The Joy of the Lord

Nehemiah 8:10

“…This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

I can remember when I was a kid playing in the playground and having fun.  We would make up games and run all over the place with abounding energy.  Every once in a while some kids would be playing alongside us and decided to join the game. The new kids saw fit to disobey the rules of the game and get everyone in trouble.  Watching these dumb kids get into trouble was actually kind of fun.  It was like “I told you so.”  Our joy in the game was rooted in the fact that we knew the rules and obeyed them and they chose to disobey them, get into trouble, and ruin the fun. 

The wall was finished and all of Israel came to hear the Book of the Law of Moses read by Ezra. Ezra was a teacher of the law and a priest that was tasked to rebuild the temple similar to Nehemiah who was tasked to rebuild the wall.

Ezra began to read the Book of the Law of Moses and verse 9 tells us that they “had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.” Everyone was convicted of the sin in their own life and how far from God they had become.  Nehemiah proclaims, “This day is holy to the Lord and that the people should not grieve over their own sin but rather rejoice because the joy of the Lord is their strength.” In accordance with the Law, they celebrated for seven days in temporary shelters to remind them of how they lived in the desert for 40 years before coming into the promised land.

The joy of the Lord should be your strength because you are following the rules of what God wants you to do.  Can I submit to you today that, just like the boys who disobeyed the rules, your joy in doing whatever you want and disobeying the Lord will only last for a little while.  Hebrews 11:25 says of Moses “choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin.” The writer of Hebrews informs us that sin is a passing pleasure.  This means you get caught and life is going to be hard for a period of time while you learn your lesson.  True joy only comes from knowing the Lord and following his commandments.  Decide today to be on track with God and start experiencing true joy of the Lord.