Jeremiah 46:1-12. Jeremiah is prophesying punishment for Egypt at the hand of Nebuchadrezzar, King of Babylon. God tells Jeremiah that the Egyptian army encamped by the Euphrates was prepared for battle as Nebuchadrezzar approached, but their warriors were beaten. The pride of the Egyptian pharaoh and his desire to "cover the earth" and "destroy cities and their inhabitants" could not stand, so today is the day of God's vengeance on Egypt. "For the Lord God of hosts holds a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates," and Babylon's swords shall devour the Egyptians.

History tells us the stories of battles and wars, but the Bible shows us why God might allow those things to happen. Battles and wars are never good, and God hates death, but in this fallen world wars are going to happen, because we have chosen sin, we have chosen to let them happen. God, in his infinite wisdom, uses all of our bad deeds to accomplish his will, so he uses wars as part of his plan as well. This is God's permissive will, and this passage gives some indication of why he might do that.

Egypt needed reining in, so God used the army of Babylon and their conquering King Nebuchadrezzar to do it. That doesn't mean God was a big fan of Nebuchadrezzar, or that he liked war, but Nebuchadrezzar was going on the warpath anyway, so God used him to chastise Egypt. He did the same thing to Jerusalem, allowing Babylon to conquer the city when it had gone so bad, and take the people captive. Four chapters later in Jeremiah we read about the coming judgment on and the fall of Babylon. So God knows what he is doing, always. And there's always a reason why he permits things to happen.

This brings me so much comfort with world events as they are. I was just reading yesterday about how we should not trust all of the things we are hearing about the war in Ukraine, and my mind boggled at some of the examples the author gave of other times we've been deceived into war in the past. When world powers manipulate good people into sacrificing their children in war, it is so unjust and so tragic that it breaks my heart. I don't know if that is happening in the war in Ukraine, but I see how it could be. I see now that I have to leave all of this in God's hands and remember that he knows what he is doing. If war comes to us, it will be part of his permissive will. But in the meantime, I will pray for peace.