The Dung Gate
PPT 1 series slide
PPT 2, 3 Scripture Text
Ne 2:9 So I went to the governors of Trans-Euphrates and gave them the king's letters. The king had also sent army officers and cavalry with me.
Ne 2:10 When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites.
Ne 2:11 I went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three days
Ne 2:12 I set out during the night with a few men. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts with me except the one I was riding on.
Ne 2:13 By night I went out through the Valley Gate toward the Jackal Well and the Dung Gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire.
Ne 2:14 Then I moved on toward the Fountain Gate and the King's Pool, but there was not enough room for my mount to get through;
Ne 2:15 so I went up the valley by night, examining the wall. Finally, I turned back and reentered through the Valley Gate.
Jerusalem had a number of gates in and out of the city. This message is about one in particular, "The Dung Gate." In order to understand this message you need to mentally take yourself back in time 2500 years and think about how life was different then.
So we will begin with a little history lesson on sewage, or in this case dung removal.
In ancient Israel there was no sewer system, as we understand it. In fact in ancient Rome there was a law that if you threw excrement out of your house and it landed on someone you had to pay a fine, but only during daylight hours, at night since they had no lighting they didn't consider it a crime if you hit someone. There was some sewage systems in larger cities, but only the richest of people would have had access to it, no one know how well they worked at getting rid of human waste. For the most part they were storm drains. In our modern systems we have pumping stations, a constant flow of water etc. Back then, they had no such things and so their sewer systems were primitive and often had to employ people to clean out blockages. Very few homes would have been near the sewer system, there were no toilets at best the few that access had an open hole that led to the sewer.
The earliest recorded sanitary laws concerning disposal of human waste is attributed to Moses in the Old Testament. Around 1500 B.C, he gave a law that instructed the people to dispose of their waste away from the camp, and to use a spade to turn the remains under the earth or sand. Think 2 million people and no toilets. Whenever you saw a guy carrying a shovel you knew what was going on. The next time you use your bathroom, you need to thank God you are not living back then. Ancient cities were no different, in fact they had to hire people to collect and carry human waste out of the city. How would you like that job? Do you know that in some ways that is the job Jesus has? He has to take our waste (sin) away. That thought is what has given birth to this message. It is my hope that if nothing else you come away with an appreciation for all that Jesus does for us.
Today I want to use this passage in Nehemiah as a launching point to talk about two simple truths.
The purpose of the Dung Gate, and the Porter of the Dung Gate.
In the first section I will talk about the purpose of the Dung Gate and the fact that it opened into the Valley of Hinnom.
The second point that I want to make is about the One Who takes out the trash, and we will have a special drama to present during that portion of the message.
1. The Purpose of the Dung Gate
It was important for health, and it was instructive for holiness.
Important for health.
Our bodies are continually being poisoned, and God in His wisdom provided numerous ways to get rid of the toxins we are daily bombarded with. Killer T-cells to attack foreign invaders, a liver for toxins in our food, kidneys for toxins in our blood, tear ducts to wash dirt from our eyes, a bladder and colon to remove waste products, lungs to get rid of carbon dioxide, throats to hurl what our stomachs don't like.
If we don't get rid of this waste we will be in serious physical jeopardy in very short order.
Jerusalem as a city had the same issues as we do as people. They had to get rid of waste, garbage, dead bodies, the remnants of hundreds of thousands of sacrificial offerings, and human waste for starters. On high holy days upwards of 15,000 sheep may have been slaughtered, as the city would have had 125,000 extra guests on hand. The amount of waste generated was astronomical.
There were no toilets, people collected their waste and threw it outside the city, and put it in a place called the Valley of Hinnom, which I will talk about a little more later. Do you know that in the United States indoor toilets didn't take off till after WWI? Soldiers in Europe came back telling how the Europeans had flush toilets. Prior to this time the out house, and the chamber pot were the primary means of personal relief in the US. You teenagers who complain about chores, how would you like the chore of emptying all the chamber pots??? The first flush toilets were invented in Europe around the year 1600. Here is a picture on an early flush type toilet:
PPT 4 Flush toilet
You notice the barrel below it? Somebody had to carry that stuff and dispose of it. Imagine a city of a couple hundred thousand with no sanitary system? That is Jerusalem in Jesus' day. They had to carry their waste outside the city in a designated place. I don't think they did it every day. Can you say thank God for toilets!
