The most valuable thing you can do is to know God better. Nothing satisfies the soul more. Knowledge of God is the bread of your human spirit and the light of your mind. Everything else that is good in your life flows out of a correct, deep, experiential knowledge of God.
For those who want to know God better, Christmas brings deep celebration, for we celebrate God’s entry into the world in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus is God’s greatest revelation of himself and his ways. As someone who wants to know God as deeply as you possibly can, the person of Jesus Christ is central.
So, over the Christmas holiday I urge you to meditate on what you learn about God through the events of the birth of Jesus Christ.
And throughout the year to come consider always reading some portion of one of the four Gospels every day. Meditate daily on the words and works of Jesus.
Currently the way I’m doing that is by reading a section of a Gospel chapter each day along with my other reading. So, I will read a single episode or a single teaching unit of Jesus rather than reading the entire chapter. As a result I pause and meditate on it longer.
May your knowledge of God be your highest joy this Christmas and in the year ahead!
Waiting on God in the dark is possible when we know the truth about God.
In the previous post we learned from Joseph that we can wait a long, long time for God with seemingly nothing happening, and then God suddenly acts to fulfill his Word. In this post we learn from Abraham more about waiting on God in the dark.
Barrenness tests Abraham and Sarah
In Western culture we value the ability to make things happen. We say things like, “I’ll find a way or make a way.” “He’s a mover and shaker.” “They’ll run through brick walls if necessary.” “She stirs the pot.” “Manage by objectives.” “Just do it.”
But God often does not cooperate. In fact you can count on it that he will allow something in your life that no amount of will power and effort can change, something that requires you to wait on him.
Why
He does this because waiting develops spiritual muscle, in particular muscles of faith and hope, in which he delights. Scripture says, “Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently” (Rom. 8:24–25, NIV). And, “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for” (Heb. 11:1–2, NIV). Faith and hope thrive when we must wait.
The benefit of waiting does not end there. Scripture says, “The testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (Jam. 1:2–4, NIV). Situations that require steadfastness work like the barbells and machines of a fitness center to develop all aspects of godliness. So if we could fulfill every desire instantly, we would be spiritual weaklings.
The disappointment of barrenness
Abraham and Sarah could not fulfill their desire. They wanted a child but for about 50 years remained barren. By human standards they were a power couple: Abraham was wealthy, and Sarah beautiful. But no matter how much they yearned for a child, they could not conceive. In the culture of that time, children signified the favor of God, and barrenness brought shame. So Abraham and Sarah endured the daily frustration of unfulfilled desire.
When Abraham was 75 and Sarah 65, however, their prospects suddenly improved. God appeared to Abraham and promised, “I will make of you a great nation” (Gen. 12:2). Surely that meant they would soon conceive a child. But for the next 24 years they waited, without knowing how long the wait would last. Since God knows the future he could have told them how long their wait would last, but he did not because being in the dark intensified their test, requiring more trust.
The frustration of not knowing how long the wait will last
Not knowing how long a wait will last makes waiting much harder. When, for example, you wait on the phone to talk with a customer-service agent, patience comes easier when you are told approximately how long until an agent takes the call, even if that will be 45 minutes. But when you do not know what to expect, even a 5-minute wait is frustrating.
Scripture tells how Abraham was able to pass the test of waiting in the dark for almost 25 years:
“Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’ Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.” (Rom. 4:18–21, NIV)
This Scripture reveals five things about how Abraham was able to wait on God (we will note one principle now and four more in coming posts).
The decisive power of hope
First, he could wait because “against all hope, Abraham in hope believed.” He had hope, not despair. If you have hope, you can wait not only for 25 years, but for 250 years. If you despair, you cannot wait 25 minutes. Hope and despair have enormous power for good or harm. One or the other decides your future. Even though Abraham’s circumstances argued for despair, he had hope.
Hope drove his belief: “Abraham in hope believed.” We cannot believe in God’s promise when our hearts are governed by despair. Bring the candle of God’s promise into a room dark with despair, and despair blows out the flame. Light the candle again, and again despair blows out the flame. Light the candle of God’s promise as many times as you want, and despair will blow it out again and again. Despair cannot believe because despair does not want to believe. The despairing heart wants to believe untrue thoughts about God because it resents the circumstances God has allowed.
The hope that enabled Abraham to believe God’s promise came from somewhere. He was not hopeful because of a sunny personality. He was hopeful because he had true thoughts about God. Abraham was “fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.” He did not bitterly lower his view of God and resentfully withdraw from him because of Sarah’s barrenness. Rather he chose to believe truth about God, and because he believed truth about him he was able to believe his promises.
Waiting on God in the dark by knowing God even in the dark
Anyone who believes the truth about God’s nature always has cause for hope. That is because, not only does God have power to do what he promises, he also has the grace and love to do wonderful things for those who believe him. The better you know God, the more you have hope; and the more you have hope, the more logical it is to believe even his most amazing promises. With hope and faith established in your heart, you can wait for God as long as necessary.
In the next post we will explore two more principles about successfully waiting on God in the dark.
Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)
A few years ago I went to a men’s clothing store to buy a sport coat. The salesman asked my size, went to the racks, and pulled five coats of various colors and prices. Several looked good before I put them on. Once I had them on, however, they did not feel or look right. They were too big, too small, an unflattering color or style, or priced higher than I wanted to pay. I would put them on, look in the mirror, and know instantly that this jacket was wrong.
After trying a few that failed, I picked up a simple navy coat. I slipped it on, and instantly it felt great. I looked in the mirror, and it fit perfectly. The color was flattering. I knew immediately this was for me. This must be an expensive coat, I thought. I found the price tag and discovered a mid-range figure on sale for lower than I walked in expecting to pay.
I was sold and have never regretted that purchase. When I wear that coat, I am comfortable and confident.
Soulmate
Just as some clothing does or does not fit your body, some people and situations do or do not fit your soul. About this, Jesus said something that may surprise you. As he neared the end of his life, he lifted his eyes to heaven and spoke what is called the high priestly prayer. In it he said to his Father about his disciples,
“This is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
—John 17:3 (ESV)
When we finally come to be with God after life in this fallen world, our soul will feel just right. We were created by God to live in a love relationship in his presence. Life in this fallen world is worse than wearing a bizarrely-colored coat that is several sizes too small. But when we finally come into his presence, we will immediately know this is what we were created for. Our soul will feel something that before then we have only enjoyed small foretastes. We will immediately know that being with God is eternal life, that knowing God is eternal life, that he is our soulmate.
When Jesus said, “This is eternal life,” he was not talking about the duration of our lives, that is, merely staying alive. Jesus was talking about the kind of life people have in heaven, in the eternal kingdom of God, the highest quality of life possible, with maximum happiness.
Eternal life is found in knowing a person
“This is eternal life, that they know you.” Eternal life is found in a relationship with a person. God designed us for the ultimate purpose of relationship. While he designed us with many abilities, such as legs for the purpose of walking; arms, hands and fingers for the purpose of working and creating and so on; he most importantly designed us with a body, soul, and spirit perfectly suited for communication, togetherness, interaction, love.
Unless painful experiences, human brokenness, or sin have twisted our souls in some way, what most interests people is other persons. We most enjoy knowing other persons, that is, interacting, being close, having trust, feeling affection, communicating, cooperating. The kind of knowledge one gets from a book, from thinking, from physical experiences, adventures, and pleasures is wonderful, but it cannot compare with the happiness that comes from knowing a good person with godly love.
Eternal life is found in knowing the ultimate person
While knowing a good human person is a joyful thing, what surpasses it by far is knowing the only true God. God is the ultimate person, the ultimate soulmate. He is the most joyful, gracious, interesting, creative, intelligent, wise, loving, gentle, caring, compassionate, powerful, important, delightful, good, and pleasurable person there is. And infinitely more. He can do more for you than any other person. He will be more faithful to you than any other person.
Jesus refers to God as “the only true God.” That means we cannot find eternal life in a false god. Jesus knows well that the world is filled with countless supposed deities, idols, religions, and created things that people treat as though they had ultimate importance and power. But Jesus says there is only one true God. Trying to find eternal life through any false God will end in utter disappointment.
