The trauma of destruction and exile often serves as a harsh but effective crucible for a nation. The crushing weight of national crises will bring an absolute end to the deeply rooted historical corruptions that have plagued the Israelites since their early days. This devastation is meant to completely sever their spiritual and political reliance on foreign powers. God promises the total elimination and prevention of these destructive habits [מצודת ציון]. This absolute halt will come as a direct result of the overwhelming suffering inflicted by the Babylonian armies. The sheer scale of the ruin, the loss of life, and the burning of the Temple will leave the nation so profoundly shattered that they will lose all desire to chase after their ingrained sins [מצודת דוד]. Historically, this painful process achieved its goal. From the moment the Israelites were exiled from their land, the practice of idol worship vanished from their midst entirely [רד״ק, מלבי״ם].
The purification process addresses two distinct types of corruption, each leading to a specific outcome [מלבי״ם]. The first involves a deep intellectual and spiritual descent into heresy and idolatry. As a result of the impending tragedy, the people will entirely stop looking toward false gods for salvation. The second corruption is the ongoing political and cultural dependence on the Egyptian empire. In response to this, the memory of Egypt as a source of salvation will be erased. This forgetting will happen for two reasons. First, the Israelites will finally understand that the Egyptians do not honor their political agreements and can never be trusted as a reliable support. Second, Egypt itself is not immune to disaster. It is destined to fall and face destruction at the hands of the Assyrian and Babylonian armies. During this military collapse, the Judean refugees who fled to Egypt for safety will also lose their lives, a final tragedy that will permanently uproot any lingering hope for help or rescue from the Egyptian empire [מלבי״ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ].