In the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah said, “the priests; Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Michaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets. And Maaseiah, and Shemaiah, and Eleazar, and Uzzi, and Jehohanan, and Malchijah, and Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sang loud, with Jezrahiah their overseer”, and in chapter twelve and verse forty-three of Nehemiah, Nehemiah shared how the priests, “offered great sacrifices” where we read,
Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced: for God had made them rejoice with great joy: the wives also and the children rejoiced: so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off.
The verse reads, “Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced: for God had made them rejoice with great joy:” Nehemiah began with the words, “also that day” which means “even so and indeed that sunrise to sunset” “they offered great sacrifices” or “they, the priests and singers, slaughtered, killed and gave abundant and numerous offerings”, “and rejoiced” which means “and were glad, exulted and gleeful”: “for God had made them rejoice” or “because, since and on account that the Supreme Deity caused them, the priests and the singers, to be glad, exulted and gleeful” “with great joy” which means “by the use of abundant cheer, merriment and gaiety”. Nehemiah shared how the priests and singers presented numerous offerings to Jehovah God with gladness because Jehovah God caused them to be gleeful and to have abundant cheer.
The verse goes on to say, “... the wives also and the children rejoiced: so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off ” Nehemiah continued with the words, “the wives also” or “the female spouses even so and indeed” “and the children rejoiced” which means “and the offspring and progeny were gleeful, filled with cheer and joy”: “so that the joy of Jerusalem” or “with the result being the mirth, gladness, gaiety and pleasure belonging to Jerusalem whose name means teaching of peace and is chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split”“was heard even afar off” which means “existed with the faculty of hearing, perceiving, understanding and giving heed from a great distance away”. Nehemiah shared how the female spouses and the offspring belonging to the men of Israel were gleeful and filled with so much cheer that the gaiety and pleasure of “Jerusalem” was perceived from distances away.
When we think through Nehemiah's words in this verse, we discover on the “day” when the spiritual leaders of Judah and Jerusalem presented their numerous offerings and were gleeful, it was because God caused them to be glad. The effect was so strong that the spouses and offspring in “Jerusalem” were so filled with gaiety that people from distant places perceived it. In the same manner, God desires to have a personal intimate relationship with us through His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was raised from the dead three days afterward so when we put our faith and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and cause us to have such great joy and gladness in our lives that others from great distances will observe it.
Next time Nehemiah shares about, “some appointed over the chamber for the treasures”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
No comments:
Post a Comment