For wickedness is kindled as a fire, it shall devour the brier and the thorn: and shall kindle in the thicket of the forest, and it shall be wrapped up in smoke ascending on high.
בְּעֶבְרַ֛ת יְהוָ֥ה צְבָא֖וֹת נֶעְתַּ֣ם אָ֑רֶץ וַיְהִ֤י הָעָם֙ כְּמַאֲכֹ֣לֶת אֵ֔שׁ אִ֥ישׁ אֶל־אָחִ֖יו לֹ֥א יַחְמֹֽלוּ׃
6 Church Fathers comment on this verse
Do you observe the nourishment that God's anger provides to the flames? It resembles a spark that, upon landing in an area abundant with dry vegetation, ignites into a formidable blaze. Yet, if it encounters no fuel to sustain it, it soon diminishes and is snuffed out.
Iniquity will burn with the intensity of fire. Yet, it is not the nature of the sin itself that is labeled iniquity (for such a characterization is inappropriate), but rather those burdened by sin, who have sunk to such depths of moral decay that they deserve the term iniquity rather than just lawless. Therefore, it is stated that such individuals will burn like fire; they themselves will embody that fire. It will not be an external force igniting a blaze within them, but they will possess an inherent capability for it. They will flare up like withered grasses and the underbrush of the forest. Their ferocity compares to a flame encountered by combustible material, namely, dry grass and forest trees. I believe this is the message the prophetic word intends to convey through this imagery.
When Vespasian and Titus laid waste to Judea and besieged its cities, immense turmoil arose among the inhabitants. This turmoil was partly due to starvation and partly because the rebels ravaged homes, targeting those who appeared most distinguished. The internal strife often proved more severe than the outside conflict, as Josephus extensively documents. Thus, he depicts the rebellious mob igniting flames in the thickets of oak trees, which I interpret as referring to dry grass and clusters of oaks. The mob is fragmented into various opinions and factions. The impending disaster will strike those perceived as significant, as he illustrates by stating that the surrounding hills will become evident. Here, hills symbolize those who rise above others, distinguished by reputation, riches, or other attributes. As previously mentioned, those who seemed notable were often brutally assailed by the perpetual rebels in each city, leading them to actions more desperate than even what their enemies would orchestrate.
This warning holds a certain type of kindness, for ‘iniquity shall be kindled like fire.’ The benevolent Lord, in His mercy towards humanity, orchestrates the destruction of the substance wrought by iniquity. ‘And like a dry tree,’ proclaims the Prophet, ‘it shall be revealed by fire, ignited in the thickets of oak trees.’ As long as the soul is constrained by earthly desires, its passions, ignited by carnal wisdom, expand like dry grass, interlinking and giving rise to one another. Just as this dry grass, the most prolific of the past, perpetually generates new growth, so too does sin manifest: one sinful act begets another.
Fornication engenders more fornication, the tendency to deceive breeds further lies, and a person tempted to steal is easily drawn into wrongdoing, as each sin paves the way for the next. Thus, when we bring sin to light through confession, it becomes like dry grass, ready to be revealed by purifying fire. However, it is kindled ‘in the thickets of oak trees.’ The reference to oak trees in the First Book of Kings illustrates this; all the men engaged in battle ascended into the oaks and became weary without consuming anything harmful. Moreover, Absalom encountered the oak while in battle (2 Kings 18:9). Therefore, unless our sin is transformed into ‘a dry tree,’ it cannot be revealed as fire nor be kindled by it. The Prophet’s mention of the oak thicket signifies those who are deceitful, harboring malice in the secrecy of their hearts.
Iniquity will blaze like flames, and the fury of the Lord will discipline them, as they will be consumed in the grove of oak trees. The prophet likens the oak tree to the entire nation, while the grove represents the young men and the strong in conflict.
Because of their actions, wickedness will blaze like fire, consuming not the cultivated lands but the thorns and thicket, and annihilating not the fruitful trees but the desolate woodland where wild beasts reside. Thus, it is stated that when the flames are contained, the dense underbrush will rise in towering and proud smoke, for all that is elevated and prominent can indeed be regarded as arrogant. The LXX, however, rendered it differently, stating that it shall consume all things around the hills. For this reason, God extends His hand for justice, and their transgressions, resembling a thornbush, will be reduced to ashes by the unquenchable flame. Likewise, words devoid of virtue, analogous to a desolate forest, will be enveloped in lofty smoke.
The influence of sin, which has seized the entire nation, is likened to the intensity of a fire that grows fiercer as it consumes more flammable materials. With no resistance to the deluge of sin among the populace, individuals feel neither shame nor fear in their iniquity; it burns like a fire that lacks anyone to extinguish it. Only the Lord, passionate for justice and holiness, holds the power to restrain sin. While the blaze of transgression is fierce, it pales in comparison to the conflagration of God's judgment, or as the subsequent verse proclaims, the wrath of the Lord. This sacred fire will consume sin like dry brush, rendering it powerless to harm the people.
It will ignite in the thickets of oak trees, meaning it will unleash a destructive force on unrepentant sinners akin to that of a raging forest fire, encompassing all the surrounding hills. Just as a wildfire, unhindered by anything or anyone, devastates the entire forest until it lays bare the hills, so likewise will God's punishment befall all, ceasing only when there are none left to punish.
Passages read together with this verse.
THEOSIS