Jeremiah 9:23-24 Thus says the LORD, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises loving kindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.
More important than all the fleshly things of life is the ability to understand and know God. An education without God will benefit nothing in eternity. Strength of arm without strength of soul will not lead to eternal life. What will it profit a man to gain the whole world if he loses his own soul? What will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:26) To know God is to love Him. The more we learn of Him the more we see He is indeed a God who exercises loving kindness, justice and righteousness on earth! Indeed He delights in these things! Many people do not know God well. The people to whom Jeremiah wrote had rejected God in order to be like the people of the nations around them. They refused to listen to the prophets of the Lord and preferred to hear pleasant things. In so doing, they were actually hurting themselves.
Jeremiah said, “I know, O LORD, that a man’s way is not in himself, nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps” (Jeremiah 10:23). It is a great day in a person’s life when he realizes how much he needs God to help him through life.
