Gates in the Old and New Testaments -- #2 Quiz

Answer: Athalia

Athaliah was a wicked woman who became queen of Israel after the death of her son King Ahaziah. To ensure there would be no other royal heirs, she had all of her grandchildren executed. (However, one grandchild, Joash, survived as he was taken into hiding.)

Athaliah was deposed in the seventh year of her reign with Scripture telling of people rising in revolt against her tyrannical rule.

2 Chronicles 23:14-15 tells of Jehoiada the priest ordering army captains to remove Athalia from the house of the LORD and to slay her with the sword outside.

Verse 15 in the NKJV states: "So they seized her; and she went by way of the entrance of the Horse Gate into the king's house, and they killed her there."

Answer: Zedekiah

Zedekiah was king during the fall of Jerusalem to the army of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. The fall and captivity of Judah is documented in 2 Kings 25.

Scripture tells of Nebuzaradan, an army captain for Nebuchadnezzar, leading the ransack of Jerusalem. Scripture states Nebuzaradan burned the house of the LORD, the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem. As if this wasn't enough, the wall surrounding Jerusalem was demolished.

During the siege of Jerusalem, some of the Israelites fled by "way of the gate between two walls, which was by the king's garden" even though the city was surrounded by enemy soldiers. It is presumed those who fled were slaughtered.

Scripture goes on to tell of Zedekiah having his eyes gouged out and taken captive to Babylon.

Answer: David

David, while surrounded by Philistine soldiers, is quoted in 1 Chronicles 11:17 as saying with longing, "Oh, that someone would give me a drink of water from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!" To David's amazement, three of his Mighty Men took his statement as a direct order and they broke through the camp of the Philistines, drew water from the well by the gate of Bethlehem and took it and brought it to him.

However, the three men who presented the water to David were shocked when he refused to drink it and poured it out to the LORD.

In 1 Chronicles 11:19 in the NKJV, David gives his reason for not drinking the water: "Far be it from me, O my God, that I should do this! Shall I drink the blood of these men who have put their lives in jeopardy? For at the risk of their lives they brought it."

Answer: Solomon

Solomon is the correct answer. 2 Chronicles 8 caps off an account of Solomon building a house of the LORD in Jerusalem, as per the instructions he received from his father David just prior to his death.

According to 1 Kings 9:10 it took Solomon twenty years to construct the house of the LORD and his palace. No expenses were spared, with a massive workforce involved in construction of the two buildings. Solomon's reign is seen by historians as the golden era for Israel.

Answer: Uzziah

Uzziah built fortified towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate and the Valley Gate, according to 2 Chronicles 26:9. Uzziah was only sixteen years old when he replaced his father Amaziah as king of Judah. Uzziah's mother was Jecholiah.

2 Chronicles 26:3-4 states Uzziah reigned fifty-two years and he did "what was right in the sight of the LORD."

No details are given in Scripture about the fortified towers Uzziah built at the Corner Gate and the Valley Gate as they are mentioned in passing reference.

Answer: Nehemiah

A broken-hearted Nehemiah viewed the broken down walls of Jerusalem, complete with burned gates. There is a happy ending to the story, however, as Scripture tells of Nehemiah and those working under his direction, rebuilding the wall, complete with gates, around Jerusalem.

Nehemiah, a cupbearer to King Artaxerxes, was part of a Jewish contingent that had been taken into captivity in Babylon. Nehemiah received permission from the king to lead a contingent of Israelites from Babylon to Judah to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem. The book of Nehemiah tells of his struggles and accomplishments.

Answer: Mordecai

Mordecai, the cousin of Queen Esther, is the correct answer. According to Esther 2:21, Mordecai was sitting within the king's gate, when he became aware of plans by Bigthan and Teresh to kill King Ahasuerus. Bigthan and Teresh were eunuchs in the king's harem and Scripture states they "became furious and sought to lay hands" on the king. Mordecai made Esther aware of the plot and the two men were hanged on a gallows.

Answer: Psalms

The verse comes from Psalm 100:4. To put the verse in context, here's how it reads in the NKJV with the following verse: "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations."

The Psalm has been set to music and has become popular in evangelical churches far and wide. Although Psalm 100 is popular, no one knows for certain who wrote it.

Answer: Daniel

Daniel is the correct answer, as per Daniel 2:49. According to Scripture, Daniel was given the lofty distinction of sitting in the gate of the king after he successfully interpreted a dream for Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. Daniel's three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, were given lofty promotions as well, being responsible for the affairs of the province of Babylon.

Answer: Nain

Jesus was near the gate of Nain when he saw a funeral procession for a widow's son. A few moments later, sorrow and grief would give way to amazement and ecstasy as Scripture tells of Jesus miraculously raising the widow's son from the dead.

For details, see Luke 7:11-17.

In addition to the widow's unnamed son, the New Testament also tells of Jesus raising two other people from the dead. They were Jairus' twelve-year-old daughter and Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha.