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The Only God

We will understand God better when we understand the difference between us (Isaiah 45:22).

Imagine a creative, 10-year-old girl named Sarah, who loves to read and is learning to write stories. Sarah recently read a book that tells the story of a woman who writes a daily blog online, and she is intrigued. At dinner one night she says, “Daddy, I want to write a blog. How do I do that?”

Her father’s first thought is not what a great learning opportunity this would be for his home-schooled daughter; rather, his mind turns immediately to protecting her from internet predators. “Honey, someday you can do that, but do you remember what we’ve talked about that we have to be careful on the internet because some people we might contact online want to hurt people?”

“I’ll be careful,” says Sarah. “Please let me write a blog. Please, please, please! Nothing bad will happen!”

Her dad has seen enough stories of teenage girls lured into trouble online and does not give it a second thought. The answer is no.

A difference in wisdom

Who would fault Sarah’s father? The difference in experience, knowledge, and discernment between a 10-year-old and her 40-year-old dad is vast, so great that Sarah cannot grasp it.

Only a virtuoso concert violinist knows in detail how great is the gap between his skills and those of a beginner. In small measure, a beginner can hear the difference but cannot really understand or explain it.

A person blind from birth cannot imagine what it is to see.

These analogies shine light on the difficulty we have with God’s holiness. God is holy because he is unimaginably different from and superior to his creation in every way.

Isaiah 45:11–12, 22 says, “Thus says the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him: ‘Ask me of things to come; will you command me concerning my children and the work of my hands? I made the earth and created man on it; it was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host…. Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.’”

The hurdle

Divine holiness is for many the greatest hurdle to wanting to draw closer to God. We do not understand it. The difference between the great “I Am” and his creation is infinitely greater than any analogy can fully communicate.

But we need to leap over that hurdle. I cannot understand the most important truths about God unless I have some grasp of his holiness—and value it. The more I grasp his holiness, the better I know God and relate to him as he is (not how I wish he were).

An inscrutable difference

For example, the whole sacrificial system that God required in the Old Testament is not what I would have planned. The thought of going to the tabernacle to slit the throats of animals leaves me cold. Similarly, I would not have planned the atoning death of Jesus on the cross as a sacrifice for human sin. I feel this way, however, because I am infinitely less wise, enlightened, and holy than God.

An inscrutable story

Another example: One of the most counterintuitive stories in the Bible for me is the near-fatal experience Moses had on his journey to Egypt to deliver Israel from bondage. The story lasts just three verses. It comes out of nowhere; there is little explanation, and then it is over, and the narrative resumes as though nothing had happened.

Moses had recently met with God at the burning bush. God had commanded him to go to Pharaoh, and Moses had at last accepted the assignment. He went home, gathered his wife Zipporah and two sons, and set off for Egypt. One important fact: neither of his two sons had been circumcised, as centuries earlier God had commanded Abraham and all his descendants to do.

The crisis

Exodus 4:24–26 says, “At a lodging place on the way the LORD met him and sought to put him to death. Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it and said, ‘Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!’ So he let him alone. It was then that she said, ‘A bridegroom of blood,’ because of the circumcision.”

That’s the story in total. Obviously there is a lot of backstory we are not given, but it appears Zipporah had for years resisted circumcising her sons, and Moses had failed to insist on it. Thereby he had given more honor to his wife than to the Lord, and that is a serious sin.

But God knew all this

Still, God knew these circumstances when he chose Moses, so why did he subsequently decide to end his life? One thing is certain, this narrative is not mysterious to God. His actions make perfect sense to him. They are right, wise, and good, as all his actions are, always and without exception. Yet to us they are mysterious. “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (Rom 11:33, ESV)

One reason this story makes so little sense to me is, God is holy, and apart from him I am not. He is the I Am, and I am not. He is the only God, and I am his creation. He is perfectly pure, and I—though holy in status through Christ—am a recovering sinner. I see things from a human, this-world perspective; God sees things from an all-knowing, eternal, heavenly perspective. So I cannot understand the most important things about God unless I understand and value his holiness.

Worshiping God for the infinite, holy difference

With that in mind, here is a prayer I regularly use: “Lord, I praise you because you are infinitely superior to me in every imaginable way. I praise you because you are infinitely superior to me in knowledge. I praise you because you are infinitely superior to me in goodness. I praise you because you are infinitely superior to me in love.” And so on, with wisdom, kindness, mercy, grace, patience, and other virtues. All this is a detailed way of saying, I praise you because you are holy; you are the only God.

When it seems as though circumstances are not what God should allow, when my prayers are not answered, when I seek God for guidance and wisdom that seems way too long in coming, I find peace when I pray in this way, remembering God’s holiness.

There are only two categories for all that exists—God and his creation—and there is an infinite difference between the two.

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)

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Newsletter – April, 2021

Craig Brian Larson
On Madison Street, Chicago, my humble home

The New Theme

Last week I finished the short theme on Knowing God, and next week I begin a series of posts on the new theme, “7 Aspects of God’s Holiness.”

God’s holiness is misunderstood by non-Christians and little understood by Christians, yet it defines him. If we do not understand his holiness, we fundamentally do not understand God. If we do not love God’s holiness, then we do not love God as he is, for he is the Holy One (Isaiah 1:4). Because we all sin, we have a natural reluctance about this subject, but we can overcome that through increased understanding, for God’s holiness is good and desirable in every way. That is what people do not understand—the sheer goodness of God’s holiness—and that is what we will explore.

There is another benefit to this subject. As we learn to understand and appreciate his holiness, we will learn to love personal purity. “This is the will of God, your sanctification” (1 Thessalonians 4:3). So do not miss a week, for it will profoundly change your life.

Favorite posts

I love Psalm 91, and our journey through its reassuring words was a highlight of last year.  Meditating deeply on it is a must in these perilous times. My first post on it started in a majestic place: Dwelling in the Shelter of the Most High. Read it, for it can make you fearless.

You may have noticed I have been posting the audio of some of my sermons. My recent favorite is Getting Great Faith.

Here are some books I’m reading

  • None Like Him: Ten Ways God Is Different from Us (and why that’s a good thing), by Jen Wilkin
  • The Pursuit of Holiness, by Jerry Bridges
  • Your Eternal Reward, by Erwin W. Lutzer
  • The Apostle: The Life of Paul, by John Pollack
  • Show Me your Glory, by Steven J. Lawson
  • None Greater: The Undomesticated Attributes of God, by Matthew Barrett
  • Evangelism in the Early Church, by Michael Green

Investing in Knowing God

Knowing God is the most valuable investment of your time and life. He is the ultimate person and most worthy to be pursued in a love relationship. He is the only truly good person (Mark 10:18). He is the most creative, knowledgeable, and interesting person. 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. 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 (Jeremiah 9:23–24) 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.

Prayer Request

The proposal for my book on holiness is in the hands of several publishers. Please pray it finds a home with a publisher who will make the most of its ministry and bring maximum glory to the Lord.

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Hearing Is Believing

According to the Bible, your eternal destiny stands on what you believe about the story of Jesus’ resurrection. As you decide, would it help you to know what one man who lived through the events says about it?

by Pastor Brian Larson, delivered to the congregation of Lake Shore Church in Chicago on April 4, 2021

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Your Soul’s Perfect Fit

God is your soulmate.

soulmate

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)

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A Peaceful Ocean of Knowledge

Isaiah 11:9 tells where we can find a peaceful ocean of understanding.

Isaiah 11:9

“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.

In the knowledge of God is your peace.

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)

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Three of God’s Delights (part two)

Right and wrong truly matter.

Please God

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.”

—Jeremiah 9:23-24

Justice (Hebrew, mispat)

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.

Righteousness (Hebrew, sedaqa)

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
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Jeremiah 9:23-24 on Three of God’s Delights (part one)

Jeremiah 9:23-24 tells three things that please God.

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.’”
—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.

That is how people enthralled with knowing God hear Jeremiah 9:23-24.

God’s delights

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.

Steadfast love (Hebrew, hesed)

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)

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Your Most Rewarding Investment

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.

value of knowing God

“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)

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Self-respect and Knowing God

There is a powerful relationship between self-respect and knowing God, between emotional health and knowing God deeply.

self-respect and knowing God

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)