Rejoice with Joy: Nehemiah 12:27-47

Prayer: Psalm 147:1–5 “Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting. The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.”

Father, we come this morning, remembering that you are holy, holy, holy, and consequently praise is fitting for you. You are worthy of all praise, and all honor, and all glory. As this Psalm says, you are abundant in power, and your understanding is unable to be measured. And yet, although far beyond our ability to comprehend, you condesend yourself to make yourself known to unholy and unworthy people like us. You give us your spirit, enabling us to know your mind as 1 Cor says. You give us your word, which enlightens our eyes and rejoices our heart as Psalm 19 says. You give us your Son, who is the exact imprint of your nature, and the visible image of our invisible God. Praise is fitting for you.

This morning as we turn to open your word I pray the prayer of Paul in Ephesians 1:17–19 “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might” Amen.

Introduction

Good morning CBC, if you have your Bible go ahead and turn with me to Nehemiah 12.

"Sadness”

How many of you have seen the animated film “INSIDE OUT”?

A quick plot summary is that a young girl named Riley is uprooted from her Midwestern life and relocated to San Francisco for her father’s new job. And to help her make the transition her Emotions— JOY, FEAR, ANGER, DISGUST and SADNESS— help Riley navigate the hard, and new change.

The movie though really hinges on the constant friction, but eventual friendship between SADNESS and JOY

You see initially, they just don’t get each other.

Joy is hardwired and determined to just make sure everybody has a good time, and stays “UP”.

Sadness is predisposed to the negative, so that everything is viewed as a Downer.

Don’t worry, I’m not going to ask which one you more closely associate with.

But In one scene, as an example of their relationship, JOY is trying to cheer SADNESS up and says, “think of something Funny!”

Sadness says, “Oh, remember that funny movie... where the dog dies.”

Joy immediately, is like, “Oh yea, no...” and changes the subject to something a little more Joyful.

But despite JOY’s best efforts, there was nothing she could do to cheer Sadness up.

Now some of us are hirewired like JOY, and others maybe more serious or even melacholic. I believe due to nature and nurture, each of us tends to take on particular temperments that are natural for our personalities. But Regardless of your tempermant and predisposition, are believers in Christ not exhorted to be people of JOY.? Aren’t we to be largely Characterized by our REJOICING.

I mean let me just list a handful of scriptures that affirms that we should.

Galatians says, A fruit of the SPIRIT is JOY.

Romans says that the God of Hope will fill us with all JOY as we trust him.

Paul commands us in Philippians to “Rejoice always, again I will say REJOICE.

In Thessalonians “Rejoice Always!”

Psalm 32 says, “Be glad in the Lord and REJOICE!

Peter says that in Christ we greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible!

And David tells us that in God’s presence there is fullness of JOY.

So its clear… Christians are to be a people charactized by REJOICING.

But how do we become that? How do we get there?

Like Riley in Inside Out, is what we need just some ultra bubbly, overly optimistic friend, or in some cases coworkers… cough cough, on speed dial?

The answer is no, and our text today is actually going to provide us the answer.

So let’s read the entireity of our text, and then break it down together:

Nehemiah 12:27–47 ESV

And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, with thanksgivings and with singing, with cymbals, harps, and lyres. And the sons of the singers gathered together from the district surrounding Jerusalem and from the villages of the Netophathites; also from Beth-gilgal and from the region of Geba and Azmaveth, for the singers had built for themselves villages around Jerusalem. And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and they purified the people and the gates and the wall. Then I brought the leaders of Judah up onto the wall and appointed two great choirs that gave thanks. One went to the south on the wall to the Dung Gate. And after them went Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah, and Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, and Jeremiah, and certain of the priests’ sons with trumpets: Zechariah the son of Jonathan, son of Shemaiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Micaiah, son of Zaccur, son of Asaph; and his relatives, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God. And Ezra the scribe went before them. At the Fountain Gate they went up straight before them by the stairs of the city of David, at the ascent of the wall, above the house of David, to the Water Gate on the east. The other choir of those who gave thanks went to the north, and I followed them with half of the people, on the wall, above the Tower of the Ovens, to the Broad Wall, and above the Gate of Ephraim, and by the Gate of Yeshanah, and by the Fish Gate and the Tower of Hananel and the Tower of the Hundred, to the Sheep Gate; and they came to a halt at the Gate of the Guard. So both choirs of those who gave thanks stood in the house of God, and I and half of the officials with me; and the priests Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets; and Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sang with Jezrahiah as their leader. And they offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and children also rejoiced. And the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away. On that day men were appointed over the storerooms, the contributions, the firstfruits, and the tithes, to gather into them the portions required by the Law for the priests and for the Levites according to the fields of the towns, for Judah rejoiced over the priests and the Levites who ministered. And they performed the service of their God and the service of purification, as did the singers and the gatekeepers, according to the command of David and his son Solomon. For long ago in the days of David and Asaph there were directors of the singers, and there were songs of praise and thanksgiving to God. And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah gave the daily portions for the singers and the gatekeepers; and they set apart that which was for the Levites; and the Levites set apart that which was for the sons of Aaron.

Context

Think about all that had occurred up until this point.

All that God had begun, had been completed.

The stirring of Cyrus to issue a deree of return had been fulfilled.

The Temple had been rebuilt.

The opposition had been overcome.

The project had been provided for.

The walls of the city had been rebuilt.

The people had recommitted to covenant.

And the city was officially operational and repopulated.

All that God had begun, had been completed.

So they have a day of dedication, to acknowledge all that God had accomplished.

And what jumps out in this passage to me, isn’t so much the act of having a dedication service, but the actual tone and tenor of those present for the event.

Their tempermant isn’t SADNESS, but ovewhelmingly one of JOY.

In these 20 verses… The words

Song and Singing shows up 8x

Thanksgiving occurs 4x

& Joy or Rejoicing appears 7x

What we see is a people REJOICING, and what led to this? How did they become a people of rejoicing?

Well look with me at vs. 43.

Nehemiah 12:43 “And they offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and children also rejoiced. And the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away.”

God made them.

And this God never changes church …

He is the same, yesterday, today and forever.

And the God who made them rejoice with great joy, can do the same thing for us today.

So how does God do it?

Rejoicing Requires Reflection

Rejoicing requires reflection.

According to verse 27 they gathered this huge throng of people in Jerusalem for the sole purpose of dedicating the wall of Jerusalem, a celebratory event intending to reflect on all that God had done.

Picture

Seeing the completed structure, which was 2.5 miles long, at an average height of 39 feet, with a width of 9 feet. Containing 34 total watchtowers, and 9 extraordinary gates.

A wall that served as a tangible, standing testimony to the faithfulnesss of God.

For the people there that day they would reflect on the prophet Jeremiah...

How he had prophesied the babylonian invasion, and subsequent captivity and instead of listening their ancestors chose to beat him and imprison him for his words of doom.

How Jeremiah, even after his suffering, prophesied hope. Specifically that the people of Isreal would be exiled 70 years, no more and no less, and after 70 years God in his mercy would revisit them.

They would have reflected on the savage treatment they received at the hand of the Babylonians

2 Chronicles 36:17 “Therefore he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or aged. He gave them all into his hand.”

And how they served as slaves in their lands.

Reflecting on those dark days surely led them to some feelings of sadness, but immediately they would be reminded of Cyrus.

Ezra 1:1 “In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, to facilitate a miraculous return of God’s People back to God’s City, to rebuild God’s House.

Reflecting on all Cyrus provided along the way. All the timber and temple vessels, and gold, and letters for passage.

Reflecting on the rebuilding of the Alter under Zerubbabel and the rededication of the people under Ezra’s powerful preaching.

For Nehemiah to waken on this day of dedication, he would have remembered the gracious hand of God upon him that allowed him favor before King Artaxerxes to permit his return to the city.

He would have reflected on the kings letters, granting provision and protection on the way.

He would have reflected on the staunch opposition, and failed assination attempts by Sanballat and tobiah.

Yet, in the face of fear he would have remembered that the people had a mind to work.

And at one time what seemed impossible, was actually completed in 52 days.

And present day, as they sit secure, and the city has been restored… there is no sense at all on what THEY had accomplished, because as they reflected on the journey it was overly apparent that it was all God.

You see, Rejoicing requires Reflection

But Reflection requires Time.

Intentional time to slow down and look back, instead of constantly being consumed with whats ahead.

Intentional time void of distractions, so we can meditate on all that God has done, and stop being so preoccupied with all that Taylor Swift or Travis Kelce is doing.

Intentional time to Reflect on the goodness and faithfulness of God.

Oh church, I believe one of the primary reasons we are lacking JOY is because we give no time to Reflection.

Our society, and culture has succesfully ingrained in us the belief that happiness is always forward progress.

To be happy you have to get ahead, and climb the next rung of the career or corporate ladder.

Or to be happy you have to upgrade your living, and continually transition into wealthier or more desireable neighborhoods.

Or to be happy you have to scale, and grow, and go, and produce more, conquer more, do more, achieve more.

But church, happiness in God is rarely found in acheiving more and almost always found in being aware of more.

Aware of more of His hand, His gifts, His voice, and His Presence.

And the only way to grow in this awareness is slow down, and spend some time reflecting on your life.

Mountain in India

I used to be the world’s worst at this. Ever since I can remember I have always been goal oriented, always in need of some new feat to achieved.

But praise be to God, that in His grace He broke me up this wordly idea of happiness.

Here’s how it happened:

Every 3 months in South Asia I would take a group of college students to the Himalayas to introduce them to totally unreached and unegaged peoples living at altitude but apart from the Good nNews of Jesus Christ.

Every time we’d hike up to about 10,000 feet and spend the night surrounded by silence and just stunning beauty.

Well one morning in 2017, which means we would have been in South Asia for a little over a year, I woke up early to drink some coffee (yes I travled with it), and spend some time with the Lord.

Picture

And yes those are crocs… but as I was sipping my coffee and sitting in a little camping chair, I just staired at these massive peaks!

Picture

One in particular standing at about 16,500ft. It was breathtaking!

But as I stared at that one peak, I had that fire inside… “I’m gonna climb that mountain one day.”

And ya’ll it wasn’t audible, but as soon as I uttered that thought, I heard the voice of God.

And he said, “Turn your chair around.” So I did.

Picture

And 7500 feet below, it looked like a tiny speck, but I could see the village that we had departed from on our trek. And I heard the Lord just kind of whisper, “Look where you’ve been.”

And ya’ll, it was the sweetest slap in the face I’ve ever received.

You see I was always so laser focused on what isn’t, and what needs to be… that I had never stopped to reflect on how far I’d come.

In a little over a year, we had moved our family, had a baby, hired a team, learned a language, started a business, created and executed programs, and so much more. But all I was obsessed about was the next phase!

But that day, GOD MADE ME REJOICE, as he began the slow process of teaching me to Reflect.

And as I reviewed that year, I was overwhelmed with the sense of his grace, leadership, love, and kindess in my life.

I trust church, that if you can give yourself to this discipline you too will begin to see the Presence of God all over your story...

You’ll begin to connect dots and see where His grace was sufficent, that it was His power active in your weakness, and it was His hand that saw you through.

Rejoicing requires reflection, but as you reflect it will also result in a response.

And that’s point #2. Rejoicing Results in a Response

As I sat there in the Himalays, overwhelmed by God, the response was Praise and Thanksgiving.

The same response we see in the people of ISrael from our text today.

Rejoicing is a Response

After the people of Israel spent some time reflecting, the natural response was one of Praise & Thanksgiving

In vs. 27 they bring all the Levites from all over Israel, and brought them to Jerusalem to celebrate, “with thanksgivings and with singing, with cymbals, harps, and lyres.”

This is the natural response when we reflect. It’s to praise.

Let’s talk about praise a little bit.

Most view Praise and Worship as synonymous, but that isn’t true.

