In biblical literature, the term "gaps" can refer to physical breaches in walls or metaphorical breaches in spiritual or moral integrity. The concept of gaps is often used to illustrate the need for vigilance, repair, and intercession within the community of God's people.

Physical Gaps:

1. Nehemiah's Wall: One of the most prominent examples of physical gaps in the Bible is found in the Book of Nehemiah. After the Babylonian exile, Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem to find the city walls in ruins. The gaps in the walls symbolize vulnerability and exposure to enemy attacks. Nehemiah 2:13 states, "So I went out at night through the Valley Gate toward the Well of the Serpent and the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that had been broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire." Nehemiah's mission to rebuild the walls is a testament to the importance of fortifying the community against external threats.

2. Ezekiel's Prophetic Vision: In Ezekiel 22:30 , God laments the lack of someone to stand in the gap: "I searched for a man among them to repair the wall and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, so that I should not destroy it; but I found no one." This passage highlights the need for righteous individuals to intercede and protect the community from divine judgment.

Metaphorical Gaps:

1. Moral and Spiritual Gaps: Gaps can also represent deficiencies in moral and spiritual life. The prophets often called out the Israelites for their failure to uphold God's laws, creating gaps in their covenant relationship with Him. Isaiah 58:12 speaks to the restoration of these breaches: "Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will restore the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of the Breach, Restorer of Streets of Dwelling."

2. Intercessory Role: The concept of standing in the gap is closely tied to intercession. Moses, for example, stood in the gap for the Israelites when God threatened to destroy them for their idolatry (Exodus 32:11-14). This act of intercession is a powerful demonstration of the role of a mediator who seeks to repair the breach between God and His people.

Theological Implications:

The imagery of gaps in the Bible underscores the importance of vigilance, community responsibility, and the need for spiritual leaders who can intercede on behalf of others. It calls believers to be proactive in repairing breaches, whether they are physical, moral, or spiritual, to maintain the integrity and holiness of the community. The call to stand in the gap is a call to action, urging believers to be watchful and ready to defend the faith and uphold God's standards.1840. exischuo -- to have strength enough
... 2479 , " strength, filling a need or void") -- properly, "strength at work," such
as overcoming difficulties in understanding ("getting past knowledge-gaps"). ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1840.htm - 7k

88. adialeiptos -- incessant
... Cognate: 88 (an adjective, derived from 1 "no" and 1257 , "an interval") -- properly,
no unnecessary gaps in space or time, ie "as " (as frequent as is ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/88.htm - 7k

The Manich??ans are Reduced to the Choice of a Tortuous, or Curved ...
... junction is tortuous the side of the region of light must also be tortuous; otherwise
its straight side joined to a tortuous one would leave gaps of infinite ...
/.../chapter 26 name manichaeans are.htm

The Silence of Scripture
... a word about the Lord's Supper. And so I might go on enumerating many
remarkable gaps in this Gospel. Nearly half of it is taken ...
/.../the silence of scripture.htm

'Many Mansions'
... The gaps in our knowledge of the future, seeing that we have such a Revealer
as we have in Christ, are remarkable. ... Let the gaps remain. ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture i/many mansions.htm

Involution
... There are reverent minds who ceaselessly scan the fields of Nature and the books
of Science in search of gaps"gaps which they will fill up with God. ...
/.../drummond/the lowell lectures on the ascent of man/chapter x involution.htm

Christ's Friends
... Ought not that thought of the utter frankness of Jesus make us, for one thing, very
patient, intellectually and spiritually, of the gaps that are left in His ...
/.../expositions of holy scripture st john chaps xv to xxi/christs friends.htm

Missed Ends
... But the intervals were far too great; there were wide, unguarded gaps between.
And over ... There are gaps left all unguarded. Can it ...
/.../wilson-carmichael/things as they are/chapter vi missed ends.htm

It is Said that on a Recent Occasion Where the Letters of ...
... which have got transposed when the sentence has become complicated, or to avoid
some harsh collocation of consonants, or to escape from a style full of gaps. ...
/.../14 it is said that.htm

The Broken Fence
... Fields are often surrounded with wooden palings which soon decay, or with hedges
which may very easily have gaps made in them; but this was a stone wall. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/spurgeon/sermons on proverbs/the broken fence.htm

Introduction
... Saviour's earthly ministry. There are great gaps in His life which none
of the Evangelists profess to fill in. After the record ...
//christianbookshelf.org/pink/why four gospels/introduction.htm

The Later Hebrew Histories.
... going on in a continuous narrative from the beginning of Judges to the end of the
Second Book of Kings, we have a story"true, a story with many gaps in it ...
/.../gladden/who wrote the bible/chapter vi the later hebrew.htm

Gaps (2 Occurrences)
... Multi-Version Concordance Gaps (2 Occurrences). Nehemiah 4:7 But it happened
that when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabians, the Ammonites ...
/g/gaps.htm - 7k

Code (6 Occurrences)
... Thus we are able, in spite of the gaps in the large stele, almost completely to
determine the contents of the Code. II. The Contents of the Code. ...
/c/code.htm - 40k

Hammurabi
... Thus we are able, in spite of the gaps in the large stele, almost completely to
determine the contents of the Code. II. The Contents of the Code. ...
/h/hammurabi.htm - 47k

Gap (4 Occurrences)
... The translation of perets, "a breach" (Ezekiel 13:5, "Ye have not gone up into the
gaps," the Revised Version, margin "breaches"; Ezekiel 22:30, "I sought for ...
/g/gap.htm - 8k

Gaping (2 Occurrences)

/g/gaping.htm - 7k

Gar

/g/gar.htm - 6k

Hedge (12 Occurrences)
... (WEB ASV). Ezekiel 13:5 Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge
for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the LORD. ...
/h/hedge.htm - 12k

Repair (26 Occurrences)
... Ezekiel 13:5 You have not gone up into the gaps, neither built up the wall for the
house of Israel, to stand in the battle in the day of Yahweh. (See NIV). ...
/r/repair.htm - 17k

Samuel (129 Occurrences)
... Frequent gaps are met with in the record, because their object is to present a history
of the kingdom of God in its gradual development, and not of the events ...
/s/samuel.htm - 90k

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