The Inns of the Highways and the Watchmen of the Roads

In the days when men journeyed from city to city, and from mountain to plain, there arose the need for places of rest, and of shelter from the sun’s heat and the robbers by night. And thus were established the inns of the highways, that the weary traveler might find respite for his soul and bread for his belly.

These were humble dwellings set by the wayside—built of stone or clay, often with open courtyards wherein beasts of burden were loosed from their yokes, and their masters sat at meat. And the door was opened unto the stranger who tarried by the road, for the law of hospitality was binding upon the sons of men. As it is written, “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” (Hebrews 13:2).

In the days of old, Abraham opened his tent to three men by the terebinths of Mamre, and the Lord was among them (Genesis 18:1–3). So also did Lot receive the messengers at the gate of Sodom and prepare for them unleavened bread.

But as the world grew in number and trade filled the land, the roads became full of travelers—merchants with their wares, soldiers with their arms, and pilgrims seeking holy places. And the highways became places of danger, for thieves and bands of the lawless lay in wait behind rocks and trees.

Therefore did the rulers of the nations appoint watchmen over the roads—keepers of the ways, who guarded the paths and guided the wanderer. These were men of valor and trust, stationed at outposts and toll gates, and they were as eyes upon the land, watching for evil and keeping peace.

From Jericho to Jerusalem, from Damascus to Tyre, inns dotted the trade routes like lamps along the path. In one such place, the Good Samaritan brought the man who had fallen among thieves, and there paid the innkeeper two denarii, saying, “Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee” (Luke 10:35). Thus the inn stood as a refuge of mercy and the keeper thereof as a servant of compassion.

In the east, near Babylon, the caravanserais were mighty rest stops for the great merchant trains. They were walled courts with chambers round about, where camel and man alike found peace. In Egypt and Syria, and across the Roman roads, inns became part of the empire’s breath, pulsing with the life of travelers from many nations.

Yet not all inns were pure, and some became dens of wickedness, as the prophets foretold. And there were places where justice was not found, and the weary were taken advantage of. Still, the watchmen cried out by the gates, “Prepare ye the way, remove every stumbling block out of the way of my people” (Isaiah 57:14).

Even so today, as pilgrims of a spiritual kind make their way through this world, seeking a city whose builder and maker is God, there is need for inns of the soul—places of rest, of scripture and prayer, where the burdened may find peace.

Blessed be the Keeper of Israel, who neither slumbers nor sleeps, who watches our coming in and our going out from this time forth, and even forevermore. Amen.