Let Him Glory

Today's verse opens with "But," so it is answering the verse in front of it: "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches." To glory in something is to boast in it, to lean your whole sense of worth on it. Wisdom, strength and money are real gifts, and God names them without sneering. He does not call them worthless. He says they cannot hold the weight of a boast.

Then He says, with great care, what a person may boast in: "But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me." So that nobody drifts off into a vague idea of knowing God, He spells out what there is to know: "that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight." These are three things God does, and He does them here, in the earth.

Look at where this sits, because the chapter around it is a funeral. Just before it, the people are told to "call for the mourning women," and the women are told to "teach your daughters wailing, and every one her neighbour lamentation," because "death is come up into our windows." This is spoken to a country that is falling. Its wisdom and strength and riches are about to be taken by force. When they are gone, the only boast left standing is God Himself, and Paul valued this line enough to quote it twice: "He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord."

So here is a plain question to carry: if your wisdom, your strength or your money were taken away, what would you have left to talk about? Jeremiah's answer is good news. You would still have a God who shows lovingkindness, judgment and righteousness in the earth, who delights in doing it, and who can be known.

Daily Manna runs on a two-year cycle. The year one reading for day 278 is His Workmanship (Ephesians 2:10).

All 365 readings in Daily Manna, Year Two