Pastor Melinda Song
11 & 12 June 2022
The fourth gate in our tour around the walls of ancient Jerusalem is the Valley Gate.
Nehemiah 3:6-12 (ESV)
6 Joiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah repaired the Gate of Yeshanah. They laid its beams and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. 7 And next to them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah, the seat of the governor of the province Beyond the River. 8 Next to them Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, goldsmiths, repaired. Next to him Hananiah, one of the perfumers, repaired, and they restored Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall. 9 Next to them Rephaiah the son of Hur, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, repaired. 10 Next to them Jedaiah the son of Harumaph repaired opposite his house. And next to him Hattush the son of Hashabneiah repaired. 11 Malchijah the son of Harim and Hasshub the son of Pahath-moab repaired another section and the Tower of the Ovens. 12 Next to him Shallum the son of Hallohesh, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, repaired, he and his daughters.
13 Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired the Valley Gate. They rebuilt it and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars, and repaired a thousand cubits of the wall, as far as the Dung Gate.
These verses describe the repair work on the west wall beginning with the Old Gate in verse 6 and ending with the Valley Gate in verse 13.
In between the Old Gate and the Valley Gate lies the longest stretch of wall between any two gates. This wall represents what we call the “honeymoon” period in Christian life; the “first love” season when we are on fire for God and passionately desire to serve and know him better.
I remember that time when I just wanted to be in the presence of God and his people and soak myself in the word. God answered my simple, child-like prayers and my love for God and faith in him knew no bounds.
This “honeymoon period” can go on for some time as indicated by the distance between the Old Gate and the Valley Gate. But sooner or later we will reach the Valley Gate.
When we least expect it, the spiritual high is gone. We go from singing and praising God with whom we feel in close proximity, to feeling disconnected and distant from him. Answers to prayer suddenly seem few and far between, with feelings of loneliness and abandonment soon taking their place.
Some of the many questions we may ask ourselves during this sudden and painful season are: “Did I sin?” “Have I unintentionally quenched or grieved the Holy Spirit?” And the devil will add his lies to the mix to further confuse us.
Often this strange silence from God signals our arrival at the Tower of the Ovens (Nehemiah 3:11), and subsequently, the Valley Gate.
The process of sanctification begun at the Old Gate will always lead us through the burning coals of the Tower of the Ovens and the Valley Gate.
First, let us briefly look at the Tower of the Ovens where God brings us through the furnace of affliction. Psalm 34:19 declares: “Many are the afflictions of the righteous.”
This is an unwelcome truth that it is sometimes necessary for God to put His people in the furnace of affliction.
Isaiah 48:10 (NKJV)
Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver;
I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
In the time of the Old Testament, a “furnace” was a crucible for melting and refining silver and gold (Proverbs 17:3; 27:21). The word is used figuratively in this text to mean severe and grievous afflictions by which God purifies and proves His people (Ezekiel 22:18-22; Isaiah 32:9).
Matthew Henry wrote of this passage in Isaiah that God’s “bringing men into trouble was to do them good,” and he continues “many have been brought home to God as chosen vessels, and a good work of grace begun in them, in the furnace of affliction.”
Affliction has a way of forcing us to look up, searching for comfort and seeking relief that is found in God.
Isaiah 49:13 (NKJV)
For the LORD has comforted His people,
And will have mercy on His afflicted.
Now let us turn to the next gate we will encounter as we progress along the journey of spiritual formation, the Valley Gate. As the name suggests it opens into a valley, although it is uncertain whether it is the Tyropoeon Valley or the Hinnom Valley.
To help us understand what happens in the valley and how we can come out of it victoriously let us turn to . . .
Psalm 23:4 (ESV)
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
First, let us look at . . .
A. THE PROBLEM: The Valley
Throughout the Bible, hills and valleys symbolise life’s ups and downs. During hill situations, we’re especially aware of God’s presence with us and grateful for his blessings for us. Examples of hill situations include enjoying loving relationships, achieving goals, experiencing health and wealth, and seeing prayers answered. As inspiring as life’s hills are though, they don’t last since circumstances constantly change.
Valleys are places of late morning sunshine and early shadow representing the low places in our lives. Valley situations include relationship conflicts, health crises, failures, financial problems, and bereavement.
Much suffering happens in valleys as God’s people struggle with challenges and discouragement.
The valley speaks of sorrow giving rise to a host of metaphorical expressions such as a vale of tears, a valley of depression, a valley of failure, and a valley of difficulty.
The valley is the place of mourning. In Psalm 23, the deepest depth of our lives is the Valley of the Shadow of Death.
This verse is often used to comfort those who are dying, and it is not wrong to use it in this way. However, in the context, it is a reference to the seasonal passage from the warmer lowlands, where sheep spend the winter, to the high pastures, where they go in summer. The only way to get the sheep from the low ground up to the high ground was to go through the valleys and gorges that are common in Palestine.
