Apparently, the world in its apostate condition was wicked enough to warrant destruction by Almighty God. To have destroyed the earth at this time, however, would have been contrary to the plan of God. He makes the suggestion to the servant that the vineyard should be destroyed, but it is doubtful that these were his real intentions. Note how quickly he responds with, Yea I will spare it a little longer, for it grieveth me that I should lose the trees of my vineyard. The Lord may have been allowing his servant the opportunity to make a plea for his people. He is also demonstrating that the vineyard at that time was completely worthless to him. This is similar to what happened in Jacob 5:26-27 and Numbers 14:11-20.