked perfect on the white wicker table.  I put the wooden clipper boat in the middle of my dining room table.  I liked the look, but it seemed lonely, and I pondered what to do about that for awhile while I moved into the kitchen. 

I cleaned my patriotic dishes out of the cabinets and boxed them up until next year, and moved the lighthouse dishes into their place.  I found some silver coasters stashed in my pantry, and I liked them to use under the plates.  I pulled out a large square black plastic tray that I salvaged long ago when I bought some catered food.   I put the wooden bowl in the center and arranged the light blue and white candles in assorted sizes in the bowl and around the bowl on the tray.  I put this down as a center piece on our kitchen table. 

The more I looked at this, the more I thought the bowl needed to be filled with seashells.  I finally had to make a purchase, and my budget was extremely limited this month.  I decided to browse around The Christmas Tree store anyway.  It was my lucky day, I found large bags of sea shells for $1.00 each.  I bought three. 

Also in the same section I found bags of white starfish.  I purchased one bag for $4.99.  When I was checking out I saw some lovely shopping bags.   One bag had a lighthouse painted on it in beautiful colors.  Perfect colors for my room scheme.  It cost me one dollar.  I was so excited to leave that store having only spent $9.00, and having everything I needed to finish my look. 

When I arrived home I dumped the sea shells into the bowl holding the candles.  I loved it! 

 I moved an old blue  flower arrangement onto my glass sideboard in the kitchen.  It had blue and purple flowers.  It needed to look more “summery” so I found several long stemmed blue, green and white daises from another arrangement and added them. 

They looked great – just the effect I had hoped for.  I used some white wooden frames I had out for July 4^th , and placed two of the lighthouse dishes cups inside them. 

I put two photos of my son and daughter at the beach in beachy photo frames on that sideboard too.  It all blended very well.  I caught myself wanting to cook some shrimp and flounder in that kitchen! 

When I got everything arranged on the sideboard I placed two of the starfish I had purchased in the front of the arrangement.  Perfect!

I put the other starfish in my dining room on each side of the clipper ship.  They were the finishing touch that I needed.  The ship no longer looked lonely.  I would pull out some wicker/grass place mats when we ate in the dining room. 

I was so happy with how all of this turned out and excited that it hardly cost me a cent!  I might not have made it to the beach this summer, but I brought the beach to my home instead.  It certainly helped to perk up my attitude, and I could sit in the air conditioned beach while the thermostat climbed up to 102 several times that week.  

I will enjoy this beachy look all through the end of July and August.  Then when September comes around it will all began changing to fall.  

Of course this will all serve to help us to get into the right frame of mind for the first annual family beach trip we have planned for late September/early October.  By then, we will be completely ready to become professional beach bums!  

COME AS A CHILD LESSON 78 JACOB MAKES PLANS TO MARRY RACHEL

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

So we hear that Laban welcomes Jacob as a house guest and calls him his own flesh and blood.  One can’t read this after all the symbolism that just took place in this story by the well, without thinking of how Jesus came down to earth and took on flesh and blood, so that he could be like us, yet live without sin.  Laban was saying to Jacob “You are like me!  I will show you favor because you are like my own family!”

So Jacob stayed awhile.  After he had been there for a month Laban said to him “Just because you are a relative of mine, should you work for me for nothing?  Tell me what your wages should be.”   

Laban had two daughters.  The oldest was named Leah and the youngest was Rachel whom Jacob had met at the well.  The scriptures describe Leah as one with weak eyes.  This isn’t as harsh as it sounds.  The Hebrew word for weak is rakkot and it’s plural form is rak.  It means soft and tender.  Instead of meaning she was unattractive; it means she probably cried a lot.  Her eyes were most likely red and swollen from constant crying.  Jewish legend has it that since Jacob was the younger son of Rebekah and he wanted to marry Rachel, that Rebekah’s older son should marry Leah.  Perhaps this was yet another “to his own gain” plan that Laban was cooking up behind the scenes.  Maybe Leah overheard him discussing this plan with someone else and she became afraid of whatever arrangement Laban might make for her eventually with Rebekah’s older son.  The bible does not mention this at all, it is just the way that the Rabbi’s have used to describe the odd definition of Leah’s eyes.  

So the sages say Leah did not want to marry Esau; hence she cried all the time that Jacob knew her and he noticed her “weak” eyes.  

