Perhaps you live in a modern apartment building where your safety is insured by the use of a security guard at the front entrance. His specific job is to see that no unauthorized persons are admitted to the building, you have at least been to a hotel on a business trip or vacation and have had occasion to notice the doorman who gets your cab for you, or the desk clerk who screens visitors (at least those who choose to announce themselves!).

This is just about what the doorkeeper in ancient times was also - a security guard. Let’s think about that for a moment. Perhaps you don’t know too much about the life style of the Hebrews, but I’m sure that you have heard, somewhere along the line, that the home held a position of particular sanctity for them. This is very true. And a place of particular importance was the doorway. This was because it was the dividing line between the noisy, dangerous, evil outside world, and the peace and security of the inside.

Well, then, it stands to reason, doesn’t it, that they would do everything possible to prevent the intrusion of this outside world into the home itself? And this was the function of the doorkeeper. In larger homes, he was a hired servant, who sat at the entrance to answer inquiries and admit guests (well screened, that is). At night he slept in a little room near the door.

In the smaller village homes this responsibility was shared by the members of the family. And I think it is interesting to note that the father’s place of importance was in the doorway. Well, wasn’t this a nuisance and a waste of money and time? We might think so, but, you see, the doors were kept open all day as a symbol of hospitality. A closed door during the day meant that the family was hiding from something shameful.

Well, then, if this was true for the homes of the people, how much more so must it be true for the House of the Lord! That’s a natural development, don’t you think? And so we find that there were indeed several classes of doorkeepers at the Temple, who kept a twenty-four hour watch. These special doorkeepers were always Levites, as were the singers in the Temple.

It’s interesting to notice that we have no specific mention of them before the Chronicler did his work late in the Old Testament period, but that doesn’t mean that they didn’t exist before that. According to 1 Chronicles 9:19, the doorkeepers had kept watch over the Tent and the camp ever since the days in the desert.

And there’s really no need for us to question this. It was a custom that was prevalent in the ancient world. After all, they didn’t have burglar alarms and all the rest of the security apparatus that we boast today. And they did have some magnificent and very costly objects. So it was reasonable that they should mount a constant guard over them.

Since, of course, the Ark of the Covenant was the most precious object in the Temple, a special guard was placed over it. This guard was formed of the most perfectly developed men of the tribe (Levites), and it was a great honor to be a member of it.

Surprisingly enough, considering the nature of their job, doorkeepers in general received a very small fee, although, of course. those who served in the Temple were tax exempt and were housed in special villages around Jerusalem. But - to show you just how menial the position was for the regular person - even women sometimes served as doorkeepers! And, of course, women were never allowed to do anything that was considered of a very high level. Oh well, at least then it was possible to keep your door open during the day. Now I don’t suppose that even a doorkeeper would keep out the types that are becoming so common to our society. Perhaps we haven’t advanced in this case, but have retrogressed!