Nehemiah 12:43

The Culmination Of The Celebrations Which Took Place In The Temple (Nehemiah 12:43).

The processions on or about the wall having been completed the people gathered in the Temple area and offered large numbers of sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving. These would then, of course, have been partaken of, and there would be a great feast as all the people, men, women and children joined in the rejoicing and celebrations. They had a new sense of Jerusalem as the holy city, and of the presence of YHWH acting on their behalf.

Nehemiah 12:43

‘And they offered great sacrifices that day, and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy, and the women also and the children rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off.'

These sacrifices would inevitably include burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin, but in the main they were probably sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving of which all could partake, and it is clear that there were a great many of them. Indeed this was necessary in order to provide meat for the feast. But they would be offered with joyful hearts and a real sense of gratitude to God. Note the emphasis on the fact that everyone was gathered, even women and children, for which compare Ezra 10:1, although there it was in penitence.

So great were the crowds, and so loud the praise from such a great multitude, that ‘the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off'. Compare for this Ezra 3:13. Note the emphasis. ‘They rejoiced -- God made them rejoice with great joy -- the women and children rejoiced -- the joy of Jerusalem was heard afar off'. Joy was at the centre of their worship. As a consequence everyone around knew that God had done great things for His people, and that they were correspondingly grateful and filled with joy.