Who can stand? (Jer 14-16; Psalm 76; 2 Cor 13)

God warns His people of terrible judgment for their sin. The shock in Jeremiah 14 is that false prophets are directly contradicting God’s Word and saying “everything is going to be ok.” They give the people what they want to hear, they deny the need for repentance, they promise peace, cheap grace. You can imagine what they sounded like, God is loving, He understands we all make mistakes, He won’t punish, besides we have the temple, we do religious things, that will more than outweigh your wrongdoing. You’re far better than others, and everyone else is living that way.

However, these false prophets mistake God’s patience for his acceptance of sin. We see both from Jeremiah and from Psalm 76 that God will punish those who persist in their rebellion against Him.

Jeremiah was warning that God’s people’s unrepentant sin would lead them into exile from the land, the false prophets said everything would be ok. Psalm 76 is in book 3 of the Psalms, a book that is full of psalms for the time of the exile. It celebrates God’s righteous judgment.

The psalmist remembers how God rescued his people out of Egypt by bringing judgment on Pharaoh and his army (v5-6). But the judgment is not just on Pharaoh. It’s on all those who refuse to submit to king Jesus as we warned in Psalm 2. We must not miss this message. The all important question is found Psalm 76:7 “who can stand?” It’s a question that is repeated in Revelation 6 as God’s enemies call on the mountains to cover them to avoid the wrath of Jesus. Who can stand? Revelation 7 tells us of a great multitude who are standing. Who are they? It’s those who have repented of their sin and turned to Jesus. They’ve been clothed by Him so that they can stand.

We don’t know why God permits false teachers, it may be part of His judgment, handing people over to what they desire. Whatever the case, we know that God won’t permit their teaching forever, so don’t let anyone deceive you. Don’t be fooled by those who offer peace with God without requiring repentance. God warns, “they shall be consumed” (Jeremiah 14:15).