God interacts with the people through a strict principle of measure for measure. Because the people chose the path of idolatry and ignored the warnings of the prophets, the divine response perfectly mirrors their actions, bringing upon them the very reality they attempted to escape. This consequence is specifically directed at those who focus on superficial matters while neglecting what is truly important [ביאור שטיינזלץ].
The primary approach among commentators is that God's reaction involves mockery and ridicule. The people had turned the service of God into a joke, offering sacrifices while simultaneously worshipping idols. In response, God chooses to mock them in return [שד״ל, רש״י, מצודת ציון, אבן עזרא]. Because the people dismissively invented new commandments of their own, God pays them back in the exact same coin [מלבי״ם]. Alternatively, this divine response is understood as an act of destruction. Just as the people corrupted their ways, God chooses to ruin their actions [רד״ק].
There are differing views regarding how this divine response actually unfolds. Some maintain that God actively and intentionally brings disaster upon them, rather than leaving their fate to chance [מצודת דוד]. Conversely, others suggest that God simply removes His divine protection. Since the people chose to distance themselves from God and rely instead on the laws of nature and astrology, God adopts their chosen path and abandons them to the random, natural forces of the world [אהבת יהונתן]. As a result, God brings upon them the exact things they dread and fear the most [רש״י, מצודת ציון, מצודת דוד, אבן עזרא], such as war and famine [רד״ק].
The justification for this severe consequence stems from a profound breakdown in communication. God reached out to the people through the prophets, calling them to return and correct their behavior, but no one answered or accepted the message [רד״ק, מצודת דוד, רש״י]. The repeated emphasis on God calling and speaking highlights the sheer severity of how completely the people ignored Him [מצודת דוד].
The people's failures are divided into two distinct categories. First, they committed active evil by violating negative commandments. Second, they chose to pursue things God never desired, which refers to the people inventing their own religious obligations [מלבי״ם]. This misdirected devotion is compared to a person who is willing to donate all their wealth for a Torah scroll but refuses to feed an orphan or a widow. The people eagerly invested their energy into practices God never asked for, entirely neglecting His actual will. Finally, another perspective suggests that the people harbored a misguided hope that the Temple would be destroyed so their sins could be forgiven, a wish that God did not desire in the slightest [אהבת יהונתן].