“His son Shemaiah also had sons, who were leaders in their father’s family because they were very capable men.”
– 1 Chronicles 26:6
Hi James and Ellen,
What would you consider to be a mindless job? Where would you put being a gatekeeper on your list of menial jobs? When your grandmaa and grandpaa lived in Guatemala City, Guatemala as missionaries on the Equipo SEPAL (OC International) field missionary team, your grandmaa and grandpaa lived in a gated condominium complex that was located less than a block from where Equipo SEPAL field missionary team had their office. This condominium complex in Las Charcas, Guatemala City – where your grandmaa and grandpaa lived during the six and half years that they actually lived in Guatemala, would 24/7 have a guy in the small room that was located right next to the gate that everyone had to go through to get to where they lived or to who they were visiting in the complex. This guy’s tasked responsibility was to open the gate for anyone who wanted to leave the condominium complex and to ensure that anyone who wanted to go into the complex was either someone who lived in the complex or who had a valid reason for wanting to enter the complex. When John Depue – a South America Mission field team missionary, built a missionary guest house in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, John hired don Felix Pedraza to be the caretaker of the guest house’s lawn, flowers, shrubs and trees as well as to open and to close the gate for anyone who wanted to come into or leave South America Mission’s guest house’s property. Since Bolivia declared its dependence in 1825, it has had 193 coups. During a coup after John built South America Mission’s guest house, a group of guys and gals who lived in Santa Cruz became so anarchistic or lawless that they became a rowdy mob and began to threaten to break into South America Mission’s guest house property. Per what John related to your grandmaa and grandpaa about what don Felix did during the peak of this coup – as your grandmaa and grandpaa had not yet arrived in Bolivia to join the South America Mission field missionary team when this incident took place, don Felix stayed throughout the night at South America Mission’s guest house’s gate ready to protect his and his wife Phoebe’s lives as they were living at South America Mission’s guest house at this time, from the unruly group of Bolivian guys and gals.
Gatekeepers about 3,000 years ago had significant job responsibilities. The chronicler devoted approximately half of 1 Chronicles 26 to Levi tribal clan guys who were assigned by lot to be city of Jerusalem gatekeepers. What do you think it was like being South America Mission’s guest house property’s gatekeeper in Santa Cruz, Bolivia? The city of Jerusalem gatekeepers were all from a specific Levi tribal clan. Korah was the patriarch for Levi tribal clan guys who were assigned gatekeeper positions. Korah may have been one of Levi’s great-grandsons – which would make him a cousin of Moses or Korah may have been one of prophet Samuel’s kids. Korah had in his family tree a couple of standout kids – Meshelemiah and Obed-Edom. Meshelemiah had eight sons while Obed-Edom had nine sons. The chronicler made it a point to make sure that everyone knew that Obed-Edom had been particularly blessed by God. Shemaiah was Obed-Edom oldest boy. Verse 6 says, “His son Shemaiah also had sons, who were leaders in their father’s family because they were very capable men.” What the chronicler does not mention is that Shemaiah and his bros growing up years probably was when the ark of the covenant was being guarded by their dad at their house. Your grandpaa believes that Obed-Edom set the bar high for each one of his 62 descendants.
When lots are drawn or cast for whatever reason, God is Who assigns who goes where or does what. When lots were drawn about 3,000 years ago for assigning gatekeeper positions for the city of Jerusalem, lots were drawn for Shelemiah to be the gatekeeper for the city of Jerusalem’s East Gate and for Zechariah to be the gatekeeper for the city of Jerusalem’s North Gate. The chronicler made it a point to ensure that everyone knew that Zechariah was a wise counselor. Lots were also drawn for Obed-Edom to be the gatekeeper for the city of Jerusalem’s South Gate and for Shuppim and Hosah to be gatekeepers for the city of Jerusalem’s upper road and West Gates. Because the East Gate was the main entrance leading into the city of Jerusalem, the East Gate had six guard posts that were to be always staffed and manned by Shelemiah’s family clan guys. To be an assigned gatekeeper at the South Gate was a particularly honorable assignment as it was used by Israel’s kings. The four guard posts at the South Gate were to be always staffed and manned by Obed-Edom’s family clan guys. Both the North Gate and the Shalleketh Gate on the upper road had four guard posts that had to be always staffed and manned. An additional lot was drawn for guarding the storehouse that was in the temple of God that was in the city of Jerusalem. Plunder that was confiscated from neighboring people groups of guys and gals that Israel’s kings’ armies defeated was stored in this storehouse. The lot that was drawn was for Obed-Edom’s family clan guys to guard the temple of God’s storehouse. Your grandpaa thinks of his grandpa on his mother’s side of his family as being a gatekeeper. Even though your grandpaa’s grandpa on his mother’s side of his family was a rural mail carrier, he was purportedly instrumental in the founding of the Christian Reformed Church in Volga, South Dakota. The thirteen kids who grew up in the home of your grandpaa’s grandpa on his mother’s side if his family witnessed their dad’s zeal to serve God. Two of his sons became pastors.
1 Chronicles 26 (1150)