Joy: Responding to God’s Goodness

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Dec 15, 2025

Delve into the rich biblical theme of joy, revealed through communal celebrations and temple offerings. Explore Hebrew vocabulary like sameach and sasson, highlighting joy in weddings and festivals. Discover how joy transcends mere happiness, encapsulating emotional depth during both blessings and trials. In the New Testament, joy bursts forth at key moments like the arrival of Jesus and the resurrection. Uncover the layers of joy amidst sorrow and persecution, painting a vibrant picture of a life rooted in God's goodness.

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INSIGHT

Joy As Communal Celebration And Memory

Joy in Scripture is richer than an emotion; it includes songs, processions, and communal celebration.
Tim Mackie explains joy often functions as remembering God's past goodness and anticipating future rescue.

INSIGHT

Multiple Hebrew Words For Joy

Hebrew uses multiple words for joy that distinguish feeling, outward expression, and shouting.
Tim names sameach (internal), gil (demonstration), ranan (shout), and sason (general rejoicing).

ANECDOTE

Weddings And Temple Feasts As Joy Scenes

Tim Mackie uses weddings, temple offerings, and thank-offerings as recurring scenes of joy in Israelite life.
He links bridal and sacrificial voices (sason and simcha) to communal celebration at the temple.

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Advent E3 — In the third week of Advent, we’re reflecting on joy. Joy’s not only a feeling based on circumstances but a rich biblical theme expressed in song, celebration, and even shouts of delight in all seasons of life. In the Hebrew Bible, words for joy appear most often in Psalms and describe communal feasts, temple offerings, and weddings. In these moments, joy is about remembering God’s goodness in the past and anticipating his future rescue. The New Testament continues this story, with Luke and Acts in particular overflowing with joy at the arrival of the Messiah, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and the resurrection of Jesus. In this episode, Jon and Tim find the theme of joy everywhere in Scripture, even before God’s work is ultimately finished.

FULL SHOW NOTES

For chapter-by-chapter notes including summaries, referenced Scriptures, biblical words, and reflection questions, check out the full show notes for this episode.

CHAPTERS

The Hebrew Words for Joy (0:00–15:24)
Joy in Psalms, Songs, and Processions (15:24–24:55)
New Testament Joy in Jesus and the Spirit (24:55–36:59)
Reflections on Joy With Alena (36:59-41:21)

OFFICIAL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

View this episode’s official transcript.

REFERENCED RESOURCES

Chara / Joy: Though not referenced directly in the episode, this 2017 video explores one of the biblical words for joy, chara.
Check out Tim’s extensive collection of recommended books here.

SHOW MUSIC

“I'll Be Warm This Christmas” by Lofi Sunday & TBabz
“Joy” by Lofi Sunday & CRFT
“Snowflakes” by Aves
BibleProject theme song by TENTS

SHOW CREDITS

Production of today’s episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer, and Cooper Peltz, managing producer. Tyler Bailey is our supervising engineer, who also edited today’s episode and provided the sound design and mix. JB Witty does our show notes, and Hannah Woo provides the annotations for our app. Our host and creative director is Jon Collins, and our lead scholar is Tim Mackie. Special thanks to our guest Alena.

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