Genesis 24:60 - And they blessed Rebekah and said to her,
“Our sister, may you become
thousands of ten thousands,
and may your offspring possess
the gate of those who hate him!”

Control the gate and you control the house or city.

Abraham’s blessing is passed on to the next generation from the wife’s side of the family, mirroring how God blessed Abraham after he was willing to sacrifice Isaac. God spoke to Abraham of a gate, too:

Genesis 22:16–17 - And the Lord called to Abraham and said… I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies…

A war has been raging through the ages - between God and Satan, good and evil, holiness and sin. Jesus says the gates of his enemy are possessed by him now - just as these blessings asked for:

Revelation 1:17b–18 - “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.”

Jesus is the gate to heaven and the gatekeeper of all else. May we truly know this in our souls. May we remember what Jesus has done and will do for us. And may we somehow help shepherd the lost while they live, even as Jesus shepherds us. May we stay near to him.