Nehemiah 8:9-10 And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said to all the people… It is remarkable how largely feelings of joy characterised Jewish worship. The abjectness and terror that were often such marked features of idolatrous worship were altogether absent. Heathen worship was never joyous except when it took the form of a licentious orgie. It is true the Jewish festival was also a sacrificial feast, but the feast was only a form of public entertainment for a multitude who had been brought from their homes and needed some kind of hospitality. These feasts were not occasions for riotous excess. The sternest of the prophets utter no reproach of this kind. Even the social character of the festivals scarcely more than indicated in the psalms that were composed for them. They are gladsome very, but with a religious joy, a joy of faith. Parallel Verses KJV: And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the LORD your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law. |
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