Everybodies waste eventually wound up in the river, the problem is that the river is where they also got their water from. For sanitary reason the sewers would have been designed to carry the waste downstream away from the city. But this really didn't solve the disease issues, because there was always another city upstream from you! Illus India, man brushing teeth in the Ganges, I found it troubling knowing that many people were using the same water to relieve themselves!
So most of Jerusalem carried their dung, to the designated area outside the city through what was called the dung gate. It was important for health, for safety, and for the prevention of disease. There were people who were employed in the removal of waste, it is important that you understand most of the waste they dealt with was biological. There was no plastic, no packaging, it was mostly dung, and dead organisms. Imagine if they didn't get it out of their city. I think ancient cities smelled a little different than modern ones do. Can you say oooooohhh! I remember walking in the city of Mumbai, and seeing a dead woman on the street. There are many poor in India that are homeless, and perhaps like ancient Jerusalem they have people whose job it is to remove the bodies of dead indigents. In NY there are people who are paid $35.00 per carcase to remove dead deer from the roadways. Imagine how much more unpleasant life would be if we didn't have such people. Lest you think this is a small issue in the year 2000 for example there were 247,000 deer vehicle accidents!
There is a spiritual lesson in this, even as the body has toxins, and a city has toxins, so does our spirit man/woman. Some of it is of our own creation, (personal sin) and some of it is what others dump on us. The need to get rid of spiritual toxins is greater than the need to get rid of physical ones. Physical death is one thing spiritual death is on a whole different playing field.
Mt 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
This leads to our next reason why the Dung Gate is important, in the first place we said it was important for health, now we want to say it is instructive for holiness.
The dung gate opened to a valley called the valley of Hinnom. Most Jews were buried in a similar fasion as we are today, but if you were indigent, or a foreigner, or a leper, or a beggar etc, your body would have been thrown outside the city in the valley of Hinnom, through the Dung Gate. I don't want to gross you out but imagine if you will that between 40 – 50 people died a day. The Jew also had numerous animal sacrifice that had to be burned. The law required they be burned outside the city. It is believed numbers of the dead humans were burned, so between the two what you have is a perpetual fire burning, and rotting bodies riddled with worms and flies. This is what you saw if you looked out the dung gate.
Now what do you think the people of Jesus day thought of when they heard him say this?:
PPT 5 Scripture Text
Mr 9:43 "And if your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire,
Mr 9:44 [where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.]
Their minds would have immediately went to the Dung Gate, and the valley of Hinnom beyond it. Visions of the Dung Gate should make you want to live in such as way as to please God.
Now for a shocker, there will be a dung gate in heaven. Though I don't think it will be called by that name. New Jerusalem as heaven is called is a city with 12 gates, and 12 foundations. The foundations are named after the 12 apostles, and the 12 gates are named after the 12 tribes of Israel. So I don't know which gate it is but out of one them we will be able to see the valley of Hinnom
PPT 6 Scripture Text
Isa 66:22 "For just as the new heavens and the new earth Which I make will endure before Me," declares the LORD, "So your offspring and your name will endure.
Isa 66:23 "And it shall be from new moon to new moon And from sabbath to sabbath, All mankind will come to bow down before Me," says the LORD.
Isa 66:24 "Then they shall go forth and look On the corpses of the men Who have transgressed against Me. For their worm shall not die, And their fire shall not be quenched; And they shall be an abhorrence to all mankind."
PPT 7
Re 22:14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.
Re 22:15 Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.
Outside are… this is a good verse arguing against annihilationism, outside are, not were.
Somewhere outside the city is a place that the valley of Hinnom models. It will be an eternal reminder that either you let Jesus take away your dung, or you live in it.
2. The Porter of the Dung Gate
How would you like the job of taking the dung out of the city?
Ever seen the TV show, "Dirty Jobs," with Mike Rowe? Does he ever act like cleaning those nasty places is pleasant or fun? Do you think he likes getting the mess on him?