There are no fewer than five Hebrew words used for valley. The type of valley referred to here is the deep, rocky wadi, a dry stream bed carved by rushing waters in the spring but dark and foreboding most of the year. Dangers included flash floods and attacks from animals or outlaws. Since the sun does not shine into the valley very well, there really are shadows which at any moment may become shadows of death.
Strong’s Number H6757 matches the Hebrew צַלְמָוֶת (ṣalmāveṯ), which occurs only 18 times in 17 verses in the WLC Hebrew Old Testament. It is usually used for poetic descriptions of an emotional darkness caused by threatening circumstances, usually with an implied sorrow or fear and impending terror, doom, distress, or danger. Job uses the phrase 10 times to signify a deep shadow, great distress, or a long dark passageway that seems to have no end in sight.
In this psalm, the better translation for this valley is “dark valley” or “valley of deep darkness.” The valley of deep darkness is not just about death; it’s about all those trials in life when, for a season, the shadows overtake the light. It represents any difficult experience of life that makes us afraid or hopeless.
It is important to note that “the valley of the shadow of death” is as much God’s right path for us as the “green pastures” which lie beside “quiet waters.” That is, the Christian life is not always tranquil nor, as we say, a mountain-top experience. God gives us valleys also.
Remember, names have meaning and it is no coincidence that Nehemiah assigned Hanun and the residents of the town Zanoah to repair this gate.
Nehemiah 3:13 (ESV)
Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired the Valley Gate.
Hanun in Hebrew means “favour”!
We have been taught that God’s favour delivers us out of valleys and trials so it is hard to believe that favour is working for us in the Valley Gate. But the Scriptures teach that, in certain instances, God’s favour leads us to the valley as part of our personal development in the plan of sanctification.
Hanun was assisted by some people who are identified by the town they lived in. Zanoah means “rejected”. This meant that people from a town named “Rejection” surrounded one man named “Favour”. It is hard to understand how we can be favoured by God, and yet experience an immeasurable amount of rejection all around. Jesus and Job had first-hand experience with this situation.
At such a time, Pastor, writer and Bible teacher Andrew Murray encourages us to say: “I am here —
1. By God’s appointment.
2. In His keeping.
3. Under His training.
4. For His time.”
Many of our greatest life lessons and growth opportunities come from living life in valleys, not on mountain tops. As G.K. Chesterton said, “One sees great things from the valley; only small things from the peak.”
Isaiah 45:3 (ESV)
I will give you the treasures of darkness
and the hoards in secret places,
that you may know that it is I, the LORD,
the God of Israel, who call you by your name.
When enduring life in a valley, here a few things that might be helpful to remember.
Valleys are Unavoidable
Although not very optimistic, some have said, “If you’re not headed out of a valley, you’re headed into one.”
The Bible does not say, “Count it all joy IF you encounter trials” but “Count it all joy WHEN you encounter trials…” (James 1:2)
Sometimes we are brought into a valley through the results of sins we’ve committed or poor choices we have made. Other times, it’s simply part of life that we experience times of sorrow, suffering, defeat, loss, challenges and despair.
The metaphoric valley discussed here represents the sudden trials that come through no fault of ours that God uses to train us for battle. These trials typically have no logical explanation, leaving us feeling abandoned by God, upset, confused and discouraged by our challenging circumstances. They may even cause us to temporarily struggle with sinful desires that offer to fill the void created by the valley.
PTL! Valleys (like hills) although unavoidable are also temporary as circumstances change.
Valleys are Unpredictable
As much as we plan and prepare, we need to understand that “valleys” often happen without warning. For example, we all are just emerging from the valley of the shadow of COVID—with whatever stresses and challenges that have brought.
PTL! You have walked through that valley.
Valleys are Unbiased
Valleys are not assigned to a selected few in life but to everyone. It’s easy to look at successful people in life and assume they had an easy path. We are just not aware of the setbacks, challenges and delays they experienced along the way.
Valleys Build Character
Hills and valleys serve as an analogy for our lives. We need the mountaintop experiences to be reminded of the greatness and power of God, yet it is during times of difficulty in the valleys where we are transformed into His image and learn His faithfulness.
It is in the valley of darkness that we learn those lessons about ourselves, about our limitations and weaknesses, and about God that we can never learn by the still waters, in the green pastures.
“Mother House” in Calcutta is the headquarters of the Missionaries of Charity, and the home where Mother Teresa lived, served, died, and is now laid to rest. There, you can see the tiny bedroom where she slept from the 1950s until her death in 1997 and her tomb, now a place of pilgrimage and silent meditation for people of all faiths. There are also countless photographs of Mother Teresa out among the poor she spent her days and nights serving an endless cacophony of need.
