Do You Understand God?
J. Albrecht…Septuagesima Sunday…February 1st, 2026…Jeremiah 9:23-24…Do You Understand God?
To the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever, Amen.
23 Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, 24 but let him 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 things I delight, declares the LORD.”
INJ whose death upon the cross for our sin has become our only boast, DFR:
There has been a story oft told about Muhammad Ali. While he was on a flight, awaiting takeoff, the stewardess came up to him and reminded him to fasten his seatbelt. The Greatest replied, “Superman don’t need no seatbelt.” But the stewardess retorted, “Superman don’t need no airplane either.” Whether or not this interaction happened exactly in this manner has been disputed. What is not disputed, is Muhammad Ali being the type of person who would make such a statement. Ali’s boastfulness in his own ability was well known.
But it isn’t just the great fighter who has been afflicted with pride. We can point to countless examples in the entertainment world, in the sports world, and yes, even in the pages of Scripture. Herod Agrippa was filled with great pride. The people proclaimed about him, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” Instead of giving the glory to God for his position and power, Agrippa took pride in this praise, but he paid the price. God judged him in his unbelief and an angel struck him dead.
But it wasn’t just the ungodly who suffered from immoral boastfulness. David succumbed to the temptation to number the strength of his fighting men in Israel and Judah. It was a foolish thing that he immediately recognized as a sin against God – for it was God who had given him all his victories, not the strength of his armies. This boasting also brought a judgment from God – 3 days plague that killed 70,000 men.
Do you see the trend? Prideful boasting in man’s accomplishments do one thing and one thing only: a rejection, or at the very least, replacement of God as number one. Ali, Agrippa, the Pharaoh of the Exodus, all exchanged knowing the true God for the boasting of their own glory or might. David’s pride didn’t cost him his faith, but it put him in danger of losing it. David had one thing that set him apart: He already knew and understood God. He knew God to be one of mercy and forgiveness and put his fate, his life in the Lord’s care.
Our sermon text from Jeremiah this morning leads us to ask ourselves the question: Do you understand God? It is not a question as to whether or not we have sinful pride. So long as we have this flesh, we will be plagued with sinful pride. The question is: Do you know and understand God as the God of mercy and forgiveness, or has pride replaced him to your own judgment?
As we consider these life-or-death questions, let us ask the Holy Spirit for His blessing upon our meditation this morning:
Sanctify us by Your truth O Lord, Your Word is truth. Amen.
23 Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches,
I think we all know people we would consider to be the most humble people we have ever known. They are never ones to boast in their accomplishments or abilities. But does that mean they are exempt from the sin of pride? No. Though we may not see the pride bear fruits visible to the eyes, each one of us know how wretched the sinful nature is. Just like David, the temptation arises in the heart and we succumb in thought or desire. Do we even dare make the claim that we are not consumed by pride, or have not let pride overcome us? Is not making such a claim of overcoming sinful nature in danger of bringing us back into sin?
Pride is widely considered to be one of the deadliest sins. It makes sense when you think about it, because pride is often the root of other sin. If you steal something, it is pride that says you deserve that item more than the person who owns it. Arrogance says, “I can get away with it if I want it.” When you fail to honor your parents, superiors, or authorities, it is pride that says they don’t deserve it because they haven’t been good enough. Where does God make us the judge of what is good and what is not? He alone is the arbiter of justice and morality. But, at the end of the day, each of these sins that begin with pride end in the same place: a breaking of the first commandment.
How? I am elevating myself higher than God. That is the greatest threat of pride. The 17th and 18th centuries marked the period we now refer to as The Enlightenment. During this period, emphasis on man’s reason and science overtook and replaced the teachings of traditional religion. Instead of God’s Word being the supreme authority, it is science – and man’s reason which decides what is science that takes its place. Though not every great thinker of The Enlightenment period forsook the authority of God and Scripture, this period saw a dramatic rise in atheism. A complete abandonment of knowing and understanding God. We continue to see the effects of this philosophy in our day.
Man’s reason jumps through countless hoops in order to deny any evidence of God or permit any authority to be given to Him. Where does that leave us Christians? Do we stand firm in what the Bible says? Or is the temptation to succumb to this pride of men and begin to make concessions to the clear words of Scripture? I’ll tell you now, it is much easier to do the latter. But what are we doing when we compromise God’s Word? We are proclaiming to be wise men who boast in their wisdom. Where does that leave us? In danger of forsaking our knowledge and understanding of God.
True are Solomon’s words in Proverbs 16:18, Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. It is why the Lord has given us so many examples from Scripture of the kind of devastation pride brings. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, builder of the great Hanging Gardens, and who built a statue in glory to himself, making himself a god to be worshiped – His pride landed him in the countryside – eating grass like a wild animal until the Lord brough his sanity back and he recognized that the LORD was God. Manasseh, king of Judah, boasted in his power and thought he could stop paying tribute to the Assyrian Empire. And no, his boasted was not in the Lord for he lead Judah into idolatry and more wicked deeds than the nations of Canaan the Lord destroyed before the Israelites took the land. The result of Manasseh’s pride was pierced with hooks as he was led away to Assyria.
Let the words of Scripture stand as a warning against the pride of our sinful hearts lest we suffer a fall that alienates us from our God and Father. Such pride does not bring a knowledge or understanding of God, but hides His grace and favor.
24 but let him 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 things I delight, declares the LORD.”
There is a saving grace that came to some in the Bible who fell into pride. David turned to the Lord in humble repentance and the Lord did not destroy David, nor the people. Manasseh cried out to the Lord in repentance while he was being led away to Assyria. The Lord answered his prayer and restored the kingdom of Judah to him, forgiving him of his great sin against the Lord. Even Peter, who pridefully stood upon his own power, but fell into denying Jesus three times was restored by his Savior three times, assuring him of God’s complete forgiveness for every sin.
This is the knowledge and understanding of God. He is a God of steadfast love and mercy! With God, justice will be executed. Sin will be punished and we often will suffer consequences for the things we do and for the pride that fills our hearts. Just as David suffered the three days plague and Manasseh suffered consequences for his sin.
But God’s eternal justice has been abated by Jesus Christ. Jesus came for David’s sake and Manasseh’s sake so that God could offer them forgiveness for their great transgressions against Him. Jesus came for your sake and took your sin upon Himself to the cross. He took God’s eternal punishment for you. Every sinful boast or false pride in self that has crept its way into our hearts, our minds, or even come out in our words and actions was laid upon Him. Jesus, whose boasting was always in the glory of His Father in heaven, bore the stripes that our wrongful boasting wrought.
His death and His resurrection make it so that you can rest confidently in God’s steadfast love – His free and full forgiveness for all your sin. When we fall into sinful pride, the Holy Spirit leads us back to God in humble repentance as David did. He brings us to the foot of the cross to be washed clean by the blood of our Savior so that we leave knowing that God remembers our sinful boasting no more.
Know and understand the LORD your God, my dear friends in Christ. The God you serve is not a vengeful, angry judge. His desire is forgiveness, life and salvation through His Son! He knows every sinful deed you and I commit, but as often as we fail, God counts it forgiven on account of His grace through Christ Jesus. Come to the feet of your Savior as did Mary to hear and learn of His great love for you, His forgiveness He offers you, and His will for your life to honor and serve Him, not boasting in yourself, but boasting in His cross and His grace. Let the words of Paul echo throughout your life, that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel.
When you leave this morning, look at your fellow Christians who have gathered with you today. These are your fellow sinners – they suffer from the same sinful flesh and that you and I suffer from. They know the struggles that come from sinful pride. But they, along with you, know and understand the greatness of the God we worship. The God who did not leave us to our sinful condition, but chose to reveal Himself to you so that you might have forgiveness, life and salvation through Jesus. If we boast, let our boasting be knowing and understanding the Lord our God. Let us boast in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Amen.