Today, I want to look at the doorkeepers, the gatekeepers. Now, the gatekeepers were Levites stationed at the gates of God's house. They had the task of opening the doors in the morning and closing them at night.
In the Scriptures, gatekeepers were appointed. This is a position that they, again, stood at the door. Their responsibilities included receiving and distributing tithes, gifts that were brought to the house of God. They were in charge of the vessels of the Temple. They were appointed over the furnishings and over the implements that are used in the sanctuary.
Some of them were over the fine flour, the wine, the oil, the incense, and the spices. And some of the sons of the priests were in charge of making the ointments for the spices. But some of them were bakers, and they were in charge or had the responsibility of preparing the showbread for every Sabbath.
But most importantly, they stood guard at the entrance of the Temple to make sure that no unclean person would enter into God's house. They stood guard for hours on end, day and night. Now, this may not seem to like to be a glorious job, but it was an exceedingly important duty to the point where the psalmist said there is no place he would rather be than at the threshold of the Temple.
And as I said earlier, this is a position that was appointed or you could even say the position was ordained. So, they understood that this duty was of a profound trust and an honorable position. Of course, what better way to serve than to be at the threshold of the door into the presence of God.
The faithful traveler is strongly committed to worshipping God at the Temple.
Verse 11 does not promise that God will give us everything that we want. We know that, but that He will not withhold what is permanently helpful to us, things having to do with our salvation, with our growth. He will provide us with the means to walk the path, but we must also do the walking. And when we obey Him, He will not hold back anything that helps us continue to live for Him.
