Go Through The Gates

 Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. [Isaiah 55:6 NKJV]

Go through,
Go through the gates!
Prepare the way for the people;
Build up,
Build up the highway!
Take out the stones,
Lift up a banner for the peoples!
[Isaiah 62:10 NKJV]

Gates to the early Christian monastic settlement of St Kevin [6th century]. Glendalough, Co Wicklow, Ireland.

Isaiah 55:6 was suggested by Pat, who says that this verse and the encouragement in Isaiah 62:10 to Go Through The Gates (sung in the video below by Barry and Batya Segal) are important for this time.

Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near has been very important to us, and has been a recurring word in our walk of faith. There is the implication that there may come a time when He may not be found, that He will be afar off. This word seems echoed in the The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins. In Matthew 25:10 we are told: And while (the foolish virgins) went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.
There is an urgency about our relationship with God. He says "Don't let your faith slide. Work at it!" And the reality is that it is not God closing the door of the Kingdom on us, but ourselves - through our lackadaisical approach to Him - failing to answer His knock on the door. It is the question discussed in Holman Hunt's painting 'The Light of The World', based on Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.
Isaiah is calling us to draw near to God, seek Him before we do not know where to look. Answer his knock on the door and "Go through the gates!"

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Several years ago, I felt led by The Lord to study the gates of Jerusalem as mentioned in the book of Nehemiah. This ended up being a series of talks, but briefly, I believe that the gates relate to our walk with The Lord, and that we can go in and out of the city of our God until we can go no more out. Isaiah seems to be encouraging us in 62:10 to hear from God and 'put His word into our walk', for the rewards are immense, and where one leads, others will follow on that Kingdom highway to everlasting life.

Below is a table of the Gates, Names and meanings which begin to build a picture of the pattern being revealed in Scripture. This is not the place to give in in-depth interpretation, but at some point soon, we hope to put our notes into an article which can be downloaded for further study.

GATE

 1. The Sheep Gate
 2. The Fish Gate
 3. The Old Gate 
 4. The Valley Gate
 5. The Dung Gate
 6. The Fountain Gate
 7. The Prison Gate
 8. The Water Gate
 9. The Horse Gate
10. The East Gate
11. The Miphkad Gate
12. The Gate of Ephraim

BRIEF MEANING

Migrate
Multiply
Sleep
Pride
Ash-heap
Eye
Keep
Refreshment
Skip (for joy)
Arise
Appointed place
Doubly fruitful

TRIBE OF ISRAEL
(SONS OF JACOB)
Reuben
Simeon
Levi
Judah
Dan
Naphtali
Gad
Asher
Issachar
Zebulun
Joseph
Benjamin

MEANING OF NAME

Behold A Son
Hearing
Joined
Praise
Judgement
Wrestling
A Troop
Blessed
Recompense
Habitation
Adding
Son of The Right Hand

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 'Go Through the Gates (Isaiah 62:10)' by Barry & Batya Segal