Nehemiah 8:10: “Then [Ezra] said to them, ‘Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our LORD. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.'”

November 10th, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

The people of God assembled together to hear Ezra the priest and scribe read the Law. The more they heard the Scripture, the more they realized just how far they and their fathers had strayed from the will of God. Their failure and guilt was obvious, and they felt it deeply, weeping in sorrow. The sorrow that comes from the conviction of sin is essential in getting us to where we need to be. Since God is holy and we are not, we should expect a certain amount of our interaction with Him to be Him correcting our mistakes. He desires for us to turn from our sin and repent. And His people did. So Ezra, Nehemiah, and the Levite priests told the people they were forgiven, and to return to their homes and celebrate God’s forgiveness. They didn’t want the people to continue mourning but to begin rejoicing. Even though they were under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, joy was to be the correct reaction. How so? God Almighty is the source of our joy; real joy comes from a personal relationship with Him.

Our knowledge of our own sin should never be bigger than our knowledge of Jesus as our Savior. Yes, we are great sinners, but He is a greater Savior! Many have observed that forgiveness is the greatest gift we can receive because it removes the heaviest burden of life, GUILT. We are designed by the Creator to live in joy.

A young man came to me once and said that his life had suddenly changed, and he was no longer joyful. I asked him when he had first noticed the lack of joy. At first he didn’t want to say, but finally blurted out that it was about the same time he had moved in with his girlfriend. It’s simple to see the problem if you are on the outside looking in, but it hadn’t even occurred to him to backtrack and look for the cause of his absence of joy. Weeping, he confessed his sin and repented (turned around), saying he would move out the following day. When we met again a few weeks later, he didn’t need to say anything because the look of joy on his face said it all, “the joy of the Lord is [my] strength.”

“Thank you, LORD, for the gift of forgiveness that You so readily give to all who come humbly confessing and repenting. Please forgive us our sins this day we ask, in Jesus’ name, Amen.”

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Nehemiah 8 KJV

¹ And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded to Israel. ² And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month.  ³ And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law.  ⁴ And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchiah, and Hashum, and Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam.  ⁵ And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up:  ⁶ And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground. ⁷ Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place. ⁸ So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading. ⁹ And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the LORD your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law ¹⁰ Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day isholy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength. ¹¹ So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your peace, for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved. ¹² And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared unto them. ¹³ And on the second day were gathered together the chief of the fathers of all the people, the priests, and the Levites, unto Ezra the scribe, even to understand the words of the law.  ¹⁴ And they found written in the law which the LORD had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month: ¹⁵ And that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive branches, and pine branches, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written. ¹⁶  So the people went forth, and brought them , and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the street of the water gate, and in the street of the gate of Ephraim. ¹⁷ And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths: for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness. ¹⁸ Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner.