Jeremiah 9:23-26 - Top Priorities - to Know God and obey His Word

Everyone has priorities in life. Some people’s ambition is to acquire wealth. There are those whose ambition in life is to have more power. Yet others will want to be known for their wisdom. While having wealth, power and wisdom are not in themselves wrong and we should not boast about having them. For God’s desire for His people in Judah then, and us today to make knowing Him our primary ambition and priority in life. So in Jeremiah 9:23 to 24 He explicitly said, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.”

The ”knowing” that God admonished us to get is not about acquiring more head knowledge but heart and experiential knowing. It’s about experiencing an abiding intimate relationship with Him that will make us more and more like Him in character. It’s about us becoming people who will express His kind of love, justice, and righteousness as a result of knowing Him.  The mark of true knowledge of God is a life that is more loving, just, and righteous. Knowing God must be our first priority in life

Then in Jeremiah 9:25-26, God set forth the second priority for His people and us. It is about having a true circumcision of the heart. God was o pointing out the uselessness of having a circumcision of the flesh but not a spiritual one. While the people of Judah were circumcised physically, their actions show that they were uncircumcised in their hearts.  What God is saying is that we can give the illusion of knowing Him but in reality, our hearts are shut up to His word. Speaking about true circumcision, Paul in Romans 2:28 said, “But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.” As far as Paul is concerned authentic circumcision is not an external and physical excision of the flesh. It is the spiritual work that only the Spirit of God can do. It is the excision of the old nature in the sanctifying work of the Spirit. It is this that would bring approval from God.

 

The importance of hearing God’s Word can never be overemphasized. It is the one thing that we must make a habit of. We must make time for His Word - to read, study, memorize, and practice it. Two priorities every one of us must have in our journey with God – to know Him experientially and to apply His Word practically.