And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law.
Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Nehemiah 8:9-10 (ESV)
Last time we looked in on the Levites translating Holy Writ to the awaiting people, helping them discern their next steps wisely as a sacred assembly. Today we see the people’s response and Ezra and Nehemiah’s exhortation.
“This day is holy (qadosh – sacred, consecrated) to Yahweh Elohim. Do not mourn (abal – lamentations, grieve) nor weep (bakah – bewail, cry, sob). For all the people wept (bakah again) when they heard (shama – listen with intent to obey) the words of the Law (torah).
Not only was the assembly of people and the reading of Torah set apart as sacred, so was the day. Nehemiah as governor, Ezra as scribe and priest, and the Levites as translators declared the day to be set apart as holy to Yahweh Elohim. Therefore the people were to no longer lament and cry. When reading this it feels sudden. When did the tears start? We are actually told they are to stop weeping before we know they were.
The next sentence helps us see the why behind the grief: as the people understood the Torah, listening with an intent to obey, they wept. Have you ever been there? Perhaps seeing yourself or a situation clearly for the first time while viewing it against the backdrop of Perfection? When God allows His sorrow to sweep over us it can crash like waves. Maybe they were grieving their lack of knowledge about how to please the God Who had called them His own. Perhaps they could not believe how far they had to go in becoming the kind of sacred assembly as described in the Law. Whatever each person’s specific reason, their hearts were broken.
If the crying comes as a surprise to us as readers, the leaders’ next command is even more so: “Go (halak – come, walk, be eased, be conversant), eat the fat and drink the sweetness and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready (kun – to be firm, appointed, carry, made ready, ordered, rested) for this day is holy to our Lord (Adonay – Master).”
Far from rubbing the people’s noses in their corporate mess, the wise leadership invited them to celebrate. Perhaps because the collective grief proved the congregation’s sincerity in desiring to hear and follow Holy Scripture.
Okay, you’re sad. You see how much you all fall short – individually and collectively. Now let’s wipe our tears and celebrate that on our own we cannot fix this. This is God’s Work and God’s Word and God’s People and it will come together in God’s Way.
I’m interested in the section about sending portions to those who have nothing ready. The Hebrew for ready is kun – to be firm, appointed, carry, made ready, ordered, rested. The gathered people were descendants of those whose idolatry caused the exile. They did not ask to be part of a generation requiring rebuilding, and yet there they were.
Here we are, too, friends. We are appointed to the days in which we find ourselves. Far from victims, we do have to deal with decisions made long before our time to lead. And our choices will affect those coming after us for better or worse. We may not have directly contributed to every piece of the current environment in which we live, but there is no way, after hearing the holy sting of God’s Word, we can ever think we are guiltless.
We must be firm in our choices right now. Not obnoxious, firm. Calling out what is dark and evil, refusing to choose anything other than the Narrow Path of His Way. We must make daily decisions that order love as highest and seek first His Kingdom, carrying the aroma of Christ to those who are being saved and those who are perishing. And we must rest, too, friends. Burning out “for Him” does no one any good. Engaging in God-given cycles of work and rest, we are better able to engage His Spirit and those around us.
Which leads beautifully into the why behind the leaders’ exhortation: “Do not be grieved (atsab – displease, hurt, grieve, vex) for the joy (chedvah – gladness, from chadah – rejoice) of the Lord is your strength (maoz – a place of safety, means of protection, fortress, helmet, defense, stronghold, rock).”
Or:
“But come, walk, be eased, conversant, eat the fat and drink the sweetness for this day is set apart as sacred to Adonai, our Master. Don’t be grieved or displeased for rejoicing in the gladness of our Lord is our fortress of safety, a helmet of protection, our Rock.”
If we are flippant toward the suffering right now, we are far from love or being the aroma of Christ. He is the Father of Compassion and God of all Comfort, never turning a privileged eye from the hurting. But if we lose all sight of walking with Him, rushing ahead or living in anxiety, and shutting out the small delights He gives among the pain, we will not be compelling. His way will seem like one more burden people can never live up to, rather than a light yoke of other-worldly joy filled with unforced rhythms of grace.
Crimson leaves and the golden hour in fall; lighting fires and belly laughing with heart friends; weeping at sin and rejoicing in reconciliation in the same hour; toddlers in Halloween costumes and the sweetness of S’mores. Reading and learning and making baby steps; worshipping with our own sacred assemblies and choosing kindness over yelling; listening to a symphony or worship music, as if there is a difference; new babies born and casseroles to the grieving; weddings, funerals, and fundraisers for those in need. Watching communities and neighborhoods embrace their unique history and relationships and loving each other; knowing He is actively at work in a thousand cultures and families, workplaces and hearts. Watching His Bride rise to our time in history.
It’s there, friends. This gladness, the rejoicing in our Lord in the midst of so much evil. In fact, in the fight of faith to which we are called it serves as a defense, a helmet protecting our minds from desperation and defeat. And when we do not detect a single earthly pleasure, our gladness can rest solely in His gladness. In the knowledge of a Creator God Who is never stressed or out of control. Who, while grieving brokenness, is not caught off guard by it. Rehearsing this to ourselves, too, is a place of safety, a stronghold in times of trouble.
Hold onto your joy, friends. Eat the fat and drink the sweetness, sharing your faith with those reeling right now. The joy of the Rock is our rock.
Joy in Him is strength.