“This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10b (NIV)
In the book of Nehemiah, the story of the return and rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem after seventy years of captivity in Babylon, we find these words of encouragement from Nehemiah. Given to the people on a special day after they heard the Book of the Law of Moses read to them. Ezra, the scribe had been reading for several hours – this was the only way the people could hear the Word of God since individual copies did not exist. After the reading the Levites were teaching them what it all meant. It had a profound effect on the people. Today, we receive the word by reading our own Bibles and hearing it taught in church or on the radio or television. And just like the people in the days of Nehemiah and Ezra, we are encouraged and we are impressed. We rejoice when we hear how God has said and done and taught us in the Bible – it gives us strength to press on in our walk of faith. It is true that the joy of the Lord is the source of our strength. That is a promise.
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