This helps put the proper spin on this verse:
PPT 8 Scripture Text
Eph 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
In a minute we are going to have a special dramatic presentation on the porter of the dung gate, there are several things I want you to take from this message, and I will have a few comments at the end of the drama, but for now let me say, we ought to be very thankful to Jesus that He was willing to get rid of our dung. Dung in the natural is a fitting representation of our sin. What Jesus has done for us goes way beyond words. What condescension! What selflessness! He must really like us to do what He has done for us!
As the team is setting up, I have a short video of Sweet hour of prayer.
Lessons from the drama:
Jesus will take care of the garbage but is more interested in us than in simply being the guy who gets rid of the dung. For some prayer time, is time to take out the garbage, and for some it is time to submit our shopping list. Jesus is ok with all that, but that is not all He wants, He wants us!
When you hold something against someone, what you are doing is holding dung against yourself.
Some people are content to keep their dung, oh that God would help us to see sin from His perspective!
Close: Do you need to ask Jesus for cleansing? Have you been holding on to something. Has the Lord spoken to you about the loss of your first love?
The Porter of the Dung Gate
ACT 1
Announcer: Today we have four people who are going to talk to Jesus, we need you to use your imagination a little bit with this, to help us get our message across. The basic premise is that we are going to show things from Jesus' point of view.
(Also the players might want to look up to the ceiling when they are talking to Jesus. – think about that one and get back to me.)
Scene 1
Play opens with table in front of sanctuary; a couple of large garbage cans are nearby. JESUS, dressed as a garbage collector wearing dirty cover-alls and work boots, is standing behind the table. A short distance from the table are two comfortable chairs setup for an intimate two person conversation.
SARAH walks in with two garbage bags, one large one small. Sweet hour of prayer is playing in the background.
SARAH
Announcer: First up is Sarah (wearing pj's?) She has had a really long day at the office, but as a good and dutiful Christian she's gives Jesus the last moments of her day before she closes her eyes in slumberland.
(Handing the larger bag to Jesus, she holds the smaller bag behind her back)
I'm sorry Lord, could you take care of this for me? I mean… nothing really comes to mind right now, but I know I have some secret faults somewhere.
Jesus takes the bag and intimates it is nasty and stinky. Holding His nose and the bag by His fingertips, He doesn't even want to touch it at all. He Opens bag looks inside, He is totally grossed out. She is mostly unaware of His reaction, (The point is to show the difference between what we think about sin, and what Jesus does)
JESUS
Of course Sarah, I'll take care of it.
SARAH
Thank you Lord, since I have confessed my sins you are faithful and just to cleanse me from all unrighteousness. Well, that about does it for now. Lord, I'll talk to you later.
JESUS
(Pointing to the very small bag SARAH is trying to conceal)
Hey wait Sarah, what about that other bag of garbage?
SARAH
Oh that… Well, Lord, Tonya said something to me the other night and, uh, well… I'm not in a place where I think I can forgive her yet. What she did really hurt me and embarrassed me. I'm just not ready to let go of this one yet…. OK?.... OK.
JESUS
Sarah, don't you realize how nasty this stuff is you are carrying around with you?
Sarah pauses for a second as if convicted then starts to walk off.
(Jesus motions for her to have a sit in one of the chairs)
Hey, whaddaya say we hang out together for a little while? I really miss talking with you. How are the kids? How's Mike doing?
SARAH
(Checks her watch and is shocked by the lateness of the hour)
Oh, would you look at the time? I know I should talk to you more Lord, but it's so late and, well, I'm getting sleepy (yawns and looks at her watch).
SARAH walks away. She leaves Jesus with His arms of invitation stretched out to her.
Scene 2
Announcer: Now it's Steve's turn. Steve is like a lot of people, he knows the sins he commits are wrong, and that makes him feel bad. The problem is, he still enjoys doing them. Part of him hates sin, part of him secretly enjoys it, he is a man torn between two worlds.
STEVE walks up with bag of garbage. As he hands it to the Lord he grabs hold of a piece of the garbage that was hanging out of the bag. Unsure of what to do with it, he quickly puts it in his pocket.
