Party People

Because I’m happy! Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof.

Because I’m happy! Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth.

Because I’m happy! Clap along if you know what happiness is to you.

Because I’m happy! Clap along if you feel like that’s what you wanna do.

“Happy” by Pharrell 

Not exactly the first thing pops into your head when somebody mentions the Old Testament. Usually it’s the wrath and judgment of an angry God. Strange wars between the Israelites and people with weird names like the Moabites, Ammonites, and Mosquito Bites. How ‘bout long lists of crazy laws and rules? But when you actually open up the OT and read it for yourself, you’ll see plenty of parties and parades. God’s people are a party people. And that’s because the LORD gives us plenty to party about. I think Pharrell is onto something. God and His blessings sometimes make you feel like you’re living in a room without a roof. Sometimes it means a party ON the roof!

That’s the scene here in Nehemiah 12:1-43. After 70-plus years of Babylonian exile, God’s chosen people are back in the Promised Land. It’s taken a while but they’ve rebuilt the temple (Ez 6:14-15), refurbished the walls (Neh 6:15), repented of their sin (Neh 10:28-39), and repopulated the city (Neh 11:1-36). Now it’s time to rejoice! If ever there was a time for the Jewish people to whoop it up and throw it down, it’s now. They’re not celebrating what they’ve accomplished but what God is doing through them and for them. And we’re going to see that He even is the One behind this big bash. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Nehemiah spends the first 26 verses of the chapter going over the roster of all of dudes who served as chief priests, priests, Levites, and gatekeepers since the Hebrews began their series of returns from exile. We start by blowing the dust off the page with a list that goes back to the “priests and Levites who came up with Zerubbabel” (v1). That’s 538 BC, some 93 years ago before Nehemiah’s return to Jerusalem. Zerubbabel led the expedition while Jeshua was the high priest. The roster goes on to break down those folks serving at the temple under the next two high priests, Joiakim (v12-21) and Eliashib (v22-26). 

So just who are these fellas? Well, they serve at the temple. So does that mean they’re stodgy party poppers who serve as the local fun police? I mean, aren’t people who work at the church supposed to make sure nobody gets anywhere close to having a good time? It’s sure how I remember things back where I grew up. But there’s just one little problem. That couldn’t be anymore wrong. These priests, Levites, and gatekeepers do everything they can to pull back the curtain on the joy we can only find in the LORD. They’re not party poopers but party starters!

The people of Judah were ready to get this party started a couple of thousand years before Pink. The Levites are just the folks they seek out when it comes to celebrating the completion of the rebuilt city walls. “And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness with thanksgivings and singing, with cymbals, harps, and lyres” (v27). In other words, every great party needs a great band. Bust out the sound system, boys. Crank that bad boy up to 11. This is gonna get loud! Every member of the worship team hightails into town for this spectacular hootenanny (v28). 

The governor decides to crank up this party with not one but two parades. “Then I brought the leaders of Judah up onto the wall and appointed two great choirs that gave thanks” (v31). Remember, Nehemiah’s mission all started when God broke his heart with breaking news about the broken walls of Jerusalem (Neh 1:2-11). Less than one year later, the walls up so it’s time to party down and thank the LORD for all He’s done to make this a reality. Curiously, the original language here doesn’t say anything about a choir. Nehemiah uses the Hebrew word towdah. It literally means thanksgiving or praise. These aren’t two big choirs of singers wearing robes and carrying hymnals. We’re talking about two huge teams of thankers and praisers. Are folks singing? You betcha. But don’t forget the musicians who’ve joined them (v27). This is less like a church service and more like Mardi Gras (minus the beads and debauchery!).

This shindig actually starts ON the walls! Talk about a room without a roof! Ezra leads parade number one which “went to the south on the wall to the Dung Gate” (v31). Nehemiah follows parade number two which “went to the north” (v38). These two rolling celebrations head in opposite directions with the plan to meet at the temple and whoop it up together (v40). Once at the house of God, lead singer Jezrahiah and the rest of the vocalists really cut loose (v42). This bash just keeps getting louder and louder and louder. 

Just in case you’re not buying the idea of this massive shindig the people are throwing in thanks to God, Nehemiah invites you in for a closer look. “And they offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and children also rejoiced. And the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away” (v43). Did you catch all that rejoicing? Happen to notice all that joy? The people rejoice. God made them rejoice. They have great joy. Women and kids rejoice. And their joy is LOUD! The governor drops two closely related Hebrew terms here. One is a noun, simchah, which means joy, gladness, pleasure, happiness, and jubilation. The other is a verb, samach, and it means to rejoice, be glad, celebrate, take pleasure, and revel. This isn’t some boring and stuffy reception in the church basement. Nehemiah gives us a glimpse of unbridled joy and jubilation in Jerusalem!

This is one of those shindigs where one of the neighbors calls the cops because of the volume. “And the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away” (v43). Imagine what’s going through the minds of Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem, and the other thugs when they hear the cheers from Jerusalem ringing in their ears. They’ve done everything they could to frighten and confuse the Jews and shut down the wall project (Neh 2:10, 19; 4:1-3, 7-8; 6:1-19). The noise level from the city reminds everyone of One behind their success. 

Because God is epic, this party is epic. This party has the heavenly stamp of approval. We see that “God had made them rejoice” (v43). All along, Nehemiah tells everybody who would listen that God has a firm grip on the process (Neh 2:8, 17; 4:20; 6:16). When the truth of God’s Word reveals their sin and rebellion, the people cry their eyes out. That’s when the governor lets them know that this is no time for tears. “For the joy of the LORD is your strength” (Neh 8:10). This a HUGE reminder that God is more committed to your joy than you are. So instead of thinking of He’s a cosmic killjoy, we should realize God wants His best for us. He wants His joy for us. Hard as it is for most of us to believe, that happens when we embrace a willing obedience to His commands. He didn’t give them to us to keep us from having fun, but to protect us from ourselves. Our obedience brings Him glory. Our obedience unlocks our joy. Pretty cool how that works out, huh?

Don’t get me wrong. Life is not one big bash with a hot cover band. Not even close. That’s because we’ve jacked up God’s perfect creation through our own sin and rebellion. As a result, we’ve opened the door to death, disease, and decay into the world. But God sent His Son to our rescue to save us from all that we’ve done. And in the end, He’s inviting us to greatest party the universe will ever see called the “marriage supper of the Lamb” (Rev 19:9). If you think things got loud in Jerusalem that day, the wedding reception for Jesus and His church is going to blow the doors off the place. The crowd is so loud, it will be “like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder” (Rev 19:6). That’s because they’ve cranked the music all the way up. I’m not sure Pharrell is going to be on the playlist, but the music will be blasting. As Tony Campolo likes to say, “The kingdom of God is a party.” God’s people should be party people. Because God is epic, His party is epic.