January 9 - New Gate

January 9 – New Gate

There are two references in Jeremiah to the ‘New Gate.’  The first is in Jeremiah 26:10:

“When the officials of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of the Lord and took their seat in the entry of the New Gate of the house of the Lord.”

The other reference is in Jeremiah 36:10, “Then in the hearing of all the people, Baruch read the words of Jeremiah from the scroll, in the house of the Lord, in the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan the secretary, which was in the upper court, at the entry of the New Gate of the Lord’s house.”

 This may or may not have been a recently constructed gate and to be honest, scholars really aren’t sure which wall this gate was located on.  These points of entry were constructed as structures containing rooms and were also courtrooms.  We see them used that way in Deuteronomy 21:19, Ruth 4:1-12; 2 Samuel 15:2; Amos 5:10-12.

In Jeremiah 26, the prophet has just spoken and when he was finished, the priests, the prophets and all the people seized him and called for his death (Jer. 26:8).  So, we find the Israelite officials leave the palace and come to take their places at the gate.  The priests and prophets once again declare that Jeremiah should die because he prophesied against the city of Jerusalem.

Once again, in Jeremiah 36, the prophet hears the word from the Lord and asks Baruch to write the words down on a scroll.  Jeremiah couldn’t leave because of restrictions placed on him, so he told Baruch to go to the people and read the words to the people.  He did so and the words terrified the officials of the city.

But, the people did not want to listen to the words of the prophecy and continued to punish Jeremiah.  We know, in hindsight, that the city of Jerusalem did fall and Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the palace.

“This is what they Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I am about to fulfill my words against this city through disaster, not prosperity.  At that time they will be fulfilled before your eyes.” (Jeremiah 39:16)

The New Gate is only mentioned in the book of Jeremiah, but it was part of an incredible story of God’s fulfillment of prophecy.