IN THESE I DELIGHT
Thus says the Lord: "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight," says the Lord. (Jeremiah 9:23-24 NKJ)
Have you ever been accused of having too narrow of a perspective when it comes to God? I was recently blessed by the fact that someone chooses not to pay much attention to me because I have too much of a black and white view of the gospel. I took that to mean that I believe it is either all true or not true at all. I happen to believe that God is either good like He says or He is a liar. Well needless to say, I do not see Him as a liar. In fact I stand on His word that says “Let God be true and every man a liar.” So, though the statement was probably not meant as a compliment, I took it as one. Actually Jesus was accused of being narrow minded concerning His father, so though I am not Jesus, I at least get the same accusations from time to time.
It seems that people like to spend a lot time figuring out the evil in the world and why God does not just get rid of it. Well, He will do that, but He is patient. Jesus actually did strip the devil of His power; the problem is we are still learning how to use the weapons of our warfare. We are often caught so off guard by the things that happen we fall into the trap of trying to figure out why God did this or that, when in fact He is not the source. The devil was the source in Job’s case and he is still very active today. That is another subject however today we want to look at what we should glory in.
The Lord says not to glory in wisdom, might, or riches. He does not say there is anything wrong with any of them, just that they should not be what we glory in. We know that true wisdom, might, and riches come from God. He is the one who empowers men to get wealth so that can’t be bad. He is the one who strengthens us in the power of His might. And He says if anyone lacks wisdom, we should ask God. So it is safe to say that all of these are good.
However, God says we should glory in the fact that we know Him and understand that He is the Lord. Remember, we know that it is from our relationship with Him that these things are ours to possess. God then goes on to describe Himself as the Lord who exercises loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness. Why does He do this? It is because He delights in these things.
I know some people have a hard time imagining God all gushy with loving-kindness, but He sure is. Judgment on the other hand, lots of folks can see God getting really in to. Can you imagine that the judgment He enjoys most is judging us as the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. He takes no pleasure in one person standing before Him without Christ. He takes no pleasure in the suffering of any of His children. Isn’t it nice to imagine God delighting over your trust in Him and your testimony of His goodness? The more we love Him, the more this is the only way we can see Him. Glory in this.