Thus shall you say to him, Thus says the LORD: Behold, what I have built I am breaking down, and what I have planted I am plucking up-that is, the whole land.
Jeremiah 45:4
God was taking a loss in the consequential judgment on Judah. He had built the nation that the Babylonians tore down. He had planted the vineyard now uprooted in war. He had built and destroyed. God had planted and plucked up. This was His doing, but the metaphor conveys some of the loss that He knew as well. God was not particularly happy to judge Judah and see Jerusalem in ruins.
It is clear that God would have much rather delighted in building up the nation and planting His vineyard. He enjoys our growth and progress. He wants His people to enjoy the vivacious prosperity of the city. He takes joy in our celebrations of the harvest of the vineyard. The real pleasure of God is also found in the pleasures that He gives to His people. And that was His original intention with Israel.
So we should not forget that our sin also hurts God. He is not a God Who wants to punish us. He wants to walk with us in the joys that He gives us. But when we disobey and run from Him, the consequences are a loss of joy from the relationship. We feel it and God feels it too.
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