THE MAIN IDEA
The joy of the Lord comes from the word of God. After the Jerusalem wall was completed, “all the people” gathered to celebrate. A revival broke out driven by the word of God, and the result was people experiencing the joy of the Lord.

THE JOY OF THE LORD COMES FROM REVERING GOD’s WORD
It is significant that the worship was not centered in the temple but centered on the word of God. From this moment on, the word of God became more important than the temple in the worship and in the life of the Jewish people. We see their heartfelt reverence for God’s word throughout this text. Ezra opened the Book (the Book of the Law), and the Book stood open over the people. They all stood up in reverence to God’s word. All the people gathered for the reading of God’s word and to worship God for six hours. They were standing in reverence to God Himself. They lifted their hands in worship, showing how much they needed Him. They said, “Amen! Amen!” affirming the authority of His word over their lives. And they bowed down with their faces to the ground showing their humility and submission to God. The people of God today should restore such reverence for His word.

THE JOY OF THE LORD COMES FROM UNDERSTANDING GOD’s WORD
Certain Levites were assigned the job of explaining what was being read to them. Part of that job was to translate the Hebrew, the language of the Book of the Law, into Aramaic, the language of the people. But they were also explaining the meaning of the text so that the people could understand its application for them. Some very smart people have already translated the original languages of the Bible into English. But understanding the word of God still takes work on our part. The core message of the gospel can be explained easy enough, but to understand the fullness of the gospel message is not easy. Yet, understanding the Bible is abundantly possible, and it takes three things: 1) It takes a community. 2) It takes personal effort. And 3) It takes a lifetime. It takes a community of believers to build up a culture of revering God’s word so that we will want to study it together. It takes personal effort because everything that is good and worthwhile takes personal effort. And it takes a lifetime because we need the word of God to shine the light of truth into our hearts each and every day (Hebrews 4:12-13).

THE JOY OF THE LORD COMES FROM OBEYING GOD’s WORD
As all the people began to understand the word of God, they started to grieve and to weep. When we really understand the word of God, we come to understand two things. First, we come to understand the depth of our sin. The destruction of Israel and Judah was the result of the disobedience of their ancestors, because they were seeking first the kingdom of this world rather than seeking first the kingdom of God. Because of sin, we all share the same worldview of self-indulgence and self- sufficiency that ended up destroying the promised land. So they grieved and wept. Second, when we understand the word of God, we also come to understand the depth of God’s mercy, grace, and love. Understanding the depth of our sin and the depth of God’s love, mercy, and grace is the beginning of repentance, and the fruit of repentance is obedience. And with this understanding, we may rejoice in the Lord and place our trust fully in Him. The joy of the Lord is our strength, and it comes from revering, understanding, and obeying the word of God.

Discussion: In what ways, specifically, can you revere God’s word more? How can you encourage others to revere God’s word more?