Joyful understanding

When Israel gathers to hear the book of Moses read, the people begin to weep. Nehemiah exhorts them, “This day is holy to Yahweh your God; do not mourn or weep.”

Ezra then reads the law, the Levites explain it, and the people go out for a “great rejoicing,” because “they understood the words which had been made known to them” (Nehemiah 8:9-12). Understanding produces joy.

How often do pastors, or parents, implicitly assume that if people really understood what they were saying they would mourn? How often do our worship services have the opposite effect – to make joyful people sad?