Jeremiah

Jeremiah 9: Boast only in knowing the LORD

Begin in prayer

Before we read Jeremiah’s tears over a people who lied, let us come to the LORD together. Ask Him to make us honest, to be near our family, and to show us the One who knew the Father perfectly.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, Yahweh, my rock, and my redeemer.

Psalms 19:14

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Show us that You delight in kindness, justice and righteousness, and help us to turn from our sin and trust Jesus. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

Jeremiah weeps for his people, because they lie to one another and no one trusts a neighbor or a brother (verses 1 to 6). The LORD says He will melt and test them, for they do not know Him (verses 7 and 8). The fields are burned, the birds and animals have fled, and the land is so empty that no one passes through (verses 10 and 12). They followed the Baals their fathers taught them, so the LORD will feed them with wormwood and bitter water (verses 13 to 15). Skilled mourning women are called to lead the wailing, because death has entered every home (verses 17 to 21). The wise, the mighty and the rich are told to boast in nothing except understanding the LORD and knowing Him (verses 23 and 24).

As you read Jeremiah 9, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

The LORD delights in loving kindness, justice and righteousness, and He calls us to know Him.

Jeremiah wept for the slain of his people, and he wished he could leave them behind to escape their lies (verses 1 and 2). Jeremiah calls them all adulterers and a gathering of treacherous men (verse 2). Their tongues were bent like a bow for falsehood, and they did not know the LORD (verses 3 and 6). Burned pastures and fleeing birds show how far the land had been emptied by judgment (verse 10). The people walked after the Baals their fathers taught them, so the LORD gave them bitter water to drink (verses 13 to 15). Knowing the LORD means knowing His kindness, justice and righteousness, which He showed most fully in Jesus, who died for His people.

How does Jeremiah 9 show us that the LORD delights in loving kindness, justice and righteousness, and calls us to know Him?

The LORD grieves over lies and deceit.

The people spoke lies with their tongues, and no one trusted a neighbor or a brother (verses 3 to 5). The LORD says He will melt and test them, because they do not know Him (verse 7). One lie led to another, because they did not know the LORD (verse 3).

God delights in kindness, justice and righteousness.

The wise, the mighty and the rich must not boast in their own strength (verse 23). The LORD says to boast in knowing Him, who exercises loving kindness, justice and righteousness on the earth (verse 24). To know the LORD is to know what He is like, and that is better than any strength or riches.

Outward signs cannot change the heart.

Circumcision was a sign in the body, but the house of Israel was uncircumcised in heart (verse 26). Only God can change the heart, and His people must come to Him as sinners. The LORD named Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon and Moab together, because none of them had a clean heart (verses 25 and 26).

Memorize

I am Yahweh who exercises loving kindness, justice, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight.

Jeremiah 9:24

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, what do I boast in, and have I come to Jesus?

The LORD says, “let him who glories glory in this,” and then names it: understanding and knowing Him. The wise, the strong and the rich all boast in what they have. Their wisdom, strength and riches could not save Jerusalem from the ruin Jeremiah wept over. The LORD calls His people to something better than their own strength.

Jesus shows us the LORD’s kindness, justice and righteousness. At the cross He died for His people and took the punishment they deserved, and God’s justice and kindness met there. He rose on the third day, and His work is finished and fully enough. Paul wrote that he would boast in nothing but the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ (Galatians 6 verse 14).

Turn from boasting in yourself, and come to Jesus with an empty heart. Repent of the lies you tell and the sin you love. Trust Him, and He forgives everyone who comes. Then you can know the LORD, and that is the one thing worth boasting in.

Parent's note

Tell your children that the LORD delights in kindness, justice and righteousness. Parents, you may want to explain verses 19 to 22 gently, in your own words. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God that He delights in kindness, justice and righteousness, and bring the heart question to Him. Invite each child to pray a short prayer if they want to.

Yahweh is near to all those who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.

Psalms 145:18

Lord, thank You that You delight in loving kindness, justice and righteousness. Please forgive our boasting in ourselves, and bring each of us to Jesus, who knew You perfectly. Help us to know You, to trust Jesus, and to live for You this week. Amen.