THEME: Nehemiah 8:10-Lets read
Nehemiah 8:10 NIV: Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Joy is defined in FIFTEEN words: A hopeful feeling or emotion of:
1) Happiness – Contentment
2) Delight – Amusement
3) Pleasure – Preference
4) Ecstasy – High
5) Enjoyment – Satisfaction/gratification
6) Bliss – Paradise
7) Elation – Excitement
8) Joyfulness – Merriment
9) Thrill – Beautiful adventure
10) Gladness – Serenity
11) Exultation – Triumph
12) Jubilation – Joyousness
13) Celebration – Festivity/party
14) Rejoicing – Peaceful
15) Cheerfulness – Optimism
A theoretical perspective of joy
The greatest statement of faith a believer (you) can make every morning is to shout: ‘The JOY of the Lord in my strength’. Joy has been defined as a feeling or emotion theoretically: as a doctrine, dogma, or as factual. If you want to know whether or not you have it, check your feelings or emotions.
How do you feel today? This is a constant question posed to friends and colleagues. In psychology, emotion is often defined as a complex state of feeling that results in physical and psychological changes that influence our thought and behavior. I have taught here before that: a key window to our hearts is our feelings.
Verywellmind.com argue that ‘Despite the fact that emotions/feelings impact every decision we make and the way we see the world, there is still a lot of mystery surrounding why we have emotions. Theories of emotion continue to evolve, exploring what causes feelings and how these feelings affect us’.
However, the bible underpins the theory/doctrine/dogma of joy in Nehemiah 8:10. That, the JOY that proceeds from the Lord produces INNER STRENGHT. We need STRENGTH to succeed in any task. This is the biblical theology of JOY – that the Joy of the Lord is our strength.
Bible doctrine promotes it in Galatians 5:22. Without the JOY of the Lord, we are exhausted, tired, discouraged, and brokenhearted hence unable to achieve anything. The JOY of the Lord is the engine that drives you to your victory, both in godly endeavors and in life.
According to Miroslav Volf (2018), ‘A theology of joy is a kind of theological endeavor that tries to determine the nature and the place of joy in human life. We study it from the perspective of the Christian account of the good life and the place joy has in that account.’
Biblical Truth about joy
The underpinning biblical truth about joy is recorded in Nehemiah 8:10 NIV: for the joy of the LORD is your strength. It literary means-if we do not have the joy of the Lord, we cannot please Him, Love Him, enjoy Him, Venerate Him, or Live for Him. This is because we do not have the STRENGTH to turn to Him by faith: (i) in prayer to ask, seek, and find (ii) in worship, reverence, and thanksgiving, (iii) in service and ministry to others. Without the joy of the Lord, we are exhausted and fatigued.
And so in Nehemiah, 8:10-the THREE offices of biblical times stand out: (i) Nehemiah the governor (ii) Ezra the priest and teacher of God’s law (iii) the Levites-Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan and Pelaiah (verse 7-13 Levites joining forces to instruct the people on God’s holy law while the people were STANDING) and worked together to INSTRUCT the people on the need to go enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those with nothing prepared-so that as a community, they may experience the joy of the Lord, their STRENGTH.
In Romans 14:17, Paul makes JOY more profound by suggesting that even without food, the JOY of the Lord brings God’s kingdom right where we are. Although food is something to give us joy that gives us strength to turn to God, food is on the periphery. This is because according to Paul in Romans 14:17 NIV: For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
This is to say: a believer, whose life has been sanctified/purified by God’s word/law (Leviticus 22:31-33 ESV: so you shall keep my commandments and do them: I am the Lord. And you shall not profane my holy name, that I may be sanctified among the people of Israel. I am the Lord who sanctifies you) and lives a righteous life as guided by the holy Ghost (Romans 8:14 and 9) possesses the JOY that would literary bring God’s kingdom on earth: whether or not they have plenty to eat.
Accordingly, material possessions however good aside; we can still embrace the Joy of the Lord and the consequent strength to bring the richness of His kingdom and glory here on earth to ourselves and those around us! Amen.
So, I find the balance in Deuteronomy 8:3 NIV and Matthew 4:4: that: He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone (means bread/material wealth is good too) but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Job in 23:12 NIV said: I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread. But Nehemiah said, go eat and have the joy.
So we need both FOOD/material possessions and GOD’S LAW. In fact, in Isiah 25 NIV: On this mountain, the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine—the best of meats and the finest of wines. God will cook for us! However, I extol God’s word MORE than our material possessions! This is because God’s word is supreme.
The joy of the Lord is critical in a believer’s life: For example:
In his letter to the Philippians 4:4 NIV, Paul admonishes, Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Whatever the circumstances, the joy of the Lord will bring the victory home.
The Psalmist sung in 16:11 NIV: You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. That the joy of the Lord makes life worth living!
The Psalmist sang again 30:4-5 NIV Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people; praise his holy name. [5] For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. Whatever happens at night, face the day with the Joy of the Lord. Always remember the word of the wise man in Proverbs 17:22 a joyous heart is a good medicine. But a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Sadness will crush your spirit to utter hopelessness.
Paul again admonishes the Romans in 15: 13 NIV May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. That we turn to God in faith because of His joy in our lives. And that faith and hope overflow.
In 1 Thessalonians 5-16-18 NIV Rejoice always, [17] pray continually, [18] give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. That a joyous soul, is a praying Soul, is a soul full of thanksgiving.
In Psalm 118:24 KJV This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. That no day comes without God’s divine design. And He makes every day special for us. We can therefore rejoice and be glad regardless.
1 Peter 1:8-9 NIV Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with inexpressible and glorious joy, [9] for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. That inexpressible and glorious joy brings us home with Jesus the bridegroom.
So, what’s the message in Nehemiah 8?
Sin separates people from God. VENERATION CONVERSATIONS direct us to focus on the FEAR of the Lord. The words they had heard did remind them that God punishes sin, but also that God blesses obedience. The FEAR of the Lord promotes obedience, and the JOY of the Lord gives us the strength to FEAR/VENERATE God.
Israel had not been utterly destroyed as a nation despite their sin and was by grace in the blink of a new beginning.
The major theme in Nehemiah is that Israel had sinned greatly in Nehemiah 1:6-9 NIV: Let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you. [7] We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses. [8] “Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, [9] but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.’
Unity of purpose and resolve moves the loving heart of our God to us in 8:1-all the people came together!
Only obedience to God’s word/law brings true revival in 8: 1-12: verse 1 says: they told Ezra the teacher of the law to bring out the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded for Israel. Verse 2-7, Ezra brought the law. Verse 3 he read it from daybreak till noon. In verse 8, they interpreted what was read for the people to understand. In verse 9, clear instructions were given to follow God’s commands.
The Joy of the Lord was necessary for the assembly to have the strength to turn to God by faith, in total obedience to His word. Nehemiah 12:43 NIV: And on that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy. The women and children also rejoiced. The sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away.
In sum, how do we receive this joy?
Prayer is a profound way. John 16:24 NIV Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.
Eating choice food. Don’t feel guilty. Cook good food and eat, and receive God’s joy in Nehemiah 8: 10.
After sanctification into holiness by God’s righteous law in Leviticus 22: 31-33.
When we accept to be led by the spirit of God in Romans 14:17. The kingdom of God is joy in the Holy Ghost.