The LORD says:
\nDon\u2019t brag about your wisdom
\nor strength or wealth.
\nIf you feel you must brag,
\nthen have enough sense
\nto brag about worshiping me,
\nthe LORD.
\nWhat I like best
\nis showing kindness,
\njustice, and mercy
\nto everyone on earth. <\/p>\n
Someday I will punish the nations of Egypt, Edom, Ammon, and Moab, and the tribes of the desert. The men of these nations are circumcised, but they don\u2019t worship me. And it\u2019s the same with you people of Judah. Your bodies are circumcised, but your hearts are unchanged. (Jeremiah 9:23-26)<\/p>\n
People get full of themselves sometimes. Jeremiah began prophesying when the nation of Judah was doing just fine, thank you. They were wealthy and life was comfortable, at least for the ruling class. Two things were a problem, however. One, the ruling class was not kind, they were not merciful, and justice was rare. They mistreated the poor and disadvantaged and were happy to find reasons for taking what little they had and adding it to their own pockets. They went through the motions of worshipping Yahweh, offering the sacrifices at the right time and making sure they were circumcised.
\nBut Jeremiah pointed out that worshipping God was something more than rituals, fine words, and things like circumcision. After all, the Jews weren\u2019t the only circumcised people in the Middle East. The Egyptians, the Edomites (descended from Jacob\u2019s brother, Esau), the Moabites (descended from Lot, Abraham\u2019s nephew) and others were all just as circumcised as the Jews were. But that didn\u2019t mean they loved God. And that wouldn\u2019t stop God from punishing them. Circumcision, after all, was pretty easy. Words and rituals can be meaningless. What mattered were hard things, like a changed heart leading to compassion and true worship.<\/p>\n
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