Jerusalem was meant to have been a faithful city, and city that honoured God. Instead she had sold herself to idols and to other nations. She had variously trusted in Egypt and Assyria for protection. She used to be full of justice, now she was full of murder. When a nation turns away from God moral decay will start to happen. We see this in our own country. This is not to say that the country was perfect, far from it, but as we have progressively rejected God, the social and moral fabric of the nations has weakened.
The good things in the land became worthless. The leaders became rebels, looking after themselves instead of the people, especially the poor. We see this all too often in our democracies.
So God would turn His wrath on His enemies. God's wrath is not uncontrollable anger, but a considered, careful act of judgement on those who have ignored all warnings.
Note the language here on enemies. Israel would expect God to use this language about the nations that surrounded her, but He was using it against them!
The goal of all this would be to return justice and righteousness to the city. We are mistaken if we thing "being saved" is only a matter of "going to heaven rather than hell". God's goal is always to produce a people who are truly made in His image.
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