Watergate not only holds a prominent place in American politics, it holds a prominent place in biblical history. One involves coverup and deception, the other involves repentance and honesty. The story of the Bible’s Water Gate is found in the book of Nehemiah. Nehemiah was the cupbearer of the Persian king Artaxerxes. He had been deported from his home country and carried away to Persia, but his heart was still in Jerusalem. He asked the king if he could return for a time to his homeland to assist his people in their distress. The walls of Jerusalem had been demolished and the people were at the mercy of their enemies. The king permitted Nehemiah’s temporary return to accomplish his mission, and in two months he had the wall rebuilt — in spite of overwhelming problems and ruthless opposition by enemies. It was a great victory, even though the people had to carry weapons at all times while they rebuilt the wall.
After they had completed the wall around Jerusalem, Ezra the scribe gathered the people at the Water Gate and began to read to them from the Scriptures — the Book of the law of Moses. Ezra stood on a high platform so that everyone could see and hear him as he read the Word of God. The Levites helped the people to understand its meaning. When they heard the Word of the Lord they bowed down and began to worship him. But something else happened. When the people heard from God’s Word how they were to live, and realized how they had been living, they were grieved in their hearts. Great waves of guilt began to roll over them and they began to weep before God. They realized that it was because of their father’s sins that they had been overcome by their enemies, and here they were doing the same things. They had neglected the Word of God and were ignorant of his ways. The quality of these people is shown by the fact that when they finally did hear the Word of God they responded to it appropriately with confession of their sins and tears of repentance before God. And when there was true repentance among the people there was true forgiveness from God. Then Ezra the priest, seeing their repentance, said to them: “This day is sacred to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.... This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:9-10).
We often confuse sacred with solemn and somber. We sometimes think that to be holy is to be quiet and serious, but the Bible equates holiness with joy. The true worship of God is done with rejoicing and celebration. The most sacred times in our lives are filled with joy: our wedding, the birth of a child, Christmas and Easter. God does not delight in sorrow but in joy. He is happiest when we are happy. The joy of the Lord is our strength. There are several reasons for this, and I want to lift out three reasons this morning. The first is: Joy is the result of knowing who we are and whose we are. What did the people discover as they read the Word of the Law? They heard the words: “I am the Lord who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy” (Leviticus 11:45). They heard how God chose them, had loved them and delivered them from slavery. They learned how he gave them the promised land. They learned what their purpose was as a people in the world. They began to understand that they were not just a group of individuals, they were the people of God. They were not a bunch of losers living in the same area, they were the chosen people of God. They were not the product of chance and fate, they were the people of God — created by him and loved by him. They were also responsible to him. They were to be like him. Because they were God’s people they were accountable to him for their actions. They were to lead holy lives. These facts had awesome implications, but it also gave them a sense of identity and belonging. They finally understood that they had been created by God for a purpose and that their lives had a destiny. They were not just any people — they were the people of God. They were not to live just any way — they were to live in such a way that their lives pleased God and glorified him.
Isn’t this what we need today? Is it any wonder that we are having trouble with self-esteem when we teach our children that they are not the creation of God, but the result of irrational fate — an accident of time and chance with no real purpose or meaning? Is it any wonder that we are having trouble teaching morals when we teach that we are merely animals which have evolved over millions of years, and that it is unrealistic to expect people to control the animal passions within them? Is it any wonder that people are aimless when they buy the idea that there was no reason for their existence other than the forces of biology and animal chemistry? We have taught them that God is not their father and that their bodies are only the result of the evolutionary process. Human existence began in a primordial mud hole, and from there primitive life forms eventually crawled out and evolved through time until humans began to appear on the scene. And then we expect children and adults to value themselves and have a sense of purpose and meaning. Incredible!
How much better to be connected to the truth and reality of God’s Word that tells us the world and everything in it is the creation of a loving God, whom Jesus taught us to call “Father.” The Bible says, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse” (Romans 1:20). How great to know that we are not an accident of the cosmos, but that we are the creation of an all-powerful God who made us in his image. This means that we have dignity and purpose. No one here is an accident, regardless of the circumstances of your birth. You are here because God willed that you live. And when he created you he did so with a purpose so that your life has a divine meaning and value. We are valuable to God — that is why life is valuable. And when we know that we are valuable to God and loved by him we have joy. We finally know who we are and whose we are. There was no accident, there was a plan. And there is a plan for each of our individual lives as well as our life together. This joy creates a deep desire to love and worship God as it did in the book of Revelation when heaven erupted in praise saying, “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being” (Revelation 4:11).
Who are you? You are a child of God. Whose are you? You belong to your Creator who is also your loving heavenly Father. Listen to the Bible as it says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will — to the praise of his glorious grace....” (Ephesians 1:3-6). What this means is that God knew you and loved you before the world ever began. When does life begin? According to the Bible your life began in the heart of God before the world was ever created. He loves you. He is for you. He is on your side. He loved you into existence and pursued you through life until you responded to him. And when this world is over your life will continue with him in the eternity that he has prepared for you. What could ever bring a higher sense of self-esteem? What could ever bring greater confidence? What better sense of identity could we have? What greater joy is there than understanding that your life is connected to the eternal?
The second way that the joy of the Lord becomes our strength is that: Joy is the result of discovering the will of God in his Word. There is an ancient Jewish custom that when a young boy begins his first lesson in Torah (the Law of Moses), that a golden drop of honey is dripped onto the first page of the Torah reminding the student of the sweetness of God’s Word. That was the understanding of these people who requested Ezra to read the Word of God to them. They wanted to know God’s will. They wanted to hear the laws of God. It was sweet to them, even if it brought guilt and conviction upon them. They were not interested in having their feelings soothed, they wanted the truth. How unlike our culture they were! We hear the Word of God and try to figure out how it doesn’t mean what it says. We turn it and twist it until it is unrecognizable. We create God in our own image and make his Word fit our morals. We come up with how we think things should be and then go to the Bible to try and find proof for our opinions. So we take a verse here and a passage there and convince ourselves that we were right all along. We don’t want the whole truth, just the part that we believe agrees with us.
