Article: I’d Rather Be a Door Keeper | Hephzibah N Daniel, USA
Hundreds of times, I have read this verse from Psalm 84, but never did I understand the meaning of this verse until very recently. While the sons of Korah have beautifully orchestrated this Psalm out of their testimony, I often wondered why they wanted to just settle with being a doorkeeper and why not dream bigger. Also, be mindful that the sons of Korah are writing this Psalm at a time when people were interested in being in a place of authority, just like today. But still, their wish to be a doorkeeper rather than to be in a pulpit is very astonishing. I ended up asking ‘What’s the specialty in being a doorkeeper, O you, sons of Korah?’
And while this thought was eating me up, I decided to meditate more on this verse. I started with my research which made me understand that their testimony played a major role in deciding this declaration. But before understanding their testimony let’s learn who a doorkeeper is and how we need to improve ourselves to be better doorkeepers.
John Ch 10:3 exquisitely explains how a doorkeeper is close to the shepherd in day-to-day life. His initial duty is to open the door to the right person i.e., the shepherd. Being closer to the shepherd changes you to how the shepherd wants you to be. Being intimate with the shepherd gives you the knowledge and wisdom on how to take care of the sheep even in the absence of the shepherd. He is wise enough to not open the door for anyone other than the shepherd. He knows who to give access to. He knows the right and the wrong. He has the discernment to identify the enemy in disguise. Anyone can identify an enemy if not in disguise, but someone to identify a hidden enemy could only be a person who has a deep knowledge of the shepherd. This is something we are to learn too. We would be the leaders or such doorkeepers in the area of our serving, but to not let the enemy have access to the sheep is our responsibility.
Secondly, the doorkeepers are always supposed to stay alert or stay awake (Mark 13:34). If the doorkeeper sleeps, then it won’t be just the enemy, but also the wild animals who could kill and eat the sheep. So, he can never risk being lazy or sleepy. In the same way, we are living in an era where a lot of wild animals, i.e., the false teachings/ teachers, are waiting to consume the sheep. Hence, as doorkeepers, we need to stay alert and keep watch so that no such wild animals secretly enter the temple to destroy the sheep. Our responsibility is huge, and it can’t be done effectively if we risk being lazy.
Now, these doorkeepers were also given a very peculiar responsibility of collecting money! Yes! You heard it right. 2nd Kings 22:4 makes it clear that it was the doorkeepers who used to collect money from the people. And this is also the first responsibility that has been chronologically mentioned in the Scriptures. We know the depth of faithfulness one should possess to be given a responsibility like that. That’s where the relationship between the shepherd and the doorkeeper matters. Just like I mentioned a secret above. When you get closer to the shepherd, the shepherd makes you just like him – Faithful. The doorkeeper carried the shepherd’s faithfulness and that’s why he was given this duty.
Now, let’s see from the eyes of the Sons of Korah. They had a huge history to talk about. Their father Korah had rebelled against Moses and Aaron as he demanded everyone to be able to offer sacrifices. The earth opened up and swallowed them as they contended against God (Num. Ch 16 & 26:10).
Given this past, the sons of Korah were not ready to waste their lives by looking for positions of authority. Because the God they knew was a Savior who chose them to be musicians and gatekeepers even when their father rebelled. That’s why they cried, “I’d ‘rather’ be a doorkeeper in the house of ‘MY GOD”. A doorkeeper has to be always present in the Temple and this showed the depth of the love that the sons of Korah carried for their Saviour.
Now, are we ready to be doorkeepers like the sons of Korah? Or are we hungry for authority like Korah? The choice is ours! The only call for action here is submission in His presence. Hence, let’s repent and submit ourselves for the time has come for the saviour to visit us!
God bless!
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