Jeremiah 44:27 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. 28 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.
This is what God says to the Jews who ran away to Egypt expressly against the word of the Lord after they had sworn they would obey the word of the Lord. They then out-and-out said that they were going to continue to worship other gods, because when they had been worshipping other gods they had been prosperous and when they had stopped, all their troubles had begun.
The Lord's response is justified, and terrifying. I cannot imagine what it would be like to know that God is after me for harm, rather than delighting in me and wooing me for good. These people have given up any chance for hope.
Yet we still see mercy, along with vindication, in the next verse. There will be a remnant, although it will be 'very few'. God never gives up totally; he is still teaching those few that He IS the one true God, and that His word WILL stand. I guess that, without a remnant, there's no one to know the whole story and to see the story as the working of his hand and to bow before Him in response. The other nations may look at the situation and say that the God of Israel failed -- but the remnant knows better.
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