The “joy of the LORD is your strength” (Neh. 8:10) serves as a reminder that it is God’s will that we rejoice and enjoy life. Most of all, it is not just any kind of joy, but it is the joy that comes because we know God and the reality of His love. Delighting in God, in His goodness, and rejoicing because of everything God has provided for us is something that we should strive to be doing every day. Moreover, delighting in God gives us the strength to face the day and to handle what comes our way.

Read Nehemiah 8:13-18. What happened here, and what does it tell us about the people and their leaders at this time?

The Joy of the Lord

The next day the leaders of the people come to Ezra in order to learn more from God’s book. This initiative demonstrated by the leaders showed their desire to lead the community toward God. They understood that leading the people the right way would not happen if they themselves did not seek God and seek knowledge from Him.

Read Leviticus 23:39-43. What were the Israelites commanded to do, and why?

Notice that in Nehemiah 8:15, the texts refer to the fact that what they were doing was according to what is “written”. We see here another example of how seriously they now wanted to obey the Word of God, ideally because after decades in captivity they had learned their lesson about disobedience. Also, in the texts in Leviticus they were to celebrate the feast and to “rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days” (Lev. 23:40, NKJV). In other words, as they remember God’s acts of mercy and grace and salvation, the people were to rejoice in what the Lord had done for them.

Amen!(0)

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When Ezra opens up the Word of God, the Hebrew Torah, the people stand up. Before Ezra reads, he blesses God. After he reads, the people respond with “Amen, Amen!” (Neh. 8:6; NKJV) in unison as they lift their hands toward heaven. They then bow their heads down and worship with their faces to the ground.

Read Nehemiah 8:9-12. Why did the leaders tell the people not to “mourn nor weep”?

The People’s Response

“So, in later years, when the law of God was read in Jerusalem to the captives returned from Babylon, and the people wept because of their transgressions, the gracious words were spoken: “Mourn not…. Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength. Nehemiah 8:9-10” – Ellen G. White, The Ministry of Healing, p. 281.

As the people were listening to the words of God, they were struck by their own sinfulness and began to weep. When God reveals Himself to us and we begin to grasp that God is full of love, goodness, mercy, and faithfulness, our own inadequacies and failure to be what we should be come to the forefront. Seeing God’s holiness through His Word causes us to see our terribleness in a new light. This realization caused the people of Israel to weep and mourn, but they were not to sorrow, “for the joy of the LORD is your strength” (Neh. 8:10). In other words, despite their failures, they could trust in the power of God.

This was also a special day, a holy day, the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah), on which short blasts of the trumpets signaled the importance of “heart” preparation for the judgment of the Lord (Day of Atonement, celebrated on the 10th day of the month of Tishri). The blowing of the trumpets signaled a call to stand before God and repent. Because the day was designed to remind the people to turn to God, the weeping and mourning is understandable. But the leaders reminded them that once they had repented, God had heard them, and therefore it was time to rejoice in God’s forgiveness.

Amen!(0)

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You can view an in-depth discussion of “Violating the Spirit of the Law” in the Hope Sabbath School class led by Pastor Derek Morris. Click on the image to view:

You may download an MP4 video file, and audio file or a PDF lesson outline from the HopeSS site.

With thanks to Hope Channel – Television that will change your life.

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The first hymn to come to mind with the title of this week’s lesson study is:
Hymn 272, “Give Me the Bible”.

Sabbath afternoon’s introduction to the week shows the surrounding nations in awe of the accomplishment of completing the building. We all can say:
“How Great Thou Art”, Hymn 86. The Children of Israel now were determined to:
“Trust and Obey”, Hymn 590.

Hymn 8, “We Gather Together”, is exactly what Nehemiah had the people do. It was then that the people asked Ezra to bring The Book and read: 
Hymn 272, “Give Me the Bible”. As it was in the Old Testament, so it is today that we need the Bible: 
Hymn 593, “In Times Like These” verse 2. May we continue to say 
“Lord, I Have Made Thy Word My Choice”, Hymn 273.

Let us 
“Shout With Joy To God, All the Earth!”, Hymn 697 just as Nehemiah 8:10 states (Thursday). Ezra helped the people to then ‘seek God and seek the knowledge from Him’ :
Hymn 603, “Christian, Seek Not Repose”. The people then rejoiced in what the Lord had done for them. There are several hymns about rejoicing:
Hymn 27, “Rejoice Ye Pure in Heart!”,
Hymn 136, “Good Christians, Now Rejoice”,
Hymn 221, “Rejoice, the Lord Is King”, and
Hymn 599, “Rejoice, Rejoice, Believers”.

2 Timothy 2:15 KJV – “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

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1. The wall is complete, and the law is read. The completion of the wall was not an easy task, but once it was up and protecting the city of Jerusalem, the Children of Israel were ready to celebrate! The Bible account states that Ezra was asked to bring the Book of Moses to a special platform prepared for the purpose of recognizing this unusual event. Have you looked at the “Book of Moses” lately? How long would it take for Ezra to read in public the books of Genesis through Deuteronomy? What do you believe he selected from those five books to read to the people?
2. How the passages were read. Did you find it interesting that the reading of Scripture was done by two groups of 13 men? How was this carried out? Have you ever read the first five books of the Bible in one sitting?  Would you assume that the “reading” of the Bible books was more a matter of summarizing their content and making it easy for all the people to understand? How long do you think the people spent dwelling on the important passages in these books during the time they spent on this activity? 
3. How the people responded. Paint a picture in your mind of the response of God’s people to the reading of His word to them. What did they say in unison over and over? What did they do with their hands? Did they bow down to God as well? What emotions took over the people at this time? Can you and I obtain a similar blessing in the way we read God’s word today? Can we be just as joyful now, in the closing days of earth’s history, as the Children of Israel were for this event? Would you like to see God’s people breaking out in joy at special occasions in these days as we approach the Second Coming?
4. The Joy of the Lord. Have you ever been overwhelmed–or a least impressed from head to toe–by a congregational response to an appeal by a gospel minister to rejoice in the good news of Jesus’ Second Coming? After so many years of trial and discipline even in our people of today, can we summon the joy of the Lord in our special times when we get together to praise the Lord? Should we do more of that or does God want us to keep on the silent side of things as we feel surrounded by bad things as well as good ones today? 

Amen!(0)

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