Yet, you, O people of Israel, who have abandoned the Lord and provoked the Holy One of Israel to anger—who have overlooked His holy mountain, often referenced or being the Lord Savior Himself, the supreme mountain and the holy place of all saints, Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem—because you have committed these acts, I shall give you to the sword, leading to mutual ruin. We shall later clarify the nature of this sword. You have set a table of demise and poured libations upon it, or as the Seventy interprets: you prepare a table for fate and fill the platter for the demon; which can both be understood as a diluted drink. This idolatrous practice was prevalent in many cities, especially in Egypt and Alexandria, where on the last day of their year and month they set a table laden with various foods and a sweetened drink to foresee the fertility of the preceding or coming year. The Israelites, too, embraced this, honoring all manner of false idols and pouring out drink offerings, not onto the altar, but onto such a table. In the Hebrew text translated differently by the Seventy, the emphasis is “without Me,” indicating that you prepare a table for fate, filling a cup devoid of My presence, signifying it is offered not to Him, but rather to demonic forces. Yet, the sword that leads to your destruction symbolizes punishment. It is not on a literal sword that the scattered people of Israel, many thousands in number, are surrendered, but rather to the afflictions and agonies of captivity and oppressive slavery, as stated, “All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword,” and in the song of Deuteronomy, “I will make my arrows drunk with blood, and My sword shall devour the flesh, the blood of the slain” (Deuteronomy 32:42). This may seem astounding: that the arrows of the Lord are soaked in blood, and His sword feasts upon the flesh of the wounded. Job lamented, “The arrows of the Almighty are in my body, and their poison drinks up my blood; when I speak, they pierce me” (Job 6:4). Allegorically, we may interpret that all who abandon the Church, forget God’s holy mountain, and submit to erroneous spirits and demonic teachings prepare a table for fate, mistakenly believing their lives are governed by the stars or various fortunes rather than divine will. Paul admonishes, “You cannot partake of the Lord's table and of the table of demons; you cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons” (1 Corinthians 10:20); for they shall be condemned to eternal suffering, unable to evade death and destruction.
For I called you, yet you did not respond; I spoke, and you ignored Me, committing evil in My sight and selecting what is offensive to Me. You are destined for the sword not merely because you have forsaken and forgotten Me, or diluted your cup for fate, but also because, when I was Immanuel—God with us—of whom John said, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14), I called, “Return to Me, O children who are returning” (Jeremiah 3:14), and “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden” (Matthew 11:28), yet you did not wish to respond. I spoke through parables and did all that was necessary, but you refused to heed and even treated Me with contempt. I declared, “I came, and there was no man; I called, and no one was there to respond” (Isaiah 50:2). Your wickedness did not stop there; you disdained Me in My presence and even killed the heir sent unto you. You did evil before My eyes, electing what was not pleasing to Me and blaspheming the Son of God, choosing Barabbas, the robber—a murderer and a rebel—and audaciously asking, “Why, O Lord, have You caused us to deviate from Your path?” (Isaiah 63:17). For if those who were ignorant of Me found Me and those who did not call upon Me accepted Me, what plagues do you deserve, you who refused to welcome Me—the one sent to you declaring, “I have come only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24)—and yet subjected Me to the cross? It is essential to consider the meaning behind the words: they selected what was displeasing to Me, or contrary to the will of the Son of God, who affirmed in the Gospel, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). God Himself declares, “I delight to do Your will” (Psalm 40:9). This is the will for which the Lord testified: “I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will fulfill all My will” (Acts 13:22). Hence, the saint prays, “Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God” (Psalm 142:10). All things may be permissible, but not all are beneficial (1 Corinthians 6). The apostle mentions concerning the virgins that he has no command from the Lord, but wishes us to be like him (1 Corinthians 7); thus, he illustrates that we must not follow mere indulgence but the desires of our teacher, opting for what is constructive rather than what is permissible, particularly regarding bigamy. He encourages young widows to remarry, to raise children, and build homes (1 Timothy 5:4). He explains why he allows this, stating that some have been led astray by Satan (1 Timothy 5). Therefore, a second marriage does not reflect his true desire as it becomes meaningless in comparison to the sin of adultery.
THEOSIS