The Oil of Joy

After the wall of Jerusalem was completed in Nehemiah’s time, we read, “They…rejoiced …for God had made them rejoice with great joy” (Neh. 12:43). It was a spiritual joy coming from an inner appreciation of the blessing of God, a joy generated in their hearts by God Himself, not an emotion worked up by outward manipulation in what someone described to me recently (with approval) as “happy-clappy” church services.

The Jews found, as have many others, that “the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh. 8:10). What does that mean? Perhaps it is a call to rejoice in the Lord who is our strength. Or it promises that rejoicing in the Lord will strengthen us. Both would seem to be true.

As they rejoiced in what God had done in restoring their ruined city, He strengthened their faith and gave them, in Isaiah’s phrase, “The oil of joy for mourning” (Isa. 61:3). “Oil” often meant olive oil in that day, used for light, for grooming, and as a medication. Isaiah likely means the Spirit of God will heal wounded broken spirits and replace sadness with the joy of the Lord when we trust in Him.

Charles Spurgeon however thought of another application of oil–as a lubricant. He comments, “When the wheels of the machine are well oiled, the whole machine goes easily; and when the man has the oil of joy, then his business and his family, the wheels of his nature glide along sweetly and harmoniously.” The joy of the Lord lubricates our lives, making things run more smoothly. Interesting thought!