And he said to them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions to them for whom nothing is prepared; for the day is holy to our Lord; and be not grieved, for the joy of Jehovah is your strength.
The people of Jerusalem had just heard the law of God read and explained, and they broke down in tears. Their leaders answer with a strange command: stop weeping and feast, because the joy of the LORD is their strength.
A holy day, not a day for mourning
The tears were genuine, and there was real reason for them. But sorrow did not fit the character of that day. So the leaders held the people's grief back.
Edward DennettThe time for showing their sorrow would soon come. But now they were to rejoice, in line with what God had in His heart for their future blessing. They did need to judge themselves and to grieve. The point is that this holy day was not the day for it. The Lord wanted them to rise above their own state and condition. For the moment they were to find their joy in His joy, and in His joy would be their strength.
Their weeping had an obvious cause. What they had been listening to was the law, and the law has only one verdict for people who have broken it.
An Outline of Sound WordsWe read of the joy of the Lord even before the Lord Jesus came into the world. Here the people who had come back from exile were weeping as they heard the words of the law. The law can only condemn the guilty. Their sorrow over the ways that had driven a wedge between them and the Lord was real. Even so, such weeping did not fit a day that was "holy to the LORD."
Strength that is God's, not the people's
Notice whose joy is named. The people had discovered how weak they were. Looking harder at themselves would not give them the strength they needed.
W. T. P. WolstonThey wept, for they knew how weak they were; but joy filled their hearts because God was their strength. It is good to feel our weakness and to admit it. But what cause for joy it is when we learn that the strength of the Lord is ours! The joy of the Lord must be what sustains us. Then we have strength that stands outside all circumstances, and despite them.
Joy that comes from understanding what is read
The joy did not arrive from nowhere. The people first understood the words read to them, and that understanding came as a gift.
C. StanleyThose who teach must be people of "the book." They must open the book, read the book clearly, make the people understand the book. It is God speaking to us. Then there will be lifting up of hands, and bowing of heads, and worshipping the Lord with faces to the ground. Yes, as the Tirshatha — the title of the governor, who here pictures the Holy Spirit — gives us understanding of the precious word, there will be a delight in the Lord that knows what it is delighting in. We rejoice in God.
And it was meant to survive the end of the gathering.
George DavisonIt should be noted that this was to continue after the meeting was over. It says in verse 12, "And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions." This enjoyment was not limited to the time of listening to the word. It was the practical result of that teaching.
Joy that sends portions
Part of the verse looks outward. Those who ate the fat and drank the sweet were to make sure that those with nothing prepared received a share.
J. G. BellettScripture shows in many places that the more joy we have in God, the more open-hearted we will be towards one another. It is the very character of joy to enlarge the heart… A person who is happy himself can afford to look around and make others happy with him.
Joy that outlasts circumstances
If this joy is His, then it does not rise and fall with what is happening around us.
A. J. PollockTo begin with, our joy must be in the Lord. "The joy of the Lord is your strength." Not rejoicing in our circumstances, but in the Lord. If we rejoice in our circumstances, we are leaning on something that will break. Circumstances change, but the Lord does not.
That is why joy is not a luxury added on after the serious work. It is the equipment for it.
Samuel RidoutTo be filled with joy and praise by the Spirit is the only way of securing a bold and faithful testimony for Christ. The joy of the Lord is our strength, and it lasts. When the emergency comes, the strength is there, and the victory is certain.
Summary
- Word first. The joy began when teachers read the book clearly and explained it, so the people understood what God was saying to them.
- Tears next. The law exposed their guilt and weakness, and they wept. The sorrow was real, but its day came later, not this holy one.
- His joy. They were told to rise above their own condition and borrow God's gladness. The strength on offer was never in themselves.
- Joy holds. This joy rests on the Lord, not on circumstances. So it stands when circumstances collapse, and it makes bold testimony possible.
- Portions out. A full heart enlarges. Those who feast go and feed those with nothing prepared, and the gladness carries on after the meeting ends.