The role of gatekeepers

“But the four principal gatekeepers, who were Levites, were entrusted with the responsibility for the rooms and treasuries in the house of God. They would spend the night stationed around the house of God, because they had to guard it; and they had charge of the key for opening it each morning.” 1 Chronicles 9:26-27
It’s easy to skip over the first ten or so chapters of 1 Chronicles, because they mostly consist of genealogies, with many names that we don’t encounter in the rest of the Bible. However it’s worth spending the time, because you do find a few diamonds in the rough. In today’s verse we encounter the gatekeepers of the sanctuary who were assigned to their positions by David. There are parallels between their roles and ours as Christians.
David himself said, “Better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked” (Ps. 84:10). The reason David would rather be a doorkeeper in the sanctuary than a successful businessman, was primarily because they are always close to God’s presence. We too, can live in such a way that we are always close to God’s presence – always mindful of Him, being guided by the Spirit in our words, actions, and decisions.
Note that the gatekeepers had two responsibilities: firstly, they had to guard the sanctuary at night. Jesus tells us, “As long as it is day, we must do the work of Him who sent Me. Night is coming, when no one can work” (John 9:4). Paul wrote, “You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night” (1 Thess. 5:5-7). Night and darkness are symbolic of the realm of Satan; light and day are symbolic of the realm of God (see for example Rev. 22:5). Like the gatekeepers, we are to guard our faith against the enemy who might come by night. Secondly, they had the responsibility to open the sanctuary in the morning to allow people to come in to worship. We too should be encouraging our fellow believers to come in to fellowship with us and with each other. We should be opening and explaining the Word of God to anyone who wants to hear.