Pray the word with David Platt is a resource from Radical.net.

Jeremiah chapter 22, verse 16, he judged the cause of the poor and needy.

Then it was well. Is not this to know me? Declares the Lord? So this verse is part of prophecy

addressed specifically to the sons of Josiah. So it's talking about King Josiah, who, if you'll remember,

in Scripture sought the Lord at an early age and uncovered the book of the law and called God's

people to repent and to obey it. And God blessed Josiah, his reign, and the people under his reign.

And so this is talking to those who came after Josiah looking back and specifically addressing

how he Josiah judged the cause of the poor and the needy. Then it was well. In other words,

it is good to judge the cause of the poor and the needy to work on behalf of the poor and the needy

to do good for the poor and the needy. And then God says, is not this to know me? Did you hear that?

To know God is to judge the cause of the poor and the needy to work on behalf of the poor and the

needy. This is what it means to know God, at least part of what it means, an essential part of what

it means to know God is to work on behalf of the poor and the needy. So all of that leads to the

question in our lives, our families and our churches. Do we know God? Are we working in our

lives and our families and our churches on behalf of the poor and the needy? We need to ask this

question and examine our hearts and our lives and our use of money and our use of time. How much of

it is given to the poor and the needy? Because this is what it means to know God. And we have

Biblical passages all across Scripture that reiterate this. You think about James chapter 2,

what good is it? If we claim to have faith but have no deeds specifically for those who are poor,

who are hungry, who are not well fed, and we say, oh, we wish you well, keep warming well fed,

but we do nothing about their physical needs. Our faith is empty. In other words, we don't know God.

Do you and I know God? There's our knowledge of God evident in our concern and care and commitment

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