Eternal life is found only through a relationship with both God and the Messiah he sent
Jesus did not stop with knowing God, however. He said, “This is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
Without the latter you cannot have the former (1 John 5:12). That is confirmed in the identity Jesus ascribed to himself in John 17:3:
Jesus: When the angel announced the conception of the Son of God in Mary’s womb, he also revealed the name given him by God himself: “You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). The name Jesus means he saves. We can only know God if Jesus saves us from our sins. Jesus’ death on the cross fixes the problem that makes life in this age a bad fit.
Christ: That is the Greek term for the Hebrew word Messiah. He is the leader who comes to rescue his people. The Son of God not only saves each of us individually from our sins, but he saves the people of God from their evil. He rescues us from corporate, collective brokenness. We feel the brokenness of humanity, but knowing the Son of God enables us to feel salvation.
Sent from God: Jesus referred to himself as the one “whom you [God] have sent.” Jesus was not doing his own thing. God sent him to earth, and everything he did was at God’s direction. At the Transfiguration of Jesus, God spoke from heaven and said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him” (Matthew 17:5). Salvation through faith in Jesus was God’s idea, and we know God through the mediator he sent (John 3:16-18).
This is eternal life in perfect happiness and satisfaction: knowing God and his chosen savior for mankind. A foretaste of that quality of life begins now, with much more to come when we see him face to face. You have much to look forward to. If you believe in Jesus, your soul will someday find its perfect fit in the presence of God. God is your soulmate. Knowing him is eternal life.
Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)
Isaiah 11:9 tells where we can find a peaceful ocean of understanding.
“They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.”
—Isaiah 11:9 (ESV)
In what ways can the knowledge of God change you and those with whom you live and work? The knowledge of the Lord can bring peace.
Supernatural peace
Isaiah 11:9 begins with a great promise of peace. A day is coming when people will not hurt others nor destroy others nor destroy the earth.
The preceding verses describe a peace that extends even to the animal world:
“The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den.” (Isaiah 11:6–8)
God’s mountain
The place of perfect peace will be God’s holy mountain. This is the New Jerusalem that in the New Creation will come down out of heaven and forevermore be the capital city of the newly recreated earth. (See Revelation 21 and 22, Isaiah 65:17–25.)
2 Peter 3:13 says, “According to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”
Peaceful holiness
The mountain is “holy.” Holiness is good and desirable for every reason, including that it is the precondition of peace. Unholiness is what makes our world a painful, frightening, dangerous place to live. Unholiness ruins friendships, marriages, families, workforces.
Galatians 5:22–23 says, “The fruit of the Spirit [that is, the Holy Spirit!]is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”
The hinge
The conjunction “for” is the hinge of Isaiah 11:9. Something will happen that will transform our world from a place of much evil and suffering to a place of perfect peace: “for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.”
What transforms the world is the knowledge of the LORD. The world is broken because people do not know God, the Holy One. They have false conceptions of God, idolatrous understandings of God, or worldviews that deny God and make man the touchstone of reality. The result is divisions, endless confusion about right and wrong, and continual struggles for control and selfish gain.
A. W. Tozer said, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”
An ocean of knowledge
What will someday turn the world into a paradise of peace is an exponential increase in the knowledge of the LORD. Someday the knowledge of the LORD will cover the earth as water fills oceans. How much water is in the Pacific Ocean? How well does that ocean of water cover the ground beneath it? That analogy quantifies how much knowledge people will have of God in the New Creation.
Two other translations help us with the analogy. The NLT says: “Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for as the waters fill the sea, so the earth will be filled with people who know the LORD.” The CSB says: “They will not harm or destroy each other on my entire holy mountain, for the land will be as full of the knowledge of the LORD as the sea is filled with water.”
So the earth will be filled with people who are filled with the knowledge of God. No one will be ignorant of or have fragmentary knowledge of God. The entire earth will be covered with an ocean of the true knowledge of God, and the result will be perfect peace, blessed shalom.
