Description

Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced;
for God had made them rejoice with great joy: the wives
also and the children rejoiced; so that the joy of Jerusalem
was heard even afar off. — Nehemiah 12:43
The people who had wept before, under a sense of sin, were now called
upon to rejoice. Holy mourning prepares the way for spiritual mirth.
Clear shining follows rain.
It was well that they kept themselves under such control that they could
weep or rejoice as they were bidden.
Their joy was remarkable for its spirituality and universality, and in
these and other ways it was an example for us.