Praise Party

“On that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy.”  Nehemiah 12:43

Some days just call for celebration!  And not a quiet one either but a whoopin’, hollerin’, dancin’ kind of celebration!  If you’ve lived somewhere around fifty years or less, you might be thinking of Kool and the Gang about now, and you’re probably moving to the to beat…

There's a party goin' on right here;
A celebration to last throughout the years.
So bring your good times
And your laughter too;
We’re gonna celebrate your party with you…

Celebration….Let’s all celebrate and have a good time.

Celebration…We’re gonna celebrate and have a good time.

I have no doubt that if disco had been around back in Nehemiah’s day, “Celebration” would have been the theme song at the dedication of Jerusalem’s wall.  Music was definitely the headline of the event, and Nehemiah “assigned two large choirs—under the direction of Jezrahiah—to give thanks”(Neh 12:31,43).  The ensembles paraded on top of the wall in opposite directions until they met at “their places in the house of God”(vs 40), and the praise party began.

Singers and musicians had come from the surrounding villages and regions to “celebrate joyfully the dedication with songs of thanksgiving and with the music of cymbals, harps, and lyres”(Neh 12:27).  Sounds like a pretty good band to me!  And we know they were loud because “the sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away”(Neh 12:43).

 

Through all the trial, trouble, toil, and turmoil, God had been faithful to His people, and Jerusalem’s wall, once a broken and burned pile of rubble and rocks, had been rebuilt to its full height.  No wonder that “on that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy”(vs 43).  It really was “a celebration to last throughout the years.”

This Thanksgiving let your praise be loud and long!  God rebuilds our lives from the rubble of sin, He gives us power and purpose for every day, and He promises our forever will only get better!  This surely calls for a celebration—a whoopin’, hollerin’, dancin’ kind of celebration!! 

Strike up the band and get the party started!

Good times praising God are the best!