But listen to what the people who lived in Jerusalem did. The Bible says, “On the second day of the month, the heads of all the families, along with the priests and the Levites, gathered around Ezra the scribe to give attention to the words of the Law.... Day after day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God” (Nehemiah 8:13,18). Joy is found when you begin to look into God’s Word and discover who God is, who you are, and what his will is for your life. It is wonderful to know and understand God’s will — as difficult as it may be to live up to. You have a goal and a standard. You know what God expects, and to the best of your ability you strive for that standard. You are not perfect, but you are growing in your ability to have your character transformed into the likeness of God. You say to God, as the Psalmist said to him: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.... Your statutes are wonderful; therefore I obey them. The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple” (Psalm 119:105,129-130). If we do not have the Word of God as a part of our lives, we have no direction.
This is why our culture is so directionless. The Word of God has been lost in our lives. We get our direction from Ophrah. We form our opinions by watching Rosie. We let Dan Rather and Tom Brokaw do our thinking for us. We look to the self-help books and the feel-good gurus of the day. But we have no direction in our lives because we have neglected the Word of God.
Realizing that he was on the wrong road, a man driving in West Virginia stopped in a small town to ask for help. He saw an old man sitting in front of a store. “Can you help me?” he said. “I’m lost” The old West Virginian he was speaking to said, “Do you know where you are?” “Sure,” the man said. “I saw the name of your town when I drove in here.” “Do you know where you came from?” inquired the man. “Well, of course,” said the driver. “Do you know where you want to go?” asked the stranger. “Yes,” replied the man in the car, and he named his destination. The old man leaned forward and said, “Well then, you aren’t lost. You just need directions.” The people in this culture have taken every short cut and side road they could take trying to reach their destination. They have gone every way but God’s way. It seems like thy have lost their way in life, but all they need is directions. Once you know where you came from and where your destination is, then all that you need is the direction of God’s Word in your life. Look in God’s Word and you will find your way. The future will still be a surprise, but at least you will know you are on the right road. But how do you know where you came from and where you are headed if you have never read the directions? Joy comes from finding God’s will and God’s way in God’s Word.
A third way that the joy of the Lord becomes our strength is that: Joy is the result of repentance and the discovery of grace. The call to joy came after the people’s repentance, not before. After the people heard the reading of God’s Word and understood how they had grieved God, they fell on their faces in repentance. The did not try to explain away the Scripture. They did not try to say how it did not mean what it clearly said. They did not try to stop Ezra from reading the law. They wanted the law read and they responded appropriately to the message of God’s Word. I think I have told you before that at my last church they asked me to stop preaching from the Bible and talk about current events instead. I resigned that same day. Some people do not want to hear the Word of God because it cuts them to the heart and causes pain to their consciences. The Bible says, “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:12-13). If you are avoiding your sin, the penetration of God’s Word is not welcome. If you are wanting to please God then you want the Word of God — even if it hurts.
As Ezra read the law the people stood in front of him weeping. Their disobedience had been exposed. They understood their guilt. They understood that their lives were a mess because they had failed to keep God’s law. There were not weeping because they got caught. They were not weeping because of the trouble they were in. They were weeping because they had not only broken God’s laws, they had broken his heart, and as a result their lives and their nation were in ruins. After this the Bible says that, “They stood where they were and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day, and spent another quarter in confession and in worshiping the Lord their God” (Nehemiah 9:3). Real guilt had brought about real change in their lives. Repentance had done its work. If they had tried to deny they had done anything wrong, joy would never have come. If they had not been honest about their sin they would never have experienced joy in their hearts. If they had not been willing to turn from their sin they would have continued to live in self-destructive ways. But when repentance came, joy came. Joy is found not in avoiding your sin, but in confronting your sin. Because when you confront our sin you come face to face with God, and the miracle you experience is a miracle of grace. Instead of destroying us, he gives us life. Instead of condemning us, he gives us forgiveness. Instead of heaping on the guilt, he heaps on his love — and it is wonderful. It is an experience of profound joy.
The Bible says, “For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5). Joy comes as a result of God’s love and forgiveness — having our hearts right with him. Jill Briscoe, a Christian writer, tells the story of how this works. She writes: “I remember talking to a girl in my church two or three years ago. She said, ‘Jill, I’ve lost my joy. I’ve lost my peace, and I want it back.’ ‘Where did you lose it?’ I asked. ‘That has nothing to do with this,’ she replied. ‘Help me to get it back.’ ‘But where did you lose it?’ ‘I don’t want to talk about that.’ But eventually she did talk about it. She lost it when she moved in with her boyfriend. That’ll do it.” The things that promise to bring joy never do. You don’t find joy by living in disobedience to God. Joy comes through obedient love.
The joy of the Lord is our strength. It is a joy that comes as we understand who we are and whose we are. It comes when we discover God’s will for our lives through his Word. It comes when we experience grace as a result of genuine repentance. You can’t have the joy of the Lord if you are living in disobedience. It just doesn’t work. Surrender your life to God in obedience and you will find a new strength coming into your life. That strength is the joy that comes from God. It is the strength that will carry us into eternity and usher us into the gates of heaven as our Lord says to us, “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).
Rodney J. Buchanan
May 14, 2000
