Jesus Is Our Joy

READ: NEHEMIAH 8:1-12; PSALMS 1:1-6; 119:34; LUKE 24:13-35

Sometimes we rush through reading the Bible. We’re too distracted, or we don’t really listen, or we don’t stick with it long enough to understand.

In Nehemiah 8, we see how the people of God responded to hearing His words. God’s law had been lost after their forebears abandoned God—pursuing wickedness, injustice, and idols instead. Eventually, God had allowed the destruction of their beloved city, Jerusalem.

But now, at last, the people of God gathered in Jerusalem once again. Their walls were rebuilt. The words of God were uttered aloud. Ezra the priest stood on a podium and read the precious text. The people stood all day long, eagerly eating up each word, as if devouring food after suffering a long period of hunger. It took all day. The crowd was so numerous that the Levite priests would pass the words back and explain to the next group, too far away to hear.

At last, the Israelites heard for themselves God’s laws, His thoughts, and His heart. And they grieved. Verse 9 says, “All the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.” That their ancestors had wandered so very far from God’s goodness was overwhelming. Their guilt weighed heavily on them. Enter Nehemiah, the brand-new governor who had just led the rebuilding of the city wall. He 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” (verse 10). And they did! They celebrated “with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them” (verse 12).

The people understood the words, and the words confirmed they belonged to God. The long period of destruction was over. It was time for a new life, one where they would walk with God. And this pointed to the new life that would come through Jesus—how He would rescue us from the destruction of sin, dying on the cross and rising again so we could belong to God. When Jesus returns, we too will celebrate with a great feast, and our joy will be complete (John 15:11; Revelation 19:6-9)! In the meantime, as we walk with Jesus, His joy gives us the strength to go on. • Kristen Merrill

• Did you know that God’s plan for our lives includes great joy? He wants to fill us with joy as we meditate on His Word and delight in His love. While it’s easy to fall into gulping down our time in the Bible, how could you take some time today to linger over the truths in Scripture, and find understanding? (If you want to dig deeper, read Psalms 16:11; 37:4; Luke 2:10; 10:39-42.)

Nehemiah said, “. . .Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10 (NIV)