It is a breath of fresh air then you read a positive news report.
In ancient times, the city gate was the busiest place in the city:[1]
A place where the social, business, and legal interaction of the city took place
Where the Torah was read and proclamations were declared
Where justice was served
News exchanged and discussed
Local gossip spread
2 Samuel 15:1-6 (KJV)
(1) And it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him. (2) And Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate: and it was so, that when any man that had a controversy came to the king for judgment, then Absalom called unto him, and said, Of what city art thou? And he said, Thy servant is of one of the tribes of Israel. (3) And Absalom said unto him, See, thy matters are good and right; but there is no man deputed of the king to hear thee. (4) Absalom said moreover, Oh that I were made judge in the land, that every man which hath any suit or cause might come unto me, and I would do him justice! (5) And it was so, that when any man came nigh to him to do him obeisance, he put forth his hand, and took him, and kissed him. (6) And on this manner did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for judgment: so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.
2 Samuel 15:1-6 (NET)
(1) Some time later Absalom managed to acquire a chariot and horses, as well as fifty men to serve as his royal guard. (2) Now Absalom used to get up early and stand beside the road that led to the city gate. Whenever anyone came by who had a complaint to bring to the king for arbitration, Absalom would call out to him, “What city are you from?” The person would answer, “I, your servant, am from one of the tribes of Israel.” (3) Absalom would then say to him, “Look, your claims are legitimate and appropriate. But there is no representative of the king who will listen to you.” (4) Absalom would then say, “If only they would make me a judge in the land! Then everyone who had a judicial complaint could come to me and I would make sure he receives a just settlement.” (5) When someone approached to bow before him, Absalom would extend his hand and embrace him and kiss him. (6) Absalom acted this way toward everyone in Israel who came to the king for justice. In this way Absalom won the loyalty of the citizens of Israel.
Markets and trading centers flourished in certain gates in the city:
Nehemiah 3:1, “Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel.”
Nehemiah 3:3, “But the fish gate did the sons of Hassenaah build, who also laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof.”
It was at the gates where prophets and priests delivered God’s admonitions and Divine pronouncements
Sovereign attention was attracted at the gate, because “there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.”[2]
The most vulnerable place in the walls surrounding a city were the gates, which were well-guarded and designed to deter enemy soldiers.
Such a place of distinction would also be a place where any “new arrivals” would be seen, noticed and counted.
It was an honor for an elder to be chosen to sit at the gate of the city and viewed as a place of authority.
Lot, somehow, was an elder at the gate of Sodom where he was vexed with the wickedness of that city and his own compromises made there:
“And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;”[3]
Though vexed and compromised, Lot still had enough in him to recognize the angels of the Lord.
Those same angels were the means of Lot’s salvation from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorroh:
Peter tells us how that God “delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:”[4]
But the damage was done: his wife was dead and his two daughters, overcome by their situation reverted to what Sodom had taught them.
The Gate Signifies Authority[5]
- The gate represents a place of authority
- To “possess the gates” meant one possessed the city
- Jesus spoke of the “gates of Hell” (Matthew 16:18, “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”)
- While we may not be privy to the dark counsels of Hell was have no worries when we have the Rock – Jesus Christ.
- We are on a missional journey and Hell Cannot Stop the Church.
- “To be within the gates” meant to be under the authority of the elders of the city presiding in the gates
- Deuteronomy 15:7, “If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother:”
The gates are a place where plans are made, tactics designed, strategies implemented, and counsel sought.
Absalom understood the importance of the gate and exploited that knowledge to turn the heart of the people from King David with an Evil Report.
It is the Evil Report, spread at your gate and attended to by you that defiles you.
Defile = to make profane, call common, defile, pollute, dirty, or unclean.
Jacob spoke of the “gate of Heaven” (Genesis 28:17, “And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”)
He called that place Bethel – the house of God.
You are Bethel today – You are the House of God and you have gates of access that to need to be well guarded.
Isaiah 33:15-17
(15) He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;
If you Shun the Evil Report
(16) He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.
(17) Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off.
Your ears, eyes and mouth are gates to either shun or share evil reports.
Your ear is a gate and listening to an evil report can defile you.
Evil Report: Distortion of Facts – Incomplete Facts – False Information
The wrongful motivation of an evil report causes the hearer to be defiled by drawing wrong conclusions based on that report.
Mat 15:17-20, “(17) Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? (18) But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. (19) For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: (20) These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.”
Dr. Joe Nelson of Parkersburg Bible College listed various ways an evil reporter operates:
- A Whisperer – one who secretly passes an evil report:
- Psalms 41:7, “All that hate me whisper together against me: against me do they devise my hurt.”
- A Gossip (rumor) – magnifies and sensationalizes rumors of partial information:
- Ezekiel 7:26, “Mischief shall come upon mischief, and rumour shall be upon rumour; then shall they seek a vision of the prophet; but the law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the ancients.
- A Slanderer – One who speaks to destroy credibility by using evil facts:
- Numbers 14:36-37, “(36) And the men, which Moses sent to search the land, who returned, and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up a slander upon the land, (37) Even those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land, died by the plague before the LORD.
- A Busybody – one who digs up evil reports and information with the express purpose of spreading them by any of the three methods above:
- 1 Peter 4:15, “But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters.”
Nelson taught that an evil report is motivated by:
- Bitterness – reacting because of personal hurts
- Rebellion – justifying an independent spirit
- Deception – believing that the evil report is one’s “right” to give
- Pride – wanting to exalt self
- Guilt – justifying past actions or attitudes
- Envy – desiring what others have (jealousy)
Evil Reporters often think that they are getting by: “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil” (Ecclesiastes 8:11).
5 QUESTIONS THAT WILL UNCOVER AN EVIL REPORT (DR. JOE NELSON):
- WHAT IS YOUR REASON FOR TELLING ME THIS?
- WHERE DID YOU GET THE INFORMATION?
- HAVE YOU GONE DIRECTLY TO THOSE INVOLVED?
- HAVE YOU PERSONALLY CHECKED OUT ALL THE FACTS?
- CAN I QUOTE YOU IF I CHECK THIS OUT?
Defilement takes place when you receive an evil report and believe it to be true.
Our True Spiritual Battle is not with people, but with spirits that motivate people.
Ephesians 6:12, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
Spirits of lust, deceit, envy, rebellion, perversion, jealousy, pride…
God has elected not to tell us about the plans of these evil rulers & authorities of the unseen world.
He has not given us a seat at their gate listening to their strategies and wicked plans.
But we see the result of these evil authorities.
2 Corinthians 10:3-6
(3) For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
(4) (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
(5) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
(6) And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.
How?
Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”
You get to choose what you allow into your gate, what you heed, hearken, obey.
[1] **See Notes from Dr. Nelson’s Class & Lesson “Defilement: Absalom’s Curse on 7-13-2010**
[2] Rom 13:1
[3] Genesis 19:1
[4] 2 Peter 2:7
[5] Clarence H. Wagner Jr., Guarding Your Gates
The Pillar and Ground of Truth 