Praise can be part of worship, but they are too distinct things.

Praise is the joyful recounting of all God is, and all God has done. For as Scripture says, “He is worthy of all praise (Ps 18:3).”

Praise is usually expressed with singing, shouting, dancing, and musical instruments. As we see in our text.

Worship is really an attitude of the heart, and a sacrifical offering of our lives.

All thoughout Scripture we can see people go through the motions of Praise, without ever engaging in worship right.

In our text, the Response of their Rejoicing is Praise.

And it is so important to understand that their Praise was God focused. Recounting all God is, and all God has done.

Turn with me to Psalm 147. Most scholars beieve that this Psalm was actually written on this day of dedication in Neh 12.

Psalm 147:1 “Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.”

THe Psalmist says, that Praise is FITTING for the Lord, and then it goes on to recount all that He has done.

Psalm 147:2–3 “The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”

Psalm 147:12–13 “Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion! For he strengthens the bars of your gates; he blesses your children within you.”

Recounting all God is, and all God has done.

Which means Praise is not dependent on circumstances at all! Praise is not Circumstantial.

We don’t just praise the Lord when tthings are going well in our lives, but also when things are hard. Because our priase isn’t based on circumstances, but the very nature and deeds of God.

Psalm 34:1 “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.”

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Here lies another reason that most of our lives are void of Joy and Rejoicing.

Our faith is based on our circumstances, rather than who God is and what God has done.

Oh church, lift your eyes beyond your circumstances, and see God.

Reflect on who He is, and even when times get tough, don’t think about your circumstances but in that moment, right then and there, start recounting who God is and all that He has done!

“You are good God, my rock, my refuge, my shield and God in whom I trust. You never leave me, you never forsake me, and nothing can ever seperate me from your love.!””

YOu start recounting who God is and all he’s done, you start tapping into the power of Praise.

There is real power in praise!

My Grandparents taught me the power of praise.

I’ve mentioned this before, but as my grandmother was painfully dying of leukemia she constantly quoted Habakkuk 3:17–18 “Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.”

But about this time last year, I lost my grandfather.

He had truly suffered from dementia for years leading up to his death.

And if you’ve ever seen someone live with dementia you know how horrible that is.

A truly, cruel disease highlighting the brokenness and fallenness of our sinfilled world.

My grandfather’s circumstances were terrible. Grim. Depressing. And my mother and aunt suffered greatly in their care for him over those years. But my mom recounts to me that everyday when she got to his house to step in for the nightnurses, even though he might not have recognized her, he’s look at her and say,

Psalm 118:24 “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

EVERY DAY. Every day, regardless of circumstnaces, is a day God has given to REJOICE in, and we can Rejoice because of who He is, and all that He has done.

Our praise isn’t circumstantial.

But it’s also not Preferential.

Oh how often have our preferences of praise, actually hindered our ability to engage it!

Now for the most part, our church here at CBC RH has been spared from these petty preferences, but the story is pretty common!

“I don’t like that electric guitar. The music is just too loud. The songs aren’t corporate enough. The songs were written by an arminian, or… they were written by a calvinist. I like more hymns, I want more modern. I don’t see drums in Scriptures. Etc. Etc.

These are all preferences!

In verse 27 they had cymbals, harps (modern day keys), and lyre (modern day guitar).

They had singers, and trumpets. And choirs.

And I’m sure that wasn’t preferred by some, but Praise is not dependent on your preferenes, but on the nature and deeds of God.

And if you come in focused on your preferences, you’ll be rob of Rejoicing!

So praise is a Result of Rejoicing, but so is Thanksgiving.

Result of Rejoicing: Thanksgiving

Nehemiah 12:31 “Then I brought the leaders of Judah up onto the wall and appointed two great choirs that gave thanks.

After all the singers and musicians had assembled and purified themselves, Nehemiah split them into 2 Great Choirs… for the sole purpose of … “Giving Thanks.”

One choir went South, led by Ezra--- and they gave thanks.

The other went North, led by Nehemiah— and they gave thanks.

Then when they met in the middle at the entrance of the Temple… vs. 40 and

Nehemiah 12:40 “So both choirs of those who gave thanks stood in the house of God,

A Result of Rejoicing is always the giving of thanks.

An expression of our gratitude for who God is and what God has done.

Psalm 106:1 “Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!”

1 Thessalonians 5:18 “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Another reason our lives tend to be robbed of joy and rejoicing, is because our lives tend to be characterized by grumbling, not gratitude.

Grumbling is a preoccupation with the negative.

And I don’t know about you but I just seem to predisposed to see the faults in life.

Imagine I brought in a Twin Sized White SHEET to show you.

We stretch it out and you can see that it is perfectly white.

But real quick, I place a sharpie dot, just one dot, in the top right corner.

We stretch it back out, and I ask, “What do you notice about this sheet?”

How many of you would answer, “It’s 99.99% white.”

Lol. No! We’d mostly all scream “There’s a blemish! A black dot!”

We don’t need anyhelp meditating on the negative, or evil, or wrong. We are predisposed to grumble.

What we need, is to Practice Gratitude.

And as you Reflect, you’ll Rejoice and a result of your rejoicing will be Gratitude.

There is more to be thankful for than grumble… So I want to encourage you… start practicing some Rejoicing with Thanksgiving.

So Rejocing Requires Reflection

And Rejoicing Results in Praise and Thanksgiving.

But let me say one last thing: Rejoicing also Reaps a Reward.

Rejoicing Reaps a Reward

Nehemiah 12:43 “And they offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and children also rejoiced. And the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away.”

Becoming a people of Joy and Rejoicing is powerfully evangelistic.

What i mean is that it witnesses to the reality and goodness of God.

When you meet someone that can be described as truly Rejoicing… aren’t you curious as to what is different about their life?

You see God makes us Rejoice with great joy, for our benefit sure, but also so that your blessedness may be a blessing to others.

When you live life reflective, resulting in praise and thanksgiving, people become aware of that hope that is in you and you’ll find opportunities to give them a reason… namely, God has made me rejoice with great joy.”

In acts 16 Paul and Silas had just been beaten with rods, and locked in the inner prison with their hands and feet fastened in chains.

But that night at about midnight God made them rejoice with great joy.

Their circumstances were grim, but their hearts were filled with gratitude toward Christ, resulting in them praying and singing hymns of praise to God.

And that night their Rejoicing was a Witness to the other prisoners, and eventually led to the conversion of the jailer and his household.

Their rejoicing reaped a reward.

This has been the story of the church for centuries.

During the great Roman persecution, Romans recorded that the Christians held a contempt for death, and if they trembled at all, it was for JOY, not fear.”

Richard Wrurmbrand who was tortured for Christ in Romania for speaking out about Christ in the Communist Regime wrote,

“It was strictly forbidden to preach to other prisoners. It was understood that whoeever was caught doing this received a severe beating. So a number of us decided to pray the price for the privelege of preaching, so we accepted their terms. It was a deal. We preached and they beat us. We were happy preaching. They were happy beating us… so everyone was happy.”

Now of course these are extreme circumstances, and not all will be called to pay the ultimate price for Christ.

But is it not true that there is a certain fragrance of Christ that permeates those characterized by JOY.

I made fun of one particular christain in high school mercilessly. I was a real bully. But he always responded with a vivaciousness that I knew I didn’t have. He had a fullness of life. A JOY, that I couldn’t find. And that witness evetneually helped lead me to Jesus.

My grandparents in their suffering was a witness to many.

A missionary I met in India, whose wife died suddenly from a brain tumor, recounted her life with gratitude and could only praise God…

I know you too could recount story after story and it proves the point.

There is a Reward to be Reaped for Rejoicing.

And as the people of Israel Sang, and Praised, and Thanked the Lord, and rejoiced with great joy… all of their neighbors could hear them.

There is a reward in Rejoicing.

Conclusion

May God make us rejoice with great joy.

It will require some reflection.

It will result in praise and thanksgiving.

But if it begins to define your life, it will reap a reward.