We are told that Rachel’s eyes sparkled and lit up a room whenever she entered it.  This indicates to me that Leah probably had a serious and introverted personality and Rachel had an outgoing extroverted personality.  Jacob’s mother had been such an extrovert and Jacob would have probably preferred the type of personality that Rachel had.  Once again, it is all speculation.  All the scriptures actually tell us is that Leah had weak eyes and Rachel was beautiful to look at. 

So, with all of Laban’s schemes going on in the background, Jacob naively stayed awhile.  After he had been there for a month Laban said to him “Just because you are a relative of mine, should you work for me for nothing?  Tell me what your wages should be.”   

Jacob was in love with Rachel and he said to Laban:  “I’ll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel.”

Laban said, “It’s better that I give her to you than to some other man. Stay here with me.” 

So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.

COME AS A CHILD LESSON 77 THE ART OF LIVING NEXT TO A DEEP WELL

 (Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

Looking back on the story of Jacob meeting Rachel at the well, we can see so much symbolism in the second glance.   In the simple country setting of the field we began to see so much of the things that represent a vivid picture of God's plan for the future and how He will be carrying out the promises of the covenant with Abraham.

All the world players are gathered around the well.  

The field represents the world. 

The first thing that Jacob sees are three shepherds with three flocks that are waiting to be watered.  He wonders why they are wasting so much grazing time just resting beside the well instead of watering the flocks and moving on to greener pastures. 

The sun is high in the sky, it must be at least noon, and the shepherds sit together discussing anything and everything among themselves at this well that remains covered.

 

Flocks usually represent religious people groups and their shepherds are usually their leaders.  They could also represent nations with their leaders.  I have come to consider the possibility of these three flocks representing the scribes, the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin that governed them.  These were all people who were waiting on a King Messiah, someone who would come along and rescue them and provide for their flocks and make their lives easy and untouchable.

    

These shepherds were waiting on the owner of the well to come and open the well so that their sheep could drink of the water.  They were too greedy and too lazy to put forth the money and the effort to dig their own well.  They felt they were entitled simply because they were born in the land.  They went through the polite motions and courteous manners with their waiting, but behind that false front they felt they had all the power and were just using the owner of the well because he cooperated so easily with what they needed.  The Scribes and Pharisees were much the same.  They never dug their own wells (or used their own original thoughts) but used the messages received from the scriptures to expound their own man made-laws and get their own way in every situation (in the name of God).  They used this in a greedy way that called attention to their own superiority and importance.  These men had not dug the well or tended to the well, but because they were native to the land, they considered themselves important enough to use the well.  In other words, they prayed off of the true labor of Rachel’s family and elevated themselves to be more important in a false way.

 

There is the well that represents The Kingdom of God.  The well provides for the people sending nourishment out to the dry parched land and making it flourish with crops and livestock.  The people of the land want for nothing and are blessed because of the well being there.

 

The water of the well so vividly represents God’s Holy Spirit.   The well is filled with spring fed water that is pure and clean and it brings life to all the people in the land.   The prophet Isaiah spoke of such waters when he proclaimed:  “Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. (Isaiah 12:3)  It was the water that saved them, without it they would die.  Rachel too represents the Holy Spirit, in that the people could not draw without her presence being their first.

The well was protected by a large stone.  It was a stone large enough to be used as a cornerstone for a building.  Usually it took three men to remove this heavy stone.  The stone being so heavy and so hard to move was why it was used for protection.  With this stone on top of the well only those who are designated to have the water can actually receive the water.  Those who belong to Christ receive The Holy Spirit.  God would never give His power to an evil leader who did not know God’s ways.  Anyone who sincerely desires to come into the Kingdom of God may come, just as all the people of the land were offered to draw from the water of Rachel’s well; but, you must have permission first from the One who owns the well.  You must know Him and have spoken with Him and He must have granted you the right to drink and water your flocks at the well.

 

So it was that the men who were too lazy to dig their own wells stood talking and discussing until the generous Rachel came with her flock and had her men to remove the stone and open the provision of the well. 

These other flocks and Rachel did have one thing in common.  They all claimed to know the God of Abraham and they all wanted to draw water for their flocks from the wells that the family of Abraham had provided and preserved.

What are all three of these flocks waiting for?  

For the stone to be rolled away!

