By most people’s definition of success, the prophet Jeremiah would be considered a complete failure. For 40 years he served as God’s spokesman and passionately urged the people to return to God, but no one listened, particularly the kings. He was penniless, friendless, and rejected by his family. But in God’s eyes, Jeremiah one of the most successful people in biblical history, because success, as seen by God, involves obedience and faithfulness.

Jeremiah wrote,

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, 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.”(Jeremiah 9:23-24)

It’s important to understand that, when Jeremiah speaks of “knowing God,” there are 2 dimensions that he is referring to, intellectual and volitional:

 1.  Intellectual – entails knowing truth about God (BELIEF)

“Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” (Ps. 100:3)

“And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the Lord had done for Israel. And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110 years. And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.” (Judges 2:7-10)

2.  Volitional – involves trusting and obeying God (BEHAVIOR)

“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:14-15)

So as we seek to honor God in both our belief and behavior, it is essential to heed the wisdom below of Pastor Warren Wiersbe regarding the obedient life of Jeremiah and disobedient Old Testament nation of Israel,

“No amount of education, power or wealth can guarantee the blessing of God. God doesn’t delight in a nation’s learning, political influence, armies or gross national product. He delights in a people who practice kindness, justice, and righteousness because they know and fear God.”