One of the memorable characters in John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress is a man called “Valiant-for-truth.” When the pilgrims meet him, his face and his sword are bloodied, for as he explains, three thieves had accosted him just moments before. They threatened to kill him if he did not join their group, but Valiant fought them for hours and managed to survive. He goes on to explain how his parents had tried to stop him from making this pilgrimage, warning about the obstacles and dangers he would encounter. But Valiant had come to believe the message he heard from Mr. Tell-true, and he would not be dissuaded. Bunyan found his inspiration for this brave character in the King James Version of Jeremiah 9:3, where the prophet laments that his people “are not valiant for the truth upon the earth.” According to the New Living Translation, “they refuse to stand up for the truth.” And the English Standard Version says that “falsehood and not truth has grown strong in the land.” Jeremiah can’t stop weeping that the truth of God is no longer cherished. Personal relationships are a mess, as people were both unfaithful to God and unfaithful to each other. Husbands and wives are cheating on one another; brothers and sisters are betraying one another. Words have become weapons as people train themselves for verbal combat. Lies, deception, and slander are the order of the day for people do not know the God of truth (v 1-6). Because people were not valiant for truth, they would have to bear the hard consequences. A just and patient God has no choice but to bring judgment. He will purge them of their falsehood and punish them for their infidelity. The mountains and deserts will be emptied of all life, while the defeated cities of Israel will become wastelands populated only by animals (v 7-11). Jeremiah is so disturbed by his own prophecies of national calamity and foreign exile that he provides lyrics for a funeral dirge. With chilling words, death is personified as a prowler, a stalker, an intruder. Calling on Israel’s professional mourning women to weep and wail with him, the prophet laments the sinful idolatry of the nation and the fearful judgment that is sure to come (v 12-22). It is in this context of sin, judgment, and mourning that we read those familiar words about improper boasting. All our lives we are inclined to boast of our intelligence, bodies, or wealth. But death and disaster can overtake anyone, regardless of wisdom, strength, or riches. Only the one who knows God has something to boast about, as long as the subject is Jesus Christ, who displayed God’s love and satisfied His justice when He died on the cross for us (v 23-24). For further meditation: