Being joyful in the Lord - Ezra 6

When we think of the Puritans in early America, what is our first (and probably longest lasting) take away?
Sourpusses.
Long faces.
Don't-you-dare-have-fun-faces.

I'm here to tell you - that's not right!
We have the impression that they put a little too much emphasis on the duty and obedience of the Christian life, and they were pretty legalistic, to boot.
And all too often, we view God as a Puritan in a picture; we see Him as a stern killjoy Who doesn't want anyone to get too carried away; He doesn't want anyone to have a good time in life.
In fact, it's actually a false caricature that Puritans were totally against joy and pleasure. It was the Puritans who said, "The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever!"
And guess what?
Our Father God is not a killjoy, either!

I expect that most of us would say to glorify God is high on our list of priorities.
How high is the pursuit of joy?
Is it nice to pursue?
Is it necessary?
John Piper has said in his book Desiring God that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. If glorifying Him is our most important goal, then finding satisfaction and joy in God must be a purposeful strategy. If we don't possess the "fullness of joy" in God, then we are not glorifying Him as He deserves.

The joy that the Lord gives to His people is the theme of our chapter this week - Ezra 6. Remember how in chapter five, Tattenai, the governor, had confronted the Jewish people with whether or not they had the proper permissions to rebuild the temple? Because God's eye was upon them, Tattenai was moved to send a question to King Darius, but allow the work to continue.

In chapter six, we read that Darius (or his lackeys, I guess!) makes a search and finds the decree of Cyrus in the old records. He respects that decree and he sends back word that the work should continue.
He even includes a ruling that the work should be supported financially! He underwrites the entire project with a wave of his hand! So, the temple was completed in 515 BC, and our chapter this week notes that the Lord's people gathered to joyfully celebrate and dedicate the new temple.

Then the people of Israel—the priests, the Levites and the rest of the exiles—celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy. (v 16)

After that, they celebrated the Passover and after that, the Feast of Unleavened Bread "with joy."

For seven days they celebrated with joy the Festival of Unleavened Bread, (v 22a)

Ezra explains the source of their joy:

because the Lord had filled them with joy by changing the attitude of the king of Assyria so that he assisted them in the work on the house of God, the God of Israel. (v 22b)

Joy, happiness, gladness in the Lord - these are not unimportant! In fact, they are major themes in the Bible! Way back in the history of the Jewish people, Moses told them they should seek a place to worship the Lord and that they would rejoice:

There, in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the Lord your God has blessed you. (Deuteronomy 12:7)

Moving into the Psalms, we see many joyful verses . . .

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.     Worship the Lord with gladness;    come before him with joyful songs. (Psalm 100:1-2)

But let all who take refuge in you be glad;    let them ever sing for joy.
Spread your protection over them,    that those who love your name may rejoice in you. (Psalm 5:11)

There are so many! We could list many more, but let's move into the New Testament and see what our Savior had to say about joy and rejoicing:

"rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:20b)

I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.  (John 15:11)

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ (Matthew 25:21)

Paul told us in Philippians to "rejoice... always" (4:4) and then listed joy as the second fruit that the Holy Spirit produces in believers. (Galatians 5:22)
Peter said that:

Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, (I Peter 1:8)

And of course, John pictures the saints rejoicing throughout eternity in Revelation. (Chapter 19)
We've only touched the surface; there are so many verses that talk about joy, rejoicing, and gladness! In fact, a famous line in a book (and a movie) goes thusly:

"If God took the trouble to tell us eight hundred times to be glad and rejoice, He must want us to do it - some." From Pollyanna, by Ellen H. Porter

All of this to say . . . joy in the Lord is not optional. It's not unimportant. God wants us to be glad. It's the very essence of our Christian faith. We're going to focus on this in the coming days. Hope you will read along!