Week 41: Boast in God Alone

This week's Bible reading plan is as follows:

• Sunday: Jeremiah 8:8-9:26, Colossians 3:1-17, Psalm 78:32-55, Proverbs 24:27
• Monday: Jeremiah 10:1-11:23, Colossians 3:18-4:18, Psalm 78:56-72, Proverbs 24:28-29
• Tuesday: Jeremiah 12:1-14:10, 1 Thessalonians 1:1-2:8, Psalm 79:1-13, Proverbs 24:30-34
• Wednesday: Jeremiah 14:11-16:15, 1 Thessalonians 2:9-3:13, Psalm 80:1-19, Proverbs 25:1-5
• Thursday: Jeremiah 16:16-18:23, 1 Thessalonians 4:1-5:3, Psalm 81:1-16, Proverbs 25:6-8
• Friday: Jeremiah 19:1-21:14, 1 Thessalonians 5:4-28, Psalm 82:1-8, Proverbs 25:9-10
• Saturday: Jeremiah 22:1-23:20, 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12, Psalm 83:1-18, Proverbs 25:11-14

Our S.O.A.P. this week is from the book of the prophet Jeremiah:

Scripture: Jeremiah 9:23-24
23 This is what the LORD says: "Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, 24 but let those who boast boast about this: that they understand and know me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight," declares the LORD.

Observation:
The LORD (YHWH) is speaking to his people directly through the prophet Jeremiah. He tells them not to boast in their strength or riches. Anyone who wants to boast needs to boast in this one thing... that they understand and know the LORD. The transliterated Hebrew word for 'boast' is Halal, which means to 'glory', or 'shine'. God is making his point clear here: his people shouldn't glorify themselves, but only bring glory to Him.

Application:
I know these verses pretty well, as we sing a song at our church called 'I will boast' by Paul Baloche, that  has put these words of Jeremiah to music. Yet, when I read these words again, I was struck by the phrase: "...let those who boast boast about this: that they understand and know me...". It struck me, because I'm not the most vocal person when it comes to boasting about God in public. Yes, I've shared the Good News with those who don't know Him, but there have been plenty of times when I 'glorify' myself, or like to bask in the glory of my own accomplishments, strength, riches, and so on. God wants us to glorify Him alone. I need to be more conscious to boast about the fact that I understand and know Him.

God also tells us some key characteristics about Himself, that He likes to be known for: kindness, justice and righteousness. God delights in these, and He delights in it when his children exercise these attributes here on earth.

Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, I do want to boast in You alone. You are the giver of strength, riches, and everything else. Keep us from glorifying ourselves, and help us to bring glory to you alone, and your Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In His name we pray. Amen.

Have a blessed week. For those at Woodhaven Community Church: I encourage all of you to take on the Transformeter Challenge. Simply be willing to join a group and go through the challenges, and let God complete the transformation in you!

In Him,

Dick