Celebrate the Joy!

Celebrate the Joy!

Joy - Week Three - Monday

“All the people assembled as one man in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded for Israel. So on the first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand. He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law. Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform built for the occasion…Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up. Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, "Amen! Amen!" Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground…They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was being read. Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, "This day is sacred to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or weep." For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law. Nehemiah said, "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."The Levites calmed all the people, saying, "Be still, for this is a sacred day. Do not grieve."Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them…The whole company that had returned from exile built booths and lived in them. From the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated it like this. And their joy was very great. Day after day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God. They celebrated the feast for seven days..” Nehemiah 8

These folks knew how to rejoice. The wall was finished and the people were coming to listen to God’s Word and have it explained to them. They were coming for some good old-fashioned expository preaching. Hours of it….days of it and as they listened they wept because they finally were understanding the words that God was telling them But Ezra says to them, “Whoa, hang on a minute here. This day is sacred before God. Don’t mourn…don’t cry. Instead go have a party. Make some great food and some sweet drinks. And don’t forget the people who have nothing to prepared to share. I hear him saying we are celebrating with some casseroles and dinner on the ground and don’t worry if you didn’t bring a dish…we got you covered.” The Scriptures say that they listened to God’s Word and celebrated for seven full days and that there had not been such a celebration as this since the time of Joshua. The word holiday actually comes from the words holy days. This was a holy day and he tells them to eat choice foods…enjoy yourselves…hey have an extra dessert if you like! Then gather up baskets and bowls of food and take it to others. Give presents! Celebrate! Up to this point they had forgotten how to celebrate the Lord. They had forgotten how to find their joy in Him. They had forgotten how to laugh from deep down in their bellies just because God had filled them with joy.

They had forgotten and often so have we. Celebrate fully this Christmas. Celebrate the fact that God has filled you up with joy just because He loves you so very much. Remember why you are celebrating. Remember!

Family activity

Pull out the party hats. Make some cupcakes or whatever it is that your family thinks of when they think of celebration. Have a party to celebrate Gods Word. Remember aloud the reasons that you celebrate Christmas. Celebrate! We have much to rejoice about!