A peaceful you
Do you need peace? Pray for the knowledge of God that is lacking, for you, and if needed for others.
For example, Lord, I ask you to give Edward the knowledge of God that will bring him peace in his relationship with Mark, and do the same with Mark.
Or, Lord, cause me to know you in a way that will bring peace to my worried mind.
Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)
This is part two of a two-part series. Read part one.
As we saw last week, God wants us to know how much he delights in steadfast love, justice, and righteousness. Last week we talked about his steadfast love; we continue now with his justice.
“I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.”
God’s delight in justice is perfectly seen in his commands to Israel about how they were to treat one another. Notice in the following commands in Leviticus God’s concern for the needy, for fair business dealings, truth telling, how the powerful treat the powerless, justice in court, neighbors treating each other well:
“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God.
“You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another. You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.
“You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning. You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the LORD.
“You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the LORD.
“You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.” (Leviticus 19:9–18)
All this is summed up in one word: justice. God hates unfairness, hurtful relationships, and falsehood. He delights in justice. To please him, you will likewise love justice in all your dealings.
Two of the most powerful words and ideas in any language are those for right and wrong. That is because we care dearly about right and wrong. We tell others to do the right thing. In any situation, if we feel we have been wronged, we feel it acutely. Tales of right and wrong compel us to read and watch the daily news. We talk about who we think is in the right and who in the wrong. And we applaud those who do right and shame those who do wrong because we know intuitively that right and wrong truly matter.
We want teachers to do the right thing for children, politicians to do the right thing for the country, employers to do right for employees, citizens to do right for their country, drivers to do right for other drivers, doctors to do right for patients, insurance companies for customers, neighbors for neighbors, workers for the company. Heaven on earth would be if every person in every situation in every role did what is right.
The welcome testimony of Jeremiah 9:24, and the Bible from beginning to end, is that God is infinitely more concerned than we are about right and wrong. Scripture exalts God for his righteousness: “Your righteousness is like the mountains” (Psalm 36:6). About one thing you can be certain, that God will always do what is right, never, ever what is wrong. People and organizations may wrong you and others, but God never will.
The reason God gives his commands to us is that we might know and do what is right. Those who keep his commandments walk in righteousness and are counted righteous.
Referring to the commandments he received from God for Israel on Mount Sinai, Moses said, “It will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us.” (Deuteronomy 6:25)
Isaiah 48:18 says, “Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.”
God loves doing right and takes delight in people who want to do right, who want to be righteous in his sight be keeping his righteous commandments.
To please God, we need the cross of Jesus
God’s uncompromising commitment to steadfast love, justice, and righteousness are what led Jesus to the cross.
In our minds, the cross was unnecessary. God can punish the most outrageous evildoers and simply forgive the rest of mankind for their sins.
But in his persistent love for sinners, God wanted a way to forgive even the worst sinner. And in his perfect justice and righteousness, he could not just overlook human wrongs.
The solution was the death of the holy Son of God as a substitute for sinners, so that God’s justice could be satisfied, and he could do what is right when he forgave our sins. (See Romans 3:10–26)
Therefore the greatest revelation of God’s delight in steadfast love, justice, and righteousness is the cross of Jesus. And the only way to be saved from final condemnation for your sin is through faith in Jesus.
“Thus says the Lord…Let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me” Jeremiah 9:23-24
Jeremiah 9:23-24 tells three things that please God.
“Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” —Jeremiah 9:23-24
Did you notice how many times God uses his covenant name LORD (Hebrew, Yahweh) in these verses?
Imagine eating lunch with a friend named Mark, and after finishing his hamburger he states: “Here is what Mark says, ‘Let’s do something fun this weekend, maybe go golfing or play tennis, because I am Mark, who likes golfing,’ declares Mark.”
As you munched your french fries, you would probably ask yourself, Why does he keep repeating his name? Did I call him the wrong name without realizing it?
God’s name
Clearly God’s name is extremely important. He repeats it here for a holy reason. It is important to him because it is his identity, and if we know him well it is important to us.
