We already mentioned that one of the Hebrew words translated as rejoice in the Bible means “to shout (usually for joy).” A few verses that use that word are:
Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.
Psalm 63:7 (KJV)
My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto thee; and my soul, which thou hast redeemed.
Psalm 71:23 (KJV)
O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
Psalm 90:14 (KJV)
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.
Psalm 98:4 (KJV)
Because God has been our help, we will shout out praises under the shadow of His wings. Our lips and redeemed souls will greatly shout out praises as we sing unto Him. He satisfies us with His mercy, and we will shout out praises and be glad all our days. We and all the earth are commanded to make a joyful, loud noise and shout and sing out praises.
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Another Hebrew word translated as rejoice means “to spin round.”
I love that.
So happy, so joyful, so delighted, that you spin around, like someone dancing in the rain or causing their skirt to flare out or-or whatever.
Verses using that form include:
Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
Psalm 2:11 (KJV)
That I may shew forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion: I will rejoice in thy salvation.
Psalm 9:14 (KJV)
This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24 (KJV)
But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create… And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.
Isaiah 65:18-19 (KJV)
The first verse makes me think of vibrating with excitement: we’re so thrilled to be serving God and doing life with Him that we can’t hold still. We twirl around, rejoicing because of His salvation. He has made this day and allowed us to live it, and therefore we will dance through it. We will delight in what God has created, and–get this–God will spin around in joy.
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Another Hebrew word translated as rejoice means “to jump for joy.”
But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice. Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name Jah, and rejoice before him.
Psalm 68:3-4 (KJV)
Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
Habakkuk 3:17-18 (KJV)
Let us be glad and exceedingly jump for joy before God; we will sing praises and leap before Him. And even though things aren’t going great and our world’s falling apart around us, yet we will jump and leap and bounce and skip and rejoice in our God.
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A Greek word used for rejoice also means “to jump for joy,” coming from words meaning “much” and “to jump; fig. to gush.”
I get the idea of jumping up and down over and over, time after time, with exuberance. I think of kangaroos, ballerinas, excited little kids. . .
And gushing. Flowing out in a sudden, rapid, plentiful stream. Enthusiastic. Pouring out. The joy just overflows and rushes out of us.
I love that picture, especially in the following verses.
Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
1 Peter 1:6, 8 (KJV)
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.
Revelation 19:7 (KJV)
In the first verse, apparently Peter thought it wasn’t enough to just use the powerful, dramatic word for rejoice–he had to use “greatly” before it! Then he says that, in Jesus, we jump and gush with joy unspeakable–Jesus can give us so much joy that we can’t even explain it or describe it! One day, perhaps sooner than we think, we will jump and gush and give honor to God, for the Lamb’s marriage is happening and his bride (the Church) is ready and waiting!
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As we go throughout November (and after), I hope we remember these definitions of rejoice and strive to do them. Don’t get me wrong, we can’t make ourselves feel the joy, but we can pray for it and we can let ourselves shout, spin, jump, and gush–no matter what others might think or how stupid/silly we might feel. As I said in “Shouting Out Praises”: “But it’s not about us or how we feel, is it now. And it’s not about what other people think of us. It’s about God, who He is, what He’s done–He deserves every bit of praise we can give plus more!”
Let’s rejoice and spread joy and thankfulness, shall we? 😊
P.S. Did you know rejoice means these things before this? I didn’t! I’ve said before and I’ll say it again, we can never know Jesus or the Bible too well. It’s amazing what you learn when you do a little bit of digging, even simply into the words themselves. 😊
