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Context No. 1035 of 4322 · Nehemiah

Context · Reflection

Nehemiah 12:38-47: in context

38The other company of those who gave thanks went to meet them, and I after them, with the half of the people on the wall above the tower of the furnaces, even to the wide wall, 39and above the gate of Ephraim, and by the old gate, and by the fish gate, the tower of Hananel, and the tower of Hammeah, even to the sheep gate; and they stood still in the gate of the guard. 40So the two companies of those who gave thanks in God’s house stood, and I and the half of the rulers with me; 41and the priests, Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets; 42and Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. The singers sang loud, with Jezrahiah their overseer. 43They offered great sacrifices that day, and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; and the women and the children also rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even far away. 44On that day, men were appointed over the rooms for the treasures, for the wave offerings, for the first fruits, and for the tithes, to gather into them according to the fields of the cities the portions appointed by the law for the priests and Levites; for Judah rejoiced for the priests and for the Levites who served. 45They performed the duty of their God and the duty of the purification, and so did the singers and the gatekeepers, according to the commandment of David and of Solomon his son. 46For in the days of David and Asaph of old there was a chief of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgiving to God. 47All Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah gave the portions of the singers and the gatekeepers, as every day required; and they set apart that which was for the Levites; and the Levites set apart that which was for the sons of Aaron.

The wall of Jerusalem is finished, and Nehemiah leads the dedication. Two great choirs of thanksgiving march in opposite directions along the top of the rebuilt wall, priests with trumpets, Levites with instruments, singers led by their overseer, until both companies meet at the temple. They offer great sacrifices and rejoice, and the joy is so great, God had made them rejoice with great joy, that the sound of the celebration in Jerusalem is heard far away.

The detail that carries the scene is that the joy of Jerusalem was heard far off. The rebuilding had been long, opposed, exhausting, done with a tool in one hand and a weapon in the other, and now, at the dedication, the accumulated relief and gratitude overflow into a celebration so loud that people at a distance can hear it. There is something right about that. Joy that comes from God's faithfulness is not meant to be contained or kept polite; when God has done something, the natural response is a gladness that spills over the walls and reaches the ears of those outside. And notice the text's careful phrase: God had made them rejoice with great joy. The joy was itself God's gift, not just their achievement; he gave them the gladness as surely as he gave them the finished wall. And in the same breath the passage records the ordinary follow-through, appointing people to manage the storerooms, the tithes, the portions for the singers and gatekeepers, so that the great day of joy is anchored in the humble, ongoing arrangements that keep worship going. Celebration and administration both belong to a healthy people of God.

When God finishes something in my life, does my joy overflow loudly enough to be heard, and do I credit even the gladness itself as his gift?

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