 

When Jesus rose from the grave in resurrection after his crucifixion the stone had to be rolled away!  At that point the people were ready to receive the nourishment and salvation that they had been waiting for.  It was the first step to drinking the waters of everlasting life.  They no longer had to wait, the stone had been rolled away, God’s people had been served first, and they were able to receive the refreshing and life giving power of the water of God’s Holy Spirit, just as the nourishment from this well provided life and sustained the three flocks of sheep waiting with their shepherds to drink after Rachel’s sheep had been filled.

SOME of these sheep were changed when they drank the pure clean water from the well.  SOME of the leaders changed too.  The water seemed to make one think different thoughts and it drew them closer to finding The One True God of Heaven and Earth, The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  The false messiahs did not compare to The Good Shepherd.  The true sheep heard His voice and followed Him.

 

Notice that it usually took three strong men to move the stone, but when Rachel came to the well Jacob found enough strength to move the stone all by himself.  Jacob here represents the resurrected power of Jesus Christ and any man filled with this same power from God’s Holy Spirit.  The impossible becomes possible.  Men are strengthened beyond reason and logic when God’s Spirit and Power is working in their lives.  Jacob had just been blessed of God.  His strength at this time was unbelievably strong from the energy of how his spirit had been strengthened and encouraged by God.  The same thing happened to Jesus in The Garden of Gethsemane just before He went to the cross.  God gave him strength to bear the unbearable.   

  

This also points to the fact that the One who came to save us, Jesus Christ, came directly from the bloodline of Jacob’s ancestors.  Jacob’s people provided the carefully planned DNA that made it possible for man and God to be connected again.  It was a great moment in history when Jacob rolled away that stone for the woman that he loved!  We see a brilliant representation of Christ coming for His Bride and providing nourishment from a well in which she will never thirst again.

   

For these sheep to drink from the well the shepherds had to wait on Rachel.  She is so symbolic of God’s Holy Spirit.  Jesus told his disciples to go to Jerusalem and wait for the gift that God would send, a comforter that would remain with them as he tended to business in heaven.   This was so similar to Jacob being told to go to his father’s family and find a wife.  In the moment that Jacob’s eyes met Rachel’s eyes a million things of the Kingdom of God came together and were set in motion.

Jacob found Rachel at the well.  Many years later we see Jesus Christ talking to a Samaritan woman at a well.  This Samaritan woman is so symbolic of those in God’s church that come to Jesus in their sin and shame to drink the water from which they will never thirst again.  Christ seeks the face of His Bride beside a deep well.  He finds them at the well and pours out His Spirit to them.  They are changed, washed clean, invigorated and filled up.  They are ready to go, just as this Samaritan woman did, to tell the good news of the Gospel to everyone that they meet.

 

My friends, beware of the fact that God is in the small things, even the things of a typical a country field.  

He is in the everyday things, such as shepherds tending their flocks on a lonely hillside.   

He is protecting, arriving and saving in every moment of every day of every person’s life.  

Open your eyes to what God is saying and doing.  He is telling you the story above all stories with the best and happiest ending.  

Listen for His voice.  

Look for His coming.  

See the lessons of the tasks of everyday life that God speaks into.  

Find the places where God and men collide and abide there.  

These are the special pastures in which you must feed.  You will find water from whence you will never thirst again and your soul will rest and be forever satisfied.  

COME AS A CHILD LESSON 76 JACOB ENCOUNTERS A WOMAN BY A WELL IN A FIELD

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

After an amazing time of worship at Bethel, Jacob continues his journey toward the house of Rebekah’s brother.   He was still in hiding from Esau, and he was still in pursuit of a suitable wife.

Eventually Jacob comes to the land of The Eastern People.  This does not mean the people of the east in general, but is referring to  the eastern limits of the migrations of Abraham’s family.  It is most likely the area close to the Euphrates River in northern Syria and Southeastern Turkey, which was near the location of Haran during the time of Jacob’s life.

While traveling down the open country road Jacob sights a well where three flocks of sheep are grazing, and waiting to be watered.  Their shepherds were with them and they stood talking to each other around the well.

Wells in this dry land were very valuable and often hard to maintain.  Anyone raising livestock needed access to well water.  This was dry desert land and the winds often blew the shifting sands inside open wells which stopped them up and ruined their use.  Also the sun shining down so hot often evaporated small supplies of uncovered water.    It was good to keep a well covered, and this one was protected. 

 Jacob noticed that the top of the well was covered with a very large heavy stone.  The stone was large enough that it usually took three people to move it away and replace it over the covering of the well again after the flocks were watered.  The size of the stone and the requirement for so many to move it probably kept people who were unwanted from having easy access to the well, and it also kept people passing by from using up the water supply without asking permission.  Animals could not fall inside and get trapped in the well either.  There were many reasons for this protective covering.

    

All of the shepherds were standing around with their flocks, just waiting.  Jacob wondered why they would be wasting this good grazing time while the sun was still high in the sky.  Why didn’t they just remove the stone and water their flocks?  He was soon to discover the reason.

He greeted the men and asked them where they were from.  They told him they were from Haran.  So Jacob asked them if they knew Laban, Nahor’s grandson.  They replied that they did.

“Is he well?” Jacob asked.

“Yes, he is well, as a matter of fact here comes his daughter Rachel now with his sheep.”

They all had been waiting on Rachel to arrive.  This told Jacob that the well probably belonged to Laban and he was allowing them to use the water after his own livestock were watered.

 

The beautiful daughter of Laban was a shepherdess.  This was not an unusual occupation for a young lady in these parts.  The sheep were always tended either by the bondservant or the youngest child in the family.  Rachel was Laban’s youngest daughter.   The other shepherds had been waiting on her to bring Laban’s sheep so that they could drink first and then they all would be invited to share the bounty of Laban’s well.

When Jacob saw Rachel he quickly rushed to her side, pulled the huge stone that usually took three people to move off the opening of the well all by himself, and proceeded to water her sheep. 

Rachel must have been greatly surprised and impressed with his actions.  Jacob became overwhelmed with joy on finding out that God had led him straight to Laban’s household.  He was so happy to have found Rachel here!

When Jacob first gazed into Rachel’s eyes, he fell instantly in love. 

He explained to Rachel that he was a relative, and she quickly ran to tell her brother Laban who rushed out to meet Jacob and welcome him into the family household.  Laban exclaimed over and over that he was glad to see someone of his own flesh and blood, and he invited Jacob to stay at his home for as long as he liked.

PIECES OF THE PUZZLE - THE REFLECTION OF CHRIST IN NEHEMIAH

Written by:  Sheila Gail Landgraf

 There is hardly a story in the Old Testament that does not shadow the story of Jesus Christ.  We can see Christ in the stories of all of the ancient people of God; Moses, Abraham, Joshua, Joseph, David, and believe it or not - Nehemiah; that little minor prophet that people mistakenly find so boring.

     My Mother always told me; "if you think someone is boring it is because you do not know them very well."  So one day I got to know Nehemiah.  How surprised I was to find The Face of Christ revealed through his obscure personality.   It really hit me one day as I was reading the following scripture passage:

Nehemiah 2:  11-18
11-So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days. 
12-Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me;  I told no one what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem, nor was there any animal with me except the one on which I rode. 
13-And I went out by night through the Valley Gate to the Serpent Well and The Refuse Gate, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which were burned with fire. 
14-Then I went on to The Fountain Gate and to The King's Pool, but there was not room for the animal that was under me to pass. 
15-So I went up in the night by the valley and viewed the wall;then I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned. 
16-And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I had done; I had not yet told the Jews, the Priests, The Nobles,The Officials, or The Others Who Did the Work.
17- Then I said to them:  "You see the distress we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire.  Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach."
18-And I told them of the Hand of My God which had been good upon me and also of the king's words that he had spoken to me.  So they said, "Let us rise up and build."  
Then they sat their hands to do this good work.




     Nehemiah was a cupbearer to the king of Persia.  He got word that the walls of the city containing the temple where his ancestors had worshipped at Jerusalem were destroyed and in need of restoration.  He spoke to the king and obtained permission to leave the king for a while in order to supervise and oversee the repairs to the walls of Jerusalem.  Nehemiah agreed to return to the king once the work was finished.

     Jesus Christ - The Greatest Cupbearer of All - had knowledge that the lives of the people of God had been destroyed by the enemy (satan), and He grieved to know that the people of God were in need of a great restoration.  He spoke to God The Father (The King of Heaven), and obtained permission for The Incarnation.  Changing from God to God in Man, (in comparison to Nehemiah changing from Royal Cupbearer to a common day-laborer), He left the Kingdom of Heaven for awhile to come to earth to oversee the restoration of a nation.  He promised God The Father, The King of Heaven, that he would return to The Kingdom once His work on earth was done.

     Referencing the scriptures we see in the sequence of events that after a long and tiring journey Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem and felt compelled to stay in Jerusalem for three days and three nights before beginning the restoration of the walls.  Again, we glimpse a shadow of Christ spending three days and three nights in the grave before arising to restore the walls of salvation for the people of God. 
    
     Nehemiah is quoted many times saying "I will arise and build."  Jesus Christ rose from the grave and began the work of building The Kingdom of God.  His one desire was to arise and build a nation of people with hearts for God. 

     As the story progresses verse 12 speaks of Nehemiah setting out at night with a few good men at his side.  He notes "I had not told anyone what God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem."  This brings to mind the parallel of Jesus Christ setting out in the black night of a sin filled world with a few disciples at His side.  Jesus is quoted in The Gospel of John, Chapter 14, speaking to His disciples:  "And now I have told you before it comes, that when it comes to pass you may believe."  The few men surveying the walls of Jerusalem at night with Nehemiah were the first to see and understand his plan for restoration.  As these men walked through the ruins with him, Nehemiah prayed to God about the walls and sought God's help and guidance in this restoration.  The men at Nehemiah's side saw the "before" picture of the walls, a picture of wreck, ruin and devastation.  How patiently Nehemiah showed the "before" picture to these "few good men" knowing that when they saw the "after" picture of the restoration of the walls they would remember this day and give glory to God because they would come to believe in the God of Nehemiah during the whole process.  In walking with him, they saw how Nehemiah openly trusted in God and consulted with Him even before the first day of work for the plan of restoration. 

     The disciples, living at the feet of Jesus, were the first to see His plan of restoration.  As they walked through life with Jesus they heard Him pray to God for help and guidance in the restoration of the world.  The disciples living and working with Jesus saw the "before" picture of mankind; a picture of brokenness, wreck, ruin, decay and devastation, so similar to Nehemiah's first glimpse of the walls of Jerusalem.

     Jesus wanted the disciples to see and understand how broken mankind had become.  He spoke of this while He was with them, so that in the day of His resurrection they would remember all that He had taught them and give glory to God and believe on The Name of Jesus. 

     Moving on through the scripture passage, Nehemiah records something that seems insignificant at first.     He says in verse 12 "there were no animals with me, except the one I was riding on."   Considering the sacrifice of Jesus Christ makes this sentence much clearer to us.  All of a sudden this passage becomes very significant.  Of course there were no animals.  No animal sacrifice would have been sufficient.  Only the sacrifice of a perfect One, Jesus Christ, could restore us to God and recreate the kingdom that God had first created and planned for us from the foundation of the world.  There were no animals sufficient for the sacrifice that Jesus provided.  He came bringing His own precious life, and He rode into the city on the back of a donkey.  In this triumphant entry he rode the animal that signified peace, but the animal only bore him into the city, it could not replace Him as the sacrifice.  He rides into His own City as The King of Peace, but only a few faithful men recognized Him as Who He was, much like Nehemiah riding at night with his few good men. 

     Nehemiah comes on his horse to the Valley Gate.  Verse 13 states; "by night Nehemiah went out by the Valley Gate."  Many years into the future, beyond the days of Nehemiah, Jesus too goes through a valley gate.  He goes through The Valley Of The Shadow of Death, as mentioned in Psalm 23.  Nehemiah's horse is symbolic of war, much different from the donkey of peace.  Jesus was riding a donkey, He could not ride the horse of war through the Valley Gate.  He did not fight against the death that He knew awaited Him.  He laid down His life willingly without a fight.  So, we hear that "the horse could not pass through."  It was not the time for the horse of war.  Jesus walked to the cross and to a gruesome death.

     The passage in Nehemiah's story mentions the Jackal Well, and the Dung Gate, and in almost the same breath; Nehemiah is pictured "examining the walls" of Jerusalem.   One can't help but to see Jesus in this act.  We see Him on the cross, examining our sins, taking them upon Himself, letting them become a weight laid upon Him that brings about His death and suffering.  The Dung Gate represents the dirt and filth of our sins that were laid upon Him. 

     Nehemiah looks around in the place where he is standing and observes the walls that are broken and the gates that are destroyed by fire.  Jesus on the cross looked around at the ugliness of mankind while He hung there for hours with all of us mocking and laughing and taking no pity on His suffering.  He sees the brokenness of our lives.  He sees the weak places in our walls.  He sees where we have fallen down and been divided.  It is so ugly that no one else could have bared to look upon it.   He gazes down from the cross with His eyes full of love.  He does what He must do while He is here in this moment of history.  He comes to us just as we are and looks straight into our ugliness and examines our hearts.  He does not see the ugliness.  He does not see the brokenness.  His eyes are special and full of mercy.  He sees like Nehemiah examining the walls, only what God originally  intended to be.  He sees us as God first designed us.    God gives Nehemiah a glimpse of how the walls will look when they are fulfilling their true purpose and design.  God gives him hope of the future of the walls of his beloved city returning to their original state of glory and majesty.

     When we can get a glimpse of hope from God, anything is possible. 

     In verse 14 Nehemiah begins to move toward the Fountain Gate and The King's Pool.  Here is a new turn of events.  Jesus came to a time of turning too.  In His ascension, He rose up to Heaven and sent us The One He had promised, The Holy Spirit.

     The Fountain Gate of Nehemiah's time represented the refreshment of The Holy Spirit.  The water was known for its freshness, its clear, pure qualities.  Now Jesus has shown us the living waters of the fountain of heaven, where we can drink freely and be restored to life everlasting, just like the restoration of the walls around Jerusalem in the story of Nehemiah.

     Here, Nehemiah mentions that animal he was riding again;  "there was not enough room for any mount to get through."  At the Fountain Gate there is peace, the Peace of The Lord, and there is no need for the horse of war.  It is here that the horse of war must be left outside, because it cannot squeeze through into the heavenly places where war has been defeated.  Here at the Fountain Gate, many come seeking the waters.  It is a crowded place.  People are pushing and crowding to get nearer and nearer to Jesus and to the living Water that He brings.  Jesus waits patiently by the Fountain, waiting for each one who comes.  He will meet you there, if you just push on through the crowd and find him.

     Finally, Nehemiah turns back toward where he started.  After a very careful look at every detail of the walls, he turns and reenters the valley through the same Valley Gate.  Jesus Christ, having ascended into heaven is sitting at the right hand of The Father now.  He is there looking down at the walls of our lives.  He is examining us, talking with us, pointing out the things that He wishes us to see and do to those walls that surround His Church, His Bride.

     We must speak with him now, this moment, while He is sitting in the place of Peace, because the day is coming when He will leave the place in the Heavens again and He will reenter this earth.  He will walk again through the dark valley and through the earth full of forgiven sinners.  When He begins to reenter that Valley gate again, there will be times on earth of trials and tribulations like there has never been before, or ever will be again.

     In verse 16 Nehemiah says "The officials did not know where I had gone, or what I was doing, because as yet, I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work."  Jesus didn't speak to the Pharisees and the religious rulers of His day.  He spoke only to his little band of followers, those earthy men who trusted in Him.  Even today, as He speaks from Heaven, He doesn't always speak to the rulers and famous religious leaders, but often He speaks to the poor, humble, gentle, loving people of God who are following His lead and listening to His voice in their lowly lives. 

     When Jesus Christ returns to earth, just as when Nehemiah turned around from following the destruction of the walls, one of the first things Jesus's eyes may see, will be the same picture that Nehemiah saw in those days - Jerusalem lying in ruins.  That Holy City that He loved.  Jerusalem's gates may still be burned with fire.  But Our Lord will turn to His people and say (just as Nehemiah said to his men)  "Come - let us rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace."

     And "So they began the good work," in the days of Nehemiah - in the days of Christ, in the days of our lives.  What a beautiful picture of the face of Nehemiah, the face of Christ, the hope of restoration of a Kingdom and a Nation.

     All this is beautiful to think of, and wonderful to look forward to, but how can we apply this story in a practical way to our own lives right now?

     Nehemiah put much prayer and thought into this work of God.  He only listened to what the Lord had to say, so he only did things the way the Lord wanted them done.  He told the people to start right where they were living.  They each were instructed to build the walls along the portion of the city that they lived the closest to.

     What an inspiration for the church today.  We just have to start with our own place in the wall.  We live out a witness in our own homes and our own families, and our own neighborhoods.  We stand for God in our work places, and our social activities in the community.  We simply have to start in the place that God put us, and we can begin to grow out from our own home base.

     In Nehemiah's day, the beginning of the building started first in a spot that was deemed the most important place in the wall.  It was the wall around the Sheep Gate.  This gate represents Jesus, our Good Shepherd.  This is the gate mentioned in John 5:2,  the gate beside the pool of Bethesda.  It is the gate beside the pool with five porches, which could easily stand for five types of ministry.  This is the gate where the sheep were washed and brought into the temple for sacrifice.  Here we are washed of our sins, just like the sheep in Nehemiah's day.  The priest who offered up the scarifies were required to live in this area.  They had to live next to The Sheep Gate.

