Psalms 84 - 85 (with 6 topics)

1. Gatekeepers & Doorkeepers

• At some point there were walled cities: walled cities commonly had gates; Jerusalem did also, as is mentioned in 2ndSa 18:26 (David ruling; Absalom having rebelled).
• 1stCh 23:1-5 says that at the end of David's rule, David assigned Solomon to be king & to build the temple; David also counted the Levites; there were 38,000 that were 30-yrs.-old or older; he assigned 4,000 to be gatekeepers for the temple.
• At some point there were temple doorkeepers; it is mentioned in 2ndKi 22:4, when 8-yr-old Josiah became king of Judah (well after the Israel split; indeed, some 80 yrs. after Israel went captive to Assyria). Part (all?) of their job was to collect money from the people.
• Returning to the temple that Solomon built (court entrance on the west, so that you were facing east as you entered), 1stCh 26:14-16 says there were 5 gates-- the East, North, South, & on the west, the West & (on the upper road) Shalleketh Gates. Of the 4,000 that David assigned, chosen (lots drawn) each day were: 6 Levites to be stationed at the East Gate; 4 at the North Gate; 4 at the South Gate (+2 at the storehouse), & 6 on the west (4 at the road & 2 at the court).
• Now the scripture, I'd rather be a doorkeeper in the House of my GOD than dwell in the tents of the wicked, should not have been claimed by the tax-collecting doorkeepers as it was by the Levites stationed at the gates.

2. Sun & Moon

• Isa 60:1,3,19-20,22 Far Distant prophecy-- concerning Jerusalem: Arise, shine, for your (the city's) light has come, & the Glory of the LORD rises upon you (the city). Nations will come to your light, & kings to the brightness of your dawn. The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the LORD will be your everlasting light, & your GOD will be your glory. Your sun will never set again, & your moon will wane no more; the LORD will be your everlasting light, & your days of sorrow will end. Then all your people will be righteous & They will possess the land forever. They are the shoot I have planted; in its time I will do this swiftly.
• Reve 21:1-2,4,19,21-27 Revelation from God via John-- also concerning Jerusalem: Then I saw a new Heaven & a new earth; there was no longer any sea. I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of Heaven; there will be no more death. The foundations of the city walls were decorated; the 12 city gates were 12 pearls (the city gates will exist-- & as we shall see, shall be permanently open). I did not see a temple in the city (so of course there were no temple gates-- nor anyone stationed there), because the LORD GOD Almighty & the LAMB are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the Glory of GOD gives it light, & the LAMB is its Lamp. This will be the everlasting abode of the born-again Jews-- the shoot referred to in Isaiah. Together, this shoot & Gentile Christians will compose the olive tree, with both the grafted branches & the re-grafted natural branches. The nations will walk by (be in accord with; send diplomats for) its perpetual light; on no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the LAMB'S Book of Life.

3. Transition #2 The pure vs. the impure Written Code Ephe 6:16 We already saw in PSALM 80 - 83 Psalm 82 1. The 10 Commandments the difference between The 10 Commandments, written directly by the Finger of GOD on 2 stone tablets (the pure written code) atop Mt. Sinai, vs. the law of Moses given indirectly through Moses in the region of Horeb. As conjectured, the 2nd giving some 38 yrs. later had some additions in God’s respect for his people’s lifestyles. But much later Jesus said, until heaven & earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the pure Law until everything is accomplished. So, mention should be made of the later changes God allowed made in favor of the peoples' traditions-- this impure written code was indeed obliterated. Colo 2:14 says, HE forgave Us all Our sins, having canceled the impure written code, with its deplorable regulations, that was against Us & that stood opposed to Us; HE took it away, nailing it to the cross. But even before the cross the understood meaning of the written code was "changed" variously, ranging from blatant to subtle changes, at the time of Jesus. We already saw 1 relational change in the Mosaic law (in Psalms 36 - 41 Psalm 38 1. Transition #1 Love-boundary), where Jesus changed love Your neighbor as yourself (Lev 19:18) & Moses command, 'Do not seek a treaty of friendship with them as long as you live (Deu 23:6)' to love your enemy. Here is a more radical change-- from physical application to spiritual application. In O.T. times God was the shield, helper, sword, etc.-- the Israelites were restricted to their physical applications. 1, Gen 15:1 says, I am Your shield; 2, in Deu 33:29 we have Moses saying, HE is Your shield & helper & Your glorious sword; 3, in Jdg 5:8 Deborah observes in her song, When They chose new gods, not a shield or sword was seen among 40,000 in Israel; 4, in 2ndSa 1:21 we have David lamenting for Saul & Jonathan, 'O mountains of Gilboa, may you have neither dew, rain nor productive fields. For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, the shield of Saul-- no longer rubbed with oil [see PART II H.3.1st pt.(end)].' 5, In 2ndSa 22:3,36 we have David singing, The LORD is My rock, My fortress & My deliverer; My GOD is My rock, in whom I take refuge, My shield & the horn of My salvation. YOU give Me YOUR Shield of victory. 6, In 1stKi 10:16-17; 2ndCh 9:15-16 we have, King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold; He also made 300 small shields of hammered gold. 7, In 2ndKi19:21,32,36 we have Isaiah prophesying concerning the inability of Sennacherib king of Assyria to defeat Jerusalem of Judah (as he already had with Israel): The virgin daughter of Zion despises you, king Sennacherib, & mocks you. Even the non-virgin daughter of Jerusalem tosses her head as you flee. He will not enter this city. He will not come before it with shield that I have provided. I will defend this city, for MY Sake & the sake of David MY Servant. He returned to Nineveh (the city that Jonah preached to). 8, Besides these scriptures, we saw shield mentioned in Psa 3:3; 18:35; 28:7; 33:20; 35:2; 59:11; 76:3-- keep in mind that each of these is a unique Hebrew word that refers to a specific shield, belonging to/provided by God; there are other Hebrew words also rendered shield, but this is the closest to the Greek word for shield in Ephe 6:16-- note the N.T. application: In addition to all this (the already described spiritual applications of the whole Armor of GOD), take up the shield of faith, with which You can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.