44 The word that came to Jeremiah for all the Jews living in the land of Egypt, those who were living in Migdol, Tahpanhes, Memphis, and the land of Pathros, saying, 2 “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 [a]sacrifices and to serve other gods whom they had not known, neither they, you, nor your fathers. 4 Yet I sent you all My servants the prophets, [b]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 [c]sacrifices to other gods. 6 Therefore My wrath and My anger were poured out and burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, so they have become a ruin and a desolation as it is this day. 7 Now then thus says the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, “Why are you doing great harm to yourselves, so as to cut off from you man and woman, child and infant, from among Judah, leaving yourselves without remnant, 8 provoking Me to anger with the works of your hands, burning [d]sacrifices to other gods in the land of Egypt, where you are entering to reside, so that you might be cut off and become a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth? 9 Have you forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, the wickedness of the kings of Judah, and the wickedness of their wives, your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 10 But they have not become [e]contrite even to this day, nor have they feared nor walked in My law or My statutes, which I have set before you and before your fathers.”’
After the remnant fled to Egypt, God forgot all about them… Oh wait, except He didn’t! Even better, God sends them another message, for He had not forsaken them–even though it seems that they still hadn’t learned much of anything. God reminds them first of the wickedness before the cities of Judah were burned (v. 6). Then, He points out their continued wickedness in serving other gods in Egypt (v. 8).
Right in the middle of this, there is an important question. In v. 7, God asks, “Why are you doing great harm to yourselves…? It’s easy to look at God’s anger or wrath and just think He’s upset because people won’t listen to Him. Yet the truth of the matter is that God gives us instructions so we don’t harm ourselves. Shock and surprise, right?
God said it pretty clearly in the well-known verse (29:11) that His plans are “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” Of course, some have misconstrued this to mean that God wants us all to be wealthy. Yet even hard things, painful things, fit into God’s plan–for our benefit. An article I read points out the contrast between athletic training and how we view the rest of our lives.
In any sport or physical endeavor, pain is good. It means muscles are being stretched, conditioned, and they are becoming stronger. Yet we expect that our “welfare” must mean sunshine and roses. There will be a day with no sorrow or tears, but we need pain to get there and to grow stronger. We also need to listen to God, because it is His plan that will benefit us most, not our own schemes and contrivances.
God isn’t silent, His Word is “living and active” and available to us all. Read it, listen to it, but most importantly, obey His Word. Anything else begs the question, “Why are you doing great harm to yourselves?” God doesn’t want that, and we would do well (the best even) to follow His plan for our lives.