     At the time of Nehemiah the High Priest's name was Eliashib.  "El" means "God."  "Yashib" means "to go back."  Reading backwards as the Hebrews do - we can hear a message even in the name of the high priest who worked at this gate.  The message says "go back to God" - or REPENT.

So it is recorded by Nehemiah that the wall around the Sheep Gate was built by one whose names meant "repent."  This gate is the perfect Old Testament picture of the New Testament sacrifice of The Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.  This gate shows us the cross. 

     We are lead to think immediately of the prophet Isaiah's great words about Jesus, "as a sheep before the shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth."  (Isa. 53:7).   At the Sheep Gate of our lives there is a principle of death at work.  It is the death of the natural self.  It is the way we come to our own cross.  We are called to obey Christ, to follow Him and to walk with Him.  That means that some of our desires, some of our natural longings must be put to death.  That is the principle of the cross.  This is a gate that must be kept in repair if we want to grow into a strong Christian.

     A gate is an opening.  The cross symbolized by this Sheep Gate, is an opening to God.  A beginning.

     On each side of the Sheep gate the walls lead to two towers, one tower in each direction.  The first tower is named "Meah."  "Meah" means "Hundred."  The second tower is called The Tower of Hananeel - which means - "God is gracious and merciful."  "Hanan" means "gracious and merciful."  "El" means "God."  Reading backwards we have "God is gracious and merciful."

     Reading the gate and the wall by the meaning of the names of the places in the wall we come to see an Old Testament message with a New Testament meaning:  "The walls of Salvation built by one named "repentance" stands between two tall towers that say "God is gracious and merciful to hundreds."

     In  the Old Testament, in the story of Nehemiah, there is a gate of sacrifice in the middle of a wall of salvation called The Sheep gate that opens the way to God for mankind.  This beautiful picture that God has painted for those with eyes to see, just like a thousand other Old Testament pictures of Christ, brings us hope.  It is a reason to hold on to our belief in God and to cling to our faith in all circumstances, even when we appear to be as broken as Nehemiah's walls.

     The people of Nehemiah's day were in transition.  They probably thought the great days of God with their nation had passed, and that all of God's great deeds had been done.  They had lost any sense of mission, any sense of calling, any sense of challenge.  As a result, they almost missed their chance to see God act powerfully among them.  They almost missed the chance to experience His reclaiming them as His beloved people all over again.  Isn't that much as our world is today?  Where are the Nehemiahs today?

     Thank God for Nehemiah pointing the way to Christ, and thank God if you can find a modern Nehemiah hiding in the culture we live in today.  In an amazing period of just 52 days - under constant threat of attack - the walls of Jerusalem were raised.

     It seems to be the way of our people today to constantly groan.   They groan and morn, and sit and wait for things to change.  Not the case with Nehemiah.  Nehemiah was willing to DO something.  He makes the journey to Jerusalem himself, after convincing the king that he should be allowed to go.  He brings with him leadership.  The walls were torn down and needed rebuilding.  There were no gates of protection.  The people themselves needed to be rebuilt.  The walls became the metaphor for the broken people.  Nehemiah was not just mending a wall - he was mending a nation.

     With Nehemiah's Godly leadership, the people of God once again became great, because they were willing to work together to accomplish a common goal.  Everyone pitched in to do the work.  Everyone but those who opposed the work that God had lead Nehemiah to do, that is.  There were those who did everything they could to stop the rebuilding of the walls and gates of the city.  These Godly people handled much adversity and opposition to obtain the restoration of their city.

     
Because of Nehemiah's Godly leadership and the people's spirit of unity, a broken, disorganized, discouraged bunch of individuals who were alienated from God and from one another transitioned into a strong, well-organized committed and proud community.  They were rededicated to God, recommitted to each other, and respected by their enemies.

God's people don't change much through time.  They still face similar dilemmas and they still ask the same hard questions.  They consistently have their periods of doubt and faith.  But true men and women of God keep looking toward a river whose streams shall make glad the City of God.  Like the few good men in the days of Nehemiah, they look to the future with the hope of a restored Kingdom, where God is in the midst, and they shall not be moved.