“…Then all the remnant of Judah who have gone to the land of Egypt to reside there will know whose word will stand, Mine or theirs,” (44:28).

And the gauntlet is thrown down… whose word will stand. I am dumbfounded that anyone would even dare to take up the challenge. His Word against theirs. And it’s not as though He hasn’t already proven Himself, time and time again. They had seen His Word fulfilled with their own eyes, just as He had said.

Thus says the Lord,
“Behold, a people is coming from the north land,
And a great nation will be aroused from the remote parts of the earth.
²³ “They seize bow and spear;
They are cruel and have no mercy;
Their voice roars like the sea,
And they ride on horses,
Arrayed as a man for the battle
Against you, O daughter of Zion!” (Jeremiah 6:22-23).

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘You yourselves have seen all the calamity that I have brought on Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah; and behold, this day they are in ruins and no one lives in them, ³ because of their wickedness which they committed so as to provoke Me to anger by continuing to burn sacrifices and to serve other gods whom they had not known, neither they, you, nor your fathers,” (44:2-3).

And He had warned them, time and time again, to turn from their wickedness, but they refused Him, time and time again.

“From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, these twenty-three years the word of the Lord has come to me, and I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened. ⁴ And the Lord has sent to you all His servants the prophets again and again, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear, ⁵ saying, ‘Turn now everyone from his evil way and from the evil of your deeds, and dwell on the land which the Lord has given to you and your forefathers forever and ever; ⁶ and do not go after other gods to serve them and to worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands, and I will do you no harm.’ ⁷ Yet you have not listened to Me,” declares the Lord, “in order that you might provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands to your own harm,” (Jeremiah 25:3-7).

“‘Yet I sent you all My servants the prophets, again and again, saying, “Oh, do not do this abominable thing which I hate.” ⁵ But they did not listen or incline their ears to turn from their wickedness, so as not to burn sacrifices to other gods,’” (44:4-5).

And now, the warnings are over, their fate has been sealed.

“Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am going to set My face against you for woe, even to cut off all Judah. (44:11).

But still, they refuse to take Him seriously. But again, refusing to believe that His Word Will Stand does not mean that it won’t.

He has given us His Word, not just to warn us, although that is a tremendous need; He also has given us His Word that we might repent, turn to Him and come to know Him; He has given us His Word to invite us into relationship with Him.

Today, as we consider His Word that Will Stand, may we see our urgent need for what only He can accomplish, that He would continue to grow our hunger and desire for Him Whose Word Will Stand.

Consider Him Whose Word Will Stand

• His Word Will Stand… proven in Who He Is
  • As for God, His way is blameless;
    The word of the Lord is tried;
    He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him, (Psalm 18:30).
• His Word Will Stand… as His Eternal Truth
  • The sum of Your word is truth,
    And every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting, (Psalm 119:160).
• His Word Will Stand… forever
  • The grass withers, the flower fades,
    But the word of our God stands forever, (Isaiah 40:8).
• His Word Will Stand… for He Is God and there is no other
  • Remember what happened long ago,
    for I am God, and there is no other;
    I am God, and no one is like Me.
    ¹⁰ I declare the end from the beginning,
    and from long ago what is not yet done,
    saying: My plan will take place,
    and I will do all My will, (Isaiah 46:9-10).
• His Word Will Stand… and will accomplish everything He desires
  • “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
    And do not return there without watering the earth
    And making it bear and sprout,
    And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;
    ¹¹ So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth;
    It will not return to Me empty,
    Without accomplishing what I desire,
    And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it, (Isaiah 55:10-11).
• His Word Will Stand… and will not pass away
  • “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away,” (Matthew 24:35).
• His Word Will Stand… making us free through His Truth
  • So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; ³² and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (John 8:31-32).
• His Word Will Stand… as our Judge at the last day
  • “If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. ⁴⁸ He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day,” (John 12:47-48).
• His Word Will Stand… laying us bare to His piercing division of our thoughts and intentions
  • For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. ¹³ And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do, (Hebrews 4:12-13).
• His Word Will Stand… given by His inspiration for our training
  • All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; (2 Timothy 3:16).
• His Word Will Stand… performing its work in all who believe
  • For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe, (1 Thessalonians 2:13).
• His Word Will Stand… as His imperishable, living and enduring means of eternal life
  • for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. ²⁴ For, “All flesh is like grass,
    And all its glory like the flower of grass.
    The grass withers,
    And the flower falls off,
    ²⁵ But the word of the Lord endures forever,” (1 Peter 1:23-25).

 How do we respond to Him Whose Word Will Stand?

As a springboard for our own response, consider the responses of two: the men and their wives in Egypt, and Jeremiah’s scribe, Baruch. Both are lessons in the negative.

The men and their wives living in Egypt:

Then all the men who were aware that their wives were burning sacrifices to other gods, along with all the women who were standing by, as a large assembly, including all the people who were living in Pathros in the land of Egypt, responded to Jeremiah, saying, ¹⁶ “As for the message that you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we are not going to listen to you! ¹⁷ But rather we will certainly carry out every word that has proceeded from our mouths…  for then we had plenty of food and were well off and saw no misfortune. ¹⁸ But since we stopped burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have met our end by the sword and by famine.” (44:15-18).

They had measured what they heard according to what they were seeing and feeling. And from their assessment, they concluded they would “certainly carry out every word that has proceeded from our mouths.”

It’s frightening what we can convince ourselves when times are hard. But before we pass all-out judgment on these men and their wives, let us remember, if we are so blessed as to be listening to Him Whose Word Will Stand, it is because of His grace.

But by God’s grace I am what I am… (1 Corinthians 15:10a HCSB).

He has given us the history of His people, not that we would pass judgment, but that we would learn so as not to repeat their costly mistakes, so that as we receive His instruction we would be encouraged and strengthened to persevere in faith and hope.

For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope, (Romans 15:4).

Oh, that we would never close our ears to His Truth, even if it means we find ourselves living in lack or misfortune. For in those times, He is teaching us dependence on our greatest need, His Word.

He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord, (Deuteronomy 8:3).

Jeremiah’s scribe, Baruch:

This is the message which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch the son of Neriah, when he had written down these words in a book at Jeremiah’s dictation, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying: ² “Thus says the Lord the God of Israel to you, O Baruch: ³ ‘You said, “Ah, woe is me! For the Lord has added sorrow to my pain; I am weary with my groaning and have found no rest.”’ ⁴ Thus you are to say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Behold, what I have built I am about to tear down, and what I have planted I am about to uproot, that is, the whole land.” ⁵ But you, are you seeking great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for behold, I am going to bring disaster on all flesh,’ declares the Lord, ‘but I will give your life to you as booty in all the places where you may go.’” (45: 1-5).

It is apparent that, Jeremiah’s scribe, Baruch, also needed instruction. Baruch had been faithful to the prophet of God, and risked his life in doing so. But now he found himself suffering alongside those who had rejected God in their rebellion. And perhaps he was looking for some way out of his dismal predicament. And by His Grace, the Lord sent a message to this one, wearied by his sorrow, that he would turn his eyes away from futile hope and turn in dependence to Him Whose Word Will Stand.

Oh, that we would realize how desperate we are for His Word. When Jesus was tempted, He relied on the Scriptures as His strength to defeat the enemy. How much more do we need the nurturing sustenance of His Word? Let us pray that we would truly come to understand the necessity of living on every Word that proceeds out of the mouth of Him Whose Word Will Stand.

And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” ⁴ But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God,’” (Matthew 4:4).

As He faithfully nurtures us in His Word, let us ask Him to teach us the secret of contentment as we trust in the enabling strength of Him Whose Word Will Stand.

Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. ¹² I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. ¹³ I can do all things through Him who strengthens me, (Philippians 4:11-13).

And when life gets hard (and it will), and when circumstances seem confusing and unfair (and they will), let us pray we would not be deceived so as to make our own comfort and ease our greatest goal; but let us seek the great things above as we set our mind on Him Whose Word Will Stand.

Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth, (Colossians 3:1-2).

As we seek Him in His Word for our sustenance and contentment, let us listen with our hearts united in faith, that we may live every day blessed in the immeasurable profit of knowing Him Whose Word Will Stand.

For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard, (Hebrews 4:2).

Let’s Grow Together!