The Joy of the Lord… we hear a lot about it. One of the more famous scripture verses is Nehemiah 8:10, which says that the joy of the LORD is your strength. There are even famous hymns and worship songs sung in church buildings all across the world about the joy of the Lord.
But what exactly is the joy of the Lord? How do we know if we have it? And if we don’t have it, how then do we get it?
In this study today, we will answer these important questions, as always from the scriptures, and from the foundation and perspective of the finished work of Jesus Christ
As we begin today, let’s go ahead and read that famous scripture regarding the joy of the Lord, first, which is Nehemiah 8:8-12:
“They read in the book in the law of God and translated it, and gave insights, and caused them to understand the reading.
And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said to all the people, This day is holy to the LORD your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law.
Then he said to them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions to them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy to our LORD: neither be you sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.
So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your peace, for the day is holy; neither be you grieved.
And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great celebration, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.”
Now there are some very interesting things here. The first of which is what we see right away in verse 8… that, they were reading the book of the Law. This was their covenant, but they were not just reading the Law, they were translating it, giving insights, and causing the people to understand it.
We can see in verse 9, that the people were mourning and weeping when they heard the words of the Law (the same thing will happen today to those who hear the Law without understanding) because, remember that the Law does not save anyone. The Purpose of the Law was never to save anyone (Galatians 3:19, Romans 8:3). And this is still what people need to understand today. If you do not understand the Law or it’s purpose, it will have deadly consequences – and there are many who are confused and weeping and mourning today as well, because they are hearing the Law without understanding. They are misusing the Law of Moses to try and attain righteousness, justification, holiness and blessings, when all of those things are given free to us in Christ Jesus today, and His New Covenant of Grace.
Anyone who stands in themselves, and their own performance, their own obedience and behaviors, will never truly have peace or joy, because the Law of Moses will always do what it was intended to do: magnify the sin. That is the purpose of the Law of Moses (Romans 3:20, 5:20).
However we also see in verse 9, and continuing on in verse 10 that Nehemiah, Ezra and the Levites were all teaching the people, instructing them, and telling them not to mourn, not to weep, but instead to be happy and joyful!
Now why? Why were they telling the people this? Well, the people were becoming exceedingly sorrowful as they listened to all six hours of the Law being preached, and they were hearing all of the ways in which they were falling short of God’s perfect standard (the same as happens today), but they are told at the end of verse 10 that the joy of the Lord is your strength.
There is a key point here that can not be overstated, or just skipped-over quickly. This verse has specific meaning, both for the people in that day, and also for us in the here-and-now.
The Israelites had just completed the rebuilding of the wall – but in this case the wall was not the source of their safety, because they were insecure spiritually. The Law was exposing their inadequacy and vulnerability… and then they are told not to mourn or weep, because the joy of the Lord is their strength.
It seems a little strange on the face of it, but the word for strength there, is מָעוֹז, which means “security, safety and refuge” – and this entire exchange between the priests, Levites and the people in these verses, is some very clever wordplay between the physical refuge of the wall they just completed, and the spiritual refuge which the joy of the Lord provides for them. But how exactly does this even work? How is the joy of the Lord, the safety, security or refuge of the people? Good question!
It’s all wrapped-up in that phrase the joy of the Lord. Contrary to popular opinion, it is not telling you that you must put on a fake smile, clench your fist and try hard to be as happy as possible. Sadly that’s what many people are trying to do, and it is all fakery, it’s false joy.
However what I want to share with you today is that the phrase the joy of the Lord, isn’t actually referring to the joy which you can try to conjure up within yourself, but rather it’s referring to the joy of the Lord; in-other-words the joy which He has, and more specifically the joy which He has for you.
You see, it’s not about you trying really hard to muster-up more joy, it’s not you trying to tough-it-out and muscle through to always be joyful because that’s the “Christian thing to do”, but it is about you having safety and security and a place of refuge in knowing that God Himself actually has joy in you, and that you are loved by Him.
The scriptures actually speak of the fact that God takes delight and joy in His people; Zephaniah 3:17 and Isaiah 62:4, are just a couple of examples. But we often don’t think of God having this attitude towards us. Even in the face of the greatest demonstration of love from God, Jesus Christ Himself, we still often hold to a false idea of a God who is mostly angry and ready to smite us at the first opportunity. And that false idea is hurting is greatly and holding us in bondage, and in some cases, even destroying lives.
One of the reasons this happens (and perhaps the most common reason) is a failing to recognize the efficacy of the finished work of Christ for us. Failing to appropriate and receive His death in our place; His sacrifice and resurrection for us, on a personal and real level.
Just as what we see in our scripture verses in Nehemiah here, the people were becoming increasingly, sad, and grieved as they heard the Law being proclaimed, because the Law shined a light on their own failures, their own imperfections and their own sins; which served to place a barrier between them and God… but isn’t it interesting that the remedy which was prescribed by the priests, was not to weep and mourn further, but to instead cease weeping, and celebrate, because the joy of the Lord is their security and refuge?
This is what we need to understand… when we focus on ourselves, outside influences, circumstances, the ebb-and-flow of emotion, and human ideas and theology, we will always be on shaky ground, never truly at peace and never truly at rest. Yet when we come to see that our creator God is also our Father to deeply loves us and rejoices over us, and has removed our sin for all time through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, then we can be safe and secure.
Today we can truly say that the joy of the Lord is our strength, and not have it merely be a Christian motto, but a strong conviction that you can live by, forever.
Be blessed.