What If We Gloried in Knowing God?
Jeremiah 9:23-26 (KJV)
Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:
But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will punish all them which are circumcised with the uncircumcised;
Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that are in the utmost corners, that dwell in the wilderness: for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart.
I found another passage in Jeremiah 9 that I just can’t help but comment on. I really fell in love with this passage and I felt like it begged the question:
What if instead of glorying in the things of this world, Christians gloried in knowing and understanding God?
How different would our churches look? How different would the world look?
Christians are people. We are tempted by the same things that the people owned by the world are tempted with. We sometimes stand in awe of people who have fancy cars, are beautiful, or are smart. It is hard not to. Our nature, as human beings, is to glory in something. We also tend to connect these characteristics with “success” and that lends another aspect to our need to glorify in these earthly things.
But the Bible urges us not to venerate earthly things. We should hold God in highest regard! And then, our glory would be knowing Him more. That should be what Christians have awe for. Sadly, it is often not the case.
Matthew 6:33 (KJV)
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
I couldn’t help but imagine how different churches and Christians would be if we really held knowing God as the highest form of success. Our status in church wouldn’t be based on a beautiful voice, a charismatic presence, speaking skills, or how well dressed we are. We would admire those who had a deep relationship with Christ. We would honor those who accomplished more for others.
This passage, specifically verse 24, gives us a glimpse into what a person who glorified knowing God would look like. They would delight in the things God delights in: 1) lovingkindness (mercy, love), 2) judgement (justice, understanding right from wrong), and 3) righteousness (moral character). Do we hold these characteristics as valuable in our churches?
We should. Our churches, and us as individuals, should be characterized by these 3 qualities. We should extend love to each other and the world, we should uphold what is right and fight for justice, and we should have outstanding moral character (holding ourselves to the highest of standards). Please note, that ALL THREE are together here. A lot of us fall into promoting one quality over another. Some of us focus only on love. These are the ‘Christians’ who compromise doctrine and truth in the name of love. Some of us focus solely on moral character. These ‘Christians’ are like the Pharisees who practice all of the nuances of God’s commandments but cannot love those around them and extend justice. Finally, some of us care about justice alone. These ‘Christians” fight for social justice more than for moral character or love hoping to fix society, not with more of God, but more of their form of justice.
Love, justice, and righteousness are ALL essential and a delicate balance. If you remove one, you cannot fully glorify God. Because God is all three. He is perfectly loving, holy, and just!
The next part of the passage, verse 25-26, tell us why we should glory in God. Judgement is coming to everyone – gentile and Jew, outwardly uncircumcised and circumcised. Only those who are circumcised of the heart will be spared.
Circumcision was an outward directive from God to His people, the Israelites, as a reflection of an inward relationship with God. The outward circumcision did not guarantee anything. It was the internal status that actually mattered. Many Israelites didn’t understand this or at least chose not to. God had explained this clearly to them in His law and then using Jeremiah to remind them of it.
Deuteronomy 30:6 (KJV)
And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
Deuteronomy 10:16 (KJV)
Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.
Jeremiah 4:4 (KJV)
Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
I certainly felt convicted after reading this passage. How often do I value things of this world over my relationship with God? Too often! I tend to deem success as money, beauty, or intellect, but that is just not the case. While those things are nice and wonderful gifts, they are not to be the center of our lives – God is!
Let the revival begin with us! Let’s change our view of what is important and put God as the center of our lives. Let’s delve into His Word and understand Him more! Let’s delight in what God delights in! Our lives, churches, and influence would certainly change and for the better.