In Jeremiah 9:23-24, God defines himself. This is my name, this is who I am, this is what I stand for, this is what I delight in.
Anyone who wants to know God well, as he truly is, pays extra close attention when God talks like this. If you are distracted, if your mind is wandering, you perk up and realize, This is an all-important moment, because God is making it as plain as one can make it.
When a guy who has romantic interest in a girl named Lisa overhears her gush to her friend, “I like yellow roses. Lisa can’t get enough yellow roses. Lisa loves it when people give her yellow roses,” he pays attention. You can be sure what he is going to give her the next time he takes her on a date.
The LORD defines himself by saying there are three things he “delights” in. God has delights. He is not a computer. He is not Spock. God is not an impersonal force. He is a person who feels infinite pleasure, enjoyment, and satisfaction in certain things. According to Jeremiah 9:23-24, what God delights infinitely in are steadfast love, justice, and righteousness.
God delights in steadfast love, in the loyal kindness and faithfulness that lifelong friends, longtime business partners, and persevering spouses show one another. The opposite is betrayal and abandonment. God delights in showing steadfast love to his people, and he delights when people show steadfast love to each other.
Two of the great examples of God’s steadfast love to people are the covenants he keeps with Abraham and David.
Great examples of steadfast love between people are the relationships of David and Jonathan, Sarah toward Abraham, and Ruth toward Naomi.
David and Jonathan remained loyal to one another despite the murderous hatred that Jonathan’s father Saul held toward David and despite Jonathan and David each having a claim on being king after Saul.
Sarah showed steadfast love to Abraham by remaining true to him despite Abraham twice letting her be taken by covetous kings. Scripture never records that Sarah had any negative words or attitude toward Abraham as a result.
Ruth showed steadfast love to her mother-in-law Naomi when she clung to Naomi as she returned to Israel, speaking the words that perfectly express the virtue of steadfast love: “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” (Ruth 1:16-17)
God delights in such love. If we want to please God, we will show steadfast love to people.
This is the end of part one. Read part two next week.
Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)
The value of knowing God is infinite. To seek daily to know God better provides the best return on investment of anything you can do.
“Let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.” (ESV) —Jeremiah 9:24
This verse describes an unlimited opportunity. God says if you want, you can understand and know him.
Unfortunately for most people in the world, that is the last thing they want to know. In fact, they deliberately push out of their minds thoughts about God. Even many believers do not make knowing God better a priority, thinking they have more valuable things to do.
To be someone who sees the rewards of knowing God you must be someone who recognizes value, who knows a good investment when you see it. Those who choose to prioritize knowing and understanding God recognize the infinite value of God.
The value of knowing God
They are like the people who in the earliest days of the big tech companies saw their value and bought their stock. For example, investors who bought a share of Microsoft stock at the start of 1987 paid about 16 cents (adjusted for inflation). If they sold that share at the start of 2021, they received about 217 dollars. That is an increase of 135,525 percent. That means someone who invested just 1,000 dollars in that stock in 1987 would have $1,356,000 in 2021. That company has had value.
God has value. His value makes Microsoft look like wasted money. His value is literally infinite. He has more value than anything and everything, even than everything else put together, more value than the whole world. You cannot measure the value of what you invest in knowing and understanding him.
God can teach you about himself
Some writers say God is so different from us we cannot understand anything about him. They are wrong. In this verse God plainly says the door is open to understand and know him. Yes, God is different from us, both in degree and in kind, but that does not mean we cannot know him, because he has chosen to reveal himself to us. What he has revealed is reliable, understandable knowledge.
God is a good communicator. He has skills. He is the Word. And he created our ears and brains. He creates each human spirit. He made us in his image. And he has the ability to enable us to understand him. He sent his Son Jesus as the exact display of himself (Hebrews 1:3). He inspired the writing of Scripture as his inerrant words, his very words. In the Scriptures we have a wealth of riches for knowing God, enough to challenge the finest minds not just for one lifetime, but for many.
