For I am watching over them for harm, not for good; the Jews in
Egypt will perish by sword and famine until they are all destroyed. Those who escape the sword
and return to the land of Judah from Egypt will be very few. Then the whole
remnant of Judah who came to live in Egypt will know whose word will stand—mine
or theirs.” Jeremiah 44:27-28
You don’t want to be on God’s
naughty list. There are times in history
when God sought out the harm of nations, such as His own, Israel. They ran to Egypt for help and safety instead
of following God’s laws. They worshiped
other gods instead of Him.
Over centuries, this aroused His
anger, but He always offered a way out.
There were definitely times when God looked for ways to harm Israel,
Jerusalem and Judah, but this was not the norm.
Neither for us, unless we’ve so
rejected God and distanced ourselves from Him, hurting His loved ones in the
process and dragging them away from Him too.
Pain and harm wake us up to our situation and cause us to run back to
Him for help out of humility. God is
willing to hurt us in order to help us—never to just punish us for His
satisfaction.