STEVE
Lord, I've done it again. I have this… this dung. Would you mind taking care of it for me? It stinks sooo bad. I know I shouldn't have done it. I feel terrible about bringing you yet another bag of this stuff. Please forgive me.
JESUS
(Takes the offensive bag with fingertips and holds nose)
Of course I will take care of it for you.
STEVE
Whhhhoooo…. Oh, that is such a relief. I am so grateful that I can bring it to you.
JESUS
Listen Steve, I need to tell you something that has me concerned. I think you are substituting confession for repentance. I can tell from your heart that you really have no desire to change; you just don't want to feel bad about what you have done.
STEVE
Oh, Lord, I do feel bad about what I have done, I really do. I just don't have the strength to stop what I am doing right now. You know… the spirit is willing, but the flesh is week… Right? Could you just forgive me one more time?
JESUS
You know I will Steve, but I would really prefer you stop doing this.
STEVE
Yes Lord, I know (long uncomfortable pause. He removes the piece of garbage from his pocket, looks at it, at returns it to his pocket)… Hey, look I gotta go. I guess I'll see ya next time...
JESUS
Come on Steve, don't you think we should just spend some time together talking? I have the solution you are looking for.
STEVE
Lord, listen… I really feel bad for what I've done. I'd rather not talk about it right now…. I'm sorry.
STEVE walks away leaving Jesus with his arms extended again inviting him to sit and talk.
Scene 3
(Todd I have an idea to change this one a little, follow what the announcer says about Mike and let me know what you think. )
Announcer: Next up is Mike. Mike is one of those guys who goes to church a couple times of year, when the kids Christmas play, or the big church pot luck supper. He is one of the guys who calls God, "the man upstairs," reflecting the shallow nature of his walk with the Lord. Pray is very infrequent with Mike, it usually revolves around something he wants. There has been very little change in his life since he made a profession of faith 10 years ago. Good thing for Mike he has a praying wife. Today things have gotten pretty serious, Mike has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and he knows he needs a miracle.
MIKE walks in with a list, and bags taped all around his body, carrying a huge bag of garbage behind him.
MIKE
Hey Lord, I know we don't talk much but I really need your help.
(MIKE unfurls a rather long list of wants, reads it aloud and hands the list to Jesus)
If you would help me out I would appreciate it. Thanks Lord.
(MIKE starts to leave with all his garbage still on him.)
JESUS
Woa, woa, woa there fella… Mike, what about all the garbage in your life?
MIKE
What garbage?
JESUS
Well, lets take this one? (JESUS picks a piece of garbage off MIKE'S shirt) You cursed at that guy in the car on I-96 this morning?
MIKE
Oh come on Lord, I didn't do anything wrong, that guy deserved it, he cut me off.
JESUS
No Mike, what you did was wrong. You shouldn't curse. You shouldn't get so angry. That is not the way we do things in My kingdom. The anger of man does not bring about the righteousness of God.
MIKE
Hey, I'll tell you right now. You cut me off, you're gonna hear about it. That's just how it is. Well, I gotta go.
JESUS
(Jesus holding up request list) Wait Mike, its more important I deal with that, (pointing at garbage) than I deal with this. (Pointing at list)
MIKE
(MIKE looks at garbage) You're making a big deal out of nothing Lord, and besides, I don't feel bad about what I've done. (MIKE walks off stage while JESUE has his arms outstretched to Mike.)
Scene 4
Now its Cindy's turn. Cindy is almost the exact opposite of Mike, she is super conscious of her faults. Cindy's problem is that she believes more in the evilness of her sins, than in the grace of God to forgive her.
Woman CINDY comes to table weeping and sobbing carrying a bag of garbage.
CINDY
Lord, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry.
JESUS
Oh Cindy, I know you are. Here, just give it to Me and I will take care of it.
(JESUS starts to take it out of her hand but CINDY pulls it back.)
CINDY
Oh no Lord, I can't give this to you, it's so bad. There is no way I should be forgiven for this. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
JESUS
I know you are Cindy. Please just give it to Me and be done with it. I don't want that stuff staying with you. It's what I'm here for. It's my job. I am the Porter of this Dung Gate.
(JESUS reaches for bag, CINDY pulls it away again.)
CINDY
(CINDY looks inside the bag and is disgusted)
Oh, no. This is so bad, and You, You are so good. There is no way I could put this on you. You deserve better than I am. I'm sorry Lord, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."
JESUS
(JESUS reaches for the bag again)
Cindy, My grace is greater than your sin.
CINDY
(CINDY pulls back one last time, violently, and runs away sobbing)
NO! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
Jesus stand with arms outstretched towards her.
ACT 2
Scene 1
Announcer: Here in our last scene, our players are all seated together at a table at the church potluck, and the subject of Ruth Viola comes up, and they start having a gossip fest, not realizing that while they are talking about the garbage in Ruth's life, they are covering themselves in far more garbage than Ruth has.
Group sitting at table (SARAH, STEVE, MIKE, CINDY), SARAH picks up a bag of garbage and walks around the table placing pieces of garbage neatly onto each member of the group. There is no reaction from the group when the garbage is placed and they are oblivious of the garbage on them.
Others make responses and comments. They each reach beneath their chair and retrieve a small bag of garbage. As they deliver their lines, they hand pieces of garbage to each other across the table for them to drape the pieces upon themselves. Little by little everyone is getting covered by dirt talking about the dirt in someone else's life.
SARAH
(Delivers her line as she places pieces of garbage on each member of the group.)
That Ruth Viola is one evil lady. Oh, the nerve of her. You know, I saw her steal that dress right off the rack with my own eyes. Then she had the gall to lie right to my face. She deserves be exposed.
STEVE
Well, that doesn't surprise me. You know her husband, Gary? One big cheater. He was talking at work the other day about how proud he was for the "creative" way he has found to cheat on his taxes. Do you believe that? I am so thankful that I am not like him. I could never stoop so low as to cheat on my taxes.
CINDY
(Still in her sobbing, victim-like tone from here conversation with Jesus)
Oh, and those children. Do you see how they dress themselves? All those piercings and tattoos and…. Oh my. You know I actually saw one of them smoking…. Cigarettes…
GROUP
(In unison)
Oooooooo
MIKE
Well, I could care less. My motto has been and always will be…. Look out for Number One. If those people wanna behave that way… so be it. They'll dig their own graves. Guys, let's get outta here.
The group leaves the table covered with garbage. Jesus enters the stage as the group leaves and pulls small garbage bag out of garbage and begins picking up the garbage left behind. He looks to the audience and delivers his monologue.
Jesus:
I am the Porter of the Dung Gate. Well, let me explain that to you. You see, the "dung gate", as it was called, is one of the nine gates that led into the old city of Jerusalem. It is this gate by which all the refuse and human waist was removed and carried to the valley of Hinnom for burning. As its porter, it is my job to receive this vile and disgusting filth from the people of my city and carry it away. This dung, I speak of here… Well, it is your sin. It is every lie you tell, every dishonest and disobedient act you perform. Every unclean thought you have. There are parts of this ministry that are absolutely disgusting to me. Imagine if you will, the odor of an open septic tank on a summer day. Not a place you want to hang out for very long is it? My nose is a thousand times more sensitive to the nasty way this stuff smells than yours will ever be. Some of you really need to understand that even though I deal with this stuff all the time it still bothers me greatly. I will never get used to the smell of this wretched filth or the way it makes me feel when it touches my skin. But you will never hear Me complain about My having to deal with it. But as much as I hate the nasty odor of your sin, the sweet fragrance you have when you are washed and clean makes it all worth it to me. I will gladly deal with the stink, if we can get to the clean. I won't complain about what you put me through, but I would appreciate a few things from you. Could I be more than just your garbage man? More than just your Santa Claus? I'll take care of your garbage, and I will answer your prayers, and I will do it gladly and faithfully. But my real desire is for us to be better than best friends.
Note to Pastor's: This message is based in part on a teaching by Dr. Howard Morgan on the Dung Gate. You can find the text of that message here:
http://howardmorganministries.org/dunggate.html
