Scripture Daily

Context No. 165 of 4322 · Jeremiah

Context · Reflection

Jeremiah 9:22-26: in context

22Speak, “The LORD says, “‘The dead bodies of men will fall as dung on the open field, and as the handful after the harvester. No one will gather them.’” 23The LORD says, “Don’t let the wise man glory in his wisdom. Don’t let the mighty man glory in his might. Don’t let the rich man glory in his riches. 24But let him who glories glory in this, that he has understanding, and knows me, that I am the LORD who exercises loving kindness, justice, and righteousness on the earth, for I delight in these things,” says the LORD. 25“Behold, the days come,” says the LORD, “that I will punish all those who are circumcised only in their flesh: 26Egypt, Judah, Edom, the children of Ammon, Moab, and all who have the corners of their hair cut off, who dwell in the wilderness, for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart.”

Jeremiah has been describing a catastrophe, and this passage opens on its worst image: bodies falling like dung on the open field, like the cut grain behind the reaper with no one to gather it. Then, without transition, one of the most quoted sentences in the prophets.

Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the mighty man in his might, nor the rich man in his riches. Those are the three things a person in any society can point to and be safe. Jeremiah names all three and takes them off the table. Then the alternative: let the one who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth, for in these I delight.

Notice what God says he delights in. Not being admired, but doing kindness and justice on the ground. Knowing him means knowing that about him. Paul quotes this line twice in his letters to Corinth, a city full of people boasting about exactly the first three things. Then the passage closes on circumcision, saying Judah is as uncircumcised as its neighbors, because the mark meant nothing without the heart. Which of those three am I quietly resting on, and would I know what to say about God if it were gone?

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