Deep, genuine knowledge
In Jeremiah 9:24 God says we can know and understand him. Notice the doubling—know, understand—which serves to emphasize the point. The two words largely overlap in meaning, but understand (Hebrew, sakal) emphasizes knowing truly and with the mind, while know (Hebrew, yada) is used for a broader range of knowing, such as knowing experientially, with the heart, even sexually. But the point is, we can have genuine, deep, reliable knowledge of God, which is the foundation for a rich relationship with God.
That is what a good relationship is. You know someone more and more and relate to them based on what you know. Trying to relate to people you do not know is like walking through an unfamiliar room in the middle of the night in the dark. You discover things the hard way. You unintentionally offend or hurt them. Or you talk about things they are not interested in. You try to do things with them that they do not enjoy.
But the more you know God’s ways, what he likes and dislikes, what he approves and disapproves, you can walk intimately with him, experiencing his presence continually. You can know and understand God. You can walk with him every day, all day, pleasing him, doing what he approves, talking to him, receiving his peace, joy, and love, fulfilling his perfect purpose for your life.
Scripture says of Noah that “he walked with God” (Genesis 9:6). You can do that too. It begins with determining that you want above all things to know and understand God better every day.
Practical and relevant
I cannot overstate how valuable this knowledge is. First, because God is the most valuable thing there is, which alone makes this knowledge worth everything. And that must be our primary motivation for seeking to know him better.
Second, because no one affects everything about your life both now and forever as he does. That is because he is sovereign over all. He controls literally everything about your life: your health, lifespan, job, finances, friendships, romantic/marriage relationship, emotions, salvation and sanctification from sin, victory over the world, the flesh and the devil, and on and on. Scripture says he gives and he takes away (Job 1:21). He opens doors and closes doors (Revelation 3:7). From him, through him, and to him are all things (Romans 11:36). Every good and every perfect gift comes from him (James 1:17). It follows, then, that no knowledge is more practical and relevant than the knowledge of God.
To view the knowledge of God as irrelevant or low priority would be like a 5-year-old saying that about his mother, or an investor saying that about the economy.
The time you invest every day in knowing God better is the wisest, most rewarding investment you make in your overall happiness, health, and well-being. As Jesus prayed to the Father, “This is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent,” (John 17:3).
I recommend this prayer: Lord, I want to know you much better. I confess that I have been content with far too little understanding of you and your ways. And I confess that I often have preferred to think and learn about other things of lesser value. Forgive me. Thank you for giving your Scriptures to us precisely so that we may know you. Stir me up daily to read and study your Word. As I do, please reveal yourself and your ways to me. Amen
Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)
There is a powerful relationship between self-respect and knowing God, between emotional health and knowing God deeply.
If you have been reading this blog for long, you know the theme verse:
“Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’”
(Jeremiah 9:23–24, ESV)
Boasting has a prominent place in this important verse.
The word boast can be used in two senses, one positive, one negative. The negative sense is the familiar one that comes first to mind, but the positive sense of the noun boast is simply “a cause for pride” (Merriam-Webster). That is, a cause for feeling good about yourself, a cause for feeling you have value, a reason to respect yourself.
All people need this kind of pride, and it is not wrong in God’s sight if a person does not take credit for it. He wants us to have a legitimate boast because he created us with value—and to have a sense of value—and he wants us to know what that value is and where it comes from.
People who do not have a legitimate boast become unhealthy in every way, feeling they have no worth, loathing or disrespecting themselves, feeling that others including God disdain them, and as a result relating to others and God with difficulty, wishing they did not exist, performing poorly in work, and on and on.
So in this verse God teaches us what sort of human boast he approves of. More than any other quality in your life, what should you feel good about? What gives you ultimate value? What accomplishments merit enduring honor?
Common ways people seek self-respect
Before giving his answer, the Lord dismisses the usual suspects. What does the wise man or woman—the expert, the business consultant who is so successful she can charge $10,000 for her advice, or the best-selling how-to author who can charge the same to give one speech—typically regard as her boast? Of course, her boast is her wisdom, her “secret sauce,” her understanding of how things work and how people can get what they want. She has done it, and she can help you do it. She feels good about knowing that.
But the Lord says, “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom.”
