Daily Scripture
Nehemiah 8:1, 5-12
1 When the seventh month came and the people of Israel were settled in their towns, all the people gathered together in the area in front of the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring out the Instruction [Hebrew Torah] scroll from Moses, according to which the Lord had instructed Israel.
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5 Standing above all of the people, Ezra the scribe opened the scroll in the sight of all of the people. And as he opened it, all of the people stood up. 6 Then Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all of the people answered, “Amen! Amen!” while raising their hands. Then they bowed down and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
7 The Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah—helped the people to understand the Instruction while the people remained in their places. 8 They read aloud from the scroll, the Instruction from God, explaining and interpreting it so the people could understand what they heard.
9 Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all of the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God. Don’t mourn or weep.” They said this[b] because all the people wept when they heard the words of the Instruction.
10 “Go, eat rich food, and drink something sweet,” he said to them, “and send portions of this to any who have nothing ready! This day is holy to our Lord. Don’t be sad, because the joy from the Lord is your strength!”
11 The Levites also calmed all of the people, saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy. Don’t be sad!” 12 Then all of the people went to eat and to drink, to send portions, and to have a great celebration, because they understood what had been said to them.
John 15:9-15
9 “As the Father loved me, I too have loved you. Remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. 11 I have said these things to you so that my joy will be in you and your joy will be complete. 12 This is my commandment: love each other just as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than to give up one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 I don’t call you servants any longer, because servants don’t know what their master is doing. Instead, I call you friends, because everything I heard from my Father I have made known to you.
Reflection Questions
The Persians who conquered Babylon let the Israelites go home to Jerusalem after decades of exile. Their return brought dizzying joy (Psalm 126:1-3). But as Ezra read them God’s law, the people began to weep (the text does not specify why). Nehemiah used the occasion to teach a deep principle that runs throughout the Bible: “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” And Jesus wove “love” and “joy” together as key elements of the life his followers could accept as his gift to them.
- “Joy; the Greek is chara…. (cf. Psalm 30:11; Romans 14:17; 15:13; Philippians 1:4, 25). It is not the joy that comes from earthly things, still less from triumphing over someone else in competition. It is a joy whose foundation is God.”* How close or far is the way you define joy from the way Jesus used the word? In what ways does your openness to Jesus' offer of joy (made, again, in the shadow of the cross) make you an instrument who can share joy with others?
- The Bible talks about joy amid persecution (Luke 6:22-23), extreme poverty (2 Corinthians 8:2), “the various tests you encounter” (James 1:2), or unjust imprisonment (Acts 16:22-25). How do examples like that distinguish “joy” from happiness that depends on circumstances? How can the Holy Spirit’s presence make joy possible under the conditions such as Bible writers mentioned? When have you felt the strength of God-given joy?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, how I want your joy to fill me up completely, fill me to overflowing, and then keep spilling out from me to uplift and encourage other people I meet. Amen.
** William Barclay, The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians (Revised Edition). Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1976, p. 50.
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“The joy of the Lord” = strength born from love - Leawood - Church of the Resurrection
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