It is comparable to stripping a robber, a pirate, or a thief of their power, rendering them incapable, causing their once abusive limbs to cease their wrongdoing. Furthermore, the phrase “and their houses into the wilderness” indicates that numerous individuals within the Church who have constructed Zion upon bloodshed and Jerusalem upon wrongdoing will find benefit in the destruction of their homes.
We can look at Leviticus, which prescribes the obliteration of a house infested with leprosy (Leviticus 14:36-41); since leprosy is persistent and spreads, all contaminated materials must be removed and cast into an unclean location. A parallel can be drawn from the beginning of Jeremiah, where it states, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth; behold, I have set you over nations and kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant” (Jer. 1:9-10). One demolishes a dilapidated structure to facilitate the construction of a sound one. A bad plant is uprooted to allow for a good plant to take its place. Hence, as Solomon notes, “It is better to dwell in the corner of a housetop than in a house shared with a contentious woman” (Proverbs 21:9). Thus, the Good God dismantles the homes of those immersed in their impurities, who harbor in their hearts the belief that “God will not do good, nor will He do evil,” and He prevents them from residing in the abodes of the lepers or partaking of the wine from the vineyards they have cultivated. Indeed, if they had truly planted the vineyard of Sorek—an authentic choice of a vineyard—they would have shared in its wine and celebrated with the patriarchs Noah and Joseph at noon (Gen. 9:20-21, Gen. 43:16). However, since they proclaimed, “God will not do good, nor will He do evil,” and made their grapes from the vineyard of Sodom, with their offshoots stemming from Gomorrah, their grapes are bitter, and their clusters are filled with gall; their wine resembles the venom of dragons and the unhealed fury of asps (Deut. 32:32-33). Though they may have planted vineyards, they will not partake of the wine from them. Mysteriously, the reference to “from Sodom and Gomorrah” indicates that all their efforts will ultimately fail. Had they remained faithful to their original intentions, akin to the paradise of God, avoiding the descent into evil that likened them to Egypt, their plantings would have endured. This is similarly expressed in the Psalms regarding the Egyptians: “Their vines were struck with hail, and their sycamore trees with frost” (Psalms 77:47). As a compassionate God, He decimated every Egyptian plantation, ensuring that those who engaged in the wicked cultivation could not consume or drink of its produce. The great day of the Lord, which is inevitable and soon approaching, is drawing near. It is near either due to God’s eternal nature, wherein nothing is prolonged for Him, or because the severity of punishment makes it feel imminent to the long-suffering. Alternatively, as mentioned earlier, it is near because our departure from this world indicates that each individual's death serves as the conclusion of the world for them. This impending day is approaching rapidly, emphasized by the urgency of its arrival.
THEOSIS