What does “the mighty man” boast in? Naturally the man with muscles, the man with height and weight who towers over others in a crowd and could manhandle anyone, who could be the dominant pass-rusher on the finest football team—he feels good about his might. When he, not wearing a shirt, looks in the mirror, he takes pride in what he sees.
But the Lord says, “let not the mighty man boast in his might.”
We could add, let not the beautiful woman boast in her beauty, cosmetic skills, and wardrobe.
And what does the rich man boast in? The size of his investment account. A man who values money, who opens his Fidelity account and sees the number $10,000,000, feels good about himself. He knows the skillful things he did to earn that money, the hard work he poured into it, and the shrewd ways he invested to make it grow. He knows most people do not have numbers that size in their investment accounts.
Yet God says, “Let not the rich man boast in his riches.”
Whether we are talking about a wise, mighty, or rich person who is ungodly or godly, in any case, what God says applies to them. Do not make your human strength and ability your primary boast, your ultimate reason for self-respect.
Self-respect and knowing God
And then God makes clear what should be our source of legitimate pride: “Let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me.” Expertise is nice to have; muscles, fitness, and beauty are nice; money and possessions are nice, but none can begin to compare to the value and benefit of knowing God.
For starters, expertise, muscles, beauty, and wealth are temporary. They all pass away. Sooner or later we lose them all. They are like soap bubbles.
My wife and I were visiting our son and his family on a fall day a few months ago, and they had a toy for the kids with a long, narrow wand that you dipped in a tall soap bottle and waved in the air to create amazing, huge, colorful bubbles. I guess the soap solution was also special in some way, producing bigger, longer-lasting bubbles. The bubbles floated away in the fall breeze with the sunlight sparkling on them in rainbow colors. I was impressed with their size and beauty, and the kids were squealing with pleasure. But eventually they burst in the air or hit the ground. Imagine spending your life savings to buy one of those bubbles.
That truly is what you are doing if you base your worth on wisdom, might, beauty, or wealth. Sooner or later that pretty bubble that you and others admire is going to pop.
On the other hand, if you put your boast in knowing God, you are investing in what you can never lose. God is the only sure thing. He is not going anywhere or going away. He is permanent. Whatever you invest in knowing him lasts forever, and whatever self-respect you gain from knowing God endures. This is one relationship that will not come and go.
Knowing God and moving up in the world
Moreover, self-respect that comes from knowing God is not like settling for an inferior job until you can find something better. Most people choose between living—really living, doing the thing that brings them true joy and fulfillment—and doing what pays well enough to keep the lights and water on. And so they reluctantly decide to take a job that may feel pointless but at least pays the bills and gives a few hours of free time each week for what really brings happiness.
Knowing God is not like that. He is not the necessary, inferior choice. He is the superior choice. For he is the ultimate person. He is the only good person. He is the most creative, knowledgeable, and interesting person. And he is the most loving person. He is the most beautiful and inspiring person. He is infinitely superior to us in every imaginable way—the most excellent person. And he is literally perfect and without limitation. Absolutely pure—clean, morally sanitary—and thus eternally healthful to one’s body, soul, and spirit. He is kind, gracious, generous, compassionate, patient, benevolent.
When you choose to boast in knowing God over all other boasts and make it your goal to know him better every day, it is as though you were the poorest person in the world marrying the richest person in the world, or the most disfigured guy in the world marrying the world’s most beautiful super-model, or the lowest IQ in the world marrying the greatest genius in the world. When you choose to boast in knowing God, you are “marrying” way up—infinitely up.
Knowing God is the most rewarding, delightful, and inexhaustible knowledge you can have, and it gives you true worth, not a soap bubble.
Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)
In the parable of the soils, Jesus said the defining characteristic of the soil that is like the path, into which the seed cannot penetrate and take root, is that the person hears the word and does not understand it. We must understand the Word. We must understand the truth.
In this message we establish why increasing knowledge and understanding is not optional if we want to be immovable in the faith.
By Craig Brian Larson, delivered January 31, 2021, at Lake Shore Church
In Psalm 91:14, God describes two groups of people who receive his protection.
