Jeremiah 46:10 "That day is the day of the Lord God of hosts, a day of vengeance, to avenge himself on his foes. The sword shall devour and be sated, and drink its fill of their blood. For the Lord God of hosts holds a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates."

Jeremiah is describing the day of vengeance God had on Pharaoh Neco and his army when they encamped by the Euphrates and King Nebuchadnezzer of Babylon defeated them there. (Jeremiah 46:2).

Jeremiah describes this slaughter of the Egyptians as the Lord holding "a sacrifice." We sacrifice precious things, not things that are hated or unwanted, so Jeremiah is telling us that God loves these people that He is allowing to be killed. Although the first few lines make it seem like God is dispassionately dealing out well deserved justice, avenging Himself on his foes and allowing the sword to devour and be sated with Egyptian blood, the allusion to this as a sacrifice brings home the fact that this killing is necessary for justice, but the people dying are nonetheless precious to God.

I don't think God ever takes pleasure in having to chastise any of us. His justice, which is perfect, demands it sometimes, but He always looks on it as a sacrifice, a giving up of something precious to Him for the greater good. And that is exactly what chastisements are. They are not random suffering meted out on an unsuspecting people or person. They are God's justice, which is the same as His mercy, catching people before they become unsavable and calling them back.

We should hope and pray that the Egyptians killed in this slaughter received salvation. That is exactly what God wants. It is one reason why He held this sacrifice of people precious to Him when He did, before Pharaoh Neco and his army could go deeper into sin, so deep that they may not have been able to repent of it.