Series: Flowers in the Desert
Nehemiah 8:10 ESV
At about the halfway point in life I learned that joy is not my joy. In other words, I am not the creator.
Once we figure out (really figure out) that we are not the creator we can ‘begin’ to grow in the direction God wants us to grow.
What was disturbing about that revelation is that for the first and especially the formative years I wasn’t aware what my focus was on.
While my da was a great help, he also wasn’t aware what I thought about creation. The issue really speaks to creation in general. See, we think of creation in terms of the first chapters of Genesis. We tend to think that creation was a one time event.
It’s not.
It’s a continuous event…in other words God created creation so that it’s ongoing.
The simplest way to think of it is that God created the seasons.
Once I was reconciled to the theology of God continuously creating, that opened up a whole new world.
I realized it isn’t just about creation on earth (as in seasons and plants).
It’s about continuous creation in us.
According to the Oxford Dictionary the word “to create” can refer to making something happen in the physical sense, creating a feeling or impression, creating a new job, or creating a ripple effect. Do you see how broad and wide creation extends?
It’s continuous. The possibility of the creation of new thought exists in a way we’ve not experienced it before.
One of my favorite movies is Hidden Figures. I loved it that Katherine Johnson created the mathematical trajectory calculation from the earth to the moon. She created the plan. When I first watched the movie I had no idea who Katherine Johnson was for NASA or her contribution to the world. In 1953 she took a job working for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. As NACA became NASA she did trajectory analysis for the first human space flight. She gained a reputation for her complex trajectory mathematics analysis. (https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/langley/katherine-johnson-biography/)
Katherine Johnson created a path for other women, especially women of color.
I believe that even when we do not recognize God’s contribution in creation, God sets creation in motion giving all of life the ability to thrive.
I believe God is the driver.
God does not force acceptance, but instead gently offers opportunities. We can accept or reject those opportunities.
In Nehemiah 8:10 we read, “Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Written around 444 B.C. Nehemiah and other Hebrews who had been captured and taken to Babylon during the Babylonian exile were now allowed to return to Israel. Their task was to create (re-create) the city wall in Jerusalem. When they returned to Israel, their first and most important task was to rebuild the wall. In a sense rebuilding the wall symbolized God had returned Israel home and it was permanent. God was making it possible for them to recreate the Hebrew culture that focused on God.
It was indeed a holy day for Israel. The Babylonian exile was over and they were home to stay.
While those who returned probably did grieve seeing their beautiful Jerusalem in a shambles, God reminded them the Joy of the Lord was their strength.
God was reminding them it was a joyous time!
Not only did they create a new city wall and new buildings, they created and recreated Hebrew worship of Yahweh, and the entire Hebrew culture.
Experts believe that chronologically Nehemiah was the last book of the Old Testament written.
It spoke of their return home. It symbolized their great Joy of the Lord and in the Lord that they were able to return home.
It signified that even though they had a lot of work to do to rebuild everything that had been destroyed, they were now free and the joy of the Lord was (IS) their strength.
In today’s world it would be difficult to identify with a people who had been captured and taken into exile for 70 years and then, suddenly they were allowed to return home.
Coming back home as they were released from Babylon, they must have wept when they saw their beautiful capital city in ruins.
The beautiful Temple built by Solomon was destroyed in 586 B.C. by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. When they returned, there was no temple where they could worship God.
That’s why it was so very important that Nehemiah’s words reminded and comforted them that “the joy of the Lord is your strength!” Be filled with joy…you are home.
Spiritual Practice: Joy
Take time to receive the joy of the Lord. The happy, joyous Desert Pea alone might be enough to make you smile!
In God, Deborah
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