Psalm 91:14–16 “[14] Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. [15] When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. [16] With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” (ESV)
Up to this point in the psalm, the writer has been doing the talking (as inspired by God, of course), but in the final three verses God speaks directly. He gives promises in the first person: I will do this and this and this and this…. In eight ways he promises comprehensive protection to the very end of a long life, climaxing in an end he describes not as death but as salvation.
This is so good. If you have not yet memorized verses 14–16, the time has come, because meditating on these verses will change your heart, replacing fears with calm assurance, if you believe. People pay thousands of dollars to psychologists in hope of getting what these verses offer freely: peace and confidence. In fact, believing what God promises here is the only true basis for peace and confidence.
In verse 14, God bases the eight promises on two conditions: (1) Because he holds fast to me in love, and (2) Because he knows my name.
Because he holds fast to me in love
Can you picture yourself wrapping your arms tightly around God and never letting go? That is the attitude he wants you to have. He likes that and created you for that.
He wants you to cling to him in love no matter what tries to break your bearhug. Trials cannot break your hold on God. Disappointments cannot. Pain and suffering and sickness cannot, nor confusion, nor questions. Persecution cannot, nor betrayals. The failures, backslidings, and apostasies of others, even of leaders, even of family members, cannot. Unanswered prayers and dreams going nowhere cannot break your hold on God in love. For he matters more to you than anything or anyone.
God promises to protect people who bearhug him like that.
But wait a minute. Isn’t he supposed to protect us from all those negative things? Yes, he does, unless he chooses in wisdom to let a higher purpose be served, and if so, he is protecting us from a greater evil and gives us grace to endure faithfully, peacefully, and joyfully what we feared we could never bear, if we rely on him.
But God’s default with us is protection. Either way, we need not fear, only hold fast to him in love.
Because he knows my name
Second, God promises to protect those who know his name. (That is the theme of this blog—knowing God and his ways—so you are in the right place.) To know God’s name is another way of saying to know God. “Name” is shorthand for who a person is. As we might say today, God’s name is his brand, only for him it is never mere marketing. God’s name is everything he is, does, and values. God’s name is his unchanging identity.
God protects people who know his name. That can only happen if we are interested in him, curious about him. Interest in God is what leads a person to read the Bible voraciously every day. We want to know his name, and there is always more to know. It is the most noble and rewarding interest in life. I am bewildered by people who lack interest in God.
Reverence for God’s name
Those who know God’s name never take his name in vain, because we know how awesome his name is. Anyone who jokes about God, or uses his name in profanity, does not know his name, that it is holy and awesome.
In my opinion, most people who use the phrase “Oh my God,” or “OMG,” are misusing God’s name, taking it in vain. They are not actually speaking about God, or to God in praise or prayer, but only using the phrase as a filler, a throwaway line, an expression of surprise, disgust, emphasis, or emotion. In other words, in vain.
Those who use God’s name in vain break God’s enduring command: “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain” (Exodus 20:7). If you are doing that, stop. You probably absorbed the habit mindlessly from media and people around you. Bad idea. Stop! Get to know God’s name by revering it, revering him.
If you do that, he will protect you. If you do not, he might punish you, as a Father punishes a child who disrespects his parent. Foundational to receiving protection from God is treating him with proper reverence. See Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy! The story of Israel in the Old Testament is the narrative of a people who did not know God’s name, and they suffered for it repeatedly.
The first thing you need to know about God’s name is to treat his name, his identity, with reverence, yes, with fear. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight” (Proverbs 9:10). (See also 2 Corinthians 5:11 and Revelation 15:4.)
Delivered and protected
Verse 14 says those who hold fast to God in love and know his name will be delivered and protected.
You will be delivered out of bad situations, like Israel delivered out of Egypt, like Daniel delivered out of the lion’s den.
You will be protected from bad situations, like the farmer in Malachi 3:6–12 whose crops and vines are protected from pests and blight.
These are just side benefits of the greatest benefit anyone can find in life: holding fast to the One who is infinitely good and rightly knowing his name. Said Jesus, “This is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3).