Ten years after her death, Mother Teresa’s private letters to her spiritual advisors were published in a volume entitled, Come Be My Light, and the struggle those letters revealed shocked both admirers and critics of Calcutta’s 20th-century saint. Contrary to popular belief, Mother Teresa did not enjoy perpetual — or even frequent — spiritual bliss as she went about doing the “Lord’s work.” Instead, she experienced despair, doubt, loneliness, and the seeming abandonment of God. Her “dark night of the soul” lasted for decades.
Often in her letters, she berated herself for this “darkness,” until finally, she came to believe that God was allowing her to identify intimately with the suffering of those he had called her to serve. For Mother Teresa, compassion was neither straightforward nor comfortable. It was birthed in her at great cost. Wrenched from her through darkness and pain.
Suffering develops character in us, along with proper sentiments, and ideas of God. Once we have learned obedience through suffering, we don’t need God to explain anything he chooses to do or asks us to do. Now, more mature and resilient, we can better endure through the remainder of the Christian journey that, at times, will be filled with fiery trials and persecution.
B. THE PROMISE: His Presence
There is really one solution to the problem of the valley, and it is to remember that the Lord is with us. “For you are with me”
There are two important things to notice about this phrase. First, it is at the exact structural centre of the psalm. Twenty-six Hebrew words before and twenty-six come after. This is a Hebrew poet’s clue that this verse is central to what the author is saying.
Secondly, did you notice a change of pronoun? Earlier in this psalm, David’s comments about God are in the third person — the LORD is my shepherd … He makes me lie down … He leads me… He refreshes my soul … He guides me. But when David gets to the dark valley, he switches to the second person: “for you are with me” (v. 4).
God becomes intensely personal, real and near in the valley. David is no longer speaking about the Shepherd but to him. It moves from an abstract concept to a personal relationship with the living God. It’s as if David sees the darkness ahead, and he reaches out for God’s hand.
He reaches out to the One who gathers the waters of the ocean in the palm of his hand, who puts Mt. Everest in a scale and weighs it, who marks off the heavens with his hand. The God who with a word from his mouth created the sun, which produces the energy of 60 trillion Hiroshima bombs every second. And there are more stars like that in the universe than there are sands of grain on all the beaches in all the world.
This God is with us. We can echo the words of David: I will fear no evil, for you are with me.
God gives us these words of assurance in Isaiah. 43:1-3,
But now, this is what the LORD says—he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: ‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour.”
God does not always deliver us. Sometimes his will/purpose is to take you THROUGH. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death”
New Testament believers have greater cause for rejoicing as God is not just with them, he is actually in us. It is not the valley, the darkness or the dangers that matter; it is the God who is with us and in us that matters!!
When you see God in all of his glory and power and love and wisdom, it will bring light into your darkness and the size of your problems will shrink to their proper proportions.
He is with us, he is for us, he is in us! He is Waymaker, Promise-Keeper, Light in the darkness!
C. THE PROTECTION: His Rod & Staff
While God, all by himself, is certainly enough for us in the valley, David highlights two of a shepherd’s tools to help us understand exactly what God does to protect and guide us. Neither of these tools is familiar to modern urbanites like most of us are.
His Rod
This was a sturdy wooden stick that was used as a weapon to fight off wild animals who might have hoped to make an easy meal out of an otherwise defenceless flock of sheep. The rod was generally not used on the sheep because beating a sheep doesn’t help at all.
The rod was a symbol of the Lord’s strength and protection.
His Staff
The staff, on the other hand, was a symbol of the Lord’s guidance and lovingkindness.
It was a long, slender stick, up to six feet in length, often hooked at the tip, used primarily to direct the flock. Sheep are notorious wanderers, and once away from the shepherd’s watchful eye, they get into all sorts of trouble (Matt. 18:12–14).
The shepherd uses his staff to keep his sheep out of danger and close to himself. If a sheep became trapped in a precarious position, the shepherd would loop the curved end of the staff around the neck of the sheep and retrieve it back to safety.
His rod and staff comfort us and give us peace because they protect us. But it is more than just emotional comfort for now we have the courage to step forward and keep walking wherever he may lead us until we make it home.
CONCLUSION
We often think that the dangers in the valley come from without, but, just as often, they come from within. In our valleys, it is not just other people or circumstances or Satan himself who are threats; it is our own hearts when we let discouragement, despair and fear grip us.
If you are going through a dark, scary valley today, remember that you are not alone. Rest in the promise of our Good Shepherd who will guide us through and around those dangerous spots in the valley so that we make it out safely on the other side. He will carry you when you are too weak to walk, and restore your soul when you are too tired to move forward.
Even though shadows may threaten to hide the beauty within, remember that the valley is fertile with seeds of personal and spiritual growth. Do not let fear overcome you, nor allow the shadows to threaten your peace, thus hiding the fact that the good shepherd is with you.
For not for a minute have you been forsaken. The Lord is in this place. Run into His arms of love.
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