"... enter thou into the joy of thy
lord." (Matt. 25:21)
21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast
been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter
thou into the joy of thy lord. (Matt. 25:21)
What did these words - "... enter thou into the joy of thy lord" -
mean for Jews? Jews awaited for Messianic Kingdom.
11 And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was
nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should
immediately appear. (Luke 19:11)
21 But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed
Israel... (Luke 24:21)
6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt
thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? (Acts 1:6)
In Psalms 43 we read God is God my exceeding joy (El
Simchat Gili):
4 Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon
the harp will I praise thee, O God my God. (Psalms 43:4)
In Psalms 51 we read: the joy of Thy salvation (Seson Yish'echa):
|
12 |
Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation; and uphold me
with Thy free spirit. (Psalms 51:12) |
- about everlasting joy (simchat olam):
11 Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto
Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and
joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away. (Isaiah 51:11)
3 For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he
will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD;
joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.
(Isaiah 51:3)
- - -
In TaNaKh we read: ''Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of
salvation.'' (Isaiah 12:3)
There was the such tradition: during seven days of Sukkot kohens (the priests) were carring a water in the gold jug from the pool of Shiloakh (Siloam). Then kohens handed over this jug with water to other kohen who poured out it into the vessel near altar. This ritual symbolized a prayer about rain which the eight day began from, Shmini Atzeret, and this ritual pointed out outpouring of Ruach ha-Kodesh (the Holy Spirit) on Jewish people.
In the last day of Sukkot (when water was running, one could hear singing of psalms, the sound of shofars (the trumpets) which kohens blew in etc., Yeshua said:
John 7:37 In the last day, that great [day] of the feast,
Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and
drink.
John 7:38 He that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly
shall flow rivers of living water.
John 7:39 (But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him
should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet [given]; because that Jesus was
not yet glorified.)
The rivers of living water are blessings which we, believers in Messiah Yeshua, had received Ruach ha-Kodesh, have in order to bless people, to share the Good News with them.
13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. (John 17:13)
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a
shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead
in Messiah (Christ) shall rise first: (1 Thess. 4:16)
6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of
many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the
Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the
Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and
white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the
marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings
of God. (Rev. 19:6-9)
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