Sin withholds good things from man that he would otherwise have opportunity to enjoy. Instead of peace, sin brings unrest, frustration, and heartaches.
Most people view sin as a private or earthy matter. Yet, every sin is against the Lord. In truth, men can sin against the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
Sin and those who participate therein anger Lord. In the days of Noah, sin grieved the Lord so badly that it repented God that he had made man on the earth.
Words always have associative properties with other words; the word joy is no exception. When considering a definition of joy, many people would assume it is being happy or happiness in general. However, the Bible does not associate joy primarily with being happy. God provided another word to enable the Bible student to define the word joy. In each of the three verses in our passage, the scripture makes reference to joy, either indirectly: rejoiced (Esther 8:15) or directly (Esther 8:16, 17). A careful consideration will identify that joy is associated with the words glad (Esther 8:15) and gladness (Esther 8:16, 17). This connection is consistent throughout the Bible (Psalm 51:8; Psalm 105:43; Isaiah 16:10) and is specifically connected to gladness of heart (Deuteronomy 28:47; 1 Kings